Chapter 19

It was the time for the battles. If I would have shut my mouth, my day could have been easier but I didn't want easier. I didn't want anyone to think I was getting off easy, especially since that man touched my hand. Sparks flew and I heard what that meant: we were mates. I couldn't be mates with the Alpha of Bane Nokia. I am not Luna material. I am a warrior. Luckily, I notices that beautiful black haired witch hanging around him. They are probably together. The thought alone makes me angry and irrational. I am so conflicted which only clouds a warrior's mind.

I didn't belong in West Paw. How could I be a warrior in the Elite Force in Bane Nokia when the leader is my mate and he has someone else? That is a distraction that would leave my feelings a mess. Who knows how he would treat me anyways. I'm not trying so hard to be treated the same way I was, or to be looked down on. I mean me, a mate... to one of the most powerful men. That is just ridiculous! I wish I could talk to Ben. I haven't been able to talk to him much. He has been really busy and our schedules seemed to be conflicting. I felt so disconnected to everyone from West Paw. It really didn't bother me that much, but I did miss the advice from Ben or even Fred. I couldn't talk to anyone here, but Gus. I just don't know how he would take it. I don't know how anyone would take it that have been training with me. It would just be my dirty little secret.

I had to make sure not to make eye contact. It would be too real then. It would change everything. I just can't handle this right now. It was time to do what I do best: Persevere. I walked into the gym and that's when I noticed how crowded this place was. It had everyone in it with a perfect view of the fight. Watching the fight was optional, but who wouldn't want to see the girl get beat down, right? Well they were wrong. I would beat every guy that would come my way. It was just a pity that today they were my roommates and pals.

The bigger they are the harder they fall, I had to remind myself when I looked around. I once thought being so small would make me weak. If anything it made me stronger both mentally and physically. I have had to make adjustments because they have a longer reach, but fighting really is about strategy. In the library at West Paw, there was a book on a game called Chess. In Chess, the player has to anticipate their opponents next move. People had to think multiple steps ahead. This is what I do when I fight. I look at their body movements, their eye movements and then try to figure out where they will be going next. This took a lot of practice and observation, but all I had was time back then and I use it to my advantage now. The only thing I can't foresee is when emotions get involved. People don't think rationally, and predicting their movements becomes a whole different challenge. Luckily, everyone here was calculated. They were on their A games especially with the Alpha and Beta watching. My roommates knew I was tough and I was capable of many things. They just never expected that I could take them down. That is how I was able to take down the first three guys. They were so cocky in general, but especially today. They were probably the only ones to not watch any of the fights before their match. If they did, maybe they would have realize that I could take down anyone who came in my way.

I was exhausted after battling three in a row without a break, but it would be way worse in an actual war. I was prepared to go all day if I needed to, and based on my schedule it looked like that was the case. Anyways, it was a good distraction. If I had to wait for the other matches, I would want to look into the direction of that alluring smell. Luckily, the sweat and blood from the battle was starting to tune it out.

I started to bleed around the end of the second fight. It was just a little scratch by cheek and eye. I had worse so I wasn't concerned. However, there was someone in the crowd who seemed to be a little angry. His power radiated over everyone. I only felt his anger, but it didn't shut me down. It strangely had the opposite effect. It pushed me harder. I was able to take out the third person significantly faster. He tried too many cheap shots, like going for where I was bloody. Some were taught to find a weakness and exploit it. He thought blood would be my weakness, but I didn't care. I didn't have any weaknesses in this battle. I started new as always. You couldn't win any fight without a clear head and pushing any pain to another part of your brain. He had weaknesses though, one of them is that he didn't defend. He only attacked and focused on my one side; I could easily predict his moves. I finished him off and looked up smiling. I felt proud of myself. My wolf just wanted him to be proud and see how strong we were. It was the animal side of me that felt like I needed a mate. My human side was against it. I knew how people in power were. I knew how being tied to someone could create too many problems. There wasn't many things that scared me, but this did. The idea of him, or the idea of a mate in general. I was always told that I wouldn't have one, or wouldn't be wanted, so I learned to accept it. Now, I was thrown a curveball at the worst of times and wouldn't be able to process it for some time.

I was only able to take a water break before I had to return. I didn't have a chance to scan the room. My heart was pounding and the adrenaline was still going strong. When I went back to the makeshift ring. This time people were hooting and hollering, and that only grew with every fight. They were so surprised that I was doing well. That a girl was kicking everyone's butt. Every time I took a brutal hit, the crowd grew silent. The air grew heavy, but when I would bounce back, things seemed to lighten up. I had a feeling it was because of a certain someone in the crowd. I wasn't allowed anymore breaks because I was winning, and this is how they normally did things. It was to show that the best warriors can fight through anything and still win, which is what I did.

My last fight was with Gus. This is the one I was going to struggle with the most. I wasn't due to his strength but because he became my friend. It was hard for me to accept people into my world, into my life. Some how Gus became my guy here, just like how Ben or Fred would be back at West Paw. Gus was looking at me smiling. His red hair was right in place, compared to the mess I had become. When he walked into the ring, he gave me a bear hug. There was a low growl in the crowd at the sight of this. Gus picked up on this, he seemed to have noticed this the whole day. Gus didn't normally hug me, he knew that it wasn't my style. Before he let go of me, he whispered," I think someone is a tad possessive over you.. his mate." He pulled back laughing. The shock on my face was evident. Did everyone know? I certainly hope not! I shook that thought from my mind and squared up. Gus didn't move a muscle, just continued to laugh. "Damn Aria, you a one tough warrior. Don't get mad, but I'm not fighting you. You will take me down for sure." He looked toward the table, where I didn't allow my eyes all day. "Alpha Enzo, Peter... I am not fighting her. Make room, I'm joining you." Gus left the ring and went to sit at the table, like he belonged there. To say I was shocked, was an understatement! What just happened?