Gift from the Goddess

Chapter 5

The day was longer than I thought it would be. I learned so much that I felt like my brain was turning to mush. Dusk came and Richard led me to the field behind the pack house. Jace was already standing there. He was shirtless. His abs were prominent, and I couldn't stop myself from looking.

I cleared my throat and tore my eyes away from Jace's body and looked at Richard. "Are you ready for this fight?" I asked him. I knew his answer already, but I had to ask anyway.

Richard smiled with a cheeky smile. "I am a Beta for a reason, Luna."

I sighed and stepped into the ring with Richard. "It is dusk. Our agreed upon time for this challenge."

Jace growled at Richard and I. "You both are going to die today." Jace spoke low.

I didn't want to die, that's why I placed my trust in Richard. 'I can sing to you while you fight him, if you want.' I used my newly found mind link to Richard.

'That would be cheating, but I cannot stop you, Luna.' Richard looked at me with a mischievous glint in his eye.

I stepped away after Richard took his shirt off. I had to look away from him to keep myself from looking at his body. He was rather stunning. His muscles were defined, all the way down to his-- Nope! I had to look away again. "Let the challenge commence!" I spoke loudly.

At first, it was fists and grappling until Jace shifted to his wolf form. Richard narrowly missed being bitten on the arm. Richard shifted and attacked Jace. My heart pounded in my chest. Claws and fangs dug into each wolf. Fur flew everywhere. My chest was starting to ache as they fought.

I couldn't take it any longer. I opened my mind link to Richard and immediately, my song, filled with anger, rang out into the link. Richard shivered when he heard it. He fought harder.

Jace had sliced Richard's side open. I gasped when I saw the blood splatter on the grass. Richard didn't stop fighting.

The fight went on for a good forty minutes before Richard finally pinned Jace down. Jace didn't stop struggling, which made Richard tighten his jaw around Jace's throat. Jace still didn't submit. Richard had no choice, he clamped down hard on Jace's throat, killing him.

Pain blossomed in my chest. I gasped and dropped to my knees. I still felt pain even after accepting that one of them might die tonight. Tears streamed over my cheeks.

The pack watched as I walked over to Jace's body and gently petted his fur. "I'm sure you were a good wolf." I whispered softly.

Later that night, I had Jace's body buried in the pack graveyard. Not many came, which saddened me, but all that mattered was that I showed up while his family grieved. I, too, grieved his death. I brought flowers and placed them on his grave. "Sleep well, Jace." I placed my hand on his casket.

The next morning, I woke up before the pack did. I cleaned the already clean house and cooked breakfast for the entire pack house. Which was a lot of wolves who had killer appetites. It was a lot of food. Ten pounds of bacon, six coffee pots, over a hundred pancakes, ten pounds of cut fruit. Yeah, it was a lot of food. I set out the food on the table and set plates, forks, knives, everything. By the time I was done, I could hear some of the pack talking. When they walked into the dining room, I smiled. "Good morning. There is coffee, tea and juice on the counter. Breakfast is pancakes, bacon and fruit. Please enjoy."

To say they were shocked was an understatement. "Luna, did you cook all this by yourself?" A young girl with brown hair and free eyes asked.

"I did. I woke up early and decided that making breakfast was the right thing to do." I smiled at her.

By the time breakfast was over, there was nothing left. That made me smile with satisfaction. I cleaned the dishes and the rest of the kitchen. When I was done, it was almost time to start my training with Richard. So, I headed up to my room and got changed into some basketball shorts and a t-shirt that Richard gave me last night. When I was changed, I headed outside toward the open field that Jace had died in last night. I didn't want to train here, but this was the only place I wouldn't get hurt because of the other wolves training and some just learning to control their shift.

"Luna," Richard called out, as I was just staring at the spot where Jace took his last breath.

I felt sad again, but I pushed the feeling down and turned toward Richard. "Richard." I greeted him. "I didn't see you at breakfast earlier. Why not?"

He smiled. "I don't eat before training. Slows the body down too much."

That was the oddest reason I've ever heard. I narrowed my eyes at him, but decided that I wouldn't bother asking. "So, what am I learning today?"

"Well, Luna. I was reading last night and I came across this book. It said that the gift could use the song as a weapon as well as other things. Why don't we try using it as a weapon first?"

A weapon?! Could my song be used like that? I looked at Richard. I felt determined that I could do this. "What do I need to do?"

"You need to be in the mindset that you are being attacked. So an attack is what I plan to do. The book said that you will just feel the need to protect yourself, and your song will just become what you need it to be."

I gave him a nod. He tried going for a punch, but all that happened was I ducked and screamed. "Sorry. I panicked." I said.

He shook his head. "No, it's fine. Let's try again, yeah?" I nodded and this time, he took me by surprise and lunged at me in his wolf form. I screamed and Richard was thrown back a good fifteen feet. "That was awesome, Luna!" Richard's voice echoed in my head.

My breath was heavy, but I smiled. "Do it again."

We did this for a good two hours before I fell to my knees from exhaustion. "I think that's all for today, Luna."

I shook my head and stood back up onto my feet. My body was trembling, but two hours was too little amount compared to the rest of the pack. "I can keep going." Richard went to protest, but I cut him off. "I said I can keep going. So let's go."

He sighed and lunged at me again. I screamed. This time, it felt different. I heard his body hit the ground, but it didn't sound normal like all the other times. It sounded wet and Richard yelped when he hit the ground. I looked at him and gasped.