Chapter 53 – The Stalemate
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“Rage was sometimes a useful ally in the heat of a fight, but it was a trickster. It made everything seem possible.“– Jonathan Maberry
Kiya
Punch after punch.
Kick after kick.
The colliding power of an Alpha and a Beta. Divided by a single rank, yet powerful adversaries. Neron didn’t yield, and neither did I. A single punch to the face voiced all he needed to know this wasn’t a play fight between friends. He was my opponent, my enemy, and I will not hesitate to send his body to the hard ground.
I’m faster, blinding the Alpha with hits to his torso and kicks to his legs. I was smaller and I was used to being underestimated. I bring the heat. However, Neron knows how to use his bigger and taller body to his advantage. The number of times he locked me in a vice grip, pushed me aside, and went unflinching at some of my hits reminds me just how formidable he was.
I hated touching him. Every time we touched; I got the indescribable sensations of those fated sparks. They were faint, like touching yarn pom–poms, but they were still there. Those sparks bounce against our flesh with every contact. The vexatious mate bond is still there, my side jolting weakly with every touch Neron made. His flirting didn’t help.
He grabbed my fists and twisted my arms behind my back. Taking advantage of my vulnerability, he buried his nose in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply. “Goddess, you smell so good.” He growled. I could hear Onyx howling in pleasure from the scent of his mate, Artemis biting back with growls of her own. Freeing myself from his grip, albeit by ramming my head under his jaw, I fought harder.
The cheers and hollers from the pup trainees boomed through the air, half cheering for me and the other for Neron. Their bated breaths hold anticipation in their pint–sized bodies, eager to see who would appear the champion, the Delta, or their Alpha. Their shouts drew in more onlookers, gathering around to watch us spar.
It amuses them. This pack already knew that Neron and I were mates, so to see their Alpha and former slave fighting must be the spectacle of a lifetime.
With my flurry of blows and kicks, Neron blocked them all. Now that I think about it, he hasn’t thrown at single punch or kick to me. As if he was holding back. I growled. I want him to fight me at full strength!
“What’s the matter, Neron?” I demanded, panting but unwavering in my stance. “Scared to throw a punch? That never stopped you before!”
Sadness flashed across his face like a lightning strike but dissolved as his eyes narrowed on me again. Without warning, he seized me with the might of a king and pushed me to the ground, pinning my fists above me. His powerful body heat swallowed me, worsened by the heat of this summer day.
“I won’t raise my hand against you ever again, even if it is just a sparring match,” Neron whispered to me, low enough for only the both of us to hear. His deep voice, this close to me, sent chills down my spine. “You are my heart and I refuse to hurt you under any circumstance.”
“Weak.” I spat. All the force in my body aided me to kick the fully grown wolf away from me, freeing me from
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Chapter 53–The Stalemate
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his clutches. His honeyed words touched a singular, weak heartstring. That sensation was quickly stomped out when my anger sets ablaze the wildfire that burned a hole in the deep trenches of the darkness, forcing th04:40 reasons 1 abhor Neron to spring out from its burial chamber.
He hurt me. In more ways than one. That cannot be forgiven or overlooked. He was acting nice now, but it was only a matter of time before he tosses me back in that nightmare cell. All rationale incinerated into ash, forgoing the reasons why that wouldn’t be the case.
I didn’t care. I needed to feel this anger. I needed it to scorch deeply in every nerve and synapse from my brain to my toes. I need this reminder to force me to see that my ex–mate was nothing more but an abusive cur I had the unfortunate fate of being bonded with.
My vision blazes red. My powers battered against my defenses, I saw the Alpha as a wolf that needed to be euthanized. The world around me disappeared into black, I didn’t see the pup trainees or the spectators. My sharp vision narrowed into the man who single–handedly ruined my life and my ability to love.
As he began to get back to his feet, I bolted, tackling his full six feet five stature to the hot ground before straddling his waist. My fists hit flesh, over and over, and over until red trickled down my hands. But I didn’t stop.
I couldn’t stop.
Everything I’ve felt since age nine came bucketing out of my hands as I continuously punched Neron in his face and throat. Thirteen years‘ worth of sadness, depression, confusion, and mind–numbing rage controlled my every action, forgoing the lactic acid burning in my muscles. I was a marionette, the strings on my limbs controlled by the devil that is fury incarnate.
All I felt was the strings.
All I saw was red..
All I wanted was Neron dead.
My dark desires didn’t come to fruition because I was forced off his body by two pairs of arms. No! I wasn’t done! Immediately I was right back in the position the Alpha had me in earlier, back to the ground, wrists pinned above my head. I growled and snapped my jaws, struggling against the restraints. The rage muddled the loud voices in my ear–I couldn’t hear anything. Nothing was clear, except for the thoughts of Neron’s demise.
Suddenly, I was slapped back into the harsh reality. Red disappeared, and the surrounding area cleared back to Zircon Moon territory. The strings were cut, and the devilish puppeteer vanished. My sight cleared to see Jacqueline and Galen holding me down by the arms, shock contorting their faces.
“Babe…” She whispered to me, waving her hand to ease the pain. Jackie was the one who slapped me. “Are you
okay?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. What had happened hadn’t hit me yet, so I laid there dazed for a few seconds before my friends helped me up on my feet. Slowly. My breathing was heavy. Sweat rained from my chin, and my fists throbbed with pain. “W–What…what did I…”
“You went ballistic,” Galen explained in a gentle whisper. “One minute you’re sparring and the next you’re pummeling the living shit out of the Alpha.”
Chapter 53- The Stalemate
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The pungent stench of blood wafted up to my nose. I look down at my throbbing hands to see red smeared on brown like I cut a vein. But it wasn’t my blood. My sight beamed towards Neron who slowly stood on his log:37 batting Kwame and Valerian’s hands away. Blood dripped from his face and nose like a hose, staining jade- green grass below. For a moment, our eyes met. D
And I was terrified.
I thought I needed this. I thought I needed to beat the shit out of Neron like he used to do to me. I thought his bloodshed would serve as retribution for the amount I shed on this land. I thought this would make me feel better.
But it didn’t! At that moment when I snapped, my anger controlled me. It powered my desire to destroy, to maim, and to murder. Why don’t I feel that warmth? Why do I still feel cold? For that moment, I became the
monster I always feared.
I became the old Alpha. I became the dark shadows of the pack.
I became a monster.
I couldn’t breathe. My heart raced a million miles a minute, blood pressure rising. My mind swam and my throat burned. “|-Jackie. Y–you, take over for the pups.” I didn’t wait for a reply because I bolted into the packhouse. Neron called out for me, but I ignored him. I needed to be alone. Blazing past everyone, I made it to my room, locking the door behind me. I put blocks up to all my mind–links, even to Artemis. My mind was bathed in silence, while my eyes bathed my cheeks in my hot tears.
My hands were sticky with Neron’s blood, its powerful scent choking me. My anger took me to the point of no return, where I became a rabid woman with nothing to lose. I beat him in front of my trainees, my friends, and damn near the entire pack. I became a dangerous woman, with fury enough to injure an Alpha. Grateful for the rapid healing as werewolves, I didn’t need to worry about serious damage done to me or him.
But I still took it too far. I opened a latch I was too late to close. It took Jackie slapping me to get me out of that berserker rage. I was uncontrollable, and I knew I wouldn’t have stopped with Neron. Anger is destructive, callous, and relentless, and I have too much of that chaos within me.
Sobs burned my throat as my infinite tears dripped down to my dusty leggings. How did I let myself lose control so easily? With the damn mate sparks, Neron’s flirts, and his promise triggered something that even I
fear because what I fear is in me.
How long until this happens again? What if my friends couldn’t snap long until the deadly
me out of it? How string’s loop around my limbs, leaving me at the mercy of my rage?
I pealed myself from the floor and dragged my tired body to the bathroom. The stream ran red as I washed my hands in the sink, cleansing them of the sin of harming the Alpha. My head tilted to my reflection in the
mirror, brown staring at brown.
I see a woman. Particles of dust and dirt clung onto the coily strands of her hair, sweat and tears stained her skin, scleras puffy and red, and lips slightly red from her biting. She looks tired, worried, scared, but the anger was still there.
Brewing.
Simmering.
Chapter 53 – The Stalema lie
Waiting for another opportunity to spring forth to claim more victims.
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“How is this me?” I asked myself. Do 1 still hate Neron? I do. I can’t ever forgive what he or anyone else had done to me. But beating him did nothing but leave me colder underneath this temple I call my body. It did not cure my anger or my pain of my past.
But what do I need? What the hell would make me feel better?
Several knocks on my door startled me. They were gentle, so soft that I would have missed it if I dwelled deeper in my thoughts. I didn’t need to open the door to know who was behind it because their scent seeping through the spaces of the door revealed their identity.
“What do you want, Neron?”
“I want us to talk, Kiya. Please open the door.”
“No. Go away.”
“I won’t.” He insisted, his voice firm. “I can’t leave you like this. Please, I need to know that you’re okay.”
Quickly splashing water on my face, I walk out of the bathroom. “I’m fine. I don’t want to see you.”
“Your voice betrays you, Kiya. You sound like you’ve been crying.” He released a hefty sigh. “Please… I just need to see you. I know you hate me and…” I hear a soft groan. “I–I just need to see your face. And talk about what happened.”
He’s genuine. I could hear it in his voice. However, that doesn’t mean I trust his words. My heart and head conflict, one wanting to open the door and the other wanting to keep the distance. It’s just another trap‘, my mind mused, but ‘open the door my heart demanded.
In the end, I opened the door. Why? Simple curiosity. Neron stood towering over me, his pained expression relaxing. There were faint smudges of blood on his face. But his face was okay. He healed quickly as expected.
“Thank you.” He offered a warm smile. I blinked, offering a curt nod. “I want to apologize.”
“For what?”
“I’m an idiot, Kiya.” Neron chuckled, running his hand through his long hair. “It’s my fault you went ballistic on me. I crossed a line I shouldn’t have. I triggered you and I didn’t mean to hurt you the way I did, and I am
so sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I muttered, trying to shut the door, but was stopped by his hand.
“Kiya, I wasn’t lying when I said I won’t hurt you under any circumstance.” His eyes went from soft to hard, bearing down into my soul. He was searching for something, desperate to reach something deep within me. “I know you don’t trust me but trust that no harm will come to you, not from me nor anyone else, pack or otherwise. Alpha Anthony left you under my protection for your stay, and I will honor that commitment.
And…”
“And what?”
“I care about you.” He admitted. “You are my mate, thus it’s my job to ensure your safety. You felt them too, didn’t you? The sparks of our mate bond?”
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Chapter 53 – The Stalemate
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I didn’t say a word. I refused to admit to him I felt them. How good they felt in the flurry of battle. It made this all too real, and I was determined to push that reality as far as I could. My eyes left his, looking at his 0432 bare chest. Could it kill him to wear a shirt!
Neron sighed, straightening himself to a full stance. “Okay. Keep your secrets, Kiya. But I won’t go back on my word as an honorable Alpha. I will protect you, no matter what. You are my heart and I won’t not stop until
you accept me.”
“Sure.” I replied as I failed for a second time to close the door because of his interference. “What more do you have to say?”
“Our spar.” He shot me a grin. “It’s a stalemate. Neither of us won, so need not worry.” His hand reached out to touch me, but after my recoil, he retracted. “Right. I forgot. You’re untouchable.”
After a second, he pushed himself off my door, walking away. “I’ll see you at dinner, Kiya, Bring your appetite.” His tall, burly figure disappeared into the light of the foyer, leaving me alone in the semi–dark corridor. With a final sigh, I shut my door.
It was a given that Neron would protect me. He promised my brother. There were other underlying reasons like us being mates, but that’s him. The mate bond is affecting him. The reality was that Neron doesn’t care about me. He doesn’t love me. It was all the power of the bond making him like this.
Stripping out of my clothes, I entered the hot shower, desperate to wash the dirt clinging to my skin. I must remember that nothing will ever blossom between us. The rose that was our mate bond is wilted, and it must
stay that way.
Chapter Comments
Phenya Mashudu
I really dont feel bad for him he kept pushing shem
Samantha Veron
too late to say those words to