"I was hoping we'd fight today."I turn to my opponent, George, and stiffen. It's one of the Palus Wolves from Washington-the one who had dragged me from my car and beaten the snot out of me. His teeth only show more as he realizes that recognize him."You've gotten a bit braver since we last met," He begins to circle me, even though the bell hasn't gone off, "Let's hope you don't need any Alphas saving you this time.""Wait-"He launches himself towards me, and I dive to the side. Shouts come from the Alphas but it's futile. I dodge his foot as it comes down where my head had been. I roll to my knees and swat away his next attack."The bell hasn't gone!" Alpha Kieran hollers as his Wolf's foot makes contact with my chest. "This is against the rules!""Alora!" Hendrick rushes forward but is held back by his Palus counterpart. I don't get much of a glimpse of their fight breaking out before George lifts me up.I'm thrown to the ground and George's body slams into mine before I can reco

I trace the lines of my hands as the final fight wraps up and everyone begins to pack up. Ashenia is the winner and is toted around on Hendrick and another Wolf's shoulders. Mira and Ilya howl for her, and soon the entire pack joins in.Her eyes brighten up, and Ashenia grins widely as her chest wells up with pride."Alora..."I look down at Jayden, but she's still fast asleep. With a hitched breath, I turn my eyes up. Ariella sits on the other side of the cot, worried and bug-eyed."Are you okay?" She grabs my hand, looking up at where I assume Kennedy is in the distance, "I-""I'm sorry," I whisper, "I'm sorry if I've been so busy with this pack, Ariella. I shouldn't have gotten distracted..."She squeezes my hand gently but disappears as Avianna walks through her. My eyes well up with tears of despair. I wipe them away when Avianna gives me a concerned look and shrug."I heard what happened during your last fight," She mixes a cupful of herbs together and waves them under Jayden no

"What the hell happened to your car? Why are you all cut up?" Her dad asks when she comes home. He's a small man, barely taller than Alora, and has dark, peppered hair. "Alora-don't walk away from me--""Don't talk to me about walking away," Alora mutters as she walks through the entrance and up the stairs."Excuse me?" He asks but she continues to go up to the stairs. He follows her, even as she goes straight to Ariella's bedroom, "Young woman, you may think that you're all grown up but ""But nothing!" She turns around and I flinch away. She screams like Kiana does when Mac or Da have annoyed her.Her thoughts ring through my head even though I barely understand them. She's fed up with everyone telling her what is and isn't the fucking world. I scrunch my brow but can't make sense of that...Alora must be angry if she's swearing like Mac.She marches right up to her Da until she's in his face, "I'm so fed up with you acting like my dad when you're around. But where have you been, Dad

"Mac. Let her go." It's Kiana that has him hesitate. His claws are half in my throat, but he pauses when his mate speaks. She shakes her head, "This isn't how we do things. You know that because of what Leon did. So let her go."He does, though I'm not much better off. With the pressure released from my throat, I can breathe again but it feels like inhaling nails. I bow over and hack away. Eamonn huddles over me, his little face scrunch up in frightened tears. I try to tell him that it's fine, but I can barely see straight. And, honestly, I'm halfway crying myself.I'm quickly becoming well-versed with the look of someone who wants to kill.Kiana comes up beside me and inspects the damage, "Fuck it, Mac! You should have been gentler-she brought him back. What the-Where do you think you're goin'?"He's disappeared into the thick cover of the forest. I can't look away from the trees. I'm convinced that he's going to change his mind and come back. He wants me dead-I've never seen someone

"Sit down," Kennedy's hands grab my shoulders, and he gently sits me down on the edge of his bed. He disappears and comes back with a medicinal tube."I don't know why you care about all this-about me. Especially after the fights," I mumble, "I know why you care about Leon and the reasons I was asking about him...but you were curious about me before that.""You're different," He says simply, "I was curious-and it seems as though my instincts had been right about you. You are very special indeed."I don't say anything as he unscrews the cap and presses some of the gel onto his fingers. It smells like mint almost, but I know it isn't. It's most likely arnica."Do you mind if I...?" He holds up his fingers, eyes flickering down to my neck. I shake my head. "The Prophet of Death has always been shrouded in darkness and mystery. The last one went missing around the Second World War. For almost a century, we've lived without a direct connection to Hekate, and it's led to a lot of disarray a