J and I ran through the forest paths, racing towards my pack house. I had no idea what his intentions were, but I intended to find out. 

We reached the Canther Stone Pack in under half an hour. For a loner werewolf who had just performed an emergency C-section on a vampire halfy, J had a surprising amount of energy left. Whereas I - a newly changed supernatural who didn't get access to the training grounds - was a panting mess by the end of our top-speed run. J shifted and strode into the house with a proud, if angry looking, march, me following close behind.

J entered the dining room with an overly dramatic entrance. He slammed open the door, and it crashed against the wall with an unbelievably loud bang, making me jump, and Daniel's head to snap up from his meal. He locked eyes with J and immediately they darkened.

"What are you doing here?" He growled, never breaking eye contact with my loner companion. I blushed as I realized neither of us had bothered to pull on a cloak after shifting, so grabbed on off the wall to cover myself out of modesty. I made to give one to J, but he ushered me away.

"More rightly I should be asking you why you have been neglecting your duty as Alpha, Daniel" J called out, venom dripping from his words. He used my Alpha's name as an insult, and he looked like he'd used it often.  His proud voice echoed around the hall, and everyone inside heard him. It wasn't an overly big hall, but all 15 pack members were present, and all were acutely aware of the tension between the two powerful men in the room.

Daniel stood slowly, eyes still locked with J's. His face was wrinkled in a snarl and the hair on the back of his neck was almost touching the sky it was so raised. J moved a few places forward, though I never saw his feet move. Daniel reacted by pushing his chair back suddenly, but not moving again while J didn't. Neither man moved until the pack's Gamma, Isaac, spoke up.

"Alpha" he started tentatively. He was lower rank than a Beta so had to watch his tone. "Why is the slu-" he paused. "Why is she here" he ammended, referring to me. Daniel didn't reply. Nor did J. The Gamma was ignored, and he took the hint and retreated back into his chair.

"I'll ask you once more" Daniel's voice came out low and gravely, and his canines were very visible. He was angry. "What are you doing here, Jordan. Before I forcibly take you out" he leant forward with each word of the last sentence until he was nearly parallel to the table.

The pack drew a collective gasp. The name must have struck a note with them, though it meant nothing to me. I could tell it was before my time. I decided to file that away to ask J - or Jordan - about it later.

Jordan snarled. "I'm here to challenge your capabilities as Alpha to this pack, Daniel" he was getting decidedly more furry, and so was Daniel, by the looks of it. Daniel didn't say anything for a moment before he straightened his back.

"Is that a direct challenge Jordan? Last time that happened, you lost and were banished from the pack. What makes you so sure you can beat me now?" Daniel's eyes were blacker than anything I'd seen, and he was radiating rage. He was also cocky. He thought he could beat J in a fist to fist (or paw to paw) fight. Jordan seemed to think otherwise and growled.

"It's an official pack challenge, Daniel. I - Loner Jordan Viktor Lekra, challenge you - Alpha Daniel Peter Marston of the Canther Stone Pack - to an Alpha battle, on the charge of neglect." I froze. He had challenged Daniel to a fight of honour. He couldn't refuse.

This was also a fight to the death.

What had I gotten myself - and Jordan - into?...