**ASHTON**I swerved in force to the right, imitating the motion of my mate as she swung in full force at her present opponent, twisting her hand in a vicelike grip before balancing behind her and further putting strain on her arms, eliciting a defeated yell from the female, leading to Tyler rushing forward to blow the whistle. Once more my mate wins.Somehow my heart swelled inside, even if my sister was presently one of the fallen heroes. I couldn't believe it myself. My sister was one of the best fighters in this pack, having her share of tricks which she used to her favour and during the fight has employed all of them-however, it appeared my mate was of the mind to mesmerize everyone as she ploughed through the battlefield bringing down all her opponent not greater than five minutes, without breaking a sweat.It was as if she was born for this.How come I didn't know she was this good? To the extent of winning against my female Lycans who were bred to fight, maim and destroy. The c

**GWEN**"I can manage on my own, Tyler," I waved him off with a slight smile, hoping he would heed to my plea and leave. From the black bags under his eyes and the manner his collar bones were sticking out, I could deduce he hasn't been having a proper sleep. Possibly because of the games."I can't leave you here, you know that," He grumbled, and pushed my wheelchair further into the temple yard. I didn't know if to be grateful to him for being here with me, for being the kind of friend I needed right now or to be irritated by his peskiness. I requested him to bring me with the idea that he would leave once we reached the gate. Tyler wasn't a fan of temples. According to him, he said he stopped believing in the goddess after she allowed his former pack people to humiliate and exile him. I might not have grown up with Tyler, however, these past weeks we have spent together as friends have given me a beamlight into his history and the kind of man he was."Tyler, you know what will happ

**GWEN**I clicked my tongue and made up my mind to ignore Merit. As I veered to leave, her next comment stopped me, igniting the fire that I had managed to quench inside of me."I see you are still ashamed of your woeful defeat at the arena on Tuesday, huh?"With speed I reached in front of her, my two hands connecting with her shoulders, sending her back. Unfortunately, she doesn't fall, it was not as if I did something. Her lips quirked to the side in a mocking smirk. "You are such a weakling and I keep wondering what my dear King saw in you in the first place. You are not fit to be our Queen."The more those words flowed, the more my heart boiled, pouring over. I wanted to hurt Merit so bad the way she was hurting me. I needed to make her pay, yet I didn't know how to. "Are you happy with yourself now?""Huh?""You should be the one ashamed of yourself hovering over a man that is already taken. What? Don't you have a mate somewhere?" She growled, her Lycae eyes flashing at me the

**GWEN**"I will come to check on you later, Gwen," Tyler said as he dropped us off at the palace, totally ignoring Abby by my side. I don't understand why they can't seen to comport, and right now, ‘someone’ might be watching from ‘somewhere’. My eyes itched to look upwards at the numerous windows, but managed to control myself.I clasped my right hand around Abby's left wrist when she made to leave and then I leaned into Tyler's car and whispered, "Hey, you need to come out and...you know, even though a goodbye."Abby snatched her wrist away with a loud gasp. "Ohmg, I can't do that. Think about Williams!""I can't do that." Tyler simply declared. I shook my head impatiently, letting out small curses. "Do you guys realize Ashton might be watching right now from his window up there? Don't forget that was how he knew I was out this morning with Ty."To external eyes, they wouldn't notice, but me that was closer, I saw Abby stomp her feet, plastering on a faux sweet smile as she took a

**ASHTON**"They're fucken the same!" I downed the third glass of Scotch for the evening as fury sizzled through my body at the thought of Gwendolyn. I was close to believing she was different, that perhaps, she wasn't like Emma after all. And for the second time, I survived being fooled by the same breed of canines.Indeed, I fell into her trap. Like I did to Emma. Yesterday after I tried to persuade her not to go with my sister on the outing with her mate, I was certain she was going to agree. She wanted me. I knew that. I saw it in the way she looked at me, endured all the things I did to her, craving for my absolute acceptance. Unknown to me, she was a snake, cunningly toiling hard, waiting to strike at the right time. It wasn't up to an hour later, and I saw her leaving the palace dressed like a whore. One would think she was the one whose mate was taking out. That mutt even came to pick them. And I fucken saw the way he looked at her."Stupid rogue!" I squeezed the glass betwe