Broken Halves

Chapter Eleven

POV: Cole (3 months later)

            The sound of the crowd's roar echoes throughout the stadium and throughout my ears. Hardening my glare, I face my opponent with my fists clenched. He knows who I am and therefore, he knows his fate. Nobody before has stood in his shoes and came out triumphant; and he will be no exception.

            I know who I truly am. I know my true purpose. I know my true job, and I know my true final destination. None of which the spectators here in this arena are aware of; never once has it even crossed their minds. To them, I am nothing more than entertainment. To me, they are nothing more than an obstacle I must overcome. To me, they only represent one more stop on my true path.

I don't lose because I can't. Here, I have a reputation. But, it is because I have a motivation; one in which the price is a higher value than my life. Without her, my precious Dani, I am already dead. Only with her, can I truly live.

            These men who face me, they think they are battling for their lives. But, little do they know, the real reason I am always victorious is because I have nothing to lose. I am already dead; without her, I am dead. My opponents can't beat me, fore I have no life to give. I am battling for the right to see the woman who plagues my heart. The same woman, whose existence consumes every ounce of my thoughts, she holds the key; Dani is my life source.

            Here in this arena, they all assume that victory represents life. But it doesn't, and that makes me unstoppable. Nothing gets in between me and my Luna as she is a stronger force that drives my every action.

            I am Colton Dalton Richards. I am battling a quest to return to my soulmate. I will do anything it takes to succeed, because I will return to her. She will be in my arms once again; and nobody, NOBODY here in this damn realm can stop me. Not the spectators watching from above, not the warriors who seek my blood, not the men who believe I belong to them, and not even the little girl who has my blood flowing through her veins.

            I fight not for the spectators' enjoyment and not for the thought of victory. I don't fight because of the money the men have betted on me. I fight for her; for the woman who co-created my child and gave purpose to my life. I fight for Dani; so she one day know the daughter she never got to meet. I don't fight for my life like the scum who face me; I fight for lives of my family.

            These men who fight in this arena may share the same title that I do, but we are different in our souls. Unlike them, I don't fight for my own self gain; I fight for the right to return to the woman whom I love for the benefit of all I care about so they can live on.

            Dani, my other half, I will return to you, for my brother, for my people, and for our daughter. I am victorious, because I am fighting for a grander cause then my opponents and therefore, I am fueled with strength that is unbeatable.

            Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply. Allowing the scents around me to enter my nostrils, my lips twitch upwards sadistically at the stench of blood and sweat. Feeling regenerated, I open my eyes again to face down my opponent, cackling at his approaching demise.

            Uneasy at my unfazed confidence, the opposing Alpha shifts. Wrong move; using his temporary moment of weakness to my advantage, I strike. Relying on my upper body's strength, I advance until I am able to lay a blow from my dagger on my opponent's exposed chest. Staggering backwards at the impact, he attempts to gulp in mouthfuls of air from where the wind had been knocked out of him. But, I don't allow him the chance.

            Listening to the permanent buzzing in my head, I excel my knee forward, effectively breaking his nose. I smirk in satisfaction as I watch the blood fall in a constant flow from his ruined nose down to his feet. The atmosphere around us is tense as we both know that only one of us is allowed to leave this arena alive. Not dwindling on the fact that I have my opponent on his knees, I quickly end the battle as I was taught from a young age; fighting is not a sport like these people seem to consider it, fighting is only to occur when absolutely necessary and be over with as quickly as possible.

            Sneering, I remove my knife from the holster at my hip. "Any last words?" I growl coldly. The man releases a low growl from his chest; "This isn't over yet." His words are threatening, and I admire his strength, however we both know there is no way he will be able to stand and overtake me. Adjusting my stance, I shift allowing the tips of my hair to fall in my face. "Isn't it?" I sneer in a manor the old Cole never would have. When in battle, there is never time to make small talk.

Deciding to take the man out of his misery, I send my knife spiraling towards the older man. It lands, plunging itself deep right above his rib cage. With a gurgling gasp of air as blood fills his lungs, the man falls, knocked off his knees as blood swarms to pour out of the open wound in a gush.

            Ignoring the cheers from the crowd, I stalk towards the man, making my movements small and deliberate. Picking up my sword from it lay discarded from earlier, I finally turn to acknowledge the crowd with open arms; just because I despise them with a burning passion, does not mean that I don't know the role that I am meant to play here. They roar and cheer at my split bloodshed causing me to force back a frown, what a wickedly sick sense of entertainment.

            Making direct eye contact with the dying man I plunge my weapon straight down into his heart; releasing him from his growing agony. My heart lurches, as it always does when I take a life, but my features remain stoic, and my cold Alpha exterior that I am known for rushes to the forefront. With no expression, I pick up my bloody weapons and step over the dead man, ignoring the cheers of joys coming from the crowd. Making my way towards the now open arena doors, I start my journey back to my temporary living quarters.

            After leaving Ellen, I somehow stumbled upon a Gladiator fighting arena. I don't know how it works. But, what I do know is I was meant to spend time here; the Moon Goddess herself hinted at it in my quest's prophecy. To me, the days all seem the same. I fight, they die, I clean my weapons, and think of Dani. I don't know how long I am meant to spend here but if the quest was easy, everyone would be returning to the land of the living. 

            "Another win you got there Abaddon." I grit my teeth in annoyance at the voice of one of the other fighters. Abaddon is what they call me here. They named me after the Angel of Destruction. I guess in a way, that's what I am; nothing will stop me from returning to Dani.

            "Gabriel was a real good fighter. One of the original Alphas." The man continues to speak despite my apparent disinterest. Slowly, I turn around to face the man with the damn smirk on his face. "He'd been around a while. The longest we think." Cooling my internal rage, I respond, making sure to harden my voice and facial features; "What's your point."

He steps down from the stairwell to stand almost eye level with me. "Watch your back Abaddon." His own features were hardened and his tone lowers in octave. Despite the man's attempt at being intimidating, I laugh at the pointless threat. Instantly the man stiffens into a defensive stance. Deciding to use his fear to my advantage, I try one final time to exit the conversation.

"Remember who you're talking too; I am not called Abaddon for just any reason." His nostrils flare as he views my refusal to stand down as a challenge. Cockily, the little bastard opens his mouth up for a rebuttal. "You may be an Alpha, a destroyer, but I have you beat. I am a past Alpha King; even the best had to submit to me." The smile that graces the man's lips is one of complete arrogance that I try to figure out which of my ancestors he might be. My mind swirls as I remember back to the long list of Alpha Kings and I try to recall which ones were self-centered and an overall horrendous King. Realizing that the answer takes quite a few seconds to bring forth, I temporarily abandon my search and respond to the man with my own growing smirk. 

"It seems we are related then." Cackling at the man's expression, I deem the conversation over and finally turn my back, signaling the official end to the conversation as I stalk my way back to my chambers.

         
Here I am Abaddon; the inner blood thirsty beast who rages inside Cole. Nobody gets in between me and my people. Because, I am more than just my title; I am an Alpha, a leader; and I will return to my pack, no matter the cost.

Question of the day: What do you think about this other side of Cole?

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