Growls and snarls filled the moonless night as the prince and Alpha of Crimson Night fought beneath the stars. The observers were silent as they watched the future of their pack unfold before their eyes. The atmosphere of the field was tense as true blood and alpha were claw to claw in terms of strength. To win the duel would lie on the matter of grit and skill as well as experience. Jae was less experienced and skilled when it came to his father, but the prince held the upper hand when it came to grit. His driving force was impeccable; he was fighting for his future mate and the future of those who had found their true mates.

Fachan was fighting to keep his current position as Alpha, so his grit was high as well since he held his role as Alpha more valuable than his own life. Fachan let out a whine when Jae's claws swiped across his side and dug into his flesh. The two wolves came to a stand-by as they both caught their breaths. They had been fighting non-stop for the past half-hour and were still fang to fang.

Fachan snapped at Jae before lunging toward the prince. Shifting into his human form, Jae lunged to evade the alpha and rolled a cycle before landing on his hands and knees. Lunging off the soft ground, Jae returned to his wolf state as he charged the alpha and sunk his teeth into Fachan's side. Quickly becoming human, Fachan thrust his elbow into Jae's wolf's eye to force the true blood to release his hold. Shaking his head to throw the alpha into the air before releasing, Jae turned human before following Fachan flying through the air to land a solid punch on the Alpha's face as he came to the ground.

Reverting to his canine form, Fachan kicked Jae off him before jumping up and sinking his teeth into the prince's shoulder. Jae released a cry of pain as Fachan brought the prince to the ground and continued to sink his teeth into Jae's flesh. Syri stifled the cry that threatened to break from his throat when Jae's cry reached his ears. Turning his tear-filled eyes to the moonless sky, Syri sent up a desperate prayer. Please, please, let me help Jae. Please...I can't lose him.

Armina closed her eyes as she heard her mate tear into her son, her heart breaking at Jae's cries. Yehwa placed her hand on the Luna's shoulder in support as she kept her eyes on the fight. Estan had buried his face into Yejin's neck; he could not bear to watch Jae be torn apart. Kace and Den, who both stood to the side of the crowd, watched in silence as the prince struggled beneath the Alpha.

Pain consumed Jae as he lay on his back staring up at the empty sky. Time seemed to slow as Fachan continued to tear into him, spewing blood every which way. Jae was exhausted. He had been fighting at a strength he was unused to and against a wolf with multiple decades of experience. He could feel every tooth as it dug into his shoulder; he could hear the breeze as it rustled the leaves of the nearby trees; he could hear the murmurs of the crowd that had gathered. Everything was crystal clear to Jae, but it soon became overrun by the pungent stench of blood that filled his senses and it was soon all he knew.

Jae blinked slowly as he numbly held the alpha's claws that were threatening to pierce into his chest. That was all that was keeping Jae from meeting the moon goddess at that very moment. However, the fog that filled Jae's mind was swept away when the smallest sniffle reached his sensitive ears. The sound of Syri struggling to choke his cries rekindled the flame of determination that had once been sparked deep within Jae. He would do anything to protect Syri, and remembering his promise, Jae closed his eyes and sent up a silent prayer as he mustered all his power. Unseen strength filled the true blood as he sent up the prayer, and he thrust the alpha off of him before shifting into Hyuk and viciously landing strike after strike.

Blood covered the prince as he thrashed the alpha until Fachan began to run from him. Chasing Fachan, Jae bit the alpha's hind leg and brought Crimson Night's Alpha to the ground. Fachan landed on his back and stared up in shock and fear as the true blood leaped on top of him with his jaw wide open. Closing his eyes, Fachan hid from his fate.

The night became silent as Jae sunk his fangs into the Alpha's throat. The wind came to a standstill, the insects and birds grew quiet, and the crowd held their breaths. After feeling Fachan go limp, Jae retracted his jaw and changed back to his human state as he stumbled back from the lifeless form on the ground. It was done.

Yejin and Syri immediately rushed onto the field when they heard Jae release one short breath before stumbling backward. Wrapping their arms around Jae, Syri and Yejin helped steady the prince as Jae caught his breath. The Alphas of the visiting packs and Armina made their way onto the field and approached the victor and the conquered. The four Alphas bowed their heads in respect to the new Alpha of Crimson Night as Armina came to stand before her son.

"An Alpha has fallen, and so a new leader shall take his place." The Luna cupped Jae's cheek affectionately before lowering onto her knees and pressing her forehead to the ground. "I welcome you, Jae to accept the role as Alpha of Crimson Night. It shall be your duty to guide and lead the pack to success, peace, and prosperity alongside your Luna."

Slowly lowering onto his knees and bowing before his mother, Jae said, "I accept the role of Alpha and shall care for Crimson Night to the best of my abilities."

Jae's acceptance brought a smile to Armina's lips as her son placed his hands on her arms and guided her into sitting up and facing him. "Rise, Alpha," Armina said as she stood to her feet. "And greet your pack."

Standing to his feet, Jae turned to the crowd that had grown immensely as word spread through the pack link of the prince's victory. Releasing a low rumble, Jae reached out to every member of his pack and channeled his Alpha's voice through the pack link as the rights of Alpha were transferred to him.

Once the immediate formalities had been completed, the rest of the traditions and rituals would then be saved for the coronation ceremony. And now, the seven that had gathered around the victor turned toward the form on the ground. After bowing shortly in respect to the former Alpha, the guards were called to gather the body and take it to be prepared for the cremation ceremony.

Fingers slipping into his brought Jae's attention to Syri who was standing next to him with tear-stained cheeks. A soft smile came to the prince's exhausted face, and Jae immediately turned to the zeta and brought Syri into his arms. Syri wrapped his arms around Jae's waist and buried his face into the prince's chest as Jae held him. "Thank you...for coming back to me," Syri whispered to the true blood as a tear of relief fell from his eye.

"Always," Jae whispered back, causing Syri to smile through his silent tears. "I'll always come back to you." The prince released a heavy sigh as his body finally relaxed, and the adrenalin that had been coursing through his veins ferociously began to wear off causing the pain from the numerous wounds to become vivid.

Now that everything had been settled, Estan took that as his cue to usher the prince to his clinic and immediately began tending to Jae's wounds. Syri remained by Jae's side as the gamma did his best to lessen the pain. Jae would heal slower than usual until the effects of the duel weaned off and he regained his strength of a true blood, so Estan was valiant in cleaning and bandaging Jae's wounds thoroughly.

Once Jae had been dressed and cleaned, Yejin and Estan left Syri and the prince to rest for the remainder of the night. Armina had taken it upon herself to get preparations in order for the burial ceremony and the crowning ceremony. The visiting packs had agreed to stay through the crowning ceremony to celebrate Crimson Night's new Alpha before returning to their respective packs.

Jae and Syri lay together in silence as the night advanced toward the dawn. It did not take long for the prince to fall into a deep sleep as his healing body struggled with the lack of blood and multiple wounds covering his chest, arms, and legs. Syri was leaning against the wall behind the bed in the clinic, so that Jae's head was resting on his chest. This way the zeta could be close to the true blood without the fear of harming his fresh wounds. The zeta remained awake throughout the night as he soothed the prince while he slept, never taking his eyes off his love as he cherished every moment spent with Jae.