Chapter 27-Amias' POV
As I left Azula in the cave, I felt my heart hardening. For just the briefest moment, I’d managed to forget all my worries – Azula had that effect on me. But now that I was no longer in her glowing presence, I felt all that worry, pain and grief slowly seep back into my heart.
Without realising it, my feet had carried me to a group of men in the centre, all of whom bowed in acknowledgement of my presence. They were my elite team, picked especially to help me avenge Alec.
Koray was there, his face paler than normal. Alec had been his best friend for a long time, and to lose him so suddenly was wearing him down. But despite his obvious exhaustion, there was a determined glint in his eyes. He would either avenge Alec or die trying.
Towering over Koray was Malkolm. The happy aura that usually surrounded him had been extinguished, in its place a man who wanted vengeance almost as much as Koray. I guessed that Malkolm would forever blame himself for being too late to save him.
There were also three other men, all older members of the pack. Gareth, Daniel and Kol had all volunteered to help me get my retribution. Apparently, they all had some sort of experience in pack warfare, having aided Reynolds before I’d joined the pack. Our beloved leader had sought to prove himself when he’d first become Alpha, starting wars over the pettiest of things. It was how we’d acquired our violent reputation.
Gareth had the most experience. I didn’t even need to ask to know; his wise, tortured eyes told me everything. He was a man of few words, but when he did speak, it was always something meaningful and deep.
Daniel was never someone I’d gotten on with until I’d become Alpha. The were worshiped strength and was fiercely loyal to those that possessed it, which was why he revered the Alpha so much. While he was intelligent and cunning, he was also aggressive and quick to jump into battle. He loved to fight, his brown eyes alight with the prospect even now.
Then there was Kol. His platinum blond hair immediately drew the eye, a contrast to the normal brown. It fell to just above his shoulders in slight waves. The rest of him was nondescript; he wasn’t as old as the other two, but he wasn’t young by any means. With his scrawny build, there wasn’t anything about him that suggested that he was good in warfare. But looks could be deceptive. He was incredibly skilled at fighting hand to hand, having beat me in sparring practises more times than I could count.
“We all know the plan, right?” I asked. I’d never known my voice to sound cold and stony. “Gareth and Kol distract them while Koray, Malkolm, Daniel and I sneak past their defences and punish Bowen and anyone else who thinks to stand in our way.”
“We know the plan, Alpha,” Gareth said. He ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair, keeping his eyes focused on the ground. “I’m just not entirely convinced it’s a good one,” he muttered. I glared at him, but Daniel spoke before I could.
“Are you questioning our Alpha?” he snarled, taking a threatening step forward. Gareth stood his ground, barely sparing Daniel a glance.
“A good Alpha can accept guidance from his pack without getting defensive,” Gareth shot back. His eyes darted to my face, assessing me.
“Daniel, stand down,” I barked. Daniel stepped back at my harsh tone, glancing at me in surprise. “You do not speak for me,” I told him, gentling my tone slightly. I turned to Gareth. “What about our plan displeases you?”
Gareth took a deep breath. “With all due respect Alpha, I don’t think you’re thinking clearly. You’re too focused on the pain of losing your brother. Getting vengeance won’t bring him back. We need to be smart, not launch emotion fuelled attacks that probably won’t even work.”
“So what would you have me do?” I retorted. “Nothing?” I could feel my rage building, leaking out into my blank mask.
“You’re sending six people to take on an entire pack,” Gareth reasoned, not backing down. “It’s a suicide mission.”
“You should listen to him,” a voice said from behind, startling us all. We all turned to see Azula sauntering towards us. Our huddle opened to accommodate her; she stood next to me, so close that our arms brushed when we breathed. My heartbeat hitched at the sparks that flew.
“What are you talking about?” Daniel asked her. “The plan is brilliant!” I growled at him, not liking his tone. “Sorry Alpha,” he mumbled, looking at his feet like a pup who’d done wrong.
“What did you mean, Azula?” My tone was much gentler than Daniel’s. She peeked up at me from under her eyelashes.
“Gareth makes some excellent points,” she said, as if this were obvious. “I didn’t take you for a fool, Amias.”
My mouth opened and closed. “A fool?” I repeated, shocked that she’d insulted me here, in front of my men.
Her lips twitched. “Yes, a fool,” she said slowly, as if talking to a small child. “As Gareth rightly pointed out, you’re too consumed by your emotions or else you wouldn’t have come up with a plan this stupid.”
“What does she know?” Daniel sneered. “I bet she’s never even been in a proper fight before.”
“How dare you speak to my mate in such a way?” I yelled, my eyes burning gold in an instant. I darted over and grabbed him by the neck, squeezing until my nails drew blood. Daniel made a choking noise, smacking at my hands. My grip didn’t waver, even when his face started to turn red. The rest of the huddle watched with wide eyes, taking a few steps back.
I could feel all eyes on us but my gaze stayed fixed on Daniel. The silence was heavy as they all waited to see what I’d do next.
“Put him down, Amias,” Azula commanded me. Her voice was calm, although I detected the fury she kept well hidden.
“After he insulted you?” I snarled, my grip steady. “I don’t think so.”
“Put. Him. Down,” she repeated, putting her hand on my shoulder.
When I heard how serious she was, I reluctantly released my prey. Daniel fell to the floor, spluttering and sucking in oxygen for his deprived lungs.
“So, Daniel is it?” she asked, not waiting for his response. “You think that I’m useless in a fight?” When I growled , Azula waved a hand at me, shushing me. I gazed at her in bewilderment. Did she really just shush me?
“I never said that,” Daniel hedged. He cleared his throat, rubbing at the red marks I’d made. Since I was his Alpha, he would be wearing those marks for quite a while. No way in hell was I letting him heal after the way he’d treated Azula...
“You didn’t need to.” Azula scoffed, peering down at the man before her with barely concealed disgust. “But I have an idea.” Those beautiful sapphire orbs sparkled with mischief. “Why don’t we have a little sparring session?”
“No. Absolutely not,” I said before Daniel could even formulate a response. Azula turned to me, her gaze deadly.
“Are you suggesting that I can’t handle myself?” She looked menacing at that moment. Her eyes were starting to change from deep blue to ice, and yet there was also a fire smouldering with those watery depths.
“N-no, of course not,” I stuttered, flustered with that challenging gaze on me.
“Good. Then it’s settled. The oaf and I will fight now then.” Azula grinned, her smile so bright that I couldn’t help but indulge her. What harm could a little sparring do?
I sighed heavily. “Everyone on the outside of the clearing,” I called. Those that had been standing around watching immediately complied, hugging the trees as they eagerly watched the scene unfold.
“I’ll ref and make sure everything’s fair,” I announced, moving to the centre. Azula took her place on my right while Daniel hauled himself to his feet and staggered over to my left.
“I don’t want you to ref,” Azula argued. “You’re not impartial.”
“I am so!” I retorted childishly. Chuckles murmured around the clearing.
“Dobry!” Azula yelled. “Come ref for me!”
The sound of someone scrambling to their feet became loud in the quiet that followed her announcement. A few moments later, Dobry burst out of one of the caves, a happy smile on his face.
“Ah, I thought you’d never ask,” he said, skipping over to where I stood. When I didn’t move, he frowned at me, like I’d just taken away his favourite toy. He gave me a little shove.
“You’re in my space,” he whined, stamping his foot.
“I want to ref,” I repeated, stubborn.
“No fair! Azula asked me! Tell him. Azula tell him!”
Azula shook her head, her lips twitching. “Amias, go wait at the side. This isn’t going to take long anyway.” When I didn’t immediately move, she pointed to the side and stared me down with a stern expression.
“Fine!” I mumbled, stomping away. I leaned against one of the trees, crossing my arms over my chest. I tried my hardest to ignore Dobry’s victorious smirk. Bastard.
“Oh, and allow him to heal,” Azula called. She tapped her foot, putting her hand on her hip. “I don’t want him to say that it wasn’t a fair fight or anything.”
“Why don’t you just rip my heart out while you’re at it?” I cried dramatically. “I’m sure he can cope just fine. Can’t you, Daniel?” I turned a menacing glare on the were, daring his to disagree.
“I’ll be fine,” he croaked, nodding vigorously and giving a weak thumbs up.
“Heal him now, Amias,” Azula demanded. “You’re just wasting my time!”
I held up my hands in surrender. “Okay, okay,” I said. “Daniel, I give you permission to heal.”
As soon as I spoke the words, I saw the healing start to take place. The red imprint of my hand faded from his neck, and a bit of strength seemed to return to him. He set his shoulders back and let out a long breath.
“Happy?” I asked acidly.
Azula beamed at me. “Very,” she replied. Then her face turned serious. “Okay oaf, so this is just a friendly sparring match. Whoever gets the other to the ground first wins.” Daniel nodded before both he and Azula looked to Dobry.
“Alright, keep it clean people. I don’t want to see any nasty shots, okay?” he said, staring at both contenders in turn.
“I don’t need to use cheap shots to win,” Azula muttered, shaking out her arms and bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Daniel and Azula faced each other and waited for Dobry to count them in.
“Three. Two. One. Go!” Dobry shouted.
I expected Daniel to charge her right away but instead, he chose to circle Azula. She mimicked him so they moved around each other in a deadly dance.
“What, not even gonna try to attack?” Azula mocked. “Too scared that I’ll break your wittle arm?”
“I’m not scared of you,” he sneered, faking a lunge. Azula didn’t even flinch, just continued to circle him.
“You should be,” she whispered.
She didn’t give any indication that she was going to attack. One second she was on her side of the clearing and the next, she was elbowing Daniel in his newly healed neck. He wheezed out a roar, grabbing for her, but she danced out of his reach, laughing.
Daniel lunged then, intent on felling her with brute force. She allowed him to get close enough that he thought he had her before using all the force of her legs to propel her into the air. With the grace of a swan, she back flipped over him. While Daniel was still dazed from her sudden movement, she jabbed him on the back of his neck – his pressure point.
A strangled groan escaped Daniel as he stumbled forward, struggling to stay on his feet. Sweat dripped down his temples, his panting breaths lost to the sound of cheers. I smiled at the sound of my pack shouting encouragement to Azula.
With a savage grin, Azula followed him, kicking him in the lower back. Daniel flew forwards with a cry, landing on the ground with a loud thud.
When he began his attempts to rise, she skipped over to him and smiled as she delivered two precise kicks to the pressure points in his elbows. Daniel cried out in pain, slumping down again without his arms to support him.
It became apparent that Daniel had lost this sparring match, but just to rub salt into his wounds, Azula bent down and sat on his back, patting his head.
“Good dog. Stay!” she said. Everyone laughed, while I just stared at her in amazement. Where did she learn to fight like that?
“And it looks like Azula is the winner!” Dobry announced. Everyone cheered loudly, clapping and shouting out praise.
Azula stood up and took a bow, then dusted off her hands.
“Oh look!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t even break a nail.” The pack sniggered.
“Okay everyone,” I said. All eyes turned towards me. “As fun as this was, we were in the middle of something. Get back to what you were doing please.”
Grumbling, they reluctantly did as they were told. I walked over to Azula, motioning for Gareth, Koray, Malkolm and Kol to come over as well. Gareth wore a huge smirk; even Koray seemed to be amused, although he still wasn’t smiling.
“Would you like some help, Daniel?” I mocked, glancing down at him, where he was still in a heap on the floor. He muttered something too low for me to catch, but I was sure it was offensive. I decided to let it go though. My mate had already taught him his lesson.
“I had a point, before I was so rudely interrupted,” Azula reminded me. I nodded for her to continue. “If you attack now, their Alpha will be expecting it.” I sobered at the mention of Alpha Roark. “There’s a reason they targeted your brother, Amias.” My eyes darkened. “They were probably counting on you being too caught up in your grief to be able to lead properly. They were trying to make you weaker so that when they attacked, it would be easier to pick you off.”
“I have to avenge Alec! He would do the same for me!”
“I’m not saying you can’t avenge him,” she assured me. Her soothing voice washed over me like a lullaby. “I’m saying that you need to be smart about it. Bide your time. Do you even know for sure the person that did it?”
“We think it was-“
“Think isn’t good enough,” she interrupted. “You need to have all the facts before you launch your attack. You need to be logical, precise, cold or you’ll lose the war for sure.”
I sighed. Alec would have said the exact same thing to me had he been around still.
“You’re right,” I breathed. “Thank you for making me see reason.”
“Yeah well, I was just returning the favour.” I frowned at her, wondering what she meant. I opened my mouth to ask her, but was cut off by a howl. It lasted for about two seconds then cut itself off before continuing for another two seconds.
“Shit,” I muttered. Everyone around me went rigid, the sudden silence making my ears ring. Everyone looked around at each other before their eyes settled on the forest.
“What?” Azula asked. “What did that howl mean?” My eyes met hers.
“It means we’re under attack.”
***
I UPDATED ON TIME!! (kinda). OMG, put this one in the history books folks.
I'm sorry that there's probably loads of mistakes and that it's even crapper than normal. I wrote this in a rush to get it up, so i hope it's not too bad.
I got so happy writing Azula beating up Daniel. I've waited for this moment for her this entire book!
Well anyway, I'm stupidly tired, it's like 00:22 and I have to get up at 7 tomorrow. yay -_-
Night night don't let the werewolves bite ;P