The Hunt

Dancing with the Wolves

I let her take the lead as we started our little dance. She circles around me as a predator would around its prey and that gives me time to examine her movements. The way she shifts her weight from one foot to another is a bit sloppy. Dad would not be impressed. She’s too comfortable, too relaxed. You should never doubt your opponents’ abilities. A cat can claw out the eye of the biggest baddest wolf if it's not careful enough.

She swung at me just when I was expecting her to. I turned to the left, quick and swift, and punished her with a jab to the side. The girl staggers to the side and I drink up her surprised expression. On the sidelines, Burner lets out a cheer. I gave him a smile, not taking my eyes off Monica. She was too arrogant to ever think that I could land a hit on her. That was her mistake. All she could see was a human. And in her eyes, humans are inferior creatures. Well, I will give her a wake-up call she so desperately needs.

Her demeanor changes. I can feel her need to win. It has grown now. I read her like an open book. I can feel her need to hurt me. With her determination to beat me growing, I can feel something rise inside of me as well. I don’t just want to win. This rage in me makes me want to kill her. I can’t let that sensation overpower me. Something makes me think that they wouldn’t take it too well if this had ended in her death. The same probably couldn’t be said for me.

This time, I come to her with a predictable right hook which she easily evades. I just baited her right into my left swing. My fist landed on her jaw with such impact I could hear bone cracking. But I’m not finished. I changed my stance and quickly delivered a kick to her right side. Her balance is gone, and she falls to the ground. I jumped on top of her and started pounding. Left, right, left, right, left, right…

“Enough!” Alarick roars, pulling me off her. “Didn’t you hear me?!”

But I didn’t hear him. Not until he ripped me away from the girl on the ground. I looked down and, fortunately for her and me, the girl was still breathing. My knuckles are scraped and bloody. The bloodlust that was running through my veins a minute ago is gone now, and I even feel a bit sorry for her.

“Will she be okay?” I asked.

“She’s going to be fine. In a couple of days, you probably won’t even see a mark on her face.” Burner slides closer to us. “Damn, kitten, that was crazy, where did you learn to fight like that?”

“Well, I bet you would like to know,” I teased. “If this is the best you can offer, I might have to lose you. Wouldn’t want any dead-weight slowing me down.” I locked eyes with Alarick.

“You will fight me now.” He declares as he steps in between me and Burner. His facial expression was indifferent, but his eyes showed a glimpse of excitement.

“Alarick, she’s human! I know that she just wiped the floor with Monica's face, but you’re an alpha. You can’t…” Burner didn’t get the chance to finish the sentence before he was cut off.

“Stand down!” Alaricks’ voice carried such authority even I felt the need to take a step back.

“Yes, alpha.” Burner squeezed my shoulder in a weak show of support as he turned around to leave the ring.

I put up my fists again as I am getting ready for, hopefully, my last fight for today. He’s a lot bigger and stronger than me. His reach is wider and while I might be quicker, something tells me that he’s not slow either. And he won’t make the mistake of underestimating what I can do. Seeing is believing, and he just had a perfect chance to study my technique. I’ll have to dig deep this time. Remember every lesson that I have ever learned. I can’t win this by attacking, so I took up a defensive position. I was nine, the first-time dad had me spar with him. And for years, I would literally eat dirt every time we trained. I was so frustrated. He would not tell me what I did wrong. He just let me fail again and again and again. Until one time when I was thirteen, I won my first fight. He was so proud. And I was so grateful for his patience. I had to learn how to fail before I could learn how to win. I have to bide my time and wait for the right moment. For a perfect chance to strike.

The air is thick and sticky. It’s warm, but I can feel in my bones that rain will start pouring any second now. This gives me a slight feeling of relief. I had already worked up a sweat and a change in weather would give me a much-needed refresher. Especially when I see Alarick pull off his shirt and expose his perfect god-like body. Of course, he has to have an eight-pack. I let my eyes wander, but not for too long. Two can play at this game. I zip open my oversized hoody and toss it to the side, revealing only a sports bra hiding underneath. I follow his gaze as he seemed to take in every inch of my exposed flesh. Good, now you know how it feels. The first raindrops fall on my face and I welcome them with open arms.

Alarick takes the first swing, aiming for my side, and I evade it. He expected me to retaliate just like I did with Monica, but I kept my hands in front of myself and blocked off his next attack. My arm didn’t break, but that blow was brutal. I could already feel a bruise forming where his hit had landed. For the next few times, all I can do is avoid his continuing charges.

The rain is now pouring down in full force. The ground beneath our feet is getting soft and soggy. I kick up some dirt aiming for his face and as soon as his eyes close, land three quick jabs to his stomach. Alarick lets out a laugh completely unfased by my blows. He swipes his fingers over his face, wiping down the dirt and shakes it off casually.

“Impressive, you’re not afraid to fight dirty.” He says, a wide smile spreading across his face.

“Here to entertain.” I curtsy mockingly.

Our little show continues for what feels like eternity but really, couldn’t have been more than an hour. He attacks and I evade. On and on and on we went. I am at my limits. My feet begin to lag slightly, and my arms sting from the blows they had absorbed. I know that sooner rather than later a hit will land and more than likely knock me out. I look for opportunities to swing at him but see none that wouldn’t also result in me being hit. He’s an excellent fighter. His every move is calculated and if I weren’t as good as I am, I would already be on the ground. A huge crowd was now gathered around us. But no one is cheering. For anyone watching, it was clear that my strength was running out and that the duel would not end with my victory. I could swear that a couple of times when I was too slow and Alarick almost caught me, I could hear a girl from the crowd gasp in horror. I guess not all of them see humans as meaningless.

He surprises me with a jab to the side and I hear a rib crack. My vision blurs and the rage takes over. I’m no longer in control of my own body. I’m seeing red again. I feel myself diving to the ground and swiftly kicking his feet from underneath him. He lands with a thud and a grunt as air is knocked out of his lungs. Without losing a single second, I climbed on top of him and started beating down on him with all the strength I still had left in my body. I don’t know what happened, but the next time I blink I’m already underneath him, and he’s holding my hands pressed to the ground on both sides of my body. I let out a whimper in fear of what was to follow. For a moment, he’s just looking down at me, but not in the same way as he did when we first met. This time he’s studying me. Taking in every detail of my face. Until his gaze settles on my eyes.

“We’re done,” he breathes out. “You have proven yourself.”

Relief washes over me. “Thank you,” I whisper breathlessly as everything blurs out of focus. Exhaustion consumes me as I fall into darkness.