50. To the Death

We could only watch as the two black wolves circled each other. It was easy to tell them apart; Lilith was smaller than Quinn, which may have seemed like a disadvantage for her, but as we watched the fight play out, it proved to be a big benefit.

Lilith made the first move; literally a blur as she lunged with teeth at Quinn’s face. Quinn was barely able to dodge, and I smelled blood when he got away. She’d nicked his muzzle, but he didn’t show any signs of pain so it was most likely only a shallow cut.

It was amazing to see how solid Lilith’s wolf form was. It was flawless, and the raw power that made the body was impressive. Though it was merely a solidification of the power she’d stolen from me mixed with her own, it was firm enough to form claws and teeth, to cut, bite, tear, and scratch. I wondered if it would bleed if she got hurt.

I was mad at myself for allowing her to drink from me only a few nights before. I’d felt her hunger and I actually went to her, not wanting to feel that hunger while I was staying at Randall’s house. I hadn’t wanted him to notice any change in behavior or mood, so I told him I was going to hang out with a friend and I allowed her to take her fill. Now, she was using that blood and power to fight against Quinn.

She attacked again, this time running all-out at him. He didn’t move fast enough, and she hit him with her body, using momentum to knock wind out of him and push him onto his side. As he struggled to catch his breath and get back on his feet, she pounced on him and went for the neck.

I cried out with the rest of the Pack. It couldn’t already be over! Quinn growled and used sheer force to shove her off of him, her teeth only able to grab fur. She pulled away to regroup as he got back on his feet and went into a crouch. He made his move instantly, now allowing her to get any time to plan her next strike. He couldn’t move as fast as her, though, and as he attacked, she was able to easily spring out of the way, turn, and bite down on his left back leg. He yelped as she bit down, a cracking noise echoing through the clearing as we all held our breath.

He turned with her still latched onto his foot and went for her stomach with his teeth, but she released when she saw what he was doing and quickly moved out of the way so all he got was air.

I turned to look at Randall, whose face was emotionless as he stared at the fight. Before it started, he had been so confident, but I knew how the fight was going to turn out, and I’d known that his confidence wouldn’t last for long. “We can still stop this,” I said to Randall. Lilith couldn’t win against all of us.

“It’s pack law,” He said through gritted teeth. “Anyone who tries to stop the fight will be kicked out. If we were to try and help dad, he would lose no matter what. He’s on his own.” I could tell as I watched him speak that he wished it could be different, that he yearned to help his dad, but he’d been in the Pack all his life, these rules were a way of life to him.

Limping, Quinn snarled angrily at Lilith, who only stood there with confidence. I saw her glance at me and give me a private grin under that shadow of a wolf. She was gloating.

Lilith didn’t waste time in drawing out the fight. It was as if she’d even planned this part. With Quinn injured, he was like a sitting duck. He hadn’t lost much blood from his wound, but the pain seemed to weaken him the most. She struck again, going for his neck. He couldn’t fend her off with his front paws because he would have to put his weight on his back feet, so he dropped to his stomach as she came, putting himself low to the ground as she attacked. There, he was able to use his strength to a slight advantage, but it wasn’t enough. This time, she came away with a piece of his ear, and there was even more blood.

I glanced over at Kate, who was watching Lilith intently. Was this what Kate wanted? Why had she helped Lilith? Was it out of some sort of devotion towards the vampire? Did she want Quinn dead because of some sort of cruel revenge towards Randall for never wanting her? She didn’t seem happy, though I didn’t really know who she was rooting for.

Quinn was slowly losing the fight, and it was amazing how much willpower Sylvea had. She was standing up on the stage, and though she was watching her husband fight a losing battle to the death, all she did was watch. Tears shined on her face as she watched the two snarling, growling wolves. I saw her hands shaking as Lilith attacked again and again, coming away with more flesh, more blood matting down Quinn’s fur. She cringed each time Quinn yelped from pain, but it was like there was some kind of invisible wall separating the fight from the rest of us, and no matter how much we wanted to, we couldn’t cross it to help.

All we could do was watch.

We watched Lilith make her final move, ending the inevitable as she finally got her teeth around Quinn’s neck, snapping it with sheer power and strength, ending his life.

We watched as he breathed his last breath, as his eyes went dull and his body stopped moving. The entire crowd stopped breathing with him as we gazed upon our new leader, a leader that kept her mouth around his neck a little too long, a leader that was trying to inconspicuously drink the blood of our fallen friend and family member.

We watched Sylvea fall to her knees, sobbing at the loss of her husband, and we watched the Elders return to the stage to welcome the new leader. It was as if the wall dissolved as they stepped across that invisible barrier only a moment to late, as Lilith began to drop her wolf disguise and change back to her naked human form. Her body was unscathed and covered in only Quinn’s blood, her lips and teeth tinged red, her fingernails stained as well.

“We have a new leader,” The Elder woman, Susan said to the Pack. Lilith stood up next to her, grinning at the crowd.

“We can’t let her be the Pack Leader, Randall. Once she gets control, we’ll never be able to stop her.”

Randall’s mind was far away from the issue at hand as he stared at his father’s body. The fur was slowly melting away as it returned to human form. “She won it, Selene. Just let it go. No one else needs to die tonight.”

“You don’t understand! If we don’t get rid of her tonight, countless others will die in the future!”

He turned to me and yelled, “She won! Just. Drop it.”

“I won’t drop it,” I said as I began to change, white fur covering my body. “I’m going to save everyone or die trying.” I climbed on the stage to confront Lilith, all my fear gone. It was replaced with hate and the need for revenge.

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A/N: I wanted to finish all the chapters before I posted the next set. There's only 3 more planned after this one, and I hope to post them all in succession. The plan is one tomorrow, one on Wednesday, and the final one on Friday. I know this part is kind of suspenseful, so I want everyone to get to the ending so I can see what you all think of it. I am mostly done with the next chapter, I have the last chapter finished, and the second-to-last is stored up in my head. I will probably have more free time over the next few days so I'll get some writing done. I had an interview today with the City of Houston Public Works department for a Chemist position, but I won't hear about it for at least a month, so I don't really know what I'm going to do until then...

I need to get on the rewrite so I can put it up on Lulu. >.<

As for this chapter, it feels a little awkward, and it will hopefully be smoother in the rewrite. I'm also going to write a scenario before the fight takes place in which Lilith and Selene do their last little blood donation. I mentioned it offhandedly in the chapter, mostly because I forgot to write it earlier. Maybe that scene will be a better transition into this chapter!