Alpha Tristan ✓ [Republishing]

Enia [ 9 ]

author's note: what would you do if you were Kara? would you engage in a fight to death just to be welcomed into the pack?

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The atmosphere was tenser between us than it had ever been.

Tristan froze and that had been the first time I had ever seen fear cross his face. "What do you mean, Kara?"

I swallowed the lump of emotion that threatened to choke me. "If that's what I have to do, Tristan. If I have to beat someone within an inch of death, then I don't want to be your Luna."

He looked deeply troubled and the pain on his face was too much for me to look at. "This shouldn't break us. It's a simple fight that you'll definitely win."

I sighed in vexation and stared at him with an incredulous expression. "Simple? Tristan, do you hear yourself right now? Violence isn't simple. Having to fight for my place with you isn't simple. It's complicated, and I didn't sign up for that."

"Do you even know what you are?" he questioned, slight annoyance seeping through his confusion. "You're not human, Kara. Life isn't all civilised—I've had to kill just to reclaim my birthright. I've seen people die right in front of me in the name of peace. You're not fighting for a place with me, you've already got one. But, to lead beside me, you need to know how to survive—you need to show us you know how to survive."

I was almost at my boiling point. "And if I don't survive?" I nearly screamed, closing my eyes tightly and pressing my palm to my forehead. "There's absolutely no guarantee that I'll survive and if I die, my mother will be all alone. I'm all she has. None of this is worth leaving her for."

"I've been doing this for years, Kara!" he shouted back in desperation. "The fight ends when someone can no longer continue—not when they're dead."

"And what happens to the person who can't continue? They're not welcomed to your pack?"

"I make the decision at the end of the fight. If I deem them to have something to add to my pack, then they'll be in my pack regardless and put in training for the first month." He clarified as his shoulders dropped in exhaustion. "Kara, regardless of the fight, you need to know how to defend yourself."

I could have cried in frustration. "Knowing how to defend myself isn't the problem here." I stepped closer to him and jabbed a finger into his chest. "The problem is that I'll have to compromise my morals just to be with you. I don't hurt people, Tristan. I'm not a monster."

"And I am?" he questioned as he stared down at me with a look of deep hurt on his face. "You're not killing anyone or dying, Kara. I promise I won't let it get that far. You just need to win the fight."