MasukTraci’s POV The roar of the crowd echoed throughout the arena as the announcer called both fighters to the center of the ring. Thousands of people filled the stands surrounding us, their voices blending into one continuous wave of noise that bounced off the walls. Warriors from dozens of packs occupied the lower levels while officials and guests sat higher up, all of them waiting to see blood spilled before breakfast. Personally, I thought people needed better hobbies. I rolled my shoulders as I crossed the arena floor, ignoring the ones who openly stared. Most of them expected me to lose. Some looked amused. Others looked bored. A few appeared disappointed that I was still alive after yesterday. Haters were everywhere. Ugh. I absolutely hated that. As I stepped into the center of the ring, my eyes automatically drifted toward the royal viewing section. Yeah. That was a big mistake. The kings were sitting right there. And both of them were looking directly at me. “Damn, they
Zayden’s POV Sleep and I had a disagreement sometime around midnight. Actually, that’s not entirely true. Sleep showed up. But I guess I told it to leave. Then I spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling like an idiot. By the time dawn began creeping through the windows of my suite, I’d probably accumulated a grand total of two hours of rest. Maybe less. Every time I closed my eyes, my thoughts circled right back to the same place. Traci. The attack. The assassin. The damn tournament. And those women. Especially those women. The memory of Sienna standing in the dining room yesterday made irritation crawl up my spine all over again. She had somehow managed to drag her little entourage onto the royal floor just to cause problems. Oh no… Not for me. Well in the long run I guess it would be for me. Not for Raiden. But… For Traci. The woman had survived more in one day than most people survived in a lifetime, and somehow Sienna thought insulting her was a good idea. “You
Traci’s POV The second Raiden and Zayden disappeared through the suite doors, I screamed. Not because I was hurt. Not because I was tired. Not because somebody had tried to kill me. No. I screamed because I was annoyed. Deeply annoyed. The kind of annoyed that settled into your bones and refused to leave. “UGHHHH!” The sound echoed through the suite. Brody nearly dropped one of the bags sitting beside him. Sam blinked. Trey simply nodded like this was a perfectly reasonable response to the day we’d had. Honestly, maybe it was. I started pacing before I could stop myself. “They are impossible.” Aurora looked up. “Or maybe you’re being stubborn.” I pointed dramatically toward the door. “They hurt Corbin.” “It was a misunderstanding,” she sighed and shook her head. “Still counts,” I reminded her. “They apologized.” Aurora sighed heavily, the kind of sigh that suggested she was rapidly losing patience with me. I ignored her completely. “Zayden is an ass.” I paused and then
Raiden’s POV I got Traci and her group upstairs on the king’s floor and left immediately. The second the suite door closed behind them, I grabbed ahold of Zayden’s arm and pulled him along beside me. “Come on,” I muttered. “What?” he asked as he matched my pace. “We have things to do,” I tell him as I continued to walk down the hall. His eyes narrowed slightly before understanding settled across his face. “Oh.” A grin threatened to form. I pointed a finger at him. “Don’t.” “I’m not saying anything,” he smiled. Because we both knew exactly what I was thinking. There was no way in hell I was giving Traci another opportunity to finish that rejection before we had a chance to show her who we actually were. We’d already made enough mistakes with her. The last thing I needed was returning ten minutes later only to discover she’d successfully rejected us while nobody was paying attention. Honestly, with her attitude, I wouldn’t put it past her. Nyx chuckled. “She’s definitely st
Traci’s POV My head snapped toward the warrior standing in the doorway. Oh fuck. They actually found him. For a second I forgot all about the kings, the rejection, the wolfsbane, and the fact Corbin was still standing there looking like he’d lost a fight against an angry lawn mower. “Do you know who he is?” I asked immediately. The warrior shook his head. “No, miss.” Damn. Then what good is that going to do me. I scrunched up my forehead. “Where is he?” “They found him in the woods behind the palace. He collapsed from blood loss. He’s in the dungeon medical wing now,” he answered with the most confused look on his face I’ve ever saw. I took a step forward. Then another. “I want to see him.” “Absolutely not.” The response came so fast it almost sounded rehearsed. My eyes narrowed instantly. “Nobody asked you.” Corbin groaned. “Traci. You just can’t insist on things. Look around. Look at where you’re at.” My eyes flickered around the room. Then they landed right back on Co
Traci’s POV “I Traci Silver of the Silver Clan Pack re…” The rest of the sentence never made it out. The door slammed open so hard it bounced off the wall behind it and every head in the room turned. Including mine. For a second I completely forgot what I was doing. Corbin stood in the doorway looking like he’d survived a bar fight, a tornado, and a bad life decision all at the same time. His hair was sticking up in directions hair should never stick. His shirt looked like somebody had fed it through a wood chipper. One sleeve was hanging on by literally a few threads. His jeans looked wrinkled, twisted, and half pulled on. I was very impressed. “What the…” That brief moment of shock was all he needed. Corbin launched himself across the room. The next thing I knew his hand was clamped firmly over my mouth. My eyes widened. What the hell? I tried talking anyway. It came out sounding like complete gibberish. “Mmfff mmphhh.” “About damn time,” Zayden muttered. Both Corbin an







