The Rumored Half

Training In Hell - Part 2

It was now so close I could feel its breath on my face as I met its golden eyes with my own defiant gaze. The bastard was enjoying every moment of it and I felt my rage burn brighter at the thought. It showed its sharp teeth- ones that could tear me limb from limb, trying to get me more frightened before the kill, like a cat playing with the mouse. Something was simmering just below my skin; I could feel it growing as my rage was building, begging to be released. 

It roared at me again in outrage at my defiance, not liking that I wasn’t cowering in fear. I felt my fangs descend and the air around me became more charged, I could see sharper and hear every shout of the audience with more intensity than before.

And I could feel Power, like a jolt of electricity going through my body, energizing it. The tiger seemed to have realized it was a mistake to have played with me so long instead of killing me when it had the chance and it reared down to crush my body.

“Get the fuck out of my face, fur ball.” I roared at him. And I felt energy pour out of my body, fueled by anger.

But it was so hot.The stink of burning flesh filled my nose as I held out my arm and energy coursed from my chest down my arm and exploded in a sudden burst of flames that pushed the Were back to the center of the arena on his back. The sudden power shot my body back as well but since I was already up against a wall, I didn’t get knocked out and it took most of the shock.

The roar of the crowd – both cheers and curses – rocked the arena. I looked over to see Sasha with a Cheshire grin on her face, clearly enjoying the show. I also noticed, surprised, that Gabe and Nash were leaning over the railing separating the stands from the battle-ground, practically attacking the burly man as he tried to pry them off. He gave them a warning not to interfere but gave them a wide berth after that. Both looked relieved but Gabe looked more worried whereas Nash more proud.

“Nicola!” Gabe yelled over the crowd, and I tried to reassure him. But it felt like all my energy drained out by using that one blast and I slid down the wall as my legs could no longer hold me up.

I was panting as a wave of exhaustion hit me. I looked over to see the were still on the ground, appearing to be unconscious. I breathed a sigh of relief at that and closed my eyes and let my body relax; I don’t think I could lift a finger at the moment, never mind fight a weretiger. I tried to catch my breath, slowly feeling energy come back into my exhausted body.

But even in the haze of weakness that threatened to overcome me to, because the tiger was still breathing. I’m not stupid enough to believe that just because he was knocked out, I could relax and take a breather. He was still alive and that meant he was still a threat. And once he wakes up, there will be no more playing around; he will kill me without a second thought. So I had to kill him first or I’d die trying.

I tried to get up using the wall for support but my legs couldn’t support my weight and buckled. I landed on my ass with a thud and wished I was wearing the more comfortable clothes from my backpack. For the first time, I noticed that the dress was torn beyond repair and stained with my blood but I was reasonably sure that I wasn’t flashing everybody in the place. I had left my backpack in Sasha’s room and completely forgot about it. It would’ve been nice to be fully clothed, but right now, I really didn’t care about my attire. 

 Agonizingly slowly, the wound on my right arm was starting to close and heal itself much faster than any human could ever dream of but it still hurt like a son of a bitch. I still wasn’t strong enough to stand yet. My breathing was still irregular, but it was getting more even by the second and my heart rate was slowing.

 The pain was the only reason I was still conscious but that was dulling and I was being dragged in by the weariness I could feel right down to the bone, lulling me to sleep. I could no longer hear the crowd screaming, it sounded like white noise in the background.