CALIFF
“Are you sure she’s ready for this?” Kindra asked.
“It wouldn’t be fair for everyone if she will be given a long time to prepare,” Duke answered his mate, sitting next to him.
The pack started filling the bench before the football field, where the challenge would begin in a few minutes. Was I worried that she wouldn’t win the challenge? No. I would be more worried for her opponent that Lyon would pick a name that Shadow was challenging.
I had confidence in her, and so did the enforcer.
“This is gonna be fun.”
“I’m worried, Cal. She’s been a rogue for a long time, and two days training with Zack is nothing compared to our enforcers who have trained since they were pups.”
“We’ll see.”
“What if she won’t win?”
I looked at Kindra as she began tapping her knees. “She will be omega like everyone else.”
“And that is okay with you?” Duke asked.
“Yeah. Fair is fair.”
“I thought you two have a thing. I heard you went to the city to buy her clothes.”
“Because she doesn’t have a pair. Nothing more.”
My reply didn’t convince Duke. We may grow up together. We went to school together. We trained together. Our parents were best friends. His father was my father’s beta. The moment they stepped down, we took over the position of Alpha and Beta. But sometimes, he wasn’t so observant around him.
“I heard those kids were giving her a hard time,” he said.
“She will gain their respect once she’s proven she’s not just a rogue,” Kindra replied to her mate.
That brought me to the women in the shop. If they spread gossip and would treat Shadow like that again, I would not hesitate to vanish them out of the pack.
Shadow may have made some mistakes, but she had been trying her best to show everyone that she deserved a place in the pack.
“I like your confidence, Alpha. Does she have one, though? And why are you putting her in a challenge if she can’t be an enforcer?”
I ignored his question because he didn’t have to know about my plan.
The opposite benches were already full. Other enforcers had come to witness the challenge.
Lyon walked to the center of the field, where everyone used to train and play. “Good morning, Alpha Cal, Beta Duke,” he also addressed the presence of my mother, the former Luna, who had just joined me.
“Your father had an important meeting with the elders.” She placed her hand on my knee. I knew why she was here. She wanted to witness and watch Shadow to fill her curiosity.
“You didn’t have to come, Mom.”
“I told you I would like to meet her.” I was right, after all.
“May I call Shadow Hawks the challenger for today?” As soon as Lyon called her name, my heart began thumping fast. Mom squeezed my hand as she silently told me everything would be okay. “Please come forward.”
Her scent was already cast in the air, even if she wasn’t in the field yet. Shadow marched forward and received a few boos from the audience. She looked beautiful, although she didn’t look excited like everyone.
My jaw clenched at how she was being treated, but later on, she would get the respect she deserved.
“I’m going to pick your opponent, Shadow. I just want you to know that this is random. None of the enforcers is aware that one of them will compete with you today. This list.” He showed the list in his hand. “I haven’t seen it, neither Alpha Cal or Beta Duke, because the enforcers just listed their names this morning to avoid cheating.”
“Let me choose the number,” my mother suggested, making everyone gasp.
“Go ahead, Elder Eleanor.”
“I pick number seven.”
“Thank you, Elder.” Lyon looked at the list and showed everyone before he called the name. “Rogue Shadow is challenging Tor Ravinsky.”
The pack roared and stomped their feet while Shadow didn’t have any idea who Tor Ravinsky was.
“Shit,” Duke reacted. I felt the worry in his voice. “Ravinsky is thrice her size and well-trained, one of the top enforcers. She’s not going to make it in one minute, Alpha.”
“It’s a random number. I can’t and won’t change anything. I can’t be lenient because she had a bigger opponent.
Confident Tor, in a wife beater, showing off his bulging biceps, just walked into the field. The pack went wild, clapping and showing support for him.
“I can’t watch this,” Kindra said. “Good thing Mom is here if Shadow needs a doctor, which she definitely needs.”
“You’re silence speaks volumes, Mom. Did you regret choosing her opponent?”
“No. I bet my twenty. She will win.”
“I’m sorry, Elder, but I have to go with Tor,” Duke said.
Kindra bit her inner cheek before she spoke. “I really like Shadow. I don’t want anything to happen to her, but I’ll go with Duke.”
“Fine. Me and Mom, forty bucks for that rogue.”
Duke had an incredulous look on his face.
“Before we begin, I will state some rules. This should be a healthy competition. A thousand dollars, of course, for the winner, courtesy of our Alpha. So, no headbutting, gouging of eyes, no spitting or biting your opponents, hair pulling, or fish hooking. It is prohibited to strike your opponent on the spine, back of the head, or throat. And, of course, no groin attacks. When you surrender, raise a hand or tap the ground.”
They nodded. Tor had a grin on his face.
“You two both shake hands.”
Tor offered a handshake first. “Good luck, girl.”
“You, too.” Her voice was lacking confidence, but I knew she could win this.
Lyon got in the middle. “This challenge has no time limit. You only have three submissions to allow yourselves to take a ten-second break.”
“Got it,” Shadow said.
“Did she really get it?” Duke asked me.
“I bet my twenty for her. She has to win the challenge.”
“Okay, ready?” Lyon asked.
Before Shadow nodded, she searched for someone in the audience and stopped until she found me.
My heart skipped as our gazes met. Everything around us seemed to fade. We seemed to have our silent conversation until she broke her gaze and focused on the competition.
“Let the challenge begin!”
The tension thickened on the ground. Tor was on his stance pretty quickly. Given that he was way taller and bigger, his arms and fists were his advantages, but Shadow might be able to study his movements in a short amount of time.
Shadow loosened her position into a counterstrike to block Tor’s first punch, but he was quicker to get to his feet and launched his attack, kicking Shadow in the chest and knocking her down a few feet away. The audience roared as Tor got the first point.
That hurt. I could feel her pain, but she got on her feet and into the comfortable foundation where she could easily block punches and kicks. I could see in her action that she was planning something.
“I just hope she has a few tricks on her sleeve because that kick was hard and strong,” Duke commented.
I remained silent as I watched her move intently while Tor took his chances to give a hell of strikes and kicks against Shadow.
“Accept your defeat now, rogue! While you can still walk!” Some college boys were booing Shadow, making my jaw lock hard.
“Oh, my Goddess! I can’t watch this.” Kindra was on her feet when Shadow received the southpaw from Tor. Her teeth were tattered, and her body landed on the ground. I smelled blood and a lot of rage in the air. She wiped her bloody lips with the back of her hand.
While the audience enjoyed watching her stumble and fall many times, she got on her feet again and again.
I felt the triumph coming from Tor while Shadow was filling and filling her chest with rage.
She took all the strikes given by Tor, and she hadn’t gotten her chance.
“Take a deep breath, Shadow!” It was coming from Zack. “Just remember our practice. You can win this!”
She’d been unconscious since the first strike if she was a human. Right now, she could be dead with broken bones, internal bleeding, and concussions. But she was still standing despite her bloody face.
She gave her to try to throw her kick at Tor’s knee, but she was caught off guard as Tor caught her leg, lifted her, and dropped her body on his knee.
She screamed in pain, but she didn’t tap for submission. The more she suffered, the whole pack, especially the boys, roared in their victory. Tor was a good fighter, but I trusted Shadow’s capability.
“Shit. She’s going to die. What is she doing? Why is she taking all the punches and doesn’t strike back.”
“She’s waiting for something,” Mom told Duke.
“Please, Shadow. If you can hear me, do something or just accept defeat.” Kindra covered her face with her hands, unable to watch anymore.
“She won’t,” Mom said.
“Is she trying to get herself killed?”
Before I could reply to Kindra, something unthinkably happened. Shadow blocked Tor’s punch with her fist. I felt the strength. The force shifted in the air, making everyone gasp. Tor screamed in pain as she just broke his knuckles.
“Holy shit!” Duke was on his feet. Just like everyone, he was shocked by the sudden turn of events.
I couldn’t help but smile as I felt so proud of her, but I remained in my seat.
Tor just crippled his dominant hand. Even if he healed faster, he couldn’t use it for several minutes to hours. As he tried to block Shadow’s strike with his left, he was still suffering from pain. Shadow took her chance with a calf kick to Tor’s knee. The crack sound echoed, landing Tor on the ground.
The audience suddenly lost their voice. The field went silent, nothing but Thor’s cry and thuds from Shadow’s punches.
Tor was losing. Everyone saw that, but it didn’t stop Shadow from fulfilling her dream of winning. She landed her knee on Thor’s chest, which could crash his heart.
Shadow was losing control of her wolf.
Shit.
Tor just patted the ground, but Shadow couldn’t see it anymore. Her wolf was getting in control of her emotions.
“Cal, do something.” Mom touched my back. “Before she will kill your enforcer.”
Everybody gasped as she still struck Tor with her fist.
“Shadow,” I called her name, but it might be too late. Her wolf was taking over. Her heart was pumping with anger. Her eyes would begin to glow.
She was about to throw another blow on Tor’s face when I ran to the field at my animal speed. “Shadow!”
Just a mere inch to his face, she managed to control her wolf and crashed her strength against the ground instead. The impact had the ground cracking with its shockwave so unbelievably strong the gust of dust blasted as if there was a minor explosion.
“Shadow,” I called her name. Her eyes were closed. “Listen to my voice. Block the noises around you. It’s just you and me. Take a deep breath and listen to my heartbeat. Come back to me, Shadow.”
She did as I said, taking a deep breath, and began to crack her eyes open. I saw the glow vanish, and her misty gray eyes met mine as she blinked off the fury in her body.
“Oh, my God. I’m sorry.” She quickly got off Tor’s barely conscious body.
“We have a winner! Shadow! Congratulations!”
Everyone seemed pleased with the result, but not as much for Shadow as she dashed off the field.