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No . She’d yet to prove herself worthy. Lupine only respected hegemony through a show of dominance and force. Period. Morlie could understand the Pack way and planned to uphold their practices.

“Minsi! Minsi!” Morlie continued to call the other she-wolf out as the crowd gathered became dense.

As minutes went by with no sign of Minsi, Morlie began to wonder if the other female would even show. If her absence was a way of spitting in Morlie’s eye, denying Morlie’s authority to call her forth.

“Why the fuck are you screaming my name?” Then Minsi was there.

Morlie turned toward the woods to the side of the clearing and watched the athletically slim female, dressed in tiny, form-fitting shorts and a tank top, with her long, straight black hair flipping in the breeze, as Minsi strutted from the trees toward her.

Faolan came out behind Minsi, proof of where he’d gone after he’d spoken to Morlie. However, when he didn’t move any further into the clearing, Morlie exhaled.

The Fang Warrior leaned his back against a tree as if the outcome of this battle was of no consequence to him.

Yet, Morlie knew the Lupine Warrior had to be feeling something. Minsi was his mate, but at the same time, the male understood pack order.

She focused on Minsi.

“Who do you think you are to summon me?” Minsi glanced toward the crowd and scoffed loudly. “You think because the Alpha’s not here, you have the right to lead this pack? You’re nothing!”

“Except to the Alpha, I’m everything.” Morlie allowed that to sit in the space between them for a moment before continuing, “Besides, if I was nothing, why have you been stalking me?” Morlie kept her body relaxed as she shrugged as if Minsi’s response didn’t matter. “I think it's time we settle this.”

Minsi snarled and moved closer.

“Fine. How about we let our wolves out to play?” Minsi jeered with her hands on her hips.

Morlie’s beast growled and scratched at her core, wanting to be let out to tear into Minsi. But this was Morlie’s fight.

Morlie shifted her body slightly away from Minsi’s and glanced at her hands as if considering the other female’s words while watching Minsi draw closer in her peripheral vision. “I don’t think that’s necessary. This issue is between you and—”

Instead of finishing her statement, Morlie kicked out her right foot and connected the heel of her boot with Minsi’s right side at the lowest section of her ribs.

Minsi grunted, and her body bowed as she stumbled back a few steps. Her eyes widened in shock, but then her face twisted with rage.

Not waiting for Minsi to charge, Morlie acted fast, trying to keep the upper hand as long as possible. She shifted her weight, spun, and landed a second kick to the other side.

This time, Minsi was ready for her. Even as the other woman winced in pain, she grabbed Morlie’s foot and swung using Morlie’s momentum to send Morlie flying back.

Morlie lost her balance and landed on her ass in the dirt, but recovered quickly and readied herself for Minsi. She didn’t have to wait long. Minsi swung, and Morlie rotated her torso and rolled her upper body forward and to the side as she blocked her face, catching the punch on her shoulder.

The hard strike smarted and sent needles of pain down Morlie's arm into her hand.

Gritting her teeth, Morlie forced herself to focus on her opponent, not the pain.

When Minsi jabbed out with her other fist, Morlie countered by striking the back of Minsi’s wrist with one hand and catching it with her other.

Morlie jerked Minsi forward and wrapped her arm around the other female’s throat.

She slammed Minsi’s back against her chest, flexing the muscles in her arm, and she squeezed tight even though Minsi had the advantage of a few inches of height on her.

Minsi could be easily overpowered with the move.

However, with quick reaction and a skill honed through years of fighting, Minsi grabbed Morlie by the bicep and forearm, digging her nails in deep as she bent forward quick and flipped Morlie up and over her back.

Whoosh. Morlie's breath burst out of her lungs as her back made impact with the hard-packed ground.

Shit . She blinked away a few stars that flashed in her vision.

She scrambled back and got up on her feet as Minsi came charging at her, her ink-black hair, a river of color floating behind her.

Minsi punched her in the front of her thigh, causing the muscle there to cramp and spasm and Morlie’s knee to buckle, causing her upper body to list to one side and giving Minsi the opening to kick her along the opposite flank.

Pain exploded in Morlie’s side and kidney area.

The crowd roared.

It was a sea of background noise Morlie had to zone out. She couldn’t think about whether the Lupine gathered were on her side or Minsi’s. Morlie knew she had to keep her focus on the person before her. If she allowed herself to be distracted for a single moment, Minsi would go in for the kill.

The other she-wolf kicked again, but Morlie stepped back and dodged the strike.

Minsi pivoted then kicked high with a roundhouse aimed at Morlie’s head.

Shuffling back again to ensure Minsi didn’t take off her head, Morlie grabbed Minsi’s ankle, hauled the other female forward, and struck out at the outside of Minsi’s knee.

“Aw. Fuck!” Minsi hissed. She limped a little but remained on her feet and threw out punch after punch.

Morlie blocked some and knocked others away as they circled each other. She knew Minsi was swinging out at her from fury. The other she-wolf must have expected Morlie to be an easy mark—not a real threat.

But, Morlie wasn’t and it was evident the knowledge pissed Minsi off.

Morlie wanted to smile. But didn’t.

She could see the flashes of amber in Minsi’s gaze. The other female wanted to shift.

Morlie swung out, miscalculating, and Minsi ducked and punched her in the section of the ribs Morlie stupidly left open. Then Minsi hit her in the face.

Oh, hell. Shit that hurt.

Stunned, Morlie swung out blindly, only to have Minsi grab her and kick her in the shoulder, trying to take her down.

However, Morlie kept her shit together and forced her mind to work through the pain so when Minsi leaned into the back of her neck and wrapped her arm around Morlie’s throat, Morlie bent her knees quick and sprang back up.

Morlie grunted as she lifted Minsi from the ground and somersaulted her over her shoulder.

Minsi hit hard.

She followed her down, straddling Minsi’s upper body and started throwing a barrage of punches at the other female’s face, chest, head wherever she could strike.

Minsi rolled her body, attempting to get away.

Morlie locked her thighs against her opponent’s sides and rolled with her.

They tussled and swung, going blow for blow. One moment Morlie was on top, then Minsi.

Finally, Morlie allowed Minsi to roll them again. Once she was underneath her, she wrapped her legs around Minsi's waist where she’d broken the other she-wolf’s ribs, locked her ankles, and squeezed.

Minsi screamed.

Morlie pressed tighter.

“Fuck! Fuckin’ bitch, get off me,” Minsi growled.

When Minsi arched back, gripped Morlie’s knees, and attempted to force her legs loose, Morlie seized her opportunity.

Shooting her hands up, she grabbed Minsi by the throat with both hands and called forth her wolf enough to extend her claws in and bury them deep into the muscles and tendons at the sides of Minsi’s throat.

The she-wolf’s blood pooled around her fingers.

Minsi gasped and struggled, clutched at Morlie’s arms, and tried to tear her hands away, but Morlie held fast.

“Submit!”

With nails sharp, Minsi scratched at Morlie’s arms, scratching and pulling, struggling to free herself.

Even as searing pain from the shredded skin of her forearms and blood ran down her arms to drip and stain her shirt, Morlie refused to release Minsi. “Submit!” she barked.

Minsi stared down, her nose in an odd angle, and one eye swollen as she locked her one good, narrowed, almond-shaped eye on Morlie.

Morlie felt Minsi’s fierce grip. The other female no longer tried to pull her hands away but seemed to be holding her.

Morlie thought that Minsi would force her to rip out her throat instead of submitting, but as she stared up at the person who had been her enemy for so long, her heart constricted.

She saw the watery amber gaze and realized that Minsi’s war was no longer with Morlie but with herself.

Morlie could clearly see that everything Minsi had thought about herself, all of her identity, had been constructed around being the strongest, fiercest she-wolf, and side-by-side with the Omega Pack Alpha, and now she had to let that idea go willingly.

“Submit, Minsi,” Morlie whispered, but her demand was still finite.

“I submit and recognize you as the claimed-mate of my Alpha.” Minsi’s voice came out rough and garbled, her vocal cords trembling around Morlie’s fingers as Minsi closed her eye and bowed her head.

Minsi’s hair curtained the she-wolf’s battered face.

Morlie held there for a moment, then shifted them to the side and allowed Minsi’s body to drop to the ground before Morlie retracted her nails and pulled her hands away from the other shifter's throat.

She rolled her sore body up until she was standing on her feet. Every fucking thing hurt.

She glanced toward Minsi and saw her slowly getting to her feet. “The Alpha female!”

Morlie stared across the field and saw Faolan still standing at the front line. She gave him a sharp nod of thanks, the gesture also permitting him to assist Minsi.

It didn’t add to Morlie’s victory if Minsi remained at her side, defeated. The other she-wolf was still Pack.

Faolan strutted forward to collect his mate.

Morlie raised her head and pressed her tender shoulders back as she met the gazes of the Pack members gathered in the large crowd.

Even with Minsi’s declaration, the Pack sat still, silent.

Her heart pounded in that moment, afraid that perhaps the Pack was not with her, not in support of her beating one of their finest warriors.

Then they all broke out in roars and chants, and a few people barked in response.

Lovel and Rudie rushed her. Amira moved at a slower pace.

Morlie gritted her teeth, hoping her friends wouldn’t hug her aching body.

“Well done,” Lovel commended her with a steadying touch to Morlie’s elbow.

“Thank you.” Morlie sighed. “I’m ready to go home.”

The shifters began to disperse and get back to their day.

Right before Morlie and her small group left the field, their path was cut off. Rieka stepped before them.

Morlie winced, expecting the extraordinary fighter she-wolf to chide her on all the bruises, cuts, and swelling Morlie had obtained even though Morlie would heal as soon as she had a moment of privacy and shifted into her wolf form. She was still as battered and busted as her opponent.

Conan, being Conan, offered Morlie a kind smile, warmth glowing in his eyes.

Then the firm touch on Morlie’s shoulder drew her gaze from Chanin’s father to his mother.

“Well done, daughter.” Rieka’s gaze glowed with a fierce-amber hue shining with pride.

Daughter? Not son’s mate or Alpha’s mate, but ‘daughter.’ Rieka considered her a daughter. Understanding that bit of knowledge didn’t make Morlie believe she was forgetting her mother or father, but it made her feel as if her family ties had just become stronger.

Morlie had stood there, struck silent for so long that Rieka had already strolled away with Conan's steady, quiet strength at the she-wolf’s side.

Morlie’s body may have felt as if she’d been repeatedly struck by a tree, but her heart felt light.

Then the heat surrounding her core flooded in through the bond, responding to the awestruck joy in her, and made Morlie smile.

Even at this moment, Chanin was with her.