The White Wolf #Wattys2020

Chapter 23

Kai

Not edited

Of course, Malcolm had to be the last one to challenge me. My wolf and I were almost drained of all our energy and I was pretty sure some of our ribs were cracked, making it hard to breathe properly. We could barely even avoid any of his attacks and not even the thoughts of Laura could fuel us anymore.

Whenever we felt like we were losing the upper hand, we pictured our Mate being handed off to another and it surged us with enough anger to win. Now it just filled us with a deep despair, as we could barely even see straight anymore with the amount of blood we had lost. That nightmare was slowly become reality.

Lost in our thoughts, we missed Malcolm's wolf lunging for us, digging his front claws into our chest, tearing through the flesh. Antal howled in agony and from the whines of the pack, I could tell our chances weren't looking too good anymore. With the little strength left in us, we kicked the wolf off and began circling him.

Over his shoulder, Antal and I spotted Amaranth, stirring havoc in our heart again. She stood next to my mother's wolf, a burning determination in her eyes. She looked so adamant, like she thought we could win. We swallowed hard, knowing in a few minutes we would probably never see her again. Maybe if we surrendered now, Malcolm would be lenient enough to let me say goodbye to her properly.

It hit us like a breath of warm air. A cocoon of fervour embraced us and with every heartbeat, our vision began to clear and the pain from our broken bones felt like an alleviating numbness. Time felt paused as we held Amaranth's gaze, her Acapulco eyes screaming with a ferociousness I had never seen in her before. It was as though she was penetrating my soul and kicking it to wake up again.

"We'll finish them together."

Antal and I couldn't help but jolt at Amaranth's voice in our head. Clear as day, it rung with so much emotion that my wolf let out a small whine. The realisation that she was providing us with the strength we needed to end this fight lit a fire in us that was burning brighter by the second. She was showing us that she didn't want us to fail. Her raw intention of saving us was all we needed to snap our attention back to succeeding in this fight.

Malcolm's wolf didn't stand a chance to our newfound determination. He lurched forward with the cocky assumption that Antal and I were on the verge of defeat, his pace far slower than what he had initially come at us with. He raised a clawed foot to slash across Antal's face, but was instead met with a locked jaw shredding into his tendons.

A sharp jerk of our head and the bones cracked. His wolf's shrieks of agony were matched with the howls of anticipation from the pack. Their impatience was visible by their unrestful pacing and growls, the need for this tournament to end quickly. Releasing our grip of his mangled paw, we crouched low and thrusted ourselves into Malcolm's wolf, winding him. He stumbled backwards and heaved heavily, shaking on his remaining three feet.

"Finish him", I snapped at Antal, the newly found energy in me etching to bring this wolf to his knees.

My wolf crouched low before darting forward, making a beeline for his neck. Malcolm's wolf stumbled backwards, trying to avoid our jaw, but our front teeth managed to grip itself in his matted fur. Sinking our claws deep into the soil, we jerked our head back violently, causing our rival to lose his footing and slump against us.

With a heavy paw on his throat, Antal let out a low growl by his ear and signalled for Malcolm to back down. The wolf under us let out a shallow huff and a pathetic squirm. Antal clenched his jaw as he prepared himself for what was to come. If Malcolm did not back down, we would have to assert our role as Alpha. Were he to decide that he could not obey nor respect my authority then I would not be able to let him live, for there was too great the risk of him retaliating later and take my Mate.

Laura.

Our eyes looked up to see Amaranth slowly panthering across the clearing towards us. Her ocean blue eyes were burning with anticipation and - dare I say – desire? She came to stand face to face with us, our noses nearly touching. Her tongue darted out and licked a shallow cut on the side of our nuzzle, before she lowered her head to face Malcolm.

The snarl that left her lips was so ferocious it even caused Antal to flinch back in fear. It shook through her whole body, the fur on her back stood upright and her mouth opened to reveal her bared teeth. Somehow even Malcolm managed to make himself smaller under her, all while having small whimpers escape from his throat. The whole pack stepped back slightly, waivered by the raw authority she expelled from herself.

The power that radiated from her made us stare at her in awe, for we knew it was something we could never possess. Although I had yet again claimed the rightful title as Alpha, looking at our Mate made me realise that Laura would always hold a position higher than me, even higher than of any other Luna. She was in essence the embodiment of the Moon Goddess herself, right down to the strength and the beauty all the tales has spoken of.

Taking a step back from the cowering wolf on the ground, Amaranth inhaled deeply before falling back on her hunches. Within a split second, she transformed back into a human and Antal let out a small yap at the sight of our Mate. Laura stood up and smiled down at us, her skin smeared with streaks of dirt and smaller scratches, but in that moment she could not have looked more beautiful.

We followed her example and quickly shifted back to our human form as well. I felt Antal's spirit pull back inside of me and stood to look around. The pack began shifting back as well and soon there was no fur in sight, only the nude flesh with which we first came into this world. I couldn't find the strength in me to take a step towards Laura, and all I could manage was to stare at her in disbelief.

We had done it. We'd both won. We could finally truly be Mates.

She gave us a warm look and small smile. Before taking a few steps towards us. "Alpha", was all she had to say to trigger my body to respond.

Like being fired from a shotgun, I lurched forward and snaked my arms around her, pressing her against me. I couldn't let go and squeezed her a little tighter than I probably should have, but I couldn't risk anything else coming between us now, not after everything else we had been through.

"You're finally mine," I whispered into the nape of her neck, planting a small kiss on the pulsing vein under her skin.

I felt her arms weave around me and grip me with the same tightness. "Make me yours."

Not needing to be told twice, I tossed her over my shoulder and marched towards the house. I didnt hear any of the cheers and congratulations being shouted by the other members of the pack, I did not feel any of the heavy slaps on my back. All I could feel was her. Her small hands clutching around my centre as I hauled her away from the noise. I did not care for tradition at that point. I did not care that we were meant to stay and wait for the pack to swear their loyalty to us. I needed her and only her in that moment, and I had waited too damn long to put it off again.

"Kai, the ceremony!" I could hear my mother yelling to me over the noise, but I simply swatted my hand in the air and shot her a cheeky grin.

"I've got my own ceremony to attend to first."

And into the house we disappeared, locking the doors and finally solidifying the Bond that should have been formed long ago.

The actual ceremony for swearing Laura and I in as leaders of the pack did not happen until three days after the end of the tournament. Despite the disapproval of the Elders and my mother for our hormone-raging antics, the serenity of finally being a wholesome pack was a feeling I later on discovered none of us could never really fit into words. There was a sense of satisfaction deep within us that we never knew was possible, but every time I looked at my Mate, I felt a wave of those exact emotions all over again.

And for the years to come after, we felt that same fulfilment bless us again and again, like when Mira and Connor were finally at the right age to solidify their bond, or when we finally had our own young ones.