THE RISE OF AN OMEGA-Chapter 38: Battle of wits and claws

Ryker’s POV

"We’ve done this before Ryker, and I am sure you know how it’s going to end this time around"

"Your words are not intimidating and they can never be intimidating to me."

We circled as we talked.

I had fought with Asher before, and I lost; well, actually, I didn’t technically lose; I saw an out, and I took it because I knew that there was no way I was going to win him in that fight.

But this time around was different; I was stronger than I was, back then, and I had something else to fight for.

Someone else to fight for, though I wasn’t quite sure of the way I felt about it, and I wasn’t sure about the part I wanted her to take in my life, but one thing was certain: she meant more than just a wolf to me, more than just the moon keeper she had become.

The battle had begun in other areas. I could hear my pack of wolves growling and saw Isabella dealing with Asher’s Luna. Marcus, Emilia, and three others were confronting two other golden-eyed wolves, and they were struggling.

But Kira was nowhere to be found.

Though I saw her while she began her battle with the golden-eyed, she was struggling also, but now she was nowhere around me.

I took sharp glances around.

"You looking for Kira?" Asher smirked, "Don’t worry, I told my golden-eyed wolf not to kill her; after all, she’s the moon keeper; I need her on my side so I can gain the respect of the other werewolves’ faction, too."

"Kira would never go with you."

"Oh, don’t worry, by the time my golden-eyed wolf is done with her, she’s not going to be able to make decisions on her own", he laughed hysterically.

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth, looking for the right time to attack him.

Asher had moves that I didn’t know of; I was sure that Mira would have told him that I had counterattacks for their previous moves.

Knowing who Asher was, I was certain that he had new moves, so I needed to be very calculative and smart about attacking him.

"Or maybe when every last one of you dies, she would come to her senses and understand that she’s meant to be with me and not with weaklings like you."

Weaklings?

How dare he call me a weakling?

I lost my temper and charged towards him, my eyes glowing red and my claws extended.

Asher dodged my attack effortlessly.

One moment he was there, and the next, he was gone.

"Do you love Kira?" Asher questioned

The question came as a shock to me.

"Stop talking, and let’s end this," I said angrily, my voice laced with a low growl.

"Oh my gosh, Ryker! You do love her."

I didn’t reply to his question.

But somehow, he found out that I had feelings for Kira.

Well, at the time, I wouldn’t call it a feeling; I would rather call it a mixed feeling.

I wasn’t sure if Kira felt the same way about me, and I ain’t someone who loves to force things.

Deep down I battled with the thoughts of telling her about the way I feel.

"Can you tell me why you love her? Is it because you discovered she’s the moonkeeper? I’m sure an alpha wolf like you wouldn’t want anything to do with an omega wolf, a nameless wolf."

I understood what he was doing now; he was trying to make me angry because my anger could cloud my judgment, and I wouldn’t be able to fight the way I should.

I recalled that Kira had informed me about her expectation of becoming his Luna, but he had rejected her because she was an orphan omega wolf. With that in mind, I decided to use this information to tease him, just as he was trying to provoke me.

"I am not like you, Asher," I said calmly.

My eye colour changed back to normal; I took in a deep breath just so I could feel relaxed.

Asher was trying to play a game of wits.

I have to be calm if I want to win this game.

Kira’s whereabouts were baffling, but I made sure to shove the worry somewhere deep.

I couldn’t afford to lose.

"Oh, my dear Ryker, you can never be like me." A wry smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"I can’t be like you, Ryker," I shot back at him, moving closer to him. "Do you know why?"

"I don’t want to know why Ryker, all I know is I am better than you"

I clicked my tone against the roof of my mouth. "I figured you would say that anyway, but I am going to tell you either way." I said, folding my arms "You are a hypocrite, a fool, and a weakling."

"Weaklibg?" He scoffed "You can’t be serious about that? How dare you call me a weakling."

"You need Kira just because of her powers, isn’t it?"

He didn’t say a word so I kept going.

"You rejected her when she was just an omega wolf, but now you want her back because she’s now powerful,"

"That’s enough Ryker?"

Yes, I was getting to him, he was slowly losing his cool. Which was what I needed.

"You are the weakling, Asher; you don’t need Kira by your side just because you are sorry; you want her by your side because of what she can do now. Isn’t that what a weakling will do? They would find the strongest to become their ally."

Asher’s low grunt and growl were increasing.

I kept on saying things that would push him to the edge, things that would make him angry, things that would make him lose his focus.

Finally, he came at me; I was ready to strike with my secret move, one I had been practising for years now, but to my greatest amusement, he stopped abruptly, laughing ominously.

I thought I had him.

"You think you can push me to the edge, make me angry, so I would fight you with anger? Come on, Ryker, you can do better than that." He said running his hand through his hair.

The battle was going to be harder than I thought it would be.

I knew that Asher was a formidable opponent, but I underestimated him, thinking that making him angry would work.

"Ryker, I am not your normal alpha wolf; if it was one of them, this little game you just played might have worked, but not on me."

He was right; he wasn’t like other alpha’s. He was Asher, one of the most feared, if not even the most feared, but there was something he didn’t know about Me.

Over the years, I had fought many enemy wolves. I had gained experience and personal training, so even I wasn’t the Ryker he used to know.

I had evolved.

But deep down I wondered if my strength would be enough. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Anyway, I am impressed that you tried to turn the table around, Ryker. I planned to make you angry, and we know anger isn’t good when fighting; you need more wisdom to win a battle, but you saw through me, I will give you a clap for that."

I scoffed.

"Stop talking, and let’s end this", I replied.

"Not so fast," he paused, turning in the direction of my wolves and his wolves, battling. "Do you see the difference,"

He turned to where Marcus, Emilia and the other three were battling with the golden eye wolves. They were finding it hard.

"Look around, Ryker; the winner has been decided already; Kira is nowhere to be found. Who knows? She might just be dead."

I clenched my fist, and a wave of anger surged through every part of me.

I didn’t want to believe him. Kira must not be dead. She was strong—perhaps not unbeatable, but more powerful than he acknowledged. Nevertheless, how he spoke, the self-satisfied assurance in his voice, cast a chill of uncertainty over me.

My pack was faltering, the golden-eyed wolves, dominating Marcus and the others fighting them with unnatural power. Each second we wasted in conversation brought us closer to our downfall.

"You’re not telling the truth," I snarled, though my voice quivered a bit.

"Is it me?" Asher grinned, moving in nearer. "Now tell me, Ryker, are you going to give her back to me or I end the life of every single wolf that leaves here?"

I refused to respond. Instead, I charged at him once more, this time not with irrational fury but with focused accuracy. Claws sliced through the air, just grazing his neck as he evaded with unnatural swiftness.

"You’re in a desperate situation," he laughed grimly, evading my next strike. "You can sense it, can’t you?" The tide is changing. "The unavoidable."

A shrill cry echoed across the battlefield. My heart tightened. That was—

Kira.

However, the sound wasn’t one of defiance. It was a sound of pain.

Asher’s smile grew wider. "Ah, there she is."

And just as I was about to respond, he disappeared into the darkness.