Wolves of the Black Rose - Book cover

Wolves of the Black Rose

Silver Taurus

Chapter 2: Fight for the Throne

ELAINE

“Remember, get killed or kill,” Jyn explained.

“Or leave her unconscious?” I hummed at his words.

“Also, Elaine? Stand calm. You’ve been fuming in anger since coming back from the stall,” Blaze commented, earning a deadly glare from me.

“Okay, cut it. Go ahead, Elaine. Go win this,” Regulus encouraged as I rushed up the stairs and onto the platform where she stood.

The bones cracked as I made a quick stretch. Once sure, I nodded toward the announcer as he started his speech and announced our names.

My plan was simple: kick twice and end this once and for all.

I was not in the mood since Connor ruined it. Of course, he always had a way of ruining my mood.

Hearing the horn that announced the start of the fight, I smiled at my opponent and lashed at her.

A quick drive across the platform, then her leg, and a swing until her head hit with a loud crack on the ground. That was all it took for me to leave her unconscious.

“WINNER: ELAINE WOODS!”

A smirk played on my face as I felt the delight of winning, one step closer to my actual goal. I turned and headed down to where the cheers of my brothers welcomed me.

“Way to go, sis!” Arye beamed with a high five. I chuckled, then turned to Jyn, who nodded with an approving face.

I felt excited about reaching the last round.

I was eager to see Connor and get to kick his ass, show him I would be the new alpha and that no one would stop me with threats that only carried words and no real actions.

The blaring of a horn caught our attention. A frown formed on my face as we turned to look at the announcer.

“The last round will be in half an hour. Please, contestants, meet in the main arena.”

“Rest. We shall call you when it’s time,” Regulus ordered, but I whiffed my head.

“Oh, no!” Arye screeched while stubbornly pushing me in my tracks. This ass was stubborn.

“What?” I snapped. “I won’t rest. I need to change gear.”

I saw the conflict that transpired between my brothers. They were getting mad, which meant an argument.

“Will you use that gear?” Regulus suddenly asked while sighing loudly.

“Yes, I have my black gear ready,” I smiled and grabbed my things.

“Fine, but you know this time you have to shift, right?” Jyn whispered as everyone followed behind in a rush.

“No need,” I mumbled.

Upon entering our tent, my eyes landed on my special black gear. All my brothers turned their backs and made a protective wall, shielding me from any curious eye that peeked at me.

Only someone stupid enough would dare to even look my way.

“You know I don’t need to shift to win,” I voiced before turning my back to them as well.

The silence that filled the tent bothered me because I knew they were against me fighting without shifting, but they also worried if I dared to shift before everyone.

“You know our father will be angry, if he isn’t already,” Jyn mustered to say.

I rolled my eyes heavenward.

Alpha Atlas, our father and the second strongest alpha in the pack, was stubborn and full of determination to achieve goals, just like me.

Our pack was full of alphas, which was the normal thing around other packs as well.

Most of the members carry alpha blood, but my family is one of the few where every member of the family, including me, is an alpha.

And the most interesting thing out of all this was that our family had two alpha kings who ruled centuries ago.

Although it was a long time ago, we held pride in it, and I wanted to become the first alpha queen in my family. I wanted to make my family proud, my father proud.

But, of course, he had other plans: getting me mated with someone, because there was something every pack lacked: females.

He wanted me to look for someone and get mated to carry a line and produce she-wolves, which was hard, since only males were born, making the population filled with machos and no females.

“Ready,” I said, turning and meeting each of their eyes. My eyes landed on my brother Jyn, who looked troubled.

“Could we talk before we head to the arena?” Jyn asked as he looked at both sides. He passed silent orders down as everyone gave us some privacy.

Once we were alone, Jyn’s glare interlocked with mine, sending a shiver down my spine.

Jyn had always been a quiet brother who never intervened unless he really felt bothered by it.

“Forfeit, Elaine,” Jyn bluntly said.

“Excuse me?” I growled, astonished.

“Listen, please!” The pleading voice of Jyn halted me. “I know you want this, and I’m proud of you for doing so, but I’m worried about you.”

“Brother?” I mumbled, confused by his words. There was a dreadful worry washing over his face that weighed heavily on my heart.

“I don’t want you to die,” Jyn choked. “Nothing can happen to you.”

A warm smile reached my face as I leaned closer and caressed his face.

I loved that he cared, but what I wanted was his trust, for him at least to think that I wouldn’t die in this fight.

With an exasperated sigh, I drifted away. I knew the reason behind his worried words, but couldn’t he trust me a bit?

The inside of my cheeks hurt from the pressure I was putting on them. I didn’t want to say anything to hurt him, which was for the best.

Raising my eyes once again, I looked into those Emerald eyes which carried sadness.

“I know,” was all I said, turning away and leaving the tent.

“You’re quite stubborn,” someone commented as I halted and looked over my shoulder. Regulus’s gaze drilled holes in me.

With nothing else to say, I walked away. It was time for my last round.

***

The excited voices echoed as I entered the platform where my fight would be. My eyes scanned the surroundings, when I noticed the familiar figure heading my way.

“Ready to give up, Woods?” Connor laughed while I tried to ignore him, which was hard already.

I waved goodbye and headed to the platform, followed by my brothers, who didn’t utter a single word to him.

“Connor still hates you, doesn’t he?” Blaze commented. I glanced at him as Arye punched him in the stomach.

“Don’t mind what Blaze said,” Regulus smiled. My lip twitched at the comment. Then shrugging it off, I turned to face the crowd.

I didn’t care about Connor. We had never gotten along, and I wasn’t planning to do so now.

Setting my things down, I headed up the platform, ignoring everyone around me. Connor had gotten under my skin, which meant I was in a foul mood now.

Trying to focus on my next fight, I glanced to see Pam, the next fighter.

“Elaine Woods,” Pam greeted me with a smile.

“Nice seeing you here,” I smirked, earning a chuckle from her.

Pam: a warrior from the Blue Hue Pack with agile skills and intelligence that could put your abilities to the test. But not mine, since I knew her well, every strength, every skill.

And although she was older, it was an honor for me to fight her.

The fight started smoothly, with quick moves from both of us. Like the warrior I was, I attacked her without shifting, while Pam quickly shifted midair and went straight for my head.

I dodged her attacks while moving around the platform. Smiling, I crouched and then punched her directly in her gut. Pam stumbled a few steps away, whining.

I watched her move around me in her wolf form.

The choices I had to make now were hard, since I was not the kind to kill nor get killed, but to leave them unconscious so they could live and fight once again.

Of course, most would prefer death, since it was a dishonor for them, but not for me.

Continuing our attacks, Pam’s snout clapped around my arm. I winced as she put pressure on my arm.

Sadly, there wasn’t too much for me to do, so I allowed her to claw and bite me.

I used my knee to hit her snout, and Pam whined. I found my chance to end this and hit her straight in her eyes, drawing blood from them.

No way Pam suddenly linked. I frowned at her as I took two steps back, blood trickling down my arm.

No. I frowned. Did she think I was going to kill her?

“Why are you so afraid?” Pam asked. I tensed at her words.

Gulping, I decided to end this before she noticed how she was getting under my skin.

I ran up to her and attacked, and Pam dodged. I used the opportunity to grab hold of her leg.

She snapped her head, and I looked over my shoulder to find her reaching for my neck. Flipping us, I landed a hit on her face, knocking her out of my way.

That was a close one.

Finding another opening, I attacked her left side but aimed mostly for her tail, which wagged, trying to hit me.

Smiling, I yanked it and threw her hard against the platform. Then I grabbed her neck and slammed her, one, two, three, and so on, until I saw red.

The announcer suddenly yelled my name, making me halt in shock. Pam was already unconscious. So what was I trying to do?

Dropping her to the ground, I stepped back. My chest heaved from the deep breath I took. Without waiting, I turned away in shame when I heard my name getting called once again.

My brothers quickly darted to my side as we all looked at the stranger running up to me.

“What can I do for you?” I asked. The man bowed his head, taking my brothers and me by surprise.

“Thank you for not killing my mate,” he whispered. My eyes widened, confused, but with a vague idea of why.

Darting my eyes at an unconscious Pam, I looked back to find his teary eyes looking my way.

“Thank you,” he repeated and turned on his heels.

We all stood stunned for a second before I smiled and then turned away.

“Wait, wasn’t that guy the one who found his mate a while ago?” Blaze asked, rushing to my side, eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Yes, he is,” Jyn answered in my stead.

My mind drifted back to my fight with Pam. If I knew she had a mate, I would have tried to convince her to forfeit. It wouldn’t have been fair if she had died when she had just found her happiness.

Lowering my head, I bit on my lip awkwardly. This now had me feeling troubled.

***

“Harder, Elaine,” Jyn ordered. I groaned as my leg found his hands. “Steady kicks.”

It was early morning, and we were out in the woods doing some warm-ups before my last fight tonight.

“Concentrate,” Jyn growled. I ignored him and continued training.

“Enough,” my breathy voice ordered. Jyn nodded back. Then, with a stretch, I looked around and noticed we were the only ones out there.

“Don’t let yourself get hurt today,” he suddenly whispered. “Just do as I ask, please.”

I shook my head and turned on my heels.

“Going somewhere?” Jyn asked.

“Yes, to the nearby river. I need to think,” I said over my shoulder. Jyn looked like he wanted to say more, but I ran away fast.

The pristine water flowed down the beautiful stretch along the surrounding mountains of our pack. Taking my gloves off, I made my way down the steep slopes.

I walked for a few minutes before reaching the rocks and skipping them—my favorite warm-up, and one I enjoyed.

Reaching the highest rock, I halted and sighed.

It was my last fight, where the new alpha would be determined by strength. I knew my brothers were worried, but I was confident that I was winning tonight, no matter what.

Taking a seat, I crossed my legs and closed my eyes, heightening my senses. The wind, the birds, the river flowing, and the excited yells from afar… I could hear them all.

“Now, this is unexpected,” a voice said, breaking my concentration.

I clenched as my eyes opened slowly to meet the person standing before me.

“Elaine,” he called in a soothing voice.

“Connor,” I muttered back in distaste. We both remained in our spots, silent, just staring at each other. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“I went for a run,” Connor answered. “I need you to give up.”

The hell with him. First, I didn’t feel him approach me, and now this?

“Give up, Elaine. You are not winning this,” Connor continued, ticking me.

The wind howled as I stood slowly, watching him with anger. “Are you afraid I will beat you?”

“Last time was a slip,” Connor chuckled. “But this time, I will kill you.”

“Kill me? Is that your warning?” I laughed.

“It’s my threat, Elaine,” Connor growled close to my face.

My eyes darted to his bared chest, which I’d been trying to ignore since he arrived. Deciding to tease him, I closed the gap and lay my finger over his toned chest.

It was warm against my palm.

“That throne is mine,” I whispered as my finger slid on his body. “No matter how many times you ask me to give up, I won’t.”

Connor’s hand grasped my own as we both stared at each other. I was determined to win this, no matter what. No one was going to tell me what I should do. As a woman, I could get what I wanted.

“You—”

“Nothing,” I cut him off. “It’s you and me.”

Pulling away, I picked up my stuff. “See you tonight.”

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