Page 22 of Rejected By a Wolf

“I’ll see you after,” Casper told her a moment before she began making her way to the tunnel, separating herself from him.

She wondered if Antonio would aid her in the upcoming battle or if she made a serious mistake by foolishly giving a madman a heads up he didn’t need. The fear she just witnessed in Casper’s eyes made her believe the latter was probably true.

She might have seriously screwed up, and if she did she could do nothing now but live with the consequences of her actions, however long that may be.

Chapter Fourteen

Sophia Brenning

Not one immortal standing around Sophia showed any hint of fear. Why would they? They had no idea what they were walking into. They all believed tonight was going to be a simple ceremony to welcome these warriors. In their minds, the battles were not starting until tomorrow.

They had no idea.

But there was one other immortal waiting in these tunnels who was prepared for tonight’s surprise, and Sophia wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not.

She weaved through the mess of competitors, searching for that werewolf. When she noticed a man who towered over everyone else, standing by the gate that led to the battlefield, she immediately knew it was Antonio. He really was large, wasn’t he? He was clearly much larger than almost everyone here, save for a few demons.

Maybe she really did do something stupid when she told him about tonight. Only one way to tell, she supposed. She’d bother him until he somehow revealed his true agenda to her.

Hiking her shoulders back she made her way over to him, his full attention was set on the battlefield beyond the closed gate.

When she came to stand at his side he glanced at her, but quickly returned his gaze to the arena. “You always seem to find me, don’t you?”

“Is that a bad thing?” She looked up to him, trying to decipher his emotions but failing completely. She was never good at reading people’s faces.

“I’m not sure.”

“At least you’re honest. I’ll give you that.” Anxiety began creeping up her spine, realization that he most likely wasn’t going to stick to his word, hitting her.

“The field is muddy.” His eyes narrowed.

Itwasmuddy.She took note of that, knowing she needed to adjust her strategy accordingly.

What strategy?Sophia deflated. She knew nothing of fighting among hundreds, all on a mission to kill her. The last time she was up against so many immortals at once she lost both her parents and her home. She lost everything.

Sophia tried to rid herself of those thoughts. Right now wasn’t the right time to grieve. She needed to remain strong or risk dying.

“Elaron had a lot of rain last week,” she explained. Powerful storms had afflicted Elaron for days. Though she loved looking through her bedroom window and watching the rough seas storms, she despised rain. It was so depressing.

And now the rain had gifted her with mud. Just perfect for someone as small as her.

He gave a curt nod, his calculating eyes examining the battlefield ahead of them.

He had the eyes of a warrior. Of a killer. Maybe placing her trust in him was a mistake. A mistake so bad it would be the last one she ever made.

He’s going to kill me,the thought threatened her sanity.

But holding onto hope, she continued speaking with him, deciding to wean her way into his heart enough to convince himnotto kill her tonight. “I was warned to stay away from you, you know?”

“Were you?”

“Turns out you’re a favorite here.” Based off what Casper told her, the odds were in his favor.

“Hmm.”

Her palms began sweating. This conversation wasn’t settling her mindat all.“Yesterday you told me you’re trying to bring back someone important from your past. You said that’s why you’re competing. Who are you trying to save?”

His body tensed, revealing how uncomfortable her question made him. “Doesn’t matter.”