Afight to the death to determine who lived and who died.
That was all I could think about. Not how unfair and unjust this was. I didn’t care about that right now. I couldn’t afford to care.
Because nothing else mattered except Sebastian.
The thought of losing him was unbearable. I would not accept it. I wasn’t going to live in a world without Sebastian in it, and if that meant killing, I’d do it.
Fire burned, igniting all my muscles. I looked across the courtyard to see my target. Right now, Bjorn wasn’t my enemy or my friend. He was just an obstacle between me and Sebastian. One I intended to remove.
But Bjorn was no pushover. He was glaring back at me with the same indignant fury blazing in his eyes. Just as Sebastian was my fated mate, Eugene was his. He would fight tooth and nail to save him.
I just had to fight harder.
The knights removed Bjorn’s gag and shackles at the same time they removed mine. The knights stepped back quickly, as if frightened by me. I didn’t care about them. I only cared about saving Sebastian’s life. I shook out the stiffness in my arms. I’d need them loose if I wanted to win.
“Now, fight,” the King yelled. “Kill if you want your omega mate to live!”
He didn’t have to tell me twice.
I took off like a shot, pounding across the courtyard. Bjorn came at me with equal speed. I knew how he fought. He’d use his top-heavy strength to hit me from above and drive me into the ground.
I didn’t let him. At the last second, just before we collided, I ducked below him, then exploded upwards. Bjorn grunted as I punched his gut, catching him off guard. He landed awkwardly and I wasted no time lunging at him again.
Bjorn saw it coming. He grabbed my arms and swung me aside, making me stumble. I righted myself just in time to avoid him driving his elbow towards my skull. He was aiming to kill.
I didn’t blame him for it. His fated mate sat there chained, his fate uncertain. Just like mine.
For a fraction of a second, I met Sebastian’s grey-blue eyes. He was terrified but intensely furious. I could have laughed. Of course my haughty prince wasn’t wailing like some omega in distress.
With that surge of affection for my mate, I charged Bjorn again. My muscles bulged with raw power. I toppled Bjorn over, my body crashing on top of his. Now that I had him on the ground, I went in for the kill. I used all my weight to pin him and wrapped my fingers around his neck, digging in hard.
“Bjorn!” Eugene cried.
Bjorn’s eyes snapped wide open. He freed an arm and punched me in the side of the head, momentarily stunning me. Bjorn roared and sank his teeth into my shoulder.
I didn’t know what was happening to me. I felt wild. Crazed.
I twisted my neck and bit Bjorn twice as hard. His blood gushed over my tongue, its coppery tang flooding my senses.
The gasps of horror coming from the crowd were background noise that barely registered in my mind.
Sebastian.Sebastian. I had to save my fated mate.
I sank my teeth in. Bjorn yelled curses and thrashed in my grip. I didn’t let go. Bjorn stopped biting me and began throttling my neck, but I refused to give in, even when my vision was swimming. Bjorn was on top of me now, digging his thumbs deeper into my windpipe. Black spots exploded in front of my eyes.
“ROURKE!” Sebastian screamed.
A pulse ran through my body. Something began happening to me. It felt like a shudder running down my spine, but stronger, far more intense, to the point where it was nearly painful. My organs shifted. My bones snapped. My body heaved, but I felt no sickness. I only felt pure power.
The world spun, disorienting me. I was no longer pinned to the ground. I was standing, but my legs felt strange, like my arms were pushing me upright—but that was impossible because I stood on my full height.
The taste of blood on my tongue increased tenfold. I also tasted something else. Like hair, or the fur of an animal.
Bjorn thrashed beneath me. I didn’t know what was happening. I let go of him and backed off, breathing heavily.
I froze.
Bjorn was no longer there. In his place stood a massive wolf, bigger than any beast I’d ever seen.
