Chapter 30: One on One

Zander POV

Maurice’s threat didn’t intimidate me. No way did he mean it. The man was a coward who didn’t have the guts to tell his pack the horrible crime he committed. His words meant nothing to me. Maurice needed someone to put him in his place.

I looked at Maurice and scoffed, “You don’t scare us. Those are just empty words from a weak Alpha. You won’t act on your words.” I added, “Besides, you’re outnumbered. You can’t beat us.”

Maurice bitterly replied, “How about this? Why don’t you fight me one on one to the death? That will prove who is the better wolf.”

Cleo swallowed and looked at me with worry. I understood her concern for me, but I knew I could handle fighting Maurice. I trained for years, and I am an extremely skilled fighter. She didn’t need to worry.

Maurice was a coward for wanting a one on one fight. A true Alpha would fight us both at the same time. I smelled fear coming from him.

“You don’t have to do this. He’s an Alpha. This won’t be like training at the Full Moon pack. Don’t try to prove yourself to him. It’s not worth it,” Cleo pleaded.

I gave Cleo a sad look and said, “I have to accept his challenge. He’s majorly pissed me off and offended my honor. I have to take this son of a bitch down!”

Cleo let a tear escape and held onto me while begging. “Please don’t do this. You don’t want to do this. I want you to live. I need you.”

“I’m sorry Cleo. I’ve got to do this. But I would never leave you. I’ll win.”

I turned to face Maurice and said, “I accept your challenge. But I wish to fight as a wolf. If you’re really an Alpha, this will prove it.”

“Fine. I accept your terms."

Maurice shifted quickly and snarled when he was done with his transformation. I glanced at Cleo one more time.

I shifted faster than I ever had. Adrenaline ran through my body as I shifted. I barely felt my bones changing into a wolf structure.

I thought positive thoughts. No way would I leave Cleo. I wanted to by her side for a long time and be able to kiss her soft and sweet lips again.

Cleo moved a good distance away from us. That seemed like a good idea. Who knew if Maurice would suddenly go after her? She could defend herself, but I hoped he wouldn’t think to harm her. Maurice going against his word would make me want to rip his throat out.

I would try to protect Cleo if it came to that. She didn’t deserve to get involved in this.

Maurice lunged at me and tried to bite my neck, but I sprinted away from him. He chased after me while baring his teeth and snarling aggressively. His wolf form was even more revolting than his human form. He had a nasty scar on his left side.

I circled back around and tried to take down his left flank. Maurice gave a low growl to me and dodged the attempted attack.

Suddenly, Maurice caught me off guard and bit into my shoulder hard. I howled out in pain and tried to toss him off me. He had a strong hold on my shoulder. I felt a warm liquid dripping from my shoulder.

I tried to roll Maurice off of me by moving us to the ground. He fell from my shoulder and snarled at me loudly.

Cleo watched us from the distance with incredible intensity. I looked at her briefly before running towards Maurice.

I attempted to sink my teeth into his flank and held on tightly. He tried running to throw me off of him, but I didn’t plan on letting go. I kept holding on and didn't plan on letting go. He seemed to be getting angrier and growled.

Seconds later, he managed to toss me away from his body.

Maurice didn’t wait until I stood up again and tried to claw at my face. I narrowly missed his claws scratching near my eye. I didn’t want a scar on my human face later.

He wanted to pin me down, and I struggled against his heavier weight on my body. I tried to nip at his ear that was close to me and started tugging on it. He let out a howl of pain, and I escaped his hold.

Being around Cleo gave me more strength. I was glad for her presence helping me out for the fight. Ironically, it was Maurice’s fault that his mate was gone forever. He deserved to lose. I had been waiting for this day for years.

I ran a good distance away from Maurice and kept looking back at him. He sprinted towards me at full speed and bared his teeth.

Maurice struck me with his big paws and made me stumble. Then he viciously bit into my flank and caused me to fall down.

I struggled to get up, but then he set his paws over my side and pinned me down hard. Maurice bit aggressively on my neck and held his teeth there. I knew he wanted to rip my throat out and was trying to. Blood dripped down my throat and felt sickeningly warm.

Strength was draining from me. Blood kept coming down my shoulder as he started trying to tear my flesh.
I had never felt so much pain in my life before. I was sure I had already lost a decent amount of blood too.

It wasn’t going to be fun if I got back to human form. Part of me wondered if I’d survive the fight. This was the most intense one I’d ever been in. Maurice didn’t fight fair.

He kept his paws pinned down on me and stomped down hard. I let out a weak whine.

Maurice had me in a bad position. He was going to kill me if I couldn’t escape his attack.

Suddenly, I heard another wolf howl. I knew it was Cleo. She had come to save me. I should’ve known she couldn’t just stand by and watch.

Cleo attacked Maurice and made him lose his hold on me. Her teeth were trying to tear into his shoulder. Blood dripped down Maurice’s shoulder, and she held on tightly. Maurice tried to toss her away. I slowly got up and wanted to help take down Maurice. I latched onto his flank and bit as hard as I could.