He growls even louder but doesn’t talk back. Instead, I see him look towards where Nathaniel is. But he hasn’t moved. He appears very relaxed, standing next to Tonia and Liam, and Bobo is now the one walking in large circles around us. Liam was right. Having the Black brothers watching us will not let him concentrate on the fight. I know I can take my chance. This time, I jump at him while he is still staring at Nathaniel and throw a punch to his solar plexus.
He saw me coming at the last second, and to my surprise, he doesn’t dodge. He takes the hit, contracting his muscles. Does he want to show he is more robust than me? I don’t care, I still throw my fist as hard as I can, and a second later, he obviously regrets not protecting himself. I’ve learned how to throw a punch now. His breath is cut short, and for a second, he is choking, falling on his knees, and desperately gasping for air. I hear growls and angry voices rising around us, but I don’t listen. I knew this kind of thing would happen, and I trust the others to control the crowd one way or another.
While Vincent is still choking, I take a couple of steps back and get ready to hit again. My wolf warns me just in time. He’s shape-shifting.
It takes about two or three long seconds to Vincent to turn into a dark-brown wolf. That is way longer than me, butstill. Facing a wolf is way different from facing a human man. I adjust my position and throw a kick at the right moment to send him away. He falls a bit further, but I know I was just lucky his shapeshifting took long enough for me to be able to prepare my kick. Now, I will be facing a wolf, and that’s a whole different thing. I need to shape-shift and let my wolf take over, too. But at the right moment.
I take a couple of steps back, and I feel my wolf getting impatient. Just a few seconds, girl.Wait for it, wait... And there he goes. As expected, he jumps as soon as he can get on his feet again, running towards me. I stand ready, carefully waiting for the right time. He runs closer, and when he’s almost at me, all fangs out, I shape-shift.
I erase my human self, letting my wolf completely take over. It’s even shorter than a split second for me. Like going through a wall of fresh snow. I jump on the other side; the sudden change brings my wolf-self right at the perfect spot to attack his exposed neck. She bites furiously, with a newfound rage, and he lets out a plaintive whimper. Her fangs on his throat are powerful, I can already smell the fresh blood. He struggles, trying to kick her off him, but she won’t let go. She’s clenching her fangs hard, not giving the slightest care for his pain.
Around us, people start yelling loudly, calling me names, or telling their Alpha to free himself. Not a chance. I’m not letting go. We won’t. He knows what he has to do, and he just doesn’t want to. He tries fighting back for a while, but I can taste his blood in my mouth. He is running out of time. My wolf wants him to submit, or she’ll kill him. His pack encourages him not to give up. Are they blind? I’m biting his throat! I could kill him with just a snap, though I don’t want to kill anyone. Is he counting on it? I won’t. I can control mywolf perfectly; she and I are one. I’m not like some of us who can’t resist their beast instincts and attack randomly.
Suddenly, I feel a vivid pain to my flank, and let go by instinct. I don’t know what happened, but he probably managed to scratch me deep enough. I feel the blood flowing from my injury, but not enough to worry me. We are not done yet.
I trust my wolf. I know she can keep up a fight now that she’s tasted blood. I let her take control. Most of the crowd are now cheering, but others are all stunned by my appearance. I hear comments on my blue eyes and white fur. Liam seems overexcited, leaning forward and growling loudly.
“…Stay with your wolf.”
Vincent suddenly attacks, and the voice in my head surprises me enough to almost not see him coming at me. I react at the last moment, throwing my fangs at him.
“Don’t let him dominate you!”
Who is guiding me? I listen to her anyway, and start fighting him off. I growl loudly and don’t let him take the upper hand. He is bigger, but I’m beginning to understand his tactics. I can dodge some of his moves smoothly and manage to bite him back for every time he manages to injure me. I can see he hasn’t fought for a while. He tries to get a hold of me, but I won’t let him. I’m careful not to let him too close or get on top of me. I’m starting to get tired, though. It feels like this goes on for a while before I finally see an opening on his flank. I aim for his shoulder with no restraint and bite as hard as I can.
“Take him down.”
I use my strength and his sudden reaction to the pain to push him down to the ground, laying ons his flank. He is still fighting me off, but his shoulder and throat are obviously painful for him.
“Go for his neck.”
The voice in my head is guiding me all the way, I don’t have any time to wonder who is mind-linking with me. I fiercely bite Vincent’s neck and hold him down. This time my fangs won’t let go, and he can barely move, let alone free himself. I’m smaller, but my front legs are on his back, and the continuous pain is getting to him.
“You got him.”
I hope she’s right and hold my position. The crowd’s getting louder, but I don’t care. I’m waiting for Vincent to admit his defeat. I’m tired, I want to finish this soon. His pack keeps encouraging him, but some are starting to yell at him for being weak. The other Clans seem to have lost interest in the fight, the outcome is clear now. They are patiently waiting to see it.
Finally, Vincent submits. He stops fighting, his tail between his legs, and whimpers. This is it. I slowly let go and retreat a few steps back. Tonia comes up to me to give me my sweatshirt so I can cover myself when shifting back to my human form. This is quite embarrassing in front of so many people, even if it’s for a split second! Thankfully, Bobo stands in front of me, too, and I suppose the best anyone got was a quick peek at my butt before I got my panties on.
I stand up and look at Vincent. He takes his time to shift back, and his wife brings him a pair of jeans to put on. I wish he would hurry up, I’m freezing with my bare legs... Gosh, while looking down, I just noticed I’m bleeding from under my sweatshirt, probably my flank injury. Some got on Bobo’s brown fur, too, as he is standing right next to me. I try to gently push him away, but it’s like trying to move a mountain, he doesn’t care one bit. He is focused on Vincent, growling at him and his pack, making sure no one dares to come at me.Meanwhile, I see Nathaniel walking up to me. He smirks at Vincent.
“So?”
Vincent growls, but bends one knee and lowers his head, his neck covered in blood... I can’t believe I really did this. He is visibly furious, but with so many witnesses, he has no choice.
“I acknowledge my defeat. Nora Bluemoon is now free to lead the Jade Moon Pack if she wants.”
A lot of unhappy pack members growl, but they don’t have a say in this matter. Vincent raises his eyes to look at me, filled with hatred. I look around. Is that right? I see Nathaniel smiling, but Liam is still fiercely growling. A few pack members have come to gather behind their Alpha.
Vincent might be a lousy Alpha, but his Clan still values him very much, as the Greene Family took over the Jade Moon Clan a few generations ago already. I sigh. What do I do now? I could take over, and they would have no choice but to obey me, but...
“Do it, Nora. Isn’t it what you wanted?” Says Vincent.
I realize everyone is waiting for my decision. I turn to Nathaniel, but he’s still smiling mysteriously, leaving me to decide. I breathe in.
“I don’t want to be your Alpha. That will only be an excuse for you guys to hate me more than you already do, and you will turn against me on the first occasion. I don’t want to have to fight every day until one of you gets to kill me.”
Everyone is looking at me, surprised. They probably didn’t expect me to reach such a decision. I see the beginning of a smile on Vincent’s face. Oh no, you won’t get away that easily.
