Finals suck. We're all exhilarated when they're over. It doesn't take our professor too long to grade the results. With the ceremony only being a few days away, he doesn't have much of a choice. Besides, some of us are being transferred to other packs or moving on to our positions within the pack. We need to know as soon as possible what the results are.
It only took about two days for the results to come out. Both Clara and I passed, but I got a nearly perfect score. Everyone was baffled, including myself. I studied, but I didn't think I would get such a high score. My professor mentioned that I would graduate with honor's and would get the opportunity to give a speech during the ceremony as valedictorian of our lectures. I would be going right after the results of the fight. Last girl standing is always declared the strongest and thus, is granted a moment of fame in front of the pack to acknowledge her physical strength. There's no way in hell that'll be me.
Clara and I are in our work out clothes. In the distance, next to the tree line where our clearing meets the forest, we can all see the numerous campfires and torches that are lit. It's dark outside but a beautiful full moon grants us better visibility.
On cue, we start marching towards the ceremony just how we rehearsed a few days ago. Once we get there, Alpha Bren will greet us individually. He'll let us choose a number in a hat that tells us who we'll be fighting. And then the games begin.
My nerves start to hammer the closer we get to the campfire. There's something weird about tonight. Like the air is buzzing. My wolf feels uncomfortable, and a bad feeling hits the pit of my stomach.
As if she could sense it, Clara reaches for my hand. We're marching in sync, our eyes locked on the ceremony in front of us where our entire pack as joined. I always knew we had a huge pack, but seeing everyone circled today around the fighting ring—it's surreal. There are so many of us. So many men, women, and children who are waiting to watch us spill blood and tears on the ground.
"It's okay," Clara whispers to me. "You're going to do great."
I nod softly, trying to remember her encouraging words the other day. It's been years since a male has died, and even more years since a female has died. Don't worry, you're going to live. You might get the living shit beat out of you, but you'll live.
She was right. This is going to be a bit of a painful night, but it's not something I can't get through.
"Let's get the living shit beat out of us." I whisper back with a sick smile. Clara grins, her eyes lighting up as the fires get closer.
Once we're in the fighting ring, we line up side-to-side. Our instructor giving a short introduction. He goes down the list of names, mentioning our ages as well.
"Clara Garve, twenty-one!" He shouts to the crowd as Clara steps forward.
"Mia Holm, twenty-two!" On cue, I step forward as well. Once everyone is done, we all turn towards Alpha Bren. He starts coming down the line, letting us all pick a number from the bag in his hand.
He does look different than I remember. His expression more serious, like a businessman instead of the happy teenager I once remember. He looks bigger as well. Like his body and wolf grew when he inherited his title. There's a small battle scar on his jaw line. No one really knows where it came from, but plenty of stories have circulated in the pack. Some people say he got it when fighting a member of the rebellion. Others say he fought one of the Royal Kings' guards when he went to the Royal Capital to officially claim his title and pledge loyalty to the King. But really, it's unsure.
He reaches Clara and I, his expression softening slightly. He nods at Clara politely—something he didn't do to other members. His eyes suddenly turning to me, corner of his lip raising slightly. "Well, if it isn't my favorite tutor."
I smile gently, placing my hand in the bag to reach for a number. "You mean your only tutor."
He chuckles, "Don't get your ass kicked too hard."
With that, he moves back down the line. My eyes linger on him. Something else is different about him. Something that I can't put my finger on. It's not his gaze, or his appearance. It's something I can't see...something that makes the pit of my stomach turn.
My attention is taken away from me. Our Beta instructs us to find our fighting partner and we quickly shuffle around. To my relief, Clara and I don't have to fight each other. But to my disappointment, I got Olive. One of the strongest girls in our class. At least my loss will be quick and painless. I won't even make it to the second round.
"Olive and Mia," Our instructor calls. "You drew number one. You're up."
Wow, I think to myself. I have shit luck like Primrose.
Olive and I slowly walk onto the fighting mat. We face one another, giving each other a respectful nod. Olive offers a small smile to me. She knows she's going to beat me. But I also know I have to try. I can't just fall over and play dead. Not with the whole pack watching.
When we hear the shot in the air, Olive launches herself at me. I instantly fall into defensive movements and strategies. She's throwing punches and doing kicks in the air while I just deflect and dodge as much as possible. Sure, she manages to land a soft punch, but I quickly retaliate with one. Maybe if I let her keep attacking me and I hold out, she'll get tired.
I can hear the entire pack cheering as they watch on. I try hard to not focus on anything expect Olive and her ability to beat me into a pulp. For a second I do hear Clara though, "You've got this Mia! Keep going!"
Olive's movements become slower and I go in for the attack. Unfortunately for me, I miscalculate her tiredness. She grabs a hold onto me, winding around me like a snake until I feel my legs get swept from under me. My face hits the ground and the air is knocked out of me.
My wolf is getting angry, and I feel a surge of power erupt in me. We're not supposed to wolf out. It's reserved for the end. I manage to suppress myself for a few seconds, focusing my energy on her arm wrapped around my neck and the fact that my wolf is begging to come out.
If we're part animals, then I guess we have the right to play dirty. I bite down on Olive's arm. At first, she hardly flinches. It only seems to fuel me more as I feel my fangs suddenly protruding. Olive screams in pain, quickly retracting her arm.
I turn, taking control of the fighting as I flip us over and begin punching her square in the face. As I'm landing each blow, I feel something different in my body. At first, all I can smell is blood and sweat. I can almost feel my eyes turning red with bloodlust. I can win this. I can actually win and advance to the next level.
But suddenly all my senses fall apart and are clouded by something else. The anger quickly dissipates from my wolf and I'm left confused. Something smells so good. My body doesn't feel the rush of adrenaline like it did before, it's almost like I've taken a calming agent. When I swing my arm to punch Olive, it feels like I'm trying to hit her through water.
My punches slow down, Olive is spitting blood, her lip is broken and nose spewing. I look straight up, my eyes meeting Bren. The entire table in front of me is composed of the leaders of the pack. They're all cheering, yet the yells fade away.
I watch as Bren's eyes suddenly glaze in silver. It's only for a split second. Like when the moon reflects on water. It's beautiful to watch but almost as quickly as I see it happen it disappears. My breath hitches in my throat and I see his clenched jaw slack.
Oh my Moongoddess, he's my mate.
I've heard of this before. It's what we all know. It's not uncommon for mates to know each other before they find out. There are plenty of stories out there of mates being friends for days, weeks, even years before their eyes Glaze. Stories of people being childhood friends who make it all the way into their forties before the Glaze.
Almost instantly after seeing his eyes Glaze, a rush of...I don't know how to describe it...feelings start to erupt into me. It's like when you're out in the cold and suddenly drink hot chocolate. You can feel the warmth spread down your throat and hit your stomach.
My wolf suddenly didn't care about the fight. Didn't care about what was going on. She wanted to just run over to him. Feel his skin and smell his scent. This is the moment I've dreamed of. The moment of meeting the person I'm meant to be with. The person who will accept me for who I am despite all the shit I've gone through. I'm his person, and he's mine.
"Mia!" I suddenly hear Clara yell from the sidelines.
Olive was able to regain some of her strength while I was in little dream world. She throws both her hands behind her head before clenching them into a fist and hammering them into my stomach. I'm nearly blown away, but definitely out of breath.
Olive stands up, kicks me again in the stomach once. She spits a bit of blood on the ground before looking me in the eyes, "Sorry Mia. Nothing personal."
With that, she throws her leg back before hitting me square in the face. Next thing I know, it's black.