The Gift chronicles novel Chapter 2

Book 2 Chapter 8

"Jwnxkaxbekxm," I grumbled.

"What was that, Onyx?" Clover flashed her canines at me as she stood over me.

I closed my eyes putting my arms over my head. My whole body was sore. I was positive that I would be entirely black and blue when I woke up in the morning.

As it turned out, Clover's method for training was to have me do a lot of work outs, and then kick my butt in hand to hand combat. Clover was not only incredibly strong looking, but she was even stronger than she looked.

"Come on, Onyx. One more round," Clover ordered.

"Can't I just forfeit?" I whined. I was sick of being repeatedly punched and kicked. It felt like someone had put me through a wood chipper.

"Really? This is supposed to be our Luna?" A high pitched voice I didn't recognize sneered.

I opened my eyes to see a blonde girl with a small upturned nose looking down on me as I still laid on the training mat in pain.

"I will not allow you to disrespect her in front of me, Brenna. She may not be the Luna yet, but she is Alpha Thane's mate which means I will defend her regardless," Clover's voice issued a warning.

"From what I can tell based on the last sparring round, she'll never be able to be the Luna," Brenna laughed, sounding strangely victorious.

"Do not speak any more of this in front of her," Clover hissed, taking a step towards Brenna.

Brenna stepped back, and looked at me, who looked back at her in confusion. Realization flashed on her face. "She doesn't know?" She asked, dumbfounded.

Clover just glared at her in silence, folding her muscular arms over her chest. It looked like she was mindlinking her in response.

An evil grin spread across Brenna's face. She looked like every mean girl in every teen romance movie I had ever watched. "Regardless of what Thane says, I think that his little mate should know that she'll be dead next month."

Clover growled and leapt at Brenna, who didn't even attempt to get her off. She just continued to smirk at me as Clover wrapped her hand around her neck.

I got off of the mat and bent down next to Brenna, who didn't look at all concerned by Clover's hand around her neck. "What are you talking about?"

Brenna's eyes flashed in a combination of victory and amusement. "What Thane didn't tell you, is that you get to be challenged for the Luna position. To the death."

My mouth slacked open in disbelief. How could he not tell me that?

"And from what I can see, I can tell that I'll be able to kill you easily. And since we can't use our Gifts, I'll get to do it with my bare hands, which will make it all the sweeter," Brenna said, her voice still perky, although her face started turning blue as Clover squeezed tighter.

My blood ran cold at her words. I looked at Clover, and her eyes were cast downward when I made eye contact with her, confirming that everything Brenna said was true.

"I need some air," I mumbled, standing up.

"Onyx, wait," Clover's raspy voice stopped me in my tracks. "Thane said you can't be on pack grounds without an escort. Just wait until he gets back, and you can talk to him about this, please."