Page 41 of Rogue Games

My back jerks as Samuel knocks me to the ground, my momentum toppling me off the path and into the trees. I raise my arm to protect myself just in time as I crash into a thick tree trunk and land in the mud.

“Fuck.” My cheek stings from the rough bark, and my forearm throbs with the force of the impact.

“If you have any sense, you’ll stay down.” Samuel’s grating laugh fades into the distance as he takes off.

Another wolf stops and shoots me a contemptuous look, before he follows behind his friend.

This is a fucking joke. Dean warned me that people wouldn’t play fair out here, but this is petty school yard stuff.

Brushing the pine needles off my palms, I clamber back to my feet and stuff down the desire to chase after Samuel and get my revenge. There’s no point. I’m not trying to beat him; I’m trying to beat the clock. Getting through to the next round is the main aim of the day, not showing some dumbass that he’s not as tough as he thinks he is.

I can do that later, but only if I get through.

“Are you okay? Need a hand?” Another contestant stops on the path, hand raised to his brow to shield his eyes from the sun. He glances around, unsure about the wisdom of being seen helping me but with a good enough moral compass that he can’t just ignore me.

“I’m fine. Honestly, keep going. Every second counts.” I give him a bright smile and wave him on, hoping my light tone distracts him from the bead of blood I can feel making its way down my cheek.

Looking torn, he turns away. “If I get the chance to shove him into the lake, I’ll do it. Just for you.”

“Deal,” I laugh, surprised by the generous offer, and take a few steps gingerly back toward the track. My hip aches, but other than that, I’m fine. It won’t hold me up. My shifter healing will kick in and have me as good as new in no time.

I can feel Wyatt’s concern as he draws closer, and I shake my head as he glares in the direction Samuel went, revenge in his eyes.

“Don’t do anything stupid. That’s what he wants. Just focus on getting around the course. Samuel will get his comeuppance.”

I believe Dean when he says there is always someone watching. I could feel it back at the rope climb. The stealth of his wolves is legendary. When we snuck in, we didn’t see them until they wanted us to. If Samuel thinks he can play dirty and get away with it, he’s underestimating his future colleagues. Something I doubt Blake or Dean will take kindly to.

Swallowing back a whimper of pain, I limp back onto the path and set off again, the ache in my back and face fading to nothing as my adrenaline kicks in. I’m not going to let that jackass ruin my chances. I’m determined to show Dean I’m not the kind of person who backs down from a challenge.

As I run, pushing as hard as I can, I focus on my mission, the real reason me and Wyatt are here, using my anger to push me on. When Alpha Graham Reynolds was killed, dethroned by Dean, his own son, in a vicious and bloody battle, instead of feeling worried for my mother, we rejoiced.

Finally, she was free. We expected her to come and find us, but she never did.

Knowing that Graham killed his previous mate, we wondered whether he’d done the same. Maybe she’d died years before.

Looking for evidence, we tried to cross the border once and were spared from punishment by an older enforcer who told us to leave and never come back.

After pleading with our old pack to find out where she was, word came through from Dean Reynolds himself that she was dead, killed by his father in the same violent rage that almost claimed the life of Maya.

Except I knew deep down that was a lie, because I could still feel her heart beating as if it was my own.

Which leaves only one reasonable explanation. She’s still trapped there, unable to leave because of Dean’s pack's ridiculous border controls. Nobody was allowed in, and clearly, nobody was allowed out.

Then the borders opened for this event, and it was an opportunity too good to miss.

Wyatt and I deserve the truth. For all we know, she’s still stuck here. I need to know where she is and what happened to her. And I’m determined to stay in this competition until I find out.

20

JAMIE

As we make our way around the lake, over rocky outcrops, up steep hills and overgrown paths, everyone is feeling the pace. I’ve passed some wolves from the waves ahead of us, and with the group now mixed, it’s hard to tell who’s doing well and who’s lagging behind. All we can do is keep moving.

I have to hand it to whoever devised this course, they’ve taken a real sadistic pleasure in causing us as much discomfort as possible.

We’re forced down steep, jagged rock faces, across a fast-flowing stream, then another relentless climb in heavy, wet trainers with our sodden clothes weighing us down. It’s been a mental battle to get this far, and without any distance markers, it’s impossible to get a real sense of how far we’ve travelled.

Or how much worse things can get.

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