Elias puts the hood over my head once more. The darkness surrounds me, and I hear his measured footsteps calmly reach the exit. The door opens and shuts, leaving me here alone while he leaves to plot the destruction of my pack.
Dammit. I’m trapped here while Bane is fighting his siblings on his own.
I have to do something. Something to stop Elias and help Bane. But I’m not even sure I can get out of this chair.
Without my wolf and my magic, I’m stuck. Powerless. Alone. Trapped.
22.Grudge Match
Bane
This fight has lasted long enough. Time to end it. Now.
The dark brown wolf lunges at me. Pebbles fly up from the hard-packed dirt in the arena as he moves, but I’m faster. I dodge and barrel into his flank, knocking him off balance.
Before I can press the advantage, a flash of light fur catches my eye and my brother’s mate leaps onto my back. Her growls nearly drown out the shouts of the audience in the Proving Grounds, and the sharp points of her claws sink through my fur, seeking flesh.
This pair nearly cornered me, but it works for me now. I fling her back into the stone wall of the fighting pit and barely manage to meet my brother as he lunges again.
We collide and crash down hard, dust billowing around us. Snarling and clawing follows, seeking any opening.
Once I pin him beneath me, I press my full weight down and refuse to relent, my fangs piercing deep into his scruff. My brother thrashes against my hold. I clamp down harder, my jaws locking around the wolf’s throat.
His pulse hammers against my muzzle—one squeeze and I could silence that frantic rhythm forever. My jaw tightens, squeezing just enough to encourage him to do the right thing.
Finally, his body goes slack. The tension drains from him, and my oldest brother submits, surrendering with a whine.
“Bane Blackwood!” my father’s voice booms, cutting through the chaos. “The victor!”
The cheers echo in the arena as it sinks in. I won?
My first fight done, I’m one step closer to becoming Alpha. Holy shit.
I did it. I won.
Shifting back into human form, I stand and offer a hand to my sibling. Not changing his form, the wolf rolls his eyes and slinks across the arena to see if his wife has regained consciousness yet.
The audience in the arena, shifters from my pack, leap to their feet and cheer, a mix of shouts and howls. They enjoyed the fight. It was certainly violent and vicious enough to satisfy even the most bloodthirsty.
Unfortunately.
A sharp pain shoots up my left leg whenever I take a step. Without fur to hide behind, the scratches on my chest and side look ugly and obvious.
“Bane!” Wynn appears at my side, grabbing my arm and steadying me. I lean against him gratefully, letting him take some of my weight as we start walking out of the fighting pit.
“Whoa.”
“I’ve got you. Nothing to see here.”
My cousin wraps an arm around my waist, covering my stumble as I put too much weight on my left leg and it gives out.
We reach the edge, and Wynn helps me sit down on a nearby bench. My clothes and cell phone are here. I pull on thin black pants and don’t bother with the rest. All of us fighting today had to remove the enchantments that let our clothes shift with us. Not that it makes a difference in the fight, but a witch cleansed us of all magic. Today is about our own abilities, not what we can buy.
Of course, if I had a witchwith me,fighting in their human form, any spells cast during the battle were fair game…
It’s tempting to check my phone. But Wynn would have told me if the man I’m missing called while I was fighting. Hell, even with all the noise in the arena, I’d have heard Wynn screaming at Josh for not being here.
Wynn watches me nervously as I catch my breath and start collecting myself after the fight. “Really hoped you’d have an easier time with them.”
