a challenge 77
1004 Words
Chapter 77
Amber POV
The silence didn’t last long. Whispers started. Low at first… then spreading like wildfire.
“Did you feel that?”
“Her power…”
“Her eyes..”
I could still feel it too. Fenrya. Her name echoed inside me like a pulse. Steady. Unshaken. Powerful.
Ripley stayed close to my side, his hand hovering near mine like he was ready to steady me if I lost control. I wasn’t going to lose control. Not now. Not in front of them. A sharp clap cut through the noise.
“Enough.”
Lila. Of course. She stepped forward again, this time with no attempt to hide the challenge in her eyes.
“That display?” she said, crossing her arms. “That wasn’t control. That was instability.”
Ripley’s growl came instantly. “Lila..”
“No,” I said quietly.
He stopped. I stepped forward instead.
“If you have something to say,” I told her, my voice calm but firm, “say it.”
A small, almost satisfied smile tugged at her lips.
“Gladly.”
She circled me slowly.
“A Luna is supposed to be strong, yes,” she said. “But also controlled. Grounded. Trusted.” She stopped in front of me again.
“And right now? You just cracked the ground without even trying.”
A few dragons shifted uncomfortably.
“She’s right,” someone muttered.
I ignored them. Lila leaned in slightly.
“How do we know you won’t destroy more than just the ground?”
There it was. Not just jealousy. Doubt. Fear. Good. Let them feel it.
Before Ripley could step in again, I lifted my chin.
“So what are you suggesting?” I asked.
Her eyes gleamed.,“A challenge.”
The crowd went completely still.
Ripley turned sharply. “Absolutely not.”
But Lila didn’t look at him. Her eyes stayed locked on mine.
“If you’re going to be our Luna,” she said, “prove you can stand your ground. Prove you deserve it.”
A beat passed. Then another. Inside me, Nyx stirred. Summer bristled. And Fenrya… Fenrya laughed.
“Finally,”
A slow smile spread across my face.!“Fine.”
Ripley’s head snapped toward me. “Amber..”
“I said fine,” I repeated, my voice stronger now.
I stepped closer to Lila.
“You want to test me?” I said quietly. “Then don’t hold back.”
A flicker of surprise crossed her face, but it was gone just as quickly.
“Neither should you.”
The clearing filled within minutes.
The entire pack gathered, forming a wide circle around us.
The tension in the air was thick.,Electric.
Ripley stood at the edge, jaw tight, eyes locked on me. He didn’t like this.,But he wasn’t stopping it. Good. I needed this.
Lila stepped into the center, rolling her shoulders.
“No shifting,” she called out. “Hand-to-hand.”
I raised an eyebrow slightly.
She smirked. “Or are you afraid you can’t fight without your… extras?”
Big mistake.
I stepped forward. “Let’s go.”
She attacked first. Fast. Stronger than I expected.
Her fist came straight for my face, but I moved without thinking, sidestepping and grabbing her wrist, twisting just enough to throw her off balance.
She recovered quickly, spinning and aiming a kick at my side.
This time I blocked.mThe impact stung. Good.,This was real.
The crowd started shouting, the energy building as we moved faster, strike, block, counter, repeat.
She was skilled. trained. But I wasn’t just trained anymore.
I was… something else. She lunged again, and this time, I didn’t just react.
I moved first.
I ducked, swept her legs out from under her, and had her pinned to the ground in seconds, my hand pressing firmly against her shoulder. The clearing went dead silent.
Lila struggled beneath me, but she couldn’t move.
I leaned down slightly, my voice low enough that only she could hear.
“You wanted control?” I whispered. “This is control.”
For a second, something flickered in her eyes.
Not anger. Not jealousy. Respect.
“…I yield,” she said.
I released her instantly and stepped back.
The silence broke into murmurs again,but this time…
It was different. Respect. Awe. Even a little fear.
“Fenrya.”
The voice was old. Powerful. Every head turned.
An elderly man stepped forward, supported by a carved staff. His presence alone commanded attention.
Ripley straightened immediately. “Elder Kael.”
The elder’s eyes never left me. “Say the name again,” he said.
My chest tightened slightly.
“…Fenrya.”
The moment the name left my lips, his expression changed.
Not surprising..Recognition. And something else…Concern.
A heavy silence fell over the clearing.
“It cannot be,” another elder whispered from behind him.
“But it is,” Kael said quietly.
He stepped closer to me, studying me like I was something out of legend.
“Child… Do you understand what you carry?”
I shook my head slowly.
“No.”
A long pause.,Then he spoke the words that made the entire pack go still.
“Fenrya is not just a lycan,” he said. “She is the First.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“The origin of all lycans,” he continued. “A being spoken of only in ancient records… and feared even then.”
Ripley moved closer to me. “Feared? Why?”
The elder’s gaze darkened.
“Because where Fenrya walks… kingdoms fall or rise.”
The weight of that settled heavily in my chest.
“And the last time her name appeared in history…”,He tightened his grip on his staff. “…it was just before a war that nearly wiped out our kind.”
Silence. No one moved. No one spoke. Inside me… Fenrya stirred.
“”Let them remember,”” she whispered.
I swallowed hard, my pulse racing. Because this wasn’t just about me anymore.
- Writer
