RiverBlade was breathing down River's throat the entire second half of the race after the incident where Blade's lackey stepped out in front of River and almost took him out of contention. With each step, River's ankle throbbed, and he was pretty sure it was either a bad sprain or possibly even broken, but he kept going.River could hear the crowd cheering ahead of him and realized he was almost to the finish line. People were chanting his name, so his adrenaline kicked in, giving him yet another wind. The uphill climb was brutal, but he knew that on the other side, on the descent, there would be a clear view of the finish line. They were nearly side by side now. River just couldn't let Blade get past him.At the crest of the hill, River looked down and saw Ellie standing just beyond the tape. She had a huge smile on her face, her eyes were wide, and she was looking at River. He knew that she wanted him to win this race. Maybe it was just because she didn't want Blade to win, but he

RiverThe question of the hour was whether or not to punch Blade in the face or thank him for interrupting the almost kiss River was about to share with Ellie when his annoying self showed up at the stables. On the one hand, having the opportunity to kiss Ellie would've been magical. It would've been something River would've never forgotten, and possibly the highlight of his life. On the other hand, kissing Ellie now but not winning her hand would make the sting of defeat all the worse. So perhaps Blade had done him a favor by being a nuisance and sticking his nose in where it didn't belong. He had to have seen what was happening. He probably even timed it that way on purpose.MIchael was busy assigning horses now that he had returned. Ellie had her own horse, Cottonball, a white horse with brown on its nose, and when she went to saddle up, all of the guys rushed over to help.Kane, one of the guys River knew thought of her as an older sister, stepped in front of the Alphas. "I got th

RiverMichael Knight was an interesting man. River could've ridden beside him for the entire trail ride and still found things to talk about. Mostly, he talked about the struggles of being an Alpha, his late wife whom he obviously loved very much, and Ellie. While River was interested in everything he had to say, when he spoke about Ellie, River tuned in. This man knew the Luna better than anyone, so if he really wanted to know how to win her heart, he should listen to her father."She's been talking for years about how she didn't have time to try to meet someone, how she didn't want to go to a Moon Ball, didn't believe in all of that, and how she would just be better off by herself," Michael was saying."Why do you think that is?" River asked. He had said many of those things himself over the years, but he was curious to know what Ellie's reasoning was."Well, if I'm honest, I think she is a little scared. She saw how much her mother and I loved one another, and how it crushed my sou

RiverWaking up early seemed to be his thing now, even if he didn't particularly like it. River got up before the sun the next morning, trying to focus on the task at hand. Today would be the final competition for Ellie's hand. Whoever won today had a good chance of being the victor, the man she married.It was neck and neck between himself and Blade, and he couldn't stand to think of that dirty, underhanded creep winning. As he took a shower, letting the warm water wash over him, he concentrated on what he needed to do that day to beat Blade, but his mind was on other things.Ellie had been so beautiful the night before. He was so glad that her father had arranged for them to sit next to one another. When Blade had started that ridiculous argument, trying to make him look bad, she had come to his defense. She'd even tried to calm him down by putting her hand on his leg.It had done more than calm him. It had also sent tingles up his spine and made his heart race in his chest. There w

RiverListening to the rules would've been the intelligent thing to do. Unfortunately, River was distracted. The moment Ellie walked into the gymnasium, she was all he could think about. His eyes kept darting over to where she was sitting with Shelby and her little brothers, and by the time he tuned back in to hear what Beta Andrew was saying, he'd missed most of it."The objective will be to get your opponent outside of the circle or down on the floor for five seconds, on my count. Alternatively, getting your opponent to give up would also grant victory to the remaining competitor.""Why would anyone give up?" Ulysses muttered under his breath."Because he can't take the pain." Blade turned and looked at him, an evil look in his eyes. Even though he wasn't looking at River, it was enough to cause a shudder to go through his body. This guy was one messed up b*stard. He did not need to win this tournament."Initial pairings were drawn at random. Remember, this is not a double-eliminat