Viola stared at the screen as the two massive wolves stepped out of their cages and into the arena. The platform lowered slowly beneath them as they began advancing toward Laila, who had already shifted into her wolf form.
Viola, who had once thought Laila’s wolf was big, now saw her looking like a puppy next to the massive black howlers that circled her like predators trapping their prey. It made Viola belatedly wonder how she, in her human form, would look next to such beasts. It wouldn’t take any effort for her to be chewed once and swallowed, she thought, but she quickly chased the dark thought from her mind. This wasn’t the ti for negativity. She needed to study how Laila fought them off.
Laila stayed alert, watching every movent of the dark howlers, ready for whatever they might do.
When the trumpet was blown, the two creatures attacked at the sa ti. Viola watched the intense fight with her breath caught in her lungs as growls echoed and dust rose into the air, the wolves stomping, pawing, and attacking.
Laila’s wolf, smaller than both of them, seed to gain an advantage from her size. She slipped through their attacks, striking fast and biting hard whenever a fatal point was exposed.
As Laila’s wolf jumped away from one attack and leapt onto the back of one of the black howlers, biting down on its neck, she was brutally and swiftly flung aside. The force sent her crashing hard into the ground, dust bursting up around her as she cried out like an injured puppy. Yet she was back on her feet as if it were nothing, except now she limped slightly, favoring her back leg where she had landed.
The fight was so intense that Viola almost thought Laila would be killed many tis. Though Laila’s wolf might have been smaller than the black howlers, she was no weakling. She soon ripped the throat out of one of the wolves, killing it.
Fighting one-on-one with the other black howler didn’t take her much ti, but as Laila reached for its throat, the black howler bit down on her head, nearly swallowing it with its enormous mouth. She cried out and pulled back, then lunged again for its throat, this ti striking precisely and ripping it out, sending the wolf crashing to the ground with a mighty thud.
A loud cheer erupted from the audience, jolting Viola and making her gulp down saliva to moisten her dry throat. She watched, wide-eyed, as Laila’s wolf staggered back with a cry before collapsing. In a fluid motion, Laila shifted into her human form, her body streaked with blood and deep bite wounds, bleeding heavily onto the ground. Gasps rippled through the crowd, Emilia included.
She had been given an hour to defeat the black howlers, and had done it in just forty minutes. Viola’s stomach tightened. That ant she and Emilia would have to finish the task in even less ti if they wanted to stay ahead.
Healers in blue uniforms rushed into the arena, lifting Laila’s weakened, battered body onto a stretcher to take her where she would heal. But the audience continued cheering, their excitent unbroken even though she had been injured in the fight and rendered unconscious.
What Laila had done was extraordinary. The black howlers were feared for a reason, and she had killed them in forty minutes. No ordinary shewolf could have pulled that off. Not one they had ever seen.
Viola watched as the arena was cleared of the two dead black howlers. Could she really fight these mighty creatures without a wolf? she wondered dreadfully, tightening her fingers into fists.
She was still staring at the screen with a blank expression when the delta ca for Emilia. But Emilia surprised everyone by quickly standing up and backing away from the guard, exclaiming, "I forfeit! I forfeit! I am not going to face those beasts! I am not fighting again!"
Emilia wasn’t ready to die. Her wolf was nowhere near as strong as Laila’s, and though Laila had defeated the black howlers, she had been knocked unconscious and left injured, her body covered in bite wounds. It was common knowledge among the werewolves that black howlers had poisonous fangs and bites to normal werewolves system. There was no way in hell Emilia was willing to risk her life for a position she wasn’t even sure she would earn In the end. What was the use of fighting when the odds were clearly not in your favor?
She wasn’t stupid and delusional, she would definitely die out there without an Alpha wolf.
The guard who ca to escort her didn’t look surprised at Emilia’s words, he rely spoke into the mic attached to his shirt and announced to the public that Emilia Jones had forfeited the competition.
None of the audience blad her; they even thought she was sensible. Only a fool would want to fight those beasts after witnessing Laila’s intense fight. Those black howlers looked like the devil’s pets! Only a suicidal person would want to face them without an Alpha wolf! Emilia was really smart and realistic for backing out at this mont.
Many participants had died in the past fighting these devilish-looking wolves, and that alone should have taught anyone enough of a lesson, enough to serve as a wake-up call about what the Luna position truly entailed if they could not survive this competition.
It seed Emilia had received that wake-up call, even though her wolf was not considered weak and many wanted to call her a coward but then knew that if they were in her shoes they would have done the sa thing.
It seed the winner had already been decided, so there was no use in continuing the competition. The guard assud the wolfless girl would forfeit as well, just like Emilia, after watching Laila’s round. He didn’t even bother to ask and began to turn away, ready to order the competition wrapped up and closed, since it was obvious Laila would be crowned once she recovered.
But Viola got to her feet, stopping him, a deep crease forming on her forehead at his rudeness.
"I am still fighting. I believe it’s my turn next, since Emilia has withdrawn?" she asked, causing the guard to raise an eyebrow and scan her from head to toe. He almost found it amusing, but trained as he was to mask his expressions, he simply gave her a nod.
This was unbelievable. Didn’t she just see what she would have to face to pass this round? Could it be that she didn’t know those were black howlers, or that she lacked the wolf to fight them? the guard wondered. Still, he said,
"Co with ."
As Viola began to walk past Emilia, she heard the she-wolf scoff. "Good luck killing yourself. You’ll finally get what you want. Rest in peace in advance."
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