The Alpha's War/Soul Mate - Book 2

Part 25

The fight did not go as planned.

Looking back to it now and wondering what she could have done differently, many things come to mind, like:

- should have been more mindful of my surroundings,

- focused more on keeping my balance,

- gotten to my feet quickly after falling,

- kept them in front of me all the time, removing their chance to surround me,

- use their own attacks against them,

- keep my attacks short and powerful, retreating quickly after each one.

But the cruel truth is she wasn't, isn't, ready to face against 3 opponents of warhog caliber yet, though her father definitely had been, not that it helped prevent from being stabbed in the back.

"You're young, you still have time to learn more."

"You made me look weak in front of my wolves."

"The way I see it, you are already a model of strength to them."

"You shouldn't have helped me."

"Because you were doing so good on your own?"

"I almost..."

"Almost defeating 1 out of 3 while the other two ganged up on you from an angle you weren't watching doesn't mean anything. You were losing your fight and possibly your life. Unacceptable."

"Why? Who are you? What does it matter to you what I do?"

"Jena, some people play a more important role in life than others."

"Am I one of them?"

"Have your actions touched the life of others in the past?"

"Yes."

"Aham."

She has to admit that fighting against multiple opponents in wolf form was not as easy as in human form, yet her human form didn't have the same strength as her wolf. Come to think of it, even against two she may just have been lucky.

"So were you actually looking for me? How did you find me?"

"The wind told me you needed help. So I provided."

"What exactly did you do to them? They fell so fast. What was in those darts?"

"The panthers will tell you if they feel like it."

"The black panthers? The ones in the Eternal Forest?"

"Yes."

"You know them?"

"I've had the privilege."

"I thought only the coyotes knew how to get to them."

"True."

"So you are one of them?"

"A coyote, yes."

"But not one of them, right? They told me they avoid conflict, yet you did not."

"You could say I only blew my pipe at them. I wouldn't call that an actual conflict. They were too busy handing you your ass."

"That is not a nice thing to say!" Jena says, wincing in pain as her multiple broken ribs throb painfully while talking.

"Doesn't make it any less true."

"I'd like to see you do better!"

"I just did. I counted three dead warhogs when I pulled them off you."

"You made me look weak in front of my pack!"

"Again with that? You had just taken out 3 by yourself earlier, albeit not all at once, and you held out against those three," the stranger says pointing at the 3 corpses, "long after your pack had finished with their own targets. You should have let them help!"

"It is not what I promised! It wasn't honorable!"

"But was it honorable for them to try to eliminate an entire pride just to get rid of you back in the East?"

"How did you know about that?"

"This is war, girl! Honor has no place in war if both parties aren't willing to be honorable."

"But some of them are."

"And some are not. Actually, most are not. You haven't been in the west long enough. You haven't seen what I have. You know nothing of the suffering and loss of the western wolves. Even if the war ends tomorrow, which it won't, the West needs at least 2 generations to recover."

"Aren't you a coyote? Why do you care about the wolves so much? Aren't coyotes used to running and hiding?"

"Deflecting with blame and pointing fingers doesn't change the facts. All are important to Calla. Even warhogs."

"Bullshit! Why would those abominations be useful to anyone but their crazed Master?"

"Weren't you the one talking about them being honorable a few moments ago?"

"I... some of them are not..."

"Yes. You know and have seen things in your East and what you know is important. So you all need to come with me back to the black panther village."

"Wait, you know where it is? Not even the coyotes know where it is. They just go in the forest and wait to be found."

"I am who I am. Comes with the territory along with all the perks and obligations. Like saving silly girls from their ego and stupid willingness to sacrifice themselves needlessly. Can't believe you ordered your pack not to help you."

"I didn't want them to get hurt. Like Liam did."

"And prove you are as good as your father at the same time?"

"Is there anything you don't know?"

"Oh, so many, many things! But I definitely know I'm not in your pack, lucky for you, so I didn't have to respect your orders."

"Wait, you were watching me? For how long?"

"I liked the ear trick."

"And you didn't do anything earlier? My pack mate could have been alive if you had used your poisons earlier!"

"War has casualties. War is cruel. He died fighting for his Alpha."

"But you could have saved him!"

"And yet I was not here for him."

"I hate you!"

"And yourself most likely. But there will be many more tough decisions you will need to take in the future. All you can do is learn and do better next time."

"I do not want a next time! I do not want any of my wolves hurt!"

"War is what it is. And it does not care. War will come to your East sooner than you think. Isn't that why you are here in the first place? To learn more and be prepared?"

"Yes."

"Your wolves have finished securing your dead mate, we will go now."

"Who are you really?"

"Some call me the Black Coyote."

"I've never heard that name before."

"I don't mind. How is Conall doing?"

"How do you know Conall? He's fine. In charge of training the warriors in my pack."

"Good, good, you will all need it before long."

*A.N.: Writing about the fight was very hard, but I hope you enjoyed it being extra long. 

And yes I know this is yesterday's update. I'll do my best to update 3 times this week as usual.

Hopefully, it will be easier now that the fight is out of the way. 

Let me know what you think in the comments and remember to vote!