Forty.
The age when you are considered too old to be single.
Especially if you are a werewolf.
Disastrous, if you are the alpha of one of the three strongest wolf packs that ruled the southern world.
Kendrick Hayes, alpha of the Black Blades was a living disaster.
That was the magic and power of finding your other half. When a wolf mated with his partner, she completed him and their combined strength made both the halves of the relationship, indestructible. Especially if you were an alpha.
When an alpha mated, his entire pack drew from the strength of this union. Not only the alpha and his mate, but also the other wolves became more resilient, stronger. Which is why the mating of the alpha was a five—day long celebration that was holy to the wolves.
With every passing year Kendrick was losing some of his strength and so was his pack. While together they were still reckoned as one of the strongest wolf packs, everybody knew the truth. If Kendrick did not mate soon, it would be over for Black Blades.
Kendrick was frustrated at not having found his mate yet. He dated a lot of women. Through his twenties and thirties, he had garnered quite the reputation for being the playboy. He was notorious for leaving a string of broken hearts. No woman; human or werewolf could resist the temptation of his sculpted body and deep black eyes.
If he did not find a mate by the next full moon; he was tempted to ask Corina. She was the daughter of the Celdric Wolves. She was on the other side of thirty, fairly gorgeous and she made him feel 'warm'. If the imprint was not going to happen anytime soon, for the sake of his pack he would try and explore a bonding with Corina.
Even as he had the thought, he felt something uncomfortable in his chest. Like he was about to make a wrong move. Yeah, yeah, he told the wolf within him. Not everything was designed to be aggressively spectacular.
He frowned at the fading sunset. Small streaks of crimson ran across a burnt orange sky. Soon the blue of the night would swallow all the warmth. The moon was already rising in the sky. It's perfectly round edges looked polished to shine on the fight tonight.
Everybody was excited about tonight's fight. It was a chance for the wolves of the south to check the validity of the rumors. If they were to be believed, then Kendrick Hayes had lost his strength and would lose his title as the champion. A title that he had earned every month for the past five years.
If Kendrick lost tonight, the Black Blades would suffer a terrible blow.
"Are you sure about tonight?" Dario echoed Kendrick's thoughts as he walked into the office.
"What if I am not?" Kendrick looked away from the window and turned to face Dario. "Will we back out of the fight tonight?"
"Damon is fighting too," Dario reminded him.
"Damon is good." Kendrick sucked on his cheeks and nodded. "But he is still the beta. If he wins, it adds to our glory. If he loses, our glory still remains intact because the alpha is expected to win."
"Can you win though?" Dario challenged. Trust Dario to give it as it is. Kendrick looked at him and shoved his hands into his pockets.
How confident was he of winning tonight?
The full moon fights had only one rule –an alpha must fight an alpha. There could be only one winner. And the winner and his pack earned the title of the champions for that month. Being a champion gave you special privileges.
Wherever you went, you got preferential treatment. In any dispute, the champions had the chance to be heard first. Every wolf from the champion pack also got a part of the reward money. For the past five years the Black Blades had become rich and popular by winning fight after fight.
Would the streak continue tonight?
He was challenged by Sheldon Rainbow of the Storm Breakers. Sheldon was almost the same age as he. Give and take a couple of years. He was lean, muscular and had no mercy. He was also almost as rich and powerful as Kendrick Hayes. Which made him a very formidable opponent. For years Sheldon Rainbow had wanted only one thing; to defeat Kendrick Hayes. It was not about power or money.
It was about pride.
Kendrick had trampled on Sheldon's pride by winning Thornton Institute of Medical Sciences in a fight. It was the biggest, most popular hospital in Tevaki. Ever since then, Sheldon had struggled to regain ownership and control of the hospital. The medical industry made a lot of money and Sheldon had innovative methods to encash it.
"You are the only alpha without a mate," Dario pointed out again.
"I hadn't noticed," Kendrick smirked sarcastically.
"Kendrick," Dario looked at him seriously. "We are already the center of gossip. Everybody can see that you have not imprinted. Every wolf alive knows what that means; you are growing weaker. They are all gathering tonight to see just how weak you are. To top it all you are fighting Sheldon. Maybe it makes sense for us to …"
"To what?" Kendrick challenged. "Give up? Lose our pride? How weak do you think I am?"
"I don't know!" Dario threw his hands in the air. "We have been testing you regularly and you've seen the report yourself. You are not as strong as you were last month. Does that mean you are still strong enough to defeat Sheldon? I really don't know."
"If I am crushed tonight," Kendrick looked straight at Dario, "kill me. Make Damon the new alpha. Protect the Black Blades."
"Because living like a defeated alpha is worse than death. I would rather die."
