{2}

The party had been going on for four hours and still isn't showing any signs of slowing down. I was sitting on the sofa watching a group of friends play truth or dare, a game that I've never played in a group.

I recognised almost everyone in the group, I knew that they're all pretty chill and nice people. One girl I didn't recognise, who seemed to be sitting on her mate's lap, looked up at me and smiled. She whispered something in her mate's ear, which made him scoot over and made a space in the circle. 

"Elisia, the birthday girl! Would you like to join us?" The girl called out excitedly.

Everyone in the circle looked my way, waiting for a reply. I hesitated, just in case someone protested and said they didn't want me playing. After a couple of seconds, I nodded shyly and sat down in the spot that was made for me. 

The game consisted of a bottle in the middle of the circle which was spun until it landed on someone. That person would then be asked 'Truth or Dare?'. The bottle was spun by the nice girl who invited me in the game.

I watched the bottle slow down and stop in front of the guy who was sat next to me. He was one of the few I didn't recognise. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, I didn't want the bottle to land on me for some reason. 

"Intense, right?" The nice girl asked, grinning at me. I nodded at her, laughing at myself. 

"Truth or Dare, Daniel?" 

The guy beside me, apparently called Daniel, immediately said, "Dare." 

"I dare you to go against Elisia in a match tomorrow." One guy, who I'm sure is named Tom, said gleefully. 

Daniel nervously glanced at me and groaned. "No, that doesn't count. You said tomorrow, not today. We're playing the game now, so all the dares have to be done today."

Everyone was shaking their heads and laughing. I couldn't help laugh at the helplessness that was oozing out of this guy. Eventually, it was finalised that he'll be going up against me in mixed martial arts tomorrow morning.

The bottle was spun again, but unfortunately landed on me. Everyone's eyes were on me, when one of them asked, "Truth or Dare?"

I knew better than to choose Dare, especially since I wasn't familiar with how they play. 

"Truth." I replied. 

"I want to ask a question, is that okay?" A petite girl called Amber asked, raising her arm slightly. Everyone, including me, shrugged as a reply so she took that a confirmation. 

"Have you and Jayden ever been in a romantic relationship?" 

The group went silent as their curious eyes landed on me. I opened my mouth and shut it again, shocked that anyone would ask that question. 

"Remember. You have to speak the truth, nothing but the truth." Amber said, folding her arms. 

I gaped her in disbelief. What the hell?

"The relationship Jay and I have is completely platonic, was always platonic and will always be. We're like brothers and sisters; his parents raised the both of us for goodness sake!"

"Ah, so you call our future Alpha 'Jay'? Doesn't he hate to be called that?" She pressed, leaning forward and making eye contact with me.

My wolf's discomfort increased as she kept looking straight into my eyes...like she was challenging me.

By controlling my breathing, like how I was taught, I managed to tone down my anger a notch. Just explain yourself, maybe she'll let it go. She just needs clarification, that's all.

However, the wolf side of me doesn't want to explain herself and was adamant that I don't need to answer such ridiculous questions.

Regardless, I forced myself to answer as calmly as possible. Unfortunately, I already had a reputation for having quite a temper.

"I've called him that since I was a toddler, it's just a nickname. I thought you were only supposed to ask one question for this game." I said, laughing it off. 

"You're right, Amber. I do hate being called Jay." A deep familiar voice is heard behind me.

I turned my head to see Jay, with two red cups in his hands. I guess he finally found the Coke I'd been craving. 

"I hate being called Jay by anyone who isn't Elisia. 'Jay' is especially reserved for Elisia only, my non-biological sister." He explains coldly, staring at Amber making her show her neck in submission. "Does that answer your questions?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." She answered immediately, still showing her neck in submission.

Honestly, I wasn't paying any attention to what was going on. All I could focus on what the cup of coke in Jay's hand. I stretched my arm to reach the cup, making Jay bend down to hand it to me.

I gulped down the coke, allowing the fizziness to fill my stomach. I always crave coke after my wolf hunts, which is quite a peculiar I guess. 

Jay sat down on the sofa I was sitting on earlier and gestures us to keep playing. The bottle was spun a couple more times and landed on almost everyone, who all chose truth.

It finally landed on me again, so of course I choose truth again. This time no one was quick to ask questions, not with Jay a few feet away from us. 

Daniel was the first to speak up. "You've got to answer truthfully, okay?" 

I rolled my eyes at this and laughed. "I know how the game works." I retorted back, wondering what he could possibly ask. 

"Do you think you could beat Irene in a fighting match?" He asked, after much deliberation.

Everyone is the circle gasped as they looked at me expectantly. I noticed people at the back of the room stopped what they're doing and looked our way with curious expressions. It felt like everyone was holding their breath for my response. 

I don't know what response they were expecting, but I'm sure they didn't expect what I said next. 

"Who?"

That's when everyone burst into chaos.

Everyone started talking over each other, standing up and displaying exaggerated reactions. What I heard among the chaos was, "How do you not know who Irene is?", "Do you live under rock?", "My girl said 'who?'!", "That's the spirit!"

I glanced at Jay in confusion, who also wore a confused expression. He then shrugged and carried on sipping his drink.

Good idea, let's just sip on our coke until everyone calms down. To my surprise, it took less time then I estimated for everyone to settle down.

Daniel was the first to speak again. "So do you really not know who Irene is or were you just saying it to show you don't consider her a rival?"

Everyone quiets down as they waited for my reply. I shrugged and took a sip of my drink, unintentionally increasing everyone's anticipation.

Realising that they needed a verbal answer, I replied with, "I don't know who Irene is."

I heard a few gasps and people letting out a sharp breaths.

Who is Irene to have so many people displaying big reactions about her?

My curiosity peaked after evaluating people's expressions; it's seems to me that I am out of the loop of something big. Which I'm not too surprised about; I'm usually oblivious to gossip and what's being talked about recently. I'm always the last to know about things.

"Damn, you must live under a rock." The nice girl said, climbing off her mate and situated herself in front of me. 

"Okay, so is anyone going to explain who Irene is or what?" I asked, hanging the question in the air. 

"I gladly will." The nice girl responded with a wink. "My name is Hana, if you were wondering." 

She carried on before I could say anything. "Since you became the first female warrior in the US, there has been many other female wolves who have been following your footsteps. Just recently, I would say about couple months ago, a female wolf called Irene has been winning every match she has been in."

Isn't that a good thing? Another female wolf who's dominating her matches, that's amazing! I not only travel to other packs for matches, but to also empower the females there and show their worth in fighting. 

"What pack is she from?" I asked.

Silence.

"Well?" I prodded, wondering why no one was answering. 

"The BlackShadowed Pack." Daniel whispered, looking at me expectantly.

Oh.

So she's from that pack?

I've never set foot on their territory, nor do I plan on doing so. I've heard bad and dark rumours surrounding that pack.

The former Alpha was nicknamed the 'Mad Alpha' because of his crazy, shady and dirty ways of doing pack business. I guess it worked for him since they are the most powerful pack in the United States.

It's been two years since the 'Mad Alpha' died, yet the pack seems to operate the same way. I heard that the current Alpha, although quite young, is just as bad as his father. 

"Moving on, so Irene has been challenging the best fighters in every pack. Including you." Hana carried on, plopping her head on her hand. "She's won all the matches so far."

So Irene wants to go against me? It sounds like she'll actually be some competition which, I can't lie, sounds exciting.

Although, that doesn't mean I can accept the challenge; I have to think of this pack's reputation. We cant afford to associate with that pack, not when we're known to have a clean record.

The Imperial Pride Pack is second to The BlackShadowed Pack when it comes to power, territorial land and influence. The biggest difference between us is how we manage the pack and the money. 

"That's not all, Elisia." Hana said, catching my attention again. "She's been running her mouth for months now, saying that she is 'better than you' in every way. Since you have not replied to her request to fight, she's been calling you a 'coward' and 'poser'. She's known for brutally finishing her opponent at the end of a fight, leaving them almost dead and calls herself 'The White devil.' It's been causing so much drama and gossip in all the packs lately, that's why we assumed you knew."

Oh. Well, damn. How do I respond to that? 

"Wow." I said in a monotone voice. However, inside I was boiling.

This Irene girl doesn't even know me, and has the nerve to judge me like that. I had no idea who she was and that she has requested to fight me, until now.

Usually Magnus organises these events for me as well as notifies me on who requested to fight me. Why didn't he tell me about her? Is it because of the pack she belongs to?

Not to mention, she apparently leaves them 'almost dead' at the end of a match? Honestly any strong fighter can do that, but where is the respect in that?

A sparring match is about testing your physical and mental ability to fight, not about trying to kill each other. That is only reserved for the battlefield.

"So? Do you consider her a rival?" Daniel asked. "She's causing quite a stir in the community. The last female who caused this much stir was you."

"Will you accept the challenge and fight?" Someone else in the circle shouted.

I stayed silent, not wanting to say the wrong thing. If I showed any signs of accepting the match request, then they all may share that 'I accepted the challenge' on social media. Magnus must've not told me for a reason, so I'll need to find out why before I make a decision. 

"We will review the conditions of the request before making any decisions, so please refrain yourselves from asking if she'll accept." Jayden spoke up, walking over to us. I sent him a grateful smile, he always knows when to come in. 

I stood up, stretching my numb legs from sitting in the same position for too long. Did they really think Irene could beat me in a fighting match? They way they were describing her made it seem like they think she can rival me.

Can she? There is no way of knowing until I see her fight, I wonder if there is a video about. 

Couple hours later ~

Almost everyone was gone, just a few people stayed behind to help us clean up the mess. It was just me, Jay, Hana and her mate, who I now know is called Michael.

Thankfully, all we had to clean the first floor of the house since the upstairs was off limits during the party. A downstairs toilet is useful for occasions like this or people would have the opportunity to snoop in our rooms and personal stuff. 

Kaitlyn and Magnus walked down the stairs, making an appearance. There were times where I'd look at them and realise how different they look from me. Obviously we weren't related in any way, but when I was younger it actually bothered me.

I looked so out of place, making it more obvious that I didn't really belong with them. Jay inherited their curly golden blond hair. He got his green eyes from his mother whereas Magnus had brown eyes. 

You could say I look the complete opposite from them. I have waist length chestnut brown wavy hair. I was born with stormy grey eyes, which are framed by my thick dark curly eyelashes.

I have this natural flush on my cheeks which gives people the impression I'm cute...before they find out who I am. I have this tendency of biting my lips when I'm concentrating thus making them look almost red, a habit that Kaitlyn has tried to uninstall for years. 

"Hana, Michael, thank you for helping out. It's very kind of you." Kaitlyn said, walking towards them with a smile. 

"No, it's our pleasure Luna." Michael replied immediately, bowing slightly. 

"We've just called your parents to let them know you're here, but we would like you to go home. You've helped out enough, go home and rest." Magnus said, joining them. 

"Thank you, Alpha. We'll get going now." Hana replied smiling. She looked towards Jay and I and started waving. "I'll see you guys around!"

"Bye!" We shouted in unison.

Watching Michael holding and leading Hana out the house, I was reminded of Irene and the match request. I put down the black trash bag I was holding and made my way towards the Alpha and Luna. 

Seeing me approach them, their smiles grew bigger. "How's the birthday girl doing? How was your first big party?" 

"It was great; I had a lot more fun than I thought I would. Thankfully." I replied honestly, nodding gratefully. 

"That's good. It's what we had hoped for." Magnus said, ruffling the top of my hair.

I smiled up at him, I'm sure he'd understand why I'd want to maybe, just maybe, accept that match request. I suddenly had a burning passion to prove that Irene girl wrong. 

"Magnus, I have something to talk to you about." I said cautiously in a serious tone.

His eyebrow slightly raised before he gestures me to follow him. I started to follow him upstairs, but not before Kaitlyn mouthed 'What is it about?' and I mouthed back 'Just follow us.'

I looked back to see if Jay would come, but instead saw him knocked out and spread across the couch.

Literally only half his body was on the couch and the rest was on the floor making me quietly snigger to myself. We entered his office room with Kaitlyn right on my tail, curious about what I had to say. 

After making myself comfortable on the chair in front of his huge wooden desk, I went straight to the point.

"During the party today, I found out that a girl named Irene from the BlackShadowed Pack has requested to fight me. Apparently, she requested this a few months ago and has taken advantage of the fact I haven't replied, mocking my ability to fight. Why haven't you notified me about this request, Alpha?"

Magnus slowly leaned back on his black leather chair and started to tap his fingers on his desk. I stole a glance at Kaitlyn who, to my surprise, looked unaffected by what I had just said. 

"Did you know too?" I asked her, stunned that they'd keep this from me. "Damn, I must really live under a rock." 

"The reason I didn't tell you is because I don't trust that pack. One of the conditions of the request they sent is that the match takes place in their territory. Once you are in their territory, I will have very little power of what happens there and that scares me. Who knows what they could do to you?" He started explaining, crossing his fingers over each other. Something he does when he means business. 

"That's fine, I'll be able to look after myself. Besides, I can take some of our pack members, like I usually do when I travel." I said.

He should know I've always got my own back when I enter other pack's territory. 

"I don't mind other packs because I know the Alphas and Lunas of those packs. I'm more reassured of your safety when you're in their territory because we are allies. You know the BlackShadowed Pack are known for not playing by the rules, not to mention they are not our ally. We have no peace contract with them, so they can do almost anything."

I shook my head in frustration. "If they were to do something, like intentionally harm a pack member of ours, wouldn't that initiate war?"

Magnus shrugged. "It's not like they haven't done that before. Look, Irene has won every match she's been in. If she's from that pack, there is no doubt she has some dirty tricks up her sleeve. I don't want you to be on the other end of that. In other words, I don't want you to be unfairly beaten."

I nodded slowly, trying to register his words. "Do you really think she can beat me?"

"With the dirty tricks she may have up her sleeve? Then, yes."

I sighed, understanding his point of view. I'm considered an incredible anomaly; a female wolf who surpasses many males' strength is abnormal. There aren't a lot like me, so if Irene is as incredible as people say she is, then there must be more the story than what meets the eye. 

"As someone who cares about you and your feelings very much, I will give you the chance to accept the request. As your Alpha, I would prefer if you thought it over very carefully before coming to your decision. Regardless of what you choose, Kaitlyn and I will support and respect you."

---------------------------------------------------

Whoo~ A pretty long chapter right?

Hope you enjoyed it! <3 

Remember to vote and comment xx