and will result in death. Your Prime will hunt down any cowards and end their lives. Once the fighters have been announced, those of you chosen to entertain our guests will be identified. Again, there are to be no refusals.”
I didn’t react, but the depravity of this whole thing had my blood boiling. The volatile atmosphere fed my wolf, who growled, urging me to kill anyone who dared threaten us. The shadow in my soul fed on the danger, and no matter how I tried to hold it back, it infected my wolf. He bayed for the blood of our enemies, pushing my conscience and morals aside. Despite Ember’s influence, I let him. We were more likely to survive that way.
“Day one: pool one…”
We all stood and I waited, my body tense and ready. It took fifteen minutes for the first attack to happen. A wolf shifter from the north pack launched himself at me. Santa Cruz merely watched his pack member from the sidelines, clearly sacrificing him to weigh us up. I let Owen deal with it. The fight didn't last long. Once the attacker was pinned to the ground, writhing and swearing under Owen’s grip, my beta looked at me.
“You can’t make him go! I’ll kill you…” the attacker screeched, his eyes wild.
Pinching my eyebrows lower, I released a slow breath. This had to happen. If I let one live, the damned flood gates would open. I nodded, once.
Owen exhaled heavily and hung his head. But it was only for a moment. The snap of the male’s neck was loud even among the chorus of angry voices. Owen met my eyes and despite the ice in his gaze, he shook his head. Yeah, this whole situation was fucked up.
The guards looked down from above. Those bastards knew what would happen, that this always happened and they never lifted a finger to stop it. They just waited.
“Boss.” Owen nodded to the door.
Ember strode into the hall with Charlie by her side and I released a deep breath. Both Rawson and Stone had blood on their knuckles and looked pissed off, but otherwise okay. I nodded to Shannon, who walked on Ember’s other side. Her eyes flashed, her mouth was tight and her nostrils flared as they halted near me and she stood beside Stone, ready to unleash her vicious nature.
The voice through the speakers continued. One after the other names were announced.
A scream resounded through the hall and a woman fell to her knees as a man put his arm around her shoulders. One after the other yells and cries filled the corridors and halls of the prison. My wolf watched, not immune to their pain, no matter his strength, but he willed them not to be weak, to fight for their survival even if the odds were against them.
When Ember’s name was read out in group two Reed closed his eyes. His name had been announced only moments before. One of them would die. No matter the pain in my chest, I kept my face blank.
Hours passed as hundreds of names were announced. My men dealt with the attacks as they happened, then a whole group of distraught shifters ran into the gym. Shane, the alpha of the east wing ran in after them. He halted at the entrance and searched me out. I snarled at him. His expression dropped and his shoulders stooped, but he nodded at me. After a quick word with someone behind him, more shifters piled in. The bunch of distraught men and women had no idea they were surrounded.
Ember glanced at me, narrow-eyed. Without instruction, my brothers dropped into their fighting stances. I briefly closed my eyes, my soul ached at what we were about to do.
I pushed in front of my men, hoping to spare them this task. With a roar that shook the walls and even the platforms above us, I sent a wave of power strong enough to knock the distraught group down. Some fell to their knees, groaning as my power floored them.
Stay down. I narrowed my eyes on the attacking shifters. Some did, some crawled away, but some didn’t. They staggered to their feet and ran, yelling loudly, their fury palpable, their eyes wide and wild. There was no saving them now.
In moments we were breaking bones and necks.
I picked up the male who reached me first. Without hesitation, I rammed him down onto my thigh, snapping his spine. I threw him aside, even as his wolf’s power