---Lyra's POV---
A yawn escaped my mouth in a pitiful whine as I laid down on the floor. Honestly, I had anticipated a good fight the moment we started the battles whilst shifted.
Yet these males, who had been so boastful of their position above me, prideful of their power and superior strength, all tripped and fell over their paws within seconds of the fight.
Even Ryan seemed to be pissed off, huffing and groaning with every defeat of his hand-picked warriors. It was quite amusing to see the conceit and superiority melt into frustrated defeat.
It wasn't exactly my fault that the next two wolves tried the same damned thing as their predecessors. As soon as the fight began, they bowed through their front legs, already preparing to lunge for my throat.
I mentally rolled my eyes, easily avoiding the wolf mid lunge as the male desperately leaped from one side to another. While a headlock would indeed be preferable, they should've realized by now that all they were doing, was waste precious energy and time.
While it had been amusing in the beginning, now I was completely and utterly bored to be faced with the same tactic over and over again, as if something was miraculously going to change.
So bored in fact, that I shook off some of the dust and grime that had settled in my fur. Shaking my paw, I started to clean it from any dirt, blatantly ignoring the fight and my opponent.
The other wolf snarled threateningly, demanding to be taken seriously even though he failed to land a successful hit. When he darted towards me to try the same thing again, frustration boiled over.
I snapped my teeth, ducking before lunging for his own throat as he flew overhead. He obviously hadn't realized that weakness of his reckless attacks and struggled desperately as I pinned him to the floor.
His ferocious snarls quickly turned to pitiful whimpers as I snarled in return, tightening my hold on his throat. Not enough to pierce the skin but judging from the manner in which he completely froze up, he definitely felt my canines piercing through fur and painfully digging into his skin.
With another warning shove and a paw pressed on his chest, I slowly released him enough so he could bare his throat in utter defeat.
Another easy victory. It almost felt as if they were throwing their fights, if not for the sore losers that would walk off with their tails between their legs.
As I turned to face my next opponent, I paused before realizing that only three more fighters remained. Eric, Jason and Ryan himself.
Which made me nearly growl with excitement because I wouldn't need to hold back against that trio. They were the highest ranking among their age, so surely their bark held a bit more bite.
So when Eric stepped forwards, still human, I felt an eager anticipation simmer through my body. It almost reminded myself of the times where I had been a little pup and been invited to play my favorite game.
Because I could see the seriousness in Eric's gaze, the tense smile he offered as he observed me. Clear signs that he was going to take this seriously.
As if sensing my thoughts, he inclined his head slightly. "Don't think I will be holding back, simply because you're a woman."
I let out a contented whine, wagging my tail eagerly as I bowed through my front paws as an eager invitation. Surprise sparked in his gaze before he chuckled and shook his head.
"This is going to be one hell of a fight..." He grinned as I yipped in reply before shifting into a solid black wolf.
My own wolf was just as excited to see someone was taking us seriously. Eric instantly postured defensively instead of standing there with a wagging tail in clear underestimation.
Yet there was no sign of overconfidence coming from Eric, on the contrary. His hackles rose instantly, teeth bared in an aggressive display as we slowly started circling one another.
One second we were on opposite ends of one another, the next charging forwards. I snapped at his paws, forcing him to lunge backwards to avoid getting bit.
However, I had to yank back as well, as his teeth snapped shut a breath away from my nose. Grabbing my muzzle would've rendered me severely disadvantaged against anything he wanted to dish out.
My tail flicked in appreciation once more, once again starting to circle around Eric. This time he was the one to go on the offensive as venomous snarls slipped from both of us.
Too late did I realize that he didn't full out lunge but actually faked into a bunny hop, allowing Eric to crash into my side and knock me on the floor.
Within seconds he was on top of me, jaws snapping shut inches from my face as I kicked back with my paws against his stomach, preventing him from latching on properly.
A sharp bolt of pain surged through my body as he managed to grab a mouthful of fur, but his timing was off, allowing his paws to slide from my chest and well within biting range.
There was a short struggle and a yelp of pain as my teeth sank into his flesh before he wisely kicked off. Otherwise I could've easily snapped down on his leg and caused some serious damage.
As it was, Eric lapped at his paw for a second as I got back up and shook the dirt from my own fur. Undoubtedly his confidence on getting the upper hand just received a painful jab, as I had forced him to release me.
Alright, play time's over.
Planting my paws on the soil and allowing my hackle to bristle to its full potential, a deep, low growl was aimed at Eric. His responding growl was less confident, cluing me in that he was all too aware that this time, I was the one who lead the fight.
As he tried to circle around, I lunged for his side. Tripping him up until we were a pile of rolling, snapping fur, not wanting to relent or surrender to the other.
A whimper escaped when teeth latched onto my ear but I retaliated by snatching Eric's knee between my jaws.
His following yelp of agony made him back away, allowing me to twist in his hold and bite down onto his scruff. Fighting back against the instinct to instantly start shaking my head, I instead struggled to hold on firmly as Eric tried valiantly to escape the hold.
His leg buckled under his weight before he collapsed with my own wolf on top, holding onto him until he whined and lapped at my throat in complete submission.
I hopped off and watched him closely as he got back on his paws. Eric was clearly favoring the leg I had just snapped at, making me feel a bit guilty.
Waiting until we locked eyes, I pointedly glanced at his limp before whining apologetically. He merely huffed, giving his tail a good natured wag before hopping off the battle field past a very nervous Jason.
--- Jason's POV---
"Shit..." I muttered in shock when Eric gave up. Everyone had witnessed the expertise in which Eric was taken down, showing experience in battle that Eric didn't possess.
Neither did I.
"What the fuck dude... what is she made of? Are all rogues like this?" I whined over the link, hoping that at least someone has a fragment of advice.
Instead, I earned a snort of laughter from Eric as he hopped past me before laying down with a whimper. "I don't know but she's smart." He cringed when the pack medic arrived to inspect his leg. "And strong too. If this was a real fight, I would've been killed..."
That same chilling conclusion was shared between Ryan and I, as we had been observing the battle closely. Neither of us had assumed that we would have to fight, let alone that we would be dreading to face Lyra.
"While I love a woman who's strong enough to stand up for herself, Lyra is a bit too powerful for my tastes." Eric joked while allowing the medics to work on him.
"I wonder..."
Both Eric and I jolted before snapping our attention towards Ryan. His own eyes were pinned on his father before flitting to Lyra.
"Earlier, I asked dad if he actually knew Lyra, because there is too much familiarity between them. For her to be just a rogue is a bit too on the nose."
Motioning with his head to the pair, Ryan continued, "Dad said he knew more than enough and even let it know that all the adults in the pack are aware of who she is." He huffed, a defeated yet amused sound. "Most likely to teach us a lesson after we were so callous, cocky brats."
I gulped before properly looking at Lyra. Even after a battle, she seemed completely calm, ear twitching in irritation from where Eric had bitten her. But even such a painful wound didn't stop her, like I had assumed she would.
Instead she was sitting there, waiting for her minor injuries to be looked over by one of the pack doctors and heal up before our own fight.
As if sensing my nerves, she allowed her tongue to lull out of her mouth in a wolfish grin that made me chuckle before averting my gaze.
Our attention was drawn to Alpha Blake, who stepped in the middle of the field with Luna Christy at his side. "I'm announcing a small break so Lyra can have a chance to recover. These fights will continue to be fair to all parties involved."
Lyra hopped to her paws and gladly accepted the bundle of clothes offered by our Luna before she headed inside. A moment later, she reemerged clad in a set of shorts and a black singlet.
My eyes unintentionally roamed over the skin bared to our eyes before I cleared my throat and averted my gaze awkwardly.
Fantasizing over a she wolf was one thing, but doing so within sniffing distance of the entire pack was embarrassing to say the least.
The mere fact that her own nostrils flared before her nose curled up in slight disgust was enough of a tell. Teenage males with highly instinctive wolves around an attractive female resulted in quite the pheromone concoction coming from our group.
Still, she pushed through it as several of us struggled to rein in our hormones. Surprisingly, she walked towards us before coming at a halt near Eric.
"Hey, sorry about your leg. How's the knee?" She inquired with genuine worry, even though her own bared arms showed the shallow scrapes and healing bite marks, courtesy of Eric.
Eric merely huffed as a wolf, unable to respond to her unless he shifted. Ryan chuckled as Eric pawed in his direction before he translated "No worries, I'll be as good as new within a few minutes. The bite wasn't too deep to get to any ligaments."
That made Lyra huff out a sigh of relief and I could agree on that. Healing torn ligaments was a lot quicker on werewolves than mere mortals but that didn't mean it was something to be enjoyed either!
Eric and Ryan both glanced at Lyra's ear, hidden from view behind her blonde curls. "How's the ear?"
She grinned cheekily, fingers curling around the blond strands to reveal an almost healed ear, still a bright pink mark at the top of the cartilage. "Let's just say that if I'll ever need a piercing, I'll give you a call." She joked.
A few of the guys laughed at that before she caught me off guard by turning her attention towards me. "Nervous for the fight?" She inquired, much to the amusement of our little group, who eagerly turned in anticipation for my response.
"Are you?" I blurted, mentally cursing at my brilliant response as Lyra merely hummed in amusement.
She smirked, a quick "Nope." Denying any nervousness from her end before she added, "Simply excited for the fight."
That in turn made me smirk as well. "Oh? Eager to get your hands on my body, huh? Do try to control yourself sweetheart."
At that, Lyra rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, taking a step back as if repulsed by my comment. "Arrogant much?"
"Nah, just confident in my beauty." I teased back, knowing I wasn't that wrong. After all, there had been several she wolves from the pack who had always seemed to eat up every ounce of my attention whenever I spared it.
She merely scoffed, shaking her head as she replied "You're cute. But not that cute." The group erupted in laughter at the burn aimed my way, which I shrugged off with a smile.
"Aw, don't be like that. You can't resist me forever Lyra. Something's gotta give sooner or later."
Surprisingly, she offered me a sweet, innocent little smile that made her eyes light up, yet the humor within them made me warry.
"You do realize that I still owe you a kick to the nuts, and you'll receive that sooner or later?" She promised seriously, making me cringe at the verbal warning she had given all three of us before we had decided to peek at her while she was getting dressed.
Point taken... I inclined my head and sat back on the floor, biting back an annoyed growl at the amount of laughter and jabs aimed my way over the pack link.
"Dude, you got burned badly." Vince howled over the link, visibly laughed as I huffed in annoyance.
"Not to mention he got rejected in front of everyone." Kale smirked, making me growl lowly and snap back in frustration over the link.
My eyes found theirs as I snapped back "At least I wasn't knocked out cold underestimating a rogue simply because she's a girl."
That at least snuffed the mirth from his eyes, now feeling butt hurt at the reminder that they all heavily underestimated Lyra as well.
"Break is over! The battle will commence in five minutes!" Alpha Blake's voice echoed over the field, catching most of us off guard.
Break over? Already?!
A hand appeared within my view, surprising me even more when I looked up to realize it was Lyra's. I hesitated only for a moment before accepting it, pulling myself up with a little help from her.
"A sudden change in heart?" I couldn't help but tease, making her roll her eyes with a scoff. Releasing her hand, I took a step back so we weren't really chest to chest anymore.
Lyra sighed, scratching through her hair before shaking her head. "No, a second chance. Respect is something earned and not freely handed out. Don't treat me like some thirsty slut and I won't treat you like the dick you're being."
"Fair enough." I agreed with a grin, knowing that pushing my luck with her would only end up badly for me. "Though I'll apologize in advance in the case that I slip up on occasion. Old habits die hard and all that."
Lyra hummed in agreement before sighing to herself. "I guess I have something to apologize for as well."
That made me frown, as I couldn't really recall any sort of reason why she of all people needed to apologize to any of us.
"I haven't been quite truthful about who, or rather what I am." She stated louder than before, elicting a growl from Ryan from beside us.
She smiled his direction as she added, "I was never officially declared a Rogue, nor was I born as one. I am actually an Outcast."
"Which explains your amazing fighting abilities because..." I trailed off, not really seeing where she was going with this, or what prompted her to explain her nature to us.
She looked at Alpha Blake almost in reassurance and sighed softly when he nodded his head in silent agreement.
"Because I am the daughter of Jake and Cassandra, Alpha and Luna of the Moonrise Pack."
Pure shock stunned me as all the teens present grew silent within seconds. Every single one of the guys held expressions in varying stages of shock, with Ryan being the worst of them all.
"B-but...that m-means-" I stuttered, unable to continue, to even think of the repercussions of her statement.
Lyra simply jutted her chin up, a small smile gracing her lips. "That means, that I am a Born Alpha."