SafeHaven Page 2

  “Sean, is that normal for that shit to happen? Or is it worse?”

  He nodded. “Yes, sometimes it is even worse. The obnoxious ones cause issues and the alpha has to take care of it.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to take that shit.”

  There was yelling from behind me. I could Sophia’s raised voice.

  There was the sound of hurried footsteps behind me and a few moments later, Tia spoke quickly, “Max, we need you. A rival pack has shown up and has started a ruckus over there. The alpha has come to challenge Sophia for her pack.”

  I immediately stood up and turned to her. “What the fuck do you mean another pack? If that was the case, then it should’ve been brought to my attention immediately!”

  Tia didn’t miss a beat and replied, “Yes, I told Sophia that as well. She made a mistake and let them in, thinking they would just move on after they rested for a while.”

  Sean voiced his concern, “Whose pack is it? Do you know?”

  Tia shrugged. “I’m not sure of the alpha’s name but I believe they are called The Crimson Nightstalkers.”

  There were gasps behind me. I turned around.

  Marie hissed, “That pack is bad news, their alpha and betas rape and beat their women. We need to get this problem fixed in a hurry before an all-out brawl happens.”

  I shook my head and turned to Tia. “What was Soph’s answer to the challenge?”

  Tia grinned and responded, “She said it wasn’t her pack anymore. The males in her pack got upset and asked who the leader is now. She named you as her mate and the alpha. Now, everyone is focused on you.”

  I sighed and closed my eyes at this revelation. “And what was the other alpha’s reply?”

  “He asked where you were and all hell broke loose. Sophia and her female betas got up in his face, then told them to leave. The bastard laughed and told them they were staying.”

  “Okay, go back and see that the situation doesn’t get out of hand if you can.”

  She nodded and left. I could hear the constant arguing but didn’t react to it. Not yet. I went back over and sat down, then gestured for everyone else to sit as well. I had a feeling that my presence would be needed in a few minutes.

  “Max, what’s your plan?” Sean asked while looking over my shoulder.

  “I’m sure the alpha will come and announce his intentions soon.”

  We went back to talking and waited to see if anything would happen. It didn’t take long for the assholes to show up.

  ‘Max, you have incoming, stupid fuckers coming your way,’ Herc advised.

  ‘How many?’

  ‘Six,’ Reap replied.

  ‘I probably have a good idea, but why are they doing this?’

  ‘Probably because you took over the pack,’ Herc snickered.

  ‘Pack bullshit is what it is. Let’s see what nonsense these fools say, I don’t know why she gave me the pack anyway. I’m not going to take any shit, just pound the fuckers with my fist.’

  ‘Go kick some ass and take some names,’ Reap chuckled.

  This is seriously fucked up.

  I heard footsteps behind me again and turned to find eleven males headed my way.

  ‘I thought you said there were six.’

  ‘He picked up five more on the way.’ Herc cackled.

  I just turned back around and stared into the fire, waiting to be called upon. They finally came up behind me. I sensed those seated around my fire tense up.

  “Maximus, whoever you are, get your ass up and face me. We need to talk. Well, I’m gonna talk and you listen,” some jackass popped off and his little group laughed. Seriously? I really didn’t need to talk to any of these motherfuckers from the other pack. I just yawned and moved the wood around to get the fire nice and hot. I grinned, thinking that one of these shit heads might be in it shortly.

  “Where are you, Maxy? You need to get up, or I’m about to go kill those green fuckers you brought with you.”

  I finally turned around to see the idiot who was calling me out. He was big, about 6'5”, well built, but I had six inches on the fucker, and I was bigger. His followers ranged from 5'10” to 6’1” and they were stout looking.

  I also saw Tia and Sophia in the background with her betas. I started talking telepathically through my link with Reap.

  ‘What the fuck is going on, Sophia?’

  ‘He’s from another pack that showed up while we were traveling. They are rivals, and bastards. The asshole won’t accept that I have chosen you as our alpha and my mate,’ she replied.

  ‘Oh yeah? You should’ve come to me when this fuckhead showed up. These people are my responsibility now and you’re fucking with it. What the fuck does he want?’

  “He wants the pack and me. He challenged me for leadership of both packs, but I declined, advising you are the alpha and since I bequeathed it to you, he is going to challenge you.’

  ‘Seriously?’

  ‘Yes babe, I’m sorry but he needs to be put in his place.’

  ‘So, I’m the one to fight him? You set this up, didn’t you?’ I replied, my anger rising that she put me in this position.

  She didn’t answer at first, but relented, ‘Yes. I’m sorry.’

  Shaking that off, I popped my back and neck, then stood up and towered over the bastards that had come to my fire. The smaller ones backed up, eyes wide with fear, but the big one just stood there defiant.

  “What is it you think I need to talk to you about?”

  “My pack just got settled down for the evening but we need some things taken care of. My boys want to fight some of those green assholes to take out some of the adrenaline we worked up today. Also, we need to borrow your bitches for some entertainment afterward,” Big Boy said.

  I looked back at the ladies around the fires who were staring big eyed at this asshole and just laughed.

  “No deal. Go on back to your side of the field and get lost.”

  “I hear you’re the alpha of the Berenger pack, newly taken over. Well, that was a short leadership for you because it’s mine now, and everyone in it. I just wanted you to know so we could clear the air,” the alpha of the Crimson Nightstalkers advised.

  “Hmm, I think you’ve made a couple of mistakes while you were clearing the air.”

  Big Boy replied, “Yeah? What are they?”

  I smiled. “You will not get the pack and definitely not the women.”

  “And who’s going to stop me? You? The pussies behind you or the wimps all around you?”

  He and his cronies laughed hard at that comment.

  “Is your whole pack here?”

  “Yeah,” he said, still laughing.

  Hmm… I’m going to wipe the grin off that motherfucking face.

  “How many are in your pack?”

  “One hundred fifty give or take,” he replied with a shrug.

  “Okay, I’m not familiar with pack challenges, but winner takes all, correct?”

  He nodded. “You’re going to challenge me, whelp? That would make an excellent end to this glorious day. I accept your challenge.”

  I grinned and amended my challenge. “Are these your betas?”

  He nodded and I continued, “Well I will challenge them first, all ten of them, then you last. Is it submit or death?”

  “Death.”

  His whole group laughed at me. My group didn’t react at all; they knew I was about to whoop some ass. I was fucking pissed and was about to lose my shit. I followed them out to the field, waiting for the idiots to choose what order they were going in. Taking some deep calming breaths, I exhaled and needed to calm down before I fuckin shifted.

  I heard Soph’s voice in the back of my mind, ‘Max, forgive me for putting you into this situation. After this, would you please let us explain what happened today, and to try to fix this fuckup?’

  ‘We’ll see, I’m not making any promises.’

  Reap cackled. ‘Damn, Max, you just can’t go anywhere without drama. I mean shit,
you just challenged eleven wolves to the death.

  ‘Whatever. Do you think I can shift into a wolf?’

  ‘Possibly, only one way to find out,’ Reap advised.

  Sigmus responded, ‘Yes, you’re already linked to the she-wolf, so technically your magic will work if you want that shape.’

  I focused on my opponents. Then took my shirt off, threw it to Gordon, and looked at the massive crowd around us. It seemed that everyone was going to be entertained tonight, and I was the main event. The people had different emotions on their faces: fear, worry, anxiety, excitement, and love.

  Taking a deep breath, I stepped to meet fuckhead in the middle.

  “Rules?” I asked.

  He scoffed, “There are no rules; anything goes.”

  I nodded and took my place in the circle that was hastily made and waited for the signal to start.

  ***

  Sophia was worried. She had set up this situation hoping Max would take care of it, but not like this. She had heard about the abusive and torturous way that the alpha of the Crimson Nightstalkers ruled over his pack. All the females were abused and most of the time raped. When they showed up, she didn’t think about going to get Max and let him know what she wanted to do. She had Tia with her and wasn’t thinking straight. She wanted to take this fucker down and Max was the one to do it. But Sophia couldn’t believe he challenged all of them.

  Tia came up and spoke to her, “What’s the verdict? How much shit are we in? Fuck, I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

  “I tried to talk to him, but he’s ready for the challenge. He will talk to us afterwards.”

  “He better or we’re going to have problems, wolf,” Tia hissed at the she-wolf as the challenge was about to begin.

  The duo watched for a few moments before Tia calmly said, “I was happy until you came along. I should have been with him today. Instead I was with you just because you had it in your head we need to talk about the future… Let me make this very clear, wolf. I don’t care for your status, that you’re an alpha female. If you don’t make this right, I will disappear from your sight, and when you least expect it, I will kidnap you. At that point, I will torture you slowly, handcuff you with silver so your body won’t heal, and then slice your skin off sections at a time. I will keep you alive for that amount of time and then I will cut off your arms, then take the legs, and let you bleed out. Each time, I will let you know what you made me lose. Do I make myself clear?”

  Sophia gulped and knew the elf was telling the truth.

  “Yes, I will even let you take me. There’s no life for me without Max.”

  The elf shook her head in anger. Max stepped into the circle. Sophia’s heart skipped a beat. He was so good looking, and she thought, ‘Why the hell didn’t she just tell him about this whole situation?’

  Max took his stance, waiting for the signal to start. Sean yelled, “BEGIN!” And the match started, the beta shifted and immediately jumped towards Max. Max sidestepped out of the way and caught the wolf by its throat. He slammed the wolf down to the ground and punched it in the skull three times. The wolf collapsed, unconscious, and Max took advantage. He pulled one of his daggers out and cut its head off. It was brutal. Blood spewed everywhere. People were stunned and some in awe. He went to the edge of the circle then threw the head over in the direction of the other Nightstalkers and waited for the next foe. There were comments all over the camp.

  “Damn, he’s a badass.”

  “He sure is.”

  “That was sick.”

  “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  He carved through the first half, literally. There were heads everywhere. At the sixth foe, something changed in Max. He shifted, not into his regular form, but into a werewolf and it was huge. He was about ten feet from head to tail, five feet tall when on all fours, with muscles everywhere. He turned to the sky and howled.

  “Holy shit! Since when can he turn into a wolf?” Felicity asked.

  “Now, apparently. Who cares? My wolf and I are panting at the moment,” Sam, her fellow pack mate, replied.

  “I’m right there with you,” Nancy responded with eyes full of lust.

  ***

  I was covered in blood and gore but had only gotten halfway through the betas when my beast decided it was time to see if I could turn into a werewolf.

  I concentrated on what I wanted to shift to. I could feel my magic coursing through my veins, and finally my body shifted. It didn’t hurt as much as when I changed into my regular form, but it didn’t feel great either. When I got my bearings, I could see the fear in my opponent’s eyes, so I knew he was going to do something idiotic. It was moments before he tried to bull rush me. How stupid can this prick be? Can’t he see I’m way bigger than him? I jumped over the idiot and grabbed him by the tail to stop him. He yelped when I picked him up by his back legs and slammed him on the ground numerous times. He was a bloody mess when I got done with him. The bastard was groaning and whimpering, but I didn’t care, knowing what these pricks did to the women they took. Rape, maim, torture, and slavery. I knew right off when that bastard came to ask for the women in my camp.

  This alpha and his betas were filth and full of evil intentions. That was okay. I would fulfill my intentions for their pack. I walked over and knew my claws were sharp when I extended them, so I made them thicker to not hinder my paws. I pulled back my right paw and swiped at his neck. His head rolled off his shoulders, blood gushing out, and then I walked back to my position.

  “Next victim,” I growled out.

  I noticed everyone around us was quiet, except for the other challenged. I could smell the fear coming off of the betas like a perfume. It was exhilarating, and when I looked over at the alpha, I could see he was furious with a hint of fear too. One by one the alpha shoved his betas in, hoping that one of them would defeat me. Each time one came in, they didn’t come out. His anger was palpable, and I just chuckled at him, which made it worse. The last beta came into the circle of death I suppose some would say, pleading for his life. He actually tried to leave the circle, but the alpha grabbed him by the neck, and ripped out his throat. Damn, I guess the prick was angry. That was good. It would make him stupid. He stepped into the circle and faked his bravado to his pack. I could tell he didn’t want to fight me, but he couldn’t get out of it now.

  “Don’t worry my children, I will defeat this prick, then we will celebrate our victory!” he bellowed. No one replied or said anything to him.

  It was kind of hard to talk when I was a wolf, but it was cool because I could growl it out.

  “Are you so sure about that? By the way, I don’t even know your name, seems like a lost cause now, but I will make one up for you. How about, lost cause, or dingle berry, maybe ass hat? No, I know. Shithead will be your name, because when I’m done with you, I will take your head and run it through all the feces your betas left on the ground when they shat themselves.”

  ‘HAHA that would be hilarious!’ Herc bellowed.

  ‘That would be wrong on so many levels. Get him Max!’ Reap encouraged.

  Shithead laughed. “Just because you can change into a wolf means nothing. I have defeated numerous pussies like yourself and took their women. I will see to your women tonight, after I feast on your blood.”

  A deep laugh sprang from my throat, which confused the prick.

  “Your mouth just shits out words, and I wonder if you even considered listening to some of them. You have no idea how to lead your pack. They are only with you out of fear, not pride, nor love of the pack, just plain terror. I will give you an example: none of them spoke out when I killed every one of your betas. I take it these fuckers were part of your firm grasp on your pack. A real alpha wouldn’t have let me kill those wolves first. They would’ve been first in to let everyone know he was taking care of them. That’s not what happened though. You let ten of your pack die because of your fear of getting in this circle with me.”

  “I am not afraid
of you, asshole, and I care not for your theories. Let’s finish this, so I can celebrate with Sophia there,” he said smugly.

  I glanced over at her and saw fear in her eyes but turned back to the shithead to respond.

  “I will give you one last chance to back away, and leave. If you do, I will take over your pack, but you will live. If you shift, there will be no mercy for you, and I will rip your body apart.”

  The shithead laughed. “I will take my chances.”

  I nodded and yelled out, “Those of you who are squeamish, you need to leave. This won’t be pretty.”

  It was funny, none of them left, so I guess they wanted a show. They were going to get a bloody one.

  ***

  Sophia and the others were spellbound by the way Max took out the other pack’s betas. It didn’t even look like it was hard for him either. That man was strong as hell. He gave an out for the alpha to take, but the idiot wouldn’t take it. Instead he would get what he deserved.

  “Do you think he will drag it out or end it quickly?” Sean asked with hesitation.

  “Hopefully, quickly. There’s been too much blood spilled as it is,” Sam said.

  “It will be quick, but he won’t let him die, until he wants him to,” Tia responded.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I can tell by the look in his eyes, there is a lot of anger there.”

  The alpha shifted, he was big, but not big enough. He came at Max with a fierce attitude to try and end it quickly, but Max just batted him away. The alpha would try and get into a brawl with him, but Max kept him back. The alpha was frustrated, and tried to swipe his claws across Max’s neck, but Max leaned out of the way. Then, Max just sat there for a few moments and shifted to his regular form. The shift was quick, he stood up on his hind legs like he normally did and roared.

  ***

  I felt great in my normal form. As I let out a roar I saw the terror in the alpha’s eyes. His pack looked shocked, and just sat there staring at me. I walked over to the Crimson alpha, but he was trying to get away from me, out of the crowded area. I was faster though, and caught him as he was about to jump. I wrapped my paws around the fucker’s throat and squeezed. His eyes bulged out. He was able to gasp out, “W-w-w-hat a-a-re y-youuu?”