Helen POV[I feel stronger], Joy told me as I transformed back into my human body.I studied my reflection as I replied to her, [We are stronger. I don't know how or why, but we are stronger.]"Are you looking for something? Did I hurt you?" Justin asked from behind me.Turning to look at him in surprise, I said, "No! I just thought I looked---different."I felt stupid saying it out loud. My face flushed as embarrassment overtook my wonder; Joy went quiet the way she seemed to always do when Justin was speaking. My wolf was already more in love with my mate than with me.Joy would have taken my side in every argument before I met Justin. The Lycan held a sway over her I could only blame on the matebond which was ridiculous since we weren't mated yet as we hadn't exchanged mate marks.How could sex sway a wolf the way mine had been swayed? I'd never heard of it, but I didn't have anyone to ask either. My parents wanted nothing to do with me as I was such a failure in their eyes.Would

Helen's POVI was as surprised as anyone to find that I was actually a pretty tough competitor in the next few rounds of the Wolfen Games. In each, I managed to outrun, outfight, outsmart, or otherwise outwolf the other competitors. Each day passed in a whirlwind of public competition, and ach night was spent in private ecstasy as Justin and I celebrated our wins by feasting hungrily on each other's bodies.In no time, we reached the final rounds. In the second-to-last, we had to track and kill a specific fox. We were given a scrap of fabric that had been left in her kennel overnight, so it was rich with her scent, and whoever caught her was to be declared victor.We began in human form, but once I was away from the others, I shifted to let Joy take over. I couldn’t win without her. [A chase!] she rumbled happily.I marveled at how easily it came to her. We had never been hunting, as father prefered to keep me indoors. Maybe the lovemaking Justin and I got up to was affecting more tha

Justin stayed awake with me until I calmed down enough to stop crying, and then he drifted off. I tried to sleep, myself, but I couldn’t get my brain to quiet down. I kept replaying the earlier attack. How could I have been so stupid? Donna had already tried once in the same day to kill me! I should never have let my guard down.I stretched my leg a bit, testing it. The pain was still intense, but I could feel it really was already starting to heal. There was no way I would be strong enough to compete tomorrow, but still, I took some solace in feeling the healing process at work. If only there were something I could do to speed it up.I shifted a little, settling more comfortably into Justin’s arms. He didn’t wake, but I felt him tighten his hold on me. He was caring for me, protecting me, even in his sleep. I was so lucky to have him–my second chance–and I felt that winning the competition would make me, in some way, deserving of his love.As he tightened his hold, and I shifted back

Helen POVDiana had me pinned, my shoulders to the ground, her wolf weight holding me down. I heard King Juden begin to count, “ONE!” The crowd was in a frenzy.If this match had occurred even a week ago, it would have been over for me before it even started. It used to take me so much time to shift. But all of my and Justin’s time in bed meant I had grown into something so much more powerful than Diana could have ever imagined.“TWO!” the Alpha King bellowed. Diana threw her head back in triumph, as if she were already beginning to celebrate. But before Juden could let loose the final number, faster than anyone in the crowd could even process, I shifted, letting Joy, in all her newfound splendor, free. I flipped forward, knocking Diana back, and she yelped in surprise.Now, on all four feet, I shook myself from snout to tail, feeling my full strength as it rippled through my body. The crowd gasped in near-unison. The last time they had seen me, I was a small, unassuming, tricolor lit

Justin’s POV The fight is my favorite part. The adrenaline, the shift, even the possible injuries. My lycan responded well to pain; too well to it at times, but I had to flicker away from the roughness he had come to enjoy with our mate these last few days. Her scent still marked me, even in this broad, muscular stance. The Game Master had called out his countdown to begin but there was hardly a waiting period. Everything moved so quick, without warning, that the shredding of skin and fur had started long before the fight was intended to. I undercut my opponent’s underbelly, latching my claws into his side and dragging it down before he managed a swipe in my general direction. It hardly hit at all, marking my wrist without a clear definition of a wound being made. My head was in a frenzy, my blood burning throughout every pulsing vein as I struck forward, sinking my teeth deep into his back before lifting to create an identical mark. He would enjoy the sight of these scars late