Chapter 28
Lila
“Holy fuck, it’s cold on this planet,” I mutter to my mates, who are all huddled around me, trying to keep me warm while we wait for the citizens of Iceen to arrive for the challenges.
We’ve moved to a big outdoor stadium, and no one else seems to be bothered by the frigid temperatures.
They come in droves in both bipedal and cat form, all here to bear witness to the challenges about to take place.
The lightning cats from the circus are standing off to the side.
Maxsim’s and Echo’s families are surrounding them, and they are whispering quietly amongst themselves.
Trace, Fuse, and Sim had an amusing and awkward reunion with Minx, Natalia’s sister.
The four of us watched in fascination as they introduced her to my grandpas who then proceeded to grill her.
She doesn’t cower, but I can tell she’s not comfortable, so I make my way over to the group, leaving the warmth and comfort of my guys.
“You’re really going to continue to interrogate the poor girl?” I demand, interrupting Eric’s next question. “Even I can see with my small amount of alien experience that this girl is nothing like her sister. “
“Lila,” William scolds, and I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Hey, you’re the one who said I needed to take charge and that the lightning cats were going to be my next task once we got John sorted, so I’m making an executive decision.
If Minx wants to join us, I’m all for it.
At least that way we’ll still have four lightning cats.
We still don’t know what Echo and Maxsim are going to do.
” I wave my hand in the direction of their group, and when we turn to look at them, Maxsim and his mother are staring at us, their eyes predatory and scary. I shudder and turn back to my group.
Again, the male cats are looking at me like I just did them the biggest favor, and that may go a long way toward me being able to control them in their cat forms.
“Fine, this is on your head.” William stabs a finger in my direction and stalks toward Maxsim and his mother. Eric smirks at me and pats me on the back before turning to Minx.
“Welcome to the circus,” he says to her before hurrying after his brother.
Minx grabs my hands. “Thank you. I don’t know how to repay you, but I will,” she gushes, and I feel my brow wrinkle in confusion.
“It’s no big deal,” I protest, and Minx shakes her head.
“It really is. When my mother loses that challenge, we will be relegated back to the general population, and Natalia will be on the warpath. She will kill anyone who is in her path to making a good match. Why do you think she challenged Echo? She knows Mother is going to lose, so she is trying to make the most of the situation for her own selfish needs.”
“But surely someone here is stronger than her. There has to be an alpha female who will beat her, one who will be happy to stand in for Echo and Maxsim. They may even ask her to mate with them as a thank you,” I argue.
“No, there are no alpha females, or none who are unmated. Only omegas and betas have been born for years, and none of us will dare step up and take that challenge. We all know how vicious and aggressive Natalia is, and in the event she loses, she will make the winner’s life a living hell. The circus is the safest place for me.”
My heart sinks. “So does that mean no one will stand up for Echo?”
“No, they won’t, so it looks like she will win the challenge by default.” Trace wraps an arm around Minx’s shoulders, giving her comfort as Sim and Fuse crowd in behind them.
My eyes drift over to where the male omega is surrounded by his family. His mother has tears streaming down her face as Mazlan steps up to a dais and silences the now crowded arena.
“The first challenge of the evening is issued by my daughter, Natalia, against the abomination omega, Echo. Who here will stand in his place as his proxy?” The crowded arena falls silent, and only the sound of Echo’s mother’s sadness can be heard.
Not a single person steps forward, and Mazlan’s grin becomes smug, as does Natalia’s, who has stepped up next to her.
“Well then, this challenge has a clear winner, my daughter, as no one will step in as proxy, so Echo automatically loses,” Mazlan declares as Maxsim’s mother shouts out her protests.
I feel myself step forward. “I’ll take that challenge,” I call out, my voice echoing around the arena.
“Lila, no!” Caspian shouts. I turn back to look at him. Saxon and Xavier are holding him back, so I hurry over to the three of them and grab his hand.
“I can’t let that bitch win. It’s akin to rape. The other females are terrified of Natalia, and although Maxsim hasn’t been all warm and fuzzy, I refuse to let Echo lose him.”
“The babies,” Cas hisses at me, and my stomach sinks. “I’m not sure if you or they will survive a lightning strike.”
Fuck me. How did I forget about that gem of an ability? I bite my lip, turning back to the crowd.
“She has Vilaxian abilities now, so she will be fine,” Saxon assures Caspian, putting a hand on his shoulder. “She can move fast enough to avoid it.”
Xavier puts his hand against my stomach, and I feel a warmth sink into my skin. When he pulls back, he’s smiling softly. “The babies are happy and safe and fully protected now, and they said to tell you to kick that bitch’s ass.”
“Right, that’s a dollar into the swear jar for all of you, damn it,” I tell my children, half horrified and half proud at the message they just sent me. We are in so much trouble.
I look at Cas, and he lets out a sigh of relief and nods. “Go get ’em, tiger.” He leans in and kisses me, and they both back away, allowing Saxon to escort me over to the middle of the arena.
“Challenge accepted. When I win and kill you, and your mates die too, I will be feared throughout the lands.” Natalia roars loudly before unleashing her claws, jumping down off the dais, and stalking toward the center of the arena.
“She’s cocky, and she angers quickly. You have your speed and strength, so knocking her out is probably your best bet. I know you have your martial arts experience from Earth, so combine those two skills, and you should have no problems. All you have to do is avoid her lightning.”
“What constitutes a win?” I ask, and Natalia hears it.
“Your death.” She curls her lip back and hisses.
“If my granddaughter dies, Mazlan, I will see that you pay.” It’s Eric who threatened the matriarch, and I turn to see him floating above the crowd with a gun pointed at the matriarch, the red laser beam illuminating the middle of her forehead.
She nods her assent before announcing, “The first to tap out or be rendered unconscious will be the loser. The fight will not stop until this happens, no matter how much you are bleeding. If you die because you are too stubborn to admit defeat, then that is neither my nor my daughter’s fault,” she warns me, and I nod, acknowledging her words.
Eric accepts this and lowers himself, tucking his gun back into his clothing.
“Begin.” She smashes a mallet into a gong sitting next to her, and it rings throughout the stadium. People start to yell, scream, and cheer.
Natalia immediately fires up her lightning, aiming it at me. I use my speed and quickly step to the side, and it hits the ground where I had been standing, sending up sparks.
“You’ve got to be quicker than that,” I taunt the hell beast, knowing the angrier I make her, the worse her accuracy will be. I wonder if the lightning is unlimited or if her ability to use it will wane as she tires.
“I will eat your intestines when I gut you, and then I will gut that pathetic abomination of an omega, but not before I fuck his mate in front of him and have him knot me,” Natalia spews at me, and I feel my fangs drop and my bloodlust rise at the thought of her hurting the pretty, soft omega.
There’s just something about him that makes me want to protect him.
“Hahaha. How are you even going to do that? You don’t have the right parts. A beta can’t take an alpha’s knot,” I goad, and she smirks as the two of us circle each other, trying to make the other flinch with sudden movements. We must look ridiculous.
“When your mother controls the illegal trade of omega hormones, you can. Where do you think all the male omegas go? Killing them would be a waste when we can milk them for their slick and synthesize a drug for betas. There’s a reason my family have been matriarchs for so long.
We are smart,” she gloats quietly, and it’s so loud with the crowd screaming encouragement, I don’t think anyone else hears it.
“Maybe instead of killing him, we’ll add Echo to our milking stock. His mother’s omega mate has been an absolute asset to our program, and I’m almost certain he’s Echo’s biological father. It would be quite the turn-on for Maxsim if I smelled like his mate.”
I was angry before, but now I see fucking red. “Why don’t you shut your fucking mouth?” I growl at her, and it’s like I flipped a switch.
She stops talking instantly, and her eyes widen in shock. I’m not sure what just happened. Did I just compel her to be quiet? When I had tried compulsion yesterday with Saxon’s and Xenos’s clans, I wasn’t able to successfully compel any of them. They thought I hadn’t received that ability.
She lunges at me with her claws out in front of her, and I dodge, but I’m not quick enough, and she rakes them over my arm. I scream in pain. It’s not deep, but it hurts like a bitch.
I hear my family and mates shout in distress, but I don’t let it distract me. If I turn my head, I’m as good as dead. I quickly move farther out of reach and bring my arm up to my mouth, swiping my tongue along the wound, and the venom in my saliva quickly heals the lesions.
Again, her eyes widen, and she screams in frustration.
“Now, now, no need to be sad. Why don’t you smile?” I tease her, and she is suddenly wearing a joker worthy grin.
Holy fuck, I really can compel her.
I take the opportunity her surprise gives me and dart forward, throwing a huge punch at her. She flies backward, landing on her ass and groaning in pain.
“Lila!” a voice calls, and I turn to see Maxsim’s mother standing on the edge of the arena. She beckons me over, and when I see Natalia is still down, I speed over to the female.
“What?” I ask the woman, and she grabs my arm.
“Listen, don’t talk. You are a whisperer. Natalia is going to have to obey anything you say. I have no idea how. It is a Skarrian ability that was hunted into extinction many, many years ago by lightning cats who didn’t want anyone to control them. Use it and end this.”
I’ve been keeping an eye on Natalia, and she is finally back on her feet.
Astrea steps back, nodding her encouragement, so I use my speed to get back into the fight.
Natalia tries to strike with her lightning again, but she’s too slow, and I roundhouse kick her in the head at the same time I say, “Sleep!”
She twirls around from the force of my kick before landing flat on her face.
She doesn’t move a muscle, since the whisperer ability put her out like a light.
I’ve done it, I’ve won. A small amount of guilt fills me, but when I turn to see Maxsim and Echo embracing, I feel a sense of satisfaction and a small amount of jealousy—damn horny kraken—but when the two of them turn to look at me, Echo is staring at me the same way he looks at his mate.
I feel a pang of longing, but Maxsim is still scowling despite what I just did for the two of them.
He’s off-limits. He has a mate, and we need to leave them be, I tell my inner kraken, but I freeze, paralyzed with shock, when another voice answers.
They are yours, they just don’t know it yet.
Holy fuck, just what I need, another damn voice in my head. Is this a whisperer thing? I need to find Astrea and demand she tell me everything.
The arena continues to chant my name, and it echoes around the huge space. I’m slightly dazed at the new revelation, but I hold up my hand to wave to everyone. I hear Minx scream my name from the dais, and I turn to look just as a bolt of blue lightning hits me directly in the chest.
I seize up, and the pain that jolts through my body is so bad I can’t even scream. My limbs convulse furiously, and then there’s blackness.