Page 10 of Bait Wolf
As always, I fixed my gaze on my opponent, a stillness settling over me.
Lambert really was nervous. I could see it from here. The fear in his eyes when his unsteady gaze flickered in my direction filled me with confidence and eagerness. He knew he was going to win but he still didn’t trust me, and I was going to use that. I was going to hurt him first, just for being a part of this.
The omega’s entrance opened.
Hurry up, I thought.Get this stupid ritual over with and let us fight!
There was a moment’s pause and then, finally, the omega entered.
And everything changed.
He was a slight creature, probably tall, but hunched and limping, a mass of swarthy skin and jagged, bulging bones. He tripped into the ring as though he was pushed into it, which was probably exactly the case, and he swung around, facing Lambert first. Then, just as swiftly, turned to face me.
He looked me straight in the eye. His glittering, fiery orange, which seemed to actually flicker in the light, met my somber gray.
The omega was like a mouse placed in a cat’s trap, weak and delicate, and yet he tilted his chin up, a defiant look in those striking eyes like he wasn’t completely out of his league.
Dumbstruck, I stared, unable to look away as my whole world tilted. The omega continued to turn, trying to keep each of us in his sight while the crowd roared.
There were three things that I knew at that moment. First, the omega was planning to fight back. If either of us got too close to him, or if he ended up in the crossfire of our fight, he would give back as much as he could. Second, he was prepared to die right here and now. And third, I would give his own life to save him because we were fated mates.
I’d heard stories that sounded like they were fairy tales, of fated mates finding each other and knowing at first glance that their souls were connected and their love eternal. All my life, I’d never understood how they reallyknew. Now I did.
Suddenly a loud bell signified the start of the fight. The gates swung open.
Lambert emerged into the ring, intent on the omega, who backed away, eying us both with full-blown fear in his eyes.
I couldn’t let the other alpha near my omega.
That was the last conscious thought I had.
ChapterFive
Ember
The alphas burst into the ring. I fell back, stumbling against the ropes, sure that they were going to jump me as one.
The one they’d called the Savagedidrun straight for me.
The weak ones always did. But the other one, the Redwood, beat him.
Already against the ropes, I ducked down. I couldn’t shift in my state, but my claws managed to slice through my fingertips, ready to swipe—except that the Redwood’s back was to me.
Shocked, I stared at him, unsure for a moment of what was happening. Then I realized: The Redwood was standing like a shield between me and the other alpha.
Usually, when an alpha wanted to show his dominance, that meant winning the omega, claiming them with bites and scenting, although they didn’t often get to that stage during a fight. In this moment, it almost looked like the Redwood wasprotectingme.
It didn’t make any sense, but each way the Savage moved, the Redwood met him.
Still in their human forms, they paced, the Redwood matching each move the Savage made. Their gazes were locked, reading each other intently.
The tension in the air was thick, and the crowd felt it. I could hear the commentators’ urgent voices. Something about how they’d never seen the Redwood like this. Beyond them, the crowd reacted audibly to every sudden movement.
I stayed low, crouched small but alert, adrenaline pumping through my body. I didn’t know what was happening exactly, except that soon, one of them would snap and I would be stuck in here with them.
Sure enough, with a frustrated growl, the Savage transformed. Fur sprang from his skin, his body distorting into a large, ferocious wolf. As soon as he did, the Redwood followed his lead, shifting into his wolf, dusky gray, huge, and even angrier.
It was hard to tell who jumped first, the Savage or the Redwood, but both lunged forward.
