Her Broken Mate 42

Sarah swallowed hard and blinked away more tears. They were outside now, where the pack members gathered in a large field and formed a circle around her.

The challengers stood proud and tall, full of pride that they would win. As her gaze traveled to them, Seth grabbed her chin and pulled her back to look at him.

He clasped the sides of her face and caressed her cheeks. "Shhh... I'll be okay. I promise."

"You swear?"

He nodded, leaned over and kissed her on the corner of the mouth.

Her cheeks heated, but that faded immediately as he pulled away from her.

He gave her one last sad look before his eyes went cold. There was no emotion, no love, no compassion, and no room for anything but the look of death.

It was as if the man she had grown to love no longer existed.

As the murmurs of the pack members increased, she noticed that they seemed surprised that she was crying.

She assumed that this was because they thought that a wolf with a position to rule everything could not cry, that they had no room for feelings.

Well, they were wrong about that.

She tilted her head up, and confidence swelled within her as she stood tall, her strength brimming with confidence in her mate, in herself, and that all would be well.

The pack can watch her cry all they want. Because showing her feelings for her mate is not considered weakness.

She blinked once and resumed her position as Luna.

The murmuring died away when a horn was blown.

Ryan stood next to Emily, lips pressed tightly together with an emotionless look. Emily herself had a blank look.

"Today we have six challenges. Challenges from six other individuals who wish to earn the title of Alpha of the Eternal Moon pack. The following rules apply: no wolf curses, steroids, potions, or other types of cheating to give you an advantage to win. There must be no outside interference in the challenges. If there is, the challenger or the incumbent Alpha will be punished with elimination." Ryan paused and took a deep breath before letting go. "Are there any other challenges, questions or concerns?"

Not a single hand rose.

Ryan nodded once and introduced the first challenger.

His name seemed irrelevant to Sarah, as she did not even hear it. It came out of one ear and out the other, as her attention was more focused on Seth.

His posture was ready and no smile showed on him.

The challenger grinned as Ryan started the countdown.

Three...

two...

One...

And then the growling and banging began.
_ _ _

"Yes, go ALPHA! GOOO!" the pack members cheered and howled.

It has been several hours since the challenges began, and Seth has killed every one of them except for the remaining two.

One of them stood there waiting for his turn. The other was in the stranglehold of Sarah's mate. His face was slowly losing color, and tears stung the edges of his eyes.

Sarah blinked once and turned her head to see a woman holding two puppies against her. The puppies held their mother by the legs and looked at her fearfully.

It was the challenger's mate and puppies.

Seth, who seemed to have read Sarah's mind, loosened his grip on the man.

"Will you surrender?"

The man shook his head, "I would rather die than suffer this humiliation!"

Seth growled loudly, "What about your mate and pups? They are watching you right now. They need you, and I need you. Since you are a pack member, you are family to me. As you saw, the previous challengers refused to submit and I had no choice but to kill them. Whatever you have against me, please let it go. It will hinder your happiness just as it will hinder your family."

The man stopped struggling, dropped, and paused for a moment before exposing his neck to Sarah's mate.

"I submit," he whispered softly.

Seth eased away from the man and held out his hand to him. The man took it and smiled gratefully before walking over to his mate and the pups.

The pack cheered, delighted that their alpha would do such a thing.

As the next challenger entered the ring, a queasy feeling came over Sarah. One that she was not comfortable with and that sent a cold shiver down her spine.

The man was tall and bristling with power. As she looked over at her mate, he too had the dominance of a grown man. His strength was even slightly more powerful and deadly. But because of his current condition, the challenger had a slight advantage.

Her mate was covered in blood, claw marks running down his chest. He was already bleeding profusely, but he was still standing upright.

The challenger grinned and cackled, "You should give up now, Seth. The title will be mine!"

And Sarah had such a feeling...

He was right.
_ _ _

Incredibly, Seth smiled and chuckled softly, "Over my dead body. Either I submit or you kill me. I have no intention of ceding the title or my Luna to someone like you. The pack will not survive under your rule. So enough of this chatter and fight me."

Thunder howled happily at Seth's statement, 'Mmm, after this we should give him a head. He deserves it for treating us so well. Maybe Netflix and chill too?'

Sarah rolled her eyes and concentrated more on the game, Thunder's pleading with thirst was getting to her.

The man with whom Seth was dueling growled loudly and angrily, for Seth's words had full effect on him.

"All right, you bastard. Bring it!"

Three...

two...

One...

And the man moved and grabbed Seth's neck with a growl.

Seth, surprised by the sudden change, quickly dodged as the man hurled at him. It was ridiculous to see an adult man and a slightly smaller wolf compared to an alpha wolf fighting each other.

The fear remained as the fight continued.

Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

In time, both Seth and the man were gasping and blood was oozing from their bodies. It was shocking to see that her mate could hold himself up and still fight despite the blood loss.

At this point, she could barely recognize him.

The man, on the other hand, had multiple wounds on his thigh. His shoulder was dislocated and his eye had a cut across it as half his face was bleeding profusely.

Suddenly, a painful growl escaped Seth.

It happened so fast that not even she could comprehend what was happening.

A petrified scream escaped her as she watched in horror. The man's claws slammed into Seth's chest. Then he kicked Seth's leg in another direction, bending it to an angle where it shouldn't be.

Bones stood out, and tears stung her eyes.

Before the final blow, Seth looked sadly into her eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry, I love you," which left his bloodied lips as the man used his other free hand to knock Seth unconscious.

Sarah watched as the love of her life slowly fell face down to his knees.

A loud thud echoed through the area, the pack was silent.

Her ears rang loudly, her heart beat in a strange rhythm. The howl and whine of thunder drowned out her screams and cries.

Sarah reached for her face, her hands shaking. The ground beneath her was gone as she felt the tears finally flow.

And before she knew it, she found her voice again.

"Get up, Seth! Get up! Get up!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

He didn't move, for his injuries were too great. The bodies of the people Seth had defeated lay beside him, but a victor stood over him.

He waited for them to bow before him.

And that would have to be Sarah, too.