Tonight's fight was not the Final Fight. It was, however, the last fight before the Final Fight would take place tomorrow night. Heath gushed over a warrior named Kai who had won an earlier fight today, meaning Kai would appear in the Final Fight — he was Heath's chosen pick to win (even though Heath did not know who Kai would be going up against yet). According to Heath, Kai was well built but agile like a cat. He had great strength, but he also had immense speed. His instincts on what moves and where to throw a punch were not as developed as his other skills, but Heath stressed it was Kai's first time in the competition. He encouraged me to place a bet on Kai, even when I reminded Heath I had no money to my name.

Unease washed over me as we made our way to our seats. Thousands of other like-minded people crowded the coliseum, a buzz of anticipation filling the air mixed in with the overwhelming stench of stale popcorn. As I peered around at the faces surrounding us, no one else seemed to be apprehensive about the upcoming fight.

Instead, I saw people wearing shirts plastered with Final Fight in bold letters, little flags with their chosen fighter clenched in many of their hands. Tonight's fight was against Alpha Manny and warrior Pete Hudgins. Alpha Manny was the same Alpha who Heath talked about earlier, the same Manny who got his title a year earlier from winning the Final Fight.

Obviously, Alpha Manny was the predicted winner of tonight's fight. Heath, who followed each fighter's stats religiously, said it should be a shutout. His exact words were: "it will be a shut out. A bloody one at that. Alpha Manny likes to fight a little dirty. Pete is not going to stand a chance."

While Alpha Manny had the upper hand, he was going against Pete Hudgins, who was one of the quickest thinking, tactical fighters to ever enter the coliseum walls. He was a new fighter on the scene and had sort of lucked his way into the final elimination round. Heath advised me not to put my bets on Pete Hudgins. Although, an underdog winning would make for a good fight.

The seats Theo secured were front and center. As the two competitors came out to face one another, their stench quickly wafted over the stands, putridly. My eyes were locked on the ginormous silver wolf whose coat was almost like liquid mercury. Even with the thick hair, the wolf's muscles persuaded out; from Heath's earlier descriptions, I knew it had to be Alpha Manny.

In the opposite corner was — presumably — Pete Hudgins. He was significantly smaller. While his coat was grey, a similar hue to his competitor, it dulled in comparison to Manny's. Not only did Manny's form look more well suited for fighting, but it also seemed like Manny took care of his body in a way Pete did not, or in a way Pete could not.

"Alpha Manny vs warrior Pete Hudgins," an announcer's voice boomed while the two competitors started snarling at each other, feet rearing in preparation. Tiny clouds of dirt puffed up at their feet. "Both from the Mid-Atlantic pack. Alpha vs warrior. Master vs apprentice."

Before the competitors started ripping each other to shreds, I turned towards Theo who was seated beside me with Mina on my other side. Max was lingering behind and Heath and Flynn were seated to Theo's side. "Have you ever entered this competition?"

Heath laughed and answered for Theo. "No one would stand a chance if Alpha Theo entered the ring."

Upon saying this, some of the people around us roared in agreement, their supernatural hearing coming in handy. Theo just shrugged his shoulders and smiled, his eyes cast towards the two wolves who were about to fight.

"Oh please," Mina scolded. "It's because Theo is one of the most powerful Alphas in the United States. He has nothing to prove. He's a natural-born Alpha."

Theo reached over, stealing some of my popcorn. A referee slowly entered the coliseum, signaling the fight was about the begin. With each step the referee took, the roars of the crowd increased.

I was sitting on the edge of my seat, curious to see what would happen. It was so barbaric to fight like this. If the Council knew of this activity, I knew for certain they would have used it as an example of Werewolf's wicked nature. They are beasts, after all. Tonight would prove that notion. Yet, I could not subdue the excitement that boiled within.

"Today, we find out which one of these competitions will join warrior Kai in the Final Fight tomorrow: Alpha Manny or warrior Pete Hudgins," the crowd erupted at the mention of Alpha Manny. Pete was not as lucky to receive so many cheers.

"Three."

The crowd started to chant Manny's name over and over.

"Two."

The crowd was so loud my ears started to ring, my own thoughts being muted by the crowd's commotion.

"One."

At the end of the countdown, Alpha Manny lunged for Pete. Pete, expecting this move, dodged out of the way, rolling to the side. Pete, standing on the tip of his toes, thrust his body towards Alpha Manny, their bodies colliding in a resounding boom.

Blood dripped off Pete from the sheer force of all his weight slamming into Alpha Manny's unnaturally steel body. Pete stumbled back as Many slashed his face, blood dripping out from his eye. Pete's wolf howled in agony, taking a step back.

I closed my eyes as the carnage intensified. Heath warned me Manny was a violent fighter, but I had never seen something so gruesome before. It was almost as if they did not value their life — or maybe their quality of life. I gulped, swallowing the bile rising in my throat. I couldn't fathom Pete would be able to walk away from the fight without lasting damage, not even his supernatural healing abilities could shield him from permanent effects.

"I thought you said if things get to the point of death, then it means there are illegal tactics involved," I almost whispered out.

While I may not have been looking at the fight, I could hear the snarls and whimpers coming from the center of the arena. I couldn't identify which wolf was whimpering and which was crying out, but I could likely guess.

"Open your eyes." I squeezed my eyes tight before thrusting them open.

The two wolves were circling each other, teeth bared out in a gruesome snarl. They were moving around each other like they were partaking in a dance. To my surprise, Pete's body was already healing his wounds. My eyes bulged as he tried to prolong the pause in action for his body to heal more properly.

"No wonder Mina thought I healed slowly," I muttered to myself as Theo, Heath, Mina, and Flynn laughed.

Manny tried to lunge at Pete, but Pete yet again expected the move and tripped Manny instead. Pete leaped on top of Manny, pinning him down, his teeth latching onto his left ear.

"Three," the announcer shouted as the crowd erupted. Manny tried to get out of Pete's grip, but Pete was holding Manny down at just the right pressure points.

"Two," echoed throughout the coliseum.

In the blink of an eye, Manny launched himself up, flippingPete over. His body crushed Pete into the dirty floor.

"Three," the announcer started the countdown over again as Manny dug his paws into the dirt to create a sturdier cage to trap Pete in. "Two."

Pete squirmed around, trying to break free from Manny's grasp, but it was no use. Manny's body was an unrelenting fortress.

"One."

"Alpha Manny is moving on to the Final Fight," the crowd yet again erupted. Before Manny released Pete, he tore off Pete's left ear, spitting it out as he withdrew his arms from the depths of the dirt.

Heath jumped up and pumped his fist as my stomach started to feel turbulent. I again had to swallow the bile that was threatening to surface. I closed my eyes, trying to ease my stomach.

Theo put a hand on my back, but it did nothing to ease the unsettlement brewing in my abdomen. Theo helped push me up into a standing position, forcing my eyes open.

Many different people were crowing the coliseum center where the fight had just occurred while a bigger portion of the people were making their way to the exit. We followed Flynn's lead, squeezing into the crowd. My eyes were starting to feel heavy as we trekked all the way back to the car, and my pace was slowing.

"I think she overexerted herself today," I could hear Mina off in the distance.

I tried to protest the notion I could not keep up with the pack of wolves that surrounded my every move, but by the time we got back to the car, I was fast asleep.

✷✷✷

When I woke up, I had to physically pry my eyes open. They had been crust shut. My head thudded dully, and I couldn't shake the uncomfortable tension in my lower stomach. My body felt worse than it did before I had fallen asleep last night.

Mina must have been right. I overexerted my body yesterday, but I was not going to let that stop me from going to the Pack Fair again today. I didn't know when I would be let out of this isolation in the future, and I could not waste this opportunity; I would need to try and use today's time wisely. I would need to find Miss Orville and ask her some questions. Maybe she could guide me to a witch.

Slowly, I managed to get myself ready. I put on a comfortable pair of shorts and a lightweight shirt. I lazily brushed out the extreme knots in my hair. I was not as lucky when I brushed my teeth; I had to take a break to throw up in the toilet before I was able to finish cleaning them.

With that being the end of my efforts to ready myself, I cautiously made my way to the living room, making sure not to move too quickly. A nice lounge on the couch would most certainly help me feel better. As I exited my room, no one was waiting up for me. I must have woken up earlier than expected.

Part of me was thrown off by how eager I was to attend the Pack Fair again. I could have deluded myself into believing it was because of the possibility of finding a witch, but I knew that was not completely true. I was so eager because the Outside world was exhilarating. Sure, it was absolutely terrifying, but, at the same time, it was not anything like how it had been described to me.

Grappling with the notion people — supernaturals — did not appear as threatening as I had been taught my whole life, I willed myself to silence these thoughts. The fight last night should have been proof enough of their violence, but I couldn't force myself to feel that way for some infuriating reason. Realizing this just made the storm inside my stomach worse and my headache pound with increased intensity.

Trying to abandon these thoughts, I didn't know how long I lounged around with my eyes closed and brows knitted in a way to help subside the pain, mind blank. Meanwhile, one by one Theo, Mina, Heath, and Flynn trickled into the room until they eventually were all in the Alpha Wing. Somehow, I was able to act as if there was no tornado making its way into my stomach. The car ride was very uncomfortable, and I almost threw up multiple times, but I managed to make it to the Pack Fair without throwing up.

Once we arrived at the parking lot, the trek up to the Fairgrounds made my head swirl. My body was screaming for me to take a rest, but I forced myself forward.

"You okay?" Heath asked, as we slowly walked over to the tents.

I nodded my head, unable to speak. Heath did not look so easily convinced, but I waved him off, trying my best to appear normal. Once we finally made it to the start of the countless rows of tents, I was almost panting, wanting to take a seat. Unfortantely for me, there was no place to sit, so I tried to slow my pace even more to catch my breath.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Flynn asked this time. Again, I waved off the concern. Theo's eyes watched over me carefully, but he did not say anything; his mouth was slightly ajar — like he had meant to chime in but decided against it.

Once I caught my breath, I said: "I think the food from last night is not agreeing with me, is all."

"Ah," Heath bobbed his head. "Processed food does do that to you."

With my explanation, the group seemed less focused on my well-being. I hoped it would hold them off for at least the rest of the day. Having the taste of freedom from my isolation yesterday was sweeter than I imagined. I did not want to say goodbye to this newfound, temporary freedom just because I felt like death was approaching.

Progressively, though, it got harder to wave off whatever had overcome me as a taste of bad food. My forehead sweated profusely, and I had to take frequent bathroom breaks where I would projectile vomit all over the toilet. Each time I came back from the bathroom, my body got weaker, like I was throwing up pieces of my stability. However, I was determined to last the night. I wanted to see the Final Fight — Heath had talked it up so much, I felt like I would be missing out if I did not attend.

Unfortunately, I was not in the right headspace to scour the tents for Miss Orville. My vision had blurred after the second time I wandered off to the bathroom, and the thought of concentrating on anything too long made my head spin and tiny dots invade my vision.

Hours passed by, and I was hanging on by a thread, but I was reinvigorated with a burst of adrenaline when Heath reckoned we should start heading towards the coliseum to beat the crowd. Sheepishly, I excused myself to the bathroom for — hopefully — the last time, Max as my guide.

Finding the nearest empty stall in the tented bathroom, I leaned over and threw up for the eighth time today. My whole body shook, hands latched around the toilet rim. I tried to steady myself up, but I couldn't conjure enough energy to propel myself forward. Sighing, I waited several moments before trying again — nothing.

"Sage," Theo's voice was soft, yet filled with concern.

I tried to turn my head to where Theo's voice came from, but I could not manage to move my head in that direction. Instead, I resided to dropping my head down.

"We need to stop meeting like this," I tried to joke, referencing the night we met, where I was in the exact compromising position I found myself in now.

"I'm taking you home," Theo responded as he easily lifted me up.

I froze, shaking my head continuously as I repeated, "no, no, no."

I tried to push away from Theo, my attempts feeble. I could not return back to isolation, not yet at least. No, I had to stay. I would have to convince Theo of this. But, my breaths came in hot and short. I couldn't get a single word in as Theo carried me out of the bathroom into the blinding afternoon sun.

The clairvoyant had been wrong; many people would not die — only one person would: me. And, then I passed out.