Moonlit Fury; Rise of an Alpha Queen

Hailey’s POV The tight silver collar burned my throat as I tried to pull against the heavy chains that were keeping me captive. The bitter cold nipped at me and chilled my bones. My fur coat gave me no heat, it was falling out due to fear, stress and anxiety and was now very thin. The lack of food and water didn't help my situation either. I have not been in my human form since I got here. They kept us chained up in wolf form. I was so weak that I couldn't shift back. They were treating me like a mutt, chained up outside, as if I were being punished. Well, technically, I was being punished for my existence, for my wolf. The snow and ice crunched underneath my paws as I paced around the limited space I had, trying to warm up my stiff muscles. I had to fight again today. They treated us like fighting dogs, like savage pitbulls. They placed bets on us on who would win, who would be the first to draw blood. I could still feel the stinging pain of the healing bite mark on the shoulder from the fight. I had won, but there was no grand prize. They might give the winner a small cup of dirty water, and if you are one of their favorites, a small hunk of rotting meat. Apparently, I was one of their favorites. I sat down on the ground with my head down and waited to be escorted to my flight. I've been here for a long time, almost two years. Only one other wolf has been here almost as long as me. I've never seen her, only heard the faint snickers of the men talking about her after her fights. The others are fairly new, most only stay a few months, and die. New ones are constantly being brought in. The only one I could see was a few hundred yards away from me. She was a small, copper colored wolf. She was weak, and we both knew she wasn't going to last very long. I jerked my head up as I heard footsteps approaching me. It was a fairly tall, bulky man named Butch. He was one who always escorted me to the arena. "You know the drill. If you try to run, I'll kill you." He unhooked the chain from the collar and grabbed my scruff. It stung very badly. The skin on my neck was raw and red from the tight, silver collar. He drugged me through the forest until we reached an open field, the place served as the arena. The white snow was stained red from the previous fights, making the air smell of iron. Butch shoved me into the middle of the men. They took their turns grabbing at me, throwing punches and pinching my ears as I made my way to the center of the makeshift arena. Across from me was a fairly large brown wolf, probably a gamma's daughter. Her coat was also thin, covered in dry blood and dirt. The men then closed both sides, closing us into an open circle. "Make your bets now! This fight is between our two oldest!" I watched as the men took out stacks of money and handed them over to the ring leader. I eyed up my opponent, looking for her weaknesses, as she did the same to me. We both knew what would happen if we lost, both of us desperate to win. "You know the rules! Go!" Warning! Mentioning of blood and death. If easily triggered, do not read! The brown wolf immediately launches herself at me. She caught me off guard and pinned me underneath her. She was snapping her jaw at my neck, trying to sink her sharp teeth into my skin. I lifted my back legs and dug into the soft flesh of her belly. She whimpered as I tore off a hunk of her skin, warm blood poured from her abdomen and started to soak my fur. The men cheered as I drew blood. They were sick. I pushed her off me and circled her, with my hackles raised. I let out a snarl as she tried to get near me again. She raised herself on her back legs and tried to scratch my face with her front claws. I dodged it and bit into her front paw. She growled and dug her claws along my side, near my ribs. We started rolling around and growling, ripping and biting at any flesh we could get to. She made the mistake of leaving her neck unguarded, and I took it. I sank my teeth deep into her neck. Her blood filled my mouth, leaving a metallic taste. She struggled against me, and I put all my body weight on her, pinning her tightly against the ground. The men's cheers got louder as they hollered for me to finish her off. I dug my canines impossibly deeper, and she fought desperately to throw me off. I felt her bounce crunch under my hold, and she whimpered and snarled loudly. With one last twist of my head, I snapped her neck, and her bloody body went limp in my mouth. When I knew for sure she was done, I dropped her lifeless body on the ground. The men were cheering loudly, some yelling at others as they lost their bet. I blocked them out. Why would they cheer about taking someone's life? I never wanted to kill, to take away people's ability to live, but that's how it worked here. It was either kill or be killed.