Chapter 3

Chapter 3

What I heard the night I saw Alpha on my mother's grave bothered me so much. It kept me up for a couple more hours, and when I finally drifted off to sleep, I dreamed of the night we were attacked by the hunters.

I was so scared. Father was trying to hold down the hunters who were chasing us but they were too many. Mum was crying while she was guiding me through the woods because she knew Dad was already in a bad shape when we left him. When we reached a place where she could hide me, she immediately returned to help my Dad.

I begged her to stay but she just smiled at me and promised that everything would be okay, but when she left and didn't return after half an hour, I swallowed my fear and got out to search for them.

With only the moonlight guiding my way, I trembled in fear but I kept going until I found my mother laying next to my Dad. I cried and fell on my knees as tears trailed down my cheeks. My mother held me by the side of my face and told me how much she loved me before she made me remove her locket. 

She asked me to wear it and trust that someday, everything would finally be alright. I cried os hard and begged her not to leave me, but right before the Alpha and his men came, mum shut her eyes and didn't open it again. 

"No... No, no... Nimpha!" Alpha fell on his knees and held my mother in his arms, his hand rested on her bloody cheek as he tried to wake her up. I remained on mother's side, crying for the family I just lost.

"Wake up, Nimpha you can't leave me again!" Alpha exclaimed, and for the first time in my life, I saw the ruthless leader of our pack cried his heart out. He hugged my mother so tight as if his heart died with her. No matter how much the others tried to tell him that mum was already gone, he didn't let go of my mother's dead body. He kept kissing mum's forehead and then he would beg her to come back.

"I'll be good. I'll do everything to make you happy again. I promise I'll change just..." he sobbed and hugged mum tighter. "Don't leave me, Nimpha..."

It was a painful memory I wished I could just forget, but the pain was already sketched in my heart like a tattoo I didn't want to have in the first place. 

When Alpha Lawrence looked at me, his teary eyes turned cold as he clenched his jaw. "This is your fault..."

I woke up with tears trailing down the sides of my face. My eyes stared blankly at the white ceiling as I felt the familiar pain thrum in my heart. I knew it was my fault. I took away not only my own parents but a very important part in the Alpha's life. 

With one deep breath, I shut my eyes and wiped my tears with the back of my hands. Once things were better around Zenios, I would go after the people responsible for my parents' death. Maybe if I would finally bring justice to mum and dad's death, Alpha would be okay, too. Maybe Luhence would finally have the father he'd been craving for all these years.

THE NIGHT we'd been waiting for finally came. I was thankful I healed faster than expected so I was pretty much confident I would stand a chance tonight. 

While everyone was busy preparing on the arena, I remained in my room for a few more moments holding my mother's locket. My eyes felt hot when I thought about what the older members of the pack said. Mum gave all she got the night of the competition for the Luna competition, and when she lost the fight, she was really heartbroken. 

I shut my eyes and kissed her locket. "This is for you, Mum. I'll win this one for you."

The door opened and Luhence went in. I immediately got up and met him halfway. I could feel his excitement but he failed to hide the worry in his eyes as he held my hands.

"You can do this, baby. I know you'll win this fight," he flashed an inward smile before he held the back of my head. My heart felt warm when Luhence pecked a kiss on my forehead while he was still holding my other hand. 

"I will. I'll do whatever it takes to win," I answered before I fixed the collar of his black long-sleeves polo that's folded up to his elbows. His hair was still a little damp as if he went to me as soon as he got out of shower.

His hand rested on the side of my face, his thumb gently caressed my cheek. "I believe in you... but in case things will not end up the way we wanted, I just... want you to know that I won't make the same mistakes my father did."

His words made me worried. I took in some air and cupped his face. "You won't have to break the laws. I promise you, I will win." I patted his chest. "Now go and get rid of my scent. I'll see you in the arena."

He gave my forehead one more gentle kiss before he headed out. When the door finally shut, I rubbed my chest and took a couple of deep breaths. I should win. No matter what would happen, I should.

I watched Luhence walk towards his father. The passing of the Alpha position had already begun, and as I watched Luhence stand next to his parents while Alpha Lawrence was proclaiming him as the new leader, I smiled and bowed to him like the others.

After the ceremony,  Luhence announced the opening of the competition. Every single unmated she-wolf who wanted to win the Luna position went inside the battle circle, but when Alpha Lawrence saw me, he suddenly stood up and yelled. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

I held my breath and balled my fists on my sides. "I'm going to fight tonight."

His eyes narrowed at me. "No, you're not--"

"As the new Alpha, I am allowing Nadine to join." Luhence clenched his jaw as he looked at his father in a sharp way. "She's officially a free wolf."

Alpha Lawrence's eyes turned gold, but the Luna held him by his arm and told him to calm down. Left with no choice, he returned to his seat and gazed at me again. "Fine. Go ahead and give me another nightmare." He glared at me before he clenched his fists.

I suddenly felt chills but I decided not to mind him. He was just probably having a hard time accepting the fact that I had the balls to still fight despite the lack of trainings.

Like the other she-wolves joining tonight's competition, I went on my spot and placed my hands on my back. The rules were clear. Nobody must shift. We would need to fight in our hybrid form; human body with the ability of a wolf.

My heart banged hardly inside my chest as the countdown began. When the timer reached one, the bloody fight started. Two attacked me but I managed to knock one down. The other tried to lock her arm around my neck but I flipped her over before I threw her a hard punch that made her unconscious.

The fight continued. We were like wild animals fighting inside a cage until there was only three of us left. My cheek was bleeding so as my lower lip but I just wiped the blood off my face with the back of my hand. 

When I accidentally glanced at Alpha Lawrence's direction, I noticed the sadness written in his eyes as if he wasn't seeing me but my mother... maybe because I resembled mother so much, and the last time he saw her fighting, she was in my position.

I wouldn't lose like my mother. This fight was for her glory...

The two other girls looked at each other as if they were talking inside their heads. It gave me an off feeling, and when they both attacked me, I realized what they were planning. 

I struggled when they took turns in kicking and punching me. One hit me pretty badly and it made me fall in my stomach. I groaned in pain when one of them strangled me. I gasped for air and my heartbeat began to slow down, but when I saw my mother's locket, I suddenly remembered why I should win this fight.

I growled and twisted my body. Alpha Lawrence went on his feet with eyes widely open as if he was having deja vu, and then I gave the other girl a hard kick on her stomach before I slammed the other on the ground, I saw him getting left in awe like he didn't expect it to happen.

The former Beta went inside the ring and started checking the girls. My heart banged loudly inside my chest as I struggled to catch my breath. When the girls shook their heads, telling the former Beta that they couldn't fight anymore, he held me by my wrist and was about to proclaim me the winner when we suddenly felt something coming. 

Everyone went silent. Luhence's eyes turned gold. He looked at his father with worry as he spoke.

"Hunters..."