Gamma of the Rockwood pack
“I suppose I should introduce myself to you again Roxanne… My name is Damien, Gamma of the Rockwood Pack!”
Roxanne could only drop her jaw in surprise. What were the odds that her mother’s mate ended up being the Gamma, one of the top leaders within the pack?
“Damien is busy with off-Pack missions, so he doesn’t stick around very long. When did you arrive from your mission?” Rita said, now facing Damien.
“Not too long ago. I actually came here directly. I have something to discuss with Dax… If possible, also Asher.” He said to Rita, his tone getting more serious.
“Oh? Nothing too serious, I hope.” Rita said.
“Hopefully not… Well, I guess there’s no problem with just saying what it’s about here. It’s about the Hunters… I can’t say any more than that until I’ve met with Dax”
Rita’s expression changed to a grim look, and a look of fright mixed with anger darkened her face.
“Don’t let it get to you too much. It’s not too bad yet. Besides, if we play your cards right, it just might be good news.” Damien said, placing his hand on Rita’s shoulder.
Rita nodded in agreement and softened her expression. Roxanne was confused about what just happened. Who were the ‘Hunters’ Damien mentioned, and why did Rita make such a look?
“Anyway, Dax isn’t here yet, you want to wait for him? Or would you rather go look for him?” Rita asked, shifting the focus from the Hunters.
“Ah, I’ll wait. To be honest, I’m exhausted from the last patrol. It’ll be nice to take a break” Damien said, venturing to sit down.
“That’s great to hear. Your timing couldn’t be perfect. Dinner will be made soon. While we wait, there’s something important we need to discuss. I was telling Roxy about it before you came” Rita stated.
“Oh? Do tell.” Damien said, relaxing comfortably on his seat.
“It’s about Roxanne’s recently concluded Awakening… She needs Werewolf Training.” Rita said.
“I see. So you’d like to propose something to me since the Warriors are in charge of that affair.” Damien replied with a smile.
“You know me well” Rita smiled
“But you should know, right? She has to pass my test first.” Damien said with narrowed eyes.
“She is well aware of that. So, Roxanne… What do you say? Are you up for it?” Rita asked Roxanne, who was watching the entire thing unfold before her eyes.
“S-Sure, definitely!” Roxanne quickly responded.
“Good. Then let us begin!” Damien said, rising to his feet.
“H-Hold up… Like, right now?” Roxanne stuttered with surprise.
“Yeah, you have something better to do?” Damien grinned playfully.
“What about you being exhausted? Don’t you need to rest?” Roxanne asked.
“Pfft, don’t you worry about me. This won’t take very long. Besides, I doubt I’d need to exert myself if I faced you”
“Oh no, you didn’t!” Roxanne thought to herself.
“I’ll make you eat those words,” Roxanne said to Damien with a determined look.
“I look forward to it, sweetheart. Now then, shall we go?” He smiled.
They both stared at themselves, Damien with a condescending smile, while Rita gave him a determined one, ready to make him regret his statement.
“No, no… Chill out, the both of you. You can’t have your fight in this place. Take your whole Aloha male brawl outside. You’re not the one who’ll clean up this mess, you know?” Rita interrupted their little feud.
“Heh, sorry Rita. You’re right. Let’s do this outside.” He said.
Roxanne and Damien both stood opposite each other in Rita’s backyard. Since she had quite the compound, there was enough space at the back for the two to have a sparring match.
“Alright, the test goes like this. You have five minutes. Show me what you can do within that time.” Damien said.
“Just five minutes?!” Roxanne gasped.
“A werewolf fight takes seconds to complete, unless you’re facing a very difficult opponent, it is much easier to take them out in one coordinated and precise attack. Besides, I’m only testing your skill and resolve here. It’s not like we’re in a wrestling match or anything” Damien smirked.
Roxanne was stunned that he knew this. Did her mother tell him? She shook those thoughts from her head and focused on the fight before her. She had no time to get distracted. Doing so would mean her loss.
“This won’t end up like last time,” Roxanne said to him.
“I agree. You’re allowed to use your werewolf powers as much as you want, though I know it won’t amount to much since you can’t control it well. That’s okay too, it’s part of the training. Also, one more thing… I’ll also be using mine” Damien said.
His eyes glowed green and Roxanne could feel a different air about him. He had gotten stronger, her instincts were telling her that. He was currently an unbeatable foe, but so what? She had faced such opponents before.
“One hit! I just have to land one hit!” She told herself.
“I’ll be holding back, so don’t worry and come at me” Damien stated.
Rita presided over the match as a referee and signalled them to start.
“Begin!”
Knowing she was short on time, Roxanne didn’t waste even a split second. She jumped forward to attack Damien, who just stood casually in front of her, without any form or technique.
“Predictable” He muttered.
However, that was what she wanted him to think. She quickly slid on the snowy floor as he was about to grab her, straying from his reach. She managed to bypass him, now behind. Without hesitation, she raised her leg to hit him, but he dodged instantly.
Roxanne used this momentum to rise and bring up with her an uppercut. Damien dodged, with his chin barely escaping her attack. He took a few steps back and created distance between the two of them.
“How do you like that?” Roxanne smiled.
“Not bad… But that can’t be all you have, right? I’m barely even using my Werewolf abilities here. This is supposed to be a Werewolf fight. It makes no sense if you can’t drive me to the point of using mine” Damien grinned.
“You…” Roxanne gritted her teeth.
“Tick Tock, tick-tock,” He said playfully.
She had just had enough of his taunts. Roxanne’s eyes glowed blue and she released the pent-up emotions she felt within her. She could feel strength welling up within her. She felt stronger, faster… She could feel her surroundings even more. Using this, she became more confident that she could at least land a hit.
With a dash, she quickly closed the distance and raised her fist to hit Damien. Her hand closed in on his face and drew nearer without any resistance on his part.
“Yea! I got him!” Roxanne thought.
Her fist hit something. It wasn’t his face though… Rather, it was his palm. Roxanne’s eyes widened as she stared unbelievably at Damien. His palm had blocked her first at the last moment, without any hint of doing so the moment before.
“S-So… So fast!” Roxanne muttered.
She couldn’t even see his movement as he blocked her hit. One moment his hands were down and she had secured her win, and the next his palm was up.
“Your blow is soft… Is that the strongest you can make it?” Damien commented, his glowing green eyes looking down on her.
“This guy… Even if he is mom’s mate, I just can’t stand him!” Roxanne grumbled within herself.
He didn’t acknowledge her, something she found irritating. She remembered back when they first met, and the pitiful display she had shown him. She was flustered then and couldn’t fight well.
“He must think that’s how I fight normally!” Roxanne feared.
She thought she now had a chance to prove to him that she wasn’t so weak, but even now he dominated her with such ease. Was there really no way she could show him just how good she was, or was this the difference in level that she could never match up to?
“He is the Gamma, after all…” Roxanne thought to herself.
No! She wouldn’t accept that. She had fought champions in the ring before, veterans who had fought and won more matches than she had. She didn’t give up then, and she wasn’t going to start now. She would always find a way to win back then, so all she had to do was to do the same there.
“Think Roxanne, think”
Suddenly, an idea sparked in her head. She smiled at the thought.
“This could work!”
She quickly retreated from her location and distanced herself from Damien again, ready to enact her plan.
Damien sensed something had changed and Roxanne was up to something. He liked that and couldn’t wait till she pulled off her move.
“Let’s see what you’ve got!”
With another spring, this time faster than the previous one, Roxanne charged straight for Damien. Damien was surprised she employed such a straightforward tactic but quickly cautioned himself. It couldn’t be that simple, she was definitely up to something!
As she neared him, Damien readied himself for what was to come. Immediately, Roxanne twisted her body as she turned around to a halt. Her leg which still moved was raised, dragging with it a great deal of snow and dirt. The particles made their way to Damien, who raised his guard at that very moment to block any of it from getting on his face.
Roxanne took this opportunity and jumped. The height was greater than what she could have achieved as a normal human. With her werewolf enhancement, she made her way above Damien’s head. She front flipped, making her way behind Damien, whose guard was still raised and his partial attention remained on the mix of snow and dirt.
She landed on her feet behind him, and with haste, raised her elbow for a jab. His back was defenceless since his feet were rooted in a defensive stance and his hands were too occupied waving off the hindrance in front of him.
“Checkmate! It’s my win… One hit!” Roxanne thought to herself.
At this point, Damien only smiled and didn’t even bother to defend. Her elbow neared his back, ready to make its hard impact, however…
“Time Up!” Rita declared.
“W-Wha-” Roxanne said with surprise as she froze, halting her attack.
“Looks like you were just a second too late… Roxanne,” Damien smiled.
“Too bad… You couldn’t get your one hit!”