The man nodded. “It looks like you’re going to get your match. But I don’t know how fair it’s going to be.”
Wyatt looked toward the house to find the front door open and Albert standing on the front porch, flanked by a pair of other large men. “Albert doesn’t strike me as the kind of man that believes in fair.”
He strode across the open field as Albert started down the wooden stairs. Around him, he saw hints of people peeking out their windows, and even a few had come out onto the sidewalk. They were keeping their distance, but it was enough to bear witness.
“Albert Cartman, I challenge you!” Wyatt bellowed.
“You have no rights here,” Albert shouted back.
“I invoke the rights of combat set by the North American Council of Elders. You have falsely accused me of murder. You have threatened me and my pack outside your lands. I hold you responsible for the attack on my home and the home of my pack that resulted in the life-threatening injury of my mate.”
Albert had stopped at the edge of his property, seeming hesitant to enter the field and face Wyatt. “You are an outcast. An exile. No pack will have you, faggot!”
“Maybe, but I am still a wolf, and I have the rights of my birth. If you refuse to face me, your pack will see you for the coward you are. A pack is only as strong as its alpha, and you shame your pack for refusing to face me.”
Even from several yards away, Wyatt could see Albert’s face turn bright red. Hell, if it were possible, the man looked as if he’d expire from a heart attack at any second just from his growing rage.
“A fight you brought a vampire to!” Albert shouted, pointing straight at Bel.
“A vampire you attacked first. A vampire you injured. A vampire that is currently holding his clan at bay since you’ve declared war on his kind.”
Bel made a small noise in the back of his throat, and Wyatt knew he was stretching a little bit. Yes, the Variks would love to take a fucking chunk out of Albert, but the declaration of war was a little much.
“I did no such thing!” Albert gasped.
“You ordered an attack on my home during the day!” Bel called. “Did you think a vampire would just laugh that off? That my clan would ignore it?”
Albert swallowed hard enough that Wyatt could hear it. Yeah, the attack on Bel’s house had been a serious miscalculation on his part. Bel had been at his most vulnerable, but Albert hadn’t counted on the mad scientist to be the sneaky fuck that he was. Of course, if Bel hadn’t built in his escape tunnel and stashes of weapons, it’s a very good chance they would have all been dead.
“I challenge you!” Wyatt shouted again.
This time there was a low rumble of conversation around them. He looked at the sidewalks to find that more members of the pack were now standing outside, watching the proceedings. A few people even met his gaze and gave him a little nod. He had a feeling that he wasn’t their first choice for a challenger, but if they had to decide between a gay man and a tyrant, they were going to side with the gay man.
“I will accept your challenge on two conditions. One, the vampire is chained up. He doesn’t belong on our lands, and he can’t be trusted not to interfere with the challenge.”
Wyatt started to take a step forward and bark that Bel had every right to be there after Albert’s attack on their home, but Bel placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
“Accepted,” Bel replied. Wyatt’s head whipped around, and he glared at Bel, who only shrugged at him. “It’s not entirely surprising. And I’m not worried. You’ll win.”
Wyatt could only snarl and give a sharp nod at Albert. He didn’t like it, but if Bel was willing to accept the stipulation, he had no choice.
“And the second condition is that if you lose, the rest of your pack doesn’t leave here alive tonight.”
That Wyatt had expected. Albert couldn’t leave them alive and still save face. No, he’d lost too much now that the truth of his actions had come out.
“So be it.”
The two men standing beside Albert peeled off and crossed the field, heading straight for Bel. The vampire gracefully slipped out of his black wool coat and folded it over before handing it over to River. The younger wolf’s face was completely expressionless while Bel tried to manage a reassuring smile. River knew better than Bel what to expect. Or at least what they should expect.
Of course, when it came to Albert, all rules and sense of honor were thrown out the window.
The vampire somehow managed to look regal as he was escorted over to the whipping post. He lifted his arms above his head and smirked at the two wolves, as if this was a normal bit of evening entertainment for him. Maybe for Bel’s twin, Rafe, but definitely not for Bel. Wyatt had lived with him for more than two months. A normal evening for Bel was several hours bent over his lab table, a pint of blood, and maybe some time stretched out on the couch with a good book while snuggled against River.