Chapter Five - Andrea

The wound wasn’t healing, it looked harsh and red against her shoulder. The puncture wounds were leaking blood and puddling on her collar bone.

Andrea had found a first aid box on the way back to her room, her wolf genes should be healing the wound.

Is it because he’s a true blooded wolf? Nyx voiced.

I don’t know, maybe, she thought.

The bandage she had secured to the area would bring unnecessary attention however, not as much as an unhealed mark.

Training was about to start in thirty minutes, she had enough time for a quick shower and to put on less bloodied clothes. She matched a new gym set from her suitcase, plain black. The straps were thick enough to hid most of the gauge – she hoped no one would ask about it – and the shorts were cool enough for the hot summer days.

Andrea watched herself in the mirror, for the first time conscious of how she looked. Her training and capture had left her with permanent scaring. The worst of them a large thick pink scar that ran from her hip to the inside of her knee. It was from one of the first times she had been chained using silver. Her torturer had dipped the chains in wolfsbane and let the metal eat away at her flesh. She hoped no one would link her scars to imprisonment.

The walk down to the training ground behind the house, was noisy. People were showing up in groups, a mix in age and size. She wondered how they decided who trained with who. Andrea was sure it must be on skill and not random, it was the only way to create stronger fighters. She found a pillar in the middle of the space, and leaned against it casually. People glanced her way, curiosity on their faces. She supposed her arrival had never been mentioned. People started to face forward and she left her eyes follow their gaze, watching the beta and Alpha descend the mansion steps.

He’s hot! Nyx purred affectionately.

He’s the enemy! Andrea growled back at her. Nyx words had registered with her though and for the first time since setting eyes on the Alpha, she understood the reaction. He was very handsome: tall, muscular, and his eyes in contrast with his dark hair and stuble certainly gave off a beautiful vibe. His wolfs aura was a different matter, it exodes death and anger. He was a very dangerous man and for the first time since arriving Andrea understood how difficult it was going to be to kill him.

But he’s our mate, her wolf whined.

 He killed our family and took Nadia, she sighed back. Andrea didn’t blame her wolf for wanting to be with him regardless, but she knew better. She understood he was lethal and the cause of her pain.

“Okay! Listen up. We have a new transfer – Andrea”, the Beta’s voice carried over the crowd, everyone turned to look at her. She kept her eyes fixed to the beta and nodded, not once looking at his alpha a mere foot from him.

“TRIAL!”, someone shouted from the crowd, more people joined in. She watched as they chanted, laughing and clapping.

Trial, what are they talking about? Her wolf shrugged, unsure what to do.

Andrea looked around until she spotted a lean looking man, with blonde wispy hair a few feet from her. “what’s a trial?”, she asked.

“Oh, when we get new recruits or transfers, then we hold a fighting trial, its tradition. You would fight our best warrior. If you win you fight the beta”, he smiled warmly and took a step in her direction.

“And if I win against the beta”, she prompted.

The man laughed out loud before answering with a snicker, “no one wins against the beta, BUT if you did then you would fight the Alpha”

She nodded and thanked him.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Nyx was intrigued at the thought of showing off.

I think he deserves another punch after marking us, Andrea agreed.

The crowd continued to cheer, only stopping when the alpha raised his hand. His eyes never once left hers.

“She will not fight”, his voice was steady. Was he excluding her because he thought she couldn’t fight or because he was worried, she would get hurt?

The crowd calmed down, some of them grunted and huffed, clearly annoyed they wouldn’t get to see a good fight.

“I’ll fight”, Andrea shouted over the crowd, she was challenging her Alphas decision and she could feel Nyx growing uncomfortable in the back of her mind. “It is tradition after all”

She smirked at him from across the field and was not surprised to find the wolfs where all waiting for confirmation. Andrea realised she didn’t need his confirmation, and started walking in the direction of the steps, that overlooked the fighting ring. She stepped into the centre of the marked out square and waited, challenging him to refuse her.

“Very well”, he growled at her. His jaw flexed and she could feel the anger rolling off him at her defiance. “The goal is to knock your opponent unconscious”

The crowd cheered behind her and she could feel her first opponent edging closer – she remained facing forward – until he started to sprint in her direction.

Andrea had always been stronger than other werewolves and she was about to use that strength. His footsteps got louder however, before his body could collide with her, she turned her hips, using the momentum from her body. Satisfied when her right foot collided with his face. His body collided with her leg, sending the man flying back towards the crowd. She couldn’t see the extent of the damage she had caused, due to the blood covering his face and chest.

His body remained motionless.

The crowd stilled and grew silent.

Andrea turned to face the Alpha again.

Her face expressionless.

His was shocked.

“Your turn?”, she smiled at the Beta. She wanted nothing more than to hit him, the man who had abducted her sister.

Beta Charles turned to his Alpha, unsure whether to proceed.

“I like my face, so I think I will sit this one out”, he laughed, clearly uncomfortable being stuck in the middle of them.

Alpha Damien was not dressed for a fight, he rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt, showing how dense and hard his forearms were.

Everyone gasped when he descended the steps slowly, prolonging the look of shock etched across Andrea’s face. She hadn’t expected him to fight her. 

“Go easy on her Alpha, she’s just an ordinary wolf”, Beta Charles was laughing hysterically at the look on her face. He took a seat on the step and watched eagerly.

Damien smirked at his beta, and she realised he had no intention of taking it easy.

“Oh, I know”, he smiled at her with the kind of devilish smile that she was sure would have melted her insides, had he been anyone other than him.

She didn’t have long to dwell on his face, before he was moving, circling her, like prey. Andrea, understood the tactic, keep them moving, unbalance their foot work. She was smaller than him and needed a steady stance, therefore she counteracted by taking a step back with every turn she made – tracking him. It left a good distance between them and she was able to stabilise her stance, she wouldn’t be rushed off her feet if he came at her unexpectedly.

She was sure he noticed her tactic, as his eyes zeroed in on her feet. Half a circle later and he had taken two large strides towards her, closing the distance between them, she was not surprised when his first attack came. His fist came at her face at lightning speed, she dodged by stepping to the left, grabbing his wrist – ignoring the tingling feeling in her hands – and pulled him towards her with all her strength.

When he stepped into her range, she brought up her knee letting it connect with his bottom rib. She was sure she heard a small crack, but over his grunt she couldn’t be sure. Before she could retreat from him, he used his free hand to grab her knee and stop her.

She was still holding his arm and before he could land a blow, she gripped his biceps and swung her entire body behind him. forcing him to let go off her leg. She hopped down and kicked out at the spot behind his knee, forcing him to drop to one knee.

She encircled him to face him and motioned for him to get up.

She knew she could have landed another blow, but her undermining his attacks was making him angrier, the look of humiliation on his face was worth more than any punch.

He wasted no time in going in for another attack, only this time Andrea had to admire the tactic. He left his left side open and she took the bait without thinking it through, which caused him to land a blow so hard to her face, it should have shattered.

Andrea’s body never moved from the force; her face took the impact whipping to the side.

Everyone in the clearing gasped and Damien looked shocked she was still standing. She could feel the ache in her jaw and was sure she would have a bruise tomorrow.

“Shit! I didn’t mean to hit you so hard”, his words weren’t quite registering with her. Nyx was furious at her mate and she could feel her eyes turning.

Before she could stop herself, Andrea advanced on the alpha again, he deflected the first blow. She went after him again and again, until finally her fist connected with his face, then his abdomen and finally she kicked him in the chest.

He grabbed her foot mid-air, yanking her towards him. Her leg was still in the air supported by him and she was flush against his hard body.

“I said enough”, he growled. His eyes were blazing and she realised his wolf was on the surface just like hers.

Andrea never said anything, she just glared at him.

He let go of her leg and she pushed away from him and headed back to the pack house, passing the Beta as she went. He had tried to say something to her, but she ignored him. She was furious with herself, for letting her anger get the better of her.

She sat down at the long benches and started picking at the breakfast food placed out for the pack member.

“Hey, you, okay?”, a man’s voice asked from the patio doors. She looked over to see it was the man from earlier. The one who had explained what the trial was.

“Hey, yeah I’m great”, she smiled at him

“I’m Simon. You were awesome out there. How did you learn to fight like that?”, he started plating up some food beside her, ignoring the other people who started joining them.

“Andrea. My parents were big on self-defence, all I did was train”, she gave this nice man a small version of her history, hoping to establish a believable back story.

She ignored the Alpha when he sat directly across from her, the beta on his left and a well-rounded red head sat on his right.

“So how come you transferred?”, he asked intrigued.

“I wanted to teach and needed a change of scenery”, she laughed lightly, enjoying the casualness of the conversation. It had been a long time since she had just spoken to another wolf in such a mundane manner. 

“That’s cool, I work at the university library”

Andrea could barely believe her ears. The first wolf to speak to her worked at the one place she needed access too.

“You do? Could I come visit some time? I doubt the high school has much reading material and I need a good book to feel complete”, she forced a laugh and smiled at the eager wolf.

“Um, actually wolves outside the pack need clearance to access the library. Sorry”

She let her shoulders deflate and disappointment lace her voice, “Oh, that makes sense. It’s okay”

She realised bumping into him had been too good to be true.

“You could ask your parents to send you some”, Simon encouraged, eager to fix her problem.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind”, She shrugged, happy to change this line of conversation.

“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind”, he insisted.

“They might. It might be a hassle sending books from beyond the grave”, she laughed and shrugged at her joke.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise”

Andrea waved him off and in order to busy herself reached across the table, grabbing a muffin from the basket. Her eyes caught the Alpha’s and she realised he had been staring at her, listening to their conversation. She forced her eyes away when the girl sitting next to him giggled and touched his arm, her bare fingers trailing up his bare arm.

She turned her attention back to the nice wolf next to her, eager not to let Nyx’s anger – at another she-wolf touching her mate – get the better of her.

The breakfast was coming to a close and Andrea could feel the ache in her shoulder worsen over time, leaving her flushed. She placed a hand over her mark feeling the heat roll off of it in waves, she winced when a sharp pain shot up her neck.

“Are you okay?”, Simon asked, eyeing her bandage curiously. “You look like you’re burning up” His hand automatically went to her forehead and she heard a low growl from across the table.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just tired. I think I’ll go lay down”, she nodded at him. She never met the Alphas gaze when leaving the kitchens. She didn’t want to see those piercing green eyes.

She had barely passed the hall when the pain hit, a sharp burning pain in her shoulder, it blurred her vision. She hurried up the staircase and back into room 42. It was inconvenient her flat wouldn’t be ready until this afternoon.

She made her way over to the mirror in the corner and peeled off the bandage covering her mark, she held the frame to steady herself.

Oh my god! Nyx’s mental voice shouted in her head however, it sounded muffled to Andrea.

The wound was bright red and there were black veins escaping the it, winding up her neck and down her collar bone, 

She knew this was bad. How could she react so badly to him marking her?

She felt her neck and face, noticing how warm she felt, her veins felt on fire.

Andrea, headed for the shower in the hopes the cold water would cool down her skin and she could lay down for a little while.