The Alpha Weredragon's Favorite
CHAPTER 105 – A Bitter Twist

Ryan

I was seated on the stage, the cool wind slipping fingers into everyone's hair. and tossing it about. The day dawned with long clouds streaked with lines of purple, pink and brilliant orange. Shelia Timber, in a gray plaid suit that matched her cold eyes, addressed the last ten contestants standing. The crowd held their breath, the air thick with anticipation.

I rested easy in my chair, arms crossed, as Shelia Timber's voice rang out over the assembled crowd. "Welcome to the final trial of the Luna competition. Our brave participants will face each other in a battle of strength, skill, and wit." The crowd erupted into raucous cheers and applause, their excitement a living thing in the crisp morning air. I watched Shelia, noting the way her steely eyes swept over the contestants, appraising each one with a critical gaze. She stood tall and imposing, her gray plaid suit a stark contrast to the vibrant hues of the sunrise behind her.

As the noise began to die down, Shelia waited patiently, allowing the anticipation to build before she continued her speech. I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, knowing that this final trial would determine the fate of not only the contestants but also the future of our pack as well as my own.

Ours.

My eyes drifted to Lyra, standing among the other participants, and I silently hoped that she would emerge victorious, for both our sake.

"And now, for the twist," Shelia continued, smirking at the audience. "Participants, you have a choice. You can fight in your human form, or... You can fight as a wolf."

My heart raced as I started up out of my chair. This was not what the committee had agreed to months ago, long before Lyra even came into the picture. The crowd gasped, and whispers echoed through the audience. As I marched towards Shelia, she turned to me with a beatific smile as if she were damn happy to make one particular contestant nervous and afraid. "Alpha Thornton? What's wrong? You look upset for some reason." Killian joined me on stage, a hand on my arm. He must have some sort of mojo for calming me down, as half a second earlier, I had the intent of ripping Shelia's throat open in front of the Moon Goddess and everyone. "I did not agree to the contestants fighting in wolf form."

"Oh, but Alpha," Shelia's voice dripped with false sweetness, "that was for the committee to ultimately decide, was it not?"

It was. And we both damn well knew it.

Didn't mean that I would tolerate it. I opened my mouth to speak, to tell Shelia that as her Alpha, she and her spineless husband, also a committee member who wouldn't look me in the eye along with the three others on stage, were banished from my pack. My dragon would sort them out as they fled through the forest.

I didn't get the chance. Killian stepped in front of me, his tone so low and deadly that even I, the Alpha, twitched a little at the sheer power radiating from him. "Your actions here today will have consequences, Shelia. Mark my words." His voice was like a rumble of distant thunder, promising a storm that would shake the very foundations of our world.

Shelia looked utterly taken aback at being addressed by her idol in such a way, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. She remained speechless, her usually sharp tongue rendered useless in the face of Killian's quiet fury. I watched as Killian leaned in close to me, his breath tickling my ear as he whispered, "Lyra will be fine, Ryan. The White Wolf will not desert her at such a crucial time. Your unwavering faith in her is just as important as Lyra believing in her own strength. She draws courage from your belief, even if she doesn't realize it yet."

Reluctantly, I nodded and walked back to my seat, my eyes finding Lyra's brilliant green ones. She lifted her chin and damn me if she didn't wink.

She had this. For some reason, she had this.

In a shaky voice, Shelia warbled, "You all have been given numbers and will fight in order. The last two standing will face off after a short rest. You may begin."

The crowd roared as the contestants began to shift and a symphony of snarls and yelps filled the space as fur flew and claws slashed the air in a show of deadly precision.

The first round of fighting was brutal. Blood flowed, fur flew and the whines of the injured filled the air. The first fight between two evenly matched she-wolves had the crowd in awe as they tore at each other with ferocity, their movements fluid and deadly. That ended when neither could lift their paws or their snouts from the dirt. hey were carted off, in their human forms, both gravely wounded. One managed to say as she was loaded onto a gurney, "Bitch won't ever use my curling iron again, watch. I tore all the hair off her damn head."

Several laughs erupted. That was the nature of a wolf, protect their own and what was theirs.

The next fight was between Brittany and a wolf called Justine. Brittany, a massive auburn wolf, circled Justine, a smaller dark wolf, their movements mirroring each other. Snarls erupted from their throats like thunder, punctuating the tension that crackled between them.

In a sudden blur of motion, Brittany lunged forward, her jaws snapping shut just inches from Justine's throat. Justine leaped aside with lightning speed, narrowly avoiding the attack.

The two wolves circled each other warily, their eyes locked in a silent battle of wills. With a guttural growl, Brittany launched herself at Justine once more, her form hurtling through the air like a force of nature. Justine dodged his attack with graceful agility, her movements fluid and effortless as she evaded her every strike.

This went on for several minutes with neither wolf landing a solid hit against their opponent.

The crowd grew restless, some even started to shuffle their feet or complain to each other in loud voices.

"What is going on? A dance or a fight?"

"I've seen better battles on the playground than what those two are doing?"

"Looks scripted to me."

"Break it up already before someone gets a paper cut."

That earned even more laughter than the she-wolf protecting her curling iron.

It wasn't easy to tell as she was in wolf form, but I swear I saw Brittany blush with embarrassment. It seems her friends had gotten together and to help Brittany along much as I helped Lyra. I even heard Seraphina, a she-wolf with more brain than she knew what to do with, had a hand in almost taking Lyra down in a heart-stopping game of Lycaneer. It seemed Justine was also in on it as with one weak-ass swipe she lay panting on the ground, yielding to Brittany with her belly up.

Pathetic.

Two more wolves strutted into their clearing, their fight lasted all of twenty seconds when they both charged at each other and hit their heads like raging bulls, knocking each other out cold.

One she-wolf, claimed she couldn't fight because she had hurt her arm tripping over a rock on the way to the clearing. It did indeed have a nasty bruise, but what was even more telling was that she was a card-carrying member of Brittany's clique.

Next up was Lyra, who, through luck of the draw, would now have to fight two wolves instead of one.

Even I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen next.