Rejected

Chapter 29

Third Person POV

No one moved immediately after Councilman Ular started the test, they were caught in a stare down. Alex knew in order to out Councilman Ular as the snake he was she would need to win this fight. She had begun fighting multiple opponents a year ago with Kole, but the Deadly Triad were not the kind of teachers Ular made them out to be. They didn't teach Alex how to fight, they beat her to a bloody pulp. Jude, who she found out was the newest to the group, was the least violent with her. Sure he had been responsible for some of her bruising, but he never drew blood from her. Darren and Devon on the other hand, they took pleasure in marking her skin with black and blue streaked with red.

"KICK THEIR TRIAD ASS ALEX!" Tyler's voice echoed through the arena. The inspirational call to action triggered Devon to charge towards her. Alex didn't move, she didn't visibly brace herself for impact. A collective gasp filled the arena when Devon's fist made contact with Alex's face. But her feet stayed planted, the only thing moving from the force of his hit was her head. Devon hadn't been expecting that, he fully intended to knock her down and be done, but the look in her eyes told him differently.

"My turn." Her voice was low and held a power to it Devon had never heard before. Alex took hold of Devon's shirt and threw him over her head, back towards Darren.

Darren, who had been just as stunned as everyone else, finally broke from his daze and jumped into action. He came at Alex quickly, not expecting this to be over in one hit like Devon, but having the confidence to believe the young woman wouldn't last long. Darren got his combinations with speed and precision, but Alex was faster in her evasive maneuvers. No matter what Darren did, or how quickly he moved, Alex was always just out of reach.

Darren grew tired of punching at air and moved to tackle the woman who was quickly becoming a thorn in his side. With a grunt he finally made contact and took them both down to the ground, however Alex had different plans. Without losing momentum, Alex rolled with the tackle, but kept moving so she landed on top, straddling Darren. From this position she repeatedly brought her fist to his face, each time with a strength Darren had never felt from a woman. She continued, bloodying his face with every hit, his left eye was swollen shut, his nose and jaw broken.

Alex was once again tackled, this time from the side by Devon. The unexpected blow knocked the air from her lungs and caused a momentary break in her defense, one that Devon took full advantage of. Now she was the one on her back being straddled by Devon. His wolf had touched the surface and was showing in his eyes, this caused his hits to be stronger, but at the price of the strategy. He was in a blind rage and couldn't focus on anything but what was in front of him. He didn't notice when Alex managed to release one of her arms from under his leg and clocked him in his temple, stunning him just enough for her to get to her feet again. With a growl Alex charged. Keeping her hits calculated and precise, she started pounding on Devon.

Darren, who had managed to stumble to his feet pulled a gun from his ankle holster. A collective gasp rang out as the crowd noticed his weapon. No other instructor had pulled a weapon in their sparring match, however no rules had outlined their use. It technically wasn't against the rules. Alex's ears picked up the cock of the hammer and the grind of the gears as Darren took aim. Alex paused, but only long enough to grab hold of the dagger she kept in her boot, one that had been left by none other than Jude after just a few short months of her training. She threw it behind her with complete confidence, despite not taking much time to aim. Flying through the air the dagger hit its mark and sliced through the skin on Darren's wrist, the shock mixed with pain from the wound made holding on to the gun impossible and it fell to the ground.

Jude, who hadn't gotten involved until now, stepped around Darren, who had taken a knee and was tying a strip of cloth around his bleeding wrist. With a running start Jude had taken Alex by the shoulders and flung her off Devon, who was sporting a busted lip and a black eye. Jude was not as confident in his hold on Alex as the other two had been and lost his grip shortly after they started tumbling. Alex was the first to recover and sent a roundhouse kick to Jude's head. When Jude didn't get up she honed in on his heart beat. Once convinced that he was still alive with a steady pulse, Alex once again turned her attention to Darren and Devon.

Darren was first to charge, his eyes completely his wolf's as he forgets his form and starts swinging. Alex dodges, and gets in a few hits to his chest and stomach. Hearing the older man huffing told Alex that he was nearly done, but she couldn't let him just quit. She needed to teach the bastard a lesson, so pinning his foot down with her own, she caught his arm and broke it over her shoulder. His cry in pain didn't deter her from also jamming her elbow into his ribs and bruising a few of those. Then, using the momentum from the elbow jab she brought her foot down half way up Darren's shin and smirked as it snapped and bent at an unnatural angle. Darren let out a howl of pain before he hit the ground and didn't get back up. Darren lay so still that Alex was unsure if she left him alive, so she bent down and put her fingers to his neck checking his pulse. Satisfied that he was still alive she turned her full attention to Devon.

He was fuming, she had practically destroyed the Deadly Triad in a matter of minutes. From the strength that she had shown in this fight, there was no question about who was going to win this, but that didn't mean Devon was going to give up. He refused to admit defeat to a woman, so gathering up whatever he had left, he initiated the final leg of this fight. When he threw his first hit towards Alex she dodged and took hold of his arm, snapping it like a twig. Devon let loose a growl and swung his other arm at her, aiming to hit her in the face. Alex, however, noticed his change in direction and moved along with it, keeping just out of Devon's reach. Then, when he had to take a step forward to keep from falling over, Alex sent a kick to his ribs. Hearing the satisfying crack beneath her foot she then grabbed Devon by the shirt and threw him across the arena. His head hit the wall and left a pretty significant dent. Devon's body slumped to the ground, mangled and beaten.

Jude who had gotten up during the final few minutes, limped over to Devon's body. Reaching down he checked for a pulse, then sighed with relief when he found it. The medics were called in and they carried both Devon and Darren out of the arena on stretchers. Alex stood in the middle of the arena staring at Jude, trying to figure out if he was going to continue the fight or if he knew it was over. Jude, who had no intention of continuing, lowered his head in a sign of submission.

"Jude Redwood, as you are the last member of the Deadly Triad who remains conscious, do you feel Alex has earned the right to graduate from this Academy?" the voice of Councilman Ular rang out above the murmurs from the crowd.

"With all due respect, Councilman Ular, you witnessed everything that just happened. You tell me." Jude turned to look at Ular.

"I witnessed a young woman lose her temper and almost destroy three men. I believe she would benefit from another year here to learn control.'' The crowd lost it then. No one was in agreement with the Councilman.

"You're joking. Right?" Jude quickly got everyone's attention and they hushed their outrage. "If she had lost her temper and lost control, all three of us would be dead. Instead, Alex managed to give varying degrees of injury to three different trained warriors. She never shifted, and I never saw her beast take control. Her hits were calculated and thoughtful. After each of us went down she made sure we were still breathing, still alive. She didn't lose control once in this exercise. And frankly, if you insist on keeping her here another year, you'll not only have to find a trainer for her, but you'll have a whole lot of wolves questioning your judgment." Jude gestured around the arena. "Everyone here saw what just happened, and they know that Alex is in complete control. They all know that she is ready to graduate."

Councilman Ular took a look around the arena, noticing for the first time that everyone's eyes were on him, not the action on the ground. He had a difficult choice, as he was now put on the spot. He didn't like being backed into a corner, especially one that ruined his plans publically.

"Alex Blood, you have bested your instructors. You will continue on to tomorrow's test." He took care in the words he chose, never saying things like 'congradulations' or 'you pass'. His choice of words was not lost on Alex. She knew he was not thrilled about losing the leverage he had on her. With her display of power and skill there would have been more questions if he had denied her graduating. More questions if he had said she wasn't ready after demonstrating she could take out three of the council's most skilled and powerful wolves. Councilman Ular gave one last huff then turned to walk out of the arena. Alex, who hadn't moved from the middle of the field, gave a slight sigh and then turned to go out the way she came in. She heard the voices of her pack calling her, but ignored them and went back to her room until it was time for her test tomorrow.