The drive to dryad’s circle was quiet and tense. Sebastian didn’t need superhuman abilities to tell that his friends were as anxious as him. The way Edmund was gripping the wheel gave away a lot. Luke seemed calmer than he had been, but was pulling on his shirt collar in a nervous manner.

To make things worse, as they got closer to their destination, some wolves began to flank either side of the truck. Likely to make sure the boys wouldn’t back out last minute. The number of them made Seb feel sick with fear.

Finally arriving at the circle did nothing to calm them since it seemed that the entire fucking Wiker pack was there. The circle wasn’t much of a circle there was a singular ancient-looking tree – Sebastian didn’t know the specific type – but its roots were grown out strangely in an almost circle, with only two meters between where each side ended.

There were a lot of people gathered around – some in human form, others resting in their wolf form – but four, in particular, stood out to Seb. The first three stood away from everyone else in a VIP manner. This was M, Odilia, and Luke’s father – Lance. The fourth person stood at the centre of the root circle. They had long green hair braided with leaves stuck in it here and there in a way that looked more artistic than a mess, and they wore a strange silken robe that reminded Sebastian of the pictures of roman nobles in his history book.

Edmund pulled the truck to a stop and glanced over to Seb, who nodded he was ready to get out. They’d decided earlier that Luke would stay in the car – if only for the illusion of safety it gave him. Sebastian wasn’t going to let Ed face this on his own, however. If all he could do was give his support through his presence, then at least he’d be doing something.

They got out together and walked over to Lance, Odilia and M. Sebastian noticed M glance at the truck and then look back at him and Eddie. He wondered briefly if she was worried for her brother, but her face betrayed nothing of her feelings.

“So, you’re the young alpha who’s invaded my territory,” Lance said to Edmund as he sized him up.

He looked strong for seventeen, with a good amount of lean muscle, but he was still only seventeen and appeared youthful. Seb wasn’t sure if this was good or bad for them because on one hand Ed’s strength could be underestimated – on the other hand though, there were plenty of larger guys here who could easily kick his ass.

Seeing that he wasn’t getting a response – apart from Edmund’s narrowed glare – Lance continued talking. “You can still opt out of the fight if you want. Just return the omega and leave the territory within the next week.”

Edmund just glared harder which made Lance frown. “Alright, we’ll have an old-fashioned one versus one. The winner takes the omega.”

Ed titled his head to the side. “What about territory?”

“What about territory?” Lance echoed with a raised brow. “Don't bite off more than you can chew kid.”

“Scared I’ll win?” Edmund challenged, eliciting conspiratorial whispers from the crowd.

Sebastian was impressed with his negotiation skills. Especially since it seemed they had Lance where they wanted him, and Lance knew it.

“Fine, the omega and a section of territory. But when you lose, I’ll have your head as well as your mate’s.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Seb didn’t know what Lance meant by mate, but Ed accepted the terms. He looked confident but Sebastian had known him long enough to sense it was a façade. Eddie was as scared as him – maybe more so knowing that their fates were in his hands. Before things began, Seb took one of those hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

He debated what to say – there were so many things he wanted to say if this was the end, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them. Even when facing death, he couldn’t admit his feelings. It was kind of pathetic, but he didn’t have time for a pity party.

“You’ve got this,” he decided on saying.

Edmund gave him a genuine smile as thanks and squeezed his hand back. “I’ll be right back.”

“You better.”

And with that, they had to let go of each other so Edmund could enter the ring. Lance didn’t want to fight himself – claiming such things beneath him – so Odilia was the one taking his place. When she and the others had surrounded the car earlier, Sebastian thought she must have a high position of some kind in the pack, and her taking Lance’s place in the fight only cemented those thoughts.

The dryad, the person at the centre of the circle, was declared officiator since they apparently had a neutral view of things. The sun was gone now and dusk had officially come. The stars above felt like they were a little less twinkly tonight as if watching the happenings below with bated breath. Sebastian saw the moon through the trees. It was almost full, with just four more days until it reached its peak.

It felt strange and almost funny. A month ago, Sebastian didn’t even believe in werewolves. Then he’d started to have weird dreams, his best friend got turned, his boss was a vampire and he’d been unknowingly selling magical items for the past two years, his parents had some supernatural mystery going on, and his other friend was also a werewolf with apparently a murderer for a father. Less than thirty days and Seb’s entire world had been turned upside down.

Now everything they had was depending on Edmund to win a fight against a fierce werewolf woman twice his age and likely ten times more experienced in fighting. Sebastian’s thoughts went back to his nightmares at the river. Remembering how hopeless he always felt before reaching for the moon.

Looking at it now, he knew this wasn’t a dream. This moon would not grow closer or brighter. Yet he found himself mentally reaching out to it anyway. Almost praying for things to end up in their favour. And perhaps it was only wishful thinking, but he could have sworn the moonlight seemed a little brighter then.

He turned his focus back to the circle, where the dryad was reminding both sides what they could gain or lose. They did a strange thing with their hands and the tree roots began to glow silver.

“No touching the edges of the circle, or you will be immediately disqualified. The first to pin the other or get them out of the circle shall be proclaimed the victor,” the dryad explained. “Ready... begin.”

They disappeared from the circle, materialising instead up in the branches of the ancient tree. Sebastian guessed that was the best viewpoint for the fight, but for now, Edmund and Odilia seemed to just be circling one another.

Odilia’s eyes were glowing with golden light and Ed’s were once brighter blue. Then Odilia launched herself at Edmund, shifting in mid-air and ripping apart her skin-tight clothes. Edmund rolled out of the way and then shifted as well – ruining his worn jeans and tee-shirt in the process. Sebastian noticed he was larger than Odilia’s wolf but what was more interesting was the way Odilia momentarily cowered from him.

It reminded Seb of when Ed had flashed his eyes in the car. Perhaps it was the effect of him being an alpha. Before he could think more about this through, Odilia attacked again, this time managing to hit Edmund’s left arm – er, front leg? - the point was, he was injured and Sebastian just barely suppressed a scream from shock.

‘No, you can’t lose,’ he mentally commanded. ‘I can’t lose you.’

Sebastian didn’t think his message would reach Eddie, but somehow, he looked in his direction just then. A moment that felt like forever had them staring into each other’s eyes. These weren’t the light brown eyes that Seb was used to, but he recognised them all the same. They were filled with that familiar love and warmth that seemed to exude from Ed always and brightened Sebastian’s darkest days.

He thought he heard Edmund’s voice determinedly reply, ‘We won’t lose.’

Then the moment was broken, and Edmund made his first attack.