The Equal Claim

Chapter 19

"Scared, Athena?" Caleb says, "You wish" I reply as we both circle each other waiting for the other to attack. Out of the corner of my eye I see Theo and Charles walking towards the arena. I don't turn to look at him this time not wanting to make the same mistake. We continue circling each other until Caleb decides to attack first and he lunges at me with full force as I side step him, he almost falls on his feet but manages to hold himself up. "You sure you want to do this Caleb?" I ask him one last time. "Of course I'm doing it, I'm not stupid you bitch." He hisses and I cock an eyebrow. "You know Caleb stupidity is not a crime, so feel free to go, I won't judge," I respond with sass and he growls.

"Enough talk woman, "he lunges at me again and I try to side step him again but he predicts it this time and takes a turn grabbing me by the waist and throwing me on the ground. "Who looks stupid now Athena," he growls as I get up. I attack this time and go straight for his rib cage but he moves away fast and tries to kick me down. I swiftly grab his leg and use all my strength to throw him against the sturdy bark of a nearby tree. He gets up and locks his wrist in place as he stares at me with pure rage, "why you lowly woman, "he shouts and comes at me like a raging bull but I'm ready for him this time. As he gets close I prepare for my attack and when he comes at me I punch him hard on the jaw and hear a satisfying crunch. Before he can recover from that, I kick him hard against his rib-cage and he falls down but not before grabbing my leg and taking me down with him. I grunt as I hit the ground hard and hear gasps from the crowd. From my peripheral vision I see Charles trying to hold Theo back who looks like he wants to bash open Caleb's skull.

A hand comes down at my throat as Caleb straddles me. "You are nothing but a weak woman whose only purpose in life is to satisfy men and bear their pups," He says as his voice is laced with hate. I look at him with fire in my eyes as I draw strength from my wolf and push him off me. He looks shocked as the sudden wave of strength hits him but he recovers fast and is on his feet in an instant. I run at him in full speed, lift him off the ground before he could even react and throw him over my back. He lands on the ground like a pile of rocks and I kick him hard in the nuts. As he groans in pain I lift him off the ground and head-butt him hard. 

Caleb somehow managed to regain his strength and throws a few punches my way. I dodge the first two but the third one lands on my left cheek leaving a bloody gash. My anger is now amplified as he starts throwing kicks. I block the kicks easily and as he tries to kick me again, I grab his right ankle and swing him once again against another tree as he hits it hard and falls down, before he can react I grab him by the throat and pin him against the tree. " If you ever disrespect a woman like that again, I will cut you into pieces and feed them to your parents. Do you understand me?!" I shout and he nods weakly. I let go of his throat and push him to the ground once more and he looks up at me, "what you are going to do, murder me?" He manages to say in between breaths. "Murder isn't on my agenda today but piss me off the next time and you might not live to see another day," I warn him as I straddle him and punch his right eye. "That's for calling me lousy. May it also be a reminder to you that a woman gave you that black eye," I say as I get up and limp out of the training area.

I realize I'm being followed and turn, to find Charles and Theo running after me in full speed.
"You're are a magnet for trouble aren't you?" Charles teases as they slow down to match their pace with me. "What can I say except trouble always seems to find me," I joke and try to laugh but my cheek hurt and I wince. I look at Theo who hasn't said a word since the fight.

"Heyyy" I say as I touch his arm, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just thinking of a million ways I could kill Caleb right now." He says angrily.

"I kind of just did it Theo, in case you didn't notice." I say and he gives me an 'are you serious look.'
"He touched you love, he hurt you, heck he even straddled you. It took everything in me and Charles' strength for me to not walk in and decapitate him," He says furiously.

"It's done and over with now Theo, I won the flight and now Caleb knows better than to insult a woman." I say with a sense of accomplishment.

"That I must say, you really did teach him a lesson, I love how you threatened him. Classic!" Charles says as he pats my back and I wince in pain. 'Sorry' he mouths.

"Come here." Theo says and attempts to carry me, "What, no it's okay. I can walk," I say.

"You're limping Athena and besides our house is quite a distance from here, so I'm carrying you home and that's it," He says and I give in as there is no winning here. He carries me bridal style as we continue walking and I stare at his firm jawline mentally tracing it and he chuckles, "You're staring love," I avert my gaze from him to look at Charles who is walking behind us silently observing. "Careful Athena, you're drooling," he jokes and I roll my eyes at him as a yawn escapes me .I rest my head against my mates shoulder and fall asleep.

I wake up to find my wounds treated, there is a small bandage on my left cheek and ointments on the few cuts and bruises I had, I should be healing by now and smile in satisfaction as some of the cuts start closing up. There is no sign of Theo or Charles in the house. As I walk to the living room I find Aiden and Nadia arguing over who is the good looking one among them both. I laugh softly and they both turn their heads simultaneously. "Athena! Thank goddess you're awake. Theo has specifically asked us to take care of you," She says as Aiden helps me to the couch and I mumble him a thanks. "It's no big deal you guys; just a few cuts and bruises. I'll survive " I joke .

Nadia walks to the kitchen to heat up some soup and hands me the bowl. "Mom made it for you and says you have to finish it all otherwise she'll do you worse than what Caleb did, I look at her in shock as my eyes widen. "Hey, I'm just the messenger," She says raising her hands in mock surrender and we all laugh.

Aiden puts on a movie as we decide to wait for Theo. I keep asking the twins if they knew where he went but they brush me off. Towards the end of the movie the front door opens and Theo walks in looking stressed. " Hey is everything okay?" I ask him and he nods solemnly and goes up to our room. "And that's our cue to leave ,"Aiden says as both he and Nadia walk out.

I'm about to follow him when there is a knock at the door. 'Who could it be now?' I wonder as I open the door. "Your dinner Miss, the omega says as she hands it over to me and bows her head in respect."
"Thank you uhhh..." I gesture at her to tell me her name. "Julia ma'am, my name is Julia." She says softly. "Well thank you Julia," I say and smile at her. I proceed to close the door when she clears her throat and I stop. "Yes?" I ask. "Uhhh ma'am can I say something if you don't mind?" She questions, "Yeah sure go ahead."

"What you did today was truly amazing ma'am, Caleb has been harassing us for months now, especially the omega females. He used to come into the kitchen to grab a bite or something and would tap our behinds every time he passes us. It made us feel pretty disgusted that we couldn't do anything about it. So from me and the entire female kitchen staff; thank you Ms. Athena for giving him what he deserves." She says with tears in her eyes as she removes a single yellow rose from her pocket and hands it to me. I take it graciously and tell her, "Everyone deserves to be treated with respect. What Caleb did to you all was not right.''

We put down one, but there are plenty of men like Caleb out there, women need to be able to hold their own against men like Caleb and that is why it's good to have some self-defense tricks up our sleeves, besides you are all in the kitchen and what best place than the kitchen itself to have great weapons, after all it's where all the knives are kept." I say with a wink and she smiles at me widely. "Thank you Ms. Athena" and walks down the steps back to the pack house.

"You're teaching the omegas how to wield knives now love?" He says as he comes from behind and wraps his arms around me.

"Ehh just teaching them a bit of self-defense," I shrug and he kisses my cheek.

"I'm proud of you Athena, what you did today has opened the eyes of many females in the pack and they will now be able to face their fears around men like Caleb," He turns to face me and continues; "You'll make a good Alpha."

"I think you meant Luna." I correct him.

"No, I meant what I said love, you'll make a great Alpha," he says as his eyes shine with pride.