Marked Claws (Mystic Bonds #2) | COMPLETED

15. Xander/Cara

Cara was owning the battlefield.

My worry had melted away into pride and perplexing intrigue.

When she had first gone against Nicole, I'd been swimming in apprehension.

And now when my love was about to make the last of her opponents bow to her, I couldn't remember a time where I'd doubted her.

I turned my eyes back to the melee and watched as Cara twisted away from Mina's blow.

Mina was the last opponent because she was the strongest. And their strategy was a good one in order to wear my mate down.

Cara had nicks and cuts all across her body and it made my blood boil to be helpless to the atrocities being committed. Blood dripped down and she seemed to also have a broken rib. Her breathing was ragged and her scent of lemons and lilacs was permeating the air like incense.

I watched transfixed and pulled on our bond but Cara seemed to have put up a good barrier. I really hated that Micah and Melida seemed to have taught her how to do this since I'd hoped to always be able to feel her. But since she could control the bond now, she would be able to nit pick what I was allowed to feel from it.

Mina–a female that could give my Gamma Bella a run for her gold coins–was now crying out in pain and Cara mercilessly plunged her sword into her stomach.

It seemed that even after how things had gone with Cara winning each time, Mina had still been over confident and had forgone the use of an armour.

'I'm having doubts that you have a fragile human mate, Alpha.'

I quietly grunted my agreement to Callum's assessment.

The crowd too had been having a deliberation period all through the Trial.

Where they had started off in support of the female wolves challenge my mate and chanting their names, slowly through the course of the matches their voices had died down and the cheers had drowned out.

By the time Cara had defeated more than half the females, many of the people in the seats were silent.

But the best part was that she had slowly won them over. Now there was at least half of the crowd in support of my mate's victory.

"Cara! Cara! Cara!"

She was proving herself.

Onyx hair flared behind Cara, bound tightly in the braid but now many loose flicks framed her face. Her eyes were luminous, I swear. The silver in them was striking as the jade shone and the air surrounding the amphitheatre now was nothing short of authority.

Authority that Cara radiated.

She wasn't human. Not by a long shot and I was sure of it.

But now my next question was to find out what she was if not mortal. I couldn't decide whether she knew or not about her own capability but I sure would find out.

There had been no display of any strange powers throughout the Trial with the females and yet Cara was the victor of each confrontation.

Not that she actually fought all thirteen females.

'Cara seems to have turned them into messes. Four of the females forfeited when they saw the first three she-wolves tasting dust and submitting to Cara. This is fun.' Bella sounded too happy.

I rolled my eyes at Bella's words but once again denial wasn't in the cards.

'You truly have the most extraordinary mate.' Awe seeped into Cal's words and pride bloomed in my chest.