The Scarlet Hunter

Chapter 42-3

Anais was falling towards the mat hard. Again. She winced as her body crushed against the floor. What was this cushioning good for? She desperately tried to get her lungs to work again after the wind was knocked out of her. Her red-headed tormentor reached down and gripped her neck lightly. Once again, Anais would be dead at her hands if she were actually fighting her.

Alpha Alec had warned her that Isla was intense, but she obviously did not heed the warning enough because she stepped into the sparring ring with her anyway. Isla helped Anais up, and they fell into starting positions again. Anais focused and saw Isla's calculating face and the tell-tale drop of her chin.

Another couple of moves later, Anais had struck Isla in the ribs. That was all she could do before being pummeled to the ground again, with another kill shot. This time a snapping of the neck would have been her death. When Jax said he would up her training, she was not expecting this.

Anais struggled to understand why anyone else was protecting Isla.

Just then, Jax walked up and tapped Anais on her shoulder. A wicked grin grew on Isla's face with the upcoming substitution of her gamma. Chills went through Anais' spine as she left the ring, leaving Jax to his doom.

She wandered over to where Damon was standing and watching the pending showdown. "It's been a while since we caught up, Anais. How are you?" Damon asked with genuine warmth, keeping his eyes on the scene unfolding on the mat.

"I'm good. My brother found his mate not too long ago. He's moved out, and I think they're going to announce that they have a pup on the way soon." Anais smiled, thinking about when her brother and Damon used to hang out. Damon got serious about training and her brother drifted towards the medical profession.

"Good for him," he offered with a genuine smile growing across his face.

A thud came from the mat, and Damon, who never took his eyes off the match, flinched. Anais looked over to see Jax on his back, and Isla go in with a kill shot.

"Damn," Anais whispered with awe.

"Yeah, it's something else," Damon said. "Jax created a monster when he decided to train her."

Anais looked around and saw that everyone else had stopped sparring and were watching these two like it was a professional MMA match. That wasn't too far from reality.

Isla lunged, which clearly threw Jax off. He struggled, and after she landed three clean hits to his face, he wrapped his arm around her. "Oh, she's in trouble now," Damon snickered. But to everyone's surprise, Isla lured Jax to attempt to move her into a more vulnerable position, of which she was able to successfully escape during the transition and turn on him. Isla landed another kill shot. "Oh," Damon said, his face clearly showing surprise.

"Our gamma would be dead, wouldn't he?" Anais mused. "I'm glad she's on our side."

"The thing with Isla is that you'd be wise never to bet against her." Damon offered. "I did it twice, and I will never do it again." He chuckled. "Unless I wanted to lose."

Jax's eye was swollen, and Isla's lip was busted open. Try as he might, he could not get an opening into her. He expected her rage to make her sloppy, and it did, but it also removed the restraints she usually had in place. She was more aggressive, no longer holding back. He tried to coach her into this mode, but it took a fight with Alec to release her.

She was brutal with Jax. Anais realized how much Isla had been holding back with her as she watched Jax's nose break.

Isla took a few steps back out of the ring. It was reasonable to break a nose in a sparring match, but she broke her gamma's nose, and she was out of control. Her eyes pleaded with Jax for forgiveness. He nodded, and everyone reacted to the alpha aura that suddenly permeated the room. A quiet fell as Alec walked up to the mat that Isla was on.

Anais's heart jumped at the opportunity to watch Isla and Alec spar, but it wasn't a fair setup. Isla has already sparred two others, and Alec is fresh. She looked up at Damon, who was watching with renewed interest.

The exchange between the alpha and the warrior on the mat was silent. Alec raised an eyebrow as an invitation. Isla nodded and closed her eyes, resetting herself. "Oh no, honey," Anais whispered to herself. "That's not going to be enough to prepare yourself to spar against your alpha." Alec warmed up by rotating his arms at his shoulders and jumping up and down.

Isla loosened up, and when she opened her eyes, she set them on their alpha. Anais felt a chill run through her as she recognized the eyes of a killer. She could see the raw aggression Isla had with Jax was still there but was under a layer of calculations and schemes. Isla stepped into the ring, the real line that she crossed to enter the imaginary world where it was acceptable to beat the crap out of someone. That someone was Alpha Alec.

The first round went to Alpha Alec with a move that would have dislocated her shoulder and thus ending her ability to fight and possibly shift. That would be the only clear win he would have. Anais had a hard time keeping up with the rest of the match. They were both so fast that it felt unreal to her. Alpha Alec landed more debilitating moves, where Isla landed more kill shots, often simultaneously. Although Anais would have liked to think her alpha was being easy on Isla, she couldn't see how he could have possibly broken through her defenses to land a kill shot on her.

Isla's arms were bruised, and her lip was bleeding even more now. Alec's eye was swollen, and Anais thought she saw a limp. He had scratches on his neck where Isla was sure to mark where her kill shots had been, a trophy Anais had been spared from wearing. Anais watched Alec's face change, and then he ended it by stepping out of the ring and the imaginary world they were just in. Isla backed out before walking over to him.

They left together soon after that, with Alec's arm around Isla, and Isla cuddled into him.

"So, maybe our Alpha would have survived?" Anais asked Damon.

For the first time that morning, he looked down on her, "I stand by my advice. Never bet against Isla."