58. The Fight

**Third Person’s POV**

Maeve has spent a fair number of full moon nights with the Night Pride Pack, so she knew that it was of great honor and happiness to celebrate the monthly ritual of pack run and gala that followed. But today was not one of those happy, full moon nights.
Today, Xander will have to fight Kade.
Her day began with a thick fog of tight tension woven across her skin and prickled at every opportunity. And once in a while, she shivered at the very thought of Xander putting his life at risk for her.
Maeve gazed around the busy shifters; the men were mostly piqued at the chance of establishing their dominance over another pack while the females engaged in their respective chores with rapt attention. Perhaps, they were also keenly waiting for the fight like their mates.
The Council has decided that the fight would take place on neutral ground, having two dominant alphas going up against each other. Perhaps, it was better, Maeve thought. In this way, she would have an ideal chance to mind-link with Xander and perform the spell to weaken his opponent. Her moral fibre did not care anymore about the right from the wrong — all she wanted was to enable her lover’s winning chance.
When Maeve came into the room, it was as silent as the dark night, except the sun was at its peak outside. Today, she didn’t bother to pull apart the curtain but trained her mind to focus more and more into the depth of her mind. And it was best done in dim darkness.
There was a stirring in her soul, wild anticipation of worst fears and utter helplessness. She could not see what’s beyond it, but she could feel. And it was not a good feeling at all.
A heavy but subdued step echoed, and long before the door opened, she knew of his presence. It wasn’t magic that alerted her, but the deep love she had for Xander that instantly felt his presence before her eyes witnessed.
When Maeve whipped her head, she found him standing right behind her. His firm hand rested on her shoulder as if to lend some of his tenacious strength.
“Xander,” Maeve sighed heavily.
“Shh. It’s going to alright, Maeve,” he soothed long before she expressed her concern. She did not need to, though. Xander loved her enough to see through her pain anyway. “I am going to win this for you and come back home,” he assured. “In fact, we are going to come home together.”
“Promise me?” she beseeched.
“I promise you.”

* * * *

Maeve parted ways with Xander and walked into the deep penetrating woods long before the Elders of the Council gathered at the venue. Obviously, she couldn’t practice magic in the open, which was why she needed to be afar and yet establish the mind link with him. She required her connection to be solid enough to steal Kade’s thoughts too so that she knew precisely when he was about to strike and how.
The mind link and shadow barrier of another wolf was indeed a powerful spell for a newbie witch who could barely hold her focus for one thing. But she has no choice if she wants to see Xander alive.
Maeve couched down on the forest floor and took out the enchanted candles. She settled down and lit them, and that precise moment, a collective howl roared in the distance.
It took every ounce of mental strength to gather her wits and focus. Once she established the link with Xander’s wolf, Maeve watched the event through the animal’s eyes and ears.
“Alpha Kade of the Fire Hound Pack has challenged Alpha Xander of the Night Pride. We are here to witness the strength and power of these leaders as bestowed by the Holy Goddess. May the strongest and bravest win!”
Cheers of the wolves charged and thundered through the air. But it was Maeve who shivered with anxiety.
The pitch-black fur of Kade’s wolf growled, circling slowly. But Xander’s wolf remained where he was, like a true predator who gauged every move of his prey.
*“Now!” Maeve told Xander through their mind link.* Just when Kade leaped through the air, Xander dodged and repositioned. Once he gained his balance, he used all his power to bite down on the other wolf’s limb.
*“Strike before he gets up!” Maeve urged, exasperated. “It’s working!”*
Xander rammed his shoulder against the black wolf again and again until he had knocked him on the ground. It seemed like a small victory to gain the upper hand, but it was all the head-start he needed.
The wolf snarled and bared his teeth as he hauled in a moment of respite. But Maeve knew that it wasn’t. In fact, Kade was about to put his size to his advantage and was getting to spring into action. His wolf might lack fighting skills, but he sure as hell tried to make up for that.
A ferocious growl ripped out of his colossal chest.
His dark, enraged eyes were focused on Xander as he waited with bated breath.
And as against him, Xander was composed, but Maeve saw his wolf’s shield was up. His mind was more alert than he let on to make his opponent believe otherwise.
Maeve shut her eyes, chanting her spells to strengthen the bond between her and Xander. His wolf needed all the strength required, and for that, Maeve has made the link unbreakable.
She did not know how or the kind of power it would require, but her lithe strength was starting to wear thin. She was, after all, a human and a witch. Her supernatural power has no extraordinary physical strength, and that was the reason she needed the flame to turn more vibrant and intense.
“What the hell!” A sharp cry rang out in the air, and Maeve’s focus snapped momentarily. “What are you doing here?”
Fear, rage, and surprise caught her off guard and threw her off the game for a second, but Maeve found her voice.
“Janelle. You should not be here,” she warned. Her voice was firm and low.
“Neither should you,” Janelle screeched, stomping over and stopping a couple of feet away. Her eyes zapped to the candles, emitting unnatural green and red flame, and instantly widened in recognition. “I know this,” she whispered. “…the interchangeable flame. You are a witch!” The accusation did not flinch Maeve as she stood strong in the face of her nemesis.
It was no secret in the world of the werewolf that magic existed among their supernatural clan. But werewolves were not very kind towards it.
Maeve stood her ground and locked eyes with Janelle. Maybe it was the magic singing in her blood or the mark of a werewolf on her neck, but either way, she was far from being bested.
“I am sorry for this,” Maeve said with a deadpan expression and thrust her raised palm. “*Vesperendio.”*
She unleashed a spell of drowning.
And before Janelle could react, she was buckling on the forest floor, doubled over with a choking expression. Her breath turned ragged, lunging burning as she gasped for air.
With her palm still raised in the air, Maeve looked down on her victim with a pained expression. She has never hurt a soul intentionally in her life, even though the world has been pretty cruel to her. And here she was, with the untamed power of her own to torment Janelle. For a split second, she felt terrible and lowered her shields.
Little did she know that split second was going to cost her. And Xander.
“You little bitch,” Janelle snarled as she regained her strength. Without wasting a moment’s breath, she lunged for Maeve, who was quick enough to move away.
“I tried to warn you and your brother, but you left me with no choice, Janelle,” Maeve yelled with rage and cast another spell. A roaring fire burst out, throwing Janelle from her predatory position and seeking shelter behind a tree. “Your brother shouldn’t have forced the Council for the fight. So, he brought this on himself.”
Even though Maeve did tackle her nemesis, her mind link with Xander was growing weaker by the second. She hastened towards the red and green flamed candles, trying to reestablish the bond and weaken Kade’s position. But maintaining two battlefronts was no joke for a novice like her.
The fire spell Maeve cast on Janelle died down as she emerged from behind the tree. “I don’t care who you are or what you are, but you are highly misinformed about shifters,” Janelle gritted, her eyes blazing with fury. “Your bloody spells can only work on us so much.”
A sharp tearing sound exploded, and so did Janelle. In a moment’s blink, she burst out of her skin and transformed into the gigantic black fur wolf. Maeve quickly attempted for a lethal spell, this time, leaving no stone unturned. Except, it wasn’t working.
“Incantaris!” Maeve yelled, splaying her palm but only the leaves rustled around the black wolf. What the hell? Apparently, the aneurism spell doesn’t work on werewolves.
“But you are highly misinformed about shifters.” Janelle’s words floated into her ears, and as if the werewolf could speak, Janelle’s wolf bared her teeth in arrogance.
A menacing howl rippled through the air as the black wolf bared her neck and pounced. For a second, it seemed the beast was going to kill Maeve, but that wasn’t the case.
The wolf landed near the candles and, in a single swipe, smashed them and extinguished the flames. Maeve gasped, feeling the connection between her and Xander snap with such a force that she almost felt the breath leaving her body.
“What the hell have I done!” she exclaimed in horror.
* * * *

***A/N: Hey loves! Thank you for reading. I hope you liked the third person’s POV because it is a little difficult to shift the narration while describing the fighting scene. Please let me know if you would like more third-person POVs.
P.S. You all have a ton of surprises this week! Stay tuned for everyday upload of a new chapter. *