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And while I’d spun my wheels trying to find a lawful way out for both of us, she’d suffered in ways I couldn’t prevent, and had never anticipated. I remembered the empty room in the dorms, the bare shelves, and pressed my hand to the stapled wound she’d given me. I deserved her hatred. I’d failed my mate so many times.
The air filled with the scent of her blood as Trevor managed to claw her arm, pulling a piercing scream from her throat.
“Yield!” voices from the crowd urged.
Next to me, Margarette muttered, “This is atrocious, Callaway. She could be killed.”
Killed. My blood went ice cold. If she died...
“Fuck this,” I growled and tried to step forward, but Bradley’s hand on my arm stopped me.
Not yet, he mouthed. He let go when I nodded, understanding. He knew. They knew, and were going to move.
Relief mingled with terror, and I swayed on my feet, wondering if I might pass out. I hadn’t eaten a real meal since Flor had stabbed me, and I hadn’t healed. If I’d been allowed to shift, maybe I could have. But Van and Dad… No. Not Dad. I wouldn’t call him that ever again.
The terrible knowledge I’d gained—that he’d murdered the uncle who had taken me in after my own parents died in a pack boundary dispute, then stolen me—blazed like a wildfire in my heart as my wolf tried to convince me to rip out his throat.
It would mean my death. The Alpha and his other Enforcers were allowed to shift weekly, and that had made them grow stronger over the years. I’d been forbidden to shift for so long now that some of the unranked wolves in the visiting packs were probably just as strong.
The one I loved surely was.
Only a dozen yards away, my fierce, perfect mate insulted Trevor Blackside in the ring. Then she spun and struck at him, fearless and faster than any unranked shifter should ever be.I forced myself not to react when she took a hit, and tried to hide my fierce smiles when she landed punishing blows on him.
But then the battle turned. Flor was tiring. Worse, she was bleeding heavily, her arm sliced open. But instead of backing away, she taunted the asshole who was healing quickly. Trevor was going to charge, and she changed her grip on the mop handle I’d given her. The visiting shifters standing nearby cursed softly, and I felt their eyes move to my father.
He would never help her.
The crowd roared, and I shifted my gaze to the ring, just in time to watch my little fighter drop her weapon and stretch out her neck, as if she wanted to give Trevor a better angle.
He took it, clamping his jaws over her head, his teeth gouging into her neck and shoulder. It would have been a mortal wound for any shifter, and she had no power to change forms and save herself. I felt my teeth begin to lengthen, my hands prickling as the small bones began to move, even under strict Alpha command not to shift.
“Don’t you dare, boy,” the Alpha muttered, and I felt his power stop my shift. “Don’t you move.” I was frozen, though my beast began to tear at the invisible bars that trapped us.
I heard howls from all around me. The other Alpha Heirs shifted spontaneously and raced into the ring, savaging Trevor. The announcer yelled for quiet, but the crowd was turning into a riot.
I needed to run to her, but couldn’t move. Only one man could save her now.
“Quiet,” our Alpha’s voice boomed over the crowd. “Be still!”
All of the Southern pack instantly quieted. The visiting wolves didn’t; they were still outraged, shouting and kicking their way through to the ring. The fighters in the corral were already pouring in, pulling Trevor away, forcing him down.
“Be still!” the Alpha yelled again, and the visiting wolves looked up at him, expressions ranging from shock to revulsion.
The announcer called back, “The wolf Trevor did not ask her to yield before delivering what would be a mortal blow. He has broken the first rule of the Games and forfeits the match. The winner is Will. L Rains.”
“There is no such wolf,” Callaway said, a smile curling over his face. “The wolf there is a wanted murderer named Flor Wills.” The crowd noise swelled again as I felt the bonds that held me still begin to fray.
“Has there been a trial?” Margarette called. “The Council would see proof this child committed the crime.”
“Nah,” he snickered. “I’m sure we would have gotten around to it. But apparently, the moon’s judgment is already upon her.”
“Callaway,” Bradley broke in, stepping up to his side. “She’s not dead. Compel her first shift so she can heal, and then we can have a trial. It’s proper protocol. As a member of the Council, you know that.”
“Hmm.” The Alpha faked a concerned expression. “As a Council member, you should know that the decision when to compel a pack member’s first shift is the sacred duty of one Alpha alone. She is Southern—she is mine to discipline, mine in every way that matters. And I have decided… not to force her to shift.”
His Head Enforcer let out a grunt of agreement. “Not much of a loss to Southern. Let her bleed.”
A snarl escaped my lips, but the sound was lost in the cries of shock and outrage as Alpha Callaway stepped up to the edge of the ring. The near-feral wolves there turned to face him, forming a circle around the girl.
