Chapter 468
I nodded once. “Nice to officially meet you, Gamma Corzone.”
Brandon spun. “You will second her? In what? A fake fight?” He spun again to face me. “You are a stupid bitch, do you know that? I was giving you a chance to back down gracefully. I am the next Alpha of this pack. Do you not understand that everyone wants me? That you were lucky to even catch my eye.”
Vince winced, but I laughed. I raised my pointer finger. “Let’s clear some things up. Okay? A cath neart is a battle of strength, usually invoked between soldiers or by guards trying to move up in ranks. It is a battle of abilities to show the pack who is stronger, or in other words, who reigns supreme. A fitting battle between two alphas so that one doesn’t end up dead. Which is exactly what your father is begging me to avoid, because even he knows I will beat you. Second,” I raised my middle finger, “a second in this battle is to watch over the fight and intervene if they see any cheating or dubious interventions from the other person, like poisoning, or going for a kill shot when the battle is just to surrender.” I raised my third finger. “I am a bitch, but I am also a bitch that respects the rituals our ancestors put in place, and our packs still follow. I don’t insult them by ignoring their rites that they dedicated themselves to.” I tilted my head. “And I don’t know why you think I would want another chance. For goddess’ sake, YOU ARE NOT A CATCH!” I lost control of my anger. “You are a tiny, pathetic whelp of a child who plays pretend as a man. You don’t respect your pack, your bonds, your traditions, your goddess. You have no fucking idea how a pack works. You think you are the next goddess-blessed wolf, but in reality, you are a calamity to everything that would make a strong pack. You are a weak male, weak alpha, weak leader. You are just fucking weak.”
He lunged for me, but I just laughed as Vince caught him. “Let me go!” he screamed, trying to lunge again. “I will kill you.”
The guards stilled. Vince felt the tension in the room skyrocket. He leaned in to Brandon. “She has invoked a cath neart. You cannot attack her outside the ring. That would be disgraceful. And, like she just said, any action taken to kill her during the match will automatically activate her second.” Vince looked back at Corzone.
Brandon followed his father and realized who was looming behind him. “Corzone… why would you agree to be her second?”
The man smiled. “I offered. She didn’t even have to ask.” He smirked, and I saw everyone tense. “Why?” Brandon growled.
“Because she knows our ways. She respects our way of life. She advocated for female guards in her father’s pack and she has trained with us every week since she turned twelve.” Corzone looked at me. “I have kept track of the female alpha who treats everyone with respect for most of my career and did my best to follow her lead and treat everyone in my ranks with respect, regardless of rank. But even without all of that…” I could feel the intensity of his gaze as he turned to look at Brandon. “She was helping with the pups, and she took her time with my pup. Even sick, he came home excited that he got to spend time with the beautiful alpha that taught him the rites of the soldiers. Carson came home for the first time in years, excited to grow up. He believed, for the first time, that he would grow up. And there is nothing in this world that I want more.” He turned back to me. “You made him believe that he would survive, and I pray to the goddess every day that you are right.” Corzone bowed at his waist, showing his devotion.
I nodded to him. I could see the glare that both Brandon and Vince were giving him, but the other guards stepped up behind him. “Then I guess it’s time.” I grabbed my bag again and hefted it onto my shoulder.
“Time for what?” Brandon snapped.
Vince sighed, then nodded. “Let’s go to the ring.” He turned, but Brandon grabbed him.
“What’s going on?”
Vince wrenched his arm away. “You opened your mouth, and now you get your way. Amy is going to leave, and she will do it by going through you.” Vince pointed out the window. “Get your ass to the training ring so we can get this over with.”
Brandon laughed. “I already beat her ass this morning. What the fuck is she going to do?”
Vince laughed, but it was empty. “She’s right. You are stupid.” He grabbed his son and pulled him from the office. “Ten minutes, Amy.” Then they were gone.