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Brave Courageous Wildflowers

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"The most important thing in life

is not the triumph, but the struggle.

The essential things is not to have conquered,

but fought well"

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Yousaywatnow

sisiberryleal

Catherine_Edward

Changeapproved

Finny03

Nckate2016

Lets-Start-Riots

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Alpha sisiberryleal (Sidney)

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CHALLENGE #3 (Short Story) SUBMISSION

Prompt #1: You are in the opening battle of GREY'S TRIBUTE. You are either of Grey pack (North), Byron pack (South), or the Far South pack. Pick one. Within the battle... You find your mate...

Curveball 1: #3 in love with another

Curveball 2: #3 unable to reproduce

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Chapter - 1 | The War

~Elira

I looked around the field littered with the carcasses of my pack mates. It was impossible to identify the mangled bodies; an arm here, a leg there. The metallic stench of blood was thick in the air. The life source of wolves saturated the ground. I was covered in blood–head to toe. It was hard to tell which scent belonged to my body.

My body ached with each step I took, my eyes assessing the damage the Southern and Northern packs inflicted on my pack. We had been demolished. Our greed for more land only led us to our deaths.

My heart fell to my stomach, making it hard to breathe when I finally came across my mate, my chosen. Maddox lay in the grass with the throat of life ripped off to the side of him.

My Maddox–my best friend and a warrior. We grew together and had been together since birth. We weren’t given a chance to bid him farewell. A gut wrenching sob left my lips, and bile rose from the pit of my stomach.

His eyes stared aimlessly at the darkening sky. The same eyes that looked at me with so much love and passion when we made love held no emotion now. There was a huge gaping hole in his chest where my name used to be–ripped out with no mercy.

Tears mixed with blood and dirt, rolled down my cheeks, soaking my torn shirt. In distance, I noticed the

Warriors from the enemy pack scouting the area for survivors. They took their injured away while snapping the neck of the Far Southern wolves hanging on to their lives by a thread.

It wouldn’t be long before he came to me. My eyes locked with Maddox’s lifeless eyes again. Crying was considered an expression of weakness. Male or female, we were forbidden to cry. I didn’t care about it now. My heart felt as if someone had ripped it out of my chest and stomped on it. It was getting harder to breathe.

I pulled his half-severed head on my lap, pressing my lips to his ashen skin. My head tipped facing the sky and my wolf howled with sorrow as the inevitable pain spread through my rib cage, constricting my lungs.

The first drop of rain touched my forehead, followed by others. It slid over my face, masking the forbidden tears that soon joined. An enemy male wolf was closing in, and I could feel his heated gaze on me. The downpour washed away the remnants of the day.

My spine straightened and i lifted my chin, not wanting to show our weakness before this male. There was nothing to lose. We would welcome our death with pride. My wolf was in agreement with me. Our wails and sorrowful howls stopped. I placed Maddox’s head back on the ground and stood, my back facing the enemy.

There was nothing to lose. I could hear the footsteps of the wolf closing in. The vibrations his walk made on the ground vibrated through my body. His movements cold and calculation. The hair on my body stood up and leaned in his direction as I felt his gaze traveled the length of my body. How could I feel that?

His chest vibrated with warning growls as I flexed my hands, ready to strike. I won’t go down without a fight. If I die today, I would take at least one of them with me to the moon. We lost. I had no family, pack or friends. I’d prefer death over living my life as a prisoner any day.

The wolf stopped a few feet away from me. The slight squishing sound made me wince. He must’ve stepped on someone. I already hated him. Did he not have any respect for the dead? He was an enemy; what did I expect?

My wolf grew anxious within me as the heavy blowing wind changed its course. Our nostrils flared when the faint scent of pure male. What was that?

His movement was sudden, no warning given. I dodged his claws with the practised expertise before landing a roundhouse kick to his ribs. The sound of shattering the bones in his ribcage pleased my ears as I finally met his furious eyes, dark with his wolf in control. His naked torso was littered with scars and wounds that bled out.

He continued to attack, but his claws came nowhere near my neck or any vital organs. They nicked at my arms, with movements so swift that I am forced to go on the defensive path. I blocked his kicks and punches without releasing a sweat. Something told me that he was going easy on us. Was he toying with us? Why isn’t he attacking?

By now, I noticed a few more wolves coming to stand audience as we fought. He evaded my attack with a cocky smirk that set my blood on fire. The rain gradually stopped, leaving an eerie sheen of moisture on everything. Our feet stepped over the remains of the fallen wolves as we went at each other. All I wanted at the moment was to shift into my wolf and go at him, but something was restraining me.

I was charged with eliminating immediate threats, so I didn’t shift earlier. Slipping in and out of the battlefield in human form was easier. Shifting now would make me vulnerable and that was a mistake I wouldn’t dare to make. He also continued to fight in his human skin.

His nude body didn’t bother me, though something began stirring within me. Wolves doesn’t care nudity, yet as time passed, I found my eyes trailing down his toned body on it’s own. An involuntary hum of appreciation left my lips as I took his form in.

The more his scent infiltrated my sense the more my distraction grew. Something was different. What is it? My hands grew weak as a wave of exhaustion washed over me. We’ve been fighting almost the entire day with no rest. I let my wolf surface, using her strength and senses to guide me in the fight.

Our gaze zeroed in on his bare neck that held no mark of a female. All we needed was an opening to rip his throat just like they ripped my Maddox’s throat. I licked my lips at the mere thought. As if sensing my line of thoughts the wolf moved, pinning me to him in one swift movement. His scent assaulted my senses with such a full force that I forgot to breathe for a moment.

Impossible. Our gazes locked, his dark hungry eyes roamed over my body with a hunger I realized was lust. His lower half grew hard against my hip, making my heart lurch to my throat. No. No. No. It isn’t what I’m thinking.

Of all the times, fate chose to test me now. Our ancestors never put any stock in fated mates because it was seen as a restriction on the wolves. Many wolves didn’t even find them. Though we weren’t against the fated ones, we didn’t wait for them either.

His unique scent infiltrated my already clouded senses, sending my emotions and body into overdrive. The male above me was tall with broad shoulders. His well defined jaw held a long scar that ran from his left ear to the corner of his mouth. If it was any other day, I would’ve admired it.

Nothing had prepared me for this moment. My sanity was slipping with my wild going crazy in my mind. She was mourning the death of our pack while this new sensation invaded our senses. It can’t be.

“Hello mate.”

The thick timbre of his voice sent shivers down my spine and my body went slack. His smile grew wide as he secured my leather-gloved hands in one of his large ones and traced my chin with the other. I went to snap at that hand, but he moved faster than me and clamped my jaw shut.

Sparks ignited my blood, spreading through my veins and ending in the apex of my thighs. Something I had never felt before. How did I not notice this before? I must have been overcome with grief before, unable to think clearly.

“I’ve waited to meet you my whole life. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior towards me,” he growled out, his eyes dulling with hurt and disappointment. “Now, we must return to my pack. This petty war has already distracted me enough from my responsibilities.”

I stared at him in disbelief and shook his hand off my face. “I will never follow you to that horrid pack filled with cold-hearted monsters. And I will never be your mate. I have a home here and a mate that I love. Let me go, both from your hands and your mind.”

“And I suppose that was your mangled lover you were crying over before?”  

“Yes,” we were both breathing heavily with rage. How dare he? “He was my happiness. My chosen,” I spat with a bitter note. My heart was bleeding for our fallen, wanting to join them in the moon.

“You didn’t wait for me.” Pain filled his voice before rage overtook the male in front of me as he began to shift, “I could be your happiness, if you were to choose me as well,” he stated in a tone that was guttural.

Soon I was on the blood soaked ground with a snarling, angry wolf on top of me. Being one of the few female warriors of the Far South set me up to prepare for situations such as this. Struggling, I was not only grappling with this strange male, but also with the connection and urges that came with him. This bond. I hated this bond.

I wanted to be consumed with the anger fueled by Maddox dying, by my pack being massacred. I continued to fight, ignoring the sparks with my vexation behind every hit. No matter how hard I hit him or hurt him, my efforts seemed to be futile. Blocking any bites only scarred and bloodied my arms. Reaching to my right I lurched for his foreleg with both hands to hear the satisfying snap of bones, but that left me defenseless and my neck open.

The feeling of teeth in my throat caused me to instinctually freeze and accept what was happening but confusing emotions soon sent me into panic. He groaned on top of me and retracted his teeth just to shift back to his human skin.

“I can’t let go of you. Not from my hands, my mind, and not ever from my heart,” my fated said with sympathy speaking through his eyes. “You are the only one truly made for me.”

I shook my head, unable to catch my breath. Too much was happening at once and I couldn’t make sense of it all. I felt sick to my stomach, tormented with vertigo and the need to close my eyes. I knew I couldn’t fight it as my eyes rolled back and darkness enveloped me.

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Chapter - 2 | The Brute’s pack

~Elira

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I woke up in shock and fear, not knowing where I was. My disoriented senses began to piece everything together as I blinked my eyes. Underneath me were soft, worn sheets that hold the strangers scent. The walls held multiple frames of moments captured in a single second.

When I stood, my legs landed in a soft fox fur. My toes pressed against the fur as a soft rumble of contentment vibrated within my chest. I loved furs.

“It’s about time you woke up.”

I whipped around to see the brute who addressed himself as my mate sauntering towards me iat a casual pace. His posture was stiff and confident, as if he owned the place. Wait, he owns this place. Everything around me smelled like him. A fresh scent of mint and spices mixed with his unique masculine scent that lured me in.

His shirtless torso was in display and I couldn’t tear my eyes off him. A sudden urge to run my long fingers on his smooth tan skin shocked me. Would it feel smooth or rugged? There was no stopping my line of thoughts. Though my skin side wanted to avert my gaze and pretend that I am unaffected by his presence, I couldn’t follow through.

Everything about him was alluring. My eyes trailed down without my permission, gawking at the male before me. The wild within perks up as my eyes hit his lower abdomen. He wore a tight jean shorts that accentuated his strong thighs. I swallowed as my heart raced. I shouldn’t be feeling this way. His pack killed mine.

“Like what you see?”

My eyes snapped to meet his eyes that was the colour of rich coffee beans. A mild tremor racked my body as his gaze fixated on me, traveling down to my lips, neck and down. I felt his gaze- it was as if the rays of the morning sun soaked my skin. Warm, yet hot. My breathing grew heavy as he took a step forward.

I moved back on instinct while all I wanted to do was to stay put and see what he would do next. “You haven’t answered my question yet,” the brute purred. The air grew heavy as he stepped into my private space. There was no place to back away from him as my legs hit the bed.

“Why am I here?” I asked, wanting to diffuse the tension in the air.

“This is where you belong,” his sound whispers out, sending a shiver through me and making my emotions go haywire.

It was getting harder to fight these foreign emotions that stormed within me. I didn't like it. I’ve always been in control. With Maddox, I’ve never lost it once. But, with the brute his mere sound made my stomach drop from the cliff.

“I don’t belong here.” I averted my gaze.

“You belong here because you are my mate.” Anger laced his voice and I kept my gaze down, admiring the fox fur. As much as I would’ve liked to rip his throat apart, the mark prevented me from doing anything. I could feel my wild already connected to his wild. Shameless mutt.

I’ve heard it caused too much pain when the skin side and the wild are in disagreement. Heat from his body seeped through my clothes, which made me realize I was dressed in a oversized shirt that smelled like him. I tried to step around him, only for him to block my path.

“Where do you think you are going?”

“Away from you.” My words slipped out before I could take them back.

“You are not going anywhere!” His growl was guttural before my back crashed into a hard chest. His teeth sank into my mark, making my knees shake.I bit my lip to stop the moan from escaping as he continued his ruthless assault on my exposed neck.

Claws pierced the skin over my hip bones, pulling me to him so I could feel every inch of his body against mine. My breath grew harsher as I fought for my sanity. It was too much to take in. I can’t stand this.

Despite what my mind said, my body played right into his wanton hands, shaking. My back arched, pressing me into his hardness. His chest vibrated against my back. We shouldn’t be doing this.

His movements grew more urgent while my skin side fought with my wild.

She wanted to surrender to her mate, relish in the attention her was giving. As if realizing this, the brute pressed open mouthed kisses along my neck. My knees trembled unable to stand longer. The injuries I received during the war ached and I concentrated on the pain.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, soaking his shirt. I didn’t want this. My heart galloped in my chest. The feeling of pleasure and pain coursed through my body. Pleasure from his lips and pain from my wounds that reopened and began bleeding.

The brute stopped abruptly and my breathing once again restored to its normal rhythm. “You’re bleeding.”

I kept the pain on my face, anything to escape his clutches. He led me to his bed before going to the adjacent room that I assumed as bathroom. When he returned, I kept my gaze on the floor for the sake of my own sanity.

His hands hovered above the shirt I wore before unbuttoning it, much to my dismay. My efforts to stop his advances were swatted off. “Stay still,” he scolded.

I couldn’t help but admire the contours of his chiseled chest. My throat worked to swallow the invisible lump that had formed in my throat. He was tall. Taller and broader than Maddox. A strong male. My wolf stirred within me, perking her ears as her tongue darted out wetting her snout.

“What’s your name?” I asked before I could stop myself.

The brute smirked. “Cayden,” he said. His hands continued to wipe the blood off my skin. “What is yours?”

I contemplated for a moment before giving it to him. “Elirah.”

“El-ea-rah…” He spoke to himself and my body shivered just by hearing my name on his lips. Firm and thin.

He looked up, feeling my gaze on his lips. His eyes zoomed in on mine before I averted my face. Every time our eyes met, they lured me in, breaking the thin line of connection I had to my sanity. This isn’t happening. They are my enemies.

Though it was our pack that waged the war, I couldn’t stop blaming the Southerners and Northerners. It was in a wolf’s nature to seek more land for themselves. Our resources were dwindling and we needed that extra land to survive.

“You should get used to me soon. We are mates,” he stated, his coffee brown orbs staring into mine.

“I’ll never love you,” I held his gaze, unwavering.

“Doesn’t matter. We should get you checked by the healer. Your wounds aren’t closing.”

I blinked back my tears. How would it close? I was bleeding from my heart. I lost everyone I knew since my birth in a matter of days. I had no one now. Oh, how badly I wish I could talk to Maddox now. Or Laurel. Anyone.

“I don’t want a healer.”

I’d prefer to succumb to my wounds rather living with him in this pack. Our Alpha never had a good thing to say about their pack. We heard tales of how Alpha Fin deflowered hoards of women that didn’t belong to him. Well, it wasn’t like we honored the Moon’s choices. But at least we didn’t mess with the fated ones. It was the wolf’s choice.

“You don’t have a choice in that matter.”

“Why don’t you understand? I want to be left alone!”

“So you could mourn that mutt you call your lover?” Anger radiated from him body and my stomach churned. “If he wasn’t dead already, I would’ve taken immense pleasure in killing him.”

A growl resonated from my chest before I could stop it. “Your pack killed my family, wiped off my pack from the face of this earth.”

“That’s what happens when you go to the war.”

“Your pack did not even leave the children!”

“Alpha’s orders,” he shrugged.

“Alpha’s orders? You killed innocent children just because your Alpha ordered! How convenient?” Liquid fury licked my veins. All of them were murderers. They held no respect in my eyes. The packs usually retained the pups and females from the defeated pack.

“The females from your pack did not surrender. They chose their fate by fighting until their last breath.”

That sounded like our females. I let out a shaky breath and turned away from his. I can’t face him like this. He made me feel so vulnerable just by looking at me. Is this how fated mates feel? Is this how Maddox felt?

Maddox lost his mate in a bear attack when we were young. I was there for him when he mourned. We got together during my first heat and had been together ever since. How Maddox was able to love me after his mate’s death was beyond my knowledge. If it felt anything like this, I highly doubted it was love.

There was no fire between us. Sparks didn’t ignite my blood every time we touched. We were comfortable with each other-yes. But his mere presence never aroused me. This was different, and it scared me to no end.

“Leave. I wish to be alone,” my voice came out weaker than I intended it to be.

“It’s my room and you don’t have a say in if I leave or stay.” His cocky attitude irked me. Maddox wasn’t like this. I should really stop comparing him with Maddox. The brute shuffled behind me. Strong arms turned me around, thrusting a pair of pants in my hand. “Wear this. We are going to see the healer.”

I already regretted this. His determination did not waver and I knew I had no say in this matter anymore. I dressed silently before walking out with him.

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Chapter - 3 | The Healer’s truth

~Elira

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“Who is that wolf?” I asked unable to reign in my curiosity as we walked towards the healer’s cabin.

“Our Luna,” his answer is clipped.

“Why is she chained?” The female doesn’t pay attention to us as she lay there with her head resting on her front paws.

“Because she defied my Alpha.”

“This is barbaric! You have no respect for your mate while you guys call us, the Far South, honorless,” my voice is a cold hiss. No female deserves to be treated this way. The food beside her is untouched and I admire her strength.

“And we stand by our beliefs. The Far South is without honor. You didn’t wait for me!” His accusing finger jabbed at my heart and I recoiled for a moment at the sensation his touch created in my body.

“Alpha Grey didn’t wait for his mate either. He fucked his brother’s mate, didn’t he?”

The brute’s eyes go wide as his jaw clenches. A smirk lifted the corner of my lips. “Don’t have an answer now, do you?” My words taunt him. “Can you be honest and tell me that you had no other female in your life before me?”

Cayden’s hands balls into a fist before he pivots on his heel and walks away.

A victorious grin spread across my lips. “Hmm… That’s what I thought.” These males themselves are without honour while they accuse us for being independent. It isn’t like every wolf can travel across various pack’s lands searching for his or her mate.

The packs simply didn’t have that sort of alliance amongst them. They didn’t let every wolf wander off and encroach their packs lands. We did what we had to survive and stop our numbers from dwindling. If our mates aren’t from our pack, we choose someone else to share our lives with. It has been our custom for centuries.

If the moon was more considerate, then she would have created a fated for all the wolves within their packs. It was not that we defied the moon’s wishes, it’s just that we didn’t follow the traditional route.

“We’re here,” the brute announced, knocking at the door and I stopped to look at the worn out cabin that gave me chills. I've never liked healers. The door opened and I looked away, not wanting to meet her soulless eyes. “Come on in,” he urged and I followed him in.

I felt her gaze scan my frame as my wild bristled within me. My jaw clenched trying to reign in my wild.

“Strip and lay over this table,” the healer turns around and goes to clean the table.

Strip? No way in hell I’d be stripping before them.

“What are you waiting for?” The healer quirks her eyebrows.

“I am not stripping.”

She rolls her eyes with distaste. “You are a wolf. Don’t make me say it again, female. Strip and get on table.”

I looked over at the brute who has an amused look on his face. “I’ve already seen you naked,” he begins. “Do as she says so she can gain access to your injury.”

After contemplating a few moments, I quickly stripped out of my clothes and walked towards the table. A sharp intake of his breath tells me I had affected him. I couldn’t hide the smile that spreads on my lips.

I climb the table with ease and wince when the healer’s hand first touches my body. Her dark brows crease with thought as she assess each of my wounds. My heart speeds up when her fingers trace the long scar on my lower abdomen.

A growl slip past my lips when she goes further and spreads my legs. Her digits slip in, earning a warning hiss that goes unnoticed. She prodes my inner walls and when she pulls out, she sniffs her fingers.

“She isn’t fertile,” she announces.

“What?!” The brute’s dark tone shakes the walls of the small cabin.

“What I just said,” the healer doesn’t even bother to look at the brute as she says this. “Her womb cannot hold your seed. It’s damaged beyond repair.” She wipes her hand in a cloth before picking up some salve.

My stomach churns as the words left her mouth. I hadn’t thought about it in a while. In fact, I had forgotten everything about the incident. I got hurt in the same bear attack that killed Maddox’s mate.

The brute’s growls are savage as he turns and leaves the cabin without another word. Paws hitting the ground and a distant howl reached my ears as the healers silently applies the salve on my wounds.

“Your wolf is mourning,” she states. “It isn’t healing you like it should’ve.”

I have no words to say to her. She didn’t say anything new. When she finished, I got up without further words and dressed in the brute’s clothes.

The healer doesn’t say a word as I leave her cabin. I took a deep breath and looked around. His scent lingers in the air and is now filled with pain. His pain. I felt nothing. I emotionally confused. Should I feel sorry for my loss? Should I feel glad that I found my mate and i’m not sharing the same fate as the rest of my kin? Or should I feel sorry for not able to bear a pup for my male?

The sigh that leaves my lungs is strained. Every inch of my body hurt as the initial numbness and adrenaline wore off. My feet began to move through the path I came in. The wolf within me howls in sorrow. As we approach the chained Luna, our gazes lock. Honey gold orbs catch and hold mine.

I don’t look away. It feels as if she is silently communicates with me. Now I saw her again, it is now that I realize I know her. I’ve seen her before. She belonged to the Southern pack. My feet hesitate before I walk towards her.

Her lips curl up in warning which halts my progress. “Luna Meela…” My words slips out. The wolf tilts her head, looking at me. “I’m sorry this happened to us.”

A whine is heard before she looks away as if deciding I am no threat to her. I let out a shuddering breath before bowing. She’s stronger in my opinion. It takes a lot of strength to defy ones mate.

Though driven by sadness I couldn’t seem to fight the bond. I wonder how she did it. My head bows again before I walk off. It’s in the nature of a wolf to want to reproduce. Why is fate so

cruel? There is no escape now that the brute has marked me. No one could escape the bond unless one of us died.

Our future is unsure. Not that I had a future. I lost that in the battle. The brute’s wolf howls again in the distance. It’s timbre wrecks my nerves, hitting every inch of my body. His form comes into my view as I approached his home. Our gazes meet and hold. Pain radiates from his dark eyes.

What does the future hold for us?

The End

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:: PACK POINTS & BADGES/TATOOS ::

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CH #1 POINTS: 50

CH #2 POINTS: 105

CH #3 POINTS: 800

TOTAL POINTS: 955

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♪ Song: "" ♪