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I bolted over to them. Malcolm was the nearest to me so I stopped in front of him. “Hey, Malcom. You okay?”
His head lolled to the side and his eyes were glassy and unfocused. “Lola?”
“Yeah, it’s me. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to get you out of this.” I wanted to say more, to comfort him, but he wasn’t going to remember this anyway.
The guard holding Malcom pulled on him. “Get outta here. You’re not supposed to be talking to them.”
I glared at him. “You are a monster, you know that?”
He leaned closer to me, his teeth bared. “You better not lose. Good luck.”
I took a startled step back, unsure if his words were a threat or meant as encouragement. His tone made it so they could go either way. Was it possible he was one of the people working with Spencer?
“Ladies first,” a voice called.
I glanced behind me and saw the king smiling at me. I rolled my eyes. He was such a sorry excuse for a ruler. Just another bully like Ace.
“Don’t worry, little wolf, I’ll have your family brought out to watch you take your last breaths,” he said.
The reaction my wolf had to his taunting was visceral and almost painful, I had to hold her down to keep her from shifting right here. She wanted out. She wanted blood.
I walked forward, leaving the dais. Most of the crowd had dispersed but I followed the lingering few out the doors, through the ballroom, and into an open courtyard.
The crowd parted for me and I walked into the center of a circle of onlookers. We were surrounded by the home on all four sides. It made the air feel unnaturally still. I stood in the middle of a huge square of pavestone. To the side were chairs and trees with a few tables around. The center was wide open with the exception of a fountain on one end. It appeared to be a mermaid with water coming out of her head. Everything about the decor here was over the top to the point of being cheesy rather than impressive. I wondered if that’s why my paternal grandfather had avoided this place or if the decor choices were made under the recent occupant.
A moment later, the crowd parted again and Chris Lupton, the shifter king himself, walked into the circle. The gathered shifters cheered and whooped, making their final bid of allegiance to the candidate they thought would win. I didn’t blame them. I was nobody and I was so much smaller than my opponent.
He’d had years of shifting and fighting under his belt. I was new to everything. There was a good possibility I wouldn’t live past tonight, but I refused to fully acknowledge that. I sent the thought away, determined to tempt fate again.
I’d done it so many times before, what made tonight different? I’d lived through injuries that should have killed me and when I’d been trapped in a cave to die, I’d emerged stronger than ever. Okay, fine, I was at death’s door a few days ago and my wolf saved me, but that experience brought me my wolf. With her, I was capable of anything. I knew I had yet to even touch on what was possible when we connected.
The king began to strip his clothes, tossing them to the side, near the crowd. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of walking around naked in front of so many people but that was likely what he was counting on. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been naked in front of lots of people I’d just rather keep my clothes on. I could play his game. It was just skin.
I unbuttoned the uniform I was wearing and let it fall to the ground before kicking it aside. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a commotion in the crowd. I turned to see Spencer, Malcom, and my mom being shoved front and center to watch. None of them looked like they were aware of anything happening around them. They weren’t even going to remember this when it was over. Maybe that was a good thing. However this went down, Spencer was going to be pissed that his plan failed.
The guards holding my family looked distracted already and the fight hadn’t even started. I considered trying to make a run for it. Should I grab them and take off? Realistically, I wasn’t going to be able to pull that off. And honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. For once, I wanted to stand on my own and face the bully. Another familiar face caught my attention and I smiled as I realized that Star had managed to get right next to my family. I knew she’d get that antidote into them if possible.
I turned my attention back to the king. He was so busy encouraging his adoring fans that he hadn’t noticed I was distracted for a moment. While I’d been checking out the crowd, he’d been getting then to cheer for him. It was a little pathetic how much he seemed to need the adoration and support.
My lips curled into a smile as a dark thought struck me. How adoring would they be if an unknown female shifter kicked his ass?
An unusually small male shifter broke from the group and walked over to the king. His whole demeanor was timid and shy. My brow furrowed as I watched him approach the much larger male.
Chris’s expression was just as curious as my own. The smaller shifter said something, then pointed to me. The king looked up at me as if seeing me for the first time.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
The small shifter nodded.
“Come on, start the fight!” someone called from the now quiet crowd.
The Shifter King glared at me, his eyes dropping to my hip. “You have a mark?”
“Yes.” There was no denying it. I was naked and it wasn’t like I was hiding it. Honestly, I was surprised the king took so long to notice. “If you’d spent less time being a peacock, you might have noticed sooner.”
“That mark doesn’t mean anything,” he said.
“Sure,” I said. “Of course not. Kings aren’t given marks since they inherit the crown with blood or some bullshit.”
