A Fight For Dominance

My eyes widen when his massive sandy colored wolf lunges for me. I duck quickly, swinging my leg in a roundhouse kick. I feel my foot connect with his muzzle and hear a sickening crack. He lands in a heap on the ground but quickly recovers, coming at me again. "You've gotten weak in your old age, Ismael. And I can't wait to be there the day your pack crumbles." He snarls and goes for my left side. I spin out of the way, pulling a dagger out of my waistband and throwing it. He yelps when it sinks itself into his side, but even that isn't enough to deter him. Stubborn ass.

He gets up, my knife sticking out of his left side, and begins to circle me. Behind us, I can feel Bear and Julianna, tension rolling off of them both. Him worrying for his mate and her worrying for her alpha. But I can't afford to focus on them. I have to keep an eye on him or he will kill me as soon as the chance arises. I make sure to keep him in my peripheral, but not to face him head on. He snarls at me, his tongue flicking out to slide along his chops. My fingers twitch instinctively, waiting for him to lunge again. That's what he does; he lunges and dances away. Deep down, Ismael is a weak coward. I growl low in my chest, watching him. When he finally moves, it's to try snapping at my leg. But before his teeth can catch me, I grip his ears in my hands and slam my knee into his jaw, hearing a dull chomp when the impact forces his mouth closed. "Stop them, Rolando," Bear demands. I hear a deep chuckle and can see Rolando shaking his head out the side of my eye. "This is normal for them, Bear. A fact you would know had you decided to grace us with your presence." Bear growls and grumbles but says nothing in his own defense. I twist Ismael's head in one jerky motion, forcing his body into a roll and slamming him to the ground. He snarls and fights me every second though. I snarl and slam my foot down on his broad throat, kneeling beside him. "I told you I would remind you of your place. And this is it. Under my foot, on the ground. The almighty Ismael, bested by a young female again." He snarls, hatred and bloodlust burning in his eyes.

Suddenly, I'm knocked off my feet and sent flying backwards into a tree. I grunt when I feel something snap, but I shake it off. I look up at my attacker and meet Aiza's cold eyes. "You stupid woman," she snarls. Behind her, Julianna tenses and prepares to jump in as needed, but Siobhan puts a firm hand on her shoulder. "Let her handle this." Julianna growls but nods. I grab Aiza by her hair, slamming her head to the ground hard. She whimpers in response, but her hands flail desperately. Aiza is clearly no fighter, but when she finds a hold, she grips my foot and tries to pull it out from under me. Instead, I kick her in the face. Ismael snarls and lunges for me. I pick Aiza up, pulling her against me and holding a dagger to her throat. "I hate to take the cowardly way, Ismael. But I won't hesitate to slit her throat if you come near me. I'm done fighting you, but I know you. You won't stop until I'm dead or I submit. I will never do either. If this is the only way to make you stop, so be it." He snarls, digging his claws into the dirt under his paws. I hear someone suck in a sharp breath, but I know better than to spare a glance their way.

He paces in front of me restlessly. Suddenly, Aiza slams her head back, probably breaking my nose. I snarl, touching my lip when I feel blood drip down. I snarl, swinging my knife and slashing across her face. She screams, falling to the ground clutching her face. I sneer, flicking my knife sharply. "Silver. Burns like a bitch, don't it sugar," I say mockingly. She screams, clutching her face. I kick her side sharply, sending her flying to her mate's feet. "You both need to remember this; I am an alpha. I am your equal. And if you ever question that again, I'll leave more than just one scar." I sheath my knife again and walk back to the group. Rolando stops me with a hand on my shoulder and looks at me sharply. "He can legally declare war on you," he growls softly. I shrug his hand off and sneer. "Let him. His pack is weak. Just like he is. They're bloodthirsty and ruthless but ultimately they're weak." I brush past him, going back inside and straight to my room to take a shower. I toss my filthied clothes aside, stepping into the steaming hot water, and letting it run down my body. The water turns brown and red as it rinses the dirt and blood from my fair skin. When it runs clear again, I pick up the body wash I always leave here and lather myself in the sweet lavender scent. Doing a quick clarification on my hair, I twist the knobs to turn the water off before stepping out and wrapping myself in a warm towel.

I shake my hair out, dragging my fingers through my now brown hair. I lean from side to side to loosen the wet curls a bit more before walking back out into my bedroom. Bear sits on the edge of my bed, bolting up when I step into the room. "What the hell were you thinking," he demands. His eyes flash with anger as I roll my own eyes, brushing past him. I keep shaking my hair out, pulling a set of clean clothes from my suitcase. "I was thinking he's a self appreciating, narcissistic, misogynistic prick that thinks I'm a weak alpha because I'm female. I reminded him of his place." He growls deeply, gripping my upper arms and shaking me. "He can declare war on you now! Did you even think about that," he snarls. I growl, pulling my arms up in front of me before jerking them apart, effectively forcing him to release me. "I put him in place. Don't think I won't do the same to you, mate." He scrunched his eyebrows together and looks at me carefully. "You're letting the stress get to you, D," he says, taking a step towards me. I growl out a warning at him, stepping back as Wynter paces. "Believe it or not that is normal for us. The only reason he could possibly declare war on me is because I scarred his mate. And if that's his issue, I'll happily take it before the council and remind them that she attacked me. Not the other way around. The fight was between myself and Ismael and she interfered. Her being scarred is her own fault." He blanches at my dismissive tone, unable to argue because he knows I'm right. "I'm not afraid of Ismael, his mate, or his pack. A pack that, for the record, nobody has seen in at least a decade. Not since he took the Alpha position anyway. A bit odd if you think about it," I continue. He says nothing, sitting on my bed and staring at me.

When I finish getting dressed, I go back into the now defogged bathroom and plug in my blow dryer, unpacking my Cantu define and shine custard and a couple of different mousses. I scrunch the mousses into my hair before finger coiling the custard into my curls. When I finish what is essentially an arm workout in and of itself, I attach my diffuser and start drying my hair. It's not until I finish that Bear finally speaks again. "Is violence the only way you know to solve things?" I stiffen at the accusation, turning and growling. "Watch it, Bear," I warn. He shakes his head, stepping towards me. "No seriously. You've imprisoned Vlad and his mate not once but twice now, gotten into fights with her as well as a random wolf, and now you've gotten into a fight with another Alpha. How does any of this reflect well on your pack, Dawn?" I growl louder, clenching my fists. "I locked them up because they attacked me. Or have you forgotten that? Ismael almost always starts a fight during these meetings, a fact you would know if you bothered to show up for one." My words come out cold and calm, but inside I feel my blood boiling.

A knock on the door stops our argument. "Come in," I call. Julianna opens the door, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the frame. "Rolando is ready to start the second part of the meeting," she says casually. I nod, grabbing a scrunchie. "We're coming," I reply stiffly. She nods and disappears, closing the door behind her. I walk towards it, stopping when Bear grabs my upper arm gently. "We aren't done with this discussion," he says firmly. I scoff and shake my head. "I'm every bit an alpha as you are. I'm done with the discussion." I jerk my arm away and walk back to the meeting room, resuming my place beside Julianna. Ismael glares at me, his mate noticeably missing. I smirk smugly at him, leaning back in my seat and crossing my arms. "Now, back to business. Dawn is right. We do need to keep contact with one another. Especially those of us more susceptible to being victims of this new threat. If you elect not to, then don't expect us to all swarm your territory when you need help." Rolando shoots a pointed  glare at Ismael, getting an eyeroll in reply. Dick, Julianna grumbles. I cough to stifle a laugh, clearing my throat quietly.

We start talking amongst ourselves, planning on the most efficient way to keep contact with those closest to us, when Ismael's enraged snarl draws everyone's attention to him. "Are you all going to go along with this bitch's plan? Are you all forgetting that just today, she scarred my precious mate for life?!" I scoff, rolling my eyes. "Oh please, Ismael, don't go all doting mate on us now. We all know how you've bragged about your multitude of sexual conquests. Your mate means nothing more to you than any other woman," Leo snaps. Growls and mutters of agreement ripple through the room, enraging him more. Leo may not be my biggest fan, but he does hold his mate on a pedestal like most other wolves do. Ismael, in Leo's eyes, has disgraced his mate hundreds of times with his various women.

Ismael slams his fist down, cracking the table. "Fine! You spineless dogs want to follow this child into some war you've got no clue about, that's on you. When your packs are all wiped out, I'll be there to take the territory." He turns his cold, black glare on me, stirring Wynter. "And you, you bitch. You'd best watch that pack of yours. It burned once because of weak leaders that didn't know when to submit. It would be unfortunate for history to repeat itself." He snarls and turns on his heel, storming out. I clench my fists tightly, jolting when Bear's hand covers mine, drawing my attention to it. I huff when I see blood seeping from the small crescent shaped cuts my nails have created.

"He won't touch the pack, D," Julianna says soothingly. She puts her hand on my forearm gently. I look into her brown eyes, relaxing slowly, and nod. Our pack is safe. We will make sure of it. It will not burn again, Wynter says firmly. The hair on the back of my neck raises, a chill racing down my spine. Julianna's voice tears my attention away from Wynter, snapping my eyes to hers. "Rolando has ordered any alphas that share Ismael's sentiment to leave. So far none have, but we need you here. This was your idea, you need to see it through." I nod stiffly, swallowing past the lump in my throat. "Eric, you're closer to me. I can send some of my Elites over to your pack to help train your fighters as well as to assist in a few extra bodies." He nods his agreement but remains quiet. "Leo, Mikael is closest to you. I strongly suggest you two find a way to stay in communication and Mikael, you need to keep an eye on his pack. Be prepared if yours is needed to help his. Make sure both of your packs are aware this is the protocol should a crisis occur." Leo grudgingly grumbles an agreement as Mikael continues looking over the file. "So far, three alphas have been turned. Within two weeks of coming home, they're slaughtered. Those packs were small, at least the first two. The third one was bigger, nearly double the size of the first one. Someone is testing and using alphas without the mutated gene as their guinea pigs." His voice is void of emotion, almost like he's talking to himself. "Testing what though? How do you go about creating Ferals from wolves that are happy and healthy in their packs with their mates," Michael demands. Mikael shrugs but doesn't look up from his file. "Look, I just tell you what I notice. You want more information, you should open the folder." Michael growls warningly at Mikael but doesn't say anything. "As far as I can tell there are no patterns as to when or how these alphas are going missing. Meaning each pack either has a traitor in them, or these alphas are so out of touch that their packs don't notice when they go missing," Linden adds. The idea of an alpha that closed off from his pack is ludacris but then so is the idea of any alpha going Feral. "Right. Well, I think that about covers everything for now. Any other concerns?" Rolando looks at everyone hopefully, and I can see him all but praying there are no more. "My pack has reported something in No Man's land. Said they can hear something along our border," Eric pipes in.

My eyes snap to him, another chill brushing my spine. "Dawn, have your patrols reported anything unusual," Rolando asks, looking at me. I shake my head, clearing my throat. "No, but I'll ask around when I return." He nods, satisfied with my answer. "I do however have another announcement," I say. Rolando raises an eyebrow but nods encouragingly. I stand up, clenching and clenching my fists. "It has come to my attention recently the council is demanding I take a mate. As absurd and archaic as it sounds, to avoid a fight I have complied. As such, I have found my True mate. Alpha Bear of the Evergreen Pack is my True mate. We intend to join our packs when this mess is resolved." Rolando blinks slowly as Bear stands beside me, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Anybody that has a problem with my mate can take it up with me," he says firmly. Rolando smiles, nodding. He looks down at his watch, raising his eyebrows. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's late and some of you have an early morning tomorrow. Please, rest up. And call us all to let everybody know you've made it home safely tomorrow." Murmurs of agreement ripple through the room, everybody getting up and filing out of the room slowly.

Rolando pulls me aside when the room is empty, closing the door so it's just me and him. "You know none of us will allow Ismael to harm your pack, right," he says. I chew my lip, nodding. "Has he seemed...worse lately? Almost like he's slipping?" I choose my words carefully, watching his reactions. "You'd do well to remember he is still a fellow alpha, and an influential one at that. Be careful saying things like that." I nod, knowing what he means. He's noticed it too but Ismael is known to have powerful friends. "Go get some rest, Dawn. And be careful when you go home," he says, kissing the top of my head. I nod mechanically, walking out of the room. But I know, as well as I'm sure he does, that sleep will not be something I get tonight. Not when Ismael is so close and is posing such a threat.