Roses and Thorns

He kills the wolf, soon after.

But the damage has already been done. Surrounded by the corpses of his warriors, the Alpha stumbles. Blood pours relentlessly in thick, heavy rivulets, wetting the snow underneath him and pooling into a thin circle of red. I see the way each breath thunders through him.

He’s too hurt.

He wouldn’t be able to survive the next Challenger. Let this end. Let it stop here.

Please.

Next to me, Noel is murmuring under his breath. His amber eyes are shaking, fixed down on the seats below. I trace his gaze to see the Beta. His violet eyes lie on the trembling, weakened Alpha. There’s a strange expression on his face. It isn’t something that can easily be read.

“Please, Ezra. Don’t do it. Don’t.”

“Don’t.”

Almost as if his pleas work, the Beta does not take the Challenge.

Then the minute is over. The moment a clear sound of a silverbell echoes across the Arena, signaling the end of the Challenge, the Alpha collapses on the snow. He had only been sta