Wolf Queen - Book 1 of The Nightfall Series

Five

Michael's face paled at her father's words and looked towards her with fright in his eyes. Their last bought had not ended in his favour, his scared face was a testament to that. He shifted on his feet as his beast lurked below the surface. She could see the gears in his head turning as he searched for an exit to the situation.

She watched as the veins in his arms bulged and his muscles clenched in his attempts to hold it off. He had lost his composure completely. She wondered if any of the Alpha's were still worthy of their titles. If Michael was the strongest of them, he was a sorry excuse.

She began to circle him, walking slowly around him, stalking. He turned his head to follow her movements, watching her carefully. She sensed every emotion that poured off him.

Fear, Anger, Nervousness.

He was a wild animal trapped in a cage.

She was his jailer.

He knew all too well the destruction she could bring. She'd promised him that she would be his reaper. Her claws unfurled at the thought as she bared her teeth at him.

She came back to stand before him, letting him gaze at her, before his end. It had been no mistake that he had plans for her. To use her as they did before.

Never again.

"Skin or fur." She growled out between her beast's teeth.

Her father hummed in his throat beside her, she could feel the delight coming off him. His pleased tone showing the inner viciousness his wolf held. He was thriving on the challenge, thriving on the battle for dominance. He was like a man revived; she saw a spark back in his eyes as he stood calmly with his hands behind his back.

"Skin." He commanded.

She smiled and her eyes brightened in anticipation at his words. Her father had ruled in her favour, just as she had known he would. She rolled her shoulders, loosening them as her body hummed with her dominance. Her power as a strong born wolf.

She allowed a few sparing seconds after her father's words before she shifted her footing to pounce.

"Wait!" She halted at the shout.

Her eyes narrowed on Michael as he held up a hand. His nervousness had turned to smugness, the gears she knew were turning in his head grinding to a halt.

The air grew still at his words as she eased her stance, glaring at him from across the space between them. Her beast began to pace in her mind as she growled under her breath, he was stalling. The cold breeze that drifted through the clearing did nothing to cool her fiery blood. Her fixed gaze didn't leave his form as she watched him with suspicion.

He turned towards her father and the other Alpha's, almost giving her his back, as a sign of dismissal at their challenge. She fumed internally at his ignorance before tuning her ears to listen to what he had to say.

"If I remember correctly, I also have the right to a champion." He declared.

Her father laughed at his tenacity to hold onto his life. He had turned from the strong Alpha he once was, renowned for his battles in the pack wars, to a mere rabbit clinging onto life in the wild. She didn't understand the weakening within the Alpha's, they had never seemed so powerless. Powerful wolves were out there, they just needed to be found. A change in power was needed.

"Coward." She spat at him, her hair falling into her eyes as she resisted the urge to pounce at him.

"My son will take my place; he must prove his worth." He declared.

He ignored her insult as he made his way towards the crowd. He reached his arm in and pulled a young male from the crowd by the collar of his shirt. He dragged him along, the young male trying to resist as his father pushed him into the circle that had been created.