He doesn’t get an answer. The man shifts into a cheetah, racing across the terrain and trying to fake him out before attacking. Raiden breathes out a stream of smoke that wraps around his opponent, diving down his throat and suffocating him before he gets within ten feet. Sighing, Raiden looks down at the dead body, shakes his head, and returns to the others.
A heavy silence settles over the crowd. The next person in the lineup for a chance to take them on hesitates after having a front row seat to how terribly outmatched he is. Determination alone doesn’t always matter. Good intentions are noble, but they don’t magically make you stronger than the enemy, no matter the books that try to convince us otherwise.
Life’s not fair, and no matter how hard you fight, it’s not always enough.
Xander clears his throat. “Anyone else?”
After a weighted pause, four people stride out into the arena. “Yeah,” their leader calls, scowling at the guys like they’re the lowest form of scum. The corner of his lips curve as he raises his gaze, locking onto me with a nefarious smirk. “My pack challenges theentireGarrison legion. Four against four.”
Proud of himself, he holds my gaze like he’s backed us into a corner. It’s an obvious plan we already anticipated someone would attempt. Fake civility, bend the rules to their favor, then members of their pack would attempt to distract the guys while someone made a beeline to take me out.
The volume raises in the stadium as the whispers rise to a dull roar. Several look my way, their discomfort with the idea of attacking a female with as rare and coveted as they are plain as day on their faces. It’s no secret that a dragon’s main weakness is their mate bonds linking their life force, but that doesn’t mean everyone agrees with the idea of killing an innocent woman just to spite the people she’s mated to, especially when she didn’t have a choice in the matter. Others look positively gleeful, ecstatic to see how things play out.
Patting Carina’s hand, I rise to my feet. The crowd parts as I walk down the bleachers, but I don’t join them in the arena. I stop at the metal rail acting as a barrier between the stands and the field below, waiting until the cameras pan to me so I fill up each screen despite hating every minute of the attention.
Acting unbothered, I shrug a single shoulder. “Okay. Aaaaaaaaaand, go.” Waiting a few more seconds to credit my benevolence, I lift a hand, drawing on every particle of energy thrumming in the air, holding the stare of the man that thought he’d won something by trying to take advantage of me being the weak link in the legion. The one that unintentionally admitted that he’d never be able to kill the guys, so he’d try to kill me instead like that proves anything other than he was desperate and weak.
The bolt of lightning strikes before any of them can utter another word.
Four charred bodies fall into the sand before anyone even realizes what happened. A few seconds later, the following crack of thunder jolts everyone out of their shock, looking at me with terrified horror, realizing that I struck them all down without breaking a sweat.
Keeping my face a blasé mask, I say nothing. I even manage to hide the tremor in my hand by tucking my hands casually into my pockets, feigning indifference.
There isn’t a single part of me that revels in killing people indiscriminately. I know first hand what it feels like to be powerless, to be afraid of others stronger than you deciding to take what they want. I don’t want to be that person, but I will if it scares off bigger monsters so people like me don’t have to grow up too fast, living in fear like I did.
Kodiak positions himself in front of one of the microphones built into the terrain. With a feral grin, he lets his voice carry across the stadium, the warning lingering in the air. “We were trying to actually give you a chance by asking our mate to sit this one out. None of us have shifted yet. Hell, Amara didn’t even have to step into the arena. Can you imagine if we actuallytried?”
Clearing his throat, Stone calls out, “Anyone else that has an issue with our legion, now’s your chance.” He spreads his arms wide. “We’re right here. You’ll never get a better opportunity, especially a fair one. One on one, our offer not to shift to actually give you a shot.”
His opalescent gaze stares directly into one of the cameras. “I’ve seen the rise and fall of more civilizations than you can ever hope to imagine. I have no desire to play games with boys masquerading as men that only want to lord their power over others for the hell of it. Nor for those so caught up in their petty agendas of revenge that they take down anyone in their way. If you have a problem with me or mine, speak now, or get over yourself.”
Silence meets his statement, and he slowly scans the entire crowd. “No? Good. Now that the sort of disgraceful men that would try to kill a woman who never did a single fucking thing to them simply to spite her mates are out of the way, the real tournament can begin.”
Murmurs of confusion ripple over the crowd, and I use the opportunity to slink back to my seat beside Carina. It was the only way I could convince the guys to agree to this insane plan. All of the attendees had to pass through security measures to rid them of any weapons, and each person’s face was uploaded to the security team to sift through. The only person in attendance that’s remotely concerning is an ice dragon, able to stake me from afar if she wanted, hence sticking to Carina’s side. She’s been giving off a heat shield intense enough to make bystanders shy away the entire time, just in case she missed the moment a potential assassin tried to impale me.
In case she failed, or a gun slipped past security, I’m wearing a bulletproof vest under my shirt. The only thing that could really take me out is a headshot, or if someone tries to tear my throat out. Besides my own scales, I have not only Carina as a personal guard, but a dozen members of Kodiak’s most trusted security team surround us in the stands.
“Things are going to change.” Raiden rolls his shoulders back, addressing the masses. “What we’ve been doing isn’t working. And as clearly demonstrated over the past half hour, strength in itself doesn’t equate to good leadership.”
Kodiak cracks his knuckles, grinning. “Consider this competition an open job interview, boys and girls. You want to be a part of the new council we’re putting together? Show us why you deserve a seat at the table.”
Xander cuts in, grinning ear to ear. “Those of you that don’t want to assassinate our current leaders to take their place, but are interested in fighting against others to display your skillswithoutthe match going to the death, head on down to the arena entrance. It doesn’t matter if you have the biggest dick in the room if you don’t know how to use it, after all.”
I snort a startled laugh, appreciating Xander all the more. Our biggest problem is that even if we dip out and disappear, people will be scrambling to fill the power gap. Shifters need a way to burn off their pent up aggression and feel heard, and we need a reason for humans to rally around us instead of hunting us for being different.
“They’re going to get themselves killed,” Carina murmurs, staring down at the colosseum her brother is making himself at home in.
“No,” I whisper, watching them mercilessly obliterate their opponents. “They’re going to make a difference.”
It’s brutal, no holds barred. It’s a clash of shifters, but now, they don’t take it to the death. The guys pull their punches, instructing their opponent where they left themselves open, how they could improve. Theyteachpeople, pulling them up to a better standard that will help everyone in the long run.
All the while, I take notes. Several go in not expecting to come out the victor, but they give one hell of a fight. My favorite, though, is the raccoon. He doesn’t even try to win, angling instead to steal Kodi’s wallet. To his credit, he makes it nearly to the exit before Kodi catches him and takes it back. It breaks the tension, and people soon give up the idea of murdering the guys, instead trying to pull off getting at least a strike in for bragging rights.
“Ms. Garrison.” The voice is a low growl in my ears, one of the security team breaking formation to stand in front of me. “Stay low.”
There isn’t even a hint of rebellion that makes me consider ignoring him. While I’m obviously curious to know what’s going on, I’m not stupid enough to let it get the best of me and unnecessarily put myself in danger. Dipping lower in my seat, I ask, “What’s going on?”
He doesn’t get the chance to respond, shifting into a bear and launching himself at someone that comes too close. For a moment, I’m frozen in place. I watch in horror as the two grapple, my security guard rising seconds later, blood staining his brown fur. He doesn’t shift back to update me, positioning himself in front of me as a living blockade.
