"Everyone, listen up," Sean shouted.

I stood beside Molly, arms folded around my waist as I look around at the girls beside me. They were all jumping and stretching, excited to get to burn their energy. I knew I had progressed and so far I have escaped sparring day since Phoenix left. I've said I hated sparring day right?

Glad you know. 'Cause I do- hate it that is.

"Today I'd like you to line up in terms of height. Tallest to my left and shortest to my right." He announced.

We all busied ourselves and compared our height to one another. I waited until most were lined up before slotting myself in. I was the second smallest, the girl only a centimetre or so shorter than me. She reminded me of a pixie, with short black hair and almond eyes. If we took our shoes off I bet it's been a hairs width in height difference.

"Just to make things weird, I want each of you to spar with the person to your left first. Whoever wins will move on to the next height group, until there is a final match. No wolf. Got it?"

We all nodded and broke off into pairs. I noticed Molly was one of the tallest and ended up paired against one of Jess's shadows. The age groups had merged today and so there were fourteen pairs of women ready to battle.

I turned to the smaller pixie-looking girl and smiled sheepishly. She gave me a crude smirk, something I wasn't expecting from someone so innocent looking. I just wanted an easy fight that I could back down from, but it seemed I may have to defend myself here.

Sean released a low whistle and the pixie girl flew. Her arm came hurtling towards me and I was momentarily gobsmacked at her speed. I dodged her punch and thankfully her kick. She may be small and fast, but she wasn't very strong.

I could feel eyes on my back that had the hairs on my body rising in attention. I knew I had to block him out or I'd get distracted.

I acted upon self-defence for a while as I quickly analysed her fighting pattern. She landed a good few punches to my ribs which had me wincing. She relied a lot on left hooks and jabbing with her right arm. I could feel the pattern as she swung, kicked and then jabbed.

So the next time she swung her arm I blocked it with my own, grabbing her wrist and pushing it backwards. Her shoulder crumpled and she let out a small whimper as I forced my foot into her chest. As she fell to the floor I pulled on the arm in my grip until it was pressed against her back and her face lay in the dirt. Five seconds passed before she tapped out.

Well, that was pretty easy.

I helped her to her feet and we congratulated each other on the fight before standing awkwardly as we waited for everyone to finish. Once they did we moved up to the next height group, and once again I fought against another female who relied on swinging one arm and jabbing the other. Weird.

I similarly defeated her, only this time I punched her chest as she swung her fist up into my chin. I thankfully caught her flying arm in time and collapsed on top of her when the fight was done. We bowed and congratulated before once again I moved up the ranks.

I stood facing the other minion of Jess, I don't know what this one was called. Her hair was dyed dark red and her eyes blue with hatred. I don't know what these girls' problems are but I was happy once I finally forced her into the dirt as well. She shrieked the whole time, every movement of her body elicited some kind of noise. It was quite annoying really.

Girl number four was about five centimetres taller than me, her toned arms and legs already set the feeling that I was going to fail this match. She had the upper hand from the start. Her movements were random and sporadic that I couldn't keep up. I fell to the ground after she exceptionally sent a kick to my stomach that I could only block slightly.

A low whine left my lips at the force, the whole side of my face felt like caving in on itself as I smacked the ground. I landed in the grass and stayed there, catching my breath after being winded.

"You okay?" She asked, bending down to help me up.

Her eyes were full of concern and I smiled at her. "Yeah, I've had worse."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "My wolf is telling me off, she feels guilty, so I do apologise for that."

I waved her off. "It's a fight, she doesn't need to feel that way."

She smiled in return and helped me to my feet. I congratulated her before happily wandering over to the water stand.

Her wolf felt guilty for beating me? What a weird complex.

'You're her Luna, she's bound to feel guilty.' Cel chimed.

Unclaimed Luna, you forget Phoenix is pretending I'm not.

I eyed him over the cup of water I drank. He was stood wandering the side-lines of both groups of men and women. I knew he had been watching me this whole time and when his gaze met mine, he gave me a small nod of his head. I felt weird about it like I was seeking him out for approval.

I glanced down at my watch to see it had just gone eleven by the time the final match was taking place. Coincidentally it was Jess verse the girl that apologised for beating me. Molly had made her way to my side after deciding suntanning whilst fights were going on was not the best move. She was knocked out in round two.

"Bets on who will win?" A girl beside me whispered.

I turned to see a group of six girls huddled together as they watched the match begin.

"Jess for sure." Another whispered making three of them agree.

"Nah, Kelsey has this." The first said, making the other lone girl nod her head. "Jess needs to be knocked down her post."

I hummed in thought as I watched the match. Considering she was an a-hole, Jess held well in a human fight. It went on for a good ten minutes before they both paused and circled each other. I noticed Jess kept giving glances in Phoenix's direction and it was irritating me.

I blame Cel.

They charged at each other again, and the match went on for another two minutes before finally, Kelsey had Jess in a chokehold, ready to snap her neck.

The girls beside me all groaned as the two winners high-fived each other. Molly snorted beside me and clapped her hands along with everyone else.

"Winner- Kelsey Dumont!" Sean announced.

She faux bowed and Jess marched off huffing about cheating. She came over to the water stand and shoved me out of the way. I weakly protested but she ignored me and downed two cups of water. She marched off with her third and her two minions followed behind with a towel and her phone.

I let out a small sigh, so pathetic.

Sean made his way over whilst I was busy laughing at them. "Hey. How're your injuries?"

I shrugged off his concern with a laugh. "I've had worse."

"So does that mean they hurt or what?" He frowned and looked over my body.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I smiled.

"I heard the impact of your face hitting the floor, so I had to ask." He shrugged.

I laughed. "I'm good."

He finally relaxed and smiled. "You did good, got to round four out of seven before you lost. Two months ago, you could barely beat a new shifter."

I blushed thanks and looked around for an escape from the compliments. I must've searched too hard because Phoenix approached us. His looming figure stood beside Sean as he looked around before settling down on me.

"I'm impressed." Was all he said.

I kept my face straight. "Thanks. I worked hard."

His eyes crinkled slightly but he kept his face void of any emotion. "Keep it up."

I chewed on my tongue for a moment, not liking the atmosphere he was creating. Cel was chirping like a bird in my head, wanting him to come down from the throne he thought he ascended.

"I will try, Sean is a tough teacher." I smiled.

I kept my face neutral as I smiled up at Sean who rolled his eyes at me. I let out a small laugh before turning to look at the mate in question. His fists had moved to behind his back, his chest not even rising since he was holding his breath. I could see the tension in his jaw and the firm line of a scowl on his forehead and lips.

"W-what we gonna do now Sean?" I asked, looking back at him, diverting the subject.

He hummed in thought. "I was thinking a five-mile run after wolf sparring. Which of course you're out of today, as always."

One day I'll get to be free like everyone else...

"In this heat? You're trying to kill me." I groaned.

"Well, we always go for a swim." He shrugged. "Alpha, when is the guest arriving?"

Guest? I furrowed my brows. I haven't heard anything about a guest coming today.

"Dinner time," Phoenix grumbled.

"Plenty of time for a swim then before I'm needed." He smiled. "Gotta go rally up the ranks."

His hand rubbed my back in comfort before he walked away to go shout at the men. I watched him go, using it as a distraction so I wouldn't have to look at Phoenix. I shuffled on my feet and absentminded chewed on my lip. It was silent for a moment and I could still feel the silent rage coming from him.

"Yeah, so M-Molly needs me... bye." I stammered and quickly walked away as quick as I could.

'Missions accomplished?' Cel mused.

"Wolf sparring! Commencing in two minutes so pair up." Sean's loud voice boomed across the field.

I found myself a spot in the shade to escape the sweltering midday heat. I was out of this one on "medical grounds" so there was an odd number of females but they overcame it by having her spar with whoever volunteered.

I was in awe of all the wolves as they battled. I had not sat and watched all the matches before since something always distracted me or I ran away to hide in my room.

There was fur flying everywhere as they took chunks out of each other. It was almost feral. Scratching and dodging mainly, it wasn't until the end of the fights that they tended to use their jaws. I could smell the blood from where I sat in the trees.

They were down to the final two pairs and Molly had joined me in her wolf form a moment ago. I stroked her head when she sat and she grumbled at me. She had a few scratches and bite marks on her back, but she was relatively okay. Her wolf was a pretty dark grey with darker streaks running down the back of her head and spine. Her tail ended in a black spot as though it had been dipped in paint.

Her dark blue eyes glanced me over briefly and I realised it was her wolf and not her.

"Hey," I whispered.

Her wolf kept my gaze but bowed her head so that it was lower than her shoulders. I blushed furiously at the movement- what was she doing?

Cel forced me to accept her submission, so I nodded my own head with a small smile.

What was that about?

Cel hesitated. 'Last night... when you were drunk... you confessed a few secrets.'

I did?

She nervously laughed. 'You told Molly who your mate was... and Molly has obviously forgotten but her wolf... her wolf remembered.'

I groaned and Molly's wolf barked in reply, her large warm head nudging against my arm. Well, at least Molly didn't remember. That saved me an awkward conversation.

"-the new girl." A voice snapped.

I glanced up from where I was stroking Molly's fur to see Jess in a heated conversation with Sean. She had shifted back from her wolf, no doubt protesting about her loss. She was naked as the day she was born and I was glad when someone threw a dress at her. She had been beaten yet again, only this time it was in the semi-final. Her wolf ranked 4th place.

"Nova can't shift under medical grounds," Sean stated, crossing his arms.

She scoffed, glaring at me. "Just an excuse! She can't fight to hold herself up! She can't even shift!"

Cel was bristling under my skin at being disrespected.

"Lower your voice trainee, you have no right to speak about other members' health," Sean growled.

She laughed. "Oh please! What health! She's perfectly fine!"

"I suggest you stop whilst you still have your limbs attached." Sean snapped.

My eyes widened in surprise. Sean was almost bulging at the seams, his wolf clawing to get out. If he was a cartoon character there would be steam coming out of his ears. His claws had extended as he did his best to force back the shift. I staggered to my feet and held onto Molly for support who was growling under her breath.

She crossed her arms in defiance. "I'd like to see you try. You're only defending her because you're fucking her! You're always together."

This time there were numerous growls other than Sean. One came from me, that I was sure of, as I stomped my way over to her. The other came from Molly who trotted lowly behind my back. But the most thunderous growl came from ten feet in the other direction.

I paused my advance when I saw Phoenix marching his way over to them. He towered over Jess who cowered and bared her neck in automatic submission. Even Sean was wincing from the torment that the Alpha was portraying.

"You think she's a weakling who can't shift?" Phoenix snapped, his black eyes ablaze with anger.

"I-I-" Jess stammered.

"Well? Answer me!" He sneered, flashing his canines.

This was getting out of hand. It was going to end badly if someone didn't take control.

"Y-yes Alpha." She whimpered.

"And you, have you been sleeping with her?" Phoenix snarled at Sean.

"No, Alpha."

"But you like her, don't you?" He sneered.

Sean's wide eyes turned to me and he swallowed. Phoenix was losing his temper, maybe teasing him did not work the way I wanted it to.

"You like her enough to be around her all the time." Phoenix taunted.

No one came forwards to stop the inevitable fight between the males. It was too far gone in their eyes as they submitted to the Alpha's dominance.

Cel, what do I do?

She paused. 'We're gonna have to shift.'

What? I can't!

'We have to. We need a good enough distraction for their wolves.' She sighed as I eyed the scene unfolding. 'Shifting will shut up Jess and distract the males. Ares is not happy right now; he thinks Sean is trying to take over what is rightfully his. If Sean so much as says the wrong thing, I fear our mate will not stop from hurting him.'

He- I scoffed but she interrupted me.

'Shifting will distract Ares enough to get his attention, then we lead him away from the fight.'

I thought about the pros and cons. She was right of course, I needed something big and everyone else was too submissive to the Alpha bond.

With a sigh, I agreed and took in a deep breath. "Hey!"

The two males paid me no attention as they defended their honour. It was just intimidation, for now, no fights had swung yet.

I swallowed harshly. I do hope you are right Cel.

She chirped in my mind, so I took it as the go-ahead and willed her forwards. I heard my fabric tearing behind me as I swiftly landed on all fours within two seconds. My wolf had caused many wide eyes to turn to me including those of my mate and best friend.

I yipped and slowly walked in a circle, keeping my attention on the Alpha wolf in front of me. He grumbled, his eyes flashing as he watched my every move. She purred in approval before beginning to walk away. He growled at her to stay put but I merely met his gaze and barked again. Taking initiative, I turned back to the trees and pushed into a run. I heard a small howl erupt from the fight before the sound of heavy paws vibrated through the trees.

I whimpered to myself; I do hope this ends well. I've just given chase to an angry Alpha wolf. One who only half of him is set on me being his mate. And right now that half was in charge.

So, I ran as fast as I could.

•••

so dominance was the title for this one, hints at more than one part of the chapter 😉

what's your favourite colour? Be as weirdly specific as you like.

Mines midnight blue, the colour of a summer night when there are no clouds just the stars and moon. It's such a nice blue 😅

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2021 © XDeafening_SilenceX on Wattpad