I hoped that if I could beat the alpha Lusonian, then maybe the rest would let Astor and I go. It was a long shot, but it was the only shot we had. So, with an unwavering focus, I flew into battle.

When I met Max at the middle of the arena, he swiped at me with his claws, before charging forward. The speed at which he moved was beyond the other werewolves, and as I darted to the sides and flew around, Max’s quickness matched my own. He cut off every angle, and attacked with unparalleled violence. I raised my arms to block his strikes, but the force of them still toppled me over. Then, when I was on the ground, Max would pounce immediately, looking to pin me down and rip me to shreds. Therefore, just as I did before, I made sure I was not caught lying down. It would have spelled the end for me. Besides, the pain and damage I was suffering just from blocking alone was taking its toll. Thus, being trapped underneath Max was the last thing I was going to let happen.

We continued to move around at great speeds with quick movements. I launched punches and kicks of my own, but Max was too agile. He avoided all of my strikes, and when I did force him to block, he absorbed the impact with no repercussions at all. He was not only a killing machine, but his durability was beyond belief. I knew I had to switch it up and make sure I did not waste an opportunity to inflict damage, so I adjusted my attacking approach.

As Max clawed and chomped at me, I allowed him to get closer and closer each time. Initially, I used the first few advances to acclimate to his speed. Then, when I had a good read on him, I timed counter punches and kicks, as soon as he moved to strike. I attacked while he attacked, intercepting his offensive maneuvers with my own. When his claw swooped down, I fired my fist into his arm before it got close. If he leaned into bite, I unleashed a counterpunch to his jaw. If he jumped at me, I met him in mid-air with an aerial kick of my own. This strategy worked. I was able to not only hurt him from attacking his attacks, but I was also able to double up my counters with additional punches and kicks. The initial blows would make Max unbalanced, and then the follow-up strikes inflicted more damage. The margin for error was razor-thin, though, and I had to be absolutely perfect in my efforts. This, unfortunately, was not able to be achieved.

Amidst my offensive surge, Max made his own adjustments. Realizing I was attacking his strikes, he began using feigns and fakes. When I would move to intercept him, I exposed myself and became vulnerable. This was when Max would strike, and the damage I suffered was crucial. The first claw marks opened on my torso and legs burned like fire, and leaked blood everywhere. The punches and kicks he landed jolted my entire skeleton, breaking some bones, and bruising me to my core. I tried flying to reposition myself amidst getting pummeled, but Max would leap up and grab my ankles every time, before slamming me into the dirt. He would not let me escape. Then, the dreaded happened. After grasping me during one of my flight attempts and throwing me into the ground, he immediately jumped on top of me.

The biting attacks started raining down non-stop. All I could see was black fur, and large, sharp teeth. My senses were all out of order, as I felt I was being smothered inside a box of death. Luckily, I was able to place one of my knees between us, so he could not fully reach my face and body with his jaws. However, he had his claws wrapped around the bottom of my shoulders. Therefore, as we jockeyed for position, he dug his nails into my back while pulling us closer. My leg was not strong enough to hold the separation, either. Max kept inching closer and closer. I desperately tried to keep him off me, but he was just too powerful, and I was in a terrible position. Finally, after a few more moments, Max was close enough to bite me. I was able to free an arm and put it up to defend myself at the last second, but he still mangled me. My arm was torn open. However, that did afford me some leverage, so I pushed his head back while he clamped down on my arm. This lifted up his torso, allowing me to slide both my feet against his body. From there, I pushed with all my might, and sent Max flying across the ring into the wall. I was free.

The impact Max suffered from hitting the wood was enough to make him have to gather himself. As he did, I got up to my knees and tried to stand, but I was in too much pain. My back had holes in it from his nails and fingers digging into my body. I had gashes and cuts all over. My arm was ripped apart, and my shoulder was still not fully healed from the bite Victoria Raven gave me in my previous battle. Furthermore, the deep tissue bruises I suffered made it difficult to move. Plus, I was exhausted. There was no way I could continue and defeat Max. He had suffered some broken bones in his body, and was bleeding from his mouth after I pounded away at his ribs and face during my stretch of offense, but it did not seem to slow him down much. I also think he was healing at a faster pace than I was, which made him recover from the damage I inflicted much easier. Max was a super werewolf, and though he faced a superhero in me, his “superness” certainly appeared to be greater than mine.

I ripped a piece of my shirt off, and wrapped it around my wounded arm in a tight tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Then, I looked over to Astor to see if he was still alive, but it was hard to tell. He was lying in the same position he was when I left him to face Max. I should have never broken my concentration, for Max came charging back at me with blinding speed. He kicked me in my stomach, the claws on his feet puncturing my abdomen, before I flew over Astor’s body, and crashed into the wall myself. Lying next to my vampire friend, I looked at him for a second, before stumbling back to my feet and approaching Max once more. The werewolf did not wait for me, however, and ran over to continue his onslaught.

I was able to duck his first claw attack, and I rose up with a couple of hooks and a front kick of my own. All the blows landed, sending Max back a step. However, when I moved in to capitalize on the momentum, Max seized control again by launching his shoulder into my chest. This caused me to fly back to the ground. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs, and that was when I saw Max standing over Astor. He was going to kill him!

I jumped to my feet with more speed than I had mustered the entire fight, and flew directly at the werewolf. Smashing my fist into his face while he was distracted, Max spun through the air and fell to the ground about ten feet away from us. Then, I knelt over Astor’s body to protect him. I looked down to see if he was awake, but his eyes were closed. I called his name over and over again, but still did not get any response. Max rose to his feet behind me and roared ferociously. I shook Astor’s body firmly this time, and that seemed to make him semi-alert. I told him he had to get up before Max killed him. He was not receptive to my words. Max, who overheard my comments, spoke to us.

I was shocked to hear him speak. None of the other werewolves were able to talk while in wolf form. Max, however, was able to speak clearly. He told me that it did not matter if Astor got up or not, he was going to kill me, then Astor. And as soon as he was done with us, he was going to attack every vampire city and village on Friki, until they were all exterminated. Max said he would not stop until there was no more vampire blood to spill. I looked back at Astor, desperately trying to get him to move, and he responded this time. His eyes, now open, reflected something I never saw in him: wrath. Hearing Max talk about exterminating all vampires awakened his soul. There was something greater than his honorable death at risk, and that was the fate of his entire species. The Rathegalias had always put the well-being of their people before their own. Service to the greater good was their life purpose, and the time had come for Astor to ensure he did not fail his family’s legacy. For the first time in the arena, Astor truly cared about surviving.

Max rushed in to attack again, and I knew I had to buy my vampire friend some time to gather himself. So, I fended off Max the best I could, while Astor rose to his feet. The werewolf scratched and pounded me, but I was able to grab him and throw him away from us one more time. However, Astor was not able to stand. Whenever he tried, he fell back to the ground. Thus, I had to do something that I knew my friend would never agree to. I gave him some of my blood.

While Max was still reeling from being tossed into the wall again, I quickly knelt down, and removed the wrap over my injured arm. Then, I placed my arm above his mouth. It was dripping blood everywhere, so I raised Astor’s head, and brought it directly against the wound. I could tell he was trying to fight me at first, but he was too weak to push me off him. However, it was apparent when his inherent vampire nature took over, for he dug his teeth into my arm, and began sucking blood out of me voraciously. I had never felt it flow out of my body so fast. It was as if Astor were draining me with a vacuum. I did not mind – I knew he would not kill me. Plus, what was at stake was greater than me, and I was willing to give my friend all the blood he needed to restore himself, so we could both fight on.

Max witnessed what was transpiring after he rose to his feet, and he rushed in again to take me out. This time, he tackled me into the wall. As soon as we hit the wood, Max was on top of me again. He was trying to claw me to death, but I had my arms and legs up, deflecting as many of his attacks as I could. I was weak from having allowed Astor to drain me of so much blood so quickly, though, and soon my defenses gave way. I felt my limbs go limp, and thought I was surely dead. However, I heard a voice scream in the background, which halted the werewolf’s attack. It was Astor, and he was yelling Max’s name in one continuous breath. The werewolf and I both looked to see what was happening. A burst of energy then exploded into the night sky. It was Astor, and something magnificent was taking place…

‍