Mala walked out of her hotel room the next morning, Ben right behind her chatting about how hungry he was. That he’d really worked up an appetite, she’d been smiling at him, he really had enjoyed being hand cuffed to the bed. So had she for that matter.
Frowned instantly as her eyes landed on a fully ticked off Jet. He was standing outside her room waiting on her, it seemed. Snapped right at her, like he always had, “Why would you not even read it?” He held up the envelope she had tossed away last night.
“Why would I?” she responded emotionlessly “He’s nothing to me. Not my Alpha. Hell, I don’t even have to talk to you anymore, so, piss off Jet.” She stated. Put her hand on Ben, she could already hear the low growl being emitted from he and his wolf, “Don’t bother babe, I can take him. Easily so, he won’t start something, is not that stupid.”
Watched as Jet stepped up and barred her way passed him, held out the envelope, put it right up to her, expected her to take it from him to read it. Knew he was not going to budge until he got what he wanted. Took the damned thing, and then tore it clean in half. “Not interested.”
Saw Jet blink, clearly he wasn’t used to anyone disobeying his orders, but he could no longer boss her around. Even if he used his Beta voice, it wouldn’t really work on her. She would feel it, of course, but couldn’t be compelled by it anymore.
Reached out and dropped it over the railing once again, stared right at him the whole time, to make her point very clear “Piss off Jet.” She once again stated.
A loud growl come from him, and Suki pushed right forward and snarled right back at him, pure aggression, would happily take a piece of him. She saw him take a single step backward, not out of fear. She knew that, he was now staring at her in complete shock, at seeing her wolf.
‘Oh, he doesn’t know.’ She told Suki and then burst out laughing, damned near doubled over in her amusement, managed to reign it in, long enough to look right at him “Oh, poor Jet. Didn’t your Alpha tell anyone? I wasn’t wolf-less when I left.”
“What?”
“Nope, he got a full look at my wolf.” She smiled “He’ll never touch her. If you want to fight Jet, it’ll be much worse for you now, don’t you think? Wolf speed, wolf strength, I got all that now. You nor he will ever be able to take me on and win, and you know it.”
Saw him glare right at her, then just turn and stalk off down the stairs a room away to the ground floor and then out the carpark of the hotel.
“Wow, so he kept that a secret. Must have alpha ordered the gate guard to keep his mouth shut.”
“Seems you just let the wolf out of the bag.” Ben sounded amused.
“It does seem that way…let’s go eat. I’m starving.” She smiled at Ben. “Worked a damn good appetite I did.”
“Me to.” Ben laughed.
Mala noted when she went downstairs that Jet had picked up the torn envelope and had taken it with him. Wondered just how long he had been standing outside her room waiting on her to come out. Ben had woken up horny and she’d climbed right on top of him, ridden him good and proper this morning. Wondered if Jet had heard that.
Amused her to think he had, he’d certainly looked pissed off with her enough, for it to be likely, though why? Who knew. His own Alpha had disrespected her and dismissed her the last two years inside that pack.
Had more than hurt her those last two nights of the challenge, used that bond to get what he wanted from her. Even though he was going to reject her and banish her, had been planning on doing that to her the whole damned week, up to the full moon. Before tossing her aside like garbage.
So why on earth would she listen to anything the man had to say, or read anything he had written. It was likely he was in charge of the pack now, not just the heir, but the actual Alpha. Not that it bothered her, she was happy as an elite warrior, was the highest of ranks now.
Had a nice one-bedroom suite inside the pack house, with the other elite warriors and ranked members, had a pack that respected her and never dismissed her. She still wrote her children’s books, sold them, and made a tidy profit, put thirty percent of it back into the pack.
They were all handed their first fight schedule of the day, the only one they would get, every fight after that would be down to who won, filled in the slots of the tiers as the day went on.
Internally sighed to herself, the top fighter from each tier today would have to fight sixteen times today, and that still left a tier for tomorrow of eight fighters in each division, so four fights tomorrow and then the final fight. Noted its time was to be at 4pm, there would be a rest after the final tier tomorrow, before the main fight to see who was the best. This competition had gotten bigger over the years, it seemed.
Though you didn’t fight those within your own pack so that could be interesting, they had two in each tier still, it could well end up the four of them tomorrow and not need to fight it out.
That was the goal, well hers anyway. Likely it was why some of the other packs brought so many fighters. To shut the tiers down in the hope it would leave their pack as the strongest. This place needed new rules or more divisions to stop that from happening. Mala thought absently.
Her first fight was with her old pack. They’d all seen her fight before, and yesterday. Likely wouldn’t want to go up against her. They would all know she could take them all down, didn’t even care that today’s first fight was up against her older brother.
She had looked right at him yesterday, seen that his name was in her division, he’d been no different towards her than anyone else once she’d been deemed wolf-less. Wondered just what he made of his Beta and Alpha trying to talk to her many times yesterday.
She stepped up when her name was called, looked right at him and saw him smell her. Knew why too, she had no bruises from yesterday’s fight. Today she was wearing a simple singlet top with packs logo on the back. She had blocked many hits and should be covered in them, seeing as she was wolf-less.
Saw his eyes go very wide when he realised, she was not wolf-less, could smell she had a wolf, likely smell her rank even, it was higher than his, she noted herself. Did not react to him at all, watched as his eyes glazed over and she folded her arms across her chest.
“I thought this was a fight, Alpha. Not chit chat.” She commented to her Alpha referee, turned her eyes on the man and smiled at him “Well, hello.” She nearly laughed. He was the Alpha Referee for her matches the last time she was here.
“Good to see you survived and are back.” He nodded “no longer wolf-less I see.”
“Never a doubt.” She told him “I went out my way, it was my plan to put myself in the pack hospital, for at least a week.” She stated loudly, knowing that Hudson would be listening to her as would Jet his Beta, likely the whole of his pack.
He would now know that she had not fought back on purpose, now know and understand that her intent that day had been to die or be so injured that he couldn’t have what he wanted once back inside that pack. Did all that just to keep him away from her.
Turned her eyes from the referee when he shook his head, though he smiled at her, “When this one is ready or is he too scared and wants to forfeit.”
“I’m not afraid of you Tamala.” Dain stated, “I’ve trained hard waiting for this day.”
'For this day?' that got her attention, had they been coming here over the years in the hope of catching up to her, shook her head, they were all idiots. “Quit yapping, like the whiny baby, your parents raised you to be, and bring it Dain.” She stated, he’d always been soft, she’d trained twice as hard as him, started much younger as well, had always been going to be the one to represent the family of Lucas in this challenge now it seemed it was up to Dain.
The match started and she dodged and weaved, hadn’t seen him fight yet or not in near on a decade anyway, knew that their father had trained him, trained all of them, but she’d been the one to take to it the most, wanted it more than the rest of them. Was the best of them all, even when they had turned on her, and she’d been refused to train with them by her own father.
She had not stopped training herself, just trained harder, it was all that she had left, and she needed it to survive inside that pack.
Mala could see that yes, he had trained, but could also see there was a slight weakness in his right knee, and his right shoulder didn’t appear to have full dexterity, wondered what had happened to him. Likely some sort of battle injury, didn’t stop to ask him, just made sure her hits and kicks were targeted to his weaknesses.
Put the full force of a kick to his right knee and heard it dislocate. She hadn’t even been trying to do that, it was just weak. Looked right at him and smiled, then smashed two quick hits to his right shoulder for the sake of it. Just to let him know she had not missed his weak spots.
“You’re weak, I see.” She stated as she stood there and watched to see what he was going to do. She’d fought with more injuries the last time she was here, a lot more.
“Fuck you, Tamala.” Could hear the pain in his voice, he was done, and she knew it, hunkered right down in front of him.
“You’re a disgrace to the Lucas name. I fought with more injuries, with all of you hating on me, wishing I would die the whole time. If your father was here, he’d shun you for this weakness.”
Heard the snarl rip out of him, saw his wolf Neeko surface, and snorted at him, stood up and stated, “Get up and fight or tap the hell out Dain.”
Watched him tap out and was declared the winner. “Don’t bother to say hello, to your family for me, they’re not mine anymore. The name Lucas is a disgrace as far as I am concerned. Just like your shitty pack.” Heard many growls come from The Glimmering Moon Pack.
Turned and looked right at them “Yes, I dare to insult you.” She stated and let Suki push forward for all of them to see her on the surface, her brilliant green eyes glowing for all to see, allowed her wolf to snarl right back at them all, before receding. Saw many shocked expressions at her having a wolf, rolled her eyes at all of them.
Found Alpha Aston hauling her off the mats “Enough Mala.”
“Agreed,” she muttered.
“What did I tell you yesterday?” he stated, sounded annoyed with her.
“You don’t want a pissed off Alpha Wolf coming at you.” She answered, but it seemed she could not contain her own mouth around them, hated them all and wanted to show them they were all wrong about her and the way they had treated her.
“Correct, now go and sit down, wait for your next match.”
Mala did, sat and steadfastly focused on the fighting that was going on with the rest of the Glimmering Moon Pack warriors, watched them all fight, looking for their weaknesses, picked out their set moves and memorised their fighting styles, the way they punched the way they moved the way they went on the defensive, right down to the how far their side steps were.
Then she watched and took great interest in Alpha Raymond, her own Alpha brother's fighting. Aston was right. The man was vicious, actually got up and left her seat to watch him fight, get a closer look at him, saw him glance at her, winked right at him, watched him in that split second be distracted and take a full hit to his jaw.
It pissed him off real good, he still won though, stepped of off the mats and snarled right at her “What the hell is your problem?” As he walked passed her.
“Me, nothing.” She smiled up at him.
“Then get the hell away from me.”
“Oh, it will be you and I up there, and I will be putting you in your place, after what your pack did to ours. You’re damned lucky my Alpha didn’t declare war on your ass.”
Saw his eyes move right to hers now, seemed confused about her words.
“Oh, you don’t know.”
“Mala enough.” Aston walked over. “Come, leave it.”
“Why should I? I’d like to return the favour in full Alpha. He is standing right here I could do it.”
“As would I, Mala.” His hand landed on her arm. “You’ve got a fight coming up.” He pulled her away from his brother.
“What is she talking about?” Alpha Raymond grated out.
She watched as Aston looked at him, then reached into his pocket and handed him an envelope. “Ask your Luna!” he stated, and turned and walked away, pulling Mala along with him.
“You are trouble, do you know that?”
“I know.” Mala nodded “Being here, is setting off all my issues…He doesn’t know what happened.”
“Seems that way.” Aston nodded.
Mind linked to him ‘Luna’s don’t act on their own, or…shouldn’t right.’
‘Not usually, it would be discussed an attack like what we had, because starting a war is a big issue. A concern for the pack’s entire safety.’ He nodded ‘we are peaceful and it is likely she is not expecting retaliation.’ He sighed ‘thinks I am too soft and gentle to fight back.’
Mala huffed, he didn’t fight back, or hadn’t yet anyway, likely this here was him assessing his own brothers’ packs. Top warriors, trying to decide if war was worth it. They were larger now and all warriors, no-one knew that, that fact was still a secret, likely always would be.
‘I could kill him, you know. It’ll get us disqualified completely, but weaken that pack. Weaken her and give her a taste of her own medicine.’
‘It’s not my brother I hate Mala.’ He murmured right back.
Pity, she thought, but left it alone, likely why he’d not retaliated.
He was the Alpha and would do what he saw fit, what he thought was best for the pack. She could only follow his orders. If he ordered her to go hunt down his previous Mate, she would be gone in a heartbeat, tear the woman’s head right off, likely wouldn’t even bat an eyelid about it, then return home when it was done.