words to Ksenia had been kind: “You earned the win, sister. I’m so sorry they won’t give it to you. Let me know if you need my help staying in the League, because I’d be honored to fight you again.”
But would that even happen now that she’d broken a fundamental rule of the sport?
Deep within, her dragon made an apologetic mewl. She’d wanted to be in on the fun, and the only way to let her have that was to fully shift. Except it hadn’t been her dragon doing all the heaviest training.
While some of the skills transferred between her human form and her dragon, flight combat wasn’t something Ksenia was experienced with. She’d never trained for it, so her dragon’s reflexes on that count weren’t enough. And faced with a powerful creature like Midnight Star shooting right for her, she’d flinched. That was when her cloaking ability had manifested. It had been a reflex of her dragon, done out of a subconscious sense of self-preservation.
“I don’t blame you,” she said inwardly to appease the penitent beast. It helped ease some of the sick churning in her belly. There was nothing to do but press on. Perhaps she wouldn’t be kicked out of the League entirely and could enter the duo tournament that was due to begin in a couple more weeks. If only she could find a partner.
She was in a better frame of mind when she made it back to her locker to find her three mates sitting on the bench with grave expressions.
“It’s done, so can we just move past it now? Jake, what happens next?”
Jake stood up and took a deep breath, rubbing his hands together. “Well, there will be a hearing about whether or not to ban you from the League. I can’t imagine they will, since it’s a minor offense. They usually only go to that extreme if you’ve willfully endangered yourself or other players.”
“Do they have to do that often? Do people break the rules that badly?”
The guys shared a glance, and Jake said, “There was a whole doping scandal that rocked the League a couple years back. A few champions died. Others were gravely injured and didn’t think they’d ever fight again. That’s when Nessa and Pomona started working on their diet plan, to help the survivors get back into fighting shape.”
Teague narrowed his eyes. “But you should know all this already. It’s not like the media was quiet about it.”
Gunther leaned over and placed a hand on Teague’s shoulder, urging him to silence.
“What the fuck?” Teague snapped at his partner. “I know you’re thinking it. Jake too. She’s lying to us about where she’s from. Not to mention, how can she fucking do what she did? Dragons who can cloak themselves are a fucking myth.”
“It isn’t lying if she never actually told us anything,” Jake said. “We’ve accepted her without knowing because what we do know is more than enough. She’s our mate.”
Teague stood up and glared around at them all. “It would be one thing if that’s all she was, but she’s more than that. If there’s anything working with Silver Fangs taught us, it has to be to not just let that bullshit fly. We’re risking our careers every time we look the other way. Unless you guys are ready to just give it all up, we have to know the truth.”
Ksenia watched the exchange with a growing sense of dread. She couldn’t keep holding back with them now. Not after what they’d seen.
Gunther and Jake spent the next few minutes trying to talk Teague down while she slipped into her sweats. Finally she couldn’t take it any longer.
“Teague is right.”
The words took a second to register with the three arguing men, but after a second, they went silent and stared at her. Teague’s eyebrows shot up.
“Yeah? I mean, I know I am, but would you care to elaborate?”
She finished packing her combat suit in her bag and zipped it up, then nodded. “I will. I’ll tell you everything, but not until we’re home and Gunther feeds me, if that’s okay.”
“Your wish is my command,” the big blond bear said, offering her a bow and then gesturing at the door.
Jacob stopped when they stepped through the front door, turning to the console just inside where a flashing light indicated they had an urgent message. Ksenia held her breath, and they all stared while he tapped the screen to read it. She didn’t need more bad news piled on an