Chapter 142

Judy’s POV

As everyone started to shift into their wolf forms, I ran.

I ran fast and I didn’t really have a plan if I were to be honest. But I knew I couldn’t stay in the middle of a mosh pit of wild animals. If it were true that Tabby didn’t have control of her wolf in this form, that could mean others didn’t either and I needed to get to safety before I ended up dead.

I heard everyone in the stadium chanting and I couldn’t bring myself to look in the direction of where the Lycans were seated, knowing he was there. I wondered what they were thinking of me… running away from a fight.

Well, I wasn’t actually running away from the fight. But I needed to get a good distance away if I wanted to make it out of here unscratched… or alive.

I heard the growling and snapping of jaws behind me. I wasn’t exactly sure which wolf was Tabby, but I knew the wolf closest to me wasn’t her. This wolf had light brown eyes with specks of green. She, like many others, was grey.

It was easy to tell which gender was which based on their auras and sizes.

It’s been so long since I shifted into my wolf around others that I wasn’t sure how big in comparison she was. I knew my wolf was white with grey paws. Nan said she’s adorable, like she’s wearing little mittens. She also has my eye color.

My heart pounded as I reached a wooded area. The battle zone was huge with a wooded section for other challenges and training. I knew there was a barrier I couldn’t cross, so I had to be careful where I went. As soon as the wolves enveloped me, I found a tree to climb. Wolves weren’t great at climbing; I mean, they can climb. But they aren’t great at it; it takes them a bit longer than a human, so I knew that was my chance to get a good distance away from them.

There was a handful of wolves coming after me while the others stayed behind to fight one another. A few even shifted back into their human forms to yell at me for being a coward. I didn’t want them to think I was a coward, but I knew I stood no chance in the middle of everything.

It was better to isolate a few at a time; I wanted to be able to see them… not have them see me. I worked best under the element of surprise. It took me no time to reach the top of the tree and by the time I got to the top, I could see the entire Battlezone. I chose the tallest tree that I could find, hoping that I’d be able to see things from the drone's point of view.

It gave me the idea as I was staring at it from the ground if only I could see things from the sky like the drones. I would be able to analyze my surroundings a lot better and know what I was dealing with.

I could see a few wolves in the center of the arena, fighting one another. One of them was limp, truth be told, I wasn’t sure if they were even moving. It seemed like the wolf who was still attacking, wasn’t human at all. They forfeited all control of their animals and now he was going rogue.

I kept glancing around at each and every wolf; it was hard to analyze who was in control and who wasn’t. I tried to figure out their fighting techniques and analyzed their sizes, their stance, and how easy they were to be provoked. I glanced down at the few wolves that were following me.

One of them was climbing while the others were fighting each other. I heard a snarl and a yip from the wolf that was climbing the tree; her eyes were a pale blue and her fur was white like snow with little brown patches on her head.

The plan I had in my head was bold… I wasn’t sure if it was going to work. It would either be awesome, or it was going to get me killed. Gavin would be pissed, and I’ll have to sit through a Nan lecture. This would only truly work if my wolf cooperated and right now, she was a bit anxious.

“We got this…” I whispered to her, hoping she got the message. “I need you right now. I need you to trust me so I can trust you. We were a team for so long… “

There was calm inside of me and I found the corner of my lips twitching into a smile. With a deep breath, I waited until this wolf got a bit closer to me. I grabbed the branch that was above me, holding it for support while I attempted to put all my weight on the end of the branch I was on, without breaking it. The pressure made the branch bend impossibly low. I was practically feeding myself to this shifter.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as the wolf got even closer.

Just as she reached the branch I was on and swiped her claws in my direction to throw me off balance. I released the branch I was holding onto and the branch I stood on flung so hard that it smacked her right in the face, knocking her off the tree.

It all happened so fast that I barely even saw it flinging me as well. I flung through the air like I was a bird; I was as high as the drones in the sky, except I had no parachute so if I fell, I would go splat all over the hard ground.

I could see the entire arena from where I flew through the sky. The wolves all looked up at me and were howling and growling at the same time. I got sight of the audience who had their mouths agape and they were pointing in awe and fear. I saw Nan’s mouth drop when she saw that it was me who was flying through the sky.

Her reaction came fast though once realization and shock wore off, she started to scream out of fear for my life.

I didn’t have enough strength to see Gavin. I couldn’t bear to look at either the disappointment on his face or the fear. The ground started to come fast; I turned my body so I would stay in the arena area, and I faced downward so I would land hard on the ground.

A surge of power washed over me and I suddenly felt stronger than I had had in a long time. Fur broke out all over my skin and I heard my wolf howling in my head; something I hadn’t heard in so long.

My bones started to reshape and form; during the first shift, it was a very painful process. Over time, it gets easier until you don’t feel it at all. I hadn’t shifted in a while, so there was certainly some tension and extreme discomfort. But as soon as I heard my clothes tearing and shredding all over the ground, a new energy surged through my veins and the discomfort I felt was a thing of the past.

I landed on all fours in the center of the arena, taking everyone by surprise. The first thing I noticed upon landing was I was significantly smaller than the others. I was a pup in comparison to some of them and it was intimidating. But my wolf wasn’t afraid; in fact, she was very confident in her skills just as I was of mine. Being in this form, her emotions came pouring into me and I felt like I understood her more than I ever had.

After the shock wore off, I was the main target. I faced attack after attack; I might have been small, but I was fast and I was skilled in combat, even in wolf form apparently. My wolf was all over the place before they could even blink. She had them taken down in seconds. She was careful not to kill anyone, if she got close to it, I’d pull the reins to settle her down.

There were a few that refused to surrender, not wanting to be taken down by a mere pup, but I managed to damage them so badly that it would be a miracle if they could walk again.

An hour into the fight and buzzer was sounding around the battle zone, halting everyone in place.

“That marks the end of round 2 for the day,” the announcer said over the loudspeaker. “Group B may now shift back into their human forms and return to the changing rooms for further instructions.”

Those who could shift back did so immiedalty. Others took a bit longer because their wolves refused to release control. I noticed Tabby hadn’t changed back so I assumed she was still fighting for control with her wolf.

Some were so badly damaged that the medics had to come and help them off the battle zone.

I didn’t shift back right away; I know nudity wasn’t a big deal amongst shifters, but I could never get used to being naked around others. I’d rather do that in private, thank you very much.

I turned around, looking at the oncoming crowd, the paparazzi, and the naked competitors… it was overwhelming.

But then my eyes found his… Gavin. He was standing off to the side, his eyes pouring into mine and all I could see in them was fear.