Derek’s POV
It was Francis, the Alpha of the West Ford Pack. I turned around and saw a middle-aged man in a white suit with a pair of golden-edged glasses. It was a stranger’s face but I was not surprised. Francis could change his look as he wanted and speak with different voices. That was his gift, disguise. Just then he used his original voice, so I recognized him.
I gave him a why-are-you-here look.
“I heard of the fight, too. Will you really allow that girl to be a warrior as long as she wins?”
“Of course,” I answered without looking at him.
Francis chuckled.
“I can’t believe that. What did your mate do to you? You didn’t even allow your ex…”
I turned around and narrowed my eyes. He shut up before he was finished.
I knew what he wanted to say. When Emma was still my ex-girlfriend, I didn’t even allow her to step into the training ground, not even when she just wanted to see me. I admitted that I was a control freak at a younger age.
“Where is Erika? Don’t you want to introduce her to me?” Francis asked.
“You better keep yourself invisible,” I warned him.
“Wait, she doesn’t know that the cooperation thing is…”
“Shut up.” I interrupted him and shot him a glare.
“OK. It seems that I shouldn’t show up here. I’ll pretend that I don’t know you.” Francis murmured without looking at me.
It was about time. Angel showed up first and girls in the audience applauded Angel.
“Wow, is she your mate?” Francis asked and sat up straight.
“No!” I sighed. He just said he would pretend he didn’t know me and then he talked with me immediately.
“Awesome. Because I like her. She’s beautiful.”
“Stop talking to me!” I articulated every syllable.
He cleared his throat and didn’t say anything.
Finally, Erika showed up. She hugged Angel and then glanced at the audience. Her gaze fixed on me and she walked towards me.
She sat beside me. I squeezed her hand and then stood up to give a speech. Before I left, I warned Francis to keep silent with a sharp look.
“Good night, everyone. The fight between Angel and Paul is to begin soon. I know all of you cannot wait to see it, so I will just explain the rule briefly. If Angel wins it, she is allowed to become a woman warrior and take part in the training as men do. If she loses it, she and Luna Erika will be punished. In addition, it is a fight, not a challenge. There are no additional rules. They can use gifts, and weapons or fight in wolf form. Everything is OK, but death is not what we want to see. We have a judge around to declare who is the winner and stop them when one’s life is at risk. Now, without further ado, I announce that the fight begins now.”
Angel and Paul both entered the training ground. Kent stood in the middle as the judge. After ensuring that the two fighters were both ready, he stepped back and gestured for them to begin.
Paul was the first to attack. I had no impression of him as he was not among the strongest warriors. But he looked fierce and aggressive because it would be very humiliating if he was defeated by a woman warrior.
He charged toward Angel and attempted to punch her directly in the face. It would hurt badly if he hit her in the face.
As expected, Angel dodged the attack and ran behind him within a second. She didn’t use her gift and she was already quick enough.
She jumped up, kicked him on the back of his head, and made a flip in the air before she landed steadily.
“Not bad.” Francis raised his eyebrows. I turned around. Erika looked at the fight carefully and I didn’t see the slightest change in her look. As a good fighter, she wouldn’t smile over a slight advantage. She knew clearly that underestimating enemies was a fatal flaw.
Paul fell on his stomach but he got up immediately. He turned around, flexed his neck, and was poised to attack. The attack on his head did not do much harm to him. Though he was not the strongest warrior of my pack, he had been trained for years and it was not easy for an untrained girl to defeat him. It would be a very interesting game.
They stared at each other, trying to find a chance to attack. Paul charged toward Angel again. Angel did the same. She ran behind him, turned around, slid toward him, and kicked him on his hamstring. Paul was caught off guard and knelt on the ground. Laughter burst out among the audience. Girls began to boo.
Paul stood up immediately and growled at Angel.
A faint smile also appeared on Erika’s corner of lips.
“You taught her to irritate Paul, didn’t you?” I whispered to her ears.
She gave me a sly smile and didn’t answer my question.
Erika was a very smart fighter. Paul must have been irritated being tricked by a woman warrior. At the beginning of the fight, both the fighters tried to know each other while not revealing their weaknesses. Now Paul got a little angry while Angel was still calm.
Paul flipped his hands. The next second, a fire appeared at the tip of his fingers. He wanted to use gift and defeat his enemy as soon as possible. It did work if he was way much stronger than his enemy. But I doubted it.
Angel pulled the sword from her sheath. She threw it up in the air, took it by the handle without even looking at it, and spun it with her hands. The young girls at the audience shouted Angel’s name excitedly.
“Wow! I like her!” Francis seemed amazed by it. But Erika sighed and covered her face with her hands.
“Isn’t you who taught her to do so?” I teased Erika.
She insisted on doing so because she thought it was cool. Erika answered through mind-link.
The next second, Erika’s face changed.
Paul was throwing fireballs at Angel. Angel used her gift and dodged the fireballs. She kept changing place.
“Wait, how did she do it?” Francis asked with his eyes wide open. Most of the audience was dazzled by what just happened. But Paul didn’t seem surprised as if he knew it already. I thought of the scene after the vote and frowned.
Angel landed behind Paul and was about to attack him. However, he suddenly turned around and threw a fireball when Angel tried to slash him with the sword. The fireball hit Angel right on her right hand. She dropped the sword, fell to the ground with a cry of pain, and rolled on the ground.