Syn POV.
She dropped to all fours and began to shift. I turned and glared at Matt. Why had no-one told me?
“They fight as wolves?” Matt scowled back at me.
“You didn’t know? Jesus, Syn, how long have you been a wolf?!” I glared back at him, although it was overlaid with worry for Mac. He gaze softened. “I know why she didn’t tell you Syn. Just trust her. She knows what she’s doing.” I just nodded, my gaze fixed firmly on the girl across the Arena. She was about halfway through her shift, her body changing stance and growing in size. I looked over at Blake, he was also shifting, but not as fast. Damn she was pushing it hard. I just hoped that Matt was right and that she knew what she was doing.

McKenna POV.
The agony of the shift is indescribable. Limbs moved positions, bones grew, bones shrank. But I pushed it, I pushed it harder than I ever had before, knowing that every second I gained on Blake was an advantage. I shifted in just under ten minutes. Damn. That was the fastest that I’ve ever shifted. I shook, letting my body grow accustomed to the new muscles. I made sure that I carefully stretched out every muscle, preparing for the fight. The wolf within surfaced, stretching, testing out her boundaries. I pushed her back. Not yet. Soon. I promised. She subsided reluctantly, knowing that she would get her chance to fight soon enough. I knew the Arena well enough, I’d fought here and trained here often enough over the years. But that didn’t stop me reaching for the magic that I’d inherited from my mysterious father. I pushed it out, getting a feel for the air, for the earth, for the world around me. I may be a good fighter, but so was Blake. It was this magic, I knew, that would be my best advantage. Leadership Challenge rules stated very clearly that you could only use what you had naturally available to you in wolf form during a fight. I could reach and manipulate my magic in any form, but it was much easier to use when I was a wolf. So I had every intention to use it. Having scoped out the Arena and got a feel for it, I withdrew my magic, conserving it for the fight. I sat down and waited for Blake to finish shifting.

Syn POV.
Jesus, I’ve never seen anyone shift as fast as that before. Despite the fact that I’d seen her in wolf form several times since she joined the Pack, I still couldn’t get over the sheer size of Mac. She must have weighed well over 300 pounds and was easily as tall as Matt, when he was in wolf form. Her coat was dappled black, silver, grey and white. I could see why she had been used in Were-fighting by her Alpha. She stretched out and sat back, watching Blake, waiting for him. She seemed relaxed enough, but appearances were often deceptive. About five minutes later, Blake completed his shift. It had obviously taken much more out of him than it had Mac. It seemed like it was more of an effort for him to force himself up to his feet and stretch. He was smaller in size than Mac, but you could see that he was strong from the muscle mass of his legs and shoulders. As he stretched out Johnny spoke.
“I’ve never seen a Were-fight before.” Me and Matt both looked at him, both fully aware of what was about to happen.
“You don’t want to Christ, especially not when someone you know is fighting.” Replied Matt, his attention on Mac and Blake. Mac waited a minute or two before getting to her feet. Greg had made us all memorise the rules to Were-fights just in case we ended up in one or as witnesses to one. I knew, as well as the others, that once both fighters were shifted, then the fight could officially begin. Mac getting to her feet meant only one thing; She was going to attack. Blake obviously sensed her padding forward and his head snapped up. He growled, baring his teeth. Mac returned the growl, stopping a few metres from him. Both stared at each other for what seemed like hours, although it was barely a minute, before Mac sprang. Blake dodged, but barely. Her claws raked down his side, scraping through one or two layers of skin. It wasn’t a deep wound or even a serious one, but it would hurt like a bitch. Blake didn’t have time to retaliate before she was on him again. Her jaws snapping shut barely inches from his throat. Her third pounce pinned him to the ground, her claws leaving deep furrows as she pressed her weight down on him. He tensed and kicked upwards, sending her flying backwards several metres. Everyone watched as he shook, blood flying from the cuts that already littered his body. Mac was already back on her feet and circling him, looking for a weakness. In contrast to him, she was still untouched. Blake followed her every move, rotating so that he could always see her. She darted forward, faking an attack, before withdrawing just as quickly. It never ceased to amaze me just how fast she was. Her father, whoever he was, must be extraordinary. Her quick withdrawal obviously fazed Blake as he suddenly lost sight of her. He turned his head the wrong way, allowing her to charge into his blind side. The sheer force and speed of her attack, knocked him onto his side. Before he could recover, her claws had raked down his side again, opening deeper cuts than previously. She darted backwards again as he lurched to his feet, lunging at her. She nearly avoided him. Nearly. He dragged his claws across her black right flank. The wounds were short, but obviously hurt. She turned on him, her face a snarl of sheer rage. This time, they met head on. Both up on their hind legs, clawing at each other, jaws snapping. It as a truly terrifying sight.

McKenna POV.
My magic warned me that he was going to move, but not soon enough. I held back the yelp of pain as his claws scraped down my right flank. The earth told me his position, I turned to face him, a ferocious snarl on my face. Boy was the wolf pissed. He lunged at me and I let the wolf instinct take over, meeting him head on. I was taller than him, up on my hind legs and that served as an advantage for him. Made it easier for him to attack. Desperately, knowing that I couldn’t hold this position for much longer with my left flank injured, I cast out even more magic, not just using it to warn me, but searching for anything that I could use. There! A slight weakness in the earth. I poured more magic into it, willing it to move how I wanted. I could sense that Blake was weakening, the scratches down his sides were slowing him up, but my leg wouldn’t hold out for much longer at all. The earth gave way and one of Blake’s back legs slipped sideways as the earth shifted. He lost his balance and toppled sideways, I let my weight fall with him, landing paws firs ton his chest. I heard, as well as felt two or three ribs give way beneath my paws. Good. No doubt that my old sensei would have a fit at me for using ‘dishonourable’ methods of fighting. But it just wanted this over. And I would take any victory that I could get. I pressed my weight down a bit harder, feeling a lung give way too. I pulled back. Blake may have been a strong wolf, but there was no way was he getting up from that. I stood watching him struggle for breath on the ground before me, before growling. Teeth showing, I advanced moving in for the kill. His voice halted me. McKenna, wait! I growled at him again. Cursing the old man for using Pack magic to buy himself a few more seconds. No. I replied, baring my teeth again. Don’t you want to know who your father is? He asked, even as he lay dying, his voice was smug. I snarled viciously and lunged forward. That was the final straw. I closed my teeth on his throat and pulled. It was over. I spat the gore and blood out of my mouth and stared down at the body of my former Alpha. He shuddered once, his eyes rolled back in their sockets and he was still. I stayed there for a few more minutes, letting the wolf calm down after the fight. As I felt I her relax and subside, I turned and padded back to the side of the field where I had left my clothes. I forced myself not to limp as I made my way across the Arena. The leg wound would partially heal during the shift back to human, but it would probably need stitches. Meh, what was one more scar? Aware of everyone’s eyes on me, I began to shift. If it was at all possible, it was even more excruciating than last time, mostly due to the wound on my leg. Once human, I began to dress. I had avoided looking over at Syn the whole time I’d been fighting and shifting, unsure about what his reaction would be and how it would affect me. But I just couldn’t resist anymore. I looked over to see all five of them watching me with something I wasn’t used to in their eyes; respect. Syn looked proud of me. At my nod Matt and the other ducked through the fence and headed over. The fight was over, they could enter the Arena now. They were closely followed by a short guy with a rucksack slung over one shoulder. I sighed. Sam was still the Pack medic then. Matt took one look at me, nodded to himself and smiled.
“You did good, Alpha.” I smiled slightly at the new, if unwanted, title. A Leadership Challenge had been the only way to get rid of Blake and end his choke-hold over the Pack, but it didn’t mean that I had wanted to be Alpha. However, I couldn’t deny the pleasure I felt at feeling the Pack magic flood me, the pleasure at beating Blake, the pleasure of returning the Pack back into my Great-Great Grandfathers family. Wordlessly, Syn approached me and pulled me into the biggest, tightest hug that I’d ever had. And you know what? It felt fucking amazing.
“I thought that I was going to lose you.” He mumbled into my hair. “I have never been so scared in my entire life.” He didn’t release me from his hold until someone cleared their throat behind us. He moved to my side, one arm still around my waist. Sam had shoved his way through the close-knit gang of guys and was stood surveying me critically. I smiled ruefully at him. He sighed.
“Why is it that I always seem to be stitching you up?” He grumbled, setting the rucksack down on the floor and motioning for me to sit down. Carefully, with several curses, I lowered myself to the floor and let him examine the wound on my thigh. “Well, for you, McKenna, this isn’t that bad.” I grinned at him.
“At least I keep you busy, eh Sam?” He chuckled to himself.
“That’s one way of putting it.” He mumbled, swabbing my leg with iodine. I hissed at him and glared when he put it away and pulled out a rather large needle instead. I grimaced as he drew up a dose of painkillers. I hated needles. Especially when they were going to end up in my leg. I closed my eyes and took a death grip on Syn’s hand as Sam set to work.

~*~

Ten minutes later, and my vocabulary of rude, socially impolite language sufficiently aired, I was stitched up and bandaged. Sam was tying off the bandage and giving me instructions.
“Try to keep the dressing dry for the next 36-48 hours. Then it’ll need to be checked and changed. The stiches will need to come out in roughly two weeks. I can do that for you, if you’re still over here, if not…” He was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. I shot to my feet, thankful for the painkiller and Syn’s supporting arm. I grabbed the small pistol out of the back of his shorts. For a moment, everything was silent. Then Jimmy fell to the ground. I stared in shock as the red patch blossomed across his chest. The guys instantly dropped to the floor beside him, trying to stop the bleeding. They were soon joined by Sam. Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to help, I began to scan the crowd, searching for the shooter. I found them barely a second later. A middle aged woman stood just inside the Arena , a gun smoking gently in her raised hand. My gaze narrowed. I’d hoped that she wouldn’t cause any problems. I didn’t want to have to kill her too. I raised my own gun and stared at her.
“Put it down Marie, it’s over.” She didn’t lower the gun. I thumbed the safety off mine.
“You’ve taken everything from me, McKenna Jenson.” I closed my eyes for a second and composed myself. But she was already speaking again. “You’ve killed my whole family, my sons” She gestured at Blake’s corpse with the gun. “my husband.”
“Your family were nothing but bullies and scum bags Marie. They lied, cheated and manipulated their way through this pack, through life. I only did what someone else would have done sooner or later.” I flinched mentally at how cold my voice was. I softened the tone. “Put the gun down. I don’t want to do this.” I watched the tears start to flow down her face.
“I have nothing left to live for.” She began to sight the gun again. It was then that I made my first decision as alpha of Kowrowa Creek Pack. I levelled the gun and pulled the trigger. She fell to the floor, limp. My bullet had taken her straight between the eyes. I dropped the gun to my side, and checked again to make sure that there were no more threats. They weren’t, everyone else was just stood, staring at me, waiting for instruction. Well they could just fucking wait. I turned and ran over to where the guys were still surrounding Jimmy. I sank to my knees next to Syn. All four guys were crying; a sight that I never thought I would see. I glanced up at Sam. He just shook his head helplessly. There was nothing he could do. I felt the tears begin to sting my eyes. I didn’t hold them back. I couldn’t. I looked at Jimmy, who was smiling weakly up at me. I bit my lip and the tears fell harder as I realised that this was the last time that I would be able to speak to him. He raised and hand shakily to my cheek, wiping the tears away.
“Shh, don’t cry lemon-Pie.” I put a hand over his.
“How can I not?”
“Don’t remember this, remember me by all the good times. The water fights, the cookery, the drumming.” He was talking to everyone, but his gaze was firmly on mine. Usually I’d expect Syn to freak, but he was calm by my side, his tears falling silently. “Remember …” he paused to cough, a slight trickle of blood dribbling out of his mouth. “remember, the insanity of The Rev.” Everyone cracked a very small smile at that. He looked around all of the guys before returning his eyes back to mine. “Tell Leana…” he paused to cough again. His voice was weaker when he next spoke. “tell her…tell her that … that I’m … sorry.” He fell silent, his eyes closed, his hand went limp in mine, his heads lolled to one side. I choked on a sob. He was gone. Just like that. I gently let go of his hand, placing it by his side. I leaned forwards and pressed my lips lightly against his forehead, my eyes closed.
“Goodnight my sweet Jimmy.”