"What!?" I ask in disbelief. Kinda finding it hard to believe what I just heard Evelyn accuse me of. I look from her to where Alpha Nate is sitting to see he still has an amused expression on his face as if he's watching a comedy show while struggling to keep a straight face on.
I also badly want to laugh but this is no laughing matter. For Evelyn to blatantly accuse me of murdering my own father, then she must have something up her sleeve that she wants to use as an ace against me. I wonder what her secret weapon is.
Then the Council policeman's voice boomed out like a powerful thunder over me...
"Thor!... Son of Viveka Andersen and Knox Quin. You're under arrest for the murder of your father, Knox Quin, The Alpha of Silver Moon pack. You can choose to follow me in peace or force my hand into taking you down by all means possible!"
My brows shot up in amusement.
I'm a big man with a huge beast myself. Six feet, five inches tall of sinewy muscles. As big as I am, I still find the Council policeman imposing as he stands over me like he wants me to have an idea of what I would be going against if I decide to act crazy.
I look towards Eric, the muscles on his jaw are furiously twitching like he's gnashing his teeth or sharpening his wolf's canines against each other, in readiness to tear and rip apart jugulars. That means he's in a rage. His wolf's eyes, already glowing.
I lay my hand on his arm in order to calm him down. Crazy how I'm the one now calming him down when it has always been the other way round.
"And if I don't?" I slowly stand from my chair and ask the big buffoon before me with a raised eyebrow
"Then I'm gonna have to take you down and drag you by the scruff of your neck till we arrive at the police headquarters!"
My wolf's x-ray eyes are focused on his left ventricle, watching his beating heart while he talks...
"You and whose army?" I ask
Biding my time, I watch as if in slow motion as he raises his beefy arm to strike me but before the hand hits me and I can move to rip his heart out of his chest with my bare hand, Eric moves so fast I don't even see it coming. The next I know, the council policeman crash to the floor in a massive heap, completely dead to the world
"What the fuck man! C'mon! What did you do that for? What did you do to him? Oh my God! Did you kill him!? He's a fucking Council police, Eric!"
He rolls his eyes at my little drama.
"Yes, Thor, he's a Council policeman! A Council policeman that you were about to kill if I hadn't quickly put him to sleep" He replies me accusingly. "What were you thinking!?"
Eric knows me more than anyone. He was probably watching me all the while my wolf's eyes were focused on the oaf's heart. He knew I was about to rip the idiot's heart out, council police be damned.
I shrug and grin
"He said he would drag me by the scruff of my neck! Dumbo was being disrespectful and you know that I'm big on respect." I say and turn to where Evelyn and Justin are sitting
Evelyn is looking at the council policeman who is sprawled on the floor with fear in her eyes while Justin slowly claps his hands at us in false bravado.
"Is this supposed to scare me?" He asks. He's clearly unsettled and I can smell his fear but he's trying so hard to look brave with his cheesy act.
"Eric put him to sleep. I don't expect you to be scared since you're fighting me and not Eric." I say and the fear in his eyes deepened. I can practically hear the gear in his bone head shifting. If Eric can do that to a man as big as that, what will I do to him?
"Do you both understand the law that guides duels?" I ask the mother and son together. "Did you read the section that says:...
'Once a challenge is accepted, if not done already, both parties (known as 'principals') will appoint trusted representatives to act as their seconds with no further direct communication between the principals being allowed, under no circumstances until the dispute is settled.' I read off-hand exactly what the law book says.
This means in layman's language, just in case you both are too dumb to understand that, as soon as a duel day has been picked, you and I can no longer communicate with each other until after the duel, even if the sky is about to fall for real or the sea is about to overtake the earth! We cannot see eye to eye until we fight to the death!" I growl deep in my throat.
It gives me pleasure to watch Evelyn cower away from me. I move closer to them.
"Come tomorrow, brother, you and I are going to be fighting to the death!..." I look directly into Evelyn's eyes. "Guess who's dying tomorrow?" I ask, making her turn white.
She knows her son is no match for me, that the person dying tomorrow will not be me but Justin. My guess is they've already read the law book from the inside out and they certainly know that the stunt they just pulled is a ground for canceling the duel which automatically makes me the winner.
"Smart bastards!" I say and laugh when I'm finally able to figure out their plan.
Justin is too proud a coward to withdraw from the duel himself. So he deliberately broke the law and hoped I would cancel the fight based on that excuse. Even though he knows he won't be the Alpha, it's still a win-win for him as he gets to keep his miserable life and still come out smelling like a rose while I will be seen as the coward that chose the easy way out.
"I know why you're truly here. What you both want me to do but I won't give you that satisfaction. I won't allow you to easily wiggle your way out of this fight. If you want out, then you will have to give up the legal way. Send your seconds to my seconds and let the whole world know you've given up like the coward that I've always known you to be." I finish saying and go back to my seat.
"You heard him, didn't you? You can now leave." Alpha Nate tells them. "I'll take care of this mess on the floor that you brought with you." He indicates with his face towards the sleeping Council police. "Oh, and thanks for stopping by. I'll contact your seconds if I have any message concerning the duel, otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow."
"You are going to regret this, Nate, I promise you that," Evelyn says as they stand up. They walk to the door and we watch as she first ushered Justin out of the door before she slammed it hard behind her.
Eric chuckles
"Did she just usher him out of the door as if he's a pup that needed his Mama's protection?"
Even Mr. 'Stick-up my butts' Beta also looks disgusted by what Evelyn did.
I'll advise my dad to go for a DNA test as soon as all this dies down. My dad is not a warrior but he's never a coward. I proudly smile to myself when his fight with my uncle and how he refused to give up despite his injuries flashed through my mind. I remember the respect on my uncle's face when he talked about how my father would rather die than call for backup. I might have my mother's Viking blood running through my vein. I am my father's son through and through.
"I can't wait for the duel tomorrow. For Evelyn to be put in her place and for things to come back to normal around here." Alpha Nate says and reaches for the phone on his desk...
"Yes, this is Nate Carter. Alpha of the Night Howlers pack.
I have a Council police officer here who came to carry out an illegal arrest on my land..." He says into the phone and listens to what the person he called is asking him
"Thor Quin... Yes, one of the principals of tomorrow's duel."
"Right now, he's sleeping off the effect of a steel blow to his solar plexus... No, I would rather you send a witch to pick him up. It's faster that way."
Alpha Nate put the phone back on his desk and looked toward us after he was done talking.
"I'm sorry about all these" He points to the floor... So before we start, what should I offer you?" He asks us
"Oh I'm fine, Alpha, thank you for asking." A soft voice startled us from the chair Evelyn and Justine just vacated
"What the fuck!" Eric swears under his breath.
We look towards where the voice comes from and see a beautiful woman, sitting with a leg crossed over the other.
"Hey, wolves... Somebody ordered for a witch?" She grins widely at us. "Sorry, where are my manners?" She says again and immediately stands, walking with her hands outstretched to us.
"Hi, I'm Lilly the witch." She shakes my hand firmly before directing her gaze towards Eric.
Her eyes light up with recognition
"Hey, you..." She says. Instead of shaking his hand, she moves closer as if they're a bout to be intimate with each other to sniff him deeply
"Where have you been all these years?" She asks