Calliope's Wolf - Book 1
Chapter 20

Calliope lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling. She listened to the sounds of Theo breathing lightly. She rested a hand on top of his arm that was wrapped around her.

She hadn’t slept much. There was a lot on her mind. Some of it was the worry about her wolf shifting in front of everyone. But some of it was her thinking of the happiness and excitement she caused the day before.

The evening was busy for them. She paired up two more couples after Nova and Connor. Word spread throughout the festival grounds, and many now knew about her gift.

But this new information did not excite some at the festival. A young woman in her early 20s was up early. She was in a tent with her parents, an Alpha and Luna of a pack to the northwest. With them was Ezra, as well as a few others. They felt as though the talk about her gift was false. That it was a lie told to cause excitement for the new Great Luna.

The young woman, whose name was Hannah, was chosen to win the Tournament and challenge Calliope.

“So what if she has gifts,” Hannah shrugged as she sharpened a small knife. “She cannot use gifts in our fight. It’s me against her supposed wolf.”

“Creating a mate bond doesn’t help to defend anyone,” someone added. “Ezra, did you ever get confirmation if she could shift or not?”

“No,” Ezra responded. He kicked at the dirt beneath his feet. “I’ve sent scouts repeatedly and had my son go out to find someone who could sneak in. But nothing ever came from it. The Great Alpha has kept her hidden well.”

“Her parents not speaking about her wolf or gifts makes me think she doesn’t have any,” Hannah’s mother, Heidi, replied. She looked to Ezra. “What parent doesn’t want to brag about their child?”

“It’s strange that no one will speak about her,” Ezra nodded. “But she is mated to the Great Alpha now. We all saw her mark yesterday.”

“What does it matter?” Hannah asked.

“If you do end up defeating the Great Luna-”

"When," she interrupted.

"When you defeat her, whether or not you kill her, you’ll have an upset Great Alpha,” Ezra explained as he leaned forward in his chair. “You will have the right to claim the title of Great Luna, but be prepared for some backlash. Those of us in the elder council that support this, support you, will be there to step in.”

“And if the Great Alpha makes a fuss about it, that’s when you step in,” Ezra continued as he pointed to Heidi and her mate. “You will gather our Alphas and Lunas and step in to fight against the Great Alpha. Remember, we are just taking away some of his power, so don’t challenge him to a fight. We know he will win. But we must stand united.”

Everyone in the tent agreed with what Ezra was saying. Hannah will fight Calliope, win, and be named the next Great Luna. Theo will unknowingly play into their hands with his outbursts. This will help Ezra give the Elder Council more power and control. This would help give him more power and control. Everything was in motion, and everyone was ready.

Hours later, the fights have begun. Hannah was a standout from the get-go. She spent years training, learning from the best her parents could find. For years, she conditioned her body, conditioned her wolf to push past her limits.

She won the first two rounds quickly, without breaking much of a sweat. But she had to wait hours for the final battle—where three other she-wolves stood in her way of the challenge.

Calliope sat on the stage with Theo. Her hands rested on her knees, gripping the fabric of her dress.

Scare them to submit. Don’t kill. She kept repeating in her mind to her wolf. By now, it was like a mantra for her.

Calliope focused on her breathing. She didn’t want people to see her struggle to breathe or shake with anxiety. She didn’t hear as Theo spoke with the final contestants. She missed him reviewing the rules, stressing the importance of submitting before harm came to them.

Though Calliope didn’t listen, Hannah did. She smiled. In her mind, the importance of submitting was to keep his precious Luna safe. But that is not what was to happen, not today. Today, her challenge to the death would be just that.

The fight began when Owen gave the signal. Hannah made quick work of her first opponent. But she didn’t wait for the other two to finish their fight. She went in and started to fight the two wolves simultaneously. It took several minutes, but she got both to submit.

Before Owen could officially name her the top female wolf of the festival, she began walking around with her arms up, amping up the crowd. She then stopped in front of the platform that Calliope was on. She pointed straight at her.

“I, Hannah of the Blood Stone Pack, challenge you to a fight to the death!” She yelled out. The crowd cheered in excitement.

It was the moment Calliope had been dreading: the fight. She walked down the platform to the arena and approached Hannah.

“Please, you don’t want to fight me,” she pleaded with Hannah in a whisper.

“Are you scared, Great Luna," Hannah growled back to her.

“Yes!” Calliope admitted. “I am scared. I don’t want to fight you.”

“The Great Luna doesn’t want to fight!” Hannah yelled out to the crowd. Many booed down to Calliope. “Are you scared because you are a fraud? Because you have no wolf?!”

“You don’t understand,” Calliope replied, looking around at the crowd. Her heart began to race rapidly. “It’s not what you think.”

“You have no wolf! You have been hidden, a secret from those whom you are meant to protect. You aren’t a Great Luna! I should be the Great Luna! I can fight! I can protect! You’re just weak!”

Hannah walked away from Calliope to her starting spot.

“I’m going to shift now, Great Luna. I will make it quick if you stay still!“. She called out to Calliope.

Calliope looked to Theo. She isn’t going to submit, she mind linked to him.

She has made her choice. But now it’s time for you to shift. Reveal yourself. Just... don’t look when it happens. Theo replied with a sigh.

Calliope lowered her head and went to her starting spot. Owen yelled out for them to shift. She watched as Hannah shifted into her light brown wolf. Her wolf was big. Hannah had a future as a Luna; her power and strength would have benefited her as a leader. Calliope took a deep breath. Her body began to release steam and static. When she released her breath, she shifted.

The crowd gasped at seeing her wolf. The large, white wolf. She snarled and growled at Hannah. Steam emitted from Calliope. The glowing of her white eyes stood out in the evening light.

Oh, my Goddess, she has a wolf! Heidi mind linked to her daughter. She went and stood on the edge of the guard rails, staring straight at Hannah.

It doesn’t matter, I’m going to win! Hannah replied as she readied herself to charge.

When Calliope’s Wolf looked at Owen, he called for the fight to start. Calliope’s Wolf waited for Hannah to make her move first. But Hannah didn’t hold back. She charged quickly at Calliope and went for her throat.

Calliope’s Wolf was able to dodge before her teeth sank, and she reached out for Hannah. But Hannah was barely able to evade her. The two wolves went back and forth with attacks and dodges for a solid minute. Calliope’s Wolf finally grabbed the back of Hannah’s neck.

With a quick clamp down of her jaw and a sharp tug, she was able to bite off Hannah’s entire head. She tossed it towards the crowd, directly beneath where her mother stood.

Calliope’s Wolf, a once pristine white wolf, was now covered in blood. People in the crowd began to scream. Never once had any of these people seen a death at these festivals.

Those from Hannah’s pack stood and ran to try to get into the arena. Guards from the Royal Moon pack stepped in to prevent anyone from entering.

SILENCE! Theo commanded over mind link to everyone in the arena.

With this command, everyone had to stop and quiet down against their will. This gave Theo a chance to run down to Calliope. He guided her over to the other side of the arena.

Heidi and her mate were allowed down to their daughter’s body. Heidi was screaming hysterically. She couldn’t hold back her pain and tears, even with Theo’s command.

Can you shift? Theo asked Calliope over mind link.

No! She cried back to him.

Ok, that’s fine. Let’s stay in your wolf form until we get to the palace; you’ll be safe there. Theo said as he placed his hand on her wolf.

As Theo walked away with Calliope, Owen and the guards began to clear out the arena. Heidi glared towards Calliope’s direction. In the crowd's chaos, Heidi left the arena and followed Calliope and Theo from a distance. As they neared the palace, she shifted to wolf form. She intended to bring justice for her daughter.

As she crouched in a bush not far from them, Calliope shifted back into her human form. She was crying and trying to speak through her tears.

“Why didn’t she submit?” She sobbed to Theo. “Why didn’t she just stop fighting me? I begged her to stop!”

“I know you did,” Theo replied, holding Calliope in his arms.

“I don’t understand why she wouldn’t submit! I begged her!”

Calliope kept crying and screaming to Theo. She didn’t want to kill Hannah. She begged her wolf not to. But Hannah wasn’t backing off and posed a real threat to Calliope. After another minute of being hysterical, she collapsed to the ground. Theo quickly scooped her up and took her into the palace.

Heidi lay in the bushes, watching as all of this went down. She couldn’t help but hurt for Calliope as well. This wasn’t her fault, after all. She did ask Hannah not to fight. Theo did stress the importance of submitting. But Hannah, at the push of her parents and others, didn’t submit.

This is my fault. Heidi thought to herself.

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