RiverListening to the rules would've been the intelligent thing to do. Unfortunately, River was distracted. The moment Ellie walked into the gymnasium, she was all he could think about. His eyes kept darting over to where she was sitting with Shelby and her little brothers, and by the time he tuned back in to hear what Beta Andrew was saying, he'd missed most of it."The objective will be to get your opponent outside of the circle or down on the floor for five seconds, on my count. Alternatively, getting your opponent to give up would also grant victory to the remaining competitor.""Why would anyone give up?" Ulysses muttered under his breath."Because he can't take the pain." Blade turned and looked at him, an evil look in his eyes. Even though he wasn't looking at River, it was enough to cause a shudder to go through his body. This guy was one messed up b*stard. He did not need to win this tournament."Initial pairings were drawn at random. Remember, this is not a double-eliminat
EllieWatching Ulysses and River walk into the circle, Ellie had her fingers crossed for good luck for River. While she didn't want to root against her new friend Ulysses, River needed this win. He needed to win every round, but if he didn't beat Ulysses, things would be starting off on the wrong foot.She didn't expect Ulysses, who was taller and had broader shoulders than River, to just roll over and die, but he had to know how badly she wanted River to win. Hopefully, he wouldn't give this fight as much effort as he would the others. If somehow River didn't manage to win, she needed Ulysses to defeat Blade.The men stepped into the ring, jovial smiles on their faces. When Andrew started the round, they circled one another for a bit before Ulysses made the first move and came at River. He was ready and was able to block Ulysses's attempt to knock him backward. River went down lower and caught Ulysses, moving the momentum back in his direction.They continued to tangle for about five
RiverCatching Ellie's eyes from over on the sidelines, River gave her a reassuring smile. She looked so nervous. He couldn't blame her. The next few minutes were going to determine who she would spend the rest of her life with. That was a lot of importance wrapped into just a relatively short amount of time.Blade was looking as arrogant as ever, standing across the circle from him, jumping up and down, swinging his arms, trying to stay limber. River didn't think any of that was necessary. He just needed to focus. There was a good chance Blade was going to find a way to cheat, and he needed to be ready.Andrew invited them both to step into the circle. River offered Blade his hand, but Blade looked at it and snickered, refusing to shake. "I'm here to win the prize, River," Blade said. "Not make friends."River shook his head, dropping his hand. "She's not just a prize, you know."Blade shrugged. "That's what she'll be to me. In just a few minutes." His cocky smile brightened, and Riv
EllieBlade was a cheater! There was no doubt in her mind that he had shifted enough to use his wolf teeth to bite River. The blood all over the floor was enough to prove it! Yet, her own Beta ignored her when she pointed it out to him, and even her father didn't stop the fight. If River hadn't won, she would've had to protest the victory.But River had won! Ellie was still in shock. She couldn't believe it! Of all of the Alphas, she'd been drawn to him the most from the very start. Now, they were going to get married.Married. That was a word she hadn't thought about a lot over the years. But now, seeing him standing there, victorious, with a huge smile on his face, she was so grateful to the Moon Goddess for bringing him to her. He had won the tournament on his own merit though. He was the strongest, the fastest, and the best fighter of all of them.And he was hers.It wasn't like Ellie to let her emotions show. She'd learned over the years to keep herself guarded. Whether she was
RiverThe awards ceremony after the tournament was the least of River's concerns. He had a few minutes to go to the restroom and splash some water on his face and wash off the blood from the wound in his neck. The healer had bandaged him up pretty good, and it wasn't hurting any more, thanks to his wolf genes' super healing abilities. So at least he didn't have to worry about that. But while he was in the bathroom, looking in the mirror, he had to ask himself a question.Was this what they both wanted?Outside of the restroom, his mother was waiting for him. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "I'm so proud of you, honey.""Thank you, Mom," he said, but as soon as she pulled back and he saw the look on her face, he knew that she had heard the lack of confidence in his voice."What's the matter?" Patricia asked. "You won. You are going to marry Ellie. You love her, don't you? I think the two of you are the perfect couple. She is your fated-match. I just know it.""Yea
EllieGetting ready for the dance this time was so different for Ellie than it had been just a few short nights ago when she'd been so excited to see River. That night, she'd gotten dressed in a beautiful silver gown, excited to see what the night had to offer. Tonight, her dress was red. It was sparkly and caught the light like the other dress. Checking herself out in the mirror, she had to admit that she looked good. But she didn't feel good. There was a heaviness in her heart she couldn't quite understand.River had seemed different. He'd been so standoffish at the award's ceremony. Even when she'd kissed his cheek, he'd seemed withdrawn. It made her wonder what his motivation was for entering the tournament to begin with. Was it possible he was only there because he wanted to win, and now that he had to claim his prize, he was regretting it?Her eyes went to her mother's saying above her mirror. That was the most important thing. Doing what was best for her pack. While she wanted
RiverSomething was definitely wrong with Ellie. Never before had there been an awkward silence when he was with her. Every other time they'd talked, it had been easy. The conversation flowed freely on both sides. Now, she seemed so uncomfortable in his arms, it was like she didn't even want him to touch her. He felt like she didn't want to speak to him at all.He couldn't think of a darn thing to say, either. They'd talked about his wound and the blood. They'd talked about how nice they both looked. Now what?"How, uh, how was your seat? During the contest?" he asked, knowing it sounded ridiculous. What a stupid question. What did he expect her to say? Comfortable?"It was good," she said. "I could see and everything." Ellie's head rocked back and forth several times, probably too many times."That's good," River said."Yeah."Another bout of awkward silence fell over them. River wanted the song to end so he could go get some fresh air. He never would've thought he would want to let
EllieNo bride wanted to get married with bags under her eyes. Ellie had done her best to fall asleep after the dance, but she'd laid awake for hours, tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling, contemplating what was going on between herself and River. She thought about Ulysses's interpretation and wanted to believe him, but in the end, she'd fallen asleep feeling like River was only marrying her because he had to, not because he wanted to.Sitting in a chair in front of her mirror, watching Shelby do her makeup, Ellie hoped no one noticed the puffiness beneath her eyes or the fact that they were bloodshot. She'd never been one for using sleep aids, but if she could go back and do it all again, she would've taken some melatonin the moment her head hit the pillow."You've got a lot on your mind, huh?" her best friend asked as she applied powder to the foundation she'd already put on. Ellie wasn't used to wearing a lot of makeup, so she had agreed when Shelby had insisted she let her