Blackheart

.VII.

I turned over in my sleep, annoyed that it was morning already. Atto had left for an important meeting with all-male elders in our pack. A small, sharp pain stabbed at my lower abdomen.

‘So, he really did take a mistress.’ I thought to myself as I got out of bed. I noticed hanging on the closet door was an entirely new outfit chosen by Atto. I was slightly annoyed at his attempts to control what I wore, but I let it go and simply chose something else.

‘If that cheating dog thinks he can control what I wear, he is gravely mistaken.’. I pulled the mini skirt and tank top off the hanger, looked toward the fireplace, and tossed them in.

‘The bastard has the nerve to give me clothes that Zaria wore after she f****d him and put me in the hospital.’ I went to have a quick shower and got dressed for the day. Pulling my black Levi’s skinny jeans up over my black sleeveless turtleneck bodysuit, I laced the white tiger-buckled belt through the loops and pulled to secure it. I pulled on a pair of leather boots and slapped on my spike-studded bracelet and a pair of pure silver cuff earrings. I walked out of the bedroom after changing to meet with Calypso and Midnight for our day ahead. On the way down the stairs, I turned a blind corner, bumping into Add and Phoenix, whom I stared blankly at, and walked past after snapping out of my semi-frozen state.

“Ororo!” Add called after me, but I ignored him. As I got down to the last floor, I met up with Calypso and Midnight. I heard a few sneers from pack members who didn’t like the idea of me being their luna; some were followers of Zaria, and others generally disapproved of me as the new luna of the pack, as I was ‘too weak' in their eyes. I shook my head as I exited through the back door to get to the garage quicker. As we rounded the corner, Zaria burst through the door, a sneer on her face and hatred and disgust in her eyes.

“Ororo Blackheart, I challenge you to a battle of the mating rights,” she yelled, her minions behind her, whispering about how I would lose terribly because she had ‘royal blood’ in her veins. I looked at her and sighed, rolling my eyes. I obliged, nodding my head a simple ‘yes.'

“Calypso, do tell Atto, Zaria has just challenged me to a Battle of Mating Rights.” I mind-linked, “I accepted.” She looked at me, smiled, then raised her head as her eyes glazed over.

“Why would you do that!? Why would you accept!? We are already marked and mated! And you can’t fight!” I sighed, lowering my head and shaking it as his voice screeched into my head.

“I know that, but she clearly doesn’t understand,” I replied, ignoring his comment about me not being able to fight. Walking up into the middle of the backyard where the sparring ring was located, I entered, stretching my hands out, I relaxed them, and bringing them down to my side, I envisioned myself in my designed combat uniform, as Luna had taught me. When I reopened my eyes, I was wearing a woodland camo sleeveless polyester dress with the mark of Diana, our Mother Moon Goddess and Queen of the Wolves, and her brother. At the transformation, there was a series of ‘oohs' and ‘ahs’, and at the notice of the crescent mark, there was loud chatter. Atto came out of his office, the council elders behind him, all looking on.

“You are aware of what you are giving up if you lose, right?” Zaria sneered at me, her mocking tone irritating to my ears. I nodded, and she continued, “If I win, I get to have Atto and the luna position, rejecting Atto as your mate and hailing me as the true luna of the pack; if not, you get him and the pack, I’ll be at your service, and I’ll leave you alone.” I looked at her; she seemed desperate, and I decided to restrain Eris, Nyx, and Luna, allowing them to only watch and observe. The bell rang, indicating the beginning of the battle. She rushed at me, and I simply sidestepped. As I watched her, she seemed to move in slow motion. She came again, this time, running in with a punch. I dodged, dropping into a middle split. I quickly moved my left leg back, coming around to meet the right, using my hands to pivot, and took her legs from out beneath her, whilst using the driving speed and force to get back up into my fighting stance. She fell to the floor but had a quick reaction in getting up. She came again with another punch, but this time, I decided to counter it with a punch of my own, colliding with her fists, but she was on the receiving end of the stick. I stepped up to her, throwing non-threatening jabs with each step. As I backed her into a corner, I stopped at a two-foot distance. I saw the smoke leaving her skin, jumping back onto the tree behind me just as she shifted. She was a golden brown wolf with grey patches of fur. As I observed her, she bounded up to the tree, jaws snapping, jumping at me while I smiled, watching her try to get to me while I simply hung from the tree. I changed my position, hanging by my feet with arms dangling just to annoy and tantalize her. As she landed again, for the fifth time, I waited for the next time she jumped, and as she was going down, I let go, free-falling, changing my position at the last second, landing on her head in a Superman pose, cartwheeling to the other end of the ring and doing a pirouette as she got up, dazed and slightly confused as to why I would come down when I wasn’t going to or rather ‘couldn’t’ shift. Growling, she bounded up to me, relaxing my muscles. I positioned myself to jump over her, switching at the last moment, confusing her with an uppercut, racking her brain, not enough to shake her brain and not knock her out, but just enough to confuse her senses. As she shook her head, I took in a deep breath through clamped teeth, and using Nyx's power, I channeled all my energy into the muscles of my arms and hit Zaria with a five-piece combo of four right-left hooks and ended with an uppercut. She fell at my feet, and I pinned her down. She thrashed about and growled as I held her in a headlock, and in return, I growled back louder, deeper, more power vibrating the floor beneath us, forcing her into submission. When I got up from off her, the pack remained quiet for some time. As I exited the ring and my clothes faded back into my original outfit, a few claps could be heard before it formed into full applause, with yelling, whistling, and screams of how good the fight was. As I walked back to Calypso and Midnight, Atto jumped from his office balcony and up to me.

“How?” he asked

“Because I can,” I said, and everyone froze.

“Did she just talk?” Phoenix asked.