AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grunting, Kai reads the slips, turning his attention toward the six men standing naked before us. Damn it. I wasn’t supposed to look at them. I was going to pretend as if they didn’t exist. But now they do, and they all watch me instead of Kai.
The hairs on my arm rise on end, and I lick my lips and break my stare away from the handsome man in the middle. He drinks me in as if I’m the only woman in the world and he plans to devour me. And not in the good way.
“Up first, we have Sea Glimmer and Mudtide,” Kai says, tossing the slips of paper to the ground. “May the goddess bestow power on the one worthy.”
Dozens of howls ring through the air, and I notice figures moving within the trees surrounding the meadow. They’re the different packs coming to cheer for their alphas. Coming to cheer for death.
I tangle my fingers together and straighten my back, doing my best to stay calm as both men transform into their wolves, because that’s the form they feel most powerful. The tri-colored wolf of Sea Glimmer growls and bares his teeth at the dark gray wolf of Mudtide. They’re savage yet beautiful, and completely deadly. The two wolves rush each other, trying to overpower their opponent. I hold my breath, expecting the fight to go on forever, but the tri-colored wolf yanks the scruff of the dark gray wolf and swings his body hard enough to send the wolf sprawling. Everything happens so fast my brain can’t keep up. The tri-colored wolf returns to his man form, and he grabs something sparkling on the ground. A knife. I didn’t even know they had weapons. Kai did say that anything goes in this fight.
Launching at the gray wolf, the man pins him to the ground, not even giving him a chance to call defeat. He jabs the knife into the dark gray wolf’s throat, slitting it. Silence fills the air around us for a minute, and then the howling begins again. A strange mourning hangs heavy in the air as the pack of the fallen alpha cries out for him.
All I can think is...good.
Serves him right for thinking that he could just win me. One down and five more to go. Maybe they’ll all die instead of one claiming me. I know it’s wishful thinking, but it’s all I can hope for while waiting it out.
Kai releases a loud whistle and saunters forward, holding his hand out to the alpha of the Sea Glimmer pack. Tugging the man’s arm up, Kai says, “The winner of round one goes to Sid of the Sea Glimmer territory. Please choose the next two opponents.”
Sid chuckles and wags his eyebrows. “I’m fucking ready to just take on the next guy. I don’t care if I fight four more times. The she-wolf is mine.”
Kai tips his head back and roars a laugh. “Come on, we’ve got to give everyone a chance, my friend. Why don’t you enjoy the next show?”
Sid digs his fingers into the proffered bag and pulls out two slips. “Damn it. I really wanted to fight both you sons of bitches.” Pointing, he adds, “Rivermore and Wild Valley. You’re up!”
The wolves surrounding us howl again. I bow my head, staring at my dirty hands. I don’t feel like watching these beast-men fight over me. I would prefer it just to be over already. They think they’re proving some kind of a point to me, but they’re not. I will never bow to them. They will never be my alpha. I’ve already bowed to someone else for the sake of the men I have grown to care about. Men I might possibly fall in love with one day. Grow old with. The thought is hard to fathom, considering the situation and everything hellish about this island. But even if I escape, I know that I will need my chosen pack, and I will find them. This treacherous world can’t keep us apart.
Blood splashes across my bare legs, and I slowly ease my chin up to peek at the fight unfolding before me. The alpha from Rivermore towers over the one from Wild Valley. He uses his half-transformed hand with its wolf claws to cut into the man’s neck in the most vulgar, horrifying act. It is far worse than slitting his throat. The Wild Valley alpha screams in agony and thrashes, but he still doesn’t call for mercy. He continues to fight. I don’t know if these alphas even have it in them to make the decision to survive. They would rather die than bow to one another. This truly is a fight to the death.
A hot hand clasps my shoulder. “Your luck might be running out, she-wolf. You better pray to the goddess that Sid can defeat him.”
“Fuck off, Kai. No prayers necessary. I will destroy Rivermore before he can ever lay a hand on this intoxicating woman. She will be mine.” Sid squats beside me, forcing himself into my line of sight. Reaching out, he grasps my chin and turns my face so that I have to look at him. “Do you hear that? You are mine. You will not die by the hands of that bastard. We will have a prosperous future. Our children will be the most powerful wolves Shadow Moon has ever seen.”
I don’t respond to him. I can’t. The screams echoing through the air refuse to untangle from my attention, and I watch in silence as the man from Rivermore transforms into a wolf completely and sinks his fangs into the pack alpha of Wild Valley’s neck, biting and tearing until he loses his head.
My stomach twists at the sight. I thought the games beforehand were brutal, but there is nothing like this fight that compares. They truly are monsters. They are brutal beasts. They might walk in human forms right now, but they are far from it.
Goddess, help me.
“Fuck yeah!” the Rivermore alpha shouts with his transformation, the words garbled as he spits out blood. “That bitch will be dead. You fuckers won’t stand a chance to bring her impurity to our species.”
I pant a few breaths as his eyes lock on me. Snapping his teeth, he pretends to bite in my direction. He plans to tear me apart just like he’s done to the other alpha. That kind of fate? Shit. Damn it. I never thought I’d pray for a life of breeding.
“She will never be yours!” An alpha from one of the two remaining packs lunges forward and tackles the man from Rivermore. “I’ll do the honors.”
The two men break out into a fight, ignoring the call of Kai to wait for the final match. I dig my fingers into the dirt, scratching enough to gather into my palm. If one of them wins, I’m dead. I think they’re too blood hungry for anyone to defeat. I need a distraction. I just need a moment to get away. If I can get away, I can run. I’ll have a fighting chance.
A guttural noise reverberates through my bones, and the final alpha transforms into a wolf and charges the two men. He sinks his teeth into the shin of the Rivermore pack alpha, buckling his legs. Pulling a knife from his pocket, the other alpha stabs the Rivermore alpha in the chest, knocking him onto his back.
None of the men see Sid preparing to attack. A wolf sneaks from the trees, carrying what looks like a machete in its jowls, and Sid snatches it away. I don’t even have to know who the wolf is to know that it’s Sid’s betaborne. My muscles freeze as I see the wolf sit back on its haunches. It’s not male. It’s female. I had no idea that a woman could have a high-ranking position within a pack. I am nearly awestruck. The betaborne wolf turns her head to me, and I swear she winks. It’s the strangest thing to see with her in her wolf form.
A screech rings through the air, and Sid attacks the closest wolf, swinging his machete to the back of its skull, killing the alpha from the last pack. The two final men turn their attention toward Sid, teaming up against his attack. But he’s too fast for them. They’ve already beaten each other so much that they’re slower. Weaker. They don’t stand a chance.
Sid spins and slices the men across their chests nearly at the same time. Their eyes widen and what sounds like dozens of wolves begin to howl. It happens so fast. Sid takes the life of the final two alphas and uses their bodies as a stage to declare his own success.
“The she-wolf is mine!” He balls his fingers into fists and looks at me. “Any wolves from the fallen packs that remain on this territory will die if they don’t leave immediately. I have won. The Sea Glimmer pack will rise.”
Kai gets to his feet and claps his hands. Reaching down, he grabs me by my hair and drags me up without warning. He tosses me forward, and I land on my hands and knees before the man.
Sid licks his lips, puffing his chest. “My beautiful woman. Come to daddy. We will have an amazing future. Now let me see you bow.”
