The Wolf Games

It can't be

Sasha's POV

It's day one of the Wolf Games and Taylor organized the glam squad to do my hair and makeup. I was so annoyed at first and said no to getting done up, but they were all so excited to be part of my team that I decided to sit down and be quiet. I also couldn't complain about all the cute free outfits people are sending me to wear. I chose baby blue, mini  bike shorts with a matching crop top and paired it back with nude colour runners. I asked the girls to leave my hair down and give me some beach waves. 

Taylor hands me some lemon water and goes through today's schedule.

"Today you will be up against three she-wolves. The first one is Cassandra from Madrid, followed by Lexi from New York and Amelia from Argentina. If you lose any of these fights, you're out of the competition. Lexi seems to be a favourite and is also very popular" Taylor informs me as she looks up from her iPad to see if I'm listening.

"Sasha, are you listening?" she asks as I'm trying to write a message to Massimo, but every time I go to send it, I delete it and rewrite a new message.

"Yep, Lexi is the favourite. Beat Lexi" I mumble and continue texting

"Who are you writing to? I need you to be focused, Sasha. We need to get through to the next round" Taylor says furrowing her brows

I looked at my phone and re-read the message I'm going to send to Massimo

Hey Mo,

Wishing you were here. I miss you...

xx

Delete! 

I look up at Taylor, "Sorry Taylor, I'm just trying to message a friend. Is it time?" I give myself a once over and the girls have done a great job. My makeup is natural and my hair has lots of volume with some soft waves. I get up from the chair and give the girls a group hug.

"Come on girls, I promise I won't let you down" I let them go and hear a knock on the door.

"That must be Joseph. Come in" Taylor shouts

Joseph walks in and he is carrying a Wolf Games booklet.

"Look Sasha, the booklet has come out with every contestant participating. Will you sign it for me?" Joseph asks with a proud smile on his face. I look at the page he has open, and it's a photo of me with my name- Sasha Colombo, Roma Wolf pack. I sign Joseph's booklet and I take a photo and send it to Massimo

Sasha Colombo misses you

I know Mo will think it's hilarious his surname is in bold with a photo of me.

"Ok Sasha, it's time" Taylor announced

My phone vibrates and it's a message from Mo

Ha ha! I miss you so much it hurts... So proud of you. 

I look at his message and the tightness in my heart goes away. 

Let's make Mum and Mo proud.

.........................................................................................................................................................................

We're guided by security into a waiting room and it's full of flowers and good luck notes for me from people I don't know. Taylor and Joseph are so excited and reading me the little messages.

There are television screens in my room and I can see a photo of me on the screen with all my information and measurements. There is a panel of judges discussing the fight and who they think will win. From what I'm hearing, they think the odds are against me. Security comes back in and it's go time.

Joseph and Taylor follow behind me and we walk through a long corridor and I can hear crowds cheering outside. I do a few more stretches and take a few deep breaths. I can hear someone announce my opponent's name and the crowd goes wild. I can't see anything and I say a little prayer to the moon goddess- this is all for mum.

The security guard in front of me tells me I'm going out in 5 seconds and to get ready. I turn to Taylor and Joseph who are awfully quiet and I give them a reassuring smile. 

I hear my name and I walk out to the arena. My heart races when I suddenly hear the roar of the crowd. It's louder than before and I look around to the crowd and the arena is packed. I lift my hand and give a wave and I feel the nerves sinking in. I look at my opponent Cassandra and she looks me up and down and smiles like she's already won. Cassandra looks strong and mean. No wonder the odds are against me, she looks like the size of an Alpha Male, with tribal tattoos all up her arm, to her neck.

Big doesn't scare me though, I know this will be over in about 20 seconds and then I think should I give the crowd a bit of a show? The rules are to knock out or pin your opponent on the ground for 10 seconds. 

The first rounds must be in human form. Once you get through the different levels, it gets harder and sometimes you have to fight in wolf form or be pumped with wolfbane and fight. I'm looking forward to the supernatural round where you have to fight against witches, vampires, and dragons. 

Cassandra gets into her fighting stance and I honestly don't know what to do with myself. I have my hands on my hips and I'm just looking at her getting ready to fight me... maybe I'll just wait for her to lunge at me and just dance around her for a bit. Play a bit of cat and mouse. I feel super awkward.

A whistle blows and the crowd goes quiet. Cassandra lunges towards me and I use my powers to slow downtime. Just before she goes in for the attack I move to the side and turn around- I'm fast as lightning and I hear people gasp from my speed and Cassandra looks behind her, shocked that I moved so quickly. Her eyes are angry and she starts throwing punches in my direction. I dodge every single punch and I can hear Cassandra grunt and cuss getting frustrated that she is missing me every time. 

She starts kicking but doesn't get a chance to hit me. I feel bad that she's getting so angry and I feel mean that I'm messing around with her. I decide to crouch down low and sweep her off her feet and she lands on her back. Cassandra jumps back up and I give her one punch to her face which knocks her out cold. 

Poor Cassandra.

The referee counts to ten and declares me the winner and the crowd goes crazy. That was such a boring fight and I can't wait to actually be challenged. 

Cassandra gets carried off and I hear the host announce my next opponent, Lexi from The Glistening Moon Pack, New York. This is who Taylor said was a favourite and really good. The crowd cheers and I take in the crowd. I see Alpha Michael sitting with blue eyes and his friends and his smiling at me. I give him a little wave and Lexi walks up and shakes my hand. 

"Don't worry this will be over soon" she says whipping her ponytail back with so much confidence

"I know. Don't hold back" I stated and place my hands on my hips again. Let's see what Lexi from New York has to offer.

Lexi brings her fists up to her face and is bouncing on her feet ready to make her move. Lexi is quite small for a wolf, which means she's going to move a lot faster than Cassandra, but I know she's no match for me and I'm already bored.

The whistle blows and before I know it, Lexi launches herself at me and extends her arm and throws a punch, I dodge it and grab her fist with one hand and twist her arm so fast I think I hear it c***k and flip her on the round on her stomach. It hasn't even been 10 seconds and I already have her on the ground with my knee on her neck in a hold she can't get out of. Wasn't this the girl Taylor told me to be careful of?

The referee is counting to ten and I can feel Lexi squirming underneath me trying to get free. I feel bad for her so I let her go on the count of 8 and give her another chance. I can hear the crowd gasp, knowing I set her free intentionally. 

"You're going to regret letting me go!" Lexi yells and I can see her holding her broken hand.

"Show me what you've got. I'll make it easy for you" I decided to stand in the one spot so she has a better chance of hitting me. Lexi holds her broken arm firmly and tries to kick me multiple times. I bend, I jump, I squat and stay in the one spot, but Lexi still misses. 

Lexi stands still for a moment and I can see she's calculating her next move. She bends down low and throws dirt in my eyes and charges towards me. It's not against the rules to throw dirt at your opponent but it's a shitty move and really annoys me. With my eyes closed, my reflexes are still too quick for her and I jump over Lexi and then kick her hard from behind. 

I jump on top of her and hold her down in position with my eyes still squinting from the dirt. This time I won't let her go.

The whistle blows and Lexi is out. The crowd cheers and I jump up and see Joseph runs out and gives me some water to clean out my eyes. 

"You're incredible," Joseph says proudly handing me a  towel to wipe the water from my eyes. 

"Thank you Joey" I say, handing him back the towel. Another announcement is made and they introduce my final opponent for the day, Amelia from Nara Pack, Argentina. 

Joseph gives me a reassuring nod and runs out of the arena. 

Amelia walks out and the crowd cheers. As we walk up to each other I recognise her as a model I use to work with. Amelia was always really sweet and exceptionally beautiful. She's wearing a bright yellow outfit with her blonde hair tied back in a perfect braid. 

"So good to see you," I say giving Amelia a friendly hug

"It's been so long. Just my luck, I get you on my first round!"  she shakes her head in disbelief

"Sasha, please go easy on me. I'm only here to meet some hot wolves and get some free clothes" Amelia says and we both start laughing.

No one can really hear us but I can see the referee wants to start. We shake hands and move into our positions. The whistle blows and Amelia goes for a punch, I dodge the first one but let her have the second. Amelia gives me an apologetic look but we both know that punch was soft and wouldn't leave a mark.

I throw some punches but don't go too fast so she can block every single one. After a few minutes I know I have to end it so I gently flip Amelia on her back and she just lays there pretending to struggle against my hold. The referee counts to ten and I help Amelia up. My name is announced as the winner and the crowd cheers but not as loud as the other rounds. They must know I went easy on her.

"I really appreciate what you did for me out there" Amelia gives me a kiss on the cheek followed by a hug

"Let's have a drink tonight and catch up," I say and she nods. I'm quickly ushered to where the Alpha and Luna of Red Moon Pack are waiting to congratulate me. I bow my head and when I look up, Luna Grace looks like she's seen a ghost.

"Congratulations on your incredible wins. You have proved many people wrong today Miss Sasha" Alpha Edmond shakes my hand

"Thank you Alpha" I smile and Luna Grace looks like she is going to faint

"Are you alright Luna?" I ask and I can see tears in her eyes

"Grace, what's wrong my love?" Alpha Edmond says in a low voice to not make a scene

"It can't be..." Lana Grace reaches her trembling hand to my face and touches my cheek. 

Shit!

"Isabel?" she cries and Alpha Edmond stares at Luna Grace 

"My name is Sasha, not Isabel" I whisper 

Alpha Edmond looks at me and then back at his distressed wife  

"Miss Sasha, my wife lost her best friend many years ago and now that I look at you, you do look very similar but you're obviously not her. Please excuse us" he apologises but Luna Grace keeps whispering to herself saying it can't be. He takes her away and then Alpha Michael walks over with his friends and gives me a kiss hello on the cheek.

"I would say congratulations but it's not like you had to try. You even let one escape so you could kick her butt again" he chuckles.

 Blue eyes is just glaring at me and then he notices his mum being taken away by his Dad. He runs over to them and I just hope his Mum lets it go.

"Michael, I need to talk to you in private" I grab his hand away from the crowds so no one can hear

"What's wrong?" He asks

"If anyone asks you questions about me or my family I don't want you telling them anything. Don't tell them where I work or live just in case I need to escape" I warned. I'm looking around making sure no one can hear us.

"Does this have something to do with why you're using a different surname?" he asks

"Yes! Remember how I told you my father rejected my mum and he didn't know she was pregnant, well, my father is the Alpha of the neighbouring pack and if he finds out he has a daughter he might kidnap me and keep me away from my mum. You know how much I look like my mum, and Luna Grace just had a nervous breakdown when she saw me up close and thought I was her. I'm sure anyone else that knew her and sees me up close might have the same reaction" my hands are shaking and I feel panicked.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you. You have my word" He kisses my forehead and I'm so grateful Michael is here with me.

"You also can't say anything to that arrogant friend of yours" I demand

"Who? Erik? He's harmless, but maybe you're right- If his mum is shaken up from seeing you today, he probably will start asking me questions. Lucky he lost that card I gave him with the restaurant address" 

"You see! That's why we have to be extra careful"  I hear my name being called out and it's Taylor calling me over to get my photo taken by the press. Great, more shots of my face for people to see.

"I have to go" I sigh and I pull away from Michael

"I'll go find Erik and see if he says anything about his mum. Call me when you finish" he pulls me back and gives me a reassuring hug

"Nothing is going to happen to you" he whispers in my ear.

I take a deep breath and I pray he is right.