REBORN UNDER THE FULL MOON

Kyle's POV

"Give up for goodness sake!!!" my opponent cried, clearly exhausted. I too was burned out but I was determined to go to sleep as the winner. So, gathering all the effort that I've got left, I struck real hard and fast.

He saw me coming, tried to defend quite sluggishly and out of strength. Obviously he taught I would attack as usual, but I rushed at him, dodged his defence strike and attacked from his right with all the strength and speed I could muster up. It was fatal.

He fell, landing his bottom on the floor first, before collapsing totally. I too, fell beside him gasping for breathe. It was the longest fight I've ever encountered all my life. It was clearly over, I, the winner.

I stood up after a while, looked around and found all the spectators strangely looking at me.

"Yeah, I beat your favourite," I said looking round. There were still there, staring at me dumbfounded. Giving it no second thought, I picked up my sword, leaving the field as I came.

Then the thought of Lyra came racing through my mind again. "Lyra, how possible could this be?" I asked myself, walking slowly and stroking my jaw beard.

I reached a passageway linking the field to the dressing room, and I passed through the entrance door. The walls were cold and grey, the air filled with the scent of dampness. Walking pass the passageway, I suddenly reminisced on the fight. I recalled how the spectators were blankly staring at me, no one clapping at all after I won. No one felt the need to praise my fighting skill and the effort I put into the art. Thinking about it all made me feel empty, longing for things to get back to how it was before Zeus showed up from the blues. I suddenly felt I was walking through a forgotten world, one that has been left to decay and neglect.

"I must make things right," I muttered to myself. "I must find Lyra, and together we would take back the Pack from the hands of Zeus and return it to how it was before he came."

But what if she has settled down with someone else? What made it necessary for her to go through the tough process of erasing our mate mark? Surely that wouldn't have been an ordinary ordeal. She must have needed to get rid of her past in order to forge ahead with life. All these thoughts sent shiver down my spine, coupled with the oppressive silence all through the passageway. The sound of dripping water echoing off the stone floor seemed to pass a message to me, signifying the lack of time or time wasted.

It seemed like forever, walking through the passageway. "Zeus!!" I cried beneath my breadth. If only he had remained in hiding. If only I had attacked him when he came. He was the symbol of the fatherhood I didnt enjoy in life. He came, playing mind games with me, making me need him as a father. But all that stopped when he conquered and ascended the throne.

Quite close to the end of the passageway I heard the clap of hands. My right hand on my sword and turning around sharply, I saw Nathan. "Take it easy, Kyle. I'm not your opponent. " he said, reaching up to me and patting my shoulder.

Still confused and eying him greatly, "How long have you been here?" I asked.

"More like, 'how long have you been stalking me," he replied, releasing his grip on my shoulder and walking forward. I followed suit, still expecting his reply.

"Well, I came into this passageway seconds after you. I came around after you've won and was about leaving the field," he explained.

Still suspecting him, I walked slowly, stealing glances at him once or twice. Something clearly was wrong somewhere, but my present state clouded my doubts, "Well, you need to see how those Roman foul heads were staring at me, quite amazed that I beat their 'god' in a fight, "I said, laying emphasis on the 'god'.

He chuckled, opening the door leading outside the passageway, "You see, clans in the Roman continent see their fighters as indomitable warriors, undefeatable to say the least, and true to words, their warriors rarely lost a fight," he said, stepping out of the passageway.

"So, it was a rare feet that I attained conquering their warrior. Hmm, so tell me, how come they haven't won this tournament in time past?" I asked.

"Well, in reality this is the first time that they have participated in this tournament. They always rank themselves too great to contest in such a contest."

Hearing this, I burst out laughing. I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt bad, and I had to stop for a while, holding my abdomen, still laughing.

Finally catching my breathe, "So they came here and got their tyres deflated," I managed to say amidst fits of laughter.

"Well, if you put it that way, it's actually funny, but tell me, I expected the contest to be far finished before I showed up, so why the wasted time?" he asked as we walked towards the building where I stayed. I decided not to take a room with the contestants, as I had enough to lodge at a caravanserai.

"I'm not sure I should call it a tough fight, as I won the first round quite easily, but then.... " I stopped, staring into the sky for a while. Of course Nathan stopped, I felt him looking at me intently.

"I saw her from afar. I gazed upon her, her face glowing like the warmth of a sunset on a summer evening...." I stopped, still gazing beyond, memories flipping through my mind.

"She was all I asked for in a werewolf, I remember our first kiss; her lips shone in gentle rosebud pink, her eyes sparkled like diamonds.... but it all ended when Zeus arrived, "I shook my head sadly and started moving again. Seemingly utterly confused at my narration, "Who's Lyra? who's Zeus? was she married to you, Lyra I mean? are you a werewolf?" he flooded me with questions.

"Enough of the questions Nathan. All I can say is that I saw the werewolf of my dreams today in the tournament, staring at me from afar. I stopped for a while to examine the familiar face, losing focus in the process. My opponent took advantage of the distraction and attacked me, winning in the process. "I briefly explained.