Chapter 554: Don’t Hold Back

(Music Recommendation: The Evening Fog by Twelve Titans Music.)

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Viola was indeed struggling in the arena. She caught Elizabeth’s enormous paw with both hands just before it could come down on her stomach, holding it back with all the strength she could muster. Her arms trembled under the pressure, and she could feel herself losing ground against the crazy woman.

Though Viola had an Alpha bloodline, so did the other woman. If Viola had mastered all the tricks of being a wolf and learned to shift swiftly, she wouldn’t be struggling this much alongside Cyan. Elizabeth wasn’t only older than Viola; she was also far more experienced and had mastered every angle of attack.

’Come on, baby,’ Sebastian encouraged her through their mind link, his voice reaching her through the chaos.

As though his words had given her a sudden burst of strength, Viola managed to shift back into her wolf form and shove Elizabeth away. She sprang forward immediately, aiming for the vulnerable spot at the back of Elizabeth’s neck, where an attack could interfere with her ability to shift swiftly.

Viola clamped her jaws down and bit hard.

Elizabeth’s blood filled her mouth, and the brown wolf let out a furious snarl, thrashing violently as she tried to shake Viola off. For a moment, Viola held on, refusing to release her grip even as Elizabeth twisted and bucked beneath her.

Then Elizabeth struck out with one of her powerful hind legs, catching Viola and throwing her off.

Viola landed hard in the snow and rolled before scrambling back onto her paws.

Blood stained the white ground, dripping from Elizabeth’s neck and spreading across her fur. Her eyes flashed with fury as they met Viola’s, who had already recovered and was circling her again, watching every movement.

"You little bitch!" Elizabeth gritted out, shaking her head to rid her fur of the snow and the blood, where Viola had gripped her weak point.

"And you big bitch!" Viola retorted pettily.

Despite her cheeky response, she never took her eyes off Elizabeth. The other she-wolf’s movements were unpredictable, and she had already proved that she could change forms and attack in the blink of an eye. ℯ

Viola wasn’t going to let herself be caught off guard again.

As though reading her thoughts, Elizabeth suddenly leaped into the air, shifting mid-flight. But this time, Viola was ready. She braced herself and began shifting at the same moment, timing her movements so that when Elizabeth came crashing down toward her, Viola was already prepared to counterattack.

Her legs struck Elizabeth squarely in the face. Though Viola had lost much of her training and hadn’t had time to keep up with it, she was still well-trained, and the strength of her wolf remained in her human form, giving her kick enough power to hurt Elizabeth.

The kick landed with such force that Elizabeth was sent sprawling backward, crashing into the snow with a heavy thud.

The crowd erupted.

Viola didn’t give her a chance to recover. She charged forward and delivered another kick on the woman, then another, forcing Elizabeth to remain on the defensive. She made sure to avoid Elizabeth’s stomach, no matter how tempting an opening presented itself. Whatever happened between them, Viola wasn’t going to risk hurting the pups Elizabeth was carrying, not even if their mother was a savage who seemed to have no problem putting hers in danger.

But that restraint came at a price.

Because Viola was deliberately avoiding Elizabeth’s stomach, she left herself open in other ways. Elizabeth seized the opportunity, grabbing Viola by the leg and yanking her off balance.

Viola hit the ground hard.

Before she could scramble away, Elizabeth was on her again, rising over her like a beast straight from hell. She unleashed a vicious barrage of kicks and punches, showing no concern for where they landed. Viola curled up and tried to shield herself, but Elizabeth was relentless, her blows coming too quickly for Viola to defend against them all.

"I will fucking kill you!" Elizabeth snarled.

Then she drove her foot into Viola’s stomach.

Pain exploded through Viola’s body.

Before she could catch her breath, another kick struck her head. Elizabeth continued attacking, kicking her stomach and face in repeated succession, caring nothing for the fact that Viola was pregnant with the heirs of Silver.

For a moment, Price had thought Viola might actually defeat his wife. But watching Elizabeth turn the tables, he burst into laughter.

"Your wife is a fool for thinking that just because she spared Liza’s stomach, Liza would spare hers!" he mocked. "Tsk! She’s so naive!"

That was the last straw.

Sebastian’s fist slammed into Price’s face before the man could even finish laughing. The punch sent him flying sideways off his seat, his cigar falling from his mouth as he crashed to the ground.

Sebastian barely spared him a glance.

His eyes were already back on Viola, who was still taking blow after blow in the arena.

’Don’t hold back on that bitch. She doesn’t care about you, love,’ he told her through their mind link, his voice hard with fury.

Viola was struggling to protect herself from Elizabeth’s relentless assault when her fingers brushed against something tucked into her gear belt.

The dagger.

Sebastian had given it to her just before she’d entered the arena.

With Elizabeth’s attention fixed on beating her into submission, Viola seized the opportunity and pulled it free. She kept it close to her body, waiting for the right moment.

Elizabeth’s foot lifted again, aiming straight for Viola’s stomach.

This time, Viola didn’t try to block it.

As the foot came down toward her, she thrust the dagger forward and drove its blade into Elizabeth’s leg.

Elizabeth screamed.

The blade had been coated in wolfsbane, and the moment it pierced her flesh, the poison began to take effect. She staggered backward, clutching her injured leg as a wave of pain tore through her body.

Viola didn’t waste the opening.

Blood running from her nose, she pushed herself up and lunged forward, stabbing Elizabeth in the thigh before pulling the dagger free again.

Elizabeth fell, her strength faltering as the wolfsbane spread through her system almost immediately.

But Viola wasn’t finished.

She moved over her fallen opponent and drove the dagger down once more. "This is for my pups, bitch!" Viola gritted out ruthlessly, pressing the blade downward.

This time, the blade struck Elizabeth where she wouldn’t be able to fight again.

The entire arena fell silent.

For a moment, nobody moved. Even the cheering Darkbur wolves seemed to have forgotten how to make a sound as they stared at the two women in the snow, one standing over the other with a bloodied dagger in her hand.

"Oh my God! Did she just stab her in the chest?!" someone cried from the audience, as it was unclear where Viola had stabbed last.

"Did she kill her?" Another asked when Elizabeth went motionless.