Helen POVPeople say their life flashes before their eyes right before they die.As the wolves raced towards me, I didn't see my life as I'd lived it. I saw all the things I'd never gotten to do instead."Justin!" I yelled again as I saw him racing along the edges of the clearing.Justin was staying inside the treeline. I couldn't figure out why he wasn't rushing to my aid until I noticed his silhouette changed. He was suddenly taller.A lot taller.When Justin raced out of the forest, he was a fully grown Lycan and he towered over everyone and everything in the clearing. He grabbed one of the nearest wolves by the scruff of his neck and hurled him away; I screamed when the wolf hit a tree trunk with a yelp before going silent and still."Justin!" I cried.Two of my attackers turned to go after Justin only for him to swipe them both with his claws.Blood sprayed across my face, hot and sticky. The copper scent overwhelmed me so much I couldn't even scream again. All I could think to d
Helen POVDesire spread through my body with the force of wildfire, setting my nerve endings on fire until every inch of me was sensitive to every inch of Justin. I gave in to his kissing immediately; I would have been embarrassed about my lack of control except I could tell from the scent of the crowd watching us they weren't disapproving.Most of them were either envious or aroused themselves.Justin broke the kiss off first."Do you need me to guide you to the bodies?" Justin asked, his voice calm and deep as the ocean on a summer afternoon.He might as well have been asking if our watchers wanted a snack to go with their entertainment while I was one step away from humiliated at my own lack of self-control. What if I'd gone into heat again? Didn't he know grabbing me up to kiss me wasn't acceptable in public?A part of me hated how I had liked it, too. All the attention on me for a change? People feeling envious of me? I'd dreamed many dreams about making the pack regret treating
Helen POV"Justin!" I cried out, but my mate was already running away on swift Lycan feet.The full moon was necessary for the second portion of the Wolfen Games. I had taken for granted we would be outside for the start of the cycle while Justin was not yet used to being free during the moon's strongest time.Alpha King Juden pointed to the sight of the Lycan racing away from his estate toward the nearby town, yelling, "See! He's a wild beast! Completely untamed! This is why I've had to keep him locked up. For his own safety. For the safety of all of my people."Murmurs spread through the wolfen crowd as they all seemed to accept their king's explanation. I saw several older wolves nodding as if there had been no surprise to them the Lycan was loose.How dare they assume Justin was a monster? Why? Just because the Alpha King said he was?"I've been alone with him several times without him losing control. He's just not used to being outside during the full moon. He was kept in chains!
Helen POVJustin kissed me until my body felt as if it was made of pure fire. Every inch of my skin was blazing hot; I no longer cared who was watching us as long as Justin kept kissing me, touching me, holding me.Joy howled in my mind, [Yes! Our mate! Be with our mate!]I heard no response from the beast inside Justin, but he must have heard Joy on some deep, animal level himself. He stopped kissing me, controlling my head by tilting my face back so our eyes met.Whispering, Justin repeated, "Mate."Howls and laughter interrupted my enjoyment of the moment, bringing me back to my senses as I realized I was getting entirely too involved in kissing my mate before the entirety of wolfen society including the Alpha King. Justin tried to kiss me again only I held a hand up to stop him."We're not alone," I pointed out, "We should be alone, shouldn't we?"The Alpha King had a brow raised in reaction, but he didn't say anything. His Beta -who really did look so much like an older version o
Helen POV[I feel stronger], Joy told me as I transformed back into my human body.I studied my reflection as I replied to her, [We are stronger. I don't know how or why, but we are stronger.]"Are you looking for something? Did I hurt you?" Justin asked from behind me.Turning to look at him in surprise, I said, "No! I just thought I looked---different."I felt stupid saying it out loud. My face flushed as embarrassment overtook my wonder; Joy went quiet the way she seemed to always do when Justin was speaking. My wolf was already more in love with my mate than with me.Joy would have taken my side in every argument before I met Justin. The Lycan held a sway over her I could only blame on the matebond which was ridiculous since we weren't mated yet as we hadn't exchanged mate marks.How could sex sway a wolf the way mine had been swayed? I'd never heard of it, but I didn't have anyone to ask either. My parents wanted nothing to do with me as I was such a failure in their eyes.Would
Helen POVEveryone was prepared for the start of the Wolfen Games except me.Or at least that was how it felt as I was walking with Justin out to the grounds for the beginning of the tournament.The arena portion of the Games was split in between female and male contenders and everyone started on the same ranking. Each pair was set up purely by chance according to the rules though I wondered how much chance was involved when I saw the pairs listed.I was placed up against Donna who was a stronger wolf -not surprising since I was the only tricolor competing- who had placed in the Wolfen Games the year before; she smirked at me as she saw me reading her name beside mine on the bracket. Justin didn't look at the listing for his match.There was little hope anyone would beat Justin in an arena match. He was enormous even as a man rather than a Lycan; a wolf form didn't have any significant advantages over him."I'm going to be within hearing range. Call for me if you need me," Justin murm
Helen's POVI was as surprised as anyone to find that I was actually a pretty tough competitor in the next few rounds of the Wolfen Games. In each, I managed to outrun, outfight, outsmart, or otherwise outwolf the other competitors. Each day passed in a whirlwind of public competition, and ach night was spent in private ecstasy as Justin and I celebrated our wins by feasting hungrily on each other's bodies.In no time, we reached the final rounds. In the second-to-last, we had to track and kill a specific fox. We were given a scrap of fabric that had been left in her kennel overnight, so it was rich with her scent, and whoever caught her was to be declared victor.We began in human form, but once I was away from the others, I shifted to let Joy take over. I couldn’t win without her. [A chase!] she rumbled happily.I marveled at how easily it came to her. We had never been hunting, as father prefered to keep me indoors. Maybe the lovemaking Justin and I got up to was affecting more tha
I waited for the killing bite, but suddenly, and without warning, the imposter wolf was turning tail and bolting from the scene. At that same instant, another figure loomed over me, and I nearly screamed again before I realized who it was. Justin, my heart, my mate, had saved me again.“Oh, my dearest,” Justin murmured, gathering me into his arms. “You need to shift so I can carry you.”In my human form, the pain in my leg was just as intense, but I could see the damage much clearer, which made it that much worse. He had torn my leg open to the bone, and it dangled uselessly from my body.“This is going to hurt, but we have to slow the bleeding,” Justin said as he pulled his shirt over his head. He was right. I was losing a lot of blood and beginning to feel woozy from it.He balled his shirt up and pressed it against the wound. I screamed again. The fact that I remained conscious was a miracle.“I know, I know,” Justin soothed, as he tied the sleeves of the shirt around my thigh, to