IN FULL COLOUR - Dark Fantasy

Axel

Cassius had departed without saying goodbye and now, two hours later, I found myself standing in the middle of the communal courtyard, waiting for the Delta to escort me to Dire Mountain’s training grounds.

I have already changed into my gym clothes and stood rigid, staring with arms crossed at the magnificent water feature in the middle of the cobblestoned area, surrounded by beautiful garden beds.

The water feature was carved from stone, much like the rest of the village’s décor. It consisted of three wolves, huddled together. The one at the bottom appeared to be a pup, lying in between the legs of its mother as she stood protectively over him, baring her teeth at whatever threat wanting to harm her pup. The third wolf was the largest and stood tall at the back of the others, howling at the moon. The little family of stone looked so realistic and lifelike like they could step off the platform any minute and prowl the area as if it were their own pack grounds.

“Alpha Axel Scott?”

I sighed and turned to face him, “just Axel.”

He held his hand out towards me and smiled, “I am Delta Dorian, I will be your guide today.”

The thirty-something Delta had an open, friendly face, grey eyes, and light brown hair, cut short, military-style. His well-groomed stubble beard complimented the look, along with an eyebrow-ring sticking out of his left brow.

I tried not to stare at it as I shook his hand and gave him a curt nod.

“Looks like you are ready to go?” He said, casually gesturing towards my gym attire.

“Sure,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest again.

Dorian’s smile did not falter as he propped his hands in his sides and waited for me to say something. I did not.

“Ok, let’s go,” he said, keeping that boyish smile firmly in place and gestured for me to follow.

I fell into step with him and mentally made notes of all the corners we took until we arrived at an arena like structure at the back of the little village. It had the same feel to it as the rest of Dire Mountain. Magnificent stone carvings, tall intricate pillars reaching towards the heavens and well-kept gardens along the outside walls.

There was a dark tunnelled entrance into the arena, which led through heavy wooden doors on either side of the tunnel.

“Oh shoot, I forgot my fighter gloves at home,” Dorian said just before we entered the first set of double doors and patted his pockets, “you go on ahead, I will meet you inside,” he said as he jogged back towards the village we had just come from.

As he disappeared in between two buildings not too far off, I turned towards the arena again and stepped inside the darkened tunnel leading to the belly of the training grounds.

Before my eyes even had time to adjust to the darkness, strong arms grabbed me from behind and a fabric casing was pulled over my head. At once, my training clicked into place and I kicked myself backwards, propelling my body over the person who had grabbed me from behind, throwing him off balance and giving me time to escape.

It all happened so fast. A grunt came from the male who had grabbed me as both of us lost our footing and fell harshly onto the dusty floor.

Scuffling of multiple pairs of feet moving around me echoed throughout the constricted tunnel. For a brief few seconds I had regained freedom in my hands and I grabbed into the air beyond the fabric that had been pulled over my face and found my fingertips digging into a head of hair.

I grabbed it with force and jerked the body towards me, pulling my knee up and meeting hard kneecap with soft cartilage, hearing the eery crack as it sounded throughout the tiny space.

A loud hiss followed by some swearing, groaning and hurried footsteps reverberated all around me and before I had time to pull the hindrance from my face, a heavy punch landed in my gut, which had me doubling over in pain.

The air had been forced out of my lungs from the blunt impact and my knees buckled, but before I slumped to the ground, two muscled arms were hooked under my armpits and dragged me along the floor while I gasped desperately for air.

A second later, I felt my body being hauled through the air and thrown onto the ground where I was repeatedly kicked, beaten and when I put out my hand to stabilize myself, a heavy boot came down upon it, and I felt the bone shift and crack under its force.

Only after the sound of my fingers breaking had silenced the men around me, did the beating stop. No one moved and it went utterly quiet.

“Alpha, a brief lesson in what happens when one of our own is humiliated and wronged for no apparent reason, especially in public,” a deep male voice spoke to my left.

A few more moments passed with only the sound of my haggard breathing filling my ears before footsteps started sounding around me again, this time moving away.

I did not protest, I did not yell, I did not make a sound, but pant.

When I was finally able to move, I pulled the bloodied brown fabric bag from my head with a shaky hand and threw it away from me. Clouds of dust puffed up around it, and I tried to examine my broken hand through blurry eyes, one of which was already swelling shut.

An ambush. That was what it had been and I had walked into it blindly without my wolf there to protect me. Every inch of my body hurt, but I deserved it. All of it.

With a groan, I pressed my arm with the broken fingers firmly to my stomach and stood up, not exactly straight but enough to push myself forward. Slowly, I staggered towards the light of the arena.

The brightness of the sun stung my eyes, especially the blurry one as I moved out of the dusty darkness and into the fighting area. There, in the middle of the arena floor, stood approximately twenty, tall and proud warriors.

They stood at attention; rigid, shoulders back, spines straight, hands clasped behind their backs and chins held high, waiting. Waiting for me.

It wasn’t difficult to grasp what had just happened, but when I looked at these men, their grave faces, I knew it had been personal. The fact that I had rejected their future Luna in public was a disgrace and they had a debt to settle with me before we could even think about working together.

As I slowly made my way to the front, I wiped the blood away from my nose with the back of my hand and straightened my back, the other arm still clutching my stomach.

One of the men had a bright crimson trail running from his nose, over his chin.

“Since my debt has been paid, shall we begin with training?” My voice sounded rasp, yet I spoke with confidence and authority.

“Aye!” The warriors yelled as one.

“Tomorrow morning, 7h00.”

“Aye!” They yelled again but stood still like pillars, not a single one moving from his spot.

“You are dismissed,” I stated gruffly. Only then, did they start moving. No one dared move past me. They waited patiently for me to make my departure before they started heading out themselves.

At least the score had been settled.

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