(apologies for the long awaited update, I wanted to make sure you could visualise what was happening as much as I could as I wrote it. Please let me know what you think! As always, I hope you enjoy :)x )

Thirteen.

Being in the middle of the crowd was nothing reassuring. It was even worse knowing at least half of the people around her were wanting her to be killed. All eyes were either on Emma, or Graham. She was so grateful Ruby was standing close, her enormous figure attracting a lot of attention, people were surprised by her appearance, too. She was almost twice the size of a regular wolf, and those who were in their animal forms were starting to show sighs of nervousness. Emma would have been worried too, if Ruby wasn't her bodyguard.

Graham's threats to Victor were quite effective. Some of the clans warriors had started growling, but she always notices a lot of them slowly take a step back. Peter was walking, circling them while growling at anyone who dared to approach their invisible ring. Blue was standing at the back, arms crossed, and Emma noticed she was wearing a wireless earpiece, talking to someone through it. She wondered who Blue was talking to.

It was coming to that dreaded time. There was only Emma, Graham and Ruby facing Victor and his new beta. Everyone else was watching them, waiting.

"She's just a kid, she won't win." The beta said.

"Shut up!" Growled Victor, clearly annoyed. "Go with the others."

The guy gave her a mean look, but he couldn't help but obey. Emma turned to Graham, it was time. He smiled at her and turned back to stand with Blue. Emma placed her hand on Ruby's back, the wolfs hazel eyes looked up at her. Emma gave her a smile, knowing she was reluctant to go.

"Don't worry, Ruby. Go."

She let out a short sound and goes, too, but not without growling at Victor. She was so loud, the Red Moon packs alpha jumped from surprise. If Ruby had alpha potential, she would have been unstoppable, but despite her size and strength, her attitude was more beta-like.

Finally, she was left alone, stood in front of Victor. He considered her from head to toe with a sneer. Emma tried to be as unreadable as Graham, hiding her emotions.

"You will regret this, Emma. Do you really think you're bigger and better than me because you've got a strong back up?"

She ignored his remarks. Her wolf was growling like crazy, and she was the only one Emma intended to rely on tonight. She may lack experience, but she knew she was tenacious and strong willed. She wondered if she should take off her jumper, though it was still chilly in the open grounds. They both stepped back, making a ten foot distance between the two, and started walking slowly. Everyone was suddenly tense around them, feeling the battle about to start. She wished Killian was there, she would have felt much more confident with him behind her. But he wasn't.

It's just me and you, girl.

Emma mentally recited all of Blue and Peters advice. Mind the distance. Watch his eyes, the way he moves. She was weaker, but she was faster and smaller. Peter had told her every weak point she should aim for, in Victors human form and wolf one. Duels between werewolves didn't really have rules, aside from being one on one and no weapons were allowed. They could shape shift whenever they want.

She'd been training herself in shifting, and Blue had pointed out her strong point: she could shape shift extremely fast. Emma had to make good use of that. Peter had said the best outcome was for it to be a short fight, she needed to take advantage quickly.

They took a few steps, walking in a circle while observing each other. She tried to guess when he was going to attack. Peter predicted that Victor would definitely take the initiative to launch the first attack. He wouldn't want the fight to take long either, clearly worried for his pack.

And he does. Emma saw him suddenly shift his balance and run towards her. 'Try not to take any hits' Peter had told her, 'you are too weak to endure several injuries'.

She dodged his fist at the very last second, sliding under his arm to stand behind him, immediately kicking behind his knee just as Peter had showed her.

It worked! Victor fell to his knees. 'Don't miss an opportunity.' She went to launch her fist, aiming for his jaw, but before she could reach him, she saw his leg extending and she was suddenly kicked in her stomach. He pivoted at the last second, and she couldn't do anything to stop him. Emma ejected a few meters back and fell miserably to the ground. Her stomach was killing her, she felt like throwing up. It'd been a while since she'd took such a hit, but Blues words were screaming in her head. Never stay down. Emma pushed herself off the floor, ignoring the pain.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed, Emma? What is the point? Do you think you can be an alpha all of a sudden and win my Red Moon pack over like this? Or is it so you can have us all at his feet and killed?"

"Do you really think you can call yourself an alpha, Victor?" She asked. He looked at her, frowning, confused by her question. She pulled off her jumper and tightened her ponytail.

"What, are you going to complain about how we treated you again? Are you going to play the pitiful little girl now that you've found your knight in shining armour?"

"I'm not talking about myself, Victor. You're weak, unable to make decisions and ready to bow down to other clans at any occasion just so you can take it easy. You don't control your young ones and let them roam freely as long as they don't cause trouble. You don't train them. You don't care about others. You mind your own business as if you were a rogue."

Victor started growling at her words.

"Watch your mouth! Don't you dare try to insult me!"

"Oh, do you really want to have a conversation about insults? Mockery?"

He growled even louder but doesn't talk back. Instead, she saw him look towards where Graham stood. He hadn't moved, looking very relaxed sat on a bench next to Blue. Only Peter was standing, and Ruby was now the one walking in large circles around them. Peter was right. Having the Black brothers with her would not let Victor concentrate fully on the fight. She knew she could take a chance. While he was still distracted, she jumped at him and throwing a punch to his solar plexus. Though he saw her coming at the last second, to her surprise, he didn't try to dodge her. He took the hit, contacting his muscles. Did he want to show he was stronger than her? Emma wasn't having it. She threw her fist as hard as she could, and he immediately regretted not protecting himself. She'd learned how to throw a good punch while training. His breath was cut short, and for a second, he was choking, falling to his knees and desperately gasping for air. Emma heard growls and angry voices around them, but was wasn't listening. She knew it was going to happen, and she trusted the others to control the crowd one way or another.

While Victor was still down, she took a few steps back, getting ready to strike again. But her wolf warned her just in time. He was shape shifting. Indeed, it took three to four full seconds for Victor to into his dark brown wolf self. It was a lot longer than her, but still, facing a wolf was way different to facing a human. She shifted her position and threw a kick at the right moment to send him away. He fell a bit further, but she knew she was just lucky his shifting took long enough for her to land a hit. She was facing a wolf, and it was a lot more scarier. She knew she needed to shape shift, but needed to wait for the right moment.

She took a couple steps back, and she could feel her wolf growing impatient. Just a few seconds, girl. Wait for it... Wait... And then he went. As expected, Victor jumped as soon as he could get onto his feet again, running straight towards her. Emma stood ready, carefully waiting for the perfect moment. He ran closer, and when he was almost at her, all fangs out, she shape shifted.

She erased her human self, letting her wolf completely take over. It took less than a split second for her to shift, the sudden change brought her wolf self right right at the perfect spot to attack his exposed neck. She bit down ferociously, and Victor let out a plaintive whimper. Her fangs on his throat were powerful, and she could already smell the fresh blood. He fought for a while, trying to kick her off of him, but she wouldn't let go. Emma clenched her fangs in harder, not giving the slightest care for his pain. Around them, people started yelling loudly, calling her names and telling their alpha to free himself. Not a chance, she wasn't letting go. Victor knew what he had to do, but just wouldn't do it. He tried to fight for a while, but Emma could taste his blood in her mouth. He was running out of time. Her wolf wanted him to submit or she was going to kill him. His pack were encouraging him to not give up. Were they blind? She was latched onto his throat! She could kill him with just a snap, though she didn't want to kill anyone. Was that what he was counting on? She wouldn't, Emma had complete control over her wolf; they were one. She wasn't like some of them who couldn't resist their beast instincts and attack randomly.

All of a sudden, she felt a sharp pain in her flank and let go of Victor. He must have managed to claw her deep enough as she could feel the blood flowing from her wound, but not enough to worry her. They were not done yet.

She trusted her wolf. She knew she could keep up a fight. Emma let her take control, so she could concentrate on the crowd. A lot of people had started to cheer, while others were all stunned by her appearance. She heard comments of her white fur and green eyes. Peter seemed over excited, leaning forward and growling loudly.

Stay with your wolf.

Victor suddenly attacked, and the voice in her head surprised her almost enough to not see him coming. Emma reacted at the last moment, throwing her fangs at him.

Don't let him dominate you.

Who was guiding her? Emma listened to her, anyway, and started fighting Victor off. She growled viciously, not letting him take the upper hand. He was bigger, but she'd started to understand his tactics. She could dodge his moves quickly, and managed to bite him back every time he landed an injury on her. Emma could tell he obviously hadn't fought in a while. He tried to get a hold on her, but she wouldn't let him anywhere near her back. She was being careful to let him get to close or on top of her, but she was growing tired. It felt like the fight had been going on for hours before she finally spotted an opening on his flank. She aimed for his shoulder with no restraint and bit down as hard as she could.

Take him down.

She used all her strength and his reaction to the pain to push him down to the ground, laying on his side. He was still fighting her off, but his shoulder and neck were obviously painful for him.

Go for his neck.

The voice in her head was guiding her all the way, but she didn't have any time to wonder who was mind linking with her. She fiercely bit Victors neck and held him down. This time her fangs wouldn't let go, and he could barely move while trying to get away. She was smaller, but her front legs were on his back, and the pain kept him from fighting with all his strength.

You got him.

Emma hoped she was right, and held her position. The crowd grew louder, but she didn't care. She was waiting for Victor to recognise his defeat. She was tired, and wanted to finish the fight very soon. His pack were still trying to shout encouragement, but some had began yelling at him for being weak. The other clans seemed to had lost interest in the fight, the outcome clear as day. They stood patiently waiting to see it.

Finally, Victor submitted. He stopped fighting, extending his legs and starting to whimper. This was it. She slowly let him go, taking a few steps back. Blue came towards her with her jumper, ready for Emma to cover herself after shifting back to her human self. It was quite embarrassing to shape shift in front of so many people, even if it was only for a split second. She was grateful Ruby was also stood in front of her, too, so she supposed only people behind her might have got a quick peek of her butt.

She stood and turned back to Victor. He took his time shifting back, his wife waiting next to him with a pair of jeans ready for him to put on. She wished he would hurry up, her legs were freezing. Emma looked down, noticing blood running down her leg, probably from flank injury. Ruby was stood so close to her the blood was brushing into her fur. Emma tried to move her away.

"Ruby, I'm bleeding on your fur, move..."

It was like trying to move a mountain, she didn't care one bit. She was focused on Victor, growling at him and his pack, making sure no one dared to come at Emma. Meanwhile, she saw Graham walking up to her. He smirked at Victor.

"So?"

Victor growled, but bent his knee and lowered his head. His neck was covered in blood, she couldn't believe she really did that. He was visibly furious, though with so many witnesses, he had no choice.

"I acknowledge my defeat. Emma Swan is now free to lead the Red Moon clan as she wants."

A lot of unhappy pack members growl, but they didn't have a say in the matter. Victor raised his eyes to look at her, filled with hatred. Emma looked around. She saw Graham smiling, but Peter was still fiercely growling. A few pack members had gathered behind their alpha. Victor might have been a bad alpha, but his clan still valued him very much. The Whale family was an old one, thought they had only took over the Red Moon clan a few generations ago. Emma sighed. What should she do now? She could take over, and they'd have no choice but to obey her, but...

"Do it, Emma. Isn't this what you wanted?" Said Victor. She realised everyone was waiting for her decision. She turned to Graham, but he just smiled mysteriously, leaving her to decide. She took a deep breath in.

"I don't want to be your alpha. That will only be an excuse for you all to hate me even more than you already do, and you will turn on me on the first occasion. I don't want to have to fight everyday until one of you get to kill me."

Everyone was staring at her, surprised. They clearly didn't expect her to reach such a decision. She saw the beginning of a smile on Victors face.

Oh no, you won't get away that easy...

"However, I have conditions."

They went back to their growling, though everyone that was not from the Red Moon clan were still staring, all ears, waiting to hear more. Emma looked straight into Victors eyes.

"The Red Moon clan will pledge full and complete allegiance to the Eclipse Moon clan from today on. Your turf will become part of their territory, and your clan members will follow the same rules as theirs."

"What? What kind of condition is that?!" The new beta yelled. Emma looked at him, starting to grow annoyed by their attitude. She stepped forward, Ruby by her side, growling loudly at them.

"I just dominated your alpha, I am free to do as I please. You guys never cared for training properly, so it's high time for things to change. Your turf is one of the first grounds outside of Storybrooke city. If anyone was to launch an attack, you will be the first wall of defence. Do you really want to stand on the frontlines being so unprepared like you are now?"

They looked at Emma, dumbfounded by her words. She turned back to Victor.

"And you, you are going to start acting like a real alpha. You will train the young ones properly, watch the border, and make sure everyone in your clan is treated fairly. Am I clear?"

Her apparent calmness led him to believe he could answer back, growling at her before speaking.

"Who are you to decide what kind of alpha I should be? Aren't you washing your hands of my pack? You are giving us to Him, and now you get to decide what we-"

"PROTECTING THEIR PACK IS THE DUTY OF ANY ALPHA HERE!" Emma started yelling, infuriated by his attitude. "Stop being a lazy arsehole and do what you were names alpha for! You may have their respect, but you are worse than a dog if you think you can sit back comfortably and relax just because of that! Any clan could overpower yours, and yet I'm giving you a chance to keep your turf and pack, and turn them into a proper one! IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, ALL OF YOU LEAVE!"

A long silence befalls on the assistance. She was fuming, pissed off by their attitudes and Victors ignorance. All of a sudden, she felt an arm slip around her waist, and a familiar smell surrounded her.

"Seems like my coming here was not necessary."