AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My legs grew weak, as disapproval and rage emanated from that side of the stage, the insistent demand to kneel clawing at my mind. A few of my pack gasped and fell to the ground, catching the edge of it, too. Even Trevor fell to one knee and glanced up at the stage, confused and off-center. I could see the question on his face. Why was I still on my feet, if he couldn’t stand? I was unranked. I was nobody, the pack reject. Prey, as far as anyone knew.
But I could stand under the Alpha’s power.
That made me smile. Trevor had fighting skills, but his whole shining life had been given to him gift-wrapped. Everything he’d wanted was his to take, with the approval of the other ranked wolves. I’d had to claw my way just to survive, and I’d never relied on the Alpha’s approval to stand on my own. I sure as fuck wasn’t going to kneel to him, or anyone, now.
I sent a mental thank you to Del. The focus he’d taught me from the time I was six kept my mind clear of outside influences, even my own Alpha’s.
The oppressive power lessened, and the announcer cleared his throat and began speaking, asking what form we would take. Trevor had the choice since he was ranked, and he shouted, “Wolf form!”
The crowd grumbled. They all knew I hadn’t shifted yet. They could see it in the fading scars I wore on my arms, could smell it in me. Hell, I probably looked like I was twelve; I’d been starved for so long, I really didn’t measure up.
Near the Alpha, the woman’s voice I’d heard before protested. “This is the sort of match your pack finds acceptable? A child, a girl, fighting a shifted wolf? This isn’t a game; this is a punishment.”
“She deserves it,” Alpha Callaway growled back. “She killed one of our own.”
There was an outcry near the Alphas. I refused to look, taking one calm breath, then another. But the announcer asked me a question. “You have never shifted?”
I shook my head.
He exhaled heavily. “This sort of match, an uneven fight, has only occurred once before, sixteen years ago.” His face was stone still, revealing nothing. “The immature shifter was killed. In order to keep such an event from recurring, a new rule was put in place. You are allowed a weapon.”
I heard my Alpha yell, “New rule? What the hell’s he goin’ on about?”
I let his words wash over me like a rush of hot wind. My heart was swelling, bubbling, and I fought the surge of giddiness. I had a chance. “What kind of weapon?”
The announcer’s eyes went dark. “It must be something you have trained with as part of your pack duties or schooling. No guns, no explosives. Your pack must provide it. You cannot leave the ring or you forfeit.”
Aw, hell. I let out a calm, slow breath. “Does anyone in my pack offer a weapon?”
No one answered. I shrugged at the announcer. “Unranked shifters in Southern aren’t allowed weapons anyway. Or formal training.”
The announcer’s eyes widened in shock. “You’ve never had any formal training?” Where was this guy from again? I shook my head. “The way you fight made me think… You’re a wonder, girl.”
“Thank you,” I said, bowing. The announcer bowed back to me, lower than he should have, considering my lack of rank.
The crowd was growing restless. Someone with a Southern accent shouted, “Murderer!”
Another voice called, “Liar!”
But then Luke sauntered up the edge of the ring, holding something. “She’s not lying. She spent all her time in the kitchen. Her only training was in cleaning and cooking.” For some reason, his voice didn’t sound mocking when he said that.
The wolves in the crowd from the other packs let out disbelieving sounds.
“I swear it on the moon. She has never taken a single lesson in fighting from any ranked wolf in this pack. This is the only tool she was allowed.”
The visitors in the crowd roared with shock, disbelief, and anger. I almost smiled. They’d seen me fight. And now they knew I’d done that without any formal training. Even if I died today, I had made my mark on the greater pack. Maybe one of the other Alphas would hear this and see what they were doing down here. Maybe someone would help the other girls like me who needed to learn how to defend themselves, but didn’t have a Del to make it happen.
Luke threw the thing in his hand into the ring. I leaped forward, catching it, grinning as I did.
It was a mop.
“Is this true?” The announcer sounded flabbergasted. “You had no training in weapons, but you had pack duties that required training in the… mop?”
“Yep,” I answered, sort of loving the disbelieving look that flickered over his impassive face. “I have years of experience with this baby.”
“I will allow it,” he conceded. Then he backed up, announcing the beginning of the fight.
Trevor had already stripped off his shorts and was almost fully transformed into his monstrously large wolf form. Quickly, I rotated the mop head off the sturdy wooden handle. The cloth could be bitten or torn from me too easily, and all I needed was a staff. I chucked the head into the crowd and settled low into my fighting stance, holding onto the calm that came with each breath.
