Werewolf Dreams (24 page)

Ava looked back and forth between the men with a frown.
“Um, actually, let’s lay the blame where it belongs. With Ben. He’s the one who hurt me Dad. He and your father stood surrounded by hybrids this morning and were getting ready to shoot me out of a tree. They’re psychopaths. Cyrus saved me Dad. Don’t be mad at him,” she begged softly, reaching out to hold his arm.

Harry
turned and stared at Titus, his face now turned to hard stone. “Cyrus, I’d like to stand in your place as challenger. I’m my father’s son and I claim the right to take my father’s place. After I win the challenge, I will of course abdicate to you.
Maybe
,” he said thoughtfully.

“
Dad!
You can’t be serious. You’re so much older than Ben. You could get hurt. Dad, it’s okay. Cyrus can beat that idiot single handedly,” she said proudly.

Harry shook his head.
“Ava, there has to be justice. My father is an evil twisted man, and I should have stopped him years ago. Instead I decided to leave this life. And so many people have suffered because of it. No Ava, this is for me to do. And besides, no one kicks my daughter in the ribs, and lives,” he said.

Ava closed her eyes and sighed, but when she opened her eyes, they were clear. She hugged her father one last time and nodded.
“I love you Dad but
please
be careful,” she said softly, praying he wouldn’t die.

Cyrus nodded and put his arm around Ava’s shoulder.
“I respectfully step aside and give you my full support,” he said with dignity and a little relief.

Tobias slapped Harry on the shoulder as he walked down the line of men.
The news of the new challenger spread through the crowds like fire and pretty soon a deafening cheer could be heard going up around the park. News of Harry’s decision made its way to Titus and his head reared back in surprise as he turned to stare at his son. Harry must have felt the weight of the stare because he turned slowly to face his father. As he stared at his father, he started to walk to the center of the circle and held up his hands.

“This man,” he shouted, pointing to Titus, “This man must be stopped.
He must be stopped and he must be stopped
today
.”

Harry turned around in a circle holding his hands in the air to get everyone’s attention.
As the park fell silent he stripped off his shirt, showing off his powerful shoulders and ripped muscles. “I am the rightful heir to my father and I demand the right to challenge him to be ruler of our people!” he shouted again, turning to point to his father. “I challenge you Titus Paskell,” he shouted, sounding furious and deadly.

Ava felt her heart speed up as she gripped her hands together tightly.
Her father was a scientist. He taught college kids about genetics. What did he know about fighting?

Cyrus leaned down and rubbed his cheek against hers gently.
“Trust your father Ava. My dad used to always tell us stories about how your dad could beat anyone in a fight when they were kids. He’ll be just fine. I promise. That and he’s so furious he could probably take on the whole town right now,” he said, sounding sure.

Ava looked up at Cyrus and nodded her head as he p
ulled her back against his him and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned her head back against his chest and prayed he was right.

Titus strolled out to the middle of the circle and smiled jovially at everyone as he waved at a few people.
“My son
the defector
wants to challenge me to lead the people he forsake twenty years ago! Do you really want a man leading you who is
ashamed
of you? Do you really trust a man to lead this people who himself can’t be trusted? It’s a travesty that he’s standing here in front of you today. It’s a disgrace is what it is. He even brought a halfblooded daughter into our midst causing havoc and pain. He should be ashamed of himself. I’m embarrassed to call this man my son!” he yelled, turning in a slow circle.

Ava felt the murmurs rise up through the crowd and frowned, feeling nauseous.
Titus was doing his best at character assassination. And he was doing a good job.

Harry held his hands up to speak.
“I didn’t leave this town. I left my father. After watching him stand by while an innocent girl was forced into a union with a violent man she didn’t love I knew I couldn’t be here anymore. I couldn’t watch a man so cruel and so lacking in morals lead this town into ruin. I loved it too much. No my friends. The time has come to end his tyranny now! Today! This man ordered the death of Zoe because she was following the orders of his own man. Your leader has been creating hybrids. He was the one who caused the death of all those innocent people at the lake. He was the one who ordered the hybrids to kill his own granddaughter this very morning! I will not stand for it. Will you?” he shouted, raising his fist in the air as his voice rang out strong, hard and true.

The
crowd roared back their disgust and anger and turned on Titus. Titus stared at the crowd and knew he had lost them. He grinned and shook his head. “I’ve had to be tough and I’ve had to be hard. I’ve made the right choices to keep our people safe. But it’s not my job to convince you. It’s my job to lead you. I accept Harry’s challenge and I have chosen Ben to stand as my champion,” he shouted to the crowd and then walked back to Ben’s side.

Ava watched as Ben stared over the crowd anxiously.
He whispered something in Titus’s ear to which Titus looked furious. Titus motioned for Ben to take his place in the center of the circle and when he didn’t move fast enough to please him, pushed him hard in the back, making him stumble as he walked toward Harry.

Harry glared at Ben as if he were lower than dirt.
“You’re the one who broke my daughter’s ribs,” he said with a growl.

Ben glanced at her and she shivered in response.
Cyrus leaned down and kissed her temple and rubbed her cold arms.

“Can anyone really trust anything a woman says?” he said with a grin on his face right before Harry let his fist fly right into Ben’s mouth.

Ben went flying and fell back on the ground, holding his mouth with his hand. He slowly got up, no longer smiling and spit out a tooth. “You’re going to regret that old man. You’re right. I did kick your daughter in the ribs. I remember the crunching sound my foot made each time I kicked her rib cage. I’m actually looking forward to finishing the job when I’m done with you,” he said with a smirk. “That is, if I don’t get sidetracked. I have to admit, she’s a cute little thing. I deserve to have a little fun before cleaning up your blood line,” he said with a leer toward her.

Cyrus growled low in his throat and Ava could tell he was holding himself back from attacking Ben
himself. Harry stared coolly at Ben and shook his head. “You’re pathetic and a joke. Let’s get started. I’m ready to see your blood on the ground now.”

Harry nodded his head turned and walked fifteen paces away from Ben.
Ben did the same. They both turned and faced each other again, staring at each other before they started running. A few feet before they ran into each other, they changed into wolf form and attacked each other midair.

Ava gasped and covered her mouth with her hands as she saw Ben now a powerful gray and black wolf, repeatedly bite her father’s throat, trying to drag him to the ground.
Her father who was now a beautiful sleek brown wolf was bigger than Ben but he was older. His reflexes were a little slower too and it was obvious he wasn’t used to fighting. But he had fury and determination on his side and he refused to be brought into submission.

Ava moaned as she saw Ben bite the snout of her father and she had to turn away and hide her face in Cyrus’s chest.
He smoothed her hair down with his hand and leaned down to talk in her ear. “It’s okay Ava. It looks bad, but your dad’s tough and strong. He’s holding his own,” he promised.

Ava nodded her head and flinched as the crowd around her yelled encouragement or groaned after a particularly vicious bite.
She allowed Cyrus to turn her back to watch the fight and was surprised to see that Ben was limping now and favoring his right paw. Her father had streaks of blood on his neck and muzzle, but he was standing proud as he stalked Ben.

She reached up and grabbed Cyrus’s hands, squeezing them in fear.
She just wanted this to be over. She bit her lip as her father leaped on Ben and they went rolling. She heard a high pitched whining sound but couldn’t tell which wolf it had come from. As the wolves came to a stop in the grass, her father was the wolf on top, holding Ben down by his throat on the ground.

The high pitched whining sound grew louder and louder until Tobias stepped forward and raised his hands high in the air.
“We have a winner! Harry Paskell has won!” he shouted for everyone to hear.

Ava stared wide eyed as the crowd erupted in a roar, shouting, screaming and jumping up and down.
Cyrus leaned down and kissed her cheek. “See, everything’s . . .,” he said and then paused as he stared at something. Ava followed his gaze and watched as Titus walked toward the two wolves. In his hand was a long black, deadly looking machete.

Ava’s mouth dropped open.
“What is he planning on doing with that?” she asked in a shaky voice.

Cyrus glared at Titus and shook his head in disgust.
“It’s an old custom.
One no one follows anymore
. In the olden days, if the challenger lost, he’d be beheaded. That kept challenges down and meant the leader didn’t have to fight every week to keep his spot. I haven’t heard of a beheading in over a hundred years,” he said and then pulled away from Ava. “You stay here. I’m going out there. This can’t be allowed to happen,” he said, rushing forward.

Ava stepped back
to stand by Yvonne and Patricia and hugged her arms. “Please tell me I’m not going to see a beheading right now,” she begged.

Yvonne’s face had turned green and Patricia looked horrified.
“Oh please no,” Patricia whispered.

Kurt and Big Red followed Cyrus out to the center of the grass.
Her dad had let go of Ben’s throat and had already changed back into his human form. He looked tired, bloody and furious as he held up his hand and pointed at his father.

“This is why you were challenged and this is why I won.
Because men like you should never be allowed to rule over people. Your thirst for power and violence and blood will never stop. My first action as your leader is to banish you forever,” he shouted, spitting on the ground in front of Titus.

Tobias nodded in agreement and pointed to the injured and still wolf
lying on the grass. “There will be no beheadings here today Titus. Put your machete down and leave now,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring the older man down.

Titus waved the machete in the air for everyone to see.
“Our ways are not the world’s ways. It is our custom to kill the loser. Everyone knows that. If you change this, what else are you going to change?” he demanded, sneering at Harry.

Harry shook his head in disgust.
“I’ll start with everything,” he promised.

The crowd roared
its approval and shouts of ‘
Leave Titus’
raced through the crowd, bringing the noise to a deafening level. Titus stared angrily at the crowd and lowered the machete a few inches.

“Is this how I’m to be treated after devoting my life to you?
Is this the respect I deserve?” he shouted, turning in a circle, his face turning red with anger.

Harry held his hand up for silence and answered for the crowd.
“Yes. This is all the respect you deserve. Now put the machete down and leave. Do I have any volunteers to escort Titus from our lands?” he shouted to the crowd.

Five huge men walked forward and surrounded Titus.
He looked in trepidation at the merciless faces surrounding him and lowered his arm. Just when Ava began to relax, she screamed as she saw Titus, quicker than she thought possible take the machete and fling it through the air at her father who had turned his back. Ava and the crowd screamed out a warning. As Harry turned his head in surprise, Cyrus dove through the air, changing into a wolf seamlessly. He blocked the machete with his body and took the full impact of the steel blade in his side, howling in pain as he came crashing to the ground.

Ava screamed in agony as if the machete had pierced her own side.
She tore through the crowd and ran to Cyrus’s side, pushing everyone out of her way. He looked up at her and whined as his father and mother knelt down beside her. Tobias took the machete and gently pulled it out of his son’s side as Patricia took a clean t-shirt someone had handed her and immediately tried stopping the flow of blood.

“We have to get
him to the house right now,” Ava said, her voice breaking as tears ran down her cheeks.

Ava smoothed the fur on Cyrus’s face and leaned down to kiss his beautiful head.
“You saved my father’s life. I love you,” she whispered for him alone to hear. His eyes glowed warmly at her as he laid his head down, closing his eyes in pain as he continued to pant and whine softly.

Harry stood above them watching and then looked at Titus.
“Tear him apart,” he ordered in a deadly furious voice.