She sashayed toward me, her hips on display in her low hanging jeans. Her slim waist was emphasized by her crop top and perfectly curled blonde locks that hung to her hips. Her confidence faltered momentarily as she approached the spot opposite me, taking in my crazed laughter.
Yeah, bitch, you should be afraid of a woman who cackles like a hyena at the thought of hitting you. There's clearly a few screws loose up here.
Quickly, her face morphed back into the one I had grown to despise. Her lip curled in disgust, while her aura gave off an air of privilege.
"You're gonna be privileged to find yourself the first wolf I defeat..." I muttered under my breath as I stood to my full height once more, clearing my head and focusing on the task at hand.
No matter how confident I felt, I knew I couldn't afford to go into this cocky or thinking it would be easy.
Defeat.
“Yes, bury her in the ground,” I cooed to my wolf, loving her instant dislike of Sofia.
There was something so comforting about feeling her emotions and small bits of thoughts so clearly. She was my ride or die bitch.
"You are allowed to choose whichever form you feel is best for your fights, whether it be human or wolf. Sofia is from a high ranking line, so we will use her to judge how quickly you fall, to determine who from the lower rankings you need to fight to find your place."
The alpha brought his instructions to a close with one final line, "We fight until submission," and with that he walked off the field to stand next to Jameson, looking smug as fuck.
For a moment he and I locked eyes, and my wolf did not want me to cave to someone she considered weak and unworthy of the title of Alpha.
"Come on, Baby. Let your wolf take over. You've got this!" Milo called out, not giving a shit about the otherwise silent pack. He was most likely trying to prevent me from challenging the alpha instead of Sofia, and he succeeded.
His voice knocked me out of the trance, pulling my eyes towards my handsome mates.
"Show them your claws, Kitten." Seth called out, smirking at me, his words spurring me on.
"It's cute that you think the human even has claws," Sofia countered, flicking a lock of her honeyed hair behind her shoulder. Sauntering towards me with confidence, looking completely unphased, she pulled a knife out of her back pocket.
"I don't even need to shift to finish off this pathetic waste of space."
Nope, just a knife? Funny how she couldn’t rely on her hand-to-hand combat skills without a weapon. To me, it showed just how pathetic she was. She had no honor.
I clicked my tongue at her as the countless years of biting my tongue and containing my hatred of her for fear of the pack banishing me swarmed my mind. "I'm getting really tired of everyone here acting like they know who I am."
Without a moment of hesitation, I lunged at her, shock evident in her wide eyes at me making the first move. She was a few inches shorter than me, allowing me to easily reach out and grab the back of her head, pulling it down swiftly onto the knee that I kicked up simultaneously.
A crunching noise came from her nose as the cartilage gave way from the blow. Warmth settled into my joggers, and I knew it was her blood soaking in. Even if I only landed this one blow, I’d be happy seeing her walk around with a broken nose for a while.
She released a feral scream right before she swung her knife at my side. Jerking my forearm up on instinct, I blocked her, but not before realizing it was a distraction. Her fist sank into my stomach, and I doubled over from the impact.
Fuck, that didn't feel good.
Knowing I couldn't linger on that, I gripped the wrist of her knife hand, twisting it backwards until she grunted and dropped her weapon. Kicking up dirt, I quickly covered the knife with it, hoping to keep her from finding it. Yanking her wrist out of my grip, she huffed and backed up a few feet, scanning the ground for her weapon.
Not today, Satan.
Blood freely flowed from the once pretty princess’ broken nose, dripping down her face and onto her chest, soaking her top.
"What, you can't fight me without your little knife? Are you scared of the worthless human now?" I goaded, enjoying my newfound backbone and the ability to back it up with action. Her hazel eyes flicked up to mine before she scoffed, "Why don't you show us your wolf and prove that you even deserve to fight to establish your place in the pack?”
Blood coated her teeth as she spoke, and I took a mental picture to remember the first time I stood up to her.
"I'm not alive for your amusement, Sofia," I calmly stated, "When I feel that I actually need my wolf to assist me in my fight, I will let her out. But, that time isn't right now with you in human form. How's your nose feeling?"
The blatant snub from stating she wasn’t worth bringing my wolf out tipped her over the edge. She always thought herself superior to everyone because of her prestigious line and her grandfather’s seat on the council.
Bones cracked as her clothes shredded, falling to the ground. A cream colored wolf with flecks of caramel emerged, the same hazel eyes filled with primal hunger reflecting back at me now. She was fairly small compared to the majority of the pack, but she could still do immense damage to me if I wasn’t careful.
"Time to play, love," I called to my wolf with excitement burning through me, mirrored by her own desire to put Sofia in her place. She didn’t take well to being called weak.
I might not possess a ton of combat skills in my current form, but my wolf would shred this bitch to pieces and use her bones as a toothpick. I just knew it.
Chapter Fifteen
Kira
Apparently Sofia and her wolf didn't give a shit about a fair fight, because they charged me before I could shift. My wolf growled in my mind at their disrespect, but I couldn't focus on that right now with a snarling wolf rushing for me.
Shit, shit, shit.
I glanced around quickly and the glint of her knife reflected up at me. It would be risky to dive for it, but it was my only option. Throwing myself to the ground near it, I grabbed the hilt firmly and rolled away. Not quickly enough though, and her claws raked me, sending a searing pain through my shoulder.
"Fuck!" I yelled, before jabbing out with the dagger as the shadow of her wolf alerted me to her pouncing towards me once more. She barked out a yelp as I felt the knife bury into a meaty part of her flesh.
Stupidly, I had closed my eyes, preparing for her wolf to annihilate me, so when her attack faltered, I peeled them open to assess the damage. I had pierced her side, and she dislodged herself, prowling back a few feet. The flow of blood rapidly coated her light fur, but I didn't let that fool me into thinking I had won.
I’d lost the element of surprise with the knife, and my shoulder blade hurt like a motherfucker. Rolling my shoulder forward gingerly, I winced as the skin tugged the wound open further.
"Sofia, allow her a moment to shift. Or are you too cowardly?" A tall man with broad shoulders and salt and pepper hair called out. It took me a moment to place him, but I recalled him at one of the parties introducing Sofia as his daughter to a visiting pack.
Her wolf let out a low whine and lowered its head.
Thinking back to when Milo told me that we heal quickly in wolf form, I hoped that she could handle fighting with this wound for a bit while it closed.
Ready.
I stood, throwing the knife off to the side of the yard, and centered my thoughts. Looking inward, I found my glowing blue flame and imagined it sweeping through my body and consuming me. A burning sensation flared, but it wasn't unpleasant, and I felt the mental switch to riding as a passenger in our body.
Opening our eyes, I internally cackled at the look of shock on everyone's faces as they took in my wolf for the first time. It was odd, but I was able to picture her wolf form in my head when I was in control. So, I knew she stood before them as a breathtaking white wolf with striking sapphire eyes.
We gazed down upon the pale wolf before us, almost doubling her in size. I trusted in
my wolf implicitly and didn't restrain her desire to pummel the smaller wolf into submission. Our eyes locked onto the alpha, and a low growl rumbled in our chest.
Alpha.
Haha, woah there, girl. We're not the alpha.
Stunning me, a look of pride flashed across the alpha’s face as he stared back at us. What the hell?
She ignored me, and it felt as if I could mentally feel her brushing me off for acting like she couldn't take him on.
Let's focus on Sophia for now, okay?
My words were all the encouragement she needed, and we shot off like a rocket, easily knocking Sofia to the ground. She thrashed under us, but we leaned with our front two paws on her, easily holding her in place with our weight. Pain still pulsated in my shoulder, but I could actually feel the skin knitting itself together, and we still managed to hold her firm.
A warning growl worked its way up our throat as our teeth lowered onto her neck, demanding submission. She continued to struggle beneath us despite our teeth slowly tightening onto the soft part of her throat. We'd keep going until she submitted, no matter the cost.
This moment would determine how the pack treated us moving forward, and we couldn't risk even the slightest hesitation or they would consider us weak.
Snarling at her to signal that we would not give her another chance to concede after this, her movement halted all together. Her ears flattened in submission, and we released her throat, hesitantly moving back a few feet with our eyes trained on her still.
We both found her to be dishonorable and wouldn't put it past her to jump at us despite her submission. She rose to her feet, and I saw that the wound in her side had stopped bleeding, leading me to believe that she'd be just fine in a few hours. Limping off the yard towards her father, we took in his downcast gaze that settled on her, disappointment simmering in his eyes.
A small part of me hurt at seeing his disappointment in her. I'd give anything to feel the warmth and love of a parent, and part of me wondered if she ached for the same. We couldn't all be alphas or warriors, and he should accept her no matter the ranking she took on in the pack.
Glancing around, we took note of everyone’s bowed heads, including my mates. A trotting of paws caused our ear to flicker, bringing our attention back to the entrance of the yard. The alpha.
The sun broke through the dreary sky, shining down upon us and highlighting the gorgeous caramel and espresso colors of his coat. My wolf was on edge, standing completely still and refusing to lower her head to him, despite his low warning growl as he neared us.
Come on, now is not the time to take him on. We aren't trained enough for this fight!
Yes.
Oh Goddess, I’d thought my wolf would be my savior, but maybe she would be the death of me with her tenacity and stubbornness. No amount of calming thoughts that she sent my way could ease my intense anxiety over this.
This was far different than taking on other pack members. He had battled his way to his position and continued to defeat any potential uprisings and challengers over the course of his reign. The Alpha of Alpha’s.
Thankfully I wasn't in control of our body, or I would have been petrified at the thought of what was about to happen.
Jameson startled both myself and my wolf by calling out, "Drop your fucking head, Kira!"
Yeah, I'm trying here.
My wolf's hackles rose at that, doubling her aggression right now at the thought of the mate who had rejected us demanding we submit to the alpha who dared try to deny our other two bonds.
Thanks, Jameson. You're a peach.
Large jaws opened, saliva dripping from his teeth as his lips curled back to reveal the full extent of the damage he could inflict upon us. Only a few feet separated us now, and still my wolf demanded to have his acknowledgement and respect for her.
Prophetess.
Well smack my ass and call me Sally.
I had no idea she’d even known of my title and connection to Selene. Maybe I had misunderstood her before. She didn't want to be the alpha or fight him, she just wanted him to understand the powers we possessed so that he would respect us.
I supposed now was the time to pull out all the stops and let the pack know who we really were. There was too much on the line for them to ignore me or stand in the way of all Selene had tasked me with. Despite their utter disregard for me throughout my life, I would never be able to bear the burden of knowing I’d caused the extinction of shifters if I walked away from this.
Just because they had decided to turn their backs on me, didn't mean I would stoop to their level and do the same to them.
You're right. Let's do this.
Asking her to close our eyes for a moment so I could focus, I turned our energy inward once more, searching for our flame. It must have a connection to our other powers with its similarity to the fire in Selene's world.
The small flame flickered within a dark cavity of our soul, and I pictured my hand reaching out like I had for the flame in Selene’s bowl. Stroking the fire, I watched it build in size and ferocity.
This time I wasn't afraid of it. I welcomed it into me willingly, trusting in my journey.
With my acceptance, power surged through us, lighting up our every nerve like a livewire.
Attack.
Our eyes flew open and, seeing alpha poised to lunge for us, I shoved everything I had into our counter-attack. My wolf shocked me by pushing off the ground with her front feet, then slamming them back onto the ground with our power.
A dazzling barrier of flames in varying shades of blue rose between us and the alpha.
My mouth would have dropped to the floor if I’d had control of our jaw. I almost couldn’t believe that we had created that glorious wall of blue.
A small trace of fear wormed its way through me at the thought of hurting the alpha and incurring his wrath. Was this the right thing to do? I felt so at odds with the situation.
Just as he was about to cross through the flames, a wave of disorientation washed over us, and we stumbled to the side. Our flames dispersed as the alpha landed where we had stood a moment before, narrowly missing us.
Our head shook, trying to clear the black spots that littered our vision, as an overwhelming exhaustion crept into our bones. My wolf whined as she moved our head sluggishly to try to spot the alpha.
It was too late, though. By the time we spotted him, his snarling mouth was inches from us. Falling to the ground, our eyes fought to stay open as his teeth bit into the tender skin of our neck.
Resistance was futile, and I tried to comfort my wolf to the best of my ability. She was scared and confused as to what was happening to us. I didn't understand it myself, but I hated to feel her like this when she had proven herself an unwavering pillar of strength for me.
The pressure around our neck disappeared and distantly I noted that Milo and Seth were running to us. My wolf had all but disappeared from my mind, and I started to panic at her absence.
Had I broken our connection? What was going on?
Our eyes fluttered shut, darkness threatening to overtake our consciousness.
Suddenly, I didn't feel so brave with my wolf gone, and I felt my feelings of inadequacy seeping back in. I had failed my wolf. I wasn't strong enough to understand how our powers worked, and I’d pushed us too far too fast.
What if I had lost her forever?
Voices tried to infiltrate our mind, but they felt too far away to distinguish the words or even understand who spoke. It was like a layer of water surrounded my head, seeping into my ears and flowing around inside my brain.
I was alone and scared. A position I hadn’t thought I’d ever be in again.
Chapter Sixteen
Milo
She had fought beautifully and with honor while facing off with Sofia, despite her lack of training. My heart swelled with pride watching her out there, while my wolf cheered his mate on in my head, in awe of her strength.
I knew that this was so much more than a fight
to establish her ranking. This was a fight to show she was done taking everyone's shit—that she wouldn't tolerate it anymore.
Everything I had ever wanted for her. To me, she had always been more than just the mere human in our pack. Despite continual harassment by Sofia and her gang of bitches, Kira had always managed to carry herself with grace and the air of a natural born leader.
However, I wanted to beat her ass with my palm until it was cherry red for trying to face off with the alpha. What the hell was she thinking?
She wasn't thinking. That had to be the answer.
Without a doubt, Seth and I would throw ourselves out in that ring with her and defy the alpha to save her if it came to that, but damn, I really hoped it didn't.
As he prepared to lunge at her, the flames we had briefly seen during our first shift appeared in a roaring wall of magic to protect her. She was astonishingly radiant.
Until she stumbled, and her flames sputtered out.
Seth cursed beside me, "Fuck. I'm going in."
He ducked under the wooden post, and I hurried behind him. We weren't going to be fast enough though. The alpha’s jaws closed in on her throat just as she turned her head to see him.
Simultaneously, Seth and I snarled at the sight of our mate in trouble, and surprisingly, Jameson sprinted into the yard from the opposite side.
If Kira wasn't in trouble, I would have ripped his throat out for acting like he had any right to come to her defense. Piece of shit.
Just as my wolf pushed at my mental barriers, asking me to release him to face off with the alpha, the large wolf dropped Kira's neck and stepped back, swiftly changing back to his human form. Naked as the day he was born.
Kira's eyes closed, and I screamed for her, "Kira! Stay with me," as Seth reached her and scooped her wolf's head into his lap.
Throwing myself onto my knees at her other side, I ran my fingers through her coarse white fur to find the large vein in her neck and pressed down firmly, as close to her skin as I could get. Giving it a few moments, I felt the vein pulsating steadily beneath my fingers, and my shoulders sagged in relief.
Outcast: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (The Pack Prophecy Book 1) Page 10