Mated To The Alpha: A Standalone Wolf Shifter Romance, стр. 19

Slowly, though, things got more serious.

The laughter turned to grunts. The punches and blocks were thrown with more intent and less teasing. The urges to fight, and to defend, got more personal.

Emma could tell that something had shifted, now that they were warmed up, and into the groove of the fight. Both men planned to give it their all.

The crowd must have sensed it as well, that the brotherly play fighting had ended, because the mutters of voices had stopped, and everyone's attention was now focused on the two men as they each tried to outdo the other.

Emma heard Thomas's soft laughter.

"They are evenly matched. I had a feeling this part would be more like dancing, and less like fighting. It won't be until they shift that things will get serious. Their wolves will come out soon, and the human aspects of their brotherhood will recede. This isn't fighting, it's ballet. But their wolves...that will be a different story, I'm afraid."

Emma didn't turn around this time, her focus was on the brothers. She nodded her understanding instead, afraid to look away in case she missed something.

He was right though, they were evenly matched.

And that fact seemed to be starting to irritate Galen.

Galen's body language changed subtly, he was ready to assert his dominance. Emma guessed partially because his new mate was watching, and partly because Elam didn't seem to be just going through the motions, but instead was starting to get into it.

Kate leaned in, whispering to Emma.

"Damn, it's kind of hot, you know? Two gorgeous, almost naked men fighting like that. Is that why girls like those MMA fighters so much? And hockey players? All that testosterone-filled fighting?"

Emma laughed.

"When will they shift?" Kate asked the question louder, aiming it behind her at Thomas.

"When… how do you humans say it? When things start to get real."

It started looking more like a bar fight down there. Desperation seemed to be climbing. The two were locked together more often than apart, fists and elbows flying, feet bracing.

With a primal yell, Galen pushed Elam away from him, hard.

And in the space that bought him, he started to shift.

Elam saw it and countered, shifting less than a second after Galen.

Emma barely had time to register the fact that she hadn't yet seen Elam's wolf, and to look him over, before the two were charging each other's throats.

She'd seen Galen's pitch black wolf on the day they first arrived, and quite a few times since. But Elam had never shifted. At least that she'd seen.

She was surprised when Elam's wolf turned out to be an auburn red. She guessed she expected him to match his hair color, a dirty blonde, not to be closer to her own hair color.

She found herself wondering what her wolf would look like, if she was to shift as well. She made a mental note to ask Thomas what her mother's wolf looked like, once this was all over.

She gasped as the two wolves rolled and tried to pin each other down. They moved so fast. Except for the obvious fur color differences, she almost couldn't tell them apart. The black and the red coat colors blurred as the wolves came together, broke apart, and crashed together again.

They never barked or howled. Emma guessed that made sense, since dogs used barks and howls more for communication and warnings. She'd seen domestic dogs fight before, and by the time they had gotten to the actual fighting, all the barking had stopped.

She did hear deep growls rumbling up from the arena floor though, usually when the two were separated for a few seconds, analyzing their next moves before launching towards the other wolf's throat once again.

Each wolf was soon bleeding, both of them landing well placed bites and tearing gashes from the other.

Kate reached over and took Emma's hand, squeezing it tight as she watched her mate fight.

"I didn't realize it would be this..."

"Animalistic? Scary?" Emma fed her the words she had been thinking.

"Bloody." Kate whispered to Emma, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear, and awe.

Galen pinned Elam then. Emma closed her eyes tight, not wanting to watch, but her eyes forced themselves back open, almost against her will. She couldn't help but stare, even though it was making her sick to her stomach to see it all.

Elam's body started and jerked, trying to wrench himself from Galen's weight.

"It will be Galen, then. As everyone said." Kate's words were low, mumbled.

Emma barely heard them as she watched Elam try to get up.

"I will be the Alpha's mate!" There was pride in Kate's tone, in her words, but there was something else in them as well. They were muttered fervently, almost desperately.

And then Elam was loose, and flying at Galen.

Elam's full weight hit Galen before he was fully prepared, and the two bodies collided with a solid thud. A grunt hit Emma's ears, but she wasn't sure who'd uttered it.

The wolves' momentum drove them against the trunk of a large tree, and then they slid to the ground, rolling together.

Soon Elam had Galen pinned, reversing their positions of just a moment ago.

"No!" Kate's cry reached Emma's ear just before Elam's teeth seemed to sink into Galen's throat.

But the wolves rolled again, another blur of fur and teeth. She couldn't keep track of who was winning.

"Are you sure they won't kill each other?" Emma's worried question was fired over her shoulder at Thomas, looking for reassurance.

He took a few moments to answer, during which the brothers continued to vie for dominance, each one seeming to come out ahead, just a heartbeat before being knocked back onto his ass once again.

"They are quite well matched, even more so than I thought,” Thomas finally said. “But no, I doubt either will kill the other. It looks worse than it really is, with all the blood. Werewolves heal very quickly. I'm sure some of their initial wounds are already almost healed. It looks bad, I know. Even more so to your eyes. But