Juniper #2
There wasn’t even time for me to catch my breath before she was on me. Her huge wolf head filled my field of vision, yellow eyes glaring balefully down at me. An instant before she could lunge forward and tear my face off, I shoved her neck, pushing her away. She was so fucking strong, though.
Saliva dripped onto my cheeks as her teeth snapped together, over and over, each time growing closer.
Hot breath cascaded across my face, and I winced in pain as her claws dug at my chest, drawing lines of heat down my breasts as she attempted to slice me open.
The muscles in my forearms and shoulders screamed and shook.
I was losing. In the background, I could hear voices.
Women calling out to us, cheering us on?
Begging us to stop? I didn’t know. All I did know was that if I didn’t do something quick, I was gonna die.
Finally, as the last of my strength gave out, I grabbed a handful of her fur and yanked her closer as I swung my head out of the way. Her muzzle slammed into the hard, frozen dirt, and she let out an ear-piercing squeal.
Gasping for breath, I rolled away as she writhed on the ground.
Once I was a few feet away, I stumbled to my feet.
I ran at her, kicking her in the stomach.
My foot connected with her soft underbelly, sending her tumbling over with another yelp.
I couldn’t help it. I was smiling like a madwoman.
I’d hurt her. Maybe I did have a chance here.
“Hurry, June,” Linnea screamed, cupping her hands around her mouth to shout at me. “Before she gets back up.”
Taking her words to heart, I rushed over, ready to start stomping on Eugenia, to hurt her enough to get her to yield. When I lifted my right foot, I was surprised when she thrashed her back legs around, slamming her rear paws into my left foot.
I fell so fast I didn’t even register going down.
One minute I was standing, the next I was on the ground, my breath exploding from my lungs.
Chest on fire, I clawed at the ground, trying to suck in a breath.
Eugenia lunged at me, ivory teeth yawning wide.
At the last possible second, I jerked my head back.
The infinity necklace Levi had given me swung forward, and thankfully, that was all Eugenia’s teeth managed to clamp onto.
The fine silver chain snapped and fell to the dirt.
Still barely able to pull in a breath, I scooted back, crab-walking as fast as I could away from Eugenia.
She stalked forward, looking more furious by the second.
All traces of humanity were gone from her eyes now.
She’d given herself fully to the wolf and was about to pounce.
I kicked out weakly, trying to hit her nose, but she was faster than I was.
Her teeth snapped shut on my ankle. I screamed as blood oozed up through the broken skin.
Eugenia pulled me, walking backward while she dragged me to the center of the circle.
I clawed at the ground, trying to stop my momentum, dirt packing painfully under my fingernails.
Her teeth dug into the thin flesh at my ankle, tearing and grinding against the bone beneath. It was over. There was no way I could beat her like this. Not in just my human form.
Please! I screamed, the word echoing through my mind and soul. Please let me shift!
My prayers were for nothing. I felt no connection, no sudden presence in my mind, no low, angry growl emanating from my subconscious.
Eugenia released my leg, then jumped at me, claws outstretched and mouth wide.
She was going to rip my face off. I did the only thing I could do—I swung my fist out as hard as I could, hoping to make contact with her, one final blow to ensure she’d remember how it had felt when she’d fought with me.
My aim was true, but the angle was off. Instead of hitting her in the mouth, my knuckles grazed her teeth as my fist slid into her mouth. For once, Eugenia’s big mouth was good for something.
When my hand hit the back of her throat, her eyes went wide with shock, and before she could pull away, I realized I had a chance. I grabbed onto the back of her tongue, right where it connected with her throat, and dug my nails in deep, holding as tight as I could.
Eugenia tried to yank her head away, but she couldn’t tear free of my grip. A strange gagging cough burst from her and more saliva coated my hand and wrist. Adrenaline and fear made me dig my fingers in tighter. This was my only chance, and if I let go, it was all over.
She wheezed and weakly clawed at me, her nails digging a bloody groove on my thigh, but I held. Even when she tried to bite down, I wouldn’t relent. Her jaw was forced open at such an angle that she couldn’t get any weight behind the bite. All she was doing was tiring herself out.
Using my leverage, I shoved her back until she flipped, ramming her shoulders to the ground and pinning her front paws with my knees. She couldn’t go anywhere, and the fear in her eyes filled me with jubilation.
With every ounce of strength I had left, I pushed my hand deeper into the back of her throat, cutting off all her oxygen. Eugenia’s eyes bulged, and her back legs kicked frantically.
“Do you yield?” I screamed into her face, sweat dripping from my nose onto her. “Do you?”
For several more seconds, she thrashed beneath me, each movement growing weaker.
Finally, she lay slack and unmoving, eyeing me with impotent rage.
Ensuring my knees were firmly planted and my free hand had a good hold on the soft flesh under her jaw, I released her tongue and pulled my other hand free, then clamped it on her throat as well.
Eugenia shifted back to her human form, gasping for breath, coughing and retching.
I didn’t give her time to recover, instead, I squeezed harder on her neck, making her face go blood red.
“I said, do you yield to me?” I cried, mentally begging for this to be over.
“I yield,” she hissed, barely able to croak the words out due to my grip, but it was loud enough. All around the circle, gasps of surprise echoed through the deepening dusk. I rolled off her, laying in the dirt panting and trying to recover.
Claudette stepped forward, looking a little shell-shocked.
“We…uh…we have a winner,” she said, and waved her hand toward me. “Juniper has defeated Eugenia.”
Eugenia clawed at the ground, dragging herself away from me, still gagging and coughing, holding her throat with a free hand.
Linnea beamed at me and gave me a thumbs-up as I finally managed to get unsteadily to my feet.
“June?” Claudette said. “Do you wish to banish Eugenia from the pack? Or would you allow her to remain?”
I had a hard time believing this was happening.
Deep down, I’d prayed for a miracle. Hoped an asteroid might crash down and end the fight, or perhaps an out-of-season bee swarm, or even a bolt of lightning.
I’d truly never believed that I would beat her.
It may have been luck and good timing, but I’d take it. Now, her fate rested in my hands.
I thought back on all the snotty comments she’d made to me since I got here, how she’d looked down her nose at me for being less than I was supposed to be in her eyes.
The same way Anders had looked at me. As if I was worthless.
I should cast her out, let her spend her time in the woods alone.
Maybe let the Red Maw find her. I took a breath and stood tall, looking from Eugenia to Claudette.
“I’ll allow her to stay,” I said. “If she agrees to start fresh and new. If she accepts, then I’ll consider our issue at an end.”
The words surprised me. Up until the moment I opened my mouth, I’d been sure I’d banish her, but at the last second, a faint glimmer of mercy overtook me. Now it was for her to accept or refuse.
Claudette turned to look at Eugenia. “Will you accept Juniper’s mercy?”
Eugenia, having mostly recovered, sat on her knees, angry tears tracing lines down her cheeks.
She was staring at the ground before her.
There, a foot away, lay the necklace Levi had given me.
With trembling hands, she picked it up gingerly.
The delicate infinity symbol pendant dangled from her fingers.
“Did he give you this?” she asked, her tone bitter and repugnant. “You didn’t have this when you arrived.”
Letting out a sigh, I shrugged one shoulder. “Yes. He did. Do you agree to what I said?” I asked, trying to end this.
“He was supposed to be mine,” Eugenia said, clamping her fist around the necklace. “It was supposed to be me. Me!” she shouted, jamming her thumb into her chest and leaping to her feet. “Keep your goddamned pack!”
With that, she bolted into the forest, running in the opposite direction from town, deeper into the woods. No one moved to stop her, and most notably, no one moved to join her.
“Does anyone else have anything they’d like to voice?” Claudette said.
Silence. Every face, even the ones who’d been within Eugenia’s inner circle, looked at me with renewed respect and awe.
To defeat a shifter without using your wolf form, without even being able to shift, was something that most—including myself—would have considered impossible.
I’d gained their respect. I’d done it without any help from anyone, including Levi’s.
This was something I’d done by myself, and it gave me a newfound confidence that I could do anything I put my mind to.
I smiled, exhausted but happy, relieved and ready to face whatever came next.