The Lunar Destiny Series

Chapter 26

The next day, I received a call from Iericho. He wanted to meet up with Lio and I to make amends. I wasn’t too sure about the whole thing, but when he spoke to Lio on the phone without yelling, things seemed promising. We went to Lio’s place not long after the phone call and it was at that point I became suspicious. Lio’s pack gathered in the depths of the forest. Lio sat upon the large throne carved from old oak trees that I’d seen during the brutal punishment of a few of the new wolves. Naremi took me towards the throne but she wasn’t talking to me as much as she normally would.

“Naremi I’m tired of all of this secrecy. What’s really going on right now?”

I watched a smile form on her red glossed lips.

“When aren’t you tired of our secrecy?” She said laughing.

“You really don’t know about anything that’s happening, do you?”

I gave her a blank expression.

“If I knew I wouldn’t be so worried.” I said.

Naremi raised an eyebrow at me.

“I doubt that honey, but if you insist. Our King has been presented with a challenge for your affections from another pack.”

My eyes went wide with shock.

“How can that be? I thought no one could challenge him for me.”

I didn’t completely understand the whole rule and agreement part of this, clearly. Naremi stopped walking with me and touched my chin with her fingertips lightly.

“No one from our pack or other wolf packs can challenge him. As far as other weres go it’s a free for all. The pack leader for the werebears has put forth a challenge. There will be a tournament here today. Their leader has chosen suitors that he feels will be a better mate for you than our king. The suitors will fight our king in a series of battles with special requirements. The last one standing will be your mate.”

I suddenly shook my head a little too fast.

“What!? No! I’m not a prize to be won in some game! This is insane!” I said in a panicked but low voice so I wouldn’t draw too much attention.

“Shh! Calm down child, you’re not actually worried are you?”

I frowned, looking away from her.

“I don’t like this Naremi. Why is everything about fighting?”

I looked back at her and she was smiling faintly.

“Strength is everything for our kind, there is no room for weakness. The sooner you accept that the easier things will be. Come on now, you have to be by his side when our guests arrive.” She said before we continued on towards Lio’s throne.

This just didn’t make any sense to me. As far as I knew we’d never even seen any werebears before. How did they know about me at all? I tried to put the stressful thoughts aside as I came to stand next to Lio’s throne. He was sitting there wearing only a pair of dark blue jeans. He looked up at me and held his right hand out to me with a smile. I took his hand and he pulled me around to sit on his lap. I looked at him questioningly.

“You look upset, what’s the matter?”

He asked as if he didn’t know. Which agitated me further.

“This tournament, it’s wrong. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

Lio continued to smile and brought his right hand up to cup my cheek.

“Your concern is very sweet, but there’s no need for it. When this is all over you’ll still be mine. To refuse this challenge would have looked very cowardly to say the least. Plus the others would see the refusal as an insult to you. It would be saying that you are not worth fighting for and that’s not a message I want to send to my people or anyone else for that matter.” He said.

When he put it that way it made more sense. I looked around at everyone waiting patiently, calm. I think I was about to have an anxiety attack. I looked at Lio curiously and he raised an eyebrow.

“Lio, who was it that challenged you?” He sighed before he answered me.

“Your brother Iericho, he is the sleuth leader of the Werebears.”

I scrambled out of his lap and looked down at him with wide eyes.

“No, no I won’t believe it. MY brother is a werebear!?”

Lio leaned back against his throne comfortably as he looked up at me, unfazed by my suddenly hysterical tone.

“Knowing what I am, is it really so hard to believe? Some of the people you’ve known your whole life could be weres. Very few know about our existence for one simple reason, Astraia; most people couldn’t handle the truth.”

I agreed with him on that front, but something about that statement made me curious.

“Then, why did you tell me?”

He looked me over for a moment before he spoke.

“Because I was confident you were one of the few who could handle the truth. I wasn’t wrong.”

I looked away from him because of a sudden change in our surroundings. There were more people entering the meeting area now, the wind had picked up a little but it didn’t feel natural.

“They’re here…”

Lio said looking down into the clearing. Naremi came to me and motioned me to move back a little from the throne.

“You must stay to this side and be silent, only speak when spoken to from this point on.” She said with all seriousness.

If this was customary for events like this, I wasn’t a fan of it. It seemed sexist in a lot of ways.

Iericho and his sleuth came walking out of the trees and stepped into the middle of the clearing. At the center of the clearing there looked to be some sort of sparring ring. My brother looked up at me, when our eyes met I was forced to look away. I couldn’t hold his gaze.

“Well, is that lot the suitors you chose? I had no idea there were so many men you found worthy of your dear sister.” Lio said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Only three of them are worthy to me.”

I looked down at Lio to see his hands tightly gripping the arms of his throne, Iericho had hit a nerve. From what I was gathering, the wolves and bears were enemies even prior to this. I should have known from the moment the two of them met something wasn’t right. They hated each other the moment they knew what the other was.

“So, you think your bears are the better match? Send forth your chosen suitors to properly greet Astraia.” Lio said.

I bravely looked back to my brother and his people. The three suitors came forward and I suddenly felt sick, like I would pass out from being so nervous. I couldn’t believe this was really about to go down. All of the men were decent in build and attractive in several ways. They all made their way up towards me, each one was eagerly smiling. My stomach was in knots. Naremi rubbed my arm gently

“Calm down Astraia, you’re starting to make me nervous.”

I spared a glance over at her.

“I can’t help it, what do I do?” I asked.

“Nothing. Just let them greet you.” She said before stepping a few feet away from me when the three men came to stand before me.

The first man had a very Hawaiian look as far as features go. His hair was in long, black locks that came down to the middle of his back. His almond shaped eyes were a startling pecan brown. His body was of medium build, athletic but not too buff. Lastly, his skin tone was a dark caramel brown; a pair of dark gray docker shorts were his only articles of clothing. He gave me a very humble, deep bow.

“I am Keyx. It is a pleasure to meet you…” He said in a deep voice before stepping aside.

The next man was Caucasian with a slight tan. He was also of medium build but his muscles held more definition. His sun bleached blonde hair came down past his ears and his eyes were big, round, amber-colored pools. There were dumbbell piercings in each of his n*****s. His choice of clothing matched the apparent half naked theme going on; shirtless, a pair of light blue jeans, and no shoes. This man kneeled to me and bowed his head.

“My name is Markos. I’m honored to be in the presence of my king’s kin.”

With those humble words, he too stepped aside. The third man was about as tall as Lio and just as muscular. His hair was cut short and sandy brown, almost the same as my brother’s. His complexion was the same as mine and his eyes were a very light brown. I couldn’t place his ethnicity but he was handsome. He had on bleach stained blue jean shorts that came down past his knees and he knelt before me as the second man had.

“You may call me Petros. I’ll fight harder than anyone for you today.”

His words were noble but I knew Lio wasn’t going to let anyone take me from him.

The three suitors went back to Iericho’s side; Iericho’s eyes were still on me. I assumed he had been watching my reactions to his chosen men. It was then that Lio rose from his throne.

“I’ve seen your suitors, let us begin the tournament then. Which of you will challenge me first?” Lio asked them.

Markos stepped forward confidently, not giving the others a chance to move. The second to greet me and the first to fight, he was obviously cocky.

“I will.” He said.

His amber eyes were cold and detached. I looked up at Lio to see him smirking.

“Lio, please be careful.” I said to him, my voice sounding as uneasy as I felt.

He came to me and bent down a little to claim my lips, kissing me deeply. Lio was the one to break the kiss. I watched him walk down towards the sparring ring to meet his opponent. He stopped a few feet away from him. Naremi tapped me on the shoulder and I looked over at her.

“This first match is to test their skill in human form. The second match is a partial wolf form where they will use their claws. The final challenge is going to require your participation.” She said looking at me as if she was anticipating a bad reaction.

“What will I have to do?”

I was hoping her answer was ‘not much’. Hope is for idiots.

“The final match requires Lio and his challenger to find you in the forest…”

She paused, I hated when she paused. Nothing good usually came after her pauses.

“That sounds simple. What else?” I asked.

“It will be the most dangerous Astraia. You’ll have to run like you’ve never ran before. They’ll be fighting each other to get to you, and the one who does will have to mate with you. Once they do, you are theirs.” Naremi said looking me square in the eyes, deathly serious.

I blinked a couple of times, actually more worried than I already was.

“I can’t outrun them, are you serious?”

Naremi nodded.

“You must, if you wish to stay with Lio. There is one rule you must follow; you can’t cheat for him. Letting Lio catch you will turn things into a fight to the death and you will likely be taken by the challenger by default.” She said.

I shook my head over and over. How was I supposed to outrun two superhuman men in the forest? They can follow my scent and hear my footsteps from long distances no matter how fast I run. I thought I would faint before this tournament was over.

“Don’t worry about it right now alright? Come on, let’s get closer…” She said, linking arms with me.

We got within a few feet of the sparring ring and stopped walking. Lio’s wolves had formed a large circle with Iericho’s people. Iericho and his other two suitors had been standing back from the fighting area. Githinji stepped forward from the crowd and raised his hand into the air.

“Fight!” He shouted, and it began.

Lio and Markos circled each other slowly for a moment before Markos rushed Lio. Lio dashed to one side and stuck his foot out, while simultaneously sweeping Marcos’s legs out from under him. Markos landed on his stomach with a hard thud against the dirt. Lio raised his foot over Markos’s head and started to bring his foot down, but Markos quickly rolled out of the way. Markos was really fast! He rose up from the ground with his fists clenched and sprung up with an uppercut to Lio’s chin. I jumped a little at the sound of his knuckles clashing against Lio’s jaw bone. Lio didn’t fall, but he did stumble. He shook his head before clenching his fist. I’d never seen Lio fight as a human so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

Markos came up close to strike again, but Lio parried to the left faster than my eyes could keep up with, before he stuck Markos in the jaw with a right hook. Markos was slightly dazed for a second but that was all Lio needed. A barrage of punches one after the other; Lio drilled into Markos’s face like a madman. Markos’s lip, nose, and left eyelid had split open. Markos stumbled backwards and fell flat on his back. Lio slowly circled Markos like he would his prey, waiting for him to move. Markos surprised him and rolled over onto his side trying to grab Lio’s leg. Lio kicked his hand off as if his hand was a troublesome piece of trash that had blocked his way.

Githinji entered the sparring ring and came to stand over Markos.

“Do you forfeit?” He asked the battered young man. Markos nodded yes slowly.

Githinji gave him a nod.

“Victor! Vasilios!” He announced proudly.

The wolves cheered and screamed for Lio while the bears of course booed. Two of Iericho’s people helped Markos out of the ring. I was so happy Lio had won, but this tournament was far from over.

Lio came walking over towards me and Naremi sweating but unharmed. I looked up at him relieved when he reached me.

“Was that enough to calm your worries?” He

asked with a smile.

“A little. There’s still two more challenges left.” I said.

“They won’t last long, I promise.”

He looked from me to Naremi.

“Did you explain the rules of the last challenge?”

Naremi nodded once and he looked back to me.

“The last challenge is by far the most important. I believe in our union, this is only a test. You and I are true soulmates Astraia. Nothing and no one can change that truth.”

Lio kissed me on my forehead before he went back into the ring.

“Which of the challengers wishes to participate in the second challenge?”

Githinji asked Petros and Keyx. The two of them looked at each other for a moment as if they were having a silent conversation no one else could hear. Finally, Keyx stepped forward.

“I’ll take this challenge.” He said to Githinji. Githinji nodded with approval.

“Alright, this challenge will test your battle skills of your half beast-half human form. The first one to draw flesh wins. Begin when you’re ready.” He said stepping out of the ring again.

Both Lio and Keyx’s bodies began trembling and shifting, but not a complete change. The tops of their ears became pointed, their eyes went from human to wolf. The longer I watched, the more changes took place. Fur started flowing down their arms and torsos, Lio’s fur was still silver and Keyx’s fur was a strange, grayish blue. From their hands came long, thick, sharp claws. Their mouths had become slightly elongated and they looked more like the jaws of wolves. Finally, the half-shifting was complete.

It wasn’t as impressive as his full wolf form but it was definitely interesting. I held my hands together in front of me. My hands were starting to get moist from sweat. The final challenge was coming up a lot faster than I wanted it to. I looked up at the sky and saw that the sunset was coming. I was hoping Mother Nature would leave me some sunlight for my run through the forest but it looked like I would be out of luck.

The sound of scuffling turned my attention back to the ring. Growling came from human mouths; it was one of the strangest things I’d seen. Keyx and Lio were on the ground wrestling each other, their claws digging into each other’s arms. Both of them were bleeding so I began to wonder if it would be a draw.

“Naremi, both of them are bleeding. Now what?” I asked concerned.

“First blood doesn’t count. They have to tear flesh from the other to win. First blood used to be for the first challenge.”

She explained calmly as though the gory fight wasn’t happening at all.

Keyx dug his claws into Lio’s arms even deeper, forcing a loud growl from him. Lio raised up and freed one claw from Keyx’s arm before slashing his claws across his face. A loud snarl came from his mouth and he kneed Lio in the ribs with brute force. Lio fell back holding his side, which gave Keyx the opportunity to kick Lio in the face as he got up. Keyx was back on his feet and he proceeded to kick Lio in the side of the head with all of the force he could muster. I gasped with horror seeing him take a blow like that. I looked closer and to my surprise, Lio was laughing. Keyx noticed the mocking laughter and scowled. He reacted by going to kick Lio again, but Lio’s hand was on his ankle before he had the chance. Lio was no longer laughing.

In the next few seconds, Lio applied enough pressure to snap his ankle. I heard it snap from where I was standing, and I wasn’t that close.

Gasps and cheering could be heard suddenly. Keyx groaned and hobbled back from Lio. Lio stood up and charged Keyx. Both of them reached up clawed fingers as Lio closed the distance between them. Even though Keyx’s ankle wasn’t completely healed, he was able to rush into Lio, sticking both of his claws into his chest. At that same moment, Lio forced his right hand into Keyx’s gut. When he yanked his hand free, a chunk of thick, dripping flesh was entwined with his fingers. Keyx’s eyes were wide with shock but he didn’t cry out in pain.

Lio tilted his head back and let out a mighty howl, and the wolves joined him. Keyx pulled his claws from Lio’s chest and stared at his bloody hands. Slowly, Keyx brought his blood drenched hands up to his mouth and started to lick them clean. I felt queasy as I watched, but then I saw his gaping stomach wound begin to close. The blood was speeding up his healing. Lio held up the chunk of flesh proudly like a trophy.

“Victor! Vasilios!” Githinji shouted. I spared a glance towards my brother, his teeth were clenched and he was flexing his hands. He was pissed off.

Lio tossed the bloody flesh onto the ground before he reverted back to his human form. The wounds on his chest and the bruises on the left side of his face were slowly vanishing as he walked back up to Naremi and me. I looked up at him, sighing heavily.

“You’ve fought well my king.” Naremi said.

“Thank you.” Lio said to her before he looked at me.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I said, meeting his eyes again. He looked sympathetic then.

“I know how you feel Astraia, I do. It’ll be alright.”

He was trying his best to reassure me but I didn’t feel as confident. Luckily I was dressed for running; Reebok gym shoes, jean shorts, and a solid dark green t shirt. I turned to Naremi and held my hand out to her.

“Can I borrow your hair tie?”

She nodded before taking her ponytail holder out of her hair and handing it to me. I pulled my hair up into a tight enough pony tail and made sure the end was put into a bun.

Just then, Githinji and Baltasar came over to us with neutral expressions.

“Githinji and I are going to be watching the challenge, monitoring from the shadows of the forest. Two of Iericho’s people will be monitoring as well to make sure things are kept fair.” Baltasar said. I frowned.

“Why wouldn’t things be fair?” Githinji shook his head.

“Your dear brother thinks we’ll cheat, and vice versa.” I nodded. My brother would think that way.

“I see…So what now?”

Lio crossed his arms over his chest.

“My first and second will escort you to the starting point. You’ll have a ten minute head start. After that, Petros and myself will shift into our true forms and try to find you before the other does. There will be a lot of fighting so it would be in your best interest to keep running no matter what you hear. I don’t want you to get hurt by accident. Naremi already explained the rest.” He said.

“Are you ready? The sooner we start the sooner this ends.” Baltasar said.

“Yeah, let’s get this over with.” I said.

“Good luck little one, be quick.” Naremi said, trying to encourage me.

I took a deep breath and exhaled before I followed Githinji and Baltasar towards the point of the trees they wished me to enter. I spared one last glance over my shoulder at Lio, this time he wasn’t smiling at me. He looked very serious and concerned.