Page 32 of Aries Mated

TJ

Ipaused, just for a second, to take a break, admitting to myself that this track was actually a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Although that was probably because I hadn’t been training between parkour rounds anywhere near as much as I should have been. I’d been very much distracted. Thank goodness I wasn’t still headed for that elusive second place, because I wasn’t sure I stood a chance anymore. But then slacking without looking like I was trying to lose wasn’t easy either.

“Hey, buddy.” Kai clapped me on the back as he caught up with me. “Everything okay? You look like you have run out of steam.”

I glanced around, glad that this part of the track was mostly hidden from view. We didn’t need to wind the crowd up by fraternizing in the middle of a trail, it could upset both of our clans. Truth be told, with everything going on around us, I wasn’t sure I cared at all if any of the other contestants could see. It wouldn’t be too long until I was out of here anyway. All of us were planning to bow out. We hadn’t officially solidified our harem with Maeve with words, but we knew it was there. Nothing would make me happier.

“Ten more laps to go,” I reminded Kai pointedly, especially since he was currently way too high up on the leader board for my liking. “I don’t want to cross the finish line just yet. I want to…savor every minute of my last game.”

Kai smiled knowingly at me. “Yeah, the crowd is pretty fierce today. They are loving it.”

If I were interested in staying in the games, the electricity in the air would have surged me forward. I would have loved the ability to channel their energy into my own. But that wasn’t where my heart lay anymore. All I wanted was to be with Maeve and Sol. I couldn’t wait to run to them afterward and to start our brand new life together, whatever that might end up looking like. I usually knew one day to the next what was going to occur, but this was different. I had no idea and I liked that a lot. It was fun, thrilling, and very exciting.

“Sol, most of all,” Kai commented as if he could read my mind. “That sweet little boy is having the best time.”

“Thank goodness he’s getting much better at controlling his bear. It must be more fun for him to watch now without having to worry about the mood around him tipping him over the edge.”

Sol really was doing much better, and I loved how I had been a part of that. I was a part of his history now, which was just so cool. I never realized how much of an effect that would have on me until it happened.

All of a sudden, a whizz of players raced past us. Jason, with Drew not far behind. They might have been going really fast, but that didn’t mean I missed the expression on Drew’s face. He was flooded with anger, with rage, and he wanted to catch Jason. It didn’t seem like Drew’s eyes were on the prize at all, he wasn’t thinking about the finish line. He looked like he had revenge on his mind. I swallowed hard and glanced at Kai, who had the same shocked expression as me.

“There’s no need for that,” Kai half whispered. “This arena is big enough for us all to maneuver around to hit our check points without getting too close.”

“Yeah, because it’s supposed to be safe…”

Sly, Drew, and the Unaligned Clan clearly didn’t have safety in their minds. They had always been that way, but it had gotten so much worse since Drew and Alek crashed in the final round of the motorbike racing. It knocked Alek out the competition and put Drew in last place, which had been a true shock because they were predicted to be racing through the whole competition to first place. Clearly, Drew had a chip on his shoulder about that and wanted to take it out on Jason. The rumors of him and Princess Azariyah were obviously pissing him off.

“Shit, guys, we need to move,” Matt cried as he caught up to us, sheer panic in his eyes. “Drew is going to do something to Jason. We need to help him. I think he’s planning to hurt him.”

Our own plan flew out the window as Kai and I immediately snapped in to action to help Matt save Jason. When it came to the Unaligned Clan and violence, all of the Zodiac Clans were on the same side. There was no way we could let Drew do something to Jason. The Bear King had allowed Sly to get away with kidnapping his daughter for reasons that none of us could understand, so there was no telling what Drew thought he could get away with.

We ran until the two of them were in sight. Drew and Jason who were definitely in some battle of their own. I nodded to Kai, indicating that he go left, while I went right and Matt kept going forward so we could go at Drew from different angles so he couldn’t get away. I wanted to attempt to talk him down, or at least distract him.

“Drew, no.” He whipped his head around to me very quickly. “Don’t do this. Play fair. You don’t want to win by cheating.”

Was that going to get through to him? Did Drew have a good bone in his body? I had no idea how much of his hatred was him, and how much of it was just learned behavior from his father. If it was that, then he could easily turn things around, right? But that theory vanished as Drew snickered and leaped across two structures before jumping down right on top of Jason, knocking him off his feet.Fuck. Drew didn’t even bother to stop, he simply whizzed past Jason, laughing almost maniacally. What an asshole.

“Jason,” I called out as I reached to grab him, but he couldn’t seem to stand. Drew knew what he was fucking doing. He had Jason stumbling and slipping off the edge of this cliff-like structure. The fall was long, and it would beverydamaging if Jason went down. There was no way he would be able to continue with the Astro Games. If he loved Princess Azariyah like I loved Maeve, he deserved the chance to be with her. “I got you.”

I grabbed Jason’s hand as he slipped over the edge, but even as I slammed down to the ground, I couldn’t tug him back up. Jason was huge and basically dead weight. I just couldn’t drag him up. I muttered expletives as I desperately wracked my brain to come up with a solution, and fast. I knew Sol was out there in the crowd, and that Jason was his favorite competitor. I didn’t want that poor boy to be sad and know it was my fault because I let him fall. I glanced around, but I couldn’t see Kai or Matt. I could only assume they had continued going after Drew to try to stop him from getting away with this, which meant I was very much on my own. Whatever I was going to do here, I had to do it on my own.

Shit, Jason was slipping, my grip on his hand loosening. I needed to do something fast. The problem was there was only one solution, and it would be bad for me. This was going to be my last game anyway, so disqualification wasn’t the end of the world, but it would still let people down. But I couldn’t think of my clan right now when there was a man here who really needed me. If I didn’t act, he would likely fall and break a fuck ton of his bones. I didn’t have a choice, it was the right thing to do. Without any more hesitation, I went from part shift to full shift, letting my pale brown bear free. It was almost a relief, even though I knew it wasn’t something I was allowed to do here, because my bear could pull Jason up easily. It wasn’t any trouble whatsoever.

“Wow,” Jason gasped when he was finally out of harm’s way. “Thanks.”

I nodded at him, basically telling him to run, which, thankfully, he did. I blew out a breath of relief as I shifted back, knowing I had at least given him a shot. I leaned forward, trying my hardest to catch my breath, knowing I wasn’t even going to finish my last game on a high note. There was no point in finishing it at all. I shifted, so I was done. But at least I had done the right thing. I could be safe in the knowledge that I had done that much.

“TJ, you shifted.” Kai caught my eye and he was stunned. “You did that to save Jason. You really are a bad ass.”

I let out a weak little laugh. “Well, I couldn’t exactly just let him fall. Not when it wasn’t even his fault.”

“We lost sight of Drew,” Matt joined in. “That piece of shit. I really hope he doesn’t win.”

“He has a leg up on Jason now, but Jason has determination,” I said, assuming his determination was love. “Anyway, I need to get out of here now. I’m going to leave the track since I’ve been disqualified anyway.”

Matt and Kai exchanged a look, then Matt said, “Yeah, us too.”

My eyes popped wide. “What are you talking about? You still need to finish…”

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