Chapter 192: A crazy woman

Elvira’s triumphant smile faltered the moment those words left Alyssa’s lips.

She stared at the Luna, taking in the red bruise already swelling along her left jawline, and the terrifying, cold fire burning in her eyes.

For a brief second, genuine fear gripped her chest. She had fully expected Alyssa to flee the arena in tears after being knocked to the floor. But looking at her now, she began to question if she had made a mistake.

Alyssa caught the flicker of hesitation in her eyes and arched a brow. "What’s wrong?" she taunted, her voice echoing in the silence of the open space. "Scared? Don’t tell me you’re terrified to go another round, Elvira. That would make you a bloody coward."

​In an instant, the fear vanished from Elvira’s face, replaced by a smug look. She sneered, forcing out a loud, arrogant laugh.

"Scared? Oh, please. You’re not enough to make me scared."

"Then hit me again," Alyssa repeated coldly, her fists rising.

Jake took a step forward, his face carved into a mask of deep concern. "Luna, maybe we should..."

"Stay back, Jake!" Alyssa commanded sharply without taking her eyes off Elvira for a second. "Everyone stay back! No one comes close!"

Silence fell over the arena again. The guards surged closer, their breath held, eager to see how this clash would resolve.

Unnerved by the rising tension, Elvira charged forward with explosive speed, unleashing a rapid, aggressive sequence of strikes aimed squarely at Alyssa’s face.

One of her punches grazed Alyssa’s jawline, sending a fresh spike of pain through her head, and skyrocketing Elvira’s adrenaline.

Meanwhile, as Alyssa ducked and parried the onslaught, her mind remained focused, calculating Elvira’s every move, mapping out her weakness and searching for an opening.

She found it almost immediately.

Overconfident and growing desperate, Elvira threw her weight into a brutal kick meant to shatter Alyssa’s ribs. But Alyssa side-stepped and dodged it with ease.

Before Elvira could regain her balance, Alyssa brought her foot up and drove a brutal front kick directly into Elvira’s stomach.

Elvira gasped as the wind was knocked out of her. She staggered backward several paces before crashing to the ground.

She clutched her stomach, pain and humiliation contorting her face as she struggled to push herself back up.

Alyssa gave her no chance to recover. Closing the distance in a flash, she dropped to her knees, straddled Elvira’s waist, and drove her fists relentlessly into her face. The strikes rained down with brutal precision until blood spurted from Elvira’s nostrils.

Only then did Alyssa rise, stepping away from the gasping woman. Her knuckles burned with pain, her chest heaving as she drew in sharp gulps of air. A sheen of sweat coated her upper lip and her forearms.

She cast a cold, dismissive look down at Elvira, nonchalantly tossing her hair over her shoulder.

​"How’s that for beating my ass?" she mocked softly. Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and walked away.

The guards broke into a roar of cheers and applause, chanting her name repeatedly as she approached Jake and Anthony.

Listening to the thunderous applause honoring the woman she despised, Elvira was consumed by a wave of blind fury.

She wiped the blood from her nose, glared at her blood-stained hand, and bared her fangs.

"YOU BITCH!" she shrieked, leaping to her feet.

​In a split second, her bones snapped violently as she shifted mid-rage, her brown Lycan form bursting forth in a wave of dark fur and sharp claws.

She let out a deafening snarl and charged blindly toward Alyssa’s back, claws extended to rip into her.

"Luna! Watch out!" Jake roared, lunging forward to shield her.

Before Elvira could cross half the arena, a massive grey Lycan slammed into her side with violent force, hurling her hard to the ground. One of the guards had shifted mid-air to intercept her attack.

"Anthony, get the Luna out of here!" Jake ordered firmly, placing his broad frame directly between Elvira and Alyssa. "Henna, go with them!"

Anthony instantly ushered Alyssa and Henna out of the arena, while Elvira thrashed beneath the weight of the guard pinning her down.

She unleashed a loud roar, clawing wildly at the ground as she watched Alyssa disappear through the exit. Her blood was boiling; she wanted nothing more than to tear out Alyssa’s face.

Within seconds, two more guards shifted and joined the first, their paws pinning Elvira’s limbs to the ground until she was completely immobilized.

Jake walked over to where she lay trapped, his eyes flashing dangerously as his own Lycan pushed to the surface.

"Shift!" he commanded, his voice dripping with icy authority. "Shift back right now!"

Against her will, Elvira’s body shuddered. Her Lycan form melted away, leaving her human form bruised and trembling on the ground. Tears streamed down her bloodied face, a mix of anger and embarrassment.

Jake glared at her disheveled state and shook his head with pity. "Take her to the dungeon. Lock her in a cell until the Alpha returns."

Elvira’s head snapped up in disbelief. "I didn’t do anything! You can’t lock me up for a harmless sparring match!"

"You attempted to attack the Luna!" Jake snapped sharply. "You should have accepted your defeat when she knocked you down, but you have always been a crazy woman, Elvira. Pray Alpha Dorian shows you mercy when he returns."

He turned away from her and glared at the guards. "Take her away."

Two of the guards seized Elvira by her arms, hoisting her up and hauling her toward the dungeon as she kicked and cursed, while the third guard stepped up to stand beside Jake, shaking his head in disbelief.

"For a moment back there, I actually thought Elvira was going to win the challenge," he said softly. "I had no idea Luna Alyssa possessed that kind of fire. Everyone said she was fragile. Weak."

"They were wrong, Airen," Jake replied curtly, a subtle glint of pride flashing in his eyes. "Luna Alyssa may be wolfless, but she is far from weak. And I think she proved that to every warrior today."

What Jake didn’t tell Airen, however, was the truth behind Alyssa’s strength. She was not wolfless at all.

She was something far more dangerous–a deadly Hybrid.

...

Back at the hospital, Conri stood beside the bed, staring down at his broken son in silence.

Joffrey had shown no signs of regaining consciousness. Doctor Dylan had managed to stabilize the internal hemorrhaging, and Joffrey’s Lycan healing ability had begun the slow process of mending his fractured skull and shattered jaw.

Still, he lay motionless, hooked up to several beeping monitors.

Bethany had refused to leave his bedside until Conri had to order her back to the villa to rest. Now, he stood alone in the room, listening to the rhythmic hum of the life-support machines.

"I warned you," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I warned you, Joffrey. But you didn’t listen. Look where your arrogance landed you."

He stepped closer to the head of the bed, leaning down until he was inches from his son’s bruised, bandaged face.

"I told you it would end in ruin if you went after your cousin’s wife," he continued coldly, as if expecting a response. "I told you Dorian was madly possessive of her. But you didn’t fucking listen! Now look at you! Teetering on the edge of death while he walks around completely unscathed!"

His eyes flared a bright, dangerous gold as his Lycan surged beneath his flesh, but he wasn’t the type to lose control easily. He was a master strategist, a man who planned meticulously before striking.

And this time, he was taking full control of everything. He would not expose what Alyssa truly was; no, exposing her secret wouldn’t get him the throne.

He would murder her. But before she died, he would use her to drag Dorian down.

"Mark my words, Joffrey," he swore quietly, reaching out to grasp his son’s limp hand. "Dorian will pay dearly for putting you in this state."

His phone rang suddenly, the loud sound shattering the silence.

Cursing under his breath, he pulled the device from his coat, shifted his cane to his left hand, and glared at the caller ID. It was an unlisted number.

"Who is this?" he demanded.

"I almost didn’t expect you to answer, Conri," a familiar deep voice rasped from the speaker. Conri’s jaw tightened instantly, his expression darkening into pure venom.

"Ragnar!" he snarled. "What do you want?"

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Ragnar replied smugly, his amused tone increasing Conri’s fury.

"We are not friends," Conri growled savagely. "We were supposed to be allies, until you ruined the plan. If you hadn’t pulled your rogues back, the girl would already be dead!"

"The girl cannot be killed so easily!" Ragnar snapped back, his smugness evaporating into a low growl. "I sent a legion of rogues to destroy her in Ashgard, yet she’s still alive!"

"What do you want?" Conri demanded. "I know you didn’t call just to reminisce."

"You’re damn right I didn’t," Ragnar retorted. "We may not be friends, Conri, considering how our kind has been at war for years. But we are still allies, and we share a common goal; we both want the Lycan King dead."

"What do you want?" Conri repeated, his patience wearing thin.

"I need your help," Ragnar began. "The master I serve needs the girl’s blood; the blood from her heart. I need you to stage an attack on the night of the Solstice."

"What master?" Conri asked suspiciously.

"That doesn’t concern you," Ragnar retorted. "Can you help me?"

"What’s in it for me?" Conri countered. "What do I gain if I help you?"

"My master holds the power of life and death in the palm of his hand," Ragnar replied assuringly. "Once he is free, he will destroy the Lycan King with a flick of his finger. And the crown of Wintercrest will finally belong to you."

Conri didn’t hesitate for a second, as long as it involved Dorian’s death.

"Deal."