And now the chapter you have been waiting for, the challenge! There will be one more chapter after this one
Chapter 8: The Challenge
As Finch continued to scan the video of the raid looking for proof of Pam's crime, the pack finally gathered under the full moon for the challenge. The mood was exceptionally somber. It seemed the pack had realized the magnitude of what was happening that night and they were not entirely comfortable with it, despite their previous enthusiasm.
As Fusco stood with his pack mates, he eyed the rest of the pack with feelings that bordered on contempt. His partner was a good person and a good Alpha; he was going to have hard time forgiving this bunch of ingrates for the position she now found herself in. If she was hurt…
Fusco shook his head and looked over at John. The Alpha looked grim as he surveyed his pack. He had a feeling his turmoil was nothing compared to John's, but as usual John betrayed little emotion.
Fusco next looked over at Joss. She was standing straight and proud, her chin up, betraying no trace of any fear. She radiated confidence and serenity. She looked the part of an Alpha female in every way. Fusco smiled fondly at her, and she smiled back.
Pam on the other hand was glaring at Joss as if she was trying to kill her with her eyes alone. Fusco felt the hostility rolling off of her and a quick glance around the circle of the pack showed they could feel it too. It was making them visibly uncomfortable. Good; they were getting a taste of Pam's true nature. The contrast between the two candidates was striking and Fusco could feel the pack's opinion consolidating behind Joss.
John waited until his entire pack was gathered around him, then he finally spoke. By that point, Fusco could feel just how unhappy the pack was, but John did nothing to dispel the bleak mood.
"Are the candidates ready?" he asked in a hard voice, looking to Joss and then Pam as they stood on opposite sides of the pack.
Joss lifted her chin slightly in a gesture of defiance. "Yes, Alpha," she replied in a clear voice.
Pam could barely peel her eyes away from Joss to look at John. "Yes, let's get it over with," she snapped impatiently.
"The challenge will be in the form of the Hunt," John said as his cold eyes swept over the pack. "Each candidate will start out on different ends of the park. They will stalk each other and engage in physical combat. The challenge is over when the Pack and I determine one of them can no longer fight or hunt. Our decision will be final."
The pack shifted uncomfortably at the mention of physical combat. It was a traditional part of the Old Ways, but it was rarely used in modern times. Fusco guessed that most of the pack had never been privy to a challenge that included physical combat before.
"Each candidate will be armed with identical knives." John nodded to Sam who handed each woman a small knife with a four inch blade in a thigh holster. "This will be the only weapon allowed. This is a test of hunting skill and physical strength, not weaponry."
Fusco hid his smile. John had selected a challenge that played to Joss's strengths. Strengths that Pam didn't know Joss had.
John waited while each of the She Wolves strapped their knives to their legs and were patted down by Fusco to determine that they had no other weapons on them. Fusco whispered "Good luck" to Joss as he checked her and then turned to Pam.
"Ready to cop a feel?" Pam smirked at him as he approached.
"I'm only touching you under orders from my Alpha," Fusco shot back. He checked Pam over nothing he stepped back and nodded to John.
"Lassen, escort Pam to the north end of the park. Sam, take Joss to the south end. When you see the flare, the challenge begins." He looked around at the rest of the pack. "Everyone spread out. Call to rest of the pack if you see the candidates engage with each other so the rest of the pack can observe."
The rest of the pack vanished to carry out their Alpha's order, leaving Fusco alone with John. Just as Fusco started to go, he stopped and turned to John, who was standing alone in a small pool of light from the overhead light. "She'll be alright, John," Fusco said softly.
"Go, Lionel," John said in a tired voice.
Fusco did what he was told, leaving John alone in the small clearing. John checked his watch then paced restlessly for a few minutes while he waited for enough time to pass for the candidates to get into position. After checking his watch again, he raised his arm and fired the flare gun. The challenge was on. Then he too vanished into the foliage.
Joss and Sam looked up as they saw the flare streak into the sky and light up the park.
"You got this, Joss," Sam said confidently. "I'll be close by at all times." Then she vanished into the woods.
Joss squared her shoulders and silently slipped into the bushes. She moved to a spot where she was sure she could not be seen and reached out with her Wolf sense. She quickly located Sam about 30 yards to her right. A couple of other pack members she couldn't immediately identify were also close by.
Methodically, she reached out and found various members of her pack until she found the one she was looking for. It did not take her long to locate her rival's distinctive hateful feel. Joss judged that Pam was still on the other side of the park using a zigzag search pattern. Joss started moving in Pam's direction, careful to not to make a sound and avoiding the foot paths.
Joss moved slowly and deliberately. The closer she got to the Pam, the better she could feel and predict her opponent's movements. She was very close now. Pam was coming straight for her.
Joss climbed a majestic old oak whose branches overhung the main path through the park and quietly waited for Pam to come to her. Her muscles tensed as she felt her foe approach. She was coiled to strike as Pam emerged from a thick stand of brush almost right under the tree, apparently completely unaware that her rival was hovering above her.
Joss lunged from above and behind as Pam passed under the tree. Pam turned and tried to raise her knife, but she was too late. Before she could turn around, Joss landed on her with her full weight. Pam went down hard and Joss easily disarmed her, throwing the knife away into the dark night.
Pam managed to throw Joss off. They both rolled to their feet and faced each other slowly, circling on the foot path under the branches of the oak tree. Although Pam no longer had her knife, Joss was under no illusion as to how deadly her opponent was.
Joss was vaguely aware that there was a wolf howling nearby, calling the rest of the pack to this location. Pam closed on her and the two combatants exchanged several punches before they broke apart. Joss could feel her cheek starting to swell, and Pam's lip was split and swelling. Joss could also see that Pam was trying to protect her ribs, probably from when she'd first jumped her.
Pam executed a perfect spin-kick, catching Joss on her upper arm just below her shoulder. She went down but used her momentum to roll back onto her feet before Pam could pin her to the ground. There's a bruise, Joss thought ruefully as she regained her feet. At least it's not broken.
Pam tried another kick, but Joss dodged it. They went to back to circling each other for another few seconds.
Pam lunged for Joss again this time going for her legs and tackling her to the ground. They rolled over and over, striking at each other wildly, trying to gain an advantage. Too late, Joss realized that Pam was going for her knife still strapped into its holster on her thigh. Joss frantically flailed at her holster trying to prevent Pam from getting the blade. The break in Joss's concentration was the opening that Pam needed and before she knew it, Pam was on top with Joss pinned to the ground on her back. Pam had Joss's knife in her hand, raising it overhead to strike a fatal blow.
Shaw's training paid off as Joss grabbed Pam's wrist with one hand and smashed her nose with the other. Joss brought a knee up to throw her off, twisting Pam's wrist and forcing her to drop the blade. Between the broken nose and the now sprained wrist, Joss was able to get her knee in position and shove Pam off her. Joss snatched up the knife and leaped on top of Pam, pinning the bloody Wolf to the ground and holding the knife to her throat.
For one second Joss seriously considered slicing Pam's neck open and letting her bleed out. She had no doubt that Pam would have done the same to her without hesitation. Just a little more pressure….
"That's enough!" John's voice sliced through the air and brought Joss back to reality. She blinked and looked up to see the entire pack standing around her. She dropped the knife and carefully rose to her feet suddenly noticing how tired and achy she was. Her hair and clothes were covered in leaves and dirt, and her t-shirt was torn and ragged. She looked at her arms and saw they were covered in scratches from wrestling on the forest floor. John stepped forward and carefully placed his suit coat around her shoulders as she shivered.
"Stop the challenge!" John turned to see Finch hurrying as fast as he could move down the path.
"The challenge is over, Finch. Joss won," John said holding Joss tightly against his body as Finch joined the group.
"Congratulations, Detective," Finch panted. "But I beg to differ, Mr. Reese, it's not quite over."
"You found it?" Fusco grinned.
Finch gave the pudgy detective a sly smile and then took his phone out of his pocket. With a theatrical flourish, he touched a button, and every phone in the Pack buzzed. Almost in unison, the Pack checked their phones, confused.
"The picture you are about to view is of Pam Barrett the night Jocelyn Carter was electrocuted. The picture shows Ms. Barrett placing the cable into the puddle where Detective Carter was crouched. Pam Barrett tried to kill your Alpha!"
A gasp of horror rippled through the Pack as they examined he picture and saw the truth. John, however, was deadly calm, his face a mask of stone. He stepped forward. "Pam." His voice sent a shiver down the spine of every person there; it was quiet, calm and dripped with menace.
Pam took a step back. "John, the picture is obviously Photoshopped…"
"Are you accusing Finch of lying?" John asked her in the same deadly calm voice.
"Well, he is a friend of Jocelyn's," Pam snarled defiantly, but she took another step back.
"He is also a friend of mine and a friend of the pack." John continued his deliberate advance.
Pam tried to back away some more, but she was backed up against a tree.
The pack watched with morbid fascination. Most of them knew what was about to happen, but they could not tear their eyes away from the deadly tableau in front of them. No one said a word on Pam's behalf. There was nothing to say.
John stopped right in front of Pam, his hands balled into fists, his posture tense. Every Wolf could sense the raw fury rolling off him waves, but John remained still as he stared at the renegade She-Wolf.
Joss, holding John's suit jacket tightly around her, moved a couple of steps. "John," she said softly and calmly.
At the sound of his mate's voice, John visibly relaxed and he stepped back, leaving a few feet between himself and the cowering Pam. "Detective Fusco, arrest Pam Barrett for the attempted murder of Detective Carter."
John looked around at the assembled pack. "Joss Carter is my mate and your Alpha female," he growled. "If any of you still have a problem with that I suggest you find another pack." Then he turned on his heel and walked back to Joss. He slipped his arm around her waist and watched as the rest of the pack left, leaving John, Joss, Shaw, Lionel and Harold alone with Pam.
John nodded to Lionel and then he and Joss started walking away. Lionel advanced towards Pam, taking his handcuffs out of his pocket as he did so. Pam didn't even seem to notice his approach; her eyes were fixed on John and Joss's backs as they walked away. Just as Lionel reached her, Pam sprang into action. She smashed him across the face at the same time she used her leg to swipe his legs out from under him. He went down hard with a groan as he hit the ground and the air was knocked from his lungs.
With unholy speed, Pam grabbed the knife off the ground where Joss had dropped it and lunged for the unprotected back of the woman she considered her enemy. She was no match for John's reflexes however, as he spun and caught her in mid-air. A short struggle ensued that ended with John holding Pam around the neck from behind. She thrashed about in a desperate attempt to dislodge him, but he had her firmly in his grasp. "No more," he whispered into her ear.
Then with one swift and brutal jerk of his arm, he snapped her neck.
John dropped Pam's lifeless body on the ground and turned to Fusco as he scrambled to his feet with some help from Shaw. "Are you alright?" he asked.
Fusco nodded rubbing his cheek where Pam had hit him. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He looked at the body lying on the ground at John's feet and sighed. "Oyster Bay, here I come."
"Get Joss out of here," Shaw said to John. "I'll help Detective Dork lose the corpse."
"I'm standing right here!" Fusco snapped.
John gave them both a small smile. "Thank you." Then he turned to Joss. Let's go home."
Joss had been standing over Pam's body, looking down at the former operative sadly. She had truly hoped it would not come to this, but somehow she had known all along that this outcome was inevitable. One of them had to die. Still, despite everything Pam had put her through, Joss couldn't help being sad over the waste of a life.
Joss looked up at John and gave him a small smile. She was ready to leave, and she was ready to be with her mate. She was ready to reclaim her place in the pack and in John's life.
Whelp, Pam got what was coming to her. Hope everyone is happy with the outcome! Next chapter, SMUT!