Kill The Luna

32

A burning surge of raw adrenaline exploded through my veins, completely overriding the white-hot pain throbbing in my skull. I pushed my palms into the dirt and forced myself right back up onto my feet, shaking the dust from my clothes. This girl was absolutely not ready to let this go, and watching her smug face made a hard truth snap into place inside my mind. Sometimes, staying quiet and walking away is not the right answer. Sometimes, silence just makes a bully hungrier.

Without giving myself a single second to second-guess the decision, I whirled around and rushed straight at her with everything I had left. Ella’s eyes widened in pure horror as she watched me charge back into the danger zone. "Luna Fedora, no! Stop!" she screamed, her voice cracking with pure panic as she reached out to grab me, but she was already too late.

I drew my arm back and threw a wild, furious punch directly at Lucy's face, but she moved with the fluid grace of a trained killer. She easily slipped her head to the side, letting my fist cut through empty air. A mocking chuckle left her lips as she danced backward on her feet. "Look at this, everyone! You truly call this pathetic creature your new Luna?" she shouted to the surrounding crowd, her eyes gleaming with absolute delight. I swung again, pouring all my frustration into a left hook, but she ducked underneath it effortlessly, making me look clumsy in front of the entire pack. "Anyone in this pack can take her down without even trying," she sneered, effortlessly stepping out of the way of my messy attacks. She tilted her head, a cold, predatory look crossing her features. "That is just the brutal reality of the world we live in. The strong will always hunt, break, and prey on the weak."

Before I could reset my footing, she thrust her palms flat against my chest, delivering a sudden, powerful push. The sheer force sent me flying backward across the dirt, my boots sliding before my balance gave out entirely. I went crashing hard onto the solid floor for the second time, the impact knocking the wind right out of my lungs. Lucy casually walked over, standing over my fallen form like a queen looking down at a peasant. "You should have done your research and asked around before sneaking your way into our pack," she scoffed, looking down her nose at me. "We do not tolerate or accept weak people under our borders. Creatures like you deserve nothing but to die."

I lay there on the ground, struggling to draw a single breath into my burning lungs as the dust swirled around us. Lucy slowly closed the distance, bending down until her face was mere inches away from mine, her breath smelling foul as she taunted me. "Oh... look at the poor, helpless little girl," she purred, her voice dripping with venomous mockery. "What's the matter? Is your daddy not here to save you this time? Are you about to burst into tears right now?" She let out a dark, twisted giggle, her expression turning completely unhinged. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, sweetie. I am right here to f**k you. And make no mistake, I don't mean I am going to f**k you up. I am literally going to f**k you."

As her face hovered dangerously close, completely filled with arrogant confidence, a spark of pure survival instinct exploded in my chest. While she was busy running her mouth, I tightly clenched my right hand into a solid, heavy fist, pulling it back against the dirt. With every ounce of strength left in my body, I swung upward, driving my fist straight into the center of her nose with a sickening, heavy thud.

The unexpected blow landed perfectly. Lucy’s eyes rolled back in pure shock, her smug expression completely shattering into a look of total confusion. She stumbled backward blindly, her legs turning to jelly as she entirely lost her balance. Her personal squad of girls quickly rushed forward, catching her trembling shoulders just in time to stop her from crashing face-first into the dirt. As she shook her head to clear the dizziness, a thick, dark stream of crimson blood suddenly began rushing out from both of her nostrils, staining her lips and chin.

A thrilling, freezing chill traveled straight down my spine at the sight. It was a cold, dark wave of absolute satisfaction that made my heart race with wicked joy. I had actually broken her perfect face. Her guards immediately panicked, frantically pulling out white handkerchiefs from their pockets and pressing them against her face, trying to stop the bleeding. They kept wiping and cleaning the mess, but the crimson fluid just kept soaking through the cloth. The entire surrounding crowd of hundreds of warriors stood completely frozen, their jaws dropped in a dumbfounded, dead silence as they stared at the blood on their champion's face.

After a few moments of getting the bleeding under control, Lucy violently batted her guards' hands away. She slowly raised her head back up, her eyes burning with a terrifying, demonic rage that made my blood run cold. "I was just playing around with you before, you little rat," she screamed, her voice vibrating with pure madness. "But now, I am officially f*****g mad!"

She lunged forward like a rabid animal, her large hands clamping around the fabric of my shirt. With terrifying, supernatural strength, she hoisted my body completely off the ground and threw me hard against a heavy wooden equipment table nearby. The wood groaned under the violent impact, and a loud crack echoed through the air as my spine completely broke through the center of the table, sending splinters flying everywhere. Before I could even roll off the broken pieces, Lucy leaped through the air and sat down heavily right on top of my belly, pinning my hips to the floor with her knees. She drew her hand back and delivered a brutal, stinging slap across my cheek that turned my face to the side.

Stars exploded in my vision, but the rage inside me refused to die. I frantically raised my right hand, trying to punch her in the jaw to get her off me, but she anticipated the move. She moved like lightning, catching my wrist mid-air with an iron grip that completely cut off my circulation. With a wicked grin, she began brutally raining punches down on my face. She just kept going and going, her fists moving in a terrifying blur as she hit me from every single angle imaginable, sideways and straight on, completely battering my skin.

My face was completely numb, my vision blurring into a dark haze as the sheer violence of the beating began to drain the last of my consciousness. Lucy let out a heavy breath, a victorious, murderous look settling into her eyes as she prepared to finish me off for good. She slowly raised her right hand high into the air, balling it into a massive fist as she aimed it directly at my broken nose, intending to deliver the final, crushing blow that would end my life.

She snarled, bringing her arm rushing down with maximum force to crush my face.

But right before the blow could connect, a large, powerful hand shot out from the shadows, catching her wrist mid-air with a bone-crushing grip.