Theo took a deep breath, letting the cool forest air fill his lungs. He was kneeling inside the ancient stone ring where all major pack events took place. He could feel the power radiating from the stones around him, as well as from the pack that has all gathered in the raised benches off to the side. His wolf prowled close to the surface though he doubted that he would have to call on him tonight. Many of the wolves fought in human form. It was such a common occurrence, that many believed it was an unspoken rule to not shift. Still, Nick, the male Beta that challenged him was vicious, and Theo wouldn't be surprised if he did shift. He took another deep breath and a smile wormed its way onto his face. He slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at the benches. There, in the front row, sandwiched between Becca and Cody, was his woman, a smile just for him on her face. She sat with her back straight, and an air of confidence about her. Despite their banter earlier, he knew she believed in him.
His wolf preened under her gaze, and Theo found himself excited for the fights, even if it was only to show off to his mate. He caught his train of thought and slammed the breaks. It would be no good thinking like that. True, he was good, but Bruin was also good. He gave his head a small shake to clear it and went back to focusing on the natural rhythm and power that swirled around this place. He only stirred again, rising to his feet, when he heard Brett begin to speak.
"Tonight, 4 challenges have been issued against Theo, Lead beta and second in command of the Pack. All four will be held tonight, the first up will be Bruin, fourth in command, followed by Wiles an unplaced adult, followed by Nick, ninth in command, and ending with Annie, Lead female beta, tenth in command." Brett then motioned to Bruin who stepped forward, wearing only a pair of old shorts. Theo chuckled and shook his head while Bruin smiled back.
"I'm looking forward to beating your ass, Pup,"
"Bring it on, Old Man," Theo taunted back as they began circling one another waiting for the signal from Brett.
Karen leaned close to Becca as she watched the banter, "How much older is Bruin?" she asked softly, as she eyed the large wolf. Becca snorted and Cody laughed.
"They are only a month apart," he said leaning in close to Karen, "They've been acting like that since they first met,"
"Ah," Karen said with a smile and was about to say something else when suddenly the two wolves converged. The fights had started.
The signal from Brett has been barely visible, but both men saw it and attacked. Bruin got the first hit, a solid jab to the ribs, but it didn't faze Theo in the least. They quickly broke apart and circled again. Theo carefully keeping his eyes open for any weaknesses. Bruin lunged again and Theo dodged to the left, planting a quick jab to Bruins open side. Bruin grunted and turned, staggering to keep his balance. The next one to lunge was Theo, he faked to the left and landed a hard solid blow to Bruins right thigh. Bruin growled softly and attached again. This time it was a fury of fists. Theo dodged what he could and took what he couldn't, throwing his own punches and kicks right back. As the fight progressed, the punches grew harder, and soon the sound of flesh hitting flesh turned into snapping bones.
Karen sat in her seat, awestruck. Theo moved with such grace and fluidity it was hard to seem him as a man. The fight was face-paced and hard, each snap of a bone made her cringe though she never looked away. Her gut clenched on one particularly hard hit from Bruin, which busted Theo's nose and caused blood to flow freely.
"Easy," a gentle voice said in her ear, and she looked up at Cody, who had placed a hand on her shoulder. " They'll be fine, to be honest, they are holding back, this is more like hardcore warm up than anything," he gave her a small smile and she settled back down into her seat, unaware that she had been in the process of rising. "I know it's hard, but you need to remain stoic, unaffected by the injuries Theo sustains. The pack is also watching how you react to the fight as well, if his mate is worried, then they will be worried. Do you see what I mean?"
Karen swallowed and smiled back at him, " Yeah, I do. Thanks, Cody,"
"anytime, and if you need to, you can borrow some of my emotions. I've been to tons of these things,"
Karen started and looked at him in shock, "How did you..." she trailed off
"Theo went and did research on your kind when you first got here. He came back and told us about what he found. He said that not only can you control others emotions, you can also siphon them into yourself,"
Karen simply nodded, unable to form a reply. Part of her was annoyed that Theo discussed her to others, but she also understood why he did. She hadn't been willing to talk to him at all when he got back and he needed to talk to someone. The other part was grateful to Cody, for offering his help. Not many are so free with their emotions. She shot him a small smile. "Thank you, I doubt I will need to, but it is nice to know you're willing to help if I should"
Cody only nodded his focus back on the match. And just as suddenly as it began, it was over. Somehow, Theo had flipped Bruin on the ground and had him pinned, a hand holding his neck to the ground.
"Do you yield?" Theo's voice was strong as it echoed around the gathering. Karen couldn't help the shiver that went down her spine, or the smile that shaped her features as her Spyrim-half practically rolled around in ecstasy.
Bruin smiled and lifted his chin, "I yield,"
Theo quickly jumped off of him and helped him to his feet. "That was fun, we need to spar more often,"
Bruin laughed, which caused him to cough and spit out some blood. "Yeah, though maybe next time you can pull the face shots a little? I'd like to keep all my teeth,"
They both laughed as they made their way over to Becca, who had moved from the stands to the side and set up a medical area. She went to work, quickly looking over Theo.
"Nothing too serious, broken nose but it set wrong. Hold still,"
Theo groaned and glared at Bruin, "Find next time we'll pull the face shots,"
Bruin simply laughed as Theo grunted in pain while Becca re-broke his nose and straightened it out.
"Drink this," she commanded to Theo as she turned her attention to Bruin, who was a little worse for wear.
Theo chugged the foul tasting liquid, as he made his way over to Karen. His heart took a stutter step when she turned to him with a beaming smile.
"You were pretty great out there," she said, immediately leaning on him as he took Becca's empty seat.
"Yeah I know," he said with a cocky grin that turned into a grimace as he finished the drink.
Karen took the cup and sniffed it, immediately holding it away from her and scrunching up her face as both Cody and Theo laughed.
"Good lord!" she exclaimed as she coughed from the smell, "What the hell is that?"
"It's Krocic," Theo said, gently taking the cup away from her and setting in on the ground. "It's a special drink that helps heal internal injuries and restores the drinker back to tip-top fighting shape. It's only given to those who are about to battle or who are fighting for their place in the pack. I get it because it wouldn't be fair to have me slowly worn down over the evening. Then the last person would have the best chance. So they each get me at peak performance, " he ended with wiggling his eyebrows
"Psssh," Karen answered, even though she was deeply intrigued by the drink, "I could restore you back to tip-top shape without some nasty smelling gunk,"
"Oh yeah?" Theo said, his eyes gleaming with mischief,
"Yeah," Karen whispered gently placing her faintly glowing hand on his, but he quickly pulled his hand away.
