Page 52 of Malcolm

Sighing, Eliza stood and took in the full effect of the gown with its trailing sleeves and bejeweled belt—fake, of course, at least she hoped so. Her gown was a deep jeweled green, and the sewing on the collar that exposed her shoulders was truly beautiful. She felt like a princess or, better yet, a queen.

“Now, doesn’t she look like an Alpha’s girl?” Lilly whispered to Morgan and Agnes.

Eliza shot her an annoyed look, but shortly after, she laughed. “I never thought I would look so good in a medieval gown.”

“Exactly,” Lilly said, brushing a hand down her side, “it does wonders for my figure.”

Agnes laughed. Bending, she grabbed the edge of her gown and lifted it, showing her shapewear underneath, “and a few tucks and ends, too.”

All four laughed before Agnes checked her wristwatch and rushed them out of the cabin.

Together, they walked a few blocks before they arrived at what looked like a stadium. A few people were dressed in regular clothes. She gave Agness a hard side-eye which the woman ignored. Morgan took her arm. “Don’t be mad; we wanted to wear our traditional clothes.”

Eliza snorted, “Well, good thing we aren’t the only ones.” She noticed other people wearing traditional garb, a few children ran here and there in period costumes. They walked past the entrance to the top of the steps that led below.

Seeing just how many people were waking around below stirred something in her. The males were wearing their fur cloaks, along with their kilts. Some wore braies while others were bared-legged. A few had leather straps covering their chest and arms. All clan members had a broach of a wolf swallowing a moon. As she walked down the steps, she felt eyes on her as she was followed by Agnes, Morgan and Lilly. The attention felt odd enough for her to stop at the bottom step and glanced behind her.

“What are they looking at?” She asked, facing forward once more.

“Well, I’m thinking the people are looking at you,” Lilly said, coming to her side. “They’ve been whispering about who will take the title of Alpha. So, the women who are attached to the men trying out are being observed to see if they are worthy of being a lady.”

“Pfft, well, I’m not one of them,” Eliza said as she continued through the crowd. Looking around, she noticed that a few tables had food and drink, where a few older women were laughing and handing cups out. “Perfect.”

She quickly ran over to the table that had something like wine. She asked for one cup and eagerly took it. The wine tasted like spice and berry. It filled her belly and made her lick her lips at the taste of the tart. “Oh, that’s good.”

“Yes, it is,” Agnes said as she grabbed a cup too. “That’s why it’s called ‘wicked.’ You’ll be four cups in before you know it, asking for some random numbers.”

Eliza could understand that the taste made her crave more before she finished her first cup. She spotted a crowd in the distance. She squinted just as a man was lifted in the air, which was followed by a roar as his body fell back to the ground with a loud thud.

“Welp, there goes one candidate for Alpha,” Morgan said, chewing what looked like smoked jerky. “I guess they’ve gotten the pit battles over with.”

“I want to get a closer look, “Lilly said with excitement; all four of them moved toward what looked like a circle of sand. The crowd was thicker the closer they got to the ring, and just as they broke the circle, a full-grown man was tossed across her line of sight.

Her bottom jaw dropped as the thrown man landed easily, sliding back a bit. His crouched form looked dangerous, and a tail flicked back and forth behind him. Before he growled and moved forward with a speed that caused the bottom of her dress to lift from the wind that rushed past before he slammed into his opponent once more.

She watched as the two grappled, their veins and muscles popping. Men and women alike yelled out encouragement as well as the occasional bet. She found herself swept up by the good cheer and yelling just as loudly as the others, she barely had finished screaming when the smaller of the two, climbed the large male, wrapped his legs around the man’s neck, and tossed himself down using his leg strength alone he pulled the giant down and flipped so hard she thought he’d broken the large male's neck. He landed in a crouch before he stood, raising his hand in the air. The cheer that rose caused her to cover her ears.

“Oh look, they're starting another one,” Morgan shouted.

“Can I get a refill first,” Lilly asked as they left the fight. “I want another ‘wicked,’” she said with a saucy wink.

Eliza rolled her eyes. “You’ve already reached wicked, love.”

Lily scoffed. “I am nowhere near Agnes. Have you seen the way she and Harry get on?”

“Oh, don’t be putting me and my mans business out there,” Agnes said once again, attempting a Scottish accent, only to giveup with a sigh. “I sound weird even to my own ears. I’ll just hit some sense into you.”

Lilly avoided the swipe made for her and ran behind Eliza, who tried but failed to shake the annoying young woman. The three were laughing as Morgan slipped away and returned with her third helping of jerky.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

The masculine voices stopped the four women in their tracks as Lilly straightened and Agnes turned around. Eliza looked up, only to feel her mouth drop. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in Malcolm in full wolf regalia. The only word that managed to slip out was, “Wow.”

“Yeah, right there with you,” Lilly said, admiration clear in her voice.

Hearing this forced Eliza to close her mouth with a click. She’d known Malcolm was hot, like looking at the man was like looking at a plate of chocolates, but she hadn’t known it had a grade. She’d seen him when he’d left the elder meeting in his traditional clothes, but something was different this time he looked…right.

He looked like a warrior from a time gone by; his legs were muscular, and the boots he wore came up to mid-calf. The plaid he wore, was wrapped around his hips and roped up, two braids of leather fell over his right shoulder, with one pinned into place with his clan broach. Across his chest was a band, and his sleeves were made of raw brown leather. The bear cloak fell majestically over his shoulders, and his hair was curly, but someone had added a few braids here and there.

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