IN FULL COLOUR - Dark Fantasy

Gabrielle

I made my way with Pam towards our table with a slight blush and a silly smile on my face, one I was certain she didn’t miss. She never missed anything, not with her being a super-sensitive empath and labelling me as her best friend.

Hooking her arm into mine, we strode side by side as loud, rowdy laughter exploded from where Axel was sitting with his gang of ‘rebels’. Not that they were rebels at all, we just liked to refer to them as such since they were all so different in every possible way but seemed to get along extremely well. It was like the weirdest wolves from the pack had decided to form an alliance and strangely, Axel decided to make that his new safety net.

As the storm of laughter filled the air, Pam immediately let out an excited giggle and squeezed my arm twice. We shared a very girly moment, just smiling, being happy for the positive new turn of events that had occurred, starting last night.

Obviously, I had already told her everything, since her room was the first place I went after our wolves’ very interesting evening together.

I must admit that I was wary of how Axel would react when he saw me again, considering his reputation of sinking into despair quite quickly and having exceptionally unpredictable, harsh mood swings.

This morning, however, he surprised me. There were no tendrils of darkness wafting about, no eerie blackness seeping from his skin. Only light, calm clouds of energy glowing around him. He looked different. Transformed. I think his wolf also had a lot to do with it. He must have been in terrible pain all those months they spent apart.

“Axel looks uh-better this morning,” Pam commented through her smile and leaned deeper into my side.

My smile intensified. It reached my ears within seconds, until “Gabrielle?”

A heavy male hand landed on my left shoulder, halting us in our step. I spun around in unison with Pam, the latter immediately stepping slightly in front of me in a protective, threatening manner.

John’s jaw stiffened as he realized I must have already told her everything, but he plastered that smooth smile of his on so quickly one could have sworn it was there all along.

“May I have a word with you?” He asked so sweetly, I could practically hear Pam’s teeth grinding together.

Instinctively my fingers brushed over the faint remains of the bruises he had left around my wrists the night before. Pam opened her mouth to say something, but a large, calloused hand fell onto John’s shoulder, exactly the same way as he had done with me mere seconds ago. Our eyes snapped towards it and John himself almost fell backwards in surprise, jerking his body back in fright.

As he turned to face the owner of the hand, it felt like the entire room inhaled in anticipation. All laughter had died down and every face in the room was now turned towards us.

There, right in front of him stood a very angry, very handsome looking Axel Scott. His golden blonde hair fell onto his forehead in a messy, but sexy kind of way and in his powder-blue eyes something sinister simmered.

Pam’s muscles tensed visibly, and John’s claws peeked out from the tips of his fingers, yet his face remained poised, smooth.

“A word in private, Beta,” Axel simply said.

It was not a request, not a question. It was an order. From an Alpha to a Beta.

Axel didn’t wait for him to answer as he stepped away, leading both of them outside, away from the crowd of onlookers.

John followed reluctantly as every single eye in the room traced their steps with troubled faces. An immediate pregnant silence fell. No one made a sound, and no one dared to make a move, not until the two large men disappeared outside. Then chaos broke out.

Tables crashed to the floor and chairs skid across the room as wolves of all shapes and sizes bolted for the windows lining the eastern side of the hall. It seemed everyone knew what was about to happen and didn’t want to miss the action.

They rushed past us so quickly it felt like I was somehow stuck in a very strange dream.

Pam slowly let go of my arm and stepped away. I raised a brow in question, but she simply shrugged and gave me an apologetic smile, “sorry Gabby, I’ll tell you everything after, ok!?” She was already running for the windows, yelling over her shoulder.

For a few moments, I just stood there like a pillar of salt. What the? Am I dreaming?

When I heard a loud “OOH!” roaring from the crowd, my legs started moving on their own accord.

“What did I miss?” I asked as soon as I got to where Pam had made some room for me and saw Axel land a hard blow to John’s jaw.

“Ouch! Oof!” The crowd sounded around us.

“Not much, Axel spoke to him for a while and when he turned to walk away, John struck, aiming for the back of his head,” Pam quickly informed as the fight progressed, both men now throwing hard, swift punches and skilful kicks at one another, “it looked like he wanted to grab a fist full of Axel’s hair, but Axel spun around just in time, grabbing John by his wrist mid-air and retaliating with a kick to the ribs! You should have seen it!”

John swiped Axel’s legs out from underneath him and he landed forcefully on the rocky ground, the crowd answering in animalistic sounds. I cringed. It looked so sore.

John didn’t waste a second and threw himself onto Axel, but Axel kicked him off quickly and efficiently doing a back summersault which ended in a low crouch position.

“Wow, Axel really knows his shit,” Pam stated, getting onto her toes for a better view.

Not long after that did the wolves start running outside, forming a large circle around the two warriors, some rooting for Axel, some for John. I didn’t know what to do, should I interfere? Should I let them battle it out?

What I did know, however, was that it was extremely foolish to get in between an Alpha-male and his opponent in a fight.

Both John and Axel were skilled warriors, although it seemed like Axel was gaining the upperhand quite effortlessly. Wolves around the ring started placing bets on who would win the fight and from the looks of things, it was Beast who started the betting.

Money was pouring in and Beast shoved the notes one after the other into Molly's arms with a wicked grin on his face.

Axel rammed John into the ground with his shoulder and they rolled around in the dust, wrestling, clawing and throwing punches. Blood was flowing from John's nose and Axel flashed crimson-coloured teeth as he smiled devilishly at John, landing another hard punch in his ribs. I had no doubt, it was his own blood lining his mouth, he must have bitten off a chunk of his cheek or tongue during impact somewhere along the fight.

Finally, Axel got John into a chokehold, both men lying on the ground covered in sweat, dirt and limbs entangled. John didn't want to surrender and Axel didn't want to let go either.

"What on earth is going on here!? AXEL!"

An unfamiliar female voice suddenly yelled out and everyone spun around to take in the new face, accompanied by my father, mother and another Alpha-male.

"Shit," Axel muttered under his breath, loosening his hold ever so slightly on our Beta.

The blonde beauty stepped into the ring and halted a mere foot away from the two entangled, filthy warriors, leaning over Axel and looking down at him in disgust. Her hands propped into her hips angrily and her eyes shining with her wolf's golden orbs.

"Hey, Sis," Axel greeted with a large, uncomfortable smile tainted in blood.