Page 156 of Tides of Fate

He’s going to stand by and watch his beloved mate fight for his life against his abuser—to the death.

“Finnie. What am I doing?”

A warm arm curls around his shoulders as Finn guides him to the couch, where they can watch the orange-pink sunset reflecting off the lake through the window. Finn pulls off Jay’s borrowed slippers, helps him lie down, and then stretches out on top of him.

This time, it’s Finn’s shoulders that are broad enough to block out most of the setting sun’s light, and Jay whispers, “It’s going to be okay. Right?”

And it’s Jay who turns his face into his alpha’s neck, opening his legs so Finn can fall into the space between.

It’s not the way things usually go, but it’s not unwelcome.

Maybe someone will look for them soon, but it’s just them for now.

He can’t think beyond this, though, because it’s been a hell of a day, and it will only get harder. So, for now, Jay will enjoy this brief calm before the storm.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Nix

Remember, you deserve good things.

Nix remembers Artem saying those words as Nix had dragged his broken body into the waiting room of the ER. He remembers thinking that if he did, he certainly hadn’t had many of those recently.

But now, while he still wonders why exactly his new friend Artem had thought that, Nix is glad he does.

Deserve good things, that is.

It’s one of those feelings he allows himself today, locking most of the others—the fear, anger, and even love—away in the box. His wolf is remarkably helpful today, too—feeding him bursts of calm and confidence to distract him.

It will hopefully make things much easier.

After the police had left so abruptly the first day, they had fallen into the nest, exhausted and anxious. They’d woken exhausted and even more irritable, except maybe Leo, who kept everyone moving around each other with kisses, jokes, and sometimes, even a firm hand (Rowan).

Most upsetting for Nix was that his usually calm soulmate was still off-kilter, even after their talk the night before, and Rowan couldn’t help but press his buttons.

It was a strange change to their dynamic. Where there had always been teasing and pestering, it had always been good-natured and …well,sexy, for lack of a better word.

Over the last few days, however, there seemed to be genuine frustration and low-key aggression. More often than not, it turned sexual too, withwrestling turned into spontaneous make-out sessions.

Luca said it was exactly like the enemies-to-lovers trope in his favorite fanfiction—whatever that meant.

Regardless, it set everyone on edge. It made breakfast and the trip to the field an exercise in bitten tongues and even more disappointed frowns from Jamie.

They’d arrived at the field at the same time the combat was scheduled the next day. Gideon had wanted to get a feel for the angle of the sun and gauge the wind, searching for any advantage to help Nix’s strategy.

Nix understood why—why Gideon needed to find a degree of control where everything was beyond his control. It made little difference to him because, in the end, there was only one thing Nix could control: himself.

He knew what had to be done, and no matter how this played out, one thing was certain—Hayes would be carried out of that arena, and he would never be a threat to Nix’s pack again.

The ancient arena was about a thirty-minute walk through the woods from the makeshift parking area, and already, the authorities had cordoned off areas for official personnel.

The ancient arena itself looked largely…unchanged.

Unchanged fromwhat, Nix didn’t know, but something about it was familiar.

Maybe he’d seen photos at the library once, or maybe it was just that it looked similar to the hundreds of ancient amphitheaters around the world. Perhaps all those circles of stone and grass had similar ties to the Were community, too, and no one had made the connection yet.

It was beautiful in the early morning light, a small breeze blowing in the scents of the forest outside the high stands of stony, stadium-style seating. When they’d entered at one end, no one had stopped them as they spread out and walked the small field in a line—Nix, Gideon, and Jamie in the middle—under the watchful gaze of the guards standing off to the side.

They’d not even looked askance at Tsuki, who had stood to Nix’s right, between him and Gideon, never deviating and with her head held high.

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