Chapter2

#Chapter2

Second Chance

/"Harder, Phoebe, harder!/" Deimos yelled from outside of the circle, veins popping on his neck with a steely gaze at my every move.

He's been checking how fast my reflexes are, how strong I could give punches, and how long I could handle pain. As a gamma who has been thru different training camps, he's had a lot of knowledge when it comes to fighting strategies without a doubt.

And he sure is smart for calling Zelos and asking him to duel me in the circle for a match.

The circle is where all the official duels happen. Since the barracks is full of gammas, challenges are inevitable. I mean, these gammas like to fight, not only the enemies but also each other. So duels aren't really a new thing for them.

These gammas like to force their authority over one another. So they had to have the circle. They needed an official place where they could beat each other up while other watch for their own entertainment.

Killing wolves yourself and having a VIP seat when watching other wolves getting killed? This is the life.

/"Phoebe, that's not even hard,/" Deimos continued blabbing as I missed hitting Zelos' jaw by a millimeter.

The circle is nothing but a huge cage. It has black railings from up the ceiling down to the bottom. The floor is a thin mat, so it really hurt like a bitch when Zelos kicked my gut in the sixth fight and I fell, face first.

And in the ninth fight when Zelos tackled me on the floor after he punched me squarely in the face and I lost my own balance.

/"Come on, Phoebe,/" Deimos clapped his hands together with a frustrated look on my face just as Zelos caught my uppercut, /"Even Persephone can punch better than that./"

My head snapped at his direction, /"Watch it,/" I hissed. I want to claw his face as he watched us through the railings.

Deimos shrugged his shoulders, /"Facts, babe,/" he said, and I felt like both Zelos and I wanted to kill Deimos instead of each other at that point.

I know he's doing this on purpose; partnering me with Zelos and reminding me of Persephone. Those two are my triggers. They make me want to kill as much as I could.

Deimos, knowing me all too well, is deliberately riling me up so I could do better in training. For the first few days, it was good. But weeks later, I feel like killing Deimos himself rather than my dueling match.

/"He's right though,/" Zelos muttered as he swung his right arm from left to right, hitting my neck. Then he continued to lock my head with the same arm, /"You suck./"

I glared at him as I attempted to hook his left leg with mine, thinking of tackling him down. But he was too fast and too experienced to fall for my shit. /"You wish./" I rolled my eyes.

/"You would've been dead by now, if this battle was real,/" he deadpanned as we stayed in this position. He was waiting for me to tap out, /"You died for, like, fifteen times now./"

I tried to loosen his grip on my neck with both my hands, but against his sweaty, bare arms, my fingers kept slipping. At this point I just want to knee his balls and get it over with.

/"No one asked for your opinion, Zelos,/" I hissed, feeling a bit lightheaded. I tried ignoring the sparks I've been getting from touching him since we started this duel. And now that he's this close, and holding me this tight, I'm feeling all woozy.

Zelos tilted his head on Deimos' direction, /"Oh, but he did,/" he says, and sighed, /"Will you just tap out? You're too prideful for your own good. Whether or not you admit defeat, it doesn't change the fact that you suck at this./"

/"I'll kill you,/" I hissed, my voice thick with menace, Deimos would've believed I could manage to do my own threat. Then, I tapped out.

Without a word, Zelos released me and raised both his hands in the air as I tried to get my breathing pattern back to normal. Clutching my neck with both hands, I glared at Deimos who looked like he's having fun seeing me struggling in life. Such a friend.

/"Assessment?/" Deimos asked.

Zelos answered, his voice monotonous, /"Average punches, below average strategy, cluttered headspace, too aggressive, all talk./"

Deimos let out a low whistle.

My head snapped at Zelos, /"That's bullshit. I almost had you in the fourth fight!/"

/"No, babe, you didn't,/" Deimos deadpanned.

I felt Zelos twitch at Deimos' endearment, and I felt like grabbing him by the collar to duel him instead. /"Will you stop calling me that?/" I said between gritted teeth.

/"Sure, babe,/" Deimos unlocked the entrance to the circle with a smirk on his face, /"As long as you're angry, I'm happy./"

As if a pair of birds being set free, Zelos and I immediately walked out of the circle. We've been locked in there for six hours straight, and we want nothing but get out of it.

Six hours straight of being close to your soul mate who rejected you for his chosen mate? Not really how I want to waste my time. But at least I get to have the excuse of actually punching him as much as I want.

When we got out, Zelos stopped right in front of Deimos, and muttered, /"If she says don't call her that, just quit it./"

Deimos raised a brow, then smirked, /"Look, you never cared about her before. How about you continue doing that, hmm?/"

Zelos then left without another word, and I watched his retreating form with a frown on my face. What's that about? Had I actually hit his head hard enough for him to act like this? Or was it just because of the bond?

Deimos draped his arm over my shoulder, /"You should've kissed him in the fourth fight, kneed his gut, elbowed the back of his neck, and he would've been too shocked to even respond to that./" He noted, making a tsk-ing sound.

I shrugged his arm off, /"I don't need you acting all match maker on us. We didn't end up together for a reason and you know it./"

Deimos looked down at me and patted my head, /"Oh, I didn't want you back with him./"

/"Then why pair me up with him in the circle?/"

/"First, you needed the time to vent out your anger towards him. And he seemed like he received some of your punches well. As if he felt like he deserved those hits,/" he said, /"Second, I want to see how you fight with someone you care about./"

I frowned, /"I don't care about him./"

/"Sure, you do. Your care for him is the root of all your hatred. You wouldn't be angry at him to this degree if you didn't care one bit,/" he says, /"You are such a softie./"

I gave him a scrutinizing look, /"This is why my brother didn't want to be with you. You're incredibly annoying./"

Deimos' eyes went wide in panic before he looked around to see if someone heard us. He immediately grabbed me away from the circle and into the benches where there were less gammas in sight.

/"And you're annoyingly loud,/" he hissed, still looking around in panic mode. He's been craning his neck here and there like a giraffe, /"No one is supposed to know that./"

/"What, that my brother is your second chance mate and—/"

/"Shh!/" Deimos interrupted me almost immediately, clamping my mouth shut with both his hands. He looked at me with a warning glare, /"One more word and I'll get you back there in the circle and beat your ass up./"

Phobos, my brother, is a gamma here in this pack under Alpha Dionysus. He's known by many, because of his insane battle skills. He met Deimos during the camp training for all gammas months ago.

It was an annual thing, since gammas need constant training. We never know when there would be war, so they have to be prepared. Deimos, after being rejected by his own mate, busied himself through training.

Even lashing out his frustrations towards other gammas during training.

Both Deimos and Phobos were at the upper class rank of all gammas. They were that good. They were the role model, exactly what other lower ranked gammas are looking up to. They are the epitome of 'real men'.

Well, that was until they realized they're second chance mates and all that went down the drain.

Of course, my dearest brother, rejected Deimos. He's too prideful to admit that his second chance mate is a guy. As a gamma, raised by the strongest wolves and living with them, he feels like being with a man will bring shame to him and his name.

And Deimos knows that. Because if ever Phobos did accept him, he knows he would feel the same embarrassment.

Gammas are trained to be strong and authoritative, and the last thing to be expected of them is to be vulnerable. Especially not with another gamma, who is a man. Apparently, 'real men' shouldn't be soft, and shouldn't be gay. As if having a dick isn't enough.

Blame the fragile masculinity of these guys. It's too complicated to explain their situation.

I rolled my eyes at Deimos just as he clamped my mouth harder, /"One word, and you're dead. Got it?/" He hissed.

I gave him a look which said that I got his message loud and clear. He calmed a little, and I feel his grip getting softer. He was about to let it go, just as we heard a growl.

/"Do not touch her,/" It was a low, challenging growl.

Being an omega, I have a lot of experience when it comes to distinguishing if the challenger is of the same rank or higher. And just by the goosebumps over my body, I can safely say that I'm dead meat.

The growl was definitely not from an omega. My wolf's tail was immediately tucked between her hind legs.

Deimos and I shared a look before our head snapped at the direction of the wolf. Just behind Deimos, stood a guy in mid-shift. His canines and fur was showing, but his body is still that of a human. It was as if he was trying so hard to keep himself from shifting.

Surprisingly enough, my wolf seemed to snap out of it. She seemed to recognize this man in front of us. And I felt her wanting to take over just as my eyes turned from pure black to its normal color, then back again.

/"Phoebe.../" Deimos didn't move, his eyes fixated on me. He gave me a look as if he knows what's happening, but can't believe it's happening.

But it's happening.

Just as my canines started to show up, I heard the guy give me an appreciative growl when I said, /"Mate./"