The Forgotten Wolf Kin

Chapter 3 – Bloodshed

Malachi’s POV

The ref left the fighting circle, and the dancing began. We circled each other and as Harley stepped to the left, I shifted from left to right, just like my father had taught me too. 'Don’t give them an opportunity to know which way you intend to go'. I could hear his voice, as if he was there with me.

Harley was momentarily confused by lack of commitment, he seemed to take it as a weakness, like I didn’t know what to do, but I knew exactly what I was doing, and I also knew what he was. He took a step to the right before taking another sharp turn to his left, lifting his first in an upward hook in a bid to connect with my jaw in an upper cut.

I swiftly lowered my huge body low and spun in a circle with my right leg out, taking him out and grounding him in one swift move. Stunned and floored, Harley’s anger was radiating.

Eero, you’re up

I thought you’d never say those words.

He grinned sinisterly and in seconds both of us had shifted.

Gasps of shock and possibly fear seemed to come from around the circle at Eero. He was not just bigger than the average wolf, he was almost twice the size of one. Even a large Alpha wolf looked small next to Eero. His sleek pure black fur made his bright silver eyes glow and shimmer and, while beautiful, he was a sight to be bestowed and feared when in fighting mode.

He stood tall and proud, snarling at Harley’s wolf, who took a step back before bravely launching himself at Eero, who just moved to one side, allowing the blundering wolf to hit his side and shoulder. This act alone almost knocked him out. This was going to be easier than I thought.

Eero’s large paws padded to the left, agility wasn’t needed when his stride was twice that of the smaller wolf before him, giving Harley’s wolf room to rise from the floor. As he did so, Eero took one step forward, and before he had even made his move, Harley’s wolf surprised us both by bearing his neck in submission.

We hadn’t even drawn blood.

Well, that was disappointing.

Sorry, didn’t think it would be that easy. It seems he was all talk, maybe next time!

Clearly disappointed with the lack of a challenge, Eero sulked in the back of my mind. He could be such a baby sometimes. I made my way over to the winner’s circle and Avery was looking at me with a big lopsided grin on his face.

“That was hilarious.”

“Eero didn’t think so, he was miffed.”

“I bet! I thought Harley’s wolf was gonna c**k his leg and piss himself when he took that first look at Eero. I am still trying to hold in my laugh. If I didn’t think they would all attack me, I would have been on the floor crying with hysteria”

My shoulders shook as I tried to hold in my own laughter at his glee, but this did not go unnoticed, as I looked over Avery and saw Ashton looking at me with pure hatred, a darkness in his eyes only someone with severe anger could hold.

The Council leader cleared his throat and we all turned to face him.

“Men, a well-rounded, fair and just first round. Next round, 8 men remained. There will be four fights. Names will be picked from a hat. The same rules apply.”

I was the last to win, but first to pick the name out of the hat, I got a young, barely of age Alpha, who took one look at me, said no thanks, and went straight to the stands with the others who lost. Eero, who had momentarily shown some interest in our next fight on the cards, quickly retreated back to his sulking.

Avery was picked by a 23-year-old cocky jokester. Needless to say, Enzo rang rings around the poor lad, who didn’t know if he was Arthur or Martha by the time Enzo had finished with him. It was quite a spectacle to watch, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I hadn’t had this much fun all year.

Ashton beat his opponent and the final fighter in our group was the quiet and brooding Alpha Valerio Valantine. No one really knew anything about him, or his mate and Luna, Erinna. His mysterious and silent soul was enigmatic, he intrigued me, yet no one had managed to get him to break his silent, quiet demeanour.

Valerio’s presence never went unnoticed. His large triangular frame stood about 6”3, he was impressive. His short kinky curls fell just out of his line of sight and were bladed at the back and side, he stepped forward and dipped his large hand into the red velvet pouch. He held up the name “Avery Aldine”. His deep brown eyes always looked sombre, the flecks of amber in them, set in his ebony-toned skin, added additional mystery to his demeanour. He dropped his eyes and stepped back.

Which meant I was against Ashton. The sneer that formed on his thin, sinister, lips made the sides of his mouth curl unnaturally upwards, his dark hooded eyes had a glint of malice in them, as he shot me a look that would have intimidated me if I was so inclined. But as it was, I just shrugged and turned my back to him so I could watch Avery’s fight.

Ashton didn’t scare me; he was a boy playing as an adult. He was never ready to be here. His father let him come before he was ready. He held judgement, bitterness, and a giant chip on his shoulder. He would make a weak and feeble Alpha, and his pack would soon learn this.

Valerio was a skilled fighter; his wolf was as mysterious and enigmatic as him. He danced and played the long game, Enzo put up a good fight, but he wasn’t quite on Valerio’s wolf’s level. Maybe if Avery and Enzo had been trained better, he would have pipped Valerio and his wolf to the post, but as it was, Valerio was set to win.

However, in a trick I did not miss, Valerio’s wolf mis-stepped, giving Enzo the upper hand. Enzo took the advantage and Valerio took no time to submit. Making Avery the winner. It was not lost on me that Valerio threw that match, and I wanted to know why, but now was not the time. I was up next, and Ashton was about to be handed his ass.

I changed my stance from my previous fight and went back and forth instead of side to side, always keeping them guessing. No sudden movements, slow and steady win the race. My cool and calm exterior phased Ashton not one iota, he was clicking his neck from side to side while jumping on the spot shaking out his shoulders as if he was a boxer in the ring.

This man wanted my blood, and I was going to give him blood, just not mine.

Ashton stepped to the left before quickly changing direction to the right, but I saw what he was going to do and stepped in to him. Limiting his reach, which was now shortened, his fist was met with my large open hand. As my hand covered his fist, I pushed him back. He stumbled, his anger was radiating from every inch of his solid, arrogant body.

He found his footing quickly and lunged low, using his shoulders with force, he slammed his elbow into my ribs as I twisted around, not quite quickly enough to avoid contact, but quick enough to escape the full force. I was always taught not to shift until they did first. Shifting shows weakness and fear when in a fight like this, allowing your wolf to do the fighting.

Eero would disagree, as would many others, but I was inclined to agree. As big, fearless, and capable as I was, Eero was twice that compared to others of his kind. Shifting was an end game, and I had no intention of letting this weasel think he had even slightly scratched the surface with me.

As I spun back to face him, his sneer had taken on a new depth of bitter anger, he was practically frothing at the mouth. As he came towards me, he shifted mid-air, an impressive trick for someone so young. It was not an uncommon thing to be able to do, but it took time, practice, and precision, and I honestly didn’t think he would have had the patience to learn it at his age. He can’t have been older than 22.

As his wolf took over and launched himself onto me, I had no time to shift. I had become complacent, and misjudged him, something my father would scold me for. It was a rookie mistake. One I rarely made. As his wolf's snarly teeth were inches from my face, his stinking breath hit my nostrils, making me wrinkle my nose.

He waited for me to submit, assuming that I would, but as his drool slowly dripped from his snarling snout, his arrogance was his mistake. I took my left hand, balled it into a fist and punched him as hard as I could in the side of his head. He yelped, jumped back, giving me enough time to shift. Eero now ready to finish this.

Ashton’s wolf growled lowly, shaking his head slightly. However, to my utter surprise, he stalked away from me and shifted back. Eero didn’t move an inch, waiting to see what his next move was. We were both at a complete loss as to what he was doing. He reached the edge of the fighting circle, one foot stepped outside, and he would forfeit.

The crowd watched on in silence, confusion evident all around. He bent down, pulled on a pair of shorts and turned and started walking towards me.

“Want to finish this man to man?” Ashton's cocky tone radiated out to the onlooking crowd, while his sneer was aimed only at me.

Eero just stared at him.

I don’t trust him

Neither do I.

So let me finish this now.

No. I won’t take him down Wolf to man Eero. Maybe that’s just what he wants. We do that, and he saves face. It would be deemed an unfair win.

But it wouldn’t be unfair, and it would be a win, nonetheless. I want to take that smug look off his face.

So do I, but not like this. I’ll take him down and give him no chance to save face.

Fine

I knew Eero wasn’t happy, but I wasn’t about to let him take Ashton down as he was. It would be easy for Ashton to make out that it was an unfair win. I was giving him no opportunity to come out of this, nothing less than the loser he was. I wanted to take him down a peg or two and make him have a reason to dislike me, even if it was because I beat him fair a square.

Eero walked to the edge of the fighting circle on full alert, waiting for Ashton to play dirty. He didn’t, and as I shifted back, I took the shorts I’d left on the floor and slipped them on, covering my naked body. I turned to face Ashton, who was now in the centre of the circle waiting for me.

When I reached him, he took no time to throw a punch. I stepped back, and he missed. The glint in his eye was mischievously devilish and my distrust of him became intensely profound. I stepped forward and took my left first and connected with his face, the blood splattered across my hand, his face and the floor, and a loud moan echoed around the area.

Only, it wasn’t coming from Ashton, it was coming from me. As the pain seared through my abdomen, I looked down and saw the blood dripping from the open gash, lined with silver, the flesh sizzling and burning, causing the foulest smell of burning human skin. Blood pooled on the ground as it rapidly flowed from my body. His face was that of a petulant child who had just won first prize, despite cheating.

I dropped to my knees, which buckled under the weight of my body and weakened state from loss of blood, and as people started to realise what was happening, all hell was about to break loose. But it was at that moment that Eero decided it would be a good time to take over. Somehow, despite our fading existence, he took control and shifted. I would stand a better chance of survival in wolf form,

But it took everything he had to stay conscious.

Eero snarled at a retreating Ashton.

Coward

I was too weak to respond.

But through Eero’s eyes, as the council leader and guards started walking towards Ashton, I could see his retreating body turn, and with lighting speed, he shifted into his wolf and launched himself at a slowing fading Eero, to make sure he finished off the job. As he hit mid-air and was about to make his decent and pounce on Eero, with every once of energy he had left, he lifted his huge bulk, and moved himself out of the way.

Ashton’s wolf snarled, and as the guards raced towards us, he made one final attempt to gain access to my neck. Only Eero managed to get onto all fours, move into position and as the wolf came into proximity, Eero turned his head and snapped down onto the wolf's neck, ripping his throat, leaving a gaping hole, hanging flesh and a blood bath, before both of us collapsed, one of us dead, the other moments away from it.