Chapter 26

ALEXIS

Everyone was quiet as Hudson stepped into the circle and whipped his shirt off. He rolled his shoulders and gave Matthew an expectant look.

While everyone was shocked because their Alpha was challenging someone, I was just staring at him like a deer in the headlights. My wolf was licking her snout at his shirtless being as if she wasn't worried about fighting him.

I may have trained to be an Alpha, but I wasn't ready to fight one of the strongest Alphas in the nation.

"What do you say, Fruit Loop?"

It took me a minute to realize that Hudson was talking to me.

"Fruit Loop?" I asked incredulously. Were we going to be giving each other cringe-worthy names now? Not that that was a problem since I had a ton of icky names that I could give him, but still.

"Mhmm, got a problem?"

I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail and gave him a sweet smile, "Not at all, Kit Kat."

The smirk was wiped from his face as he narrowed his eyes.

"Um," Matthew trailed off awkwardly, watching our exchange, "Alexis are you up for another duel?"

I nodded and he sighed, "Okay, well move to the edge of the ring both of you."

When we were in position, Matthew cleared his throat and gave us both pointed looks, "You two aren't mates in this ring. You are enem–"

"Mattie boy, we get the point. Just skip to the fight, " Boston said, watching us gleefully. This whole ordeal seemed to be entertainment for everyone around us. I saw Lucy watching from the sidelines with a smirk on her face. She gave me a thumbs up and punched a fist into her hand as if to say 'beat him up'.

Matthew rolled his eyes, "Fighters in position. Set."

The two of us straightened and started examining each other's position.

"Fight."

The word had barely left Matthew's mouth, but Hudson was already a few inches away from me, lunging towards me with a determined look. I quickly dodged him and moved to the other end of the ring to buy me some time as he tried to judge my next move.

I realized that I couldn't exactly wing it because Hudson could squash me like a bug if I didn't come up with a plan and fast. I needed to figure out his weakness.

His balls.

I mentally frowned at my wolf's advice. If anything, he would protect his crotch the most because he knew that that was the weakest and most accessible area to me. Going for that was a lost cause.

My wolf paced in my head as I blocked a few punches and tried to get one or two in myself.

Any other ideas?

Quick, name an area he's sensitive in that you've touched while kissing.

His sacrum.

His what? You just said his dick was out of the equation.

It's not his dick. It's near the end of his spine like right above his butt.

How'd your hands end up there? You should have gone lower.

Is that really important right now? All you need to know is that he shudders when I touch that spot.

Okay, go with that. Remember, this isn't a fight of skill for you, it's a fight of seduction.

I didn't have time to react to my wolf's statement because Hudson nailed me in my shoulder, making me fall on my back. There was a victorious gleam in his eyes as he lunged forward to grab my throat.

However, I did a backward somersault and moved away just in time so he landed in the dirt unceremoniously. I scrambled to my feet and tried to circle around him, but he was quick to pull me back to the ground with my ankle.

The problem with this fight was that Hudson was very quick on his feet. He didn't miss a beat after he got hit or stumbled, which made it harder for me to get to that sensitive spot of his.

He scrambled to get on top of me, which I allowed because I figured it would be easier to get to his back. I started squirming underneath him and digging my claws into his wrists so he wasn't able to get to my neck, and I managed to wrap my legs around his waist.

This was perfect. I lifted my foot and slammed my heel right into his sacrum. His face contorted with pain, making my heart ache a little at the sight.

However, what I didn't expect was that his pelvic area would thrust right against mine, causing a wave of desire to rush through me at the friction.

We both froze in shock for a moment before he quickly slammed my hands above my head with his left one and grabbed my throat with the right one.

I wanted to face-palm because my plan backfired, but I ended up blushing because of the look on Hudson's face. He got up and tugged me up with him before cupping my cheeks and kissing my forehead. The people around us suddenly broke into applause and wolf whistles, startling the two of us as we pulled apart and looked at Matthew.

To my surprise, he gave me a small smile, before saying, "Alpha Hudson is the winner!"

The wolf whistles got even louder, and Hudson chuckled, kissing the side of my head.

"Good job, you have very good defense. I almost had a hard time trying to get a punch in," he said, burying his nose in my hair. I felt his wolf bursting with pride through the mate bond, making me smile.

"Thanks. You did great too."

He seemed ready to say something else, but Lucy walked over and pulled me in for a quick hug. She gave me a smirk which confused me, but when she noticed that Hudson wasn't paying attention, she said, "If we ignore the fact that Hudson is my brother, that was quite possibly the weirdest fight I've ever watched. I didn't even think it was possible for a couple fighting to look sexy, but you guys pulled it off. I heard at least five people comment that that was hot."

I didn't know whether to cringe, laugh, or blush so I went with all three.

Hudson suddenly coughed loudly, turning our attention to him, "May I borrow my Fruit Loop please?"

I glared at him, "Stop calling me Fruit Loop, Kit Kat."

He rolled his eyes and picked me up, putting me over his shoulder, "You were saying."

"It's sad that your only comeback is to pick me up and put me over your shoulder," I said, clucking my tongue in fake disappointment, "I expected more from you, Hudson."

He ignored my statement and started walked through the crowd when I heard someone say something that made me flinch.

"I don't get it. She hasn't done anything to prove that she's a good Luna for our pack and everyone is worshipping her like she's a goddess. I'm the best female warrior the pack has and I could be a better Luna than she is."

Hudson growled loudly, making the girl whimper. I heard Boston snap at her in a tone I never heard him use before, "Shut the fuck up, Denise. How dare you say something like that."

I didn't hear her reply because Hudson started rushing somewhere. When he came to a stop, he put me on the ground and steadied me. I blinked a few times before giving him a confused look, "Why'd you bring me here?"

"We need to talk," he said, sitting on the ground and leaning against a tree. I sat down beside him, but he pulled me onto his lap so I straddled him.

"Something wrong?"

He groaned and leaned his forehead against mine, "How can you ask me that so casually? Of course something's wrong, Fruit Loop."

I waited for him to explain and he let out a quiet sigh before running his hands down my back.

"When I asked you to fight me, it wasn't because I wanted to hurt you. A few of my advisors were complaining that you couldn't be Luna because you didn't do anything to show you were capable of handling the position. So I decided to ask for a duel so you could show off your skills."

I pursed my lips and stared at tree bark behind his head. What was I supposed to say? It was like his pack had his old mindset as well. They wouldn't accept me until I proved I was a good Luna.

"I'm sorry, Alexis," he whispered.

"Hudson, it's–"

"It's not okay, Alexis. I felt you flinch when that despicable woman made that comment. "

I stayed silent. I was having trouble figuring out what I was feeling. Was I angry? Was I hurt? I didn't know.

"It's like I can't do anything right," Hudson said lowly, "I keep hurting you."

"Hudson, a few of your pack members said that, not you."

"I did, Alexis, don't be quick to dismiss our past. I hurt you just as much as they are doing right now."

The look on his face made my heart ache again. He looked so sad and disappointed in himself. I pulled his chin up and made him look at me, "Tell me what you're thinking about."

He swallowed hard and grabbed my hand gently, kissing my fingertips, "I'm thinking that before we move forward with our relationship, I need to make up for everything that I've said or thought about you. I think the whole incident with my advisors is the Moon Goddess's way of telling me that you shouldn't be forgiving me this easily because I don't deserve it."

The look of determination and confidence on his face made me pause. This was something he wanted and needed to do. I had a feeling that if he didn't do this then he would beat himself up over it for days, or even months.

"Alexis, I asked you to prove to me that you could be a good Luna. Now, let me prove to you that I deserve you."

I gave him a small smile and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "If this is something you want to do, then go for it. Show me you deserve me."

A broad smile formed on his face as he said, "You got it, Fruit Loop."