Page 31 of Fated to the Rogue

My best friend could only stare at me in silence for long seconds. At last, he bowed his head at me. “Yes, Alpha.”

I stood up from my chair, turning to our guests. “My Beta will lead you to the battlegrounds. I will be joining you there in a minute.”

Malin flashed me one final quizzical look before doing as I said. “Please, follow me.”

“I’ll be anxiously waiting for you, Alpha Zephyr.” Ryder nodded, and I returned the gesture as I watched him disappear through the door along with his father.

As soon as they were gone, the heavy sigh I had been holding broke through my lips. I raised my head higher when I noticed my father’s worried gaze on me, soon stepping towards him.

“Zephyr…” he uttered quietly. I could tell there was a lot he wanted to say, yet he lacked an answer to my problems.

“I’ve got this.” I patted his shoulder as I walked past him, trying to sound as confident as possible even though I didn’t really trust my own words.

As I slowly climbed down the stairs, trying to lengthen the time where I still hadn’t lost everything, panic overwhelmed me.

“You really are a scared kitten!” Dawn mocked. How could she stay calm? “Don’t worry, we’re gonna send that little pup running with his tail between his legs.”

“Really?” It was my turn to scoff.

“Yeah. I’m gonna kick his ass.” She shrugged. “Easy peasy puppers defeaty.”

“Please, enlighten me on how you plan to beat an opponent who’s larger and stronger than you!” I started losing my patience, but just then, my mind cleared as I realized exactly what I had to do.

Of course, how did I not think of it sooner? All I had to do was face Ryder in human form. According to werewolf law, both the challenger and the challenged were allowed to shift, but we weren’t required to. I could fight my opponent without my wolf if I so desired. Sure, it would make the battle way harder, but I had always been a good warrior. I would go as far as to say I had a shot at knocking out Ryder’s counterpart before he murdered me. Even if I didn’t, it’d be less humiliating than to have my whole pack watch my she-wolf being forced into submission by an outsider.

“You can’t be serious. You’d rather die than give me a chance to prove my strength?” She flashed me a disgusted look. “And I was starting to think you were becoming less of a dick! Seems like I was wrong.”

Part of me wanted to argue with her, but I decided I was already too stressed; I needed to focus if I wanted to stand a chance against my adversary. Ignoring her, I continued making my way towards the place where we would face off.

The rules of an official challenge were quite simple: if proposed in person, it was to happen immediately, and with an Elder as witness. While it didn’t require the presence of any members, not even the Elite, it was common for wolves of the challenged pack to gather around to support their Alpha. I took the empty town square as a sign that I was right.

It was no surprise to find a crowd in the clearing where the challenge would take place. Alpha Ryder was already there, obviously, along with his father and my team. My Mom andDad arrived seconds after me. Elder Laelius was standing in the center of a circle - the makeshift battlegrounds - as expressionless as ever. My gaze quickly found my opponent’s, and we stepped together into the circle.

I took the last seconds before the fight started to straighten my posture and collect myself.I can do this,I repeated inside my head. I had to do this.

“Alpha Zephyr of Wind Howlers Pack…” The old man’s voice echoed through the forest, causing everyone to go silent. “You have been challenged by Alpha Ryder of Silent Rivers Pack. Do you accept the challenge?”

“Yes, I do,” I replied without hesitation.

The next second, he turned to the crowd. “If Alpha Zephyr wins, he will have the right to take over Silent Rivers. If he loses, he must give up his pack, and Alpha Ryder will have permission to either banish him or put him down.”

My stomach turned as I understood what was at stake, but the Alpha in me refused to give in to fear. I remained strong, refusing to look away from my opponent. Whoever broke eye contact first would have already lost the psychological battle before the physical one even started. The longer I stared at him though, the more I realized I wasn’t scared of him; not in the slightest.

I was afraid of disappointing the people who put their faith in me.

“The challenge ends when one of the parties submits or dies. May the best Alpha win,” the Elder continued, holding out a small bell that was tied to his rope belt. Sounding it, he officially declared the beginning of the challenge. “You may begin!”

Before Laelius finished his last sentence, Ryder had already given his brown beast control. The predator kept the same wolfish grin his human had been wearing since he voiced his challenge to me. It was evident he had been anxiously waitingfor the moment I would set my she-wolf free so he could laugh at me. Unfortunately for him, I wouldn’t allow him that satisfaction.

“Are you seriously following through with your stupid idea?!” Dawn screeched. “This is why females live longer than males!”

Once again dismissing her, I got into a fighting stance and stared straight into the creature’s eyes as I yelled, “Come on!”

The brown wolf cocked his head to the side in confusion, looking at me as if I had gone mad. Maybe I had. Shocked gasps could be heard around me as the crowd realized what I was doing, but I didn’t tremble. After a few seconds, my opponent shook his head, getting rid of his bewilderment to focus solely on his target - me.

When Ryder’s counterpart started sprinting towards me, I didn’t move. During the brief second it took for him to close the distance between us, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The silence was broken by a choir of horrified wheezes as my head was nearly bitten off, but my move had been carefully calculated. At the last moment, I used my werewolf speed to dodge the razor sharp teeth, while wrapping my arms around the animal’s neck.

I knew I would never be able to knock my adversary down with only my strength, as he was twice my size and a lot heavier, which is why I decided to climb on his back instead. My unexpected strategy clearly took him by surprise. I used the opportunity to close my fists around his ears, pulling them back with all my force. It would take a lot more to cause him actual pain, but it annoyed him enough to throw himself on the ground in a desperate attempt to dispose of me.

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