Hestia House Book One

Chapter Thirteen

~Arynn's POV~

The male wolf stepped in between Janine and I, then met my eyes. His charcoal gaze looked very similar to Janine's, and I suspected he was the Beta, her brother.

"My name is Dakota Singer, Beta for our pack. You've already had the displeasure to meet my twin sister. As the challenged party, it is your right to choose terms for this challenge. Please let us know your choice." His voice was clear and strong, which I imagined was difficult seeing as his sister was about to battle. Out of respect for my new pack, I responded just as clear and strong.

"I am Arynn Wren, destined mate to Leo Winceter. I choose for this to be a battle to submission, but I will let my challenger choose our forms." I was about to let the challenge rest, but then I caught sight of Janine's self-satisfied smirk and couldn't resist throwing one last verbal barb before I kicked her butt. "After all, I have no issues trouncing her no matter what she looks like." My wolf purred in my mind as we heard the chuckles and murmuring that passed through the pack around us. Leo's aura radiated behind me, his anger coming off him in waves, but I shut it out for the moment. No point in letting his anger cloud my mind.

Janine's face turned hateful and she looked ready to attack right then, but only her brother standing between us held her back. "I choose human form! I'll mess up her face so she knows some respect!" She roared back at me, loud enough for the pack to hear, and another wave of murmuring sounded off. Dakota let out a heavy sigh, nodded his head, then held up a fist as he backed out of the circle. I watched him in my peripheral, waiting for the signal, even as I tracked Janine's subtle movements. She was going to charge the moment we had the start, and was displaying it for the entire pack to see. Diego had been right when he told me most packs didn't try for subtlety in their training, relying more on power or speed. So now I was going to use my own training, power, and speed to claim my dominance as Luna.

It was a half second between Dakota opening his hand to begin to Janine throwing herself at me. A quick slide to the right brought me out of her path, followed by a few jog steps back toward her start position for distance. I needed her completely off guard if I wanted this to end quickly, and years of labor had rewarded me with high endurance and patience levels. Over the next few minutes, I dodged every single attack and grab she threw out. The exertion was wearing on her already, and I knew we were getting close to being done. Then it came.

Janine threw another punch at me, but misjudged her balance and tumbled toward me instead. Grabbing the extended arm as I slid next to her, I brought my knee into her gut and twisted her arm down and behind her back. Using her own momentum, I let her drop to the ground, my knee in the middle of her back crossing over her captured wrist. After her face slapping into the ground stunned her, I looped my arm around her neck in the chokehold Diego had used on me so many times. I used just enough pressure to cause her to wheeze, then yelled so all the pack could hear.

"Do you yield?" She responded by straining against me, but I still had one of her arms trapped behind her back. I increased the pressure on her throat, then asked again.

"Do you yield?" I could feel her starting to lose her strength, hearing her breaths barely whispers and shallow. And as she tried again to push me back, I did the one thing I had been hoping to avoid. I dropped the chokehold, grabbing her arm I still had pinned, then pulling it violently enough to dislocate both her shoulder and her elbow. I mentally choked as the crunch sounded, holding down my rolling stomach as she cried out in pain. Then I placed her in the chokehold again, pulling her into a kneeling position with her arm swinging idly at her side. Keeping my voice as strong and even as before, I asked her again, hoping it would be the last time.

"Do you yield?" A coughing yes was my answer, bringing Dakota's closed fist up to mark the end of the challenge. I dropped her then, pushing her slightly forward so she fell onto her good arm. I looked up and found Leo's eyes on me, clouded, hiding his emotions, and his face stoic.

Taking steps toward him and out of the circle, I had pack members bow their heads to me, whispering congratulations and pledges of loyalty. I didn't look at anyone as I walked to my mate, my wolf roaring in my head for our victory. As I drew closer to him, I could almost feel his warring emotions though his face remained passive. Drawing up in front of him where there was barely a fist width of space between us, I looked up into his face. His gaze was burning now, his blue eyes a deep cobalt blue that invited me to dive into the depths of his passion. My voice barely above a whisper, I asked him the only question I could.

"Do I have your approval, my Alpha?"