Chapter 40 The Challenge Begins
SOPHIA'S POV
I watched Lisa enter the challenge circle and allowed myself a small smile of satisfaction. She looked strong and determined, every inch the Alpha she had become, but I saw the exhaustion in the tight lines around her eyes and the slight tremor in her hands that she tried to hide. Months of planning had led to this moment and everything was unfolding exactly as I had planned.
Breaking Lisa and Ryan apart had been easier than expected. Their relationship was fragile from the start, built on a mate bond neither of them fully trusted and complicated by years of rejection and hurt especially from Lisa's end. I simply pushed on existing cracks until the whole structure collapsed. Weakening the mate bond through constant interference, creating doubt about Lisa's leadership capabilities, spreading whispers among allied packs about Moonstone's instability. All of these were carefully calculated to bring us to this precise moment.
I had no delusions that I was a better Alpha than Lisa in terms of actual leadership ability. Lisa was intelligent, compassionate, strategic in ways I had never bothered to develop myself. But I did not need to be better. I just needed to win this fight, take control of the pack long enough to implement my real plan, and then disappear with enough resources to start fresh somewhere far from this territory and these wolves who had never appreciated what I offered.
Viktor had failed in his schemes because he was too ambitious, too visible in his hatred. But I was smarter and infinitely more patient. I could wait, I could plan, and I could execute with accuracy that left no room for failure.
The challenge circle had been prepared in the central clearing where the entire pack could witness. Moonstone members filled the space along with representatives from three neutral packs who served as official witnesses for this fight. The morning sun filtered through trees overhead and the air smelled of damp earth.
The challenge rules were simple, the old rules. Human-form combat until one fighter submitted or could not continue. Shifting wasn't allowed, no weapons either, just one's strength and skill. Any victory obtained would come through dominance and it would be clearly demonstrated, not through killing. Elder Catherine would officiate, ensuring fairness and proper adherence to pack law.
I stepped into the circle across from Lisa and met her eyes. She looked back at me with a different level of confidence that would have intimidated me if I did not know her weaknesses so intimately. Lisa was strong but she was also merciful, unwilling to cause unnecessary pain. That compassion would be her downfall in this fight.
Elder Catherine raised her hand for attention. "This challenge has been legally issued and accepted according to ancient pack law. The combat will continue until one fighter yields or is rendered unable to continue. Are both fighters ready?"
"Ready," Lisa said, her voice clear and unwavering.
"Ready," I confirmed, rolling my shoulders to loosen muscles I had trained for months specifically for this moment.
The fight began.
Lisa moved first, fast and aggressive in ways that surprised me despite my preparation. She used techniques Ryan had taught her years ago combined with recent training from Daniel, her movements fluid and controlled. She landed the first hits without missing, her fist connecting with my jaw hard enough to snap my head back and draw blood from my split lip.
I tasted copper and smiled through the pain. Good. Lisa was not holding back and that meant this would be a real fight instead of careful posturing.
But I had been training too and I was bigger than Lisa, stronger in human form with reach advantage I knew how to exploit. I blocked her next strike and countered with combination that forced her back several steps. The crowd around us was silent except for occasional gasps when those vicious blows landed.
We circled each other, both breathing hard already from the intensity. Lisa's eyes were focused and calculating, watching for openings from me. I moved left and when she moved to block, I came in from the right and managed to get her in a hold with my arm locked around her throat from behind.
I leaned close to her ear, whispering so only Lisa could hear over the sound of her struggling against my grip. "Ryan will never fully trust you again. You will always wonder if he is choosing you or just honoring the bond destiny forced on him. Even if you win today, you have already lost what matters most."
I felt Lisa's body tense at my words, saw her concentration waver for just a split second as the psychological blackmail hit its target. That distraction was all I needed to attack.
I used that opportunity to push my weight on Lisa and throw her forward with force that sent her stumbling. Before she could recover her balance, I landed a devastating blow to the side of her head with my closed fist, putting all my strength behind the strike.
Lisa crashed to the ground with her jaw, the impact raised dust which made me move backward. Blood poured from a wound on her head where my knuckles had connected, the red stark against her pale skin. She lay motionless for several heartbeats that felt like eternity.
The pack gasped in collective horror, the sound rippling through the assembled witnesses. I saw Ryan start forward from where he stood at the circle's edge, his face twisted with anguish, but Nathan grabbed him and held him back. Interfering would disqualify Lisa automatically.
Elder Catherine moved closer, watching Lisa carefully to determine if the fight was over. The rules stated the combat continued until one fighter could not continue, and Lisa had not yielded.
Lisa's fingers twitched against the dirt. Then her hand moved, pressing flat against the ground. The pack held its breath as their Alpha struggled to rise, blood streaming down the side of her face and her movements shaky with obvious disorientation from the head wound.