Chapter 191: Clear the arena

Alyssa paused at the edge of the training grounds, Elvira’s taunting words echoing in her mind like a relentless drumbeat. For one fleeting second, her instinct urged her to ignore the woman completely and walk away with her head held high.

But the entire arena had plummeted into dead silence. Every single pair of eyes–dozens of broad-shouldered guards, trainers, and Lycan warriors–was now pinned directly on her, holding their breath to see how the Luna Queen would respond.

She turned around slowly, schooling her features into a mask of cold, unbothered composure. She locked her gaze onto Elvira, refusing to squint despite the distance between them.

"What did you say?"

Elvira’s smug smile widened into a sneer. She stepped away from her female instructor, casually raising the back of her hand to wipe a sheen of sweat from her forehead.

"A hand-to-hand combat," she repeated, taking slow strides toward Alyssa. "Just the two of us. One Luna against another."

A short humorless laugh escaped Alyssa’s lips as she shook her head in disbelief. "One Luna against another? Silly of you to think you are still the Luna of Wintercrest."

"Am I not?" Elvira retorted. She halted a few paces in front of Alyssa, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance. "I mean, I am still Dorian’s mate. I am still the true Luna of Wintercrest. If there is anyone who is an imposter here, it’s you."

"How dare you, Elvira?" Jake thundered, his face darkening as he took a step toward her.

Alyssa raised a hand, stopping him in his tracks without turning her head.

She looked Elvira up and down, slowly, degradingly, letting her eyes linger on her disheveled state, before letting out a mocking laugh.

"I am the imposter, you say?" she said calmly. "Remind me... who shares Dorian’s bed? Who has a say in the matters of this kingdom?" She raised her hand, tilting her fingers so the sunlight caught the gleam of her diamond ring. "Who wears his ring?"

Elvira’s lips pursed into a thin line as irritation flared across her eyes. She forced it down, her gaze hardening into venom. "You and I are not so different, you know. Both in love with the same man, yet both drawn to his cousin."

Alyssa’s smile vanished the moment the words left Elvira’s mouth. Her fingers slowly curled into fists at her sides, a wave of hot rage boiling through her chest.

Seeing the shift in her posture, Elvira smirked, pressing the knife in deeper. "Am I wrong? Do your subjects know that I caught you with Joffrey yesterday in the library?"

A collective gasp rippled through the surrounding guards, instantly followed by a wave of hushed murmurs. All training had ground to a complete halt; every person in the arena was now fixated on the two women on the verge of clashing.

But instead of getting offended, Alyssa slowly shook her head, looking at Elvira with pity.

"It’s a shame that you would stoop so low to try and ruin my reputation in front of everyone. It’s pathetic, really. You knew what actually happened in that room yesterday. You knew what Joffrey tried to do to me, yet you twisted the truth. Now you’re trying to do the same thing in public."

She took a step forward, closing the distance until her face was inches from Elvira’s.

"Give it up, Elvira," she muttered, her voice dropping into a whisper. "Your pathetic games won’t work. Dorian will never take you back, and the people of this kingdom will never look at you as their Luna. They see you for what you are; a whore. Nothing you say will ever change that."

Elvira’s face turned white with rage. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to strike, to drive her fist into Alyssa’s face, but she stopped herself. The consequences of an attack on the Queen would be fatal. She needed a different angle.

"Fine," she said, forcing her lips into a tight smile. "You’re right. I’m a whore. But back to my original challenge."

"I’m not fighting you," Alyssa muttered coldly, turning on her heel to leave.

"Scared?" Elvira taunted, her voice echoing loudly. "Don’t tell me the Luna Queen is terrified of getting her ass beat!"

"The Luna has already declined," Jake snapped, stepping between Alyssa and Elvira, his towering frame blocking her line of sight. "Give it a rest, Elvira. You aren’t worth her time."

But Elvira was not the type to back down that easily. She knew a hand-to-hand combat was the only legal way for her to lay her hands on Alyssa without facing execution.

"Are you really running away from a simple sparring match?" she yelled after Alyssa’s retreating back. "I thought the Luna was supposed to be powerful! You demand so much respect, so much reverence, yet you run from a basic fight like a coward!"

"Elvira!" Jake snarled, his claws beginning to extend.

​"How do you prove to your people that you are strong enough to protect them if you can’t even accept a harmless challenge?"

Alyssa froze near the exit, her hand braced against the wall.

Reason told her to keep walking. She had no formal combat training. She had never been in a fight. Killing Pilate had been pure luck, a release of the power and rage building inside her.

If she accepted Elvira’s challenge, she would be taking a risk. She could lose control and accidentally expose her hidden powers, or Elvira could humiliate her. Either way, it wouldn’t end well.

Yet, after everything Elvira just said, with dozens of witnesses waiting to see what she would do, walking away was impossible. It would look like weakness. It would look like submission.

She whirled around, a terrifying calmness settling over her features.

"I accept your challenge," she spoke, her voice ringing out clear and icy across the arena.

Murmurs flared up again as Henna hurried to her side, followed closely by Anthony and Jake.

"Alyssa, what are you doing?" Henna hissed under her breath, her eyes wide with anxiety. "You know she is just baiting you into this! You don’t have to prove anything to her!"

"You know I will always support your decisions, Alyssa," Anthony added, his expression grim, his tone serious. "But what you are about to do is extremely dangerous. Elvira is a full-blooded Lycan. She is physically stronger than you..."

"I can handle her," Alyssa muttered through clenched teeth. She almost added that she carried Lycan blood herself, but she caught herself in time.

"Please just ignore her, Alyssa," Anthony pleaded, stepping closer. "Dorian is going to lose his mind if he hears about this."

"She insulted me, Anthony," Alyssa retorted sharply, her eyes flashing. "Labeled me a coward. I won’t let her get away with it."

"Then let me handle her," Jake suggested firmly. "Just say the word, and I will have the guards throw her into the dungeon for treason."

"And give her the satisfaction of claiming I used my royal authority to hide from a fight?" Alyssa countered. "Not a chance. It’s just a harmless combat, right? I will fight her."

Jake and Anthony exchanged grim looks. They knew that stubborn look in her eyes; there was no changing her mind. And they could not override a direct order from her, being their Luna Queen.

"Alright," Jake nodded reluctantly. "But I will be watching the fight closely. The moment it gets out of hand, I’m putting an end to it and locking Elvira up."

Alyssa opened her mouth to object, but thought better of it and simply nodded. "Fine."

Across the arena, a flicker of surprise crossed Elvira’s face as she watched Alyssa stride back toward her. A part of her had anticipated Alyssa backing out, giving her the chance to mock her as a coward.

But as the surprise faded, a triumphant grin stretched across her face. This was even better. She was going to savor every second of humiliating the Queen.

Alyssa caught the arrogant smirk on Elvira’s face and steeled her nerves. She knew the odds were against her, but she refused to give this woman the satisfaction of seeing her cower away.

"Clear the arena," she commanded sharply.

Jake and Anthony moved instantly, barking orders to push the crowd of guards back and leaving a wide, open circle on the main fighting floor.

Elvira rolled her neck, her joints popping loudly in the quiet space. She dropped into a practiced combat stance; one foot set back, knees slightly bent, her fists brought up to protect her face.

"I hope you don’t take it personally when I beat you up, Luna," she sneered, her eyes gleaming with malice. "After all, it’s just a silly challenge."

Alyssa didn’t respond. She raised her fists, narrowing her eyes as she locked her focus on Elvira’s movements.

Elvira closed the distance instantly, throwing a barrage of quick punches without giving Alyssa a moment to strike back. Overconfident in her superior strength, she didn’t bother to put her full weight behind the strikes.

Alyssa moved back, ducking and swaying her head to dodge the oncoming fists as best as she could. But with Elvira’s Lycan speed and agility, defense alone was rapidly becoming difficult.

For several intense minutes, they circled one another within the open arena–Elvira throwing continuous, sharp strikes, Alyssa frantically parrying and dodging. Not a single clean hit had landed yet.

Frustration began to creep into Elvira’s expression. Her strikes grew faster, heavier, and far more aggressive. Then, she found an opening.

She faked a punch with her left fist, pulling Alyssa’s guard upward to block.

In the split second Alyssa took the bait, Elvira retracted her left fist, shifted her body weight, and drove a brutal right hook directly into the side of Alyssa’s face.

Before Alyssa could even process the impact, Elvira swept her back leg out, kicking Alyssa’s feet out from under her.

Alyssa’s body spun mid-air before crashing violently onto the hard floor. A sharp spike of pain shot through her jaw and back, immediately swallowed by an overwhelming surge of humiliation and rage.

She looked up through her tangled hair to see Elvira standing over her, wearing a sickening, triumphant smirk.

Something deep within her chest snapped into place. The air around her seemed to drop several degrees.

She pushed herself off the ground, rising smoothly to her feet. Her eyes burned with an icy, dangerous fury as she raised her fists once more.

"Again," she commanded coldly. "And this time, hit harder."