Triantaokto [ 38 ]

Chapter Warning: there's extreme violence in this chapter. Read with caution.

The entire pack was stood on the field and the ones who were on the front lines formed a circle where Mindy and I would fight.

She was stretching in the middle of the field and I spotted the fierce expression on her face. My gaze drifted to Tristan who was dressed formally in a dress shirt and trousers. I knew it was a semi-formal event since it was my official welcome and found it difficult to take my eyes off him.

Brielle lightly tapped my arm in parting and I briefly smiled at her before walking up to Tristan. The field was silent as he pulled me into his arms and lowered his lips to mine. He gave me a comforting kiss and curled his fingers around the back of my neck.

His ocean-blue eyes stared into mine and he cracked a small smile, speaking in my mind. 'I believe in you, Kara.'

I placed my hands on his chest and leaned up to kiss him softly again. "I love you." I quietly uttered, knowing that my connection with him would help me. His mark ensured some of his power flowed through my veins and I tapped into it as he spoke back to me assertively.

"I love you too, αγάπη μου." With a kiss on my forehead, he pulled back and I slowly turned to Mindy.

Her eyes looked like a frozen lake of moss and despite her neutral facial expression, I knew she couldn't control what she felt towards me. I squared my shoulders and stepped further into the circle, studying her for a few moments. She glanced around before bowing her head slightly. I could tell she didn't want to, especially since she looked like someone had pissed in her cereal.

"Remember the rules." Tristan broke the silence with his commanding voice. "You are not fighting to grievously harm. The first to submit loses and should Kara win, she would have proved her skills as a protector of this pack. It goes without saying that regardless of the outcome of this fight, she is and always will be my Luna—our Luna."

I couldn't help but smile at that. I knew I could win. I knew I could formally claim my title as Luna. The pack cheered in agreement and it gave me the extra confidence boost I needed. Before the fight could begin, I spotted my mother and Matthijs in the crowd.

A worried expression was on her face so I set out to console her in a mind-link. 'I've been training for months, Mum. I can protect myself.'

A sigh audibly fell from her lips. 'I know, honey. I just don't want to see you hurt in any way.'

I gave her a comforting smile from across the field and a few moments later, Tristan declared the start of the fight.

Mindy instantly lunged for me and I quickly side-stepped her, keeping light on my feet as we studied each other. She was incredibly focused on my movements and we moved in a circle as there was a long moment of no action.

I remembered what Tristan taught me about throwing a punch and made sure not to step forward before throwing a fist. I didn't give away my move and my fist collided with her cheek, not enough pressure to seriously hurt but enough to make her dizzy. I followed it up with another punch upwards to her chin and sent her stumbling back.

She almost fell to the floor but she held her balance and an angry growl pulled from deep in her chest. She moved quickly on her feet and kept some distance to gather her bearings again. She gained control of her facial expression, her breathing and her heartbeat, giving nothing away.

The bruise began to blossom on her cheek, a deep red against her ivory skin. I couldn't help but glance at it with a slight smirk on my face. I tried to leave my dislike for her and her feelings for Tristan outside of the circle but I still felt satisfied with the hits I had given—and not because of the initiation fight.

Mindy closed some of the distance between us and I straightened out my shoulders, staying alert. There was a stronger tinge of anger in her eyes and I spoke cautiously.

"Calm down, Mindy."

She didn't say anything but her eyes narrowed as she brought her foot up and slammed it into my chest. The wind was knocked out of me and I stumbled back, quickly ducking under her swinging arm as I heaved out a cough.

I quickly pivoted on my foot and landed another punch on her jaw. Her head whipped to the side and her hair slapped against the cheek. She recovered quickly and brought her hands up defensively. We were both light on our feet and began circling each other again.

I could see the fury quickly burning in her eyes and watched her curiously. The hostility was clear in her gaze and I wondered if I was the only one to see it. This seemed like more than a simple initiation fight for her.

My eyes were trained on her movements as she closed the distance between us. I barely dodged her first punch and was caught off guard when she landed a quick punch to my temple. My vision blurred slightly and I put some space between us as I blinked the dizziness away.

When she bounded forward, I lifted my leg to kick her in the side. My foot connected squarely against her ribs and she doubled over as she drew in a sharp breath. She utilised her position as she leapt forward and shouldered me roughly in the stomach.

The grunt fell from my lips and I sidestepped her when she tried to wrap her arms around my body. The move made her lose her balance and she fell face-first to the ground. One of Mindy's strengths, however, was how quickly she could recover and that was clear when she immediately flipped onto her back and kicked up from the floor.

Her fumble seemed to set a fire in her because when she lifted her head, she looked determined to win. She advanced towards me and swept my legs out from under me, pinning me to the floor.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Tristan step forward instinctively. I separated his feelings from mine since they didn't do me any good and spoke in his mind. 'Don't you dare' was all I could get out before Mindy's fist collided with my nose.

There was no crack but I felt the blood stream from my nose as a yelp of pain fell from my lips. When her hand came around my neck in a chokehold, I saw the door of opportunity. Gripping onto her wrist and her bicep to trap her arm in my hold, I wrapped one leg around hers and brought the other up with more force than the counter warranted. In one swift movement, I flipped us over.

The growl that pulled from my chest was powerful and sent waves of power through the air. I placed a heavy hand on her chest, pinning her down and sitting on her knees to limit her mobility. The blood dripped from my nose and stained her white shirt. I felt the metallic liquid on my lips and I spat to the side.

I kept my feet planted on the floor so she couldn't swing me off and leaned up as she began to scratch at my face. Her nails were elongated slightly into claws and I grabbed onto her other hand, forcing her to rest on her side slightly.

She grunted and I growled in response, demanding submission from her. She was defiant and tried to thrash around before she could no longer ignore the hierarchy between us. She reeled her wolf back in and went still, closing her eyes as she reluctantly bared her neck to me.

I won the fight.

I was satisfied and glanced at Tristan who had a proud expression on his face. Everyone fell to one knee and pledged their allegiance to me. They spoke as a collective and a euphoric feeling surged through me as a connection was made.

I grinned and slowly lifted myself off of Mindy, extending a hand out to help her up. She eyed my hand for a long moment before begrudgingly taking it. She seemed pissed off that I had won and a growl fell from her lips as I pulled her up.

Before I could even let go of her, she forcibly tugged me to her. The breath caught in my throat and for a second I felt numb before the searing pain surged through me. I glanced down to see her claws had pierced flesh and were deep inside my abdomen. I could feel it painfully scratching against my lowest rib. Her eyes met mine and she snarled.

"He was meant to be mine. I've loved him from the beg—"

She was quickly tackled to the floor and I felt a hot and cold sensation as my skin pulled slightly with her claws. The white-hot pain blinded me and I could barely breathe or focus on anything as I fell to my knees.

Strong arms caught me and I instantly knew it was Tristan when his voice powered through the ringing in my ear. "Kara!" he gasped as his hand flattened against my cheek, tilting my head to look at him. He gritted his teeth and a grunt fell from his lips. I knew he could feel my pain and I whined lowly, feeling lightheaded.

I was losing a lot—I couldn't...breathe...my head...

The scream ripped from my throat when I felt pressure on my wound. Tristan lifted me into his arms and I could only hear voices overlapping.

"Alpha, we need to get her to the pack hospital!"

"Mindy tried to kill our Luna!"

"Is Luna going to die?"

I felt Tristan's response before I heard it. He roared fiercely and the field went completely silent. The panic and fear surged deep in his chest and I used all of my energy to hold onto his shoulders. When he spoke, he sounded like a beast and I knew his anger knew no bounds.

"We have the sleds. Sáka and Mikâle, you're two of the fastest, you'll have to pull us to the hospital." Another deep and gritty growl pulled from his chest and he spat out his next words. "As for her—Hounds, take her to the cells."

A cry ripped from Mindy's throat and I knew the Hounds were the sentries posted outside of Tristan's house. They were his very own Cerberus.

A whimper fell from my lips and I couldn't tell if my face was wet because of the blood or tears. I must have looked half-dead. I felt his eyes on me again. His lips pressed to my forehead and his voice lost all anger as he whispered against my skin.

"You're not leaving me, αγάπη μου." I had never heard him so scared all the time I had known him. "Stay with me...please."

It was a blur until I was laid down gently on a sled. Tristan kept a cloth, perhaps someone's shirt, on my wound and controlled the blood as his other hand caressed my hair gently. I felt a slight jolt as the wolves set out in the snow and a cold sweat overtook me.

"Tr-Tris—"

He shushed me softly. "Don't try to speak. You're in too much pain." His voice cracked and he kissed my forehead again before wiping the blood off my face. My nosebleed seemed to have stopped. I didn't feel the rush in my nose. I turned my head to the side and spluttered out the bile in my mouth.

"Don't leave me." I choked out, feeling the fear flood through me at the thought of Tristan away from me. I was scared—scared of dying, scared of leaving him. "Don't leave me, Tristan."

I forced my eyes open and saw the pure fear on his face. His cheeks were wet with tears and my blood was all over him. The strong stench burned my nose.

"Never, Kara. I'm never going to leave you. Do the same and hold on, okay?" his voice cracked even more and he gasped in a breath. "I can't live without you, baby. I won't."

The pain became unbearable and the response died on my tongue. I gritted my teeth and looked up. The wind glided against my skin as the pack members in wolf form bounded through the snow. We seemed to have reached our destination when Tristan gently lifted me into his arms.

Blinding lights forced my eyes closed and I heard a doctor's voice. "She's losing a lot of blood. We need to get her on an operating table now!"

My body felt weak as people moved around me. I gripped onto Tristan's hand with all my might and he followed after me, squeezing my hand back. The atmosphere was frantic and I could taste everyone's panic as strongly as I could my own blood.

"Alpha, we're going to sedate her. We need you to leave."

We protested at the same time and Tristan voiced our emotions defensively. "I'm not leaving her, Nuka."

Nuka, the doctor, spoke in what I assumed to be Greenlandic and I was left in the dark as he assertively addressed Tristan. I could feel his fingers loosen around mine and I cried out.

"Please, Tristan...no."

I knew he wasn't leaving willingly. I could just about smell the scents of many other people and I could tell that they were pulling him back. The growl meshed with his sob and I felt the pad of his fingertips brush against mine.

I felt the mask cover my nose and mouth, and the lightheaded feeling I felt came back tenfold. I heard Tristan's pained howl before I slowly blacked out.