Her Unexpected Luna

Chapter 19

Tasia

Tasia studied the whiteboard once more. The scoring system seemed a little confusing, but because she defeated a previous champion by submission, she had the highest points in scoring and was moved to the top of the brackets. She could still feel something didn't seem quite right about it but decided not to dwell too much on it. Marcus was set to face off against Alpha Alonzo who, won the first match and was in second place to Tasia in the brackets. She could feel several unfriendly gazes on her back but she refused to pay them any mind. What Tasia was more worried about was whom she was to face off against in the final match in the southern ring. With Marcus and Vincent still in play, this could make for an interesting yet concerning turnout.

"I'm not sure what Alpha Axel was thinking when he submitted to you, maybe you two had some kind of deal, or maybe it was mercy. But as far as I'm concerned when it's you and me in that ring after this, you'll be lucky enough to leave the ring on your own two feet" Alpha Alonzo said as he stood dangerously close to Tasia, speaking in a low tone so only she could hear him before he made his way into the ring with Marcus. Tasia was used to these kinds of threats, she didn't feel nearly as doubtful about going up against Alonzo as she did Axel. Alonzo was a strong and fearless Alpha, but he's an example of a wolf who doesn't know when to stop pushing the limits of his opponents. One of these days his taunting and massive ego will be the death of him if used on the wrong enemy.

That's exactly what happened, of course, Alpha Alonzo didn't die, but Marcus was a get-to-the-point kind of wolf. Alonzo and Marcus seemed evenly matched but it was clear that Marcus was more level-headed and perceptive of Alonzo's tactics. Alonzo started off talking a big game but of course, Marcus saw straight through his bullshit and put him on his ass. This match didn't last even half as long as Alonzo's match with Alpha Sebastian which proved Marcus's superiority over the both of them. The realization of this and the unveiling of Vincent's opponent had Tasia's mind running circles. Vincent managed to defeat his opponent in record time, even faster than Marcus and Alonzo earning vincent more points and putting him in second place, confirming that Vincent would be Tasia's next match.

"Was that intentional?" Tasia questioned Marcus who was standing next to her chuckling to himself as he watched Vincent be crowned the victor.

"It was expected, honestly though I didn't expect you to be the one to go up against Axel, I was hoping to get a chance to redeem myself this year but I guess fate had different plans," Marcus said with a shrug.

Tasia shook her head as she screamed at herself on the inside, how did she not see this coming? Marcus and Vincent were two of the top packs in the south for a reason, she couldn't believe because they had become friends she thought she would never have to compete in a physical fight against them of all people to prove her worth. Then again, Marcus said to himself he wanted to go up against Tasia at her full potential knowing she couldn't possibly overpower him. But does that mean he thinks she's at her full potential? maybe if she played her cards right she could come out on top. The both of them had fought more matches than she has in a short time so they are more drained in energy than she was, she could use that to her advantage, but she also knew she would need to rely on her wolf for one if not both if she manages to defeat Vincent.

The southern ring judges allowed Vincent to take a small break since he would be fighting in another match back to back. This gave Tasia a moment to go back to Thalia and Molly before the match started, she was feeling a little nervous and was hoping to feel the comfort of her mate before her next match. She was going to need all the strength she could get if she was going to come out as the victor in the next match. To Tasia's surprise, Molly was sitting by herself cheering on her mate as he made his way to her, scooping her up effortlessly and placing her on his lap as she showered him in kisses and affection. Tasia began looking around frantically trying to catch onto Thalia's scent that was fading fast due to the number of other wolves that crowded the place, she could still feel her nearby but not as close as she would like her to be.

"She's with Lauren, they should be back soon. It seemed important" Molly said noticing Tasia's inner distress. Tasia felt a little better knowing she was with someone safe. Lauren acted very motherly towards Thalia that which was relieving.

"Leaving you alone, she said she'd stay with you" Vincent mumbled as he buried his head in her neck as she swatted at him.

"I practically shoved her away, as I said it seemed important, and I don't need a babysitter" She huffed at him as he playfully nibbled on her neck changing her mood like the flip of a switch.

Tasia turned her head to look away, feeling like it was illegal to sit there and watch them have their moment although the idea of being in that position with Thalia sounded appetizing. She went to go follow what was left of Thalia's scent before she was stopped by Marcus's words.

"I'm surprised, if it was anyone else they would have already caused a scene looking for their mate. More than a few already have today alone" He said. "You still worry, but why not lose control over the thought of her missing?" Marcus pondered, studying her. Thalia raised an eyebrow at him and scoffed at his statement.

"Because I know she's safe right now, and even though I haven't seen it I have enough sense to know that she could handle herself," Tasia said confidently.

"She's not necessarily in a safe place though, her enemies that had her running for half of her life are here. And who knows who else is allied with those guys. And not to mention you claiming her during the time that you did. You have enemies here too, and every alphas weakness is their Luna. Everyone knows that" Marcus said and Vincent silently nodded his head agreeing with him. Even Molly seemed to agree with what he was saying but stayed silent. Tasia narrowed her eyes at him and turned her full attention to him as she looked him over.

"What are you playing at Marcus?" She spat accusingly.

"I'm just stating the facts, She's not Marked and is extremely vulnerable in this place and you just let her wander off without communication. You are leaving yourself open to being targeted" He said as he crossed his arms. Tasia couldn't help but laugh at him and what he was trying to pull, She knew what he was doing.

"Except you are forgetting that she is under the protection of the Alpha whose lands we currently reside on which means she is under the protection of the East. No matter the situation, anyone would be a fool to try and pull something while there are hundreds of Alphas and high-ranked pack members in one place. And even if they were to pull something, their percentage of success is very low. If I were to rely on myself alone to protect her then I'll surely fail. I may not like it, but I will trust her" Tasia said bluntly. She went to add more but was interrupted by one of the coordinators who were calling for Vincent and Tasia to get ready for their match.

Tasia pushed past Marcus careful to not dwell on what he said, she knew he was trying to get her riled up but she didn't understand why. She was a little annoyed she didn't get the chance to go check on her mate but perhaps maybe that was Marcus's plan, to try and throw her off. He may have been supportive up until this point but this is still a competition and the last thing she expected was Marcus to step aside and let her win, he was testing her. Tasia grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it, pumping herself up and clearing her mind of all distractions. She couldn't forget why she was doing this, she had been training for a moment like this. A moment to finally prove herself and become truly worthy of what's last of the Romano bloodline.

Once the coordinator announced both wolves and backed out of the ring, Tasia and Vincent circled each other. Tasia knew she was at a disadvantage because she had never physically sparred with Vincent. The only knowledge she has is what she has seen today and what she has heard in the rumor mill. The same could be said for Vincent, he has also never seen Tasia in a fight firsthand until today. Even then, she could count on the rumors about herself being wrong as it seems only Marcus knows how she is. Tasia had a feeling he hadn't shared that information with Vincent.

"I have to say, you make me a little nervous" Vincent said with a genuine smirk. Tasia rolled her eyes at him but mirrored back his smile as she stopped circling and stood in place in a defensive stance as her wolf pushed forward a little bit to make her presence known. Something stirred in Vincent that made him falter a bit before he got into a stance of his own. Before Tasia could make a move she saw something move quickly and felt the thump of something landing in-ring and making its way to Vincent's side. The eruption of cheers and screams rang in Tasia's ears as she was faced with a smug-faced Marcus. Panic struck through her body like lightning and was soon followed by anger. Her wolf was going crazy at the audacity of this insane wolf. She couldn't decide whose side he was supposed to be on at this point.

"What are you doing Marcus?!" Tasia spat viciously. She was having a hard time holding her wolf in, now was not the time to shift. She seemed to calm down once that familiar scent of sweet ginger hit her nostrils, glancing over to her side she saw Thalia pressed up against the ropes of the ring, fear and anger flickering back and forth in her eyes.

"I'm getting kind of tired, so I figured I'd hurry up this process and knock out two birds with one stone," Marcus said as he shrugged. By the looks of it, even Vincent was thrown off by this as he showed signs of being utterly annoyed.

"Are you supposed to be the stone?" Vincent snarled at him.

"I prefer to see myself as more of a-" Marcus began but was cut off by a swift punch to the face causing him to step back a bit to realize what had just happened as he touched his freshly split lip.

The massive crowd that surrounded all sides of the ring went wild the moment Tasia landed a blow on Marcus as he was distracted, this bringing his and Vincent's attention to Tasia who was already on the move to strike at Vincent who was nimble enough to dodge her suspected attack but failed to learn from what he watched during her first match and put himself where she wanted him, which was recovering from a fatal blow to his stomach that about knocked the wind out of him. Marcus was quick on his feet to break Tasia's stance as she went in for another attack on Marcus only this time he was ready for her. He weakened her stance and disabled her attack forcing her to lose her balance causing her to fall straight onto her back, slamming her head hard on the matt. She was getting tired of being put on her back today.

Tasia pushed herself up and out of the way just as she saw Vincent go after Marcus thinking he wasn't expecting an attack, by the way Marcus shifted focus it was exactly what he was expecting until Tasia realized Vincent's attack wasn't going to Marcus it was going to her. Luckily she was able to dodge it just in time but not what followed after that, Marcus. It became attack after attack, the both of them taking turns in sync like it was planned to gang up on her. It was more than that though, they had a mutual unspoke goal. Tasia was beginning to tire out trying to keep up with the both of them, the only thing she had time to do was block their attacks, she slipped up once allowing her body to take blow after blow to several areas of her body. Blood poured from her ears and face, she could feel her body covered in bruises and scratches and no one has even shifted yet.

"Shift" Marcus said as he kneed her in the stomach causing her to spit out blood.

"Shift" Vincent said as he clocked her in the jaw while she tried to get back up on her feet but was knocked back down.

"Shift! Shift! Shift! Shift!" The crowd chanted.

Tasia's head was ringing and her vision was blurry, she could barely lift herself off the ground to keep going. As long as she was still moving, she was still in the game and that was all she kept telling herself. Her wolf became dormant after being ignored and pushed back when Tasia needed her the most. Even if she wanted to shift now she didn't think she'd be able to. Tasia was ready to give up and call it done until she heard a voice that stood out from the crowd.

"It's okay" Thalia spoke softly. Her soft voice drowned out the crowd even though she spoke at a normal volume. Tasia turned her head to see Thalia's tear-streaked face and her bright strained green eyes that held so much worry and sorrow. It killed Tasia to see her this way, It was different from the other two times today she showed her emotions like this.

Something stirred in Tasia, something strong and hot. She gained this immediate surge of energy that allowed her to catch the next fist that was thrown down at her, squeezing and crushing it with little effort. Vincent groaned out in pain as the bones in his hand began to break in Tasia's grasp. The pain he was feeling induced a rage that forced him to shift into his wolf who was seething and ready to tear out her throat. Vincent's blonde wolf lunged without a second thought at Tasia but was enough time for her to get fully planted on her feet to catch Vincent and throw him completely out of the ring with strength she didn't think she had, He landed on the hard gravel with a loud yelp. Tasia turned her attention behind her to a teeth-bared, snarling, tall and muscular, grey and black wolf who was inches away from her face. His breath was hot on her face as saliva dripped from his fangs. He was angry and ready to finish the match now that Vincent was out. Tasia felt the presence of her wolf fighting to take over once more, she was more adamant than she ever felt before about showing herself. It must have been the feeling of distress coming from their mate. Tasia decided to let go and allow her wolf to take over and finish the fight. Her clothes shred instantly and her bones snapped into place while her pure raven colored black fur sprouted through her skin. Once completely shifted, She presented herself with a nasty bared teeth and almost ferrel sounding warning growl.

The crowd went from cheers and shouting to complete silence. It seemed as if the other territories had already finished up all of their matches and gathered around to watch the longest-lasting match of the day. Tasia's wolf had a solid Raven black coat with medium-length fur. The blue pigment in the black shined it's brightest in the sun. Her eyes were solid black with black sclera, even her claws were black along with the inside of her mouth and tongue. Her canine teeth was the only thing on her body that was a different color. White. Solid-colored coats weren't very common, neither was anything else about Tasia's wolf. Most solid-looking colors had specks of different colors on their chest or bellies, not Tasia. That wasn't what had the crowd silenced though, it was the fact that Tasia's wolf seemed to tower over Marcus, the aura and power Tasia's wolf possessed spread a thick layer of intimidation in the air causing Marcus's wolf to unwillingly bow his head to the ground in submission before Tasia could charge at him.

After a moment of processing, the crowd went nuts again, screaming and chanting Tasia's name. Tasia began to pace back and forth until Marcus shifted back, one he was shifted Tasia shifted back into her human form and Immediately lunged at him not caring that they were both completely naked. Catching him off guard he was knocked back down, he didn't block or defend himself against her rage fueled attacks. Two people rushed into the ring to pull her off of him to try and calm her down. She was livid, she didn't understand why he submitted. Marcus of all people would never submit to anyone, especially a woman. He made that clear a long time ago.

"Why!?" She screamed at him as the two warriors struggled to hold her back. "Why did you submit?!". The anger she felt and expressed was only her own, her wolf went back to playing dormant as if what happened didn't bother her at all, not like it did with Axel. Was there something she was missing? She didn't understand. Before she could escape the grasp of the two warriors, Thalia appeared directly in front of Tasia with a blanket to wrap around and shield her from the gazes of everyone else. It wasn't like nudity was uncommon or shamed in their world, if anything no one paid any attention to it. But judging by Thalia's burning bright red cheeks, she might have a different opinion on the matter. Tasia let herself calm down as she focused and listened to her attentive mate as she cooed sweet words into her ears and wrapped her up to pull Tasia into her arms. The coordinator from earlier came back into the ring and announced Tasia as the victor making the crowd go wild once more. Tasia looked back to where Marcus was but he had disappeared from the ring. She brought her gaze back to Thalia who was staring at her, she seemed to be experiencing a tornado of mixed emotions at the moment. It wasn't until Tasia realized when she wrapped Thalia into a hug she brought her underneath the blanket that was wrapped around her, causing Thalia to be pressed up against Tasia's naked body. She could see why that would cause her to become flustered, but before she could say anything, Tasia all of a sudden felt dizzy, her vision blurred and she began to lose her balance, the last thing she heard was Thalia frantically calling out to her as they crashed to the ground together.