5. Chapter 5 #2
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Tarymn said at last, though the words sounded unconvincing even to his own ears.
“I’m sure he is,” Pitra said quickly, agreeing without hesitation.
Tarymn’s jaw tightened, his teeth grinding. “You don’t have to agree with me.”
Pitra’s laughter echoed around Tarymn, grating on his nerves. “You’re just as worried about him as I am.”
“I never said I wasn’t,” Tarymn snapped. “I wouldn’t have offered to pick him up if I didn’t care. I told him to connect with me when he’s done.”
Relief burst out of Pitra in a loud exhale. “Oh, thank God. I couldn’t stand the thought of him crammed into a shuttle with a stranger. He’s such a timid little thing. He makes me want to wrap him up and never let go.”
Yeah. And his crippling social anxiety didn’t help , Tarymn thought with a weary sigh. He turned away, letting his gaze settle on the city outside the window. Towers gleamed under the fading light, and in the distance the silhouettes of the UA facilities rose above the skyline.
“Are you ready?” Pitra asked from the operator’s seat.
Tarymn sighed heavily.
“You don’t sound excited,” Pitra teased, laughter slipping through his words.
“I’m not,” Tarymn admitted. “I hate play days. I come because I have to. It’s part of being an alpha in the council. Fighting each other is the only way we know our place. It’s so barbaric.”
“I know, but it’s necessary,” Pitra said. “Even though we’ve moved away from pack life, there are rules we have to live by, or our society will crumble.”
Tarymn’s lips curled. “Rules or not, it doesn’t make the whole thing any less barbaric,” he muttered.
Pitra said nothing, focusing on threading the pod through thick traffic until he found a slot in the dome’s crowded lot.
The pod eased to a stop. Tarymn slid out, his shoulders already stiffening as he approached the looming doors.
He shoved one open, and the flood of bright light seared his vision, forcing him to blink rapidly as he descended the row of empty seats.
No matter how much he claimed to hate their play day, the sphere always managed to steal his breath away.
“I thought I told you to take a break,” Deltta said as Tarymn stepped close to the cage.
“You know I couldn’t miss our play day,” Tarymn replied, his eyes sweeping over the other alphas already changed into training gear. On the far side, Langley was warming up alone, rolling his shoulders with lazy indifference. His lackeys were nowhere in sight.
Odd. They were usually glued to him like shadows. Tarymn’s eyes narrowed on the alpha as he said, “I wouldn’t want certain people thinking I’m weak.”
“Don’t lose your cool,” Deltta said, following his gaze. “We don’t need things to get worse before we figure out what’s going on.”
“I won’t,” Tarymn promised, giving Deltta’s back a friendly slap. “Let me find Wulfric, he said he’d be here.”
“We’ll be starting soon,” Deltta reminded him.
“I won’t take long.”
Tarymn walked around the cage and was about to push the double doors that led to the dressing rooms open, when he froze, mid-step, as familiar voices drifted toward him.
Pharyi. Biwen. Gyry.
His muscles went taut, breath stilled in his chest. He tilted his head, focusing on each word they were saying.
“Did he say why Deltta rejected the request?” Biwen asked cautiously. “Do you think they know?”
“No. Langley’s an incompetent fool. He doesn’t know anything,” Pharyi sneered. “He barely reads the documents I compile for him.”
“What do you think is going on?” Gyry asked.
“I don’t know,” Pharyi said. “But it doesn’t matter. Even if they uncover something, it won’t come back to us.”
Tarymn’s heart lurched, hammering hard against his ribs. Fuck.
He backed away quickly, retreating the way he came, pulse roaring in his ears. Pharyi. The bastard had been pulling the strings all along.
When he got closer to the cage, the roar of the crowd hit him like a wall. Deltta was already in the cage with Maxus, the two of them trading brutal blows while the other alphas shouted and cheered.
Tarymn sank into the nearest chair, his mind spinning. He couldn’t wrap his head around what he’d just overheard, each word still echoing in his mind. It felt unreal, like he’d slipped into a waking dream where nothing made sense.
Deltta emerged a few seconds later, sweat slicking his skin, a triumphant grin carved across his face. He fucking thrived on this, lived for it. Maxus trailed behind him, rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms high over his head, still catching his breath.
“You could’ve gone easy on me,” Maxus muttered, though his tone carried more pride than complaint.
“What good would that have done?” Deltta shot back with a smirk, clapping Tarymn hard on the shoulder. “It’s your turn.”
Tarymn exhaled heavily as he got to his feet and pulled his long shirt over his head in one motion, the cool air grazing his skin as he strode toward the cage.
“Aren’t you going to change first?” Maxus called after him.
“This’ll only take a second,” Tarymn said as he stepped through the gate.
His opponent followed. The moment Tarymn turned and locked eyes on him, his body stilled.
Gyry.
Of all the opponents, it had to be him. The matchups were randomly assigned by their scheduling system, but this felt too pointed, like fate was testing him. He had to fucking keep his cool, but after what he'd heard, he wasn’t sure he could.
A bitter taste coated Tarymn’s tongue as anger and disgust coiled hot in his chest. He should call it off, walk away before the storm inside him broke free.
“Hope you’re ready to eat the mat,” the hulking alpha sneered, rolling his thick neck as he took his corner. The alpha’s words sent something feral ripping through Tarymn’s chest, something he usually chained deep down. But not this time. He let it prowl free beneath his skin.
The alpha sentinel barely gave the signal before Tarymn moved. He lunged, a blur of muscle and fury, colliding with Gyry so fast the other alpha let out a strangled grunt of shock.
“Fuck,” Gyry gasped, terror bleeding into his voice.
Tarymn drank it in. The scent of fear flooded his senses.
The predator inside him purred, clawing for more.
The crowd’s noise faded to nothing; the world narrowed to Gyry’s body beneath his hands.
He slammed the larger alpha into the mat with bone-jarring force, then wrapped his arms around Gyry’s neck, tightening until air wheezed out of him.
“He’s going to fucking kill him!” someone shouted from outside the cage.
Tarymn didn’t care. His vision turned red as Gyry thrashed weakly.
Then…impact.
Strong arms locked around his shoulders, trying to rip him off Gyry. Tarymn snarled, thrashing, and drove his elbow back into a solid body.
“Fuck, Tarymn, calm the hell down. It’s me!” Wulfric barked in his ear, straining with effort.
Another pair of arms closed around him with brute force.
Deltta.
Tarymn dragged in a breath, shaking his head as if he could rattle loose the murderous wrath still clawing at his insides. He gritted his teeth, forcing it back into its cage. “I’m fine… I’m fine…” he rasped.
Wulfric slowly let him go. On the mat, Gyry lay flat on his back, chest heaving, gasping for air.
Fuck.
Tarymn turned sharply and stepped out of the cage, every muscle screaming to run. He could feel every eye on him. Shock and fear stinking up the air as the alphas followed his every move.
This. This was what he hated most. The looks that painted him a monster, a ticking bomb they all feared. He’d fought for years to keep control, to never let them see this side of him. And now… he’d failed.
Jaw tight, he rushed down the aisle, desperate to get away.
The double doors loomed ahead, and he pushed through them barely noticing the holo-images of past fighters hung on the walls as his chest burned, bile rising hot and acrid his throat.
By the time he stumbled into Wulfric’s dressing room, he was shaking.
He barely made it to the basin before he was retching up nothing. He gripped the sink until his knuckles went white, teeth clenched.
“Fuck,” Wulfric’s voice came from behind, edged with worry. “Are you okay, man?”
Tarymn splashed cold water on his face, forcing himself to calm down, to wear the mask of control everyone knew. He reached blindly for the drying cloth. Wulfric pressed it into his hand without hesitation.
“Thanks,” Tarymn muttered, drying his face.
When he stepped out, Deltta was waiting on the couch, arms crossed, gaze sharp enough to cut him open. Tarymn shifted under his stare.
“What?” he snapped self-consciously.
“I told you not to rattle the cage,” Deltta said evenly. “And you did it anyway.”
“Sorry,” Tarymn admitted, sinking down on the couch beside Deltta “I… I lost it.” His eyes darted around. “Where’s Maxus?”
“He’s cleaning up your mess,” Deltta replied coolly. His stare hardened. “Do you want to explain to me what that was? Because you never lose your cool. Ever.”
“Yeah,” Wulfric added, still watching him as though studying a dangerous animal. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like that before.”
Tarymn’s jaw locked, his teeth grinding.
“You haven’t seen me like that because I don’t like it,” Tarymn said, his voice tight, as if the words were dragged out of him.
“Why?” Wulfric leaned forward, eyes bright with awe. “You were fucking amazing in there. And strong. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you could beat Deltta too.”
“Watch it,” Deltta warned, though the smirk tugging at his mouth betrayed his amusement.
“You forget I’m from a long line of alpha kings,” Tarymn said. “But I like where I am. I hate losing control. You saw what happened. I almost went feral in there.”
“Yeah. Why?” Deltta asked, his gaze holding Tarymn hostage.
“You were right. It’s not Langley. It’s Pharyi, Biwen, and Gyry. They’re using Langley, he’s just their patsy.”
“And me,” Deltta said quietly.
“I don’t think you should be talking about this in here,” Wulfric whispered, glancing around nervously. “And I sure as hell don’t need to know about it.”
“Shit.” Tarymn’s head whipped toward the door. “We should go.”
“Yeah.” Deltta pushed to his feet. Tarymn followed. “We should handle this fast. Before all hell breaks loose.”
“I’ll handle it,” Tarymn said, guilt burning hot in his chest. “I’m sorry I lost it in there. I couldn’t keep my cool after hearing what they said.”
“It’s fine. I would’ve lost it too,” Deltta replied, clapping him on the back. “I’m just holding it together because I’m already implicated in the mess.”
Pharyi had said something similar. If it all came out, nothing pointed to them.
Shit.
“We’ll figure it out,” Tarymn said, pushing through the doors with Deltta at his side.
Maxus hurried down the aisle, Tarymn’s shirt balled in his fist. He shoved it into Tarymn’s hands.
“Thanks,” Tarymn muttered, dragging it over his head.
“Gyry had to be taken to the health center,” Maxus said. “We should go and make sure he’s alright. You too, Tarymn.”
“I…” Tarymn began, the protest heavy on his tongue.
“You didn’t mean to hurt him,” Maxus said firmly. “Anything can happen in the cage. He knows that.”
Tarymn nodded slowly, swallowing the truth. The truth was he’d meant to hurt him. Badly. And God help him, he’d enjoyed the sound of Gyry’s screams.
Shaking his head, Tarymn trailed after Deltta and Maxus, their footsteps ringing too loudly in the cavernous silence, each echo a reminder of what had just happened.