Cate realized that things were about to turn truly nasty, and she wasn't willing to participate. The vampire placed his hands on the table and bent down to whisper in Cate's ear.
"Is this mutt being a nuisance?" he asked, making sure everyone in the hall could hear his question.
The wolves snarled, and the other supernatural creatures just laughed. The Werewolf Alpha was not a calm person to begin with, and when he heard the insult, he didn't think , he simply punched toward the vampire with everything he had. The vampire was fast enough to dodge the punch, but the wolf had better reflexes. He somehow managed to maneuver his fist in such a way that he ended up making contact with the vampire's face. The vampire was sent flying through the air, his body splayed out for all to see. Some of his teeth flew out of his mouth, including one of his long canines. All the wolves in the hall stood up at the same time and looked at the other vampires. They were ready to attack should the others interfere.
The vampire who had been punched did not fall back to the ground. He floated in the air with a bloody face and eyes filled with rage. He looked at the Alpha with such hatred that no one doubted the two would fight to the death. Cate just continued eating her steak, not caring about these two fools. As long as they did nothing to mess with her, she didn't care what they did.
The vampire disappeared, and before the wolf could react, he reappeared behind him with his claws moving to rip him apart. If the wolf was injured by these claws, things would become troublesome, since the wound inflicted would not heal even with the wolf's great healing ability. The wolf understood this very well. He bent his back at an impossible angle, allowing the claws to barely miss him. He then transformed, and in less than the time it takes to blink once, he had gone from man to beast. He was still humanoid but with a wolf's head and his knees were bent in the wrong direction. His claws were longer, and he was covered with black fur all over his body. He had grown to be seven feet tall, and his muscles were now more defined, appearing like steel bars.
The wolf turned around and clawed at the vampire, who willingly took on the claws that tore through his flesh. Blood spewed out all over the place, but the vampire remained calm even as pain coursed through his body. He opened his mouth wide and bit into the wolf's neck. The wolf howled in pain, but this did not stop him from grabbing hold of the vampire and pulling it out of his flesh. The vampire left with a chunk of meat in his mouth. When he saw the wolf reaching down with his maw open, the vampire felt fear fill his heart. He turned into mist and disappeared. The wolf was left standing there all alone with his neck turned into a fountain of blood.
There was no clear winner in the fight, but the vampire had inflicted more damage. Still, it was the vampire that had fled from the wolf. "Hooowwwl!" the wolf howled, his anger making the hall tremble. The fight ended in this manner. Many had hoped to see a body drop, but this ending was also interesting. The vampire did not return to complete the fight, and the wolf moved back to his table. He had even forgotten the reason that had brought him to Cate. The wound to his neck had already healed, and he looked as good as new. He was the Alpha of this newly formed pack, and he wanted to defend his honor by finishing off the vampire. He kept looking around for the vampire, hoping he was stupid enough to show up.
After eating their food, Cate left with her group. They went upstairs and picked two adjacent rooms. The Mage Born used one of the rooms, and the two girls used the other. The rooms were large enough for five people, but there was only a single bed.
"I will bathe first," said Cate. Mary nodded slightly before sitting on the single bed in the center of the room. She brought out her laptop and began doing who-knows-what. Cate entered the shower and turned on the water. The examiners had provided everything the participants needed for a comfortable stay. Cate used over thirty minutes in the shower before she felt clean enough to come out. It had not even been a day since she last bathed, but this was still too long.
She came out of the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around her chest and reaching her thighs. "The towels are meant for kids," she said.
"Hahahahahahah!" Mary burst into laughter when she saw how awkward Cate was. The two then looked at each other for a second too long before Mary looked away. She stood up and calmly walked into the bathroom.
Cate smiled at this. She went through the clothes the examiners had provided for them until she found something that matched her. The only thing she found to be acceptable was a short blue dress. She lay on the bed and looked at the ceiling. She thought about how she had yet to join the Avalon Society, and so much had already happened. She then fantasized about what she would do after collecting the Chaos Keys. She thought about how all the gods would fall to their knees and beg for mercy that would never come. At this moment, she heard the bathroom door open. For some reason, her heart skipped a beat. She raised her head and looked toward the door before she could even think about why she was doing this. Mary came out of the bathroom, and she was divine. When Cate first met Mary, the girl was nothing to look at, but Cate now understood that this was only because of the baggy clothes she had been wearing.