CHAPTER NINE
Grayson glanced at Ari. She was crouching beside the dazed and bleeding human woman, and shaking her head at him. “The pack is waiting,” Ari snapped. “If you're going to kill him, kill him in front of his pack and finish it once and for all!”
Grayson forced his claws back. Ari was right. He'd issued a challenge to Strom and pack law dictated that every wolf in the Sentinels and Red Razor pack abide by the terms of the challenge.
He would gladly kill Strom here and leave his filthy carcass in this alley. But that wouldn't free those human women. Those innocent, defenseless human women who had been kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by Strom. Strom called them his “wives”, making a bloody mockery of the title.
Grayson turned to take a proper look at the curvy, red-haired human. She fixed her startling green eyes on him and Grayson felt his body jerk as though an electric current had just coursed through him.
The woman was beautiful. The sight of her broken lip and the bruise on her face made his wolf rise and snarl angrily. His wolf wanted to rip Strom to shreds for hurting this female.
But Strom was the Alpha of the Red Razor pack, one of the largest and most powerful packs in Wolves Hollow. If he killed Strom now, the Red Razor wolves would avenge his death. No pack would let the murder of their Alpha go unavenged. He had to challenge and defeat Strom in front of his pack, or the Red Razor wolves would come after the Sentinels. They would make Grayson pay by slaughtering every single one of his wolves. Pregnant females, elderly grandparents and cubs would all be killed.
“Grayson!” Ari shouted. She had the woman's arm around her shoulder and she was hurrying the woman out of the alley. “Let's go!”
“Don't go too far, little human,” Strom called out. “After I paint the woods red with the blood of the Sentinels, I'll come and collect you, my pet.”
Grayson saw two Red Razor lieutenants at the mouth of the alley. They parted to let Ari and the human woman through. One of the lieutenants saluted and spoke to Strom, “Everyone's in position, Alpha.”
Strom smiled. “Your wolves have been surrounded, Grayson. Are you sure you want to go through with this? You'll have their blood on your hands.”
Grayson didn't reply. He simply watched Strom stroll out of the alley with his lieutenants. The echo of Strom's laugh reverberated down the empty street long after he'd left.
Grayson stepped out of the alley and saw Ari standing at the side of the curb. His sister was staring after a small, spluttering car that was trying its best to speed away.
“That's your neighbor,” Ari said. “The one I was telling you about.”
Grayson narrowed his eyes at her. “The new human in town is my next door neighbor,” he deadpanned.
“Yup. She told me her name. Hayley Winters.”
“Hayley,” he whispered. His wolf growled at the sound of her name on his lips. Grayson kept staring at the receding cloud of exhaust fumes. He had to fight the urge to go after her. “He hurt her,” he snarled at last.
“Strom hurt a lot of humans,” Ari said. She looked up at the purplish-black sky and said quietly, “It's time, Grayson. Scott just reported that our wolves are ready.”
Grayson exhaled roughly.
Each pack had its own rules, and each alpha had a different way of governing his or her pack. Grayson never interfered in another pack's business. But when innocent humans were savagely dragged into a pack to be raped and abused, Grayson couldn't turn away.
The other packs all stayed away from the Red Razor wolves. But the Sentinels would not walk away from this. Not while he was Alpha.
The Sentinels were taking on a much bigger and meaner pack tonight. It wasn't the wisest thing to do, but it was the right thing to do.
Might wasn't right. Not in his book.
“Ari, if I lose the challenge tonight...”
His sister scowled at him and raised a warning finger. “I will kill you, and kill you again if you lose. If you die tonight, Scott will be Alpha. Don't get me wrong. Scott is a great Beta. But he'll make a lousy Alpha. He talks too much.”
Grayson hugged his little sister hard. If he lost, the Red Razor wolves would massacre his pack. And their deaths wouldn't be quick and painless.
“I won't let anything happen to you, Ari,” Grayson said grimly. “But I can't do nothing. Those human women...”
“...are counting on you,” Ari said, hugging him back. “You will win, Grayson. For them, for us.” She jerked her head at the fast receding little car. “For her.”