My Omega Queen
Chapter 22: A Twisted Figh

POV: Emily

“Accalia?!” I ask desperately, but she doesn’t answer. Regardless of my worried state, Cole continues with explaining the rules of the challenge, with seemingly more energy:

“Alright, then. Emily Winters’ Luna position has been challenged. A fight between Emily Winters and Rachel Greyback shall decide the Luna and Queen of the Pack. It’s a special occurence for the challenger to be wolfless, which means that an equivalently special rule is needed: Since one of the contestants cannot shift, neither shall the other. The winner is the last werewolf standing, and she can choose the loser’s fate, be it death or exile.”

Everyone’s looks fell on us. My troubled expression must have given the wrong idea, as Rachel’s supporting party was motivated. However, I had no time to react, everything was happening at an alarming rate. We were quickly ushered to go change into more appropiate attires, while the crowd took a few steps back, thus giving us space. Rachel and I took our fighting stances in front of hundreds of eyes watching us, and the fight began. Rachel wasted no time before trying to hit me with a jab to my face, which seems to be her favorite move. It makes me chuckle that she would attempt the same move as yesterday and I found it entertaining to block it with my forearm, again. However, my smile was brushed off my face when her jab connected with my cheek before I even noticed. The hit unbalanced me, yet I had no time to recover before Rachel roundhouse-kicked me to the floor, a few meters away. The crowd gasped. “What the f*ck! Is she on steroids?!” I couldn’t help thinking. My cheek was burning and a rib was hurting, which was abnormal, as such hits should be already healing. My mind is racing with thoughts about what could we going on and I was freaking out, but Rachel didn’t care. Confidently smiling, she straightened her back and started coming towards me, extending her claws and fangs. By instinct, it made me back away and I tripped. She took advantage of it to lunge at me, pin me to the ground and start throwing punches left and right, making it hard to even gasp for air. However, she was careless and not properly holding my h**s down, so I used my legs to shift my weight and throw her off me, bottoms up.

“You B!TCH”, she screams.

It was a bit unfair, but I needed time to clear my thoughts and make up a plan, so I decide to run into the forest. Rachel was a bit taken aback by my split second decision which delayed her follow-up, offering me ample time to put a bit of distance between us. As soon as I entered the tree line, I used my nose and ears to find the closest running water which would hide my smell for a moment. I must admit, it was unusually difficult to do it but I managed in the end. The dense bushes and thick tree trunks worked in my favor as Rachel was apparently treading very carefully to avoid scratching herself, while I was running full speed regardless of any spikes or branches. The moment I passed a small river, just above my ankles, I hid in a bush and contemplated my situation: “She doesn’t seem any different or stronger than yesterday… It is me who is weaker, slower and powerless… I cannot even contact Accalia.” Then it hit me. These are all basic symptoms of wolfsbane ingestion. I don’t know when it happened or who could have done this, but the situation is starting to look dire for me.

POV: Rachel

I couldn’t believe that b*tch still had the strength to throw me around after she ingested wolfsbane. And to top it off, she also has the audacity to run into the forest like a coward, thinking she can outsmart me. However, she doesn’t know that it actually worked in my favor as now I can use it without any shame. As I realize there’s nothing to worry about, I choose to walk slowly and carefully around these thorns to avoid any scratches on my body. It has to look perfect for when my Edward marks me. The sound of a river brings me back from my thoughts, as the fear of losing Emily’s tracks takes over me. I quickly make my way through the running water and begin smelling around. My worries are lifted immediately when I feel her smell coming from a bush just about 10 meters away. I decide to lean down and get closer stealthly, to take her by surprise. As soon as I’m close enough, I make a leap into the thickness of the bush and grab her. Or… “Her clothes?!” I think right before I feel a searing pain in the back of my head and my vision goes dark.

POV: Emily

My idea to climb the tree above the bush and bait her with my clothes worked flawlessly. One hit from behind in the right spot is enough to put a human to sleep for a few hours, but it is at most a couple of minutes for werewolves. Hence, I decide to tie her hands and legs with the torn lower half of my pants. And luckily, she wakes up just as I finish my last knot.

“Ugh… this is against the rules! You cheater!!” she starts spouting at once, as well as try to break free.

I sigh and tell her calmly: “There were no rules besides not shifting.”

“Do you really think people want a Luna who has run from the fight?!”

“They want whoever wins.” I reply composedly as I crouch down in front of her, trying to think of what to do next.

“Hmph! Yeah right! I talked to most of the pack members and nobody wants you as Luna! You were a filthy Omega in the pack you came from, so I’m sure the Moon Goddess just made a mistake or Edward is confused.” Rachel says with a smirk.

She’s starting to get on my nerves.

“Just give up now and I’ll let you live.” she spits in my face as she’s moving around restlessly.

I was just about to make a snarky comeback when the setting sun’s rays showed me something shining behind her back. However, it was too late. Just as I realized she’s been using a pocket knife to cut the cloth holding her hands, I bent down to stop her but she had finished and swiftly used it to stab me in the thigh. Since we as werewolves use mostly our shifted form to fight, we don’t tend to train for weapon fights so it took me by surprise. As Rachel pulled out the knife, she started laughing evily and went for a second stab. I knew I couldn’t stop her from hitting me in my current state, but I still wanted to land a blow on her for everything she said, so I went for a right uppercut. The moment my fist made contact with her jaw, I heard a dim, far away voice in my head:

“I’m sorry. This is all I could do.” And I felt tears running down my face at hearing Accalia’s voice. Rachel’s knife didn’t manage to break my skin before she went flying straight into a tree. With a loud thud, her body goes limp against the trunk, so I assume she fell unconscious. The adrenaline subsides, as the warmth in my thigh slowly turns into the sharpest pain I’ve ever felt, as my muscles fail for a moment, forcing me to kneel. I gather the scraps of cloth still remaining from Rachel’s bindings and try to nurse my gash as best as I can, then I mentally prepare to head back to the meadow. I can already tell dragging Rachel’s body while under the influence of wolfsbane with my leg which keeps pulsating with pain will be an ordeal. This is going to take all of my strength…