Page 33 of Aries Mated

“No way,” Kai insisted. “We’ll do it with you. In protest.”

“But…”

Both of them shook their heads to silence me.

“You really want to come with me?”

They didn’t have to, they probably shouldn’t, considering they were likely going to get in trouble with their clans, but at the same time, we were likely at the bottom now anyway, and it seemed pointless to try. It was actually a relief to know that I didn’t have to walk off this track in shame alone. I would have two incredible people with me. I kind of wished that Atlas was here too, but I had no idea where he was on the track. I lost sight of him real early on in the race. We would see him later. Together, Kai, Matt, and I left the track. We headed into the crowd and quickly located Maeve and Sol. There was no one else any of us wanted to see, everyone else might as well have not been there at all.

“You saved Jason!” Sol cheered with so much excitement that I honestly didn’t care what anyone else thought of me.

“Why?” Maeve begged. “What are you all doing here?”

I could see it in her eyes though. Confusion, but a little spark of something else roiling in her gaze as well. Hope. This was it. Time for me to say something.

“Maeve.” I took her hands in mine. “We don’t want to compete in the Astro Games anymore. There is no point because we want to be with you. Weallwant to be with you if that’s what you want as well.”

Her eyes shone with tears, happy tears. I desperately needed to take her in my arms because it really did seem like everything was going to be okay…

“Mom!” Sol screamed as a collective gasp filled the arena. “Look!”

I spun around to see something horrible happening. A repeat of what happened inside the track, Drew knocking down another competitor with a big smirk on his face. But this time there was no one to save the man from falling. I was here, far away from the disaster, and the person couldn’t even grip anything to stop himself from tumbling. There was nothing anyone could do but watch in absolute horror. My blood ran ice cold as I realized it was Atlas who had been violently attacked.

Chapter 21 Maeve

Crack.That sound kept haunting me, remaining in my brain like a gunshot, as I paced outside of the medic tent, waiting to find out what had happened to Atlas. That crack was his bones. Something broke in him and I could hardly stand it. The worst-case scenario kept flowing through my brain and it was making me feel sick. The absolute best moment of my life had very quickly become the worst moment and I just couldn’t stomach it. What the hell was happening in there? Why couldn’t someone just tell me?

“Hey, are you okay?” I twisted quickly as an unfamiliar voice spoke softly to me. “Sorry, I just thought I would check in on you. I brought a mug of coffee with me…”

My heart sunk. It was Karly, the queen of morning TV. I didn’t want to talk to anyone from the press right now about anything. The last thing I wanted was to have any of my comments put on the news. I didn’t know what sort of investigative journalist Karly was, but this didn’t seem like the ideal time for me to find out. I unwillingly took the mug of coffee from her, because I didn’t want to be rude, while I tried to decide how I was going to deal with this situation.

“Oh, don’t worry.” Her eyes widened as she seemed to read my mind. “I’m not here in an official capacity, just as support.”

I sipped the coffee. “Why? You know you don’t have to do that.”

Karly giggled. “I know, but I understand. I can see how special Atlas is to you. The other men as well. I know this must be really hard for you.”

“That obvious, huh?” I cocked a knowing eyebrow.

“Oh, no, nothing like that,” Karly reassured me. “I can just pick up on you having the same feelings that I’ve had. I’m sure you’ve seen that I am in a brand new harem of my own with people who were in the competition.”

So my suspicions were correct. I nodded gratefully because it was nice to have someone in my position. Her men were all eliminated in the last round under what I’d thought were strange circumstances until I realized that it was on purpose, for her. Unfortunately, I had no real idea what was going to happen with mine. People in the Astro Games usually gave it their all so they could win. This was probably going to be drama for the judges. But I couldn’t worry about any of that now. They were all off doing whatever they needed to with the Bear King, to see where they stood, and I was here with my mind spinning in a million different directions as I worried about what the hell was happening inside that medical tent with Atlas.

“I just want to know,” I complained to Karly, hoping she really did understand. “I wish I could just see that Atlas is okay. I’m going insane out here.”

“He’s strong, isn’t he?” Karly said as she reached out to hold my hand reassuringly. “He’ll pull through. Everything will be okay.”

A news broadcast burst up on the screen in front of us, capturing our attention for a moment. It was a distraction I really needed for a second. It was the latest rankings of the competition.TJ, Disqualified. Yeah, that was to be expected. He had fully shifted into his bear form, which was very much against the rules. Even though I knew it was what he wanted, it made my heart sink for him.Kai, Disqualified. Matt, Disqualified.I gasped with shock. Sure, they’d walked out, but it was still a surprise. Although, I didn’t know what I thought would happen. I sat up a little straighter when I noticed Atlas’s name on the screen next to the wordPending. What the hell did that mean? Atlas didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t finish the race, but that was because of Drew.

“Oh my God!” I erupted ashisname appeared. “Drew is at the top again! How is that fair? How does he keep getting away with things? We all saw him try to hurt Jason and Atlas, and that’s just fine? No way.” I was just so angry. “Why does the Bear King keep letting the Unaligned Clan get away with everything? He won’t even admit that Sly kidnapped Princess Azariyah…”

Shit. As Karly’s hand stiffened in mine, I realized what I’d said. The one thing the Bear King told me not to do was say anything about Sly and the kidnapping, and now I had said it to Karly. An investigative journalist. What a fucking mess.

“What did you say?” she hissed while leaning in a little closer. “Did you say that Sly kidnapped Princess Azariyah? I never thought the whole ‘misunderstanding’ thing made sense. I mean, why would the princess try to sneak off like that?”

Oh thank God. I didn’t need to answer any of Karly’s endless questions because I had already said too much. TJ, Kai, and Matt were here now. I didn’t know what Karly would do with the information I had given her, or what Bear King Mobius would do to me in response, but right now I was grateful to have these men here because they were the only ones who could understand what I was going through. I ran to them and flung my arms around them all in turn.

“You’re disqualified?” I asked them all. “I don’t know what to say to that, it’s just…”

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