Chapter 29 Arlo
Arlo's POV (Eiden's wolf)
Eiden finished his breakfast and scrolled through his phone, checking trending news and the updates sent by the head of the warrior spy team about our enemies.
Eiden left the dining room when he received a text from Alpha Jackson informing him that he was on his way to our pack.
The feeling of tension and excitement fueled my enthusiasm. I wouldn't let myself lose. This wasn't the first time I'd fought Alpha Jackson's wolf.
I couldn't wait to take over Eiden's body. He was waiting for Alpha Jackson in the forest next to the warrior camp. I wasn't interested in listening to Eiden's conversation with Gamma Nolan and Delta Sophia.
I stretched my body. I wasn't stiff thanks to my regular training with Gamma Nolan's wolf and the head warrior. Eiden's daily workouts also helped boost my energy.
I stopped moving when Gamma Nolan told us, pointing to Alpha Jackson getting out of the black car at the forest entrance.
“Hey, you bastard.” Alpha Jackson walked quickly toward Eiden. His wide smile was sinister. He truly loved causing trouble for Eiden.
“This duel wasn’t my choice. You chose it.” Alpha Jackson stood three steps in front of Eiden, his hands in his pockets. “I don’t want to be blamed if your wolf dies.”
I was pretty sure Eiden was staring at him expressionlessly.
"You don't have to pretend," Eiden said lazily. "You made me choose. You knew what I would choose."
Alpha Jackson’s annoying grin widened.
"If your wolf misses fighting with mine, just tell me. Why are you being so shy this time?" Eiden sneered.
"Have we ever turned down your invitation?" Alpha Jackson shook his head with a frown in response to Eiden's question. "Just set the date, time, and place as usual."
“Yeah, you understand me well." Alpha Jackson chuckled, scratching his head. Eiden snorted in displeasure at our enemy’s words.
There was no more conversation between them. I took over Eiden's body while Alpha Jackson switched bodies with his wolf.
Eiden was still full, but I didn't feel it at all.
"Hi, Rio." I greeted the brick-red wolf, baring my canines. "Nice to see you again."
"Hi. Nice to see you, too, Arlo." Alpha Jackson's wolf nodded. Our eyes locked as we circled each other ten paces apart, searching for an opening to strike first.
The cool autumn air brushed against our fur. The morning sky was crystal clear, almost as if it wanted to witness which one of us would walk away victorious.
“I’ll kill you,” Rio said lightly.
“Don’t say that,” I replied. “We’ll regret it if we kill each other or one of us dies.” I nodded, confident in my words. “We’re evenly matched.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Rio agreed with me. “I’d be sad if you died, and Jackson would be devastated if Eiden did. You two are our toys.”
“Damn you,” I growled. Rio grinned.
He approached me with an easy, confident stride, his eyes glinting with disdain. I threw dirt into his face to start the fight.
We ran toward each other. My claws flew into his muzzle, and my shoulder bled from his scratches.
He stayed on his feet even after taking a kick to the leg. He retaliated by sinking his teeth into my shoulder.
My chin was on his shoulder, and my teeth were gritted as he walked backwards, forcing me to walk forward.
I raked his leg again and again, then drove my long claws into the back of his foot.
Eiden sighed, shaking his head. 'What's wrong with you, Arlo?' He wasn't satisfied with the first round of the fight.
Since no one was filming or streaming the fight, there was no reason to rush it. Rio clearly thought the same—we were both only using half our strength.
I growled. After three attempts, I finally managed to pull my head away from his shoulder. With one swift move, I kicked his leg four times until the crack of breaking bone followed.
Still not satisfied, I sank my teeth into his shoulder and smirked at his growl. He stopped moving, his balance wavering as his body struggled to regenerate his broken leg.
Rio collapsed, pulling me down with him since we were still biting each other’s shoulders. Dizziness washed over me when my head hit the ground.
We rolled across the ground at the same speed as a speeding car on a racetrack.
Dust flew. Dry leaves fell as we hit trees.
The sound of dry leaves and twigs crushing against our bodies was pleasant.
We didn't mind the painful gravel. We even ignored the pain in our shoulders and the blood that was flowing nonstop.
There were times when I was on top of him, and then we rolled again.
We reflexively stopped biting each other's shoulders when our heads got stuck in the bushes. The twigs nearly stabbed my eyes if I hadn't reflexively closed them.
I quickly stood up and took a few steps back. I shook my head to clear the tiny leaves. Only then did I feel my breath hitch and the pain coursing through my body.
My body's regeneration quickly healed me before our fight entered the second round.
We fought standing up. Our front legs clamped onto each other’s shoulders as we tried to force the other down, but neither of us lost our footing.
We exchanged growls and glares.
I don't know how long we'd been fighting. But I can probably guess, thanks to the sun burning my head and back.
"You know Jackson and I were waiting for you and Eiden to do something that would give us an excuse to fight you," Rio said.
"I'm not that surprised. You guys are weird." I sneered at him. "You give us the creeps." I continued pushing him, forcing him to back away. "Why do you suddenly care what other people think?"
"I don't know." Rio shook his head.
A heavy thud and a sharp scrape of dry leaves sounded when I managed to shove Rio hard enough to crash to the ground.
"Damn you. I let my guard down." He chuckled as I pinned him beneath me, my grip still tight on his shoulders. "Are you going to end it now?"
I stared into his eyes, trying to see if he was going to trick me. “What do you think? You’ve already lost to me.”
“You win this time.” Rio nodded. I grinned broadly.