As Emira felt excitent stir within her, she realized there was another side of the battle ground that she had almost missed.
On the far side of the battlefield, slightly apart from the chaos and yet, in the middle of it, stood a single figure. Prince Kael.
He was utterly still. Eyes closed, hands loose at his sides. It was strange to see soone so quiet in the middle of such raw aggression. Around him, wolves snarled and people slamd each other to the ground, but Kael stood as if untouched by the noise and movent.
Yet there was nothing soft about that calm. Even from where she stood, Emira could feel the quiet, coiled danger radiating from him. He was like a predator before it strikes. It was so sharp that the air around him seed to thrum with tension, as if every wolf nearby could sense it too.
Why was he just standing there?
It looked as though he was listening. Taking in the movents, the scents, the shifting energy of the field.
Emira’s wolf gave a low, curious hum inside her and she found herself unable to look away.
She heard Ryn whisper sothing that sounded like," No wonder she is here." But Emira could not bother to understand what she was saying.
Just then, before she could even blink, sothing changed... His eyes snapped open, and Emira stilled. Why did it feel he was looking straight at her. And why were his eyes glowing? They looked almost red.
She’d barely thought these questions, when the man started to move and Emira felt her throat catch. Where did Prince Zen co from?
But she did not have much ti for that thought because in the next mont, he had already made a move towards Prince Kael’s head...
Emira’s eyes widened... Were they fighting? They were! And even just watching, she could barely keep up.
She watched as Prince Zen’s fist ca straight for Kael’s head, and almost closed her eyes with a wince but then, Prince Kael moved deadly fast. His hand shot up and caught Zen’s wrist mid-swing. The impact cracked like a whip, loud enough that the nearest wolves froze and stepped back.
For a heartbeat the brothers held there, strength against strength, neither giving an inch. Then Zen twisted, broke Kael’s grip, and launched a hard kick aid at his ribs.
Kael turned with it, sliding back a step, then surged forward with a counterpunch that would have flattened most wolves. Zen ducked under, ca up with a brutal elbow aid at Kael’s jaw. Kael blocked with his forearm, the hit landing with a heavy thud that sent dust puffing from the ground.
Gasps rippled through the warriors nearby.
They didn’t stop.
Zen spun, aiming low and Kael jumped back, pivoted, and slamd his shoulder into Zen to push him off balance. Zen slid back but used the force to roll into a crouch and spring upward, driving a palm strike at Kael’s chest. Kael caught it and shoved him away, but Zen twisted mid-air, landing light on his feet like a cat and attacking again.
The entire scene lasted a few minutes, but Emira could feel her head spin, just looking at it.
However, she felt a certain eagerness as well. She wanted to see whose blow would land first. And if at all.
And just as the thought ca to her, Kael’s fist ca out of nowhere and into Zen’s shoulder with a loud crack. Everyone cheered at that while, Zen grunted, flashed his teeth and slid back a few feet before regaining his balance.
Before he could spring forward again, though, a voice cut through the air. "Zen!"
It was a woman’s voice, sounding so pained, almost as if she had been hit. Emira frowned. Wasn’t that their mate? What was she doing? Emira watched both brothers glance toward the sound, just for a second, before turning back to each other, circling around slowly.
"Zen!" she called again, louder this ti. "Stop this! Both of you — stop!"
The tension broke for only a heartbeat. Kael’s head tilted slightly toward her; Zen’s chest rose and fell as he stood still, sweat and dust on his skin. Then, without a single word, Zen suddenly lunged again. Kael t him halfway, and the fight snapped back into motion.
The woman gasped and scread in a voice so shrill that the nearby wolves all winced and stepped back away from her, "Are you two going to kill each other?"
Beside Emira, Ryn let out a small huff. "Drama queen," she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. "They’re brothers. Alphas. This is just them... playing. Why does she think she needs to stop them? She’d just trying to make it about her..."
Emira blinked, startled. "Playing?" she whispered, unable to look away from the blur of fists and claws in front of her.
"Yeah," Ryn said, still casual, though her gaze was sharp. "At least, they were playing, I have no idea what it is going to be now..."
Sothing in the air changed even as she said it.
Emira felt it before she fully understood it. The movents had been fast before, but now they were sharper, harder. Less sparring, more intent. Zen ca in with a low kick that Kael barely blocked in ti; Kael answered with a vicious strike that forced Zen back two full steps. Dust flew with every hit. The ground seed to tremble beneath the weight of their blows.
The woman at the edge cried out again, "Zen! Kael! Please!" Her voice cracked with fear now, but neither of them looked at her.
Emira’s heart thudded against her ribs. This wasn’t just play anymore. She could feel it in the way the two moved. They were both angry now...
And as she watched the woman calling out Zen’s na repeatedly, she suddenly understood the reason and Ryn’s comnt. Until now, they had been practicing or playing as Ryn said it. But now, there was a bone of contention between them. Their mate.
If she’d been worried about both, things would have been fine. After all, they had no competition between them. But now, they were trying to help the other.
Zen was getting angrier and attacking so that their mate would worry about Kael as well. anwhile Kael did not want that and was fighting back, so that she would remain focused on Zen...
The fight was almost too fast to follow now. Kael’s hand shot out, caught Zen’s punch, twisted - Zen broke free and aid a knee strike that Kael blocked with a brutal shove. They circled each other, silent, eyes locked, their wolves so close to the surface that Emira could almost feel the growl in her own chest as she wondered how it would stop. Would there be a winner.
Eventually, just as quickly as the fight had started, it ca to an end, with both the brothers stepping back.
Emira watched as the bystanders who had all been cheering the princes on, stepped back suddenly, as if afraid of what would transpire...
Emira stared at the two brothers for a mont, and then, she watched as Zen’s eyes turned to her for a mont before flickering away... In the next mont, she watched the woman running towards Zen and knew exactly what to do...
Without another thought, she raced towards the center...
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