by Jade Royal
“We’ll be back for you when it’s time,” Kellan told Hera. He let her down from the cuffs so her power could be restored by the time the challenge was going to take place. They left her locked in the basement until it was time. Outside of the lounge, the pack paced around, nervous energy filling them.
“So explain the rules of this challenge,” Bliss finally spoke.
“It’s a fight. No one can interfere or help out,” Kellan replied.
“So how does it end?” Bliss was afraid she already knew the answer.
“Well, either Kyra or Hera will quit or concede or they fight until the death.” Bliss gaped and covered her mouth.
“Death?!” she shrieked. She looked at Kyra realizing the danger.
“Kyra I don’t care if she wins, but do not let her kill you! Quit if you have to!”
“What kind of wolf would that make me then?” Kyra questioned.
“I’m not quitting. If I die then I die.” Bliss looked at Kellan.
“Why would you risk one of our wolves dying for the sake of that bitch?!” Bliss exclaimed. She pushed Kellan in anger, but he grabbed her hands to hold her.
“I am very confident in my choice,” he said intently. He pushed Bliss away from him gently and looked at Kyra.
“Not only that, but Kyra accepted the challenge. She knew what she was getting into.”
“Kyra don’t accept a challenge unless she knows she can win,” Jaxson said.
“I’ll be okay,” Kyra said to everyone. She only managed a weak smile before she walked away to get her mind right for the fight.
“Let’s clean up the bodies,” she heard Kellan say to the rest of the pack.
Kyra sat in the nearby woods for hours. She let her wolf be calm and complacent so when it was time to fight the wolf would be recharged and ready. None of her packmates bothered her until she sensed Jaxson coming towards her after hours of solitude.
“We’re going to head out soon,” he informed her.
“We have a good location, and we wanna prepare everything over there.”
“Okay,” she said quietly. Jaxson came in front of her and crouched down so he could look at her.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m alright for someone who’s about to head into a challenge,” she replied.
“You and me both know you can take Hera down.”
“I suppose I can.” Jaxson didn’t like how down she sounded. It was unusual for her. He got closer to her and sat down completely.
“Okay, what’s the matter?” he asked her seriously. She opened her mouth to speak, but he stopped her.
“Don’t come at me with the lies and the bullshit either. Tell me the truth.” Kyra huffed and crossed her arms.
“Kellan is making this challenge a showing to the shifter world. I just don’t want to make him, or the pack look foolish! Yeah, what if I can beat her; doesn’t mean I will. She can do something I’m not prepared for and take me the fuck out. I only care about dying because it’ll cost the pack the reputation Kellan is trying hard to build. Most of all, I need to win because I wanna prove that I can be of use to the pack. That I’m not just another wolf not playing my part to make the pack successful.” Jaxson gave her a look.
“What in the fuck are you talking about Kyra?” he questioned.
“You think you’re not worth anything?” Kyra crossed her arms.
“Every other she-wolf in this pack is worth something,” she shrugged. She slung her head down. Jaxson picked her head up with a finger under her chin.
“I’m sorry you think that Kyra. Because you mean something to me.” Kyra gazed at him. She wanted to kiss him so bad.
“I mean something to you?” she whispered.
“Oh come on, you know you do. I said that to you when you woke up from your healing sleep.” Kyra was confused. Her wolf was swooning and batting her lashes at Jaxson’s wolf; obviously infatuated.Kyra’s heart was thumping heavily with emotions she was unsure she could handle. How could he make her feel this way when he had a mate? It was only going to make Kyra’s heartbreak even the more painful.
“Why are you doing this to me Jaxson?” she asked softly.
“Doing what to you cocoa bean?” he questioned.
“Hurting me,” she whispered. Jaxson was stunned. She was the last person he ever wanted to hurt.
“Kyra I don’t mean to-”
“It’s okay,” she spoke up.
“I know you’re just being nice. Maybe it’s because you want to or maybe because you have to, but either way, I’m letting you know that you’re not required to be nice to me.” Kyra stood and breathed in deep.
“Strike hard and strike fast right?” she asked, changing to subject by saying something he’d always told her during training.
“Yeah,” Jaxson replied.
“Everyone has a weak spot. Find it, and use it to your advantage.” Kyra nodded at him and gave him one of her cute little smiles before she walked off. Jaxson stayed where he was, confused as fuck for a moment. He didn’t understand how she thought he was hurting her but that fucked with his head. Whatever it was; he needed to make it right because his heart couldn’t handle her feeling that way about him. It made his wolf anxious and very upset.
Finally standing; he headed back to where the pack was gathered at the edge of the woods. He realized his chance for talking to Kyra about anything else was vanquished. The she-wolves had her in their circle; talking and laughing with her. Seeing an actual smile on her face settled his wolf for the time being. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Then he realized his heart had stopped beating irregularly and his lungs contracted in and out normally.
“Everything good?” Kellan asked his enforcer.
“Yeah, it’s good. Why?” Jaxson asked, clearing his throat.
“I feel something off in our bond,” Kellan replied, making it very known that Jaxson couldn’t hide his feelings from his best friend or his alpha.
“What is it?” Tristan asked.
“His heart is doing cartwheels, I can hear it,” Jayce said. Jaxson sucked his teeth.
“Tell us what’s up,” Kellan probed.
“It’s nothing, shit. I just-she’s-it’s the sound of her damn laugh and her smile,” Jaxson said flashing his hands towards Kyra.
“I just get this weird ass feeling when I see and hear her laugh that’s all.” The three men looked at Jaxson for a while.
“You said she’s not your mate?” Kellan asked.
“No. She’s not.”
“Are you just denying the fact?” Jayce asked.
“No. I’m not,” Jaxson said getting frustrated. He wished he never got that dream that plagued him ‘till this day.
“I get why you three had your reasons for prolonging your mating. But I have none. If she was my mate, I would claim her instantly. But she’s not. Yet still I get fucked up emotionally when I’m around her,” Jaxson said.
“I’ve never come across a situation like this,” Kellan said.
“It’s very strange.”
“Yeah,” Jayce replied.
“I would be going crazy if it were happening to me too.”
“We’re ready!” Bliss called out to the men, interrupting their conversation.
“We’ll talk about this another time,” Jaxson said.
“Right now I just need her to whoop Hera’s ass.”
The Phoenix Pack wolves, with Hera being heavily guarded by Jaxson and Tristan walked to the location of where the challenge was to take place. As they neared the deep foliage of the woods, they could pick up on the scents of other packs and shifters that were waiting for their arrival. This section of the woods was heavily packed with trees and was hard to get through for humans. But once through it; there was a clearing that allowed for the packs to gather around.
Not only were there wolf packs, but shifters of all kinds were present as well. Kellan could sense bears and panthers. He didn’t mind the different species of shifters t
hat came to watch. None of them instilled any fear in his heart. If his pack was proven to be strong; then those shifters would only respect his pack even more.
Kyra paused when she saw the amount of shifters that had showed up to see the challenge. It was intimidating, but she knew it was only going to benefit the pack if she did what she had to do.
“You got this,” Bliss said to Kyra sensing her nervousness. She rubbed Kyra’s arms and pumped some energy through the alpha bond towards Kyra.
“Fuck that bitch up for all of us,” Rita added. Kyra smiled as she hugged her sister wolves. All the packs who’d come out to watch the challenge had effectively created a large circle in the clearing; signifying the middle was going to be fighting ring.
“Hey, Tristan!” The sound of a female calling out to Tristan didn’t miss any of them. Gemma whipped around and spotted the female that Tristan had dated prior to their mating. Even her pack was there to watch the challenge.
“Don’t fucking try me!” Gemma shouted walking towards the direction of the she-wolf. Tristan quickly intercepted Gemma and whisked her away. Kyra shook her head and smiled. She could understand how Gemma felt. She not only understood it, but she experienced it. It happened just as Mira went to stand next to Jaxson. She whispered something in his ear, and he only nodded; nothing else. But man did that tick Kyra’s wolf off. She growled and flicked her claws out. But then she just felt silly.
“That’s his mate,” she mumbled to herself.
“How the hell are you mad?” Kyra rolled her eyes and marched towards the circle created by the pack. She stood inside of it and closed her eyes, getting herself ready for the fight that was about to take place.
“Mira not right now,” Jaxson said moving away from Mira who was insistent in talking to him about nonsense while he was trying to concentrate on Kyra and this damn challenge.
He moved away from Mira and dragged Hera to the circle where Kyra was already waiting. Once Hera entered the circle, Kyra turned to face her before plopping down on the ground and sitting Indian style. Jaxson smirked; realizing Kyra was only sitting that way to show she wasn’t afraid or anxious about the fight.
“My pack was attacked,” Kellan spoke loudly, entering the circle and standing between Kyra and Hera. He pointed at Hera.
“She has challenged one of my wolves to hopefully spare her life. That’s why we’re all here. No one is going to interfere, not even my other wolves no matter the outcome of this fight.” The crowd cheered as if it was going to be some sort of concert or some shit. This was going to be a brutal fight. But shifters were brutal by nature. This kind of thing was like a concert for them.
Kellan stepped out of the circle signaling the fight could start at any time. The Phoenix Pack stood in front of the circle so they could see the fight. Jaxson stood with his arms crossed looking directly at Kyra. He saw her take a deep breath before she opened her eyes. Her wolf eyes flashed before she smirked evilly towards Hera. Hera screamed and launched herself at Kyra. She ran full force, but Kyra kept herself seated. Jaxson couldn’t help the panic that filled him. Why wasn’t Kyra getting up and getting in a defensive stance? Jaxson watched as Hera closed the distance between them.
“Move it!” Jaxson yelled at her. She didn’t listen to him; but the moment Hera got close enough, Kyra popped up quickly and moved to the side; kicking her leg out. Her leg met Hera’s stomach with force because of how fast Hera has been coming at her. Hera flew to the other side of the circle, falling in a heap, clutching her stomach and trying to regain her breath. In that moment, Kyra turned and looked at Jaxson.
She saw him clutch at his heart as if he was about to have a panic attack or something. But then he looked up at her, and she could see him breathe a sigh of relief. He jerked his head towards Hera, letting Kyra know she needed to keep attacking. She walked steadily towards Hera. Unlike her opponent, Kyra didn’t want to run or anything that would build up energy that could be used against her. Kyra was able to hit Hera so hard because the woman had been running full speed. Kyra knew she wasn’t going to be able to get another easy hit like that. She had to earn it.
Nearing Hera, Kyra was stunned as Hera launched herself from the ground and speared Kyra through the air before they both landed on the ground. On top of her, Hera clawed at Kyra’s face, scratching and hitting her wildly. Kyra did her best to block the hits, but she felt her face being scratched up pretty good. Just like a female to fight with scratching. Grunting, Kyra used her weight to shift their positions. She rolled over and pinned Hera to the ground.
“Bitch!” Hera cursed. Kyra dug her claws through Hera’s throat so the bitch couldn’t talk anymore. Kyra didn’t want to hear anything she had to say. Clawing her throat out didn’t stop Hera from attacking. She hit Kyra across the face then lodged her claws into Kyra’s chest. Falling off her, Kyra grabbed her bleeding chest and crawled away so she could get some time to recuperate. Hera didn’t let up. She kicked Kyra in the stomach repeatedly, breaking her ribs. Kyra spit up blood, unable to get up from her position on the ground.
Jaxson began to panic as Kyra rolled around on the ground, Hera relentless in her kicks and stomps to Kyra. If you can’t breathe, then you can’t fight. Hera was making it very hard for Kyra to fight back. Jaxson refused to let Kyra go down like that though. She was too good a wolf and a fighter to be taken out like that.
“GET UP!” Jaxson yelled over the crowd of shifters ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ at the sickening sound of Kyra’s ribs being kicked in. Jaxson marched over to her side of the circle so she could see and hear him.
“Kyra, get the fuck up,” he ordered her; shouting from the edge of the circle. If he went any closer, he would be compromising the rules and making the challenge void. That would set Hera free again, and no one wanted that. Kyra locked eyes with Jaxson at the edge of the circle. “You can do it. Get up!” he shouted. The fierceness in his eyes rattled Kyra’s heart. The intensity of his belief of her was tremendous. She felt his presence inside her body like they were bonded. The feeling was very weird, unlike anything she had even felt before.
The feeling however powered her wolf. The animal howled in her body and filled Kyra with strength and tenacity. Hera reared back to kick Kyra again. This time, Kyra rolled out of the reach of any more of Hera’s kicks. She could barely breathe, but she didn’t stop rolling to get out of the way. When she could finally breathe again, she waited for Hera’s kick. When the kick came, Kyra grabbed Hera’s ankle and yanked it; sending Hera falling flat in her ass. Kyra jumped up but kept hold of Hera’s ankle. She began to drag Hera around the circle by the ankle. She spotted a rock jutting out from the ground at the edge of the circle and moved quickly towards it. Hera fought and tried to kick out of the hold, but Kyra was not letting go.
She dragged Hera all the way to the rock and latched both her hands onto Hera’s ankle. Mustering up all her strength she began to spin, whipping Hera around and around in the air. When she created enough momentum, she let go of Hera’s ankle, letting her head slam against the large rock. The sickening crack reverberated through the crowd of people. While Hera was down; Kyra used that time to get her composure. She looked back at Jaxson. He made a fist and nodded.
Hera’s body shimmered as her human body changed into that of her wolf. Kyra realized, she had Hera beat in human form, and her wolf was taking over now. But her wolf did not scare Kyra. It just proved that Hera couldn’t win without her physical animal. Hera’s wolf popped up and ran full speed towards Kyra. Spreading her feet and bracing herself, Kyra stayed in human form. When Hera’s wolf leaped into the air to pounce onto her, Kyra shifted her weight and caught the beast, using its momentum she flipped them over and threw the beast to the ground. Kyra was scratched by the claws on the motion; but she ignored her stinging pain and kept fighting; piercing the stomach of the beast with her claws. Slicing at the heels of the animal and the throat; Hera’s wolf weakened, and the animal retreated; forcing Hera to come back to the surface. She lay on the g
round, bleeding and coughing. Kyra looked around at her pack. They were standing there confidently, nodding and cheering her on.
“This is for the Phoenix Pack!” She screamed out. She stepped in the middle of Hera’s back and snapped her vertebrae. Then she bent down, crouching over Hera’s back and pulled her arms back. Hera screamed out as Kyra continued to yank at her arms; pulling not only her limbs back but her backbone. Kyra didn’t stop until Hera’s back cracked again and began to crumble under Kyra’s strength.
Kyra gave a hard yank; breaking Hera’s back completely. The power of her wolf shimmered through the sunrise. In her wolf form, Kyra clamped her jaws around the middle of Hera’s back and used her claws to rip Hera’s top half and bottom half in two. With Hera dead in front of her, Kyra turned her nose up to the sky let out a piercing howl. Kellan howled right after her, commemorating her victory.
Kellan stepped into the circle with the rest of the pack following him. Jaxson rushed to Kyra’s side and helped to keep her on her feet. Kyra smiled at him and settled into his touch; loving his comfort.
“You’re one badass wolf,” Jaxson whispered to her. Kyra wiped her bleeding mouth and was on the verge of saying something back to him when she felt glaring eyes at her. Looking past Jaxson, she saw Mira staring right at them with her arms crossed. What was Kyra doing? She couldn’t disrespect a mating bond no matter what the hell she felt.
“Thanks,” she said to Jaxson tartly, taking his arms from around her.
“Wouldn’t have been able to do it without your training. I’m thankful for your help.” She nodded before walking away tentatively, going to stand next to Bliss and Rita. Jaxson stared after her. Something had changed between them, and Jaxson was still clueless as to what it was.
“We are the Phoenix Pack!” Kellan spoke to the crowd of shifters. He pointed at Hera’s dismembered body.
“This is what we do to our enemies! Whether it be the she-wolves or the males; we’re not the pack to fuck with. We’re here to keep the shifter world safe from all threats, human and supernatural. I pledge to help packs in need, but I will not stand to be targeted and plotted against. So if you think I deserve to be challenged; then step right the fuck up now!”
