Page 10 of The Wolf Moon

“What? But he’d just rip my neck out,” I exclaimed with exasperation.

“That is the point,” The man answered, a look of solemn boredom set on his features. His eyes were a dark blue-hazel and they conveyed his attempt to view me as a dead woman who just didn’t know it yet. I frowned unhappily at his hand.

“What’s your name?” I asked, reaching for his hand at last and moving off of the table.

" I wasn’t hunting you, so I avoided your challenge. I’m not required to answer,” he responded simply. I stared at him momentarily as he led me out of the building. I recalled how he had yanked me from my family and life, thrown me against a wall, and jokingly allowed me to keep my weapon during the hunt as if to rub it in my face that I wouldn’t survive.

“You didn’t hunt me?” It was… surprising.

“I have my reasons,” He shrugged, unimpressed. “I would offer my neck if I were you. If you win, you’ll be challenged by every powerful wolf in this pack and all the others.”

“Well, I can’t win, can I?” I muttered unhappily.

We stepped into another building, walking through halls and ultimately arrived at a set of double doors. I could hear the lycans behind it already. When the doors opened, I was shoved into what looked like an arena of sorts. The walls were lined with lycans, all of them chattering loudly and a type of excitement thriving in the atmosphere.

In the center was a massive space. Too much space, if you asked me. The floor was dirt, but I could still see evidence of past fights in the marks of claws left on the ground. In the space provided, I noted several stands which held weapons. I blanched further. It wasn’t enough that he would have supernatural strength and abilities, but he could also use weapons against me?

I had to remind myself that I could use them as well.

I was shoved forward once more, finding it suddenly extremely difficult to do so myself. To the right side of the area, the King Alpha stood watching me emotionlessly. I stiffened, lifting my chin and taking the shortest, choppiest steps to the opposite direction. I was a sacrifice, after all. I should have expected to die sooner than this. I just didn’t think it would be at the stake of my own fighting abilities.

“Call it, Beta Caleb,” The King Alpha suddenly snarled as I found my position across him, the massive space still not enough distance between us in my opinion.

“Yes, Alpha Roman,” The man who had brought me here responded. Ha, Caleb. I felt a triumph, however small it was. He turned to me expectantly, “Do you have anything you wish to say or do before we start the challenge?”

I felt all eyes on me as the air silenced, waiting for my response. My heart thudded in my chest painfully, fear and adrenaline pulsing through me wildly. I wanted to opt out of the challenge, of course. But I also felt that same determination as I had when I ran through the forest, trying to survive. I made a promise; to fight. I might not have been a fighter or warrior for my own people, but I was a hunter. I had killed a deity werewolf once already. What’s an Alpha King?

I targeted the King Alpha determinedly.

“Prepare yourself,” I told him, my voice trembling as I shifted my feet in a way to stabilize my center more. For a moment, an undefined expression crossed his features as he watched me, as if I were a surprise to him. He no doubt had expected me to wimp out immediately.

The Beta, Caleb, turned to look at the ground between us. I felt my breath go light, my mind lifting above me as though my reality was no more palpable than a dream.

“Start,” Caleb barked swiftly. The word froze me. I had expected to run for a weapon immediately, but my feet were lead under me. This was it. I was dead.

Alpha Roman stood where he had been left, unmoving as well. He didn’t take his eyes off of me, his body just as stiff. I couldn’t understand it. I was petrified. Why didn’t he attack me?

My feet came back to me as fast as I had lost them. In a span of a breath, I turned heel and ran for the nearest weapon stand. I heard him before I saw him and I quickly dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, crying out in fear as he flew over me.

I shoved myself to my feet, reaching the weapon stand and lifting the bow I had spotted easily. I slung the case of arrows over my shoulder and was promptly slammed into, thrown across the dirt ground roughly enough to lose my breath. However, it wasn’t as hard as the wolf had hit me in the forest. And there were no claws involved.

He was holding back. His loss.

I rolled the minute I hit the ground, the bow now firm in my hand, and strung an arrow with such ease that it felt like another extension of me. The King Alpha stood just feet away, towering and still in human form. Spotting my weapon, an expression of amusement graced him, as though he found my attempts humorous.

I aimed for his heart, breathing lightly. He disappeared in a blur, not running towards me, but not running away either. He was mocking me. However, I had great instincts. I released the arrow with deadly precision, equipping another without hesitation to release this one as well. Both hit him, missing him just inches below his heart, and caused him to freeze in mid-step.

With him stunned, I aimed for his eye, preparing for the kill while he was still processing the fact that I was able to hit him while running. I pulled the string, tightening my core in preparation, and then hesitated. Why was I hesitating? Let go. Let go.

Alpha Roman disappeared from his spot and was suddenly there, knocking the bow from my hand with a dangerous growl. He grasped my arms and threw me the opposite direction of my weapon, causing me to land particularly roughly. I laid gasping for air, my heart exploding in my chest.

Behind me, the Alpha was ripping the arrows from his abdomen, snarling as he did so. Blood spilled from his stomach to the ground where he threw the arrows and promptly stepped on them. I stood up painfully, something in my own abdomen damaged by the throw. When he began to approach me, I suddenly lifted my hand, reaching into that part of me that felt a connection to the animals around me.

“Stop,” I told him, my voice high and frightened. There were gasps surrounding us as that power rose around me immediately, demanding to be obeyed.

Alpha Roman hesitated, lifting his face to breathe in the air around him curiously. His body stiffened under my order and I focused my entire attention on willing him to remain where he was.

“Now this is a fight,” He growled deviously, an excitement flushing over his entire form, as though he had been waiting for me to do this very thing.

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