Page 133 of The Crown of Nyx

A growl ripped free from his chest, deep and long as he leaned back on his haunches. It took my own wolf a moment to realise he was challenging us.

The energy surrounding the wolf saidAlpha, but I couldn’t tell if that was because of whatever bonus magic Dante had fed him, or if it was because the wolf had been an Alpha before. Even though human Ivy didn’t know anything about the whole pack dynamic, my wolf?

She wanted to fight.

And she was fully prepared to shove me back so she could tear his throat out.

My wolf drowned out the rest of the world as she rose to her paws. The rain finally lessened, though it continued to fall around us. The thundering beat of our heart and the laboured breath of the wolf across from us was all I could hear.

From the corner of my eye, I spied the dark brown fur of my mate. He prowled the circle, looking for a way to enter the fight, but he knew if he tried, the other wolf would go for my throat.

Based on the laboured breathing, I’d cracked one of his ribs. It wouldn’t take long to heal, though I didn’t know if Dante and his people had done anything to change the rate of healing in these creatures.

The wolf stamped his paw before leaping at me. Being smaller, I was able to sidestep him quickly and pounce for his throat, but he swung his large head, and I lost my balance.

A wind picked up around us, but I ignored it and focused on the other wolf as we circled one another. The rock beneath my paws was slick with rainwater, making it hard to manoeuvre. We were close to one of the walls of the cliff, a pool and waterfall not too far away.

I had to steer clear of that. If he got me in the water, then I knew I may not get out—good swimmer or not, he could drown me, and I had no idea how deep it was.

The wolf leapt at me again, this time one of its large paws knocking me to the ground. I hit the rocks hard and slid because of the rain, but it pushed me out of his reach. I hit the cliff wall with anoomph;it wasn’t hard enough to do damage, but I got the wind knocked out of me.

A flurry of wind and rain blurred my vision, cutting me off from the others.

Get up, Angel. Do not let him get on top of you, Elias said, his voice urgent in my head.

I shuddered to think what he might do if hedidget on top of me.

But I pushed to my feet and shoved those thoughts aside. The other wolf pounced, but I managed to leap aside, letting him slam into the cliff behind me. The earth trembled beneath my feet at the impact, but it didn’t keep the beast down for long.

Debris from the cliff rained down on his wet fur, but he shook it all off: stone, leaves, and the impact of the hit.

The next growl turned into a roar—one filled with fury and something else that made me shiver. But when he launched himself at me this time, I didn’t have the time—or power—to react.

I hit the ground hard, with his large paws holding me down. I tried to push him off, but his jaw latched onto my shoulder, where Elias’s mate bite resided.

My wolf cried out in pain. Panic rushed through me as I used my paws to try and push the other wolf off. My breath became heavy, the smell of my blood filling the air between us. A whimper lodged in my throat; I couldn’t give in to him, but the pain grew to a fierce burning sensation the longer he held me.

He could have released me just as quickly, but he didn’t.

You are the Alpha, Ivy. Make him submit to you. Do not let him make you submit.Elias’s voice brought only a brief amount of comfort as I struggled beneath the heavy weight of the other wolf. Fuck. I dug my claws into him, wishing I could also access my magic, but I was trapped in this form.

Around me, a wind howled, blowing hard around me and the wolf. I heard my other mates trying to take the mage out, to stop him from trapping me with the rabid wolf.

But I was stronger than this. I knew it. They knew it.

I was the fuckingQueen.

That’s it,Orion whispered. Remember that.

A growl rumbled from my chest, deeper than I’d ever mustered as I used all my strength to push the giant wolf off me. His jaws tore free of my shoulder, where he had been pinning me to the ground. With his teeth, hetook flesh, but the burn of pain was only a dull ache as I kicked the beast off and rolled to my feet.

I couldn’t put much pressure on my front paw, but I didn’t need to as I held myself at full height. The other wolf might have been bigger. Might have been stronger physically. But it had turned rabid. And what had Professor Nimona said about power and strength?

It wasn’t just of the body. That wasn’t how Alphas led packs. It was strength of the mind, too.

The other wolf growled, deep in his chest. He moved like he was going to strike, but I stood my ground. It became instinct now. My wolf seized control and took a threatening step towards the enemy wolf.

This time, when the other wolf leapt at us, my wolf didn’t move. She held her ground, lowering onto her back haunches as the larger beast bared its throat and belly to us.

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