away tears. I wouldn’t cry. I never cried. Crying didn’t solve anything. It just made me look splotchy and gave me red eyes.
“Will there be weapons?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Yeah, but it depends on what the clients want to see. The highest bidders can request which ones we use,” said Reed.
I rolled my head, my brain buzzing at the implications. “Great.”
“Don’t get too excited. There are no weapons that could be launched out of the arena at the audience.”
“No, of course not. That would be far too easy.”
Rawson smiled. “Yeah, it would. I’ve fought with knives, daggers, staffs, whips, an axe; all that kind of thing. I even had a halberd at one fight.”
“Right.” A scowl creased my face. Oh, this just got better and better. Another thought occurred to me. “Are the fights always one on one?”
Reed inhaled, his nostrils flaring and his wolf showing. “No. If the clients want a full on massacre and pay enough, our people are literally thrown to each other's wolves.”
“Gods, that must be carnage, especially in Were form.” Connor had told me and his brothers that Were form would be forced on us all. I wasn’t worried, I trusted my wolf, but for some who had been stuck in here for years and not shifted, it would be torture. The pain of half-shifted bones, the stench of blood and the need to fully release their animal would most likely drive them mad.
I sighed not wanting to think about it any more. If I exhausted myself, maybe I would just sleep without thinking. “Weapons, then?” The storage cupboard was wide open, a vast array of training weapons stacked up. I wasn’t strong enough to wield an axe with any skill or speed—so I picked up the heaviest wooden axe I could see. That’s right. Meet your demons head on. I grinned and turned to Lionel. “Ready for a two on one?”
He winked, his smile feral. “Oh, yeah. You up for it pretty boy?” he asked Reed.
Reed rolled his eyes, but there was definitely a challenge shining in them.
I smirked. There was the alpha who was strong enough to fight by Connor’s side.
Myles, who was watching Shannon fight, turned our way when we all stepped in the ring.
“Do you know how to use that?” Rawson asked skeptically. He pulled the axe from my hand and swung it a few times, studying it like he was eying up a potential enemy.
I shrugged. “Not so much, but I can’t think of a better time to learn.”
Rawson grinned and handed it back, looking more like his old self today, less pale, less tired and way more alpha. He wasn’t shaking and his eyes were a clear steel grey that had an astute gleam in them. Not being Zander’s, or the warden’s, bitch agreed with him. I stretched up and kissed his cheek.
He raised his brows. “What was that for?”
I stepped back and swung the axe. Fire would help me survive, but she couldn’t stop my family and new friends from dying. “Because I wanted to. And sometimes life is too short not to tell people how much you love them and that you appreciate everything they’ve done for you. So, thanks.” I smiled and shrugged, but my voice was thick.
His throat bobbed and he inhaled deeply through his nose, his eyes darkening to a slate grey. “Yeah, that it is. And it was mine and Lyss’s pleasure,” he said hoarsely.
I looked down, my heart aching for them. How he had survived without her, I couldn’t even imagine. I rubbed at my chest, unable to comprehend that loss. Connor’s face came to mind. My belly tightened and I bit my lip. I would not lose him. Lionel and Reed seemed to sense my mood. Both lowered their stances, and attacked.
After training was done for the day, I hung out with Reed and the others in the west pack’s communal area, playing cards and talking strategies for the rings. It seemed D had been in the fight ring the most. I swallowed realising he’d beaten hundreds to still be alive and sitting with us. My respect swelled for all of these males. They had all been chosen at some point and had ultimately triumphed over their opponents. They all had blood on their hands, but it wasn’t by choice.
“The final is not in a cage,” D informed me as we played cards. “Or at least it wasn’t last time. It was just in a plain old boxing ring.”
“They don’t