Page 161 of Hunt Me

Matilda sighed, switching Denalia to her other arm. “What Dr. Blackwood did to you has nothing to do with why you’re here.”

“It has everything to do with why I’m strong enough to attempt this.”

She scoffed. “You were Lykaon’s beta before Dr. Blackwood ever laid a hand on you.”

David’s expression tightened warily.

“Listen, David. Not a soul in Moonshire knows this version of you. Until yesterday, they’d thought you had perished. They know the wolf who left Moonshire. They have no idea what came back.”

Matilda smiled when his expression shifted, her words finally getting through to him.

The crowd shouted when a horn sounded from beyond the castle walls. Matilda reached beneath her cloak and withdrew one of her knives, offering him the hilt.

“Is this for luck?” he asked, accepting the weapon.

“I don’t believe in luck.”

“Then why are you giving it to me?”

“When you’re exhausted and considering surrender, you will remember who trained you.”

David tucked the knife into his belt. “You’re an arrogant bitch.”

“Watch it!” Luka warned, voice bellowing in the confined space. Matilda sucked her fangs when Denalia jolted from her sleep and began to cry. Wordlessly, she handed the squawking babe to her father.

They continued their journey in silence until Ezra announced their arrival.

David sighed as the castle loomed ahead. “If I perish—”

“We will not speak on it,” Matilda interrupted.

“If I perish,” he continued, “I want you to know that I am glad I failed to kill you.”

She refrained from rolling her eyes. “That is remarkably touching. You truly have a way with words,” she drawled sarcastically.

“I agree.”

“Then agree to this. You are not dying today, David.”

Without hesitation, he replied, “We shall see.”

***

The fighting grounds behind the castle had been transformed into a spectacle.

Luka stood beside Matilda near the edge of the royal viewing platform, taking in the thousands who had gathered around the enormous dirt ring below. Temporary stands had been erected to accommodate the masses, yet they had proven insufficient. Spectators crowded the surrounding hillside, perched atop stone walls, and filled every balcony overlooking the grounds.

Vampires, humans, werewolves, and creatures Luka could not readily identify had traveled from across the surrounding kingdoms to witness what many believed would be David’s second death.

Vendors moved through the crowds selling ale and roasted meat. Men shouted wagers over one another while others argued about how long David would survive.

Luka’s attention settled upon the four wolves standing inside the ring. They stood several paces apart, each appearing remarkably pleased with himself.

The gamma was the youngest, though there was nothing slight about him. The delta beside him was broader, scarred across one side of his face, while Moonshire’s current beta possessed the enormous build Luka had come to expect of Lykaon’s highest-ranking soldiers.

And then there was Lykaon.

The prince stood at the end of the line with his hands clasped behind his back, surveying the crowd as though his victory had already been secured.