Gone (Book Two of the Dark Lycans Series)

My strongest?

Yes, strongest. You are going to get even stronger.

Why?

I cannot tell you that, you must find out yourself, my link was cut off. I growled in frustration at her vague reply.

Shaking my head, I decided I would deal with this later. I quickly stretched my legs and ran off through the forest. Wind whipped through my black fur as I tore down a beautiful valley.

I've never been to this part of the territory, I thought looking around in awe. It was beautiful, and I almost howled in victory at the sight of a herd of elk.

Luckily, there were thick bushes I could attempt to hide in. My wolf was too large, so I shifted into a smaller russet colored wolf. I was bigger than the average she-wolf, but small enough to fit behind the underbrush.

Keeping my belly low, and paws quiet, I crawled along until I was a few yards from a massive bull elk. He was grazing diligently, and didn't notice me.

I took a step forward, but I saw a brown wolf on the other side of the valley suddenly let out a loud howl. The herd jerked to life and the elk leaped forward. Snarling in anger and frustration, I ran after the herd.

I shifted back into Akira's wolf and felt myself gain speed rapidly. Several other wolves had started chasing the elk, but not fast enough. The distance between them and their target was slowly increasing.

With my new strength and speed, I was able to easily pass the other wolves. I bounded past them, keeping my eyes on my initial target.

My wolf let out a joyful yip at our speed, and I closed in on the bull. I ran between him and the others near him. Snapping my jaws, I managed to scare away the others.

These things run fast, holy shit!! I thought realizing how fast I was running. I pushed my legs harder, loving the chase my next meal was putting up. He followed the valley, but soon came to the treeline.

I knew that it would be harder to catch it if he made it to the trees, so I took a giant leap. My body soared through the air, and I howled as I landed on the bull's back.

As soon as I was on him, my teeth clamped onto his neck. Blood filled my mouth when I tore into the elk's pulmonery artery. It stumbled before fully falling to the ground. I jumped off before it fell, not wanting to be crushed.

I let out a bark of excitement at my kill. After making sure it was dead, I grabbed the animal's neck, and started dragging it towards the event center. It was easily over 1,000 pounds, not simple to carry, but not too hard for me.

It took me twenty minutes to get back to the event center. Turns out I chased it 10 miles, I'm not even tired. I didn't meet any wolves on my way there, but I realized why when I came into the clearing. Everyone was already sharing and eating.

The biggest I saw was a deer, caught by someone in Shade's group. All eyes turned towards me as I dragged the massive elk into the clearing. The members of my pack who were competing and hadn't caught anything ran over.

They helped me drag the body to a space under a large redwood tree. It was shaded, and nice in comparison to the blazing sun. I realized there were only about ten wolves of my pack who didn't get anything, Jackson and Jinx included.

Everyone was in wolf form, because it was messy to try to eat in human form. I took in Jackson's wolf for the first time. He was slightly larger than Jinx, and had light gray fur with a silver tint.

How did you not catch anything? I asked Jinx in surprise, she was a very good hunter.

I knew you would get something big enough, so I decided to be lazy. Good thing too, I love elk! She gave a small yip, and jump, making me laugh through our link.

All of the other wolves bowed their heads to me. I took my teeth to the body and tore off the fur and skin resting over the shoulder. After taking a bite of the delicious flesh, I gave my pack a nod.

They greedily lunged forward and started tearing into the carcass. Getting annoyed by how rude it was for them to act like scavengers, I growled loudly and snapped at them.

They immediately stopped, and started eating slowly without fighting. I feasted on the shoulder, my favorite part, while everyone else ate the rest. Almost all the meat was finished in minutes.

I trotted back to the tree where my clothes were hidden, and left them to finish the elk. I cleaned the blood from my fur before shifting quickly and getting back into my clothes.

Back in the clearing, I saw my pack taking away the leftovers from our meal. I knew they would save the bones and fur for other things.

All of the remains were gone from our hunt, so I made the next announcement.

"Now it is time for the fight in human form!" Cheering followed my voice, and I led the way to the battle arena.

It was round, built of iron, and partially underground. There were gates that determined when the competitors could enter and exit. The viewer's area was raised slightly so they could see over the metal wall.

There were two throne-like chairs looking into the arena. One for the Alpha and one for the Luna of the pack. I settled down in the Alpha's chair, and growled at wolves who gave me a disbelieving look.

Up first were Shade, and the Luna of the Green Mountain Pack. I knew it was more likely for Shade to win, but I didn't trust that pack. My wolf instincts were telling me to kill the whole pack, but I needed to figure out why first.

The referee calls go, and they circle each other. The Luna, I believe her name is Ginny, lunges for Shade, but she easily dodges it. When Ginny charges again, Shade does a flip over her head and punches her back.

I smirk at the stunned Luna, and almost laugh when Shade kicks out her legs. Ginny is quickly pinned between Shade's knee and the ground.

She taps out and I start heading down the stairs to get to the entrance. I would be fighting soon, and I wanted to congratulate Shade.

I see through an underground viewing window, Ginny suddenly slashing Shade's outstretched arm. Her jacket is ripped away, and torn bandages are revealed.

She was already hurt! I growled, angry that I was so caught up in my own emotions, I didn't realized she was injured.

My anger grew and blurred my vision. I was vaguely aware of Shade and Ginny yelling at each other, and Ginny slashing her arms again. Shade suddenly shifts, shifts back, and runs out of the arena and into the forest.

My anger snaps within me, but I keep it contained with a single thought, Revenge is best if you can shame your enemy in public.

I feel an evil grin creep up on my face, and I almost run up to the entrance gate. I give a nod to the man controlling it, and he instantly let's me in. I step in the arena with Ginny, and I hear the doors close with a reverberating slam.

I give her a sadistic smile, and her eyes widen in fear.

"I don't have to fight, I just did, and I lost," she said quickly putting her hands up and backing away. I knew just how to make her fight me, by her own choice too.

"Why, are you too scared to fight me? What kind of a Luna would be scared to fight a 20 year old wolf?" I taunted. Her face changed from scared to defiant.

"I'm not scared of you, I'm nearly ten years older, and I'm the Luna of one of the most powerful packs in North America!" She retorted. I rolled my eyes, did she forget that I am the Luna and Alpha of the most powerful pack.

"So you agree to fight me?" She nodded in response, putting on a smile, but I could still see the fear behind her eyes. I walked up to her, and she backed away until her back hit the wall.

With her trapped, I was able to lean in next to her ear.

"Just remember one thing, giving up is showing weakness, and tapping out, is giving up," I whispered slyly before backing away with a smirk. I could see the fear clearly now on her face, and she tried to cover it up with determination.

I got into a good stance and waited for the referee to stop talking. He announced the start and we started circling each other. I unnoticeably had moved closer to Ginny, so we were only a few yards apart.

I took a step forward into a spinning back kick. My barefoot connected with her ribs, and she collapses onto her side. She tries to get up, but I kick her stomach and she falls once more.

I kicked her stomach again, and then let my foot snap across her face. Blood was smeared on my feet, but the red substance didn't bother me after having it covering my body so many times.

I step back and let her get up once I see blood at her mouth. She suddenly looks really pissed off, and in response, I grin widely.

Now it's time for a fight.