The Duel

Chapter 2

  Sara POV

I kept staring at the framed photo, which is a bittersweet memory. The photo was taken 4 years ago in the nearby woods, the same woods that I have come to hate more than anything.

A tear rolls down my cheek as I stare at my old self, so lively and happier. My now dull chestnut brown eyes are sparkling with joy in the photo while my thin pink lips are set in a small smile. My long ginger hair is tied in a half bun contrasting with my yellow summer dress.

A small smile graces my lips as I remember the person who took this picture; my Mate, Samson, the man who took my breath away every time he smiled. He was just perfect, so perfect that at times I would question his existence. His thought alone made my eyes water again and in no time I was crying like a baby in my bed while holding tight on the pillow imagining him and staring at the picture kept at my nightstand.

"It's been 4 years and 10 days babe but I still miss you like crazy. The pain never goes away, it just keeps increasing. You know Sammy, I count every single day ever since you… I will never be able to say it. I can never admit it to myself that I won't see you again for the rest of my life. Please come back, Sammy. Your baby misses you."

As the words escape from my lips another fresh set of tears spring out of my eyes and soon I fall asleep hugging my pillow.

I am woken up by the constant knocking on my door and growl in frustration, "WHAT?"

The person on the other side shouts back with a snicker "its training time miss perfect. As always late, I don't understand why are you even our trainer."

My anger increases tenfold on the comment while my wolf Sasha tries to take over and rip the girl into shreds. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing to control my anger and then reply in a dark tone "Fuck off, Janice. And I want you in the field in 5 minutes."

With that said I rush into my attached bathroom and start brushing my teeth all the while looking around to spot my music player remote. My eyes roam around my white tiled floor then towards the glass shower and lastly, stop on the bathtub. I spot the remote lying near the little head shower and run towards it all the while taking off my cute baby pink Pjs. I play a random song and head into my walk-in closet after tying my tangled hair in a tight ponytail.

I wear black leggings and a grey sports bra while dancing to the beat and top it off with a grey sweatshirt. I leave the closet and go for my shoes. I sigh when I see the mess my room is at the moment, thanks to my poor organization habits. My baby pink bed sheets are tangled up, the white pillows are scattered all over the bed, papers on my study table are all over the place and the clothes from yesterday are still lying on the floor near the door. I shake my head and search for my grey trainers on the dark woody floor which is partly covered by baby pink carpet matching the walls. I notice my shoes and move towards them. Sasha reminds me of time "ITS 4 MINS AND 20 SECS, WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE. HURRY UP!"

As the time registers in my head, I'm running towards the training ground barefoot with my trainers in my hand. With my wolf speed, I reach the ground in 30 seconds and look around to see most of the wolves already assembling.

I sit on the ground and wear my shoes immediately and look at the crowd assembled in front of me. "Training begins in 10 seconds and I want to see all of you on your regular spots. Am I understood?" I command in a booming voice.

Everyone shouts a yes and starts moving but something else sways in my mind and changes the whole plan, "Wait, I want Janice to come and stand here, NOW." As I complete my words the whole crowd makes a path for Janice to walk her way towards me.

Janice steps on the path made for her and poses as if she's a model. She is wearing an aqua blue sports bra and black short shorts with black trainers. I squint my eyes on her outfit, not understanding why she even needs them as she barely comes to training ever since I became the trainer. My eyes stop at her sea-green eyes which are throwing daggers at me and I hold back a snort. She smirks while walking slowly towards me, making sure her blonde ponytail sways with her hips. At last, I can't hold back myself anymore and state with sarcasm dripping from my words. "Janice, I'm sure, I said I want you to stand here now like today, not tomorrow." She snorts at the reminder and increases her pace to reach me.

Janice comes up and stands in front of me with her eyes staring straight into my own, to show her disrespect but all I do is smirk. "As you all can see, Janice here feels like she is allowed to show disrespect to me, your trainer. Now, that is a very bad example for young pups that look at me with respect and consider me as their role model. So to make it very clear and show everyone that I am training you all for a reason, I'm announcing a duel between Janice and me." I declare with confidence oozing from my every word.

The whole crowd is stunned for a moment but they all quickly regain their composure knowing well no one defies me. Everyone stands at a good distance while Janice and I circle each other, ready to start the duel.

Janice snarls towards me before throwing a punch on my left side while I duck and use my right leg to make her fall. I stand and walk towards her with the same smirk I had moments ago and offer her my hand to lift her up which she holds taking it as help. 'How naïve, only if she knew this is no help.' I muse while pulling her up.

When she is almost standing straight I tighten my grip on her wrist to the extent where I feel her bones cracking but I don't stop instead my other hand comes up and grabs her neck in a painful hold, a second later her free hand comes up to release my hold on her neck as she starts coughing while my grip only keeps tightening on both parts. I knew she would faint in the next 20 seconds but I was not even close to ending this so I kept it going for me and my wolf. I lifted her from her neck and slammed her on the ground harshly as my wolf howl in sadistic pleasure but we both flip when I notice that Janice already passed out.

I kick her twice on the side to wake her up and she does but her wolf comes to take the control this time. She growls before shifting into her dirty brown wolf while I step back a bit to keep myself away from the wolf. Sasha howls in excitement as Janice's wolf runs towards us to attack. I stare at the wolf for a second as it is closing on me and then kick her hard enough to make her fly across the field.

The whole crowd gasps at my strength as they have never seen me fighting but I'm more focused on my playtime. The wolf stands up with anger blazing in her eyes and runs towards me faster than before and jumps in air midway, ready to clamp her canines in my neck. I take my left foot back a bit while my eyes are intently focused on the wolf, completely tuning out the flying hands of the crowd and their audible horrified screams.

As the wolf comes at a good hand distance I lift my right hand and hold the thick furry neck of the wolf and squeeze it hard making the wolf whimper but the pressure does not decrease. I keep increasing it till I see the dropping eyes of the wolf. The wolf goes unconscious after some more seconds but the anger that Sasha and I hold didn't fade away instead it grew and intensified.

I growl in anger as Sasha claws her way out and takes partial control. I turn around and face the crowd while everyone bows their head in fear and submission. "Anyone else who thinks I'm not good enough for training, you can challenge me now or else swallow your pride and don't dare to look me in the eyes. Am I crystal clear?" I question with authority dripping from my words.

The whole crowd yells a yes with their head still bowed down. "Now, on your spots, quick. You have 5 seconds." I remark before mind linking two patrollers to take Janice to the infirmary.

After 4 hrs of training, every wolf is laying on the field in exhaustion while my body barely feels tired. I shake my head knowing well the reason behind it and focus on the upcoming announcement that I have to make. "Attention everyone, Alpha Alexander is returning today with his Beta Lucas and our former Luna wants to organize a feast to announce some important news. Head back and start the preparations for the evening. Alpha should be here by 8pm, I expect everything to be done by then." After announcing the arrival, I walk back to my room to take a hot shower and relax.

After an hour I decide to leave my room and help others in preparation expecting everyone to be back by now after taking some rest. I pull my hair in a messy bun as they are air-dried now and wear my white flats to match my floral printed red summer dress and leave to help everyone.

I look around the pack grounds and softly smile when I see children playing with each other while the adults are busy in preparations but my happiness is short-lived.

I smell them before I see them but I know it's too late.