Page 91 of Game of Destiny
“Thank you. And no, you haven’t. I bought it for the games.”
“Hm,” he said and took a step closer. I knew where we were heading and I also knew that if I let it get to that point, I would not be able to stop. I gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.
“Only twenty days left,” I told him.
“Are you keeping count on the days, Red?” he asked.
“I am. You're not?” I told him.
“No. I’m counting down the hours,” he said, placed a kiss on my forehead and took a step back.
Chapter 45
Amie
It was time for the fourth game and we all gathered at the stadium, I got a feeling of familiarity. We had done this before, and we had done well. We sat in our usual seats and waited for the clock to turn nine. On the dot, the speaker switched on.
“Welcome to the fourth game. Today’s game will be played by all the packs at the same time. It will focus on strength, agility and tactical planning. Everyone will have a flag tied to your waist with a symbol for your pack on it. Your objective is to keep your own flags and steal as many from the other packs as possible. Once you lose your flag, you can no longer participate and have to join the onlookers. All the flags you have gathered will be given over if your flag is lost. Using teeth or claws is forbidden. It is allowed to shift, but if you lose your flag while doing so, you will be out. The game will be ongoing for two hours. We will now take you to the area in which it will take place. If you stray outside the designated area, you will be disqualified. You have the time while we transport you to work out your tactics and tenminutes when you get there to secure the flags. When the ten minutes are up, the game will begin.” We looked at each other.
‘This will be chaos,’ Sam mindlinked us as we made our way to the waiting bus.
‘Any idea on how we will handle it?’ Finlay asked.
‘We can go on the offensive and try to catch a lot of flags, or we can go defensive and make sure no one gets ours,’ Jake said.
‘I don’t think we can stay defensive, we won’t collect too many flags that way,’ I mused. ‘Ramses and I are quick and stealthy. What if the three of you find a good place to stay defensive, keep an eye out for easy targets and make sure we at least have your flags. Ramses and I will go on the defensive and collect flags. We can then pass them on to you so we don’t risk losing them,’ I suggested.
‘I don’t know,’ Finlay linked.
‘It’s a brilliant plan,’ Jake said, oblivious to why Finlay was hesitant.
‘I agree with Jake,’ Sam said with a grin.
‘If we do, you can’t shift with the colour of your wolf,’ Ramses said.
‘That’s a good idea!’ I told him.
‘I know, red stands out like a sore thumb. They will spot you straight away,’ he agreed.
‘And that is what we want,’ I told him.
‘What?’ all the others linked as one.
‘I will shift and use my colour to put the focus on me. Ramses will sneak up and get their flags. Easy-peasy,’ I explained.
‘It sounds too easy,’ Ramses said.
‘Agreed,’ Finlay said.
‘They said we can’t use our teeth or claws, which means that changing would be fairly useless. But for me it will be very useful,’ I told them.
‘I think it’s worth a try,’ Sam decided. Everyone but Finlay nodded.
‘No unnecessary risks?’ he asked me in a private mindlink.
‘Promise,’ I told him.
‘Sounds like we have a plan,’ he told all of us. When we arrived in the area, once again marked out by scent, we received our flags. We had a deep blue flag with a silhouette of a mountain in white printed on it. I stripped and shifted. Finlay knelt by my side and tied the flag around my waist. As I was planning to stay shifted through the game, I didn’t need to worry about the rope fitting my human shape as well. We made sure it was a good fit for my wolf. I got quite a few stares from the packs closest to us. My unusual fur drew attention.
