Everything Anew

Chapter Forty

Forty

Nathan

"Another fifty and we'll be swimmin'in it."

I didn't listen to them speak. I blocked them out of my head as I circled the other wolf in the ring. My body ached for me to stop, begged me to take a break, but my wolf said otherwise. My opponent lunged towards me first, and he knew it was a mistake the moment I leapt out of the way and clamped my jaws on his hind leg.

Some in the crowd yelled out angrily, but most cheered while the wolf yelped and twisted around to snap at me. I let go just in time to avoid the bite, a growl ripping from him while he struggled to put weight on his back leg. The fight wasn't over until at least one of us couldn't get back up, or died trying.

I had been at it for an hour now, wolf after wolf challenging me. All of them were new faces I hadn't seen before, people who wouldn't know how powerful I really was unless they had seen me years ago when I first joined. They were gullible, idiotic, I laughed when they challenged me, and when the fights began, only a handful remained out of the large group.

The few that wanted to try their luck must have been either incredibly brave, or just stupid. Not only were they new to the pack, but they were young enough that they hadn't learned to balance both sides of themselves yet.

As an example, my opponent waited for me to attack first, and when I did I saw the fear in his eyes. A lesson when it came to fighting was not to show that fear, or else you'd become your opponent's prey.

I had him on the ground minutes after the fight had started. People passed around their money and laughed as if it was all a game to them. I revelled in it, shifting back to my human form and grunting when I realized how much my muscles ached.

"Ya doubled our winnin's Nathan." Caligo grinned. "Take quarter of it."

He pushed the bills to my chest and I sneered. "I won't take less than half."

"Take it or leave it rebel."

"Do you want to go in the ring with me and settle it there?"

Caligo tossed his head back and laughed, motioning his hand out to someone who passed him another wad of cash. "I always liked ya. Fine. Take it."

I grabbed the money and walked over to one of the shacks to stash it away and slip on some clothes. The injuries I received barely affected me. With my wolf closer to the front of my mind, I healed faster than before, and I felt more powerful. I almost forgot why I even resisted returning to this place to begin with, and why I was so insistent on staying with the others. I was weaker there, limited in my abilities; it was only taking opportunity away.

When I stepped back outside, my eyes caught on Skoll. I kept my distance from him, mainly due to how he confused me. I had never met someone who was so lost in their own mind, that their body remained stuck in two forms. He couldn't have full conversations with us anymore, but he still had the same hunger and needs as everyone else in the camp.

I stayed as far away from the northern side of the camp as possible. Even though I relished being here now, it didn't mean I enjoyed everything about it. They kept the humans there, mostly woman, and I even heard through whispers that a few were already pregnant with Skoll's children.

A part of me felt sick at the image, a flicker of Lila returning to me. They planned on doing the same to her, and if they had her back now they wouldn't hesitate to try again. With the thought in mind, I kept my distance from everyone else and snapped when anyone got close. The only people I spoke to were Caligo and Ryken. The human doctor was an odd one. I wasn't sure if I should hate him, or get to know him better.