“All betting is now closed. Let the fight begin!” Lynette called, and the two men stepped into their cage. The door was closed and locked behind them.
“Remember, the only way out is by forfeit. One of these strong alphas will need to tap out,” Lynette said.
A large projector magically descended from the ceiling and the image of Brayden and Silas staring each other down was displayed on the giant back wall. I was amazed and horrified by the level of magic these people had to make cages appear out of nowhere and suspend from the ceiling without chains. Likewise I didn’t see any cameras in the corners of Brayden and Silas’ cage and yet I could see them start to circle each other on the projected display over the wall. Pelts of fur ran down Brayden’s neck but he pushed them back and stayed human.
“I look forward to this each and every year.” Silas’ voice was magically projected out to the entire crowd so that the experience was akin to watching a movie.
“As do I,” Brayden replied. “My only regret is that I can’t kill you.”
A large number five appeared over the movie screen and there was a loud beep followed by four and another beep. I steeled myself as the numbers counted down until finally they got to one and the two men rushed at each other like rabid wolves. Silas went right for the throat and the crowd went wild. He wrapped his fingers around Brayden’s neck and I whimpered at the sight.
Brayden snapped his head forward, headbutting Silas in the face and Silas yelped, letting go. Brayden wasted no time. He kicked out, connecting with Silas’ abdomen, and I felt a pull on my power. It was like an energy drain had gone out of me. The second Brayden’s foot hit Silas’ stomach, the alpha went flying across the cage, ten feet in the air, and slammed into the bars behind.
The crowd cheered and Lynette’s voice commentated: “Brayden has three powerful females he is pulling from. Madison was a leader of the Fifth Division in his royal army,” she said, and I looked over at Maddy with a raised eyebrow. She gave me a sheepish smile.
“Of course our lovely Lena Greywolf is wife and ex-queen ofallthe wolves in Ether,” Lynette said, and the crowd raised their drinks to me like I was some conquest. I noticed a few were staying silent and not cheering. Those I assumed were wolves forced to attend.
“Finally a newcomer, Leah. I’m told she is Lena’s best friend and likes to shoot guns,” Lynette announced as if we were in some video game and people were going to be picking us as characters.
“It’s all a big show for them,” Maddy growled to Leah and I as we watched Brayden and Silas pummeling each other. My gaze searched the other cage, the one with the pack in it, and landed on the little fourteen-year-old girl watching the screen in anticipation. She must have been dying to be with her brother and Maddy again.
I glanced back at the fight just in time to see Brayden shift to his wolf form. The crowd went insane. They were jumping and pushing forward to get a better view, but watching the fight made me sick. I felt so helpless locked in a cage when my wolf wanted to come out and rip Silas’ head off.
Silas laughed as Brayden snapped at him.
He threw his hand out and yelled, “Stay!” like you would command a dog, and Brayden froze.
That bastard.The Fae Lords must have given him that power. The crowd erupted into laughter and my legs went weak as Brayden pulled on my power. Out of nowhere, Brayden broke the hold that Silas had over him and lunged for his neck. Silas looked surprised for a moment and threw his arms up to block just as Brayden’s jaw clamped over his forearm. The crunch of bone reverberated around the entire room.
“Pssst!” came a voice from below.
I frowned, taking my eyes off the fight to look at the crowd standing beneath the cage. When my gaze landed on Artemis I gasped. He looked around, but everyone’s eyes were glued to the fight. Reaching up, he slipped a note through the grid of bars at my feet and I swooped down to pick it up.
When I looked for him again, he was gone.
What the heck just happened?
Leah and Maddy were watching the fight, and so I positioned myself behind them to hide from view and opened the letter.
She won’t last another year with him. He will break her. Another can proxy.
I read the thing four times, confused as all hell, and then decided that maybe it was for me to give to Brayden or Maddy? Shaking my head, I slipped the folded note into my bra. It didn’t seem urgent. It needed to wait until after this fight.
Brayden was limping, his paw broken, and I wished so badly that I had my gun. I’d unload the clip into Silas’ head, consequences be damned. Silas was now in wolf form and stalking slow circles around Brayden.
“Oh, this fight is proving to be so entertaining!” Lynette told the crowd, and they shouted their agreement.
End it, I wanted to tell Brayden.
As if he heard me, he turned and looked right at me, and that’s when Silas’ wolf went for the kill.
“Look out!” My bloodcurdling scream ripped through the space as Silas’ jaw wrapped around Brayden’s neck. A surge of power flushed through me and the necklace at my throat grew hot. Reaching out, I grasped the bars as Brayden tried to shake Silas off.
“Averly, calm down,” Maddy said quickly, and I looked at my hands to see that I’d bent the bars.
Crap.
Come on, Brayden, take my power and whoop his sorry little ass.
