Elise took the dare, Leaving a wide-eyed Hayden staring in awe.
To Hayden’s surprise, Elise had begun undoing her top and pants; her silk underwear remained, and his gaze was unwavering, daring her to look up at him.
“Turn around, you pervert,” she says to Hayden. She hates his casually sheepish smile, his lips stretched into a grin as he raises his hands in defeat and turns the other way.
Elise takes off her things and goes behind a large tree, keeping the clothes safe. She doesn’t want to ruin what Abby has given her, and she doesn’t want to take her kindness for granted.
“You know… What you did today was amazing. It’s unheard of to find a gifted wolf. And you aren’t just a shifter,” Hayden says from behind the tree as she takes off her underwear. “… You’re a healer and also a shifter; that is unbelievably rare.”
Elise stiffened; a known fear gripped her when she recalled how Kaide wanted to lock her up and use her for his selfish purposes when he found out she was a gifted omega. He told her to give Hayden her powers and suppress them; she wouldn’t do that ever again.
“And why do you think that is rare?” She asked Hayden, as one might say, and she wanted to hear his answer.
*Because I am one* he sends down a channel; she stiffens in surprise to know he’s telepath, but Elise says nothing back. “And because you can help people, what you did for Jane and her pup Lily is extraordinary. They will never forget your kindness. She told me to extend her gratitude to you at her pie shop; she is saving you a seat to come taste it.”
Nothing could express the relief on Elise's shoulders as she smiled; they weren’t terrified but grateful, her lips stretched so far, and she had to stop herself from being momentarily shocked at how she pretended to be from the praise. “That's kind of her,” she muttered.
“You were amazing for helping,” he says. Hayden hears ruffles and then a growl. He peeks from behind the tree to see Elise had shifted swiftly into his wolf, his eyes shining in awe of the white wolf in front of him. That white streak of hair is now red in her wolf form. “Beautiful,” he muttered.
Seconds later, he turned to his wolf, a mighty dark gray beast, a native color to the Calhan tribe, with their fur being the brightest silver to grey, but never this snowy white as Elise.
She picks up speed, sprinting ahead of his wolf. They race through the open valley, with Hayden taking the highest route, and Elise goes low, taking off at lightning speed.
She felt so free that something sprung in her, and she felt her spirit come alive as she raced faster. She got further from Hayden, happy she was about to win the race, but then she felt an ominous trail behind her, like someone was watching and then attacking.
In a trifling moment, she blocks the attacks of claws aimed at her. She looks to see a wolf, whose fur is almost identical to Hayden's but whose stature is a bit small compared to Hayden’s mighty wolf.
She knew instantly, from the menacing gaze, that it was Holden, Hayden’s twin. *I told you we’d have a duel, but I didn’t tell you the time; now I’m going to kill you. Don't enjoy it* he sends the channel. He was a telepath. Elsie stiffened in shock from the threatening words; she knew it was him as she growled back.
Seconds later, Hayden came into view, and his pheromones screamed anger and rage as he looked at his brother. *What the hell are you doing, Holden?!*
*Don’t you see, brother? She is trying to deceive and win the pack over just like her mother did, and then leave us for ruin; it’s all her plan!* he argues.
*No, I’m not* Elise snarled, shocking both brothers; only telepaths could talk back to each other, as it’s a rare occurrence for a gifted person to have more than two powers. But she is a shifter, telepath, and healer? An ultimate threat. And Holden was far from happy with that.
*Holden, don’t you dare-*
*I will take care of him, Hayden; don’t interrupt us! If it’s a duel he wants, then I agree to it* she snarls, her canine showing as she grits her teeth. By her request, Hayden backs down, faces Holden, and the fight ensues.
The sounds of a deadly growl and roar echo through the open space as Hayden watches. Elise holds her stance, attacking Holden with no mercy. Holden isn’t prepared for her strength; he undermines her ability so much, and it didn’t take much for Elise to overpower him—anything she had ever seen before. *What the hell are you?* he mutters, panicking.
She pins him down and snarls at him. *Heed!* she growls, her powers shining through her violet orbs. It makes Holden shudder before bowing in return, knowing he’d lost. Even Hayden, as an alpha, could feel that tremor of power build in her.
*You win* Holden says to Elise. The moment he turns back to Human, showing his defeat, Hayden snaps into a feral rage as he also changes back to his human form. He then topples on his brother, showing him that madness and bloodlust in his gaze as he pulls a punch to holden’s jaw.
“Never touch her again,” he threatens, a feral instinct to protect Elise unlike anything he’d ever felt, even from the likes of his kin.
“She won; I won’t touch her anymore,” Holden mutters. His eyes hold a sworn promise of hostility that Hayden sees and threatens with a warning snarl before Holden backs down. They head back to the open trials, with Elise going behind the bushes and grabbing her clothes while the brothers exchange menacing looks.
*You need to control your stare, brother; if you want her under your bed, you need more than that pathetic look of yearning you have on your face,* Holden says, sending his message through a one-way telepathic channel only for his twin.
Hayden shows a vulgar response with his fingers, already annoyed by what his brother pulled, but he knows his brother was right on the mark regarding what he feels for Elise. Just from their first meeting, she had captured his heart in a way no one else ever has; it was maddening. Yet he wants her.
She steps out from behind the tree, her clothes already worn, her eyes still flickering from that malevolent power that made Holden shudder, and takes a step back. “So much for taking a peaceful walk,” she mutters.
Hayden growled at his brother in response. The beaten male knows he’s lost fair and square as he bows his head in a short show of respect, for the first time, in surprise on Hayden's part. Because he already knew his brother to be arrogant.
Maybe he felt that tremendous power under Elise's skin just like he did. “We’ve both agreed that you have passed my test,” Holden says, even though he still has an ugly scowl on his face, ashamed of the loss.
Hayden comes to her side, his hands raised to tuck that white streak of snowy white hair behind her ears as he continues. “You will be able to see my father soon enough.” He says this to Elise.
A relief sigh swept over her body as she looked over to his gaze, a smile showing her strength and what that meant.
She is finally going to meet the chief of the Calhan tribe; finally, her questions will be answered, and she will know who her father is. Her only response was the words of a ready female. Prepared to know her past
“Let’s go.” She muttered to both brothers. She was ready to face the fire. But from their gazes, she knew there was a catch to it.