Chapter 40

Kayla & Nicholas

Kayla

The morning sun seeped through the canopy of trees as I jogged along the forest trail, golden shafts spilling across the ground. Leaves crunched under my feet, and the cold morning air filled my lungs. I stretched my arms above my head, feeling the satisfying pull of muscles awakening after a restful night.

Today was the day.

Returning to the clearing near the training grounds, I slowed my pace. Sweat glistened on my skin, and I took a moment to relish the cool breeze against my flushed cheeks.

I hadn’t felt this invigorated in a while. Maybe it was the prospect of putting Nora in her place that added an extra spring to my step.

As I approached the training area, I noticed Nicholas leaning against a wooden post, his gaze fixed in my direction. His eyes traveled unabashedly over me, lingering on the sheen of sweat coating my arms and neck. He didn’t look away, not even when I met his gaze and shot him a withering glare.

Damn womanizer.

“All warmed up?” he asked as I approached.

“Just about. Thought I’d get a head start.”

“Good,” he replied smoothly. “It’s important to be prepared.”

I began stretching, pulling one arm across my chest and then the other. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jade and Emma approaching, Emma practically skipping ahead with her camera prepared to capture the fight in its entirety.

“Front row seats to the showdown of the century!” Jade exclaimed, clapping her hands together as they walked up to us.

Emma grinned, nudging Jade with her elbow. “Do you think Nora’s actually gonna show up?”

“She’ll be here,” Jade replied. “Nora can never miss an opportunity to embarrass herself.”

Nicholas just rolled his eyes, not engaging with the comments. Although I could see the tiniest smirk tugging at his lips that he was clearly trying to hide.

Eventually, a few more wolves gathered around the training grounds, murmuring amongst themselves. I even spotted Noah striding up to us, and it made me glance at Nicholas, wondering if he had really made the effort to inform his old friend about the fight.

Time ticked by, and there was still no sign of Nora. Jade tapped her foot impatiently. “Maybe she chickened out,” she huffed.

I smiled, but a flicker of doubt crossed my mind. Was Nora really going to bail? That would be disappointing, to say the least. I was looking forward to a good spar—and, although I didn’t want to say it out loud, I was looking forward to putting Nora in her place.

Just then, a haughty voice sliced through the chatter. “Apologies for keeping you all waiting.”

I turned to see Nora strutting into the clearing, her pink leggings pristine and her hair perfectly styled in a high ponytail. She looked more ready for a photoshoot than a sparring match. Even her nails looked freshly painted in a ballet pink color.

Who was she trying to impress?

“Looks like you decided to show up after all,” I remarked, feeling a sudden surge of confidence.

She gave me a saccharine smile. “I didn’t bother warming up. This will be over in half a second.”

The surrounding wolves whistled at Nora’s insult, but I was prepared.

“Yeah, it will be,” I shot back. “Your ass will be on the ground in that amount of time.”

At that, laughter erupted from the onlookers. Even Nicholas couldn’t seem to hide the small grin that was tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Nora’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “We’ll see about that.”

We moved to the center of the training grounds, the crowd forming a loose circle around us. Nicholas stepped forward as a makeshift referee.

“Standard sparring rules,” he announced. “First to pin the other wins. No bloodshed. And no shifting.”

Nora tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. “Not that she’d be able to, anyway.”

The onlookers murmured amongst themselves, and Nora’s words cut deeper than I wanted to admit. But I kept my chin lifted, just trying to focus on the fight. She was just trying to throw me off because she knew she couldn’t match me with her strength alone.

“Ready?” Nicholas’s gaze met mine briefly before shifting to Nora.

“Ready,” I affirmed.

“Absolutely,” Nora purred.

“Begin!”

Nora lunged first, quicker than I expected her to. I sidestepped just in time, feeling the rush of air as her fist grazed past my ear. She recovered instantly, spinning around with a high kick aimed at my torso. Blocking it with my forearm, I felt a surprising amount of force behind the blow.

We exchanged kicks and grapples, the sounds of our combat filling the clearing. But something was off. Nora’s movements were erratic, almost wild. Her strength seemed amplified, her strikes far more aggressive than a simple spar.

I dodged another punch, noting the almost feral look in her eyes. Sweat beaded on her forehead, but not from exertion—it was as if she was burning up from the inside.

But I barely had time to notice this, let alone duck before she came at me again, her attacks lacking finesse but strangely packed with more power than I’d expected from her slender build. The crowd murmured, closing in to watch the intense fight. Emma’s camera flashed.

It seemed that I was the only one who noticed that something was off here. Nora was moving faster than any opponent I’d ever faced.

Suddenly, Nora managed to catch me off guard, sweeping my legs out from under me. I hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me.

“Stay down,” she hissed, climbing on top of me and pinning me down. Her eyes flashed with malice, her fangs slipping out. I saw her move toward my throat, right where my mating mark was, as if to… bite me. Hard.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nicholas step forward, his hands clenched into fists. “Nora, that’s enough!” he growled. “I said no bloodshed!”

But before he could intervene, I bucked my hips and rolled to the side. She lost her balance, giving me the opening I needed. Springing to my feet, I delivered a swift jab to her shoulder, unbalancing her further.

She roared in frustration, jumping to her feet and charging at me head-on. Using her momentum against her, I sidestepped and hooked my arm around her neck, leveraging her weight to flip her onto the ground.

A collective gasp rose from the spectators.

Pinning her wrists above her head, I leaned in close. She thrashed beneath me, but her strength was waning. Up close, I could see her pupils blown wide, a wildness in her gaze that seemed unnatural.

“Nora, what did you do?” I whispered, peering into her eyes.

She didn’t answer, only glared up at me with those wide, dark pupils. They were eating up almost the entirety of her irises.

“You took something, didn’t you?” I hissed.

The crowd fell silent. Even Nicholas froze, his eyes widening. Nora stared up at me, her mouth working uselessly. That was all the answer I needed.

I released her, straightening. “Nora took a stimulant,” I said, wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my wrist. I turned to Nicholas and gestured to her. “Take a look at her eyes.”

Nora went pale as Nicholas strode up to her. “N-No, I didn’t—” But it was too late. Nicholas grabbed her face with one hand, pulling her closer, and peered into her eyes. She was helpless against his strength, and had no choice but to let him look.

After a moment, he hissed through his teeth and let go of her, stepping back. “Kayla’s right. Nora, you know you’re not supposed to take stimulants before a sanctioned spar. It’s against the rules.”

“B-But I didn’t—”

The onlookers began to murmur amongst themselves. Jade and Emma, at the forefront, exchanged amused glances as Nora floundered. The evidence was clear: Nora had taken something to help her win the fight. That was why she had been fighting like a rogue.

Nora finally seemed to realize that she had been caught. Tears welled in her eyes before she spun around and bolted from the clearing.

An awkward silence hung in the air before someone started clapping. Then another. Soon, the clearing erupted in cheers.

“Way to go, Kayla!”

“That’s our Luna! Taking down a drugged she-wolf with no wolf of her own!”

Before I knew it, strong arms lifted me onto someone’s shoulders. I laughed in surprise as the crowd began chanting, “Luna! Luna! Luna!”

Faces blurred together, all smiling, all cheering. I hadn’t expected this. Not in the slightest.

Amidst the celebration, my eyes found Nicholas standing a few feet away. He watched me with an unreadable expression, but his eyes were softer than I anticipated them to be.

I couldn’t help but smile as I met that honey-golden gaze.

…

Nicholas

Seeing Kayla’s smile as the wolves lifted her onto their shoulders, chanting, left me feeling more attracted to her than I was ready to acknowledge.

Nora had taken a stimulant to help herself win the fight, and Kayla was already at a disadvantage with no wolf of her own. And yet Kayla had taken Nora down in the end, even exposing Nora’s substance abuse before anyone else, including myself, could notice.

Kayla was a formidable fighter, it seemed. And an even more formidable Luna.

If only she had a wolf; then she very well might be unparalleled.