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He growled low in his throat, then padded back to sit on his haunches facing Ethan’s coal black wolf while the others formed a circle around them.

Regan scrambled to her feet. She was about to whisper a spell to dress herself when she saw Caleb’s pile of clothes. She whispered a word and his shirt was in her hands. She held it to her nose, breathing in the musky male scent of him. Then she pulled it on and stepped toward the circle of wolves. They opened to allow her space, and Catrin came to stand beside her.

Tense excitement filled the clearing, barely suppressed. Neither of the two wolves within the circle moved, as though they were waiting for some signal to begin.

“You know Caleb has to kill him, don’t you?” Catrin said.

Regan glanced at her briefly then back to Caleb. “He does?”

“According to pack law. I’ve been reading up on it. Which reminds me—I’ve found your spell.”

This time Regan forced herself to turn and look at her sister. “My spell?”

“The one to reverse the werewolf bite.”

Regan should have felt something, some sensation of relief, but her mind went blank at the idea. She couldn’t think about that now, not when Caleb was about to fight for his life.

“I’ll tell you later, shall I,” Catrin said. “But I found a lot of other stuff about the wolves, and one of their laws is that the old leader must die.”

“Laws change.”

“Yes, but maybe not his time.” She paused. “The old leader must be killed in one-to-one combat, and then the rest of the pack eats them.”

“Ugh!” Regan said. “Thanks for sharing.”

One thing was certain, if by some means Caleb lost this fight, no one was eatinghim.

She knew that even if he won, this whole thing was going to cost him dearly, and she hoped the price wouldn’t break him. She had come to realize how hard he fought for his chance at a normal life, and after tonight that would be gone forever.

“Then after that,” Catrin continued, “there’s some sort of bonding—”

“Shh,” Regan murmured. “Something is happening.”

The two wolves rose and began to circle. Up until that point, their audience had been silent, now they threw back their heads and howled. Inside her, her own wolf strained to be free, and Regan forced her down. She had to stay in human form in case she needed to help Caleb.

Would she use magic if the fight went badly for him? She knew she would, but she was also aware that Caleb would never forgive her for interfering. But did that really matter? Presumably, when all this was over, she would do Catrin’s spell, and the ties that bound her to Caleb would be gone forever. She need never set eyes on a werewolf again. The thought did not fill her with the expected sense of pleasure, and wolf whined softly.

Inside the circle, Ethan came to a halt. He stared at Caleb stiff-legged, his muzzle drawn back in a snarl revealing long white canines, sharp as daggers. Then he crouched back on his haunches and leapt in a blur of speed. Caleb went down under the force of the blow. He rolled to his feet and shook himself.

“Fight,” Regan urged under her breath.

For a minute, it appeared as if he wouldn’t. He stood unmoving, watching as Ethan prowled around him. Catrin’s hand slid into hers and squeezed.

Regan’s gaze flicked between the two wolves, waiting for Ethan’s next move, silently praying that Caleb would fight back. She saw the moment Ethan’s muscles tensed as he readied himself to leap again. Her gaze flew back to Caleb. Resolve hardened his eyes. He leapt forward at the same time as Ethan, and the two wolves slammed into each other in midair.

They crashed to the ground together in a snarling mass of teeth and fur, then rolled, jaws snapping as each sought to get a hold. Their movements so fast Regan found it impossible to distinguish one from the other.

Finally, they parted, only to repeat the whole process over and over with neither gaining an advantage. They were both panting heavily now.

Equal in size and strength, it was obvious that Ethan was the more experienced fighter, but Regan suspected he was overconfident. Caleb seemed to be playing a waiting game, always letting his father make the first move before countering with one of his own.

Then Ethan managed to gain a grip on Caleb’s shoulder; his teeth sank in and the sharp, acrid scent of fresh blood filled the air. Caleb threw back his head and roared his fury. The pain seemed to awaken the rage inside him, and he thrashed his whole body until Ethan was tossed from side to side. His grip loosened, and he was flung across the circle. He came to his feet immediately, the blood dripping from his jaws.

Caleb shook himself and growled. Regan’s fingers tightened on Catrin’s as he stalked around the circle. His whole being radiated menace as though he had at last realized this was a fight to the death, and his father meant business.

This time he attacked first, taking Ethan by surprise and driving him to the ground. Ethan countered but Caleb came back relentlessly, until Ethan’s sides heaved with exhaustion while Caleb now appeared unaffected

But Regan was still unsure whether he would see this through to the end.