Liv yelped as Stefan threw her to the side and she rolled over the ground. She quickly came to a stop and pushed herself off the ground, right before Stefan wanted to stomp her head against the ground, taking her out. She kicked out her leg and caught him in his ribs, right as he tried to turn away. A muffled scream left him as he stumbled back.
They have been going at it for about a half hour right now and she was absolutely exhausted and sore. Stefan had managed to break her hand, jaw and a few ribs where she had been able to break his knee, dislocate his ankle and shoulder and break his collarbone. She breathed heavily through her nose to try and catch her breathing.
The other Alphas have been standing around them in a large circle and watched the entire thing, along with Rev and Dawn. The latter probably didn’t have any fingernails left at how she was biting them.
Stefan stood up straight again and glared at her. “Not getting tired, are you?” A harsh laugh left her. “You wish, asshole.” She was lying her ass off. Her body screamed at her to stop, but she wouldn’t. There was no way in hell that she was going to give in. Stefan launched himself at her again. He went to grab her neck and tackle her to the ground, but she knew that it was coming. She wrapped her arm around his outstretched one and turned with him. She threw up her knee against his stomach, making him doubling over. She used the momentum and swiped his legs out from under him. They both fell down and she quickly moved to sit over his shoulder so his arm was in between her legs and pulled it up. Stefan screamed as she used all her strength to break his arm. As soon as she heard the break of his bones and the scream that accompanied them, she moved and smashed her elbow in his head, before she moved and sat with both of her knees on his shoulders. Pinning him down on the ground as he grabbed his head and pulled back.
Normally someone would intervene when they see someone else trying to break someone’s neck, but everyone around them just stood there watching and waiting to see who would win.
Her hand hurt like hell, but she still kept pulling. If she ended up killing the guy, it would just be lucky. Stefan struggled in her grasp, but with one arm, he didn’t get enough grip on her to pull her away from him. Liv was so focused on breaking his neck she didn’t foresee his leg which swung back and managed to kick her in the head as she leaned backwards. She yelped and lost her strength on his neck. Stefan used the momentum to force her off him and pin her on the ground. He jammed his good elbow in her ribs. A whimper left her mouth as she felt her broken ribs move. She threw up her head and headbutt him. He staggered backward. Liv rolled over, throwing Stefan to the side and used some of her last strength to break his other hand. Breathing heavily, she rolled on her back. Stefan screamed as he drew his hand against his chest and rolled away. Liv stayed on her back, panting as she looked at Stefan whose eyes became a brighter color of amber, before the sound of more bones breaking filled the air. “Fuck...” She scrambled backwards and moved to sit on her knees as Stefan shifted into his wolf skin.
Liv barely got to her feet in time, before Stefan attacked her. She jumped backwards but was too late to evade his jaw. He got her thigh in his mouth and bit down. She screamed loudly as he threw her to the side.
“Kerra!” Dawn yelled as she tried to come into the circle.
“Oh, I don’t think so, princess.” Edward said as he wrapped his arms around Dawn’s waist and held her back. “Let me go! LET ME GO!”
Dawn’s yells filled her ears, as did the pumping of her blood. She could tell that Dawn’s screams alerted more wolves to their location, but she didn’t care. All she could focus on was Stefan who stalked her. “Shift! Kerra, please shift!” Dawn yelled at her. With all her willpower she drowned out the sound of her sisters screams and kept her eyes on Stefan as she slowly got to her feet. The bite wound burned, but she drowned the pain out as well. At least as best she could.
During the Survival fights, it was either in human or wolf skin, it was never allowed to shift between the two. She knew this wasn’t an actual Survival fight, but he still cheated and so will she.
Liv dipped in her power, just as Stefan pounced on her again.
“Stefan!” King’s voice filled the air, but he was too late. Liv threw herself to the side, but his claws still cut through the skin on her shoulder. A whimper left her mouth as she fell on her stomach. She turned on her back and looked at the wolf who got ready. Stefan was going to finish the job. He jumped towards her and before anyone could intervene her power blasted out of her. Stefan yelped as he was thrown to the side. Her eyes followed him and so did her power. Stefan whined loudly as his blood started to flow backwards. He struggled and squirmed on the ground as his blood fought against him.
Liv wanted to kill him, she really did, but the pain and the exhaustion forced her to release the hold on her power. Stefan shifted back almost immediately as she dropped the hold on her power. She sagged against the floor as her body worked to heal the bones and wounds.
A surprised yelp filled the air, before Dawn crouched down next to her with tears in her eyes.
“Oh, my gods, Kerra, you’re bleeding all over the place! I can’t believe you actually won! How could you be so stupid!? You could have been killed! What the hell were you thinking!? Holy shit, you actually won!” Dawn kept rambling on, half angry, half awed, before King cut her off.
“What the hell was the meaning of this?!” King demanded as he walked into the ring. “Stefan wanted to have her prove that she was strong enough to live in the pack. He wanted a Survival fight.” Luke explained.
“And he got one.” Ben said. “She actually won.”
She didn’t know if there was wonder in his voice or if her mind was playing tricks on her, but she didn’t really care. Liv closed her eyes as she felt the sting of the wounds as they started to close. Sadly, both the bite and the claw mark will leave scars, and she hated Stefan even more for it.
“Yeah, by cheating.” Jackson interjected.
“He cheated first by shifting into his wolf skin.” Caden said with a bored voice. “So, she did win as she was the last one to cheat.” He added.
“Taking her side now, are we?” James said with a hint of disgust.
Caden snorted. “You wish, I’m simply stating the facts.” James clenched his jaw as he rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything else, the sound a whimper filled the air. Liv opened her eyes and turned her head to Stefan who was being held up by King. “Have I not specifically said that no one was to touch her!?” His voice was deadly steady. Well, he had said not to kill her, but she wasn’t going to point that out.
“Yes, sir.” Stefan said with a hoarse voice.
“So, you willingly disobeyed me.” King said as he pulled something out of his pocket. “That will be the last time, or the next time you won’t be alive.” He said before he jammed a needle in Stefan’s neck. Stefan struggled in King’s grasp as a scream left his mouth again, before he went limp and breathed heavily. King threw him to some warriors, probably from his pack as they all had clenched jaws and were fighting with themselves to not attack someone. “Take that piece of meat to the infirmary.” King ordered and the warriors obeyed. King turned towards her. Liv turned her head away from him and looked to the sky as she heard him approach.
“Don’t pretend you care, King. Just leave like I know you want to; I’ll be fine in an hour.” She said with a hoarse voice of her own.
King didn’t react for a while before his annoying voice filled the silence around them, “Dawn, please find her some clean clothes. Given that they are drenched in blood and dirt, and they smell, it’s clear she needs new ones.” Liv looked at Dawn who nodded and slowly got up from the ground as if it was an effort for her to do. Liv grabbed her hand as she leaned on her elbows. “Are you okay?” Dawn gave Liv’s hand a little squeeze and a small smile appeared on her face. “You’re actually worrying about me when you’re the one bleeding?”
“I’m not the one who is affected by whatever it is that’s killing Moonbloods.” Liv said with a pointed look which made Dawn’s smile fall as she dropped her head.
“Dawn? Has it gotten worse?” King immediately asked as he crouched down next to his daughter. Dawn looked at him and shook her head. “No, it’s not worse, I just overdid it.” She looked back at Liv. “I’m going to find you some clothes and bring them to your room, okay?” Liv gave her a small smile and nodded. Dawn pulled her hand out of Liv’s and walked away. Liv sighed as she, painfully, pushed herself into a sitting position. She closed her eyes as she took a few calming breaths through the pain.
King didn’t say anything to her as he got up and walked away. She opened her eyes and looked at his retreating figure. Most of the Alphas walked away with a disappointed expression. Liv rolled her eyes and shook her head a little as she saw it. All left, except for Caden, Ben and her guard.
“Don’t stay on my account.” She said as she met Ben’s eyes. The Alpha snorted as an amused look appeared on his face. “You are too tough for your own good, do you know that?”
“I’m as tough as I have to be.” She countered as she held his gaze. Ben’s gaze shifted from amusement to something else, she couldn’t quite read. “Was it true what you told Dawn?” She scrunched her eyebrows at his question. “Which part?”
“That you became a mercenary because it was the only option for you to get away from King?” Of course, he had heard, but that didn’t take away the tightening feeling of her chest.
“What reason do you think I have to lie about that?” She asked with a softer voice. “You all heard me scream two days ago and you all know why. King knew exactly what bringing me into that room would do to me. He knew I couldn’t handle to be that close to my mother and he delighted in the fact that I broke down into nothing. He has done far worse things to me when I was a kid, so believe me that I didn’t lie about anything I told Dawn.” A heaviness hung in the air after she was done talking. Ben walked towards her and crouched down. She gave him a hard look as he studied her. “If you broke down into nothing, how are you here after winning a Survival fight from an Alpha?” Stung by surprise she held his eyes as her eyebrows shot up. “If King tormented you, your entire life already, why do you still keep fighting?” Her eyebrows shot down at his question. The look he gave her, caused her throat to dry and she swallowed.
Why was she still fighting?
Because of her mother.
Her mother gave up everything so she might live. She told her to keep fighting and never give up. That’s why she is still alive and kicking even though she had thought about taking her own life more times than she is willing to admit. The whole reason she was still alive because she couldn’t give up what her mother had gifted to her. Liv dropped her head as she looked at her broken and red hand. Her heart ached as she thought about her mother.
“You did well, Kerra.” Liv met Ben’s gaze once more. He gave her a respectful nod before he got up and walked away from her. Ben clasped Caden’s shoulder before he walked on. Her eyes shifted to Caden who held her gaze before he turned and walked away as well. Rev nodded to him before he walked towards her. Liv forced her body to move and to stand up. As soon as she put pressure on her leg with the bite mark an involuntary whimper left her mouth and she lost the strength in her leg. Rev was next to her in an instant. He grabbed her arm before she fell back on the ground. “You need to clean it. It’ll heal faster.” Rev said as he looked at her thigh. Multiple responses rose to the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t want to fight him on something, she knew, he was right about. She needed to clean both the bite mark and the claw mark on her shoulder. Hell, she needed to clean her entire body. King wasn’t wrong that she needed a change of clothes. She hasn’t seen herself in a mirror, but she knew she looked horrible.
Liv pulled her arm out of his grasp as she wanted to walk towards the Packhouse. She placed one foot in front of the other and after a few steps Rev stopped making a grab for her arm as she stopped to lose the strength in her leg.
It was a quiet walk to the Packhouse and she didn’t mind it one bit. They walked on to the room. As they entered, Liv saw Dawn sitting on the bed with a bunch of clean clothes next to her. Her little sister smiled at her as they walked in and got up from the bed. As Liv got further into the room a new scent filled her nose which made her freeze in her tracks. “I brought you some clothes of...”
“Ilene.” Liv said as her eyes shifted back to Dawn who nodded somberly. “Dawn...”
“These are the only clothes I could get and the only ones you’ll probably fit.” Dawn interrupted her. Liv sighed as she looked at the clothes. “King is going to throw her stuff away, anyway. This way not everything of her will be gone.” Liv’s eyes shifted back to Dawn. “King can’t do that. Dwight is the one who decides...” Her sisters scoff cut off her words. Dawn met her gaze with a hard one of her own. “Since when do you believe that anyone here has to say anything? Dwight had his time to mourn and now Ilene’s stuff is just taking up space King can use.” Liv hated to admit it, but she knew that Dawn was right. They both said nothing for a brief while, before Liv sighed again and ran her good hand over her face. “Dwight is going to kill me.” She murmured before she met Dawn’s gaze again. “Fine, let me go take a shower.” Her little sister nodded and sat back down. Liv turned to walk to the adjoining bathroom when another set of footsteps followed her. She whipped around and met the smug gaze of Rev who stood close behind her.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing buddy?” Rev crossed his arms over his chest as he looked down on her. “Not letting you out of my sight.” He answered as if it was obvious. Liv scoffed as she looked at him. “Not while I take a shower, you perv.” He smirked at her. “You’re a wolf, Kerra. How the fuck can you be shy to show yourself naked? We don’t shift with clothes on.” Good point, but she hasn’t sifted in eight years so her body hasn’t been on full display for a while. “I don’t care. You are not going in there with me.” She said with a dangerous voice. The smirk grew on his fucking face. He was enjoying this way too much. “Make me, girl.” Liv was about to punch him in his throat when Dawn stepped in between her and Rev.
“Don’t you think she has been through enough already? Just wait here as she takes a shower. She still has that collar around her throat so it’s not like she can go anywhere.” Rev’s eyes shifted to Dawn and the smirk disappeared from his face. “I have my orders, princess. Your words won’t change that.”
“I’m a Moonblood, beta.” Liv’s eyes snapped back to Rev. That wolf was an actual beta? She hasn’t heard of one in a long time. “My word supersedes my fathers, so take your place by the door and wait for Kerra to clean herself.” Rev clenched his jaw at her. “You may think that it does, but your words mean nothing to me, princess.” His harsh words made Dawn flinch and the disgusted look in his eyes made Liv snap. In an instant she was around Dawn and was Rev holding his jaw as her good hand ached. The punch had been a one he hadn’t seen coming. His eyes were amber as he looked back at her. The pissed look on his face told her that the fight with Stefan wasn’t going to be the only one today.
“We may be nothing to any of you here, but we are still the ones you need for your race to survive. She is a fourteen-year-old and she is dying because of a revenge, which probably is directed to King, so don’t you fucking dare to talk like that to her again, because she is the one who is suffering and not you.” Liv said as she got up close in his face. He said nothing but the look in his eyes told her that he badly wanted to hit her. Her gaze snapped to his jaw which had already started to become darker. Bruises lasted about an hour as well, so she knew that he was going to wear it for a while and that gave her some satisfaction. “We haven’t done anything to King and yet he is the one who tortures and abuses us.” She said as she met his gaze again. “All because he thinks that he is the rightful King of the Lycanthropes and his plan to overthrow Lycaon. All of you see us as living blood bags that you can use whenever and however you wish, we’re not. And you all still don’t realize that what you’re doing is the reason why the Moonbloods are dying in the first place.” His nostrils flared in anger. “We are not the reason why you are dying, girl. So don’t you dare to point that finger to me. You have no idea what’s truly going on.”
“Oh, and you do?” Liv countered immediately. “If you do then please tell us, so we also might know the reason why we are sentenced to death!” She yelled in his face. A low growl escaped his chest as he took a step towards her and looked down on her. Their bodies inches apart, but she didn’t back down. Instead, she felt a feeling starting to unravel in her lower abdomen. A warmth that made her stomach starting to clench. A familiar feeling. This was so not what she right now, or ever, but that urge never came on a convenient time. It did mean that her shower was going to be a little longer than she intended to.
“Be careful, girl. Don’t give me a reason to actually use you as the tool you claim you are.” His voice was dangerous and she knew that she could push him over the edge if she wanted, but she has had enough fighting for one day. “Don’t give me a reason to kill you for trying.” She countered. A dark smirk appeared on his face before he took a step back. He said nothing as he turned and walked out of the door, slamming it behind him. She knew that he was still on the other side and had left because he was going to do something he was going to regret if he stayed. She knew about that, because that’s what she was feeling as well.
Liv released a long breath as she turned back to Dawn who looked at her with wide eyes.
“Are you okay?” Liv asked as she took a step towards Dawn with a worried gaze. Dawn blinked as she closed her mouth and swallowed. “You... you actually stood up for me.” A little taken aback Liv rose her eyebrows at her sister. “You thought that I wouldn’t?” Dawn quickly shook her head, “No that’s not what I meant. It’s just... No one ever stood up for me ever since Ilene died. It’s not that I didn’t think you wouldn’t it’s just not what I expected. So, thank you.” She gave a small smile.
Liv took a step forward and took Dawn’s hand in hers. “You don’t have to thank me for that, Dawn. You’re my little sister. Even though we have been more apart than together, I will always stand up to protect and defend you.” Tears started to line Dawn’s eyes as she smiled.
“I know why you needed to leave.” Dawn whispered. It was spoken in soft words, but they were enough to make ice run through her veins. “I know what was going to happen if you hadn’t left. What had started that night.”
“What’s going on?” Andrew pushed a bag into her arms before he crouched down in front of her and cupped her cheeks. A tear rolled down his cheeks as he gave her a sad smile. “It’s happening again, Livana.”
A shiver ran down her spine at the memory of the screams that had started when she ran. She had never allowed herself to remember what those screams meant and what had surely happened after they found out she left. Yet, the screams sounded clear in her mind again, the screams of the humans that had been bitten by a Lycanthrope. Their bite can’t change a human, but it does kill them, yet King was convinced that he could make them into Lycanthropes by biting the humans and pour the blood of a Moonblood in their wound. Whatever happened to them wasn’t natural. They did change, but not into Lycanthropes and they always died, almost taking the Moonblood who was used with them as her blood connected her to them. The pain for the Moonblood was excruciating, because for a brief while, as her blood touches the blood of the human, she can feel everything the human feels.
King had used her mother for it two times and both times she had almost died from too much blood loss and pain. After her mother died and Ilene was too weak thanks to the fact that King had used her to sire Lycanthropes in the only way possible, Liv had been the only one he could use for his experiment. That’s why she had to run that night. That’s why Andrew and Gerard had pushed her away as quickly as possible. If King had used her, she wasn’t sure if she would have ever seen another day.
“I never held it against you and I was content as I knew you were safer out there than you would ever be here.” Dawn continued and drew Liv’s attention back to her. “I’m just conflicted right now, because I am both glad that you’re back as I am angry that King found you and that you’re going to be used again.” Dawn’s words meant more to her than anything else. A tear rolled down Dawn’s cheek as she held Liv’s gaze. “Thank you.” Liv’s voice was thick. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath to recollect herself. Her chest had swelled at the words of Dawn and she was thankful for whatever reason there was that Dawn was so much like their mother instead of King. Dawn took a deep breath as she wiped her tears away and laughed a little. “Damn, you reek so badly I even start crying because of the stench.” Liv laughed a shocked laugh as she looked at her sister with amusement and disbelieve. Dawn chuckled as she saw Liv’s gaze and winked. “Go take a shower, Kerra.” She said gently before she pushed Liv to the bathroom and walked back to the bed. “I’ll be here when you’re done.” Which could be a while thanks to the feeling in her lower abdomen. But she wasn’t going to tell her little sister that. Liv gave her a smile before she walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. The lights turned on as she took another step into the bathroom and she was met with her reflection in the mirror. Her breath caught as she took another step forward and saw the devastating state she was in. Everything about her was dirty. Her hair, skin, clothes, everything. With a sigh, she took off the ruined sweater and saw the claw marks which were already starting to close up. They ran from the side of her right upper arm over her shoulder and a little over her shoulder blade. It would leave an obvious scar. Her eyes shifted to her back. To the place where the burn had been, but there was nothing there anymore. Her mind went back to the car ride and the time that had suddenly sped up. She was going to find out how exactly that had happened. She tossed the sweater on the ground, along with her bra and took off her combat boots and pants. A hiss escaped her as the pants slid along the bite mark on her left thigh. That one was still bleeding, and hurting more than the claw mark did, thanks to the venom in the bite. Dropping her pants and panties on the floor she walked to the shower and turned it on. Liv glanced one more time at her reflection and knew that she was going to have a hard time once she was getting out of the shower. Clenching her jaw, she stepped under the warm water.
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