HUNTED-Chapter 328: A Fight To Watch

Aila slid out of Damon’s arm only to slow from rushing towards Esme after his fingers found hers, intertwining them. She decided to pull him along like an excited child, making him grin and follow after her like a lovestruck fool. Her lovestruck fool.

Aila was near Esme now, who had been split from Chiara to go to the opposing side in the arena. "Es. Don’t use whatever those powers are," she warned in a mind-link. She forgot about those powers when suggesting the fight, but her Gamma would definitely lose, and it wouldn’t make her feel any better.

"Please, I’ve fought for years without them. It wouldn’t be a fair fight, either. I’m not that much of a bitch, you know," Esme mind-linked back without looking in Aila’s direction. Her eyes were set on Chiara.

There was a fight ongoing, and the arena was large like the time before. The stands surrounding them were mostly full, and there was a small uplifted area for Alpha Damon and Luna Aila. Nobody sat there. But that was about to change.

With the music blaring in the background, the crowds screaming, roaring and cheering about the fight, grimacing when something looked painful. The torchlight hanging from the trees and from the bonfire flickered shadows along the pack members, a few lycans lurking in the background and up the trees, growing taller.

When the fight before finished with one of the men being dragged along the dirt and away from the stands, Aila and Damon went to the steps leading to their spots. At their arrival, the crowd cheered some more, with a few howling in their human forms. Wolves running in the distance returned the call, making Aila smile in delight.

She’d really missed this.

Aila sat down and watched as Damon raised his hand to quieten the pack. Though their presence and the presence of the two she-wolves about to fight brought more people to watch. There was no space in the stands, so they stood around, one behind the other. A few even climbed the trees and watched from branches.

"Next fight is between two of our very own strongest she-wolves of Silver Crescent." A few murmured about calling Esme a ’part of the pack’, but one look from Aila across the crowds silenced them further.

"Gamma Chiara." He gestured towards her, and the crowd went wild. "And her competitor.. Esme Snow."

The crowd quietened a bit, eyes widening at Esme’s last name. Then as though they had accepted her, they also cheered as much as they did for Chiara.

"Seriously, had to tell everyone my last name.." Esme growled to herself, though she still glared up at their Alpha uncaring.

"Rules are normal – no injuries like gauging eye sockets, cutting organs from bodies.. slicing throats.." As Damon listed the obvious rules they should adhere to, he aimed them mainly at Esme.

Ah, rogue.

As he finished listing the numerous points they were not allowed to do, Aila noticed another new face in the crowd. It seemed Harry was rather happy with himself and took an interest in the fight as well. He seemed thrilled more by this than by the two girls he had in his arms prior.

"Is there anything else either of you would like to add?" Damon asked, watching the pair that had stepped onto the slightly raised ground.

"No shifting," Chiara suggested, eying Esme expectantly.

Esme nodded, "no shifting."

Chiara couldn’t help this fire burning in her chest. She knew Esme was not one of the rogues who killed her mate, but she couldn’t help but hate her. Even her wolf had been restless since Esme arrived.

She paced to one side, waiting as Alpha Damon counted down from ten. Her eyes were locked on Esme, who seemed so calm. She stood there, those deep, dark brown eyes assessing her but not moving a muscle. That calmness made her smile, sharp blue eyes flashing as she dashed forwards on 1.

Chiara lunged for the rogue, tackling her to the ground, but Esme slipped out of her hold, kneeing her in the face and rolled backwards until she was crouched on her feet, watching her. That calmness was a little eerie now and grated on her nerves. This time, Chiara swept her leg out to trip Esme, but the she-wolf jumped, dodging it and flipped over.

Annoyed by her display of acrobatics, Chiara jabbed towards her head. Esme blocked it and kicked Chiara’s side twice, which she blocked. Back and forth, the pair started kicking and jabbing, twisting and turning, dodging and jumping in a skilled and nimble manner. The crowd were in awe at the quickness they both attacked and dodged.

"Woooow."

The Gamma and rogue put on a show, each as good as the other. One tall and lithe, the other petite and acrobatic. They had been fighting for a good forty minutes, and the crowd had yet to tire. Neither girl seemed to even show the first sign of perspiration. They did, however, have muddy clothes.

By the third flip, Chiara had noted Esme’s prior movements and was quick to follow and grab her mid-air, halfway in the air, head towards the ground, legs to the sky. Chiara punched her in the chest. A bone crunched beneath her knuckles. It had been so hard even Chiara felt bad.

The sternum was a nasty fracture.

Esme inhaled sharply. Chiara turned, a smug smile on her lips, but it dropped when she watched that damned rogue land gracefully, then in that exact second, fall on her backside. She faked her fall! Chiara was on her in a second, gripping her shirt, sitting atop her hips. Esme did not stumble, ever.

Chiara had landed some hard blows before, most winding her or meant to knock the she-wolf unconscious, but Esme had persisted and not once stumbled. She’d learnt a great deal about the rogue in this fight than she would have from watching her from afar. Esme was very mysterious, stoic, or more like resting bitch face like her most of the time, and had seemed a little socially awkward.

But when Esme fought, each blow, each movement was measured, her strikes fierce, and if she had that knife Chiara had seen the rogue reluctantly give to Finn, she knew Esme was a one-hit killing machine. It was in her eyes and the way she moved. She’d killed more than the average werewolf and possibly Alphas.

Chiara flicked her head back and screamed her frustration before punching her in the face. "Fight me! I swear if you don’t fight me properly, I will end-"

Before she had the chance to finish, Esme flipped Chiara over and had her pinned like she weighed nothing more than a twig. Her knee was to her stomach, and even with her lightweight, it was hard to breathe, and she couldn’t move. Esme held both of Chiara’s arms and pinned them to her chest.

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"Do you concede, or should I knock you out?" Esme asked with a grin. Her right eye was already darkening, and her left cheek was slightly red. Chiara had landed some good blows on her that most men couldn’t handle.

Chiara nodded, a grin growing on her face. Her chest had lightened, and her wolf was stable. "Good match." Esme released her knee and then laughed as Chiara flipped her over and pinned her down only for a moment before the rogue caught her leg with her own, flipped Chiara onto her front, and put her into an awkward position.

"Hey, are we good now?" She asked from behind her, keeping her arms and legs hostage.

Chiara huffed out a laugh, her lungs burning and her body tight from the position she was put in. "Yeah. We’re good."

Somehow, she meant it.