Page 164 of Hunt Me

She rolled her eyes. “Can you believe them?” she asked her husband.

“They’re despicable,” he answered.

“Agreed.”

“They have no class.”

“Zero.”

“Where is the humanity?” he asked.

“Non-existent, my King.”

Ezra cleared his throat and smirked. “King Alesi?”

“Yes, Lord Gustafson?”

“Did you not place your own bet?” he asked, bringing Luka’s integrity into question.

Matilda gasped at the accusation.

“Ezra, your tongue wags harder than a dog’s tail,” Luka complained.

“I’m appalled. How much did you wager?” Matilda queried.

“Nothing significant, my love. Merely 500 silver coins.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re frivolous.”

He faced her with a grin. “I love you.”

“You love being a pain in my ass.”

“Always.”

The arena settled again when Delta Garrick approached the ring after Gamma Soren was carried away.

“Oof,” Matilda hissed when Garrick spat in David’s face.

“That was unnecessary,” Ezra commented.

“Disgusting. I would tear his entrails out and use them as reins for horses.”

Ezra and Matilda glanced at Luka with a look of pure disbelief.

“What? He should be put to death,” Luka insisted.

“You might just get your wish,” Ezra muttered as the official signal for the match to begin.

Garrick shifted but did not charge. The hulking brown wolf circled David, forcing him to turn continuously.

“Why will he not shift?” Ezra asked.

Matilda didn’t answer, beginning to wonder the same.

Garrick darted forward. David swung, but the wolf retreated before the blow landed. This senseless exchange went on for far too long. David’s frustration could be read from their seats.

“He’s going to make a mistake if he doesn’t calm himself,” Matilda whispered.