Lavenia's POV
"Lav, don't be crazy! Your father will punish us if you break the rules like this," Snow said, but as usual, I cut off her mind-link and hurriedly jumped from the balcony down below.
It was a pretty good landing, but my pregnancy eventually took its toll.
For a moment, I froze. Stiffness and cramps spread from my stomach down to my legs, then slowly subsided. I let out a heavy sigh before carefully making my way to the field where the sparring was taking place.
If Damien hadn't cheated, I probably wouldn't have broken Dad's rules. But I couldn't let this slide.
The man he'd chosen to face Rayden was a former beta in our pack. He'd been demoted to a gamma. Dad had once sentenced him to exile for his actions, but Damien defended him, claiming there was never any evidence to support the accusations, so he was forgiven.
However, I knew—and had witnessed—how this scoundrel had tried to defile one of the omegas in the pack mansion. I fought for justice for her, but failed.
My steps took me to the farthest edge of the field, closer to the pack's border. No one would recognize me in this cloak, I thought. But when my gaze fell on Rayden standing at the far end, he returned it, and I was certain he'd managed to track me down here.
Damn!
"You finally showed up," he commented through the mind-link. How could he connect with me? Hadn't I already blocked access? "Don't hide. Stand by my side so I can get fired up to defeat your father's candidates."
I sighed softly before answering, "Defeat them. Then I'll grant you one limited request."
He chuckled. It was clearly audible in my ears and sent a chill down my spine.
"Limited? That's cheating. Fighting like this takes guts and my life, sweetheart. One limited request is nowhere near equal to my sacrifice," he replied.
"Take it or leave it," I retorted, then closed the mind-link access again.
I watched him from a distance; I could see him nodding in agreement while gesturing with his hand, then stepping into the center of the field to face one of Dad's chosen warriors.
Why wasn't Rayden facing that criminal?
I contacted Dad via mind-link to get clarification on all this.
"Dad, didn't Damien choose Dalton as the candidate? Why is someone else fighting Rayden?" I asked.
"How did you find out?" he asked back. "Did you sneak out of your room?"
"If I hadn't done this, I wouldn't have known you were cheating," I replied. "Bring Dalton out and have him fight Rayden right away. Don't you waste his energy just to defend that cheater's wishes!"
"The cheater you mentioned has a name, Lav. And he's your future husband."
"Screw that. I'm going to call off the fight if you guys keep cheating. This is just going to ruin the pack's reputation."
"I trust Damien."
"But—" Dad cut me off. Shit!
There's no way I can contact Rayden to expose Damien's underhanded plan because there's going to be a major fight in the end.
If Dad knows Rayden is a dangerous man, why sacrifice the pack's pride for his beloved future son-in-law? Doesn't he realize he's being played?
In the end, I could only watch anxiously. If they really intend to drain Rayden's strength and make him lose, I hope that never happens.
I hope Rayden wins decisively.
The first round began. Rayden didn't show much of the same aggression displayed by the warrior in front of him. Every time his opponent threw a punch or kick his way, he would easily dodge it.
A single punch from Rayden sent his opponent crashing to the ground. However, he managed to get back up and continue fighting.
The fight seems pretty intense. I've never doubted the abilities of our pack's warriors. They're reliable and agile. Their martial arts skills are almost on par with the betas of other packs. That's what makes our pack one of the strongest in Ravencourt.
I wonder how they'd compare to the packs in Evereth, where Rayden lives.
Rayden's opponent threw a punch, and he dodged it, but the other hand moved too quickly toward him, leaving him no time to block. It was a cut that looked quite deep, judging by the significant amount of blood trickling down.
Rayden grinned, casually wiping the blood from his face, then—without protesting his opponent's unfair use of a weapon—he continued the fight.
This time, he wasn't holding back. Every move was swift and unpredictable. His opponent began to struggle to dodge every kick and punch, and even when our warrior transformed into a wolf, Rayden maintained control over himself.
I think if he were to shapeshift, his opponent would be defeated easily.
Sure enough. After a fierce battle that lasted quite a while, a single punch—one I didn't even have time to see—successfully struck a vital part of our warrior's body. He was sent flying far away and crashed into a large tree in the forest surrounding the field.
Whispers of amazement echoed through the air at Rayden's victory, ending the battle he thought was already over. Unfortunately, just as he was about to step toward me, a whistle stopped him.
"Not so fast, Hoejangnim!" he called out. "Or… should I call you... Ra?"
Rayden turned, clenched his fists, and without waiting, a barrage of attacks came at him; impossible to dodge.
Dalton isn't the strongest, but as a beta, he possesses formidable strength, and even at his current level, his abilities have never waned.
He's one of the dangerous shadow warriors of the Night Howl Pack. Whether it's a Gamma or a new Beta, none can defeat him on the battlefield. This time, Rayden might just lose.
I watched with a sense of unease. Rayden could easily become yet another victim of Dalton's prowess, and I wasn't ready to accept that.
"Lav, don't cheat. Let Rayden show his abilities for your sake. That would be more honorable," said Snow.
"But Dad was the one who cheated first."
"Regardless, remember, Rayden's battle is to compete for the position of your protector. So let him try."
No... Snow is right, but I can't just stand by, especially after Dalton shapeshifted.
Many say he's modified himself through experiments by our scientists. He has iron claws, and I'm not sure if they're just ordinary iron. What if they're poisoned?
I'm no longer paying attention to Rayden, but rather to every move Dalton makes as an attack.
Rayden looked exhausted, but he was tough enough as an alpha of one of the strongest packs in Evereth. However, I couldn't help myself when I saw Dalton's wolf extend a single sharp claw among his others.
Time and again, Rayden nearly got slashed by his opponent's claws, but he managed to dodge and strike back.
Victory clearly belonged to Rayden. However, one act of treachery ruined everything.
In a position no one could have anticipated—not even Dad, the judge—Dalton aimed one of his long claws at Rayden's chest as he lunged for Dalton's head.
That sharp claw was surely poisoned. I couldn't let this happen.
If I warned Rayden, it would be tantamount to cheating. However, it would be a different story if I were the one to prevent Dalton from defeating him.
I darted forward just as the gleaming object nearly struck Rayden's chest. I pushed him out of the way.
Unfortunately, I didn't anticipate that Dalton's movement would change course, and unexpectedly, that sharp, gleaming object struck true, leaving a long gash around the chest.
Rayden and I fell to the ground, trying to get up, but slowly everything grew blurry.
"Lavenia!" That was Rayden's voice. Is he okay?
I grimaced, groaning as unbearable pain, accompanied by a burning sensation, surged through my chest. My vision began to blur as the sounds around me seemed to fade.
... and slowly, everything turned dark.