The number of people in the arena had almost tripled within two minutes.
I was standing up against the wall with Val, Lia and Ivy. The anxiousness was thick in the air, the whisper of doubt running through my ears. Orion technically wasn't the Alpha yet, the ceremony having been put back. That meant that Orion hadn't come into the power that his position held.
Meaning that it would be much easier for Marc to beat him.
I believed in him, not a single trace of doubt in my mind. But it was obvious that some people didn't.
"How are you guys feeling?" I asked, "About all of this?"
Val placed her hand to her cheek, "I honestly just can't believe how this is happening. Honest to the goddess, I have never even heard of Marc before, let alone see him fight. Though I'm not a hundred per cent sure about whether or not that's a good thing."
Lia nodded, "I agree. It's difficult not knowing where he stands in terms of ability. Though I'm confident that Orion has got this in the bag,"
"Same," Ivy agreed. "You can feel the tension in the room, but I'm sure- and we're all sure that he's got this. I'm just hoping that they have medics available and ready because I don't want to have to watch the loser bleed out on the floor."
My heart began to race, "I personally don't think that Marc can beat him, but you never know. I can see Orion from here and you can tell just how nervous he is. I'm looking at Marc and don't even see an inch of anxiousness."
"Exactly, and I think that's where I start to become concerned. But as long as we stay Faithfull, there should be no problems at all," Val added.
"I sure hope so," I mumbled.
Orion was standing about ten metres away, His parents speaking in ushered tones to him. I could see just how angry they were, Orion biting back when they made an obvious hurtful comment.
Gabe, Julian and Colton were standing behind him, their posture perfectly straight as they stood behind Orion in support. It was a scary sight, and so, so real.
My eyes slid over to Marc, the cocky arrogance that I had looked up to when I was younger had once again taken over him. He stood alone but didn't look the slightest bit worried. His posture was cool, leaning himself against the wall with a water bottle in his hand. He smirked when he noticed my gaze. I kept staring at him, no, glaring. He faltered for a second before turning away.
People continue to file in, filling up the arena until I could barely even see Orion. The one thing I could definitely see was the arena. The main arena was raised, being visible from any point in the entire training facility. People were already surrounding it, trying to get as close to the front as possible.
Everyone wanted the best view.
I couldn't blame them.
The other girls started to move, trying to get closer to the stage. I didn't want to move, I couldn't move, feeling as if my feet were stuck to the floor. I connected the palm of my hands with the wall, steadying myself as everything began to move into motion.
Someone walked on the stage, probably an umpire to watch the match. He held a whistle in his hand and wore a bright, white and black striped shirt.
We were starting to inch closer to starting. And with each second that passed, I seemed to get more and more nervous.
I couldn't see myself moving from this position, nor being able to get any closer without losing an eye, so I stayed firm against the wall.
I noticed Orion walking over to me, so I took a step forward and met him halfway.
I placed my hand on his shoulder, "You alright?"
He sighed, "No. Honest to the goddess, I don't even know why you were ever friends with him."
"He never used to be like this... but he was always competitive. I don't know what to tell you, I haven't seen him for ages, but I know the Marc I left back in France wouldn't have even challenged you, let alone bid for the Alpha Position." I groaned, running a hand over my forehead. "I have complete faith in you. Even though you haven't officially become Alpha, I would be willing to bet you'll still win."
He leaned his head back, "I'm not so sure,"
I grabbed onto his shoulders, looking him dead in the eye, "I don't want to hear nonsense from you Orion, you will win and if I hear one more derogatory word come out of your mouth then I swear to the goddess I will leave you right now!"
That seemed to change his mood, "Well, we can't have that can we?" He pulled me forward, placing a chaste kiss on my lips, winking as he drew away. "For good luck. I suppose I'll see you when I win?"
"You will," I confirmed with a nod of my head, "Now go on, you would have less than a minute until it's due to start, and we certainly wouldn't want you losing via disqualification."
"No, we couldn't. Have no fear Thea, this little spit will be over in a minute," Orion promised, practically oozing with fake confidence as he walked away, flexing his fingers.
I couldn't tell whether it was out of nerves or preparation.
I leaned back against the wall, pulling my hair out from behind my back and onto the side. My breaths came out in shallow huffs as I watched Orion walk up onto the stage. He leaned back against the ropes cooly, waiting for the bells to ring.
My eyes slid over to Marc, now beginning to move up onto the stage. He matched my gaze, gave a wink before heading up the stairs, dropping his towel and water bottle onto the floor, the people close jumping back as the water sprayed all over their feet.
Orion and Marc stared at each other, having an entire conversation through one malicious glare. I wish I could know what was being said, and even though no words were being spoken, the tension between them was just as thick, a strange mixture of confidence and determination, hinted with anxiety.
A loud chime echoed through the arena, sending everyone into a hushed silence. Marc and Orion took their positions, standing strong with their arms behind their backs, ready to fight. I watched as Orion's back muscles tensed, the slow rise in Marc's eyebrow and the slow tap of fingertips against raw, sweaty skin.
The announcer walked onto the stage.
He gave a curt bow to Orion and a nod of acknowledgment to Marc. He cleared his throat,
"The battle shall begin on my word, and shall only be done in human form. Should our honoured Orion Westbrooke win, he shall keep his position and plans shall go ahead. His challenger, Marceau Couture shall be banished from the Vindex Pack permanently. However, should the opposite occur, Mr Couture will take Alpha Westbrooke's place as the future Alpha of Vindex." He paused for a moment, pushing himself back against the edge and out of the way of the two men baring to fight. "On my whistle,"
He pulled the whistle to his mouth, and in one sharp breath, it erupted with a strong, sharp tone.
Neither Orion nor Marc wasted any time.
I held my breath, barely breathing as I watched them. Both were injuring each other, neither safe from the other's determined defence. A fist in Marc's eye, a knee in Orion's leg, both moving so quickly that I could barely see what was happening. I could already see the bruises forming, blood splattering and skin tearing. I tried to focus on exactly what was happening, but it was practically impossible,
All I knew was that Orion was losing.
It was in the way that he buckled back, or how quickly his entire demeanour changed, those nerves that I had seen before transforming into acceptance of losing.
Out of nowhere, Marc grabbed onto Orion's collar and pulled him in, whispering something into his ear. The change happened in a split second.
Orion's eyes turned gold.
Once I saw that, I knew that the winner of this match had been decided then and there.
It would have been safe to assume that Marc had nearly been bludgeoned to death. I don't know what Marc had said, but it seemed to have secured his fate as the loser of this battle. He didn't manage to get one more hit in. I watched Orion fight with elegance, his fists flying, legs kicking, continuing until Marc fell onto the floor and not even then did he stop.
Orion stepped back.
1... 2... 3... 4... 5.
Five seconds and that was enough. Five seconds on the floor, completely unmoving meant that Orion had won.
I started to scream in happiness, clapping my hands above my head as the rest of the arena joined in. The umpire grabbed Orion's hand and held it up in the air as two medics came behind and collected Marc, ready to take him away to be treated.
Orion ran his arm over his mouth, collecting the steady stream of blood that was starting to flow. His golden eyes flickered for a moment before settling back on me, returning to his regular, gorgeous dark brown. The lights were focused on him, and with the ripped clothes, dirty skin and bloody face, he looked like a god. A god of war. I felt my entire body shiver, my shoulders turning in and my head falling down in submission. It was in moments like this, when he looked like that when I was reminded of exactly the person Orion was.
Covered in Blood, Covered in Dirt.
The future Alpha of the Pack of War, The Pack of Defense, the Pack of Warriors.
The cheering continued as he walked down the stage, stepping down the stairs and walking through the parting crowds.
He came over to me, and in my excitement I jumped, wrapping my legs around his hips and almost strangling him.
"What did I tell you?" I squealed, "That sure looked like a win!"
He didn't say anything, only held me tighter as I hugged him. The crowds slowly started to disperse, especially now that a winner had been announced.
I personally don't think anyone had really been surprised by the outcome, nor did anyone want to interrupt us. Orion set me down,
"How do you feel?" I asked, still practically shaking.
Orion sighed, "Sore, he got a couple of punches in before I managed to get into the right mindset. But hey, I'll be fine, nothing that won't be healed within the hour."
I ran my finger over the cut on his face, "True, but still. At least you were able to solidify the fact that you deserve to be the next Alpha. I want to see someone try and doubt you know."
He closed his eyes, "Yeah, I suppose you're right."
I could see the exhaustion in his face, his body sagging with every second that ticked by.
My face softened, "Let's go back to the house, yeah? You can have a shower and I'll try and make you something to eat. Goddess knows you deserve it,"
He leaned into my shoulder with a moan, "Yes, please. Not to domesticate you or anything, but I have never eaten anything that tasted even half as good as your cooking."
I snorted, "Now you're just sucking up."
He gave me a goofy look, trying to smile, "Never,"
I rolled my eyes, grabbing onto his arm and pulling it over my shoulders. Partly in affection, partly because I wasn't 100% sure if he would be able to walk all the way home without collapsing.
We walked out of the training centre, going from the artificial light straight into the blaring sun. I could feel Orion limping at my side, but I said nothing, not wanting to do anything to his pride.
We walked carefully, managing to make it into the streets.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard an alarm. It was loud and blaring, like an endless screech. Orion's head perked up, his entire body changing as he looked around.
I started to get a feeling in my stomach, "Orion what's going on?"
He looked as if he was processing it, as if in disbelief over the alarm.
"Orion," I said again, this time a little more firmly. 'What's going on?"
"Rogues," He whispered, "Rogues, that's the alarms that are set off if the borders have been breached, specifically by a large group of rogues."
My spare arm fell to my side as his eyes went glassy.
It took him only a few seconds to return to normal,
'Althea, listen to me," He grabbed my shoulder, looking so unbearably serious. "You know where the packhouse is? I need you to go there. I'll have someone waiting there to show you the way to the underground bunker. Ivy and Lia will be there, along with all the children and elderly."
I nodded my head, gulping, "Okay- yeah ok I can do that. Where are you going?"
His face hardened, "I need to go fight. I say this with love, but I don't think you three have enough training or ability to be able to fight, especially not with the type of attack that's happening."
Usually, I would be offended, but he was completely right.
I nodded, "Alright, are you sure you'll be able to fight?"
Orion's eyes flickered, "Doesn't matter. I have a job to do." He kissed my forehead, "Stay safe, stay out of trouble. This will be dealt with quickly, just- just don't worry."
And there I stood, in the middle of a completely empty street, the world seemingly collapsing, watching my mate run straight into the front of the battle.
I knew what I had to do.
I turned around, faced the direction of the packhouse and started to run.
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Good morning everyone, how was the chapter?
So, not to freak anyone out or anything, but I have started planning my mafia story which I'm hoping to start next month!! I've got both the names and the faces of my two main characters and oml I am in love. I already have most of this story planned in my head, so it's going to be a super quick plan but yesss I'm getting excited.
I've been dedicating this week to writing, and so far, I'm doing pretty well and have officially entered the last act of ToB! I'll be doing some cover stuff next week but a lot of book stuff is happening rn so very exciting.
Hope people are still enjoying the story and you haven't gotten too bored!
Remember to vote and comment!
See you in the next chapter,
Eryn