23. Tricks

I wake up at the sound of someone yelling at me.

My head was hurting so bad that I thought it would explode any second.

"Amaya! Amaya, wake up!"

I open my eyes to see a crying Anna next to me, trying to help me up.

"She is here! Come and give me a hand!" she shouts again, making me frown.

"Amaya, what happened?"

"I don't know! I was walking around, and then something pricked my skin, and I fainted."

"That bitch!" we said at the same time.

"It must have been Bianca. Otherwise, who will do this?" Anna said, fuming.

"Amaya, daughter! Are you alright?"

I look at my father's worried face, and I hug him without a word.

"Come, let's take you home. We can postpone the fight till you recover."

"No! I will fight today! What kind of Queen or Alpha will I be if I run away from my fights?"

"But you don't know what happened! At least let someone check you. What if they injected you with wolfsbane or something else to make you weak?"

"Well, if they did, they would have a surprise! I am immune to wolfsbane. Not completely immune, but I will not die because of it, trust me!"

Their eyes widened, but they didn't say anything else.

"Come on! I need a hot shower now and some food. I'm starving. Again!" I said and started laughing.

"Oh, Amaya! You are something indeed!" Anna said, grabbing my hand.

I was in the shower, enjoying the shooting sensation of the hot water caressing my skin, when I heard the door burst open.

"Amaya! He is back! Leon is here!"

I jump out of the shower and wrap a towel around me, then run to get dressed, almost slipping on the wet floor.

"Oh! Thanks, God, he came back before the fight!

I have fewer things to worry about now! Where is he? Did he bring his Mate as well?" I ask with enthusiasm without realising that Anna can be hurt.

"They should be downstairs by now," she said with a small smile, but I knew she was hurt.

"Oh, Anna! I'm sorry! But no worries, as I heard there can be a second chance, Mate." I said, trying to make her forget about this matter for a while.

"Yeah, I know! But not everyone gets that."

"Anna, look! I'm sure the Moon Goddess will not allow you to live alone and sad. So keep your head up, as your time will come soon!" I said, kissing her cheek.

"Thank you, Amaya!"

I get dressed quickly and run downstairs. There are still three more hours till the fight, so I have enough time to congratulate Leon and his Mate.

"Leon! You are back!" I shout, running towards him with my open arms.

I see him hesitate a bit, so I stop.

He scratches the back of his head and gives me a small smile. I knew he didn't want to upset his Mate, so I smiled back at him before turning to the beautiful blonde next to him.

"Hi! I'm Amaya! Nice to meet you!" I said, holding my hand for her to shake.

"Umm... hi! The pleasure is mine, Alpha. I'm Cora." she said in a low voice, avoiding my eyes.

"I like you already, Cora! But please call me Amaya when it is just us." I said even if I felt that there was something off about her.

She nods her head before we get to the table to have some food.

"So? I heard that Bianca had challenged you, uh?" Leon asks.

"Yeah, she did. But do not worry about this now."

"Amaya, I... I will get your fighting clothes ready. It is already late." Anna said, looking away.

I knew this was not the real reason, but I could not ask her to stay with us, learning how painful this might be for her. So I nod my head.

"I will be there in a few, Anna! Thank you!"

She smiled at me and left the room.

After about twenty minutes more of chatting with Leon, as Cora didn't seem to like talking too much, I finally got up and went to my room.

The clothes were on the bed along with a piece of paper.

"Please forgive me, Amaya! But I couldn't stay there and watch how happy they were. I needed some fresh air, so I just went for a run. I promise to be back before your fight starts."

'Oh, poor Anna!' Ivy said.

'Indeed. By the way, do you know anything about this challenge?'

'Well, I know that you are not allowed to cheat in any way. So you will not be able to use your ability to control water. You can fight in human or wolf form! The ex Alpha will decide this. And I think this is all.'

'Ok! Now let's beat her ass.'

I went to the training area and found all of the pack members gathered around.

They all greeted me when I walked toward the middle of the circle. Bianca was already there, with the giant smirk I ever saw on her face.

"Finally, the Queen is here."

"Bianca! Be silent!" my father shouts, making her cringe.

"Today, your Alpha will fight her challenger. It will be a human form fight. No tricks, no powers, now weapons! If any of you break the rules, the punishment will be death. You can kill your opponent or let him live, but in that case, he will be cast out of this pack! Am I clear?" My father's voice boomed.

We both nod our heads.

"Now fight!"

I got in a fighting position, and she did the same before she started running towards me.

'So she is a brave one! Good!' Ivy said in my head.

I kept my ground, and when she was just about to land a full-blown on me, I stepped aside.

She attacked me again, managing to scratch my arm.

'That's it! Lend me some strength, Ivy!'

She chuckled in my head.

I ran towards Bianca and lifted my left leg like I was about to hit her in the head.

Exactly how I expected, she leans to my right and meets my fist.

Blood comes out of her mouth, and she spits it out.

"This is it! I am going to kill you!" she yells, and I see her take out a device from her pocket.