By admin Abandoned Luna’s Revenge Novel Ch 23
288 Vouchers
I hadn’t expected my sister to put up that much of a fight. I went in thinking it would be easy, two, three exchanges at most. I would pin her, she would tap, and everyone would go home with a story about how the Beta trained his little sister. Instead, she took the first round clean. Then the second. I stood there with blood leaking from my nose and a ringing in my ears while more than two hundred wolves watched me get outworked.
I felt the heat of shame crawl up my neck. It made me angry at myself, at my big mouth, and at the way my wolf paced inside me.
The problem started hours before the fight, when I told Tiffany to spread the word about our duel, I wanted there to be a crowd to witness me put my sister in her place. Tiffany was happy to help. She blasted it to everyone. Now there were over two hundred wolves gathered round and all of them had watched me get absolutely demolished. Even Hunter, my best friend, couldn’t meet my eyes after the second round ended.
I love my sister. I didn’t really want to hurt her. But I needed to prove I was a strong, capable Beta. I told myself that humbling her a little would keep her safe later. That story felt nice in my head. But the truth was, I wanted an easy win. I wanted people to clap for me. The bout had been meant to teach her respect. Instead, it taught me I’d grown overconfident and cocky.
Lyra was smaller than me. She had a shorter reach and weighed less than me. I leaned on those facts heavily. I did no extra training for this, just my usual drills. I was sure she wouldn’t touch me. In my head, she swung wild and I pun- ished her. The real Lyra didn’t fight like that. She was disciplined. She never was always moving. She circled me con- stantly and made sure to stay on my blind side, and every time I threw a pouch or lunge, she was ready for me and she made me pay. By the end of the second round I was breathing like I’d sprinted uphill, and she was only a little wind- ed.
She had mastered our Pack’s basic fighting forms, but she also seemed to have made some efficient adjustments which made her all the more precise. If she hadn’t been beating the hell out of me, I’d have been proud. A part of me still was. She reminded me of the lesson Father and Alpha Kieran drilled into me a long time ago, they said to never underestimate your opponent and to take every fight with discipline.
I had underestimated Lyra because she was my little sister, because she was physically weaker than me and because she was a girl.
Hunter and I had spent the last few years coasting on talent and size. We told ourselves we were the strongest wolves in Shadow Blade outside of My father and Alpha Kieran. We believed it because no one made us prove otherwise. Meanwhile, I ignored Lyra. Worse, I even hung out with the girls who bullied her in high school. I watched Tiffany and her friends treat Lyra like crap and told myself it was just harmless pranks. It wasn’t. Lyra didn’t have friends af- ter that. She was lonely all these years and it was partly my fault.
0.0 %
07:47
Chapter 23
459170UCTINTE
Hunter had even told her last year that she shouldn’t have hit Tiffany when that fight broke out. He said a beta shouldn’t “lower herself.” But Hunter and I failed to see that Lyra was being bullied and needed to stand up for her-
self.
Looking at Tiffany now with her arms folded, I knew she’d never try Lyra again. The mean girls weren’t cheering for me anymore. They were quiet. They’d seen what Lyra was capable of.
Alpha Kieran stepped up to announce the final round. I wondered what other tricks had up herself, in truth seeing her fight made me respect her more than I ever had.
Sweat stung my eyes as I limped into the ring, My left leg ached where she’d chopped at my thigh a few times. She could easily end the third round by going for my weak leg again, but then I’d risk serious injury.
I knew Lyra would feel bad if she had to resort to that to win and I couldn’t let our parents keep worrying. They had already been tense since the first round, and the look in Mom’s eyes made it worse. She was trying to stay calm, but she was clearly on edge. Dad was trying to hide his concern, but it still showed.
The fault was mine. I had been the one who thought I could walk into this ring and teach her a lesson without even preparing. And now I had dragged this out longer than it needed to be.
Just as Alpha Kieran stepped forward, about to announce the start of the next round, I raised my hand.
“I concede,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear. Alpha Kieran stopped mid-sentence,he turned toward me and gave me a look that seemed to ask if I was sure. I nodded to show him I meant it. After a brief moment, he gave a sin- gle nod back.
Turning to the crowd, he announced, “The bout is over! Lyra is the winner.”
The reaction was immediate. The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, the sound echoing across the training ground. It still sucked that the crowd I had brought for myself was now cheering for Lyra, but I forced myself to stand tall. If they wanted to praise Lyra, they had every right to. She’d earned it.
I stepped down from my side of the ring, my muscles aching from the earlier rounds. Lyra was on the other side, hug- ging Selene. I walked up to them, stopping just a few steps away. I cleared my throat once, and they both turned to look at me.
“That was a good fight,” I said, my voice lower this time. Selene glanced between us, clearly sensing that I had more to say. I cleared my throat again, feeling the weight of my own pride pressing against the words I needed to get out.
“I was arrogant,” I admitted. “I disrespected you and Selene, and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.” The words didn’t feel easy, but they felt right. “And I’m proud of you, Lyra. What I witnessed today, Your skill level… you blew me away. You blew everyone away. When we’ve both recovered, I want you to train me just to fight like you.”
For a second, she just stared at me. Lyra wasn’t the type to expect an apology from me. But then her surprise softened into a small smile. “You’re strong, Dylan,” she said. “But you need to remember that being female doesn’t mean be- ing weak.”
She was right. Completely right. I nodded, and then we stepped forward at the same time, wrapping each other in a hug. Over her shoulder, I saw both of our parents finally relax. When we pulled back, I looked her in the eye. “I
35.5 %
07:47
Chapter 23
288 Vouchers
promise I’ll do a better job of making up for how I’ve neglected you the past few years. And… I’m sorry for calling the crowd in.”
She gave me a teasing grin. “It all worked out fine in the end. For me, at least.”
I shook my head, chuckling under my breath. “I deserve that.”
Alpha Kieran walked over then, his voice carrying that calm authority he always had. “Well done, both of you.” He looked at Lyra with clear approval. “I’m happy to have you train Selene. But I’ll admit, I didn’t expect you to be so skilled.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or a confession that we’d all underestimated her. Probably both.
By the time we made it to lunch, everyone’s mood had calmed. And it didn’t take long before Axel finally asked the question everyone was thinking: “So… when exactly did you get that good?”
Lyra’s answer made me pause. “Well, after that whole mess with Couteny, I didn’t have any friends, but I did have a lot of free time.” she said simply. “So I decided to take classes in a nearby human city and train on my own from time to time.”
Her tone wasn’t bitter, but it still hit hard. She might not have blamed us, but Hunter and knew in our hearts that we were part of the reason she was so alone to begin with.
I noticed how red Hunter’s eyes were. He didn’t say anything, but I could guess he was replaying all the times we’d sided with Tiffany over her. He was going to apologize. Whether it happened today or tomorrow, it would happen.
As for me, I had my own promises to keep. I was determined to make it up to Lyra. She had more skill, more disci- pline, and more heart than most warriors I’d trained with. If I was going to lose to anyone, I was glad it was her.
The more I thought about it, the more another idea crept into my head. I watched her and Selene talking excitedly, smiling like they didn’t have a care in the world. And I wondered, had she even given me her best effort out there?
I thought back to the match. There had been moments where she could have pushed harder, gone for a more decisive strike, but she hadn’t. Maybe she’d been holding back.
The thought made me grin. If that was the case, then after she trained me, maybe we’d get into the ring again. And this time, she could go all out.
74.0 %