Chapter 21
Alistair
Ba-dum.
My eyes widen as a familiar warmth fills my chest, an unmistakable magnetism that can only mean one thing . . . My mate has arrived.
Of-fucking-course.
“Dammit!” I shout, unable to believe what I’m feeling—that I’m even feeling Sienna’s presence at all!
I turn my glare to the moon and curse its power, knowing that whatever gods claim my blood as theirs are responsible for the sudden increase in my power, including the ability to sense my unbonded mate so strongly.
Fucking full moons.
“Cool off, Dire,” Cornelius warns as the only level-headed being in our vicinity.
As soon as the Games commenced and the wards surrounding the arena went up, everyone began attacking indiscriminately.
Titles like friend or foe no longer mattered once someone began using mind-melding magic to turn even lovers against each other.
A fae, most likely, or a high-powered witch testing their limits.
Most of the first-years have been knocked out at least once, with a few of the more resilient ones reawakening only to fall again. Were it not for the academy’s shields, there would be dozens more dead, bleeding onto the ice and a few more sinking beneath it.
My bond with Sienna pulls, the threads tightening until I turn my head in her direction.
I can’t see her from this distance, but I know she’s out there, and I know she isn’t alone, the wild wolf undoubtedly responsible for her sudden appearance.
Annoyance prickles behind my eyes, and I shut them to keep from screaming.
The pair of them are going to be the death of me.
I take a step in Sienna’s direction only for our connection to be violently severed, the sudden break leaving me gasping for air. I blink, reeling from the whiplash, and stumble too far to the right . . . directly into a shallow pool of icy water. Fuck.
That single moment of distraction is all it takes for a mer-bitch to strike from underwater, her claws sinking into my thigh and tearing, dragging through the muscle deep enough that she hits bone. My pulse throbs in the wounded flesh as it attempts to mend, but her damned talons—
Snarling, I jab my hand into the water, grab her wrist, and snap, enjoying her wailing shriek of pain as she recoils. Thank the gods for rapid healing, but that doesn’t take away the pain. It lingers like fire licking the wound, growing hotter with each passing second.
Poison.
“Fucking bitch,” I hiss, slogging through the frigid waters after her. But she has the advantage and slips out of reach, hiding beneath the thick sheet of ice where I can’t follow without drowning. She’ll claim another unsuspecting victim within minutes, I’m sure, but at least it won’t be me.
I call out to my best friend as I move in the opposite direction, away from the epicenter of combat and toward my mate.
“Neel!” He’s at my side in seconds, slogging through the same icy slush as we reach the shore.
“She’s here.” My body overheats as rage pumps through my veins.
Steam rises from my skin the longer I’m on dry land, and I stomp through the snow with Cornelius hot on my trail. “She shouldn’t fucking be here.”
“Those guards will pay,” Neel growls, his eyes flashing violet as his power surges.
“It wasn’t the guards.” A bitter laugh catches in my throat.
“It was her fucking baggage. Dragging her to her death. Goddamnit!” I grab a low-hanging branch off the nearest tree and rip it from its trunk, then throw it across the field into a fleeing number four.
It slams against his back and he faceplants, immediately falling unconscious as his head hits the ground.
My point tally climbs, but it’s not satisfying anymore.
She’s fucking here.
“Alistair,” Neel calls out, grabbing my shoulder and forcing me to stop. “You can’t go charging in there. It could be a trap.”
“A trap,” I laugh, feeling every ounce of my frustration rattle inside the box I’ve buried it in.
“Everything about her is a goddamn trap.” Her velvet laughter against my skin, the way her hair smells like rain when she leaves it damp in the morning, that little pinch between her eyebrows when she’s nose-deep in a fucking textbook.
All of it—every single little annoying thing about her is a rope around my neck, growing tighter and tighter with every second I’m away from her.
I need distance. No, I need to create distance. A thin wall between us isn’t enough. I need ample space to detox and get her out of my fucking head.
She doesn’t want me. Not in the way that matters—the way that a fated mate should. It breaks my fucking heart.
I quickly come to the decision to force Sienna out of the arena. I can’t focus with her here—and the longer she’s in play, the worse my father’s temper will become. Every council member is watching the Games tonight. If I don’t perform, I’ll never hear the end of it.
A crackle of energy vibrates beneath my skin, urging me to shift, but I ignore its pull in favor of another—the one leading me directly to my true mate.
A shockwave of power ripples from her vicinity as the damper disconnecting us disappears, and I curse under my breath.
Everyone in the arena would have felt that power surge and changed course as their bloodlust, vanity, and greed demands.
Sienna is strong, but she’s not that strong. Whoever else is near her isn’t bothering to hide their power.
It better not be fucking Revyn.
I break into a run despite Neel’s protests. I don’t care if it’s a trap; I need to get to my mate. As soon as I crest over a small hill and she comes into view, my chest tightens.
She may be a trap—a poison—a goddamn nuisance—but my gods is she beautiful.
Midnight hair sways across her shoulders as she jabs her claws into a bear shifter’s thick hide over and over and over again, spraying blood through the air like mist with every push and pull of her arm.
The shifter keens and drops, a magical barrier repelling Sienna into the air as it appears, shielding her victim from further damage as he shifts back to human form.
Sienna lands gracefully, her heels sliding through the snow as she skids to a halt, her smile wide as she launches herself at another.
“Holy shit,” Neel breathes, coming to a stop beside me. “Is that her?”
She barrels into a cougar next, recklessly body slamming into its side as Revyn takes it on from the front.
His eyes are wild as he slams his boot onto the beast’s neck, cutting off its airway as Sienna holds it down.
It struggles but quickly falls limp, and the pair practically howl with glee as they rush into each other, drunk off the adrenaline.
He cups her face and kisses her breathless, neither of them caring for the blood on their hands or the sparring taking place around them.
They behave like animals, fighting one second and nearly fucking the next.
I’d choke on jealousy if I wasn’t burning with rage.
Fighting without shifting is the most reckless shit I’ve ever fucking seen, and I. Am. Livid.
I don’t care that she’s a hybrid. Who knows her secret won’t matter if she’s dead.
There are too many enemies for her to fight at half strength, and that fucking vampire clinging to her can easily use an illusion to alter her appearance to be more wolfish.
The fact that none of them have bothered to come up with a coherent battle plan and are happy to let Sienna and Revyn roam free like a pair of wild dogs is fucking insane.
She was safe in her room where no one could touch her. If she dies tonight, her ex-boyfriend and vampiric leech are to blame.
Neel whistles like we’re watching a sporting event instead of a death match. “I’ve never seen a wild wolf fight before. Shit.”
I grind my teeth to keep from speaking my mind.
There’s another word I’d use to describe the carnage in front of me, and it’s not one I dare say aloud.
But it’s not my mate that concerns me—her actions, although violent, are a product of who trained her to fight, not because of her nature.
It’s the wolf by her side that raises every alarm in my body.
Because Revyn’s fighting goes beyond wild—it’s feral.
And there’s nothing that can save a feral wolf from death.
Not magic.
Not prayer.
Not even a mating bond with the woman he loves.