Soren

Chapter Twenty

The crowd stared in horrified silence. Their Beta Female of only a few minutes was about to be made to fight to the death. The future of the pack was looking more and more uncertain. Onlookers stood with bated breath as their eyes stayed locked on the figure of their two Beta wolves, standing comfortably close, eyes locked in silent communication.

Soren untied the bow holding her fur coat together, handing the soft material to James. He didn't seem to want to let her go, knowing the danger she was about to face, and the odds that were definitely not in her favour. There was an electricity in the air, a tension that crackled within the clearing, raising the hair on the back of the arms of those in the clearing.

The wind nipped at Soren's bare skin and her hair flew around her aggressively in the wind. The icy breeze was violent, the winds crying out violently at the prospect of their daughter facing death head on. The trees bent back and forth, struggling against the confines of their roots. 

The crowd around them didn't know what to think as their Beta Female was surrounded by chaos, with the calmest of looks on her face. The serene look painted on her stunning features was eerie, and even Grace looked uneasy at the unbothered way in which she held herself. Soren's hair was floating lightly off of her shoulders, pulsing gently with each calming breath she took. She could hear the whispers, just under the wind's song, the one's telling her that she deserved the Beta position, that she had been born for it and that nothing and nobody would ever steal it from her.

Soren paid no mind to the looks of awe, focusing only on the girl in front of her. The Grace that had come across so cocky and hateful was gone, replaced by one with a look of sheer determination. She knew that Grace was no rookie, rather an experienced and lethal fighter, which meant Soren's chances were slim to none. And yet, something in the air was brewing, she could tell that much.

Still, she did her best to ignore the two eyes burning holes into the back of her head and focus. She wished James wasn't there to watch her, but she knew there was nothing anyone could do to make him leave. Deep breaths in and out were the only thing she relied on, calming the whirlwind of thoughts that threatened to break her concentration.

Suddenly, without warning, Grace's body began to quiver, her skin seeming to crawl, her back arching and a groan of pain erupting from between her lips. All Soren could do was watch in horror as the transformation from girl to wolf took place. Her nails elongated and hair and skin began shedding, disfiguring the poor girl until fur began to sprout, her body writhing and morphing into the canine creature it contained within.

IIt was like nothing she had ever seen before. Her stomach turned at the sight, vomit starting to rise in her throat as Grace's skin began sloughing from her body, replaced by limbs covered in fur and paws. Soren had never put any thought into how the transformation occurred, she had never thought it would be so gruesome and painful as what she was witnessing. It made her appreciate how much people like James went through to accept their other halves, it was killing and sacrificing your human body every time you went through with the shift.

After what felt like hours but was probably only in the range of a few minutes, Soren was staring at a large auburn wolf a few feet away. Her fur was streaked with brown like James' wolf was, but she couldn't hold a candle to her mate's monstrous form, nor did this wolf insight the warm tingles James' gave her.

Somehow comparing her to James made her seem smaller and less of a challenge. Soren could feel the atmosphere that filled the clearing around her, all these people were cheering for her, they all had her back, and it gave her strength she never knew she had. Grace had been losing supporters for some time now, her negative and untrustworthy attitude working against her.