Kissed By The Moon

CHAPTER 4: New Enemies

Timothy has Brie and I warm up together before he separates us. Brie goes to train with other warriors as Timothy's Assistant assesses her and her progress to determine where she should start from. Brianna is very fit, she has to be, she's my future Beta. We trained together when I was away, she will wipe the floor with these other warriors, no doubt about it.

As for me, Timothy is having me do a one on one's with warriors of different levels so he can see if I belong in his training sessions or one that is below it. I have to fight a newbie warrior, a young guy named Trevor who is a recent entrant into the Pack's defence team. I have him tapping out in less than a minute, Timothy would have to throw someone better than that if he wants to at least challenge me.

Next, I have to fight a bigger guy. He is far more experienced than Trevor and stronger than me in my human form. But he's slow. Maybe not objectively, but definitely slower than me. When I was younger and training to fight off my kidnappers, I faced opponents bigger than me all the time. That's because my kidnappers were always bigger and my trainer at that time taught me to use my speed instead of trying to overpower a larger person. I also learnt jujitsu, so I knew how to use my attacker's momentum against them. Of course, with jujitsu the aim of the holds I was taught in order to pin down an opponent was to injure or kill them. I'm not trying to do any of that to poor Zack here, so I use holds I'd learnt in my judo classes instead. He puts up a good fight, but not a very long one and I quickly have him tapping out.

My next fight is Deidra. She smiles at me as we begin, but that's the only nicety she offers me before she launches her assault. She's agile and very determined. She fights defensively, forcing me to be on the attack. I don't typically like attacking, only because it's not as fun as defensive moves, but it's useful so I had to become proficient. Our fight lasts a little longer and she admittedly has me a little out of breath. It's obvious she's been watching my other fights and has learnt to avoid previous mistakes. Soon enough though, I'm straddling her on the ground with one of my hands pinning both her wrists to the floor behind her and my other forearm pressed against her neck. She can't break free, so she taps out with her feet. I withdraw my forearm but keep her wrists pinned with a smirk on my face.

"Are we about to kiss right now?" I tease.

"You wish," she retorts with a smile.

"You have no idea," I say before I release her wrists, get up and help her to her feet.

I hear playful jeering from the crowd that had gathered around the fight at some point, and I take a cheeky bow.

"That's enough of that! You're not done yet Miss Amari," Timothy interferes, "You have one fight left, a volunteer. The top fighter in the pack. I'm sure you're familiar with Mr. Denzel Black."

My smile drops. Denzel emerges. I hadn't noticed him when I came in.

"A volunteer?" I ask, confused as to why Denzel wants to fight me. He definitely still hates me, so I know it's not to help with my assessment or training.

"Yes, Miss Nash. I thought I'd personally inspect your skill level. You've been gone a while, who knows if you're even fit enough to lead."

I hold Eris back. His comment pissed her off.

I will kill him. He dares disrespect his alpha? AGAIN?

Calm down, he's still upset, let him let it out

Why? Why should I when I can just kill him?

Because he's a member of your pack. At one point he could have been our Gamma, he could still be.

I'd rather shit in my own paws and clap.

No offence, but you're a wolf, that doesn't sound as resolute as you think

I ignore Denzel's disrespect and throw him a slight smile before I chug half my bottle of water. I feel instantly energized. Eris might not be in control, but she does help me recover quickly. She's not magnanimous or anything, she just really wants to see me beat his ass.

The fight begins. Denzel is very good. When we were children, I could easily kick his ass but now, things are different. He's quick and strong. He's matching my skill level and avoiding my blows just as gracefully as I'm avoiding his. I'm starting to enjoy the fight. I haven't fought anyone who comes even close to my level in a long time, so this is a rare pleasure. I'm in my element.

I know a lot of people think I went away and shirked my responsibilities, but I didn't. I continued training. I trained even harder than before because I knew that this time, if something happened, I didn't have a whole pack behind me. I just had myself and Brie. I perfected my skills, and as strong, quick and capable as Denzel is, I know he can't beat me. I'm a thoroughly trained Alpha, stronger by nature and by trade. When I learnt to fight, it wasn't to protect the pack. There was no noble cause. There was no dignity or glory. I was fighting for my life. Unlike everyone here who learnt to fight to protect something, I learnt to fight to preserve it. When you're trying to protect something, you're willing to die, but when you're fighting to preserve something, you understand that you must live, death is a defeat, not an honour.

The fight is on-going, and I can tell that Denzel is angry. And the more I fight back, the angrier he gets. It's starting to piss me off. So, I stop holding back and get more aggressive and what seemed like an even fight becomes clearly one-sided. I'm kicking his ass and Eris is ecstatic.

At this point, the entire Training Centre is watching. I don't blame them, if I wasn't me, I'd be watching too. Denzel lunges at me and I carry his momentum and throw him to the ground. He stays down for a while, and I start to think it's finally over. But the bastard shifts into his wolf. I hear gasps from everyone around us.

"Stand down Black!" I hear Timothy yell, but it's too late.

We aren't dealing with Black, we're dealing with his wolf: Storm, if I remember correctly. He is a large beast with jet black fur that matches Denzel's hair. He also has green eyes, except his glow. He lets out a deep growl and Eris is ready to jump out, but I know if I let her out, she'll kill him. No doubt about it. This is an open challenge; she'd have every right. I take a breath to centre myself, I know I can't fully fight a wolf in my human state, especially not one of this size. I stand facing Storm and he lets out a vicious growl before he leaps at me, baring his teeth, murder in his eyes.