Thirty-five

“Now, I am ready.”

“So am I, darling.”

Delilah swung her arm backwards, her hand balled into a fist. It came rushing at Alexia's face, and a slight gloating expression reflected on her face when she saw Alexia was unmoving.

Suddenly, everything went into slow motion like earlier, but this time, it was more intense. Her eyesight was sharp, and she could see everything in great detail, from the way individual strands of hair moved on Delilah’s head, to the rippling of the air as her fist cut through it.

She could see all the flexing muscles in Delilah’s hands and face; the microexpressions on her face as each tiny muscle adjusted to show what she was feeling.

Her ears were filled with white noise, and at the same time, she could hear very clearly. The sounds of battle far away from them, Hayden’s majestic and angry growl, the rustling of the sand particles as her feet shifted.

Delilah’s hand almost connected with her face when she swayed backwards, avoiding the fist by a sliver of air. It sailed through the air, and Alexia smirked when she saw the expression on her opponent shift from gloating to confused.

“My turn,” Alexia whispered.

Her fist plowed into Delilah’s abdomen, sending her sprawling to the ground. The expression of shock on her face was laughable, so Alexia smiled.

“Told you I’ve been training. Get up darling, we have only just begun.”

Delila snarled in rage and scrambled to her feet. She took up a fighting stance and smirked, “Buckle up, buttercup. That was a lucky shot.”

Alexia rolled her eyes and examined her nails nonchalantly, “Really, plum chums?”

Her opponent roared and rushed at her with a raised fist, aiming for her face, yet again. This time, Alexia grabbed her fist and subdued it with no effort.

Delilah raised the second fist and she grabbed it with her other hand. Then, Alexia yanked her opponent’s arm, forcing her downwards towards her knee. Then, she raised her knee up and smacked it into her jaw. Then she let go of her arms.

“Do you still wanna do this, Delilah? I told you, I’ve gotten better,” Alexia said, crouching to her opponent’s level.

She was panting heavily, rubbing her jaw. Then she stood up and cracked a smile, “I must say, Alexia. You have gotten better. I underestimated you. Let’s try this again.”

Alexia shrugged, noncommittal, “Ready when you are.”

With a battle cry, Delilah rushed at Alexia who swerved, and grabbed her outstretched arm. Then, she jammed her elbow into her face, swung her around and kicked her in the chest just as she let go of her arm. Delilah went sprawling again.

Alexia was furious. Anger burned in her eyes and radiated off her in waves. It contributed to her hyper-alertness and no substance moved in the air without her awareness. She grabbed her by the hair, raised her up and smacked her across the face.

The muscles in her arms strained and popped as she raised her up to her eye-level. Delilah struggled and grabbed at Alexia’s fist, but try as she might, she could not get her to release her grip.

“I have waited all my life for this moment, and I will make sure to savour it. And uhm…yeah. I can sense you trying to use your charms. They won’t work. I’m immune to them,” Alexia explained. Then she let go of Delilah’s hair and she dropped to the ground.

“Let’s make it a fair fight. But this time, I will attack.”

Alexia caught the brief expression of fear on Delilah’s face, right before the side of her booted feet smacked into it.


***

“No, you won’t. Not unless you want to hear what I have to say about Helena.”

Hayden growled and swung his fist towards his opponent’s face. He swatted it away, and hit Hayden’s chest with both hands. The force of the blow sent Hayden sprawling backwards, collapsing to the floor. Then, he stepped on his chest and bent to look him in the eye.

“My name is Ken, and you will listen to me,” Ken said.

Hayden struggled under Ken’s feet but he could not shake him off. His red eyes bore into Hayden’s blue eyes, and something seemed to flash in them. Hayden was stunned, and Ken smirked.

“You…you’re a demon,” Hayden stuttered.

“Now you’re getting it,” he said in a patronizing voice. Hayden clenched his jaw and his eyes went out of focus. Ken chuckled.

“You can’t mindlink your subjects, Alpha. Look around you. Although you’re winning; quite impressive if I do say so myself, does it look like they notice you…us…our little bubble here?”

Hayden turned his neck around and took a survey. Like his attacker said, the battle was going on in earnest and it looked like the wolves were putting up a fierce fight and winning, but nobody, not even the attackers, were aware of him and Ken.

The battle just kept bypassing the area that they were without thinking twice about the obstruction.

His mind was silent, and only white noise seemed to fill it. Then his heart skipped a beat as he felt another’s pain. His mate. Ken smiled when he saw the urgent and concerned look on his face.

“You felt something?” he asked rhetorically, “That must be Delilah. She has an old axe to grind with your mate…your new mate, that is.”

Suddenly, it was all too much. Hayden couldn’t take it anymore. He shifted. His bones popped, twisted and re-aligned. His skin stretched, darkened and fur grew out of it. His ears got bigger, and his face pushed forward to form a snout. He was the Alpha wolf.

He growled, showing off deadly canines. His giant paw stomped the ground, then he began to prance around Ken. Then, Ken’s voice sounded in his head.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Wolfie boy,” he chuckled sarcastically.

“Only Alexia gets to call me that, so shut up,” replied Hayden, “What do you want from me? Obviously, you’re not here for the battle. Our forces have overwhelmed you; you are losing. Did you bring your squad on a suicide mission? What is your aim?”

“We came here for you and your mate.”

In a flash, Ken rushed at him and grabbed his head. His gaze bored into Hayden’s eyes and mind, forcing him to shift. He continued to dwell in his mind, digging up old memories and buried feelings. Then he hit the jackpot. He found what he was looking for in Hayden’s mind, buried so deep it was almost non-existent.

“Bingo!” he said and brought it up, forcing Hayden to feel it. It was the last thread of his mate's bond with Helena. It was very weak, but it was in his mind, pulsing.

It came with a lot of pain and Hayden fell weakly to his knees, clutching at his chest.

“You feel that, right? Yes, I’m sure you do. That is your mate's bond with Helena. In werewolf tradition, as long as the mate bond is still alive, your mate is still alive, right?”

“That cannot be true. It is not true,” Hayden muttered. Then he struggled to his feet, “You are the one doing this to me. It’s you!” he growled.

Ken transformed into the small wiry man with the shaky voice, “Is it? Is it really?”

He shapeshifted again to his normal form and grasped Hayden’s head with both hands. He bored into his mind again then let him go.

Noise filled Hayden’s head, and he could not discern anything. He screamed in frustration. Suddenly, one voice rose above the noise.

“Hayden. Hayden, why didn’t you come for me? You felt my pain, right? I thought you were my mate. Why didn’t you come for me?” Helena’s voice lamented softly in his head.

Her face filled his mind and all he saw was her short blond hair rustling in the wind, and her sad green eyes, with tears shining in them.

“Helena…it wasn’t like that…I never meant to…to…I tried my best…” he stammered as if she was right there.

Her voice suddenly turned malicious, echoing loudly in his head, “Why didn’t you come for me? Why did you replace me? Is she better than me? Why, Hayden, why?”

“Stop! Make it stop, please! She’s not alive! I felt her die! Just stop, please!” Hayden yelled, tears streaming from his eyes.

Ken tutted, watching him writhe in pain, “Hm, I really wish I could help you, but I’m not in control. But wait, even if I could, I don’t want to. I enjoy seeing you in pain.

Ken clicked his fingers, and the bubble around them seemed to dissolve.

“Retreat!” he yelled. In that instant, every of his soldiers stopped fighting and started rushing towards the boundary of the clan.

This sudden action left the wolves confused, but some of them were smart enough to keep shooting.

He was the last to leave the battlefield. He watched Hayden, still curled up on the floor, face twisted in pain, eyes shedding tears.

“I’ll be seeing you, Alpha.”