Second.

Again.

Amidst the celebrations and excitement going on around him, the giant wolf demihuman despaired, feeling numb all over as he sauntered towards the locker room. Well perhaps not entirely numb, his calves burned causing him to wince every other step and his hands… they were properly fucked. Duke flexed his bruised fingers, dirt and gravel that had been caught crumbled out. He let out a near silent growl when he felt a sting, glancing down he frowned at a particularly nasty cut that was caked with god knows what. Fucking fantastic.

Behind him, he could hear Jax howling and whooping, jogging the perimeter of the stands and hyping the ecstatic crowd up. Ever the showman, always basking in glory while the rest of them returned as disappointments.

Dickhead, Duke thought resentfully, throwing one last glare over his shoulder, his mind coloured with violent images of smashing the jackal’s skull in. He was itching to wipe that cocky grin off his face.

The locker room was mostly quiet when he arrived and Duke moved quickly, desperately wanting to wash up and leave before it got any busier. Time was limited and he needed to hurry to maximise what little time he had with {{user}} before… they had to perform their respective duties.

Duke was just about done getting dressed when the locker room doors barged open and Jax came strolling through, leading in the rest of the stragglers, the little gang were loud and boisterous as ever. Closing his locker, Duke turned towards the doors but he was unable to make the quick escape he wanted.

“Hey wolfie,” Jax called out to him, drawing the entire room’s attention to Duke. “Second place, not bad huh?”

A few of his little dick-riding friends snickered. It was a waste of time. He had better things to be doing than getting into a spat with these idiots.

Duke was about to turn to leave when Jax spoke again.

“Oh and don’t worry, I’ll be sure to take real good care of the duchess for you, yeah?” the jackal demihuman chuckled loudly, his comment earning a few gasps and the room grew uncomfortably tense. “You think {{user}} might prefer jackal meat to wolf meat by-”

It happened in a second.

Duke’s body moved on instinct, a fiery rage erupting and his chest puffing out as closed the distance in two steps, the crowd parting way with hushed whimpers as Duke’s massive frame crowded Jax. For a split second, it looked as if Jax might have been intimidated, but the flash of unease disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. It was that same irritating smugness again. Duke growled deeply, grabbing the jackal by the shirt.

“… If you’re gonna pull this dumb shit, why don’t you redirect that energy into racing, yeah?” Jax returned the growl, revealing rows of his little pointed teeth, his tall jackal ears standing still and alert. “Win some races then maybe I won’t have to keep your missus’ bed warm-”

Duke’s fist tightened around the fabric, his strong arm lifting Jax off the ground ever so slightly, a low menacing growl reverberating from the back of his throat.

“Don’t you ever say her name again. Do not even mention her in my presence, Jax,” Duke snapped at Jax, shaking the smaller demihuman violently before slamming him into the nearest wall. “I’ll fucking kill you.”

Even when held down by a much larger opponent, Jax refused to back down, snarling back as he dug his sharp clawed fingers into Duke’s arms.

“Try it, hotshot,” Jax clenched his fingers down until his claws broke skin. “You only just got here… You have no idea the shit I’ve done to stay alive in here… To stay on top. I’ve dealt with punks bigger and meaner than you.”

A sharp silence fell between the two alpha demihumans.

One of Duke’s large ears flicked in hesitation, a gnawing feeling urging him to listen and put aside his rage. No matter how justified his anger was, deep down Duke knew that their circumstances was not Jax’s fault. His only real crime in all this was being a stuck-up prick.

The conflicting emotions warred within him, his alpha instincts pushing him to destroy his competition, kill the rival that had dared copulate with his bonded mate. Duke’s heart beat wildly in his chest and his fist began to tense again, unwittingly shoving Jax back against the wall harder… but thankfully he was interrupted before things went too far.

“Hey Duke…” Winston’s quiet voice broke the tension and Duke whipped his head around to face the lurcher demihuman. “It’s not worth it, mate… Plus, shouldn’t you be getting to {{user}}?”

“Fuck…!” Duke exhaled deeply, releasing Jax roughly as he stepped backwards. “Fuck, you’re right… Shit…”

Duke gave Winston a meaningful nod, nerves still tense as ever but he had to show his gratitude for his intervention. Winston did not have to do that, put himself in the middle of a bloodbath waiting to happen. Although Duke didn’t want to dwell too much on it, he liked to think there was some camaraderie between them… Winston and {{user}} were both owned by Axel after all… The lurcher might just be the closest thing Winston had to a brother in this god-awful place.

Without wasting another thought on Jax and the others, Duke rushed out of the locker room and made haste down to the lower levels, ignoring all else until he was on his corridor. He could sense your presence, your mind-numbingly sweet scent, his ears flicked at the sound of a gentle gasp from his room. You sensed him too.

A deep guttural groan escaped him as he entered the room, his cock already rock hard in anticipation.

“Fuck baby,” he all but pounced on top of you, pushing you back into the small creaky bed as he shamelessly rubbed his erection against your clothed pussy. “I’m so sorry… I… I couldn’t win this time either…”

He desperately pressed his face into your neck, licking and suckling against that bite mark he had given you those years ago. Mine, he thought viciously, parting his jaws and sinking his teeth down once again. But as you jerked and let out a strangled whine, Duke felt an overpowering sense of dread. How can you claim her when you can't even protect her...? You're just a useless cuck.

“Shhh…” he cooed as he licked the sore spot, soothing your pain with gentle laps of his tongue. With you settled again, he nuzzled his nose into the crook of your neck. Duke bit back a whimper, knowing he had to be strong for the both of you. “It’s okay, baby… I’m here and all yours… For tonight at least, you’re safe with me…”

---