#Chapter 22 The Tournament Begins
Helen POV
Everyone was prepared for the start of the Wolfen Games except me.
Or at least that was how it felt as I was walking with Justin out to the grounds for the beginning of the tournament.
The arena portion of the Games was split in between female and male contenders and everyone started on the same ranking. Each pair was set up purely by chance according to the rules though I wondered how much chance was involved when I saw the pairs listed.
I was placed up against Donna who was a stronger wolf -not surprising since I was the only tricolor competing- who had placed in the Wolfen Games the year before; she smirked at me as she saw me reading her name beside mine on the bracket. Justin didn’t look at the listing for his match.
There was little hope anyone would beat Justin in an arena match. He was enormous even as a man rather than a Lycan; a wolf form didn’t have any significant advantages over him.
“I’m going to be within hearing range. Call for me if you need me,” Justin murmured, kissing my forehead before leaving me to the female contenders while he went to join the males.
Strangely, I wasn’t afraid as he walked away. I found I felt stronger, more capable the longer I was with Justin. His belief in me was starting to become something I took for granted rather than something to marvel over.
I was changing the longer I was with him and I didn’t know if the changes were all in my head or if they were literal changes happening to my body. I had no one to ask so I wasn’t sure why I was changing or how. I could tell I was though.
My wolf was only two colors now—which I was going to keep to myself as long as possible. I knew I would need to keep any advantages I was gaining to myself because I was up against wolves who’d been trained to fight as Alpha females whereas I’d spent my life serving their kind instead.
No one stopped me from going over to the nearest arena to watch the first rounds of fighting. My round was listed as fourth which gave me time to see what others chose to do during their bouts. I hoped to learn something about fighting in human form. I’d always run when chased before.
Running wasn’t an option during the Wolfen Games. I’d bring shame on my family and on Justin as his mate which I absolutely would not do.
The first female match had both contestants fighting as wolves. They entered the arena in their wolfen forms and snapped, snarled, and snatched at one another until one finally drew blood off the other, ending the match.
I hadn’t known they’d end a match for first blood. One of the biggest fears people had regarding the Games was dying in the arena since it had happened before when contestants wouldn’t yield the victory to their opponent.
It was two matches later – right before mine was to begin- when I finally saw what I’d hoped to see: one contestant fighting as a wolf while the other kept standing on two feet.
People were cheering, shouting for both sides. I could tell the wolf would win within a few moments of the match starting.
The wolf was going for the human’s vulnerable limbs since a bite into a leg or arm would end the match quickly; the human was trying to get onto the wolf’s back which made no sense to me as her teeth and nails wouldn’t draw blood through a wolf’s pelt.
Both women were fast, but the wolf was faster. She snatched the win with a bite into her opponent’s forearm. The smell of her coppery blood sickened me.
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#Chapter 22 The Tournament Begins
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All I could think was I was going to be next to fail—except maybe I did know what the human had been trying to do.
As I entered the arena myself on two feet to stand opposite the solid white wall of wolf Donna made in her Snow White form, I realized I didn’t have to draw her blood if I could knock her out. She’d lose by default if I could cause her to fall unconscious.
Wolves and humans alike needed to breathe. I would wrap my arms and legs around her throat and squeeze until she stopped moving.
I knew it was unlikely I would be faster or stronger than her, but I could hold on. Years of serving as my family’s maid and being tormented by others from my age bracket had made my limbs very reliable.
I carried heavy trays and ran for miles. I could steal the breath from Donna. I would do it for Justin—and I would do it for me because I could see she thought she should have had my mate when Justin was destined to be mine by right of the Moon Goddess.
Fear made me fast as I darted away from the snaps of Donna’s pointed muzzle. I knew she’d tear a chunk from me if I let her get her teeth in. She wouldn’t care if I scarred.
Her snarls were fearsome enough to make me believe she would go for my throat rather than an arm or leg.
I knew she had wanted Justin badly. She’d been so proud, so sure of herself even tied up with the rest of us tributes in the hall. I’d seen the shock on her face when Justin had thrown her from his room.
Would she try to hurt me badly out of wounded pride? Kill me to see if she could become my Lycan’s second chance hate?
Adrenaline made me fast as I dodged and darted away from her. I knew I couldn’t let her get too close to me yet I had to get close enough to climb onto her back where she couldn’t bite me.
I used every sense to track her movements until I was able to see an opening to leap onto her back. Her thick fur was luxurious and formidable beneath my bare legs; I wrapped first my legs around her throat and then my arms.
Latching myself onto her with the tenacity of a giant squid until she stopped bucking beneath me to resort in wriggling around on the dirt. I kept my limbs wrapped around her throat until Donna went still, fallen unconscious from lack of air, then I got off her and raised my hands in the air to a surprising number of cheers.
Donna might not have as many friends at court as she thought! Or they were cheering for me because I was the mate of the Last Lycan.
I didn’t care why they celebrated my victory, only that they did.
Justin pushed through the crowd as they announced my name as victor. He pulled me over the edge of the arena into his arms for a deep kiss right in front of everyone.
We earned more cheers for our kiss than any pair had managed for their arena match. I felt my face heat, but I was happy, too.
Let them watch. They couldn’t come between my Lycan mate and me. We were a team. I was going to do well in these Games to prove I was worthy to stand at Justin’s side.
Better than having beaten Donna in my match was the knowledge I’d done it without using my wolf.
No one was any wiser about how I was changing. I was a bicolor instead of a tricolor now. If I kept sinking deeper into my mating with Justin, would I become a pure white wolf? Was I going to get the chance to be a Snow White myself? 2
#Chapter 22 The Tournament Begins
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Donna had shifted back to her human form when she’d lost consciousness. A robe was draped over her as she was escorted out of the arena; I was surprised to see Randy helping her only to realize she had become involved with his father which must be a strange situation for him.
All my thoughts were taken away from my fallen enemy when Justin pulled me into another scorching kiss.
His huge hands cupped my bottom to lift me right off my feet to kiss me deeper. I fell under the spell of the desire I always felt for him, forgetting the crowd was even there as the cheers were only so much noise when I was lost in his arms.
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