Forty

“I am so not going back there,” Delilah blustered. Her eyes reflected fear and panic, and the heart monitor started to beep loudly. Her heart rate was increasing and her breathing was getting shallower.
“Would you breathe?” said the Boss, exasperated. She turned up the dial on her I.V that injected pain reliever into her blood stream. The medicine kicked in, and her heart rate went back to normal. Her breathing became deeper, like she was about to sleep, and her whole body relaxed.

“I gave you just enough to keep you relaxed and alert without sleeping,” she said.
Delilah gave a slow, small nod.
“You will go back there, and you will go back as Clara. The execution of the next phase of our plan depends on you. You are the one who will keep them on their toes. Alexia still has her suspicions, and we must confirm them.
If all goes well, Hayden would be torn between believing her or believing his mate. That should cause a rift between them. From there, we can strike with our biggest weapon and split the Second Chance mates once and for all,” The Boss explained.

Delilah swallowed and tried to hide the extreme fear that she felt. The thought of going back to the werewolf clan, facing Alexia…that girl had something in her that was powerful and terrifying, and she was afraid that she only tasted the tip of the iceberg.

***

Alexia lay in bed, staring out the window at the moon in the clear night sky. A light wind blew into the room, disturbing the curtains and making her shiver. The lights were not on, but she was aware of the position of every single object in the room. Her ears picked up every rustle, every squeak, every tinkle.

The door of the room opened, and light footsteps pandered in. The lights flicked on, but Alexia didn’t budge from her position on the bed. The bed dipped, and a warm presence covered her. The familiar scent of Hayden’s cologne filled her nostrils, but she was unaffected.

Hayden was puzzled, but he propped himself on one elbow and leaned over her. Alexia’s eyes flicked over his face once, then went back to staring at the moon. He raised one eyebrow and cleared his throat. Her eyes flicked to him again and she wanted to avert her gaze but he gently tilted her head back so she stared him in the eye.

Her gaze was oddly unfocused and disconcerting so he spoke, keeping his eyes on hers, “Alex, babe.” She said nothing.
“Alex. What’s the matter? Why are you this silent?” Again, no reply. His heart started beating a little faster. He sat up and gently brought her up into a sitting position. By herself, she folded her knees under her, and stared at him. Her hair fell around her face in loose, shaggy waves, and she wore only a loose crop top and a pair of shorts.
She cocked her head and smiled wanly, “I don’t want to talk to you, okay. Can you just let me be for a few minutes?”
Hayden was taken aback, “Excuse me?”
“You heard me right. Please leave me alone, thank you,” she repeated. Her jaw was set, and her brows were set stubbornly. Hayden recognised that she wouldn’t budge. He ran a hand through his hair, and the corner of his lips quirked a little.

“You won’t talk, fine. But would you fight?”
Her head whipped to face him, “Fight?”
“Yes, fight. You’ve always boasted that you could take me down, even though I’m an Alpha. I’ll spar with you today, and I won’t take it easy on you,” he offered, standing up to his feet. He looked deadly serious.
“This night?” she said again.
“Yes. Or are you scared, little Lexi?” he taunted. Fire blazed in her eyes at that nickname. Then suddenly, it died out to be replaced by a predatory look. Her eyes turned dark for a second, then returned to their normal hazel colour. Hayden swallowed and she smirked.

Then she smiled brightly and stood up, “Challenge accepted, Alpha.”
Hayden gave a little smile, and walked out of the room not before telling her, “The beach in 20 minutes time.”
“Copy that,” Alexia replied as she poked her head in the wardrobe, searching for a pair of yoga pants.


***
20 minutes later, Hayden and Alexia stood on the beach, their feet firmly planted in the sand. The salty ocean air blew their hair and clothes, and they could hear the roar of water as it crashed against a rocky cliff further away. The moon shone down on them, washing them in its silvery halo, and glistened in a mangata on the surface of the ocean.

Their knuckled were wrapped in tape, and each took a fighting stance.
“Wait,” Hayden suddenly paused, standing up straight, “If you want to stop, or you’re ready to talk, just tell me, okay?” His tone was a little worried.
“Ready when you are, Hayden,” she said in a bored tone.
Hayden sighed and returned to his stance, “Your move, babe.”

With a battle cry, Alexia rushed at him, launching a punch right to his jaw. It landed heavily, and his head snapped to the side. He shuffled backwards and took his stance again. Alexia flew at him with a kick. He raised his forearm to deflect the hit, so she turned and hit him with her second leg.
She threw another punch to his face, but he anticipated it, so he ducked and hit his open palms to her chest. The move was unforeseen, so she sprawled to the ground. Hayden paused, “Are you okay?” She ignored him, then squatted. She tried to kicked his legs from under him but he jumped.
Quickly, she got back to her feet and started launching a series of attacks. Punch, kick, punch, punch, elbow jab, punch, knee kick. Each hit landed its mark until she swivelled to land a hit on his face with her left elbow. Hayden saw his opening and took advantage of it.

Faster than she could blink, he shuffled backwards then grabbed her arm. He twisted it backwards, forcing her to arch back into him.
“Why are you doing this? Just talk to me!” he whispered into her ear. Alexia snarled, then twisted around in his grip by bending and turning. She yanked her arm out of his hold, then landed a kick to the side of his knee. It buckled and he fell to his knees. Just as she wanted to grab his head to smash her knee into his face, he grabbed her waist tightly and rose quickly to his feet.

He hoisted her above his shoulders to slam her back into the sand, but she figured it out and wrapped her thighs around his neck. She forcefully removed his hands from her waist and bent over backwards. With her legs still around his neck, she placed her palms on the ground and flipped him. He sailed through the air to land heavily on his back. He groaned loudly, writhing on the floor.
Alexia rose back to her feet with a somersault, then dusted grains of sand off her hands. she was breathing heavily, and beads of sweat shone on her forehead.

“Ouch. That hurt,” Hayden complained, rubbing his lower back.
“It’s my signature move. Your move.”
“Really? You still wan to continue?” he asked, throwing his hands up in the air.
“Yes.” She replied monotonously.

“Fine.” Hayden took his stance, then attacked with a flying kick. It hit the side of her head. She had barely had time to recover, when he grabbed her shoulders and slammed his knee up into her abdomen. He gave her two punched to the face. He wanted to land another on to her side, but she batted it away and attempted to grab his arm. He weaselled out of her grip, then bent and kicked her legs from under her.

Alexia fell heavily to the ground, and Hayden was upon her. He stradled her, pinning her to the ground between his two strong thighs. His hand held her two arms above her head. He studied her.
Her jaw was sporting a red bruise the size of his fists. She had one black eye, and there were other bruises and contusions on her arms and her abdomen. He gently traced the bruises with his finger, and he stopped when she flinched.
“I’m sorry. Does it hurt?”
She did not reply, instead she glared at him and tried to wiggle out of his grip.
“Stop that,” he chided, “The coarse sand will only give you scratches on your back.” She stopped and huffed.
“Let me go, Hayden,” Alexia said, resigned.

“Promise you’ll tell me what’s going on,” he warned.
“Fine. I’m tired of fighting anyways.” Hayden let go of her wrists, and stood up off her.
She dusted the sand off her, and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, staring at the ocean.
“Hayden, something really bad may happen soon. To you and me.”