“No, my mate will come. We are not going to kill these people.”
“Look around you. Do you think your mate is coming? Truly? There is only one future for you and me, and that is certain death. I will kill you, she-wolf.”
“Do you enjoy this?”
“No. I never enjoy this.”
The crowd seemed to part, and Heather was struck by a blinding light. Her heart raced as she scented yet another shifter, but this one, this one for some odd reason, she seemed to recognize.
The she-bear she’d been tracking.
Heather didn’t know how it had happened, but the she-bear was suddenly in the pit with the both of them, and this wasn’t good.
“Shit. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. This is not good.”
“Why are you panicking?”
She quickly brought her fellow wolf shifter up to speed on exactly who had entered the fighting cage with them.
He moved toward her side.
“She’s unstable. She could change back into human form in a second.”
Heather looked at the she-bear to discover she was staring right back at her. There was recognition in her gaze.
The she-bear knew her.
“Okay, I’ve never gone against a bear before. Not a shifter bear. I hear they’re real fucking fierce. Almost impossible to stop,” he said.
Heather thought back to the rogue bear that had nearly destroyed her life. If it hadn’t been for David, she didn’t think she’d have stayed sane. His energy, his love, his warmth, it had surrounded her, bringing her back from the brink of darkness.
She needed him now.
“It’s difficult but not impossible. She’s a young woman. We cannot kill her.”
“If she attacks, I’m going to fucking kill her.”
Just as she was about to argue with him, she saw the ripple run through the she-bear’s body, and Heather panicked.
Pouncing across the cage, she took the she-bear down, pressing her face against she-bear’s neck. She changed her lips long enough to whisper.
“Don’t turn. You turn, we’re all screwed. They can never know about us.”
A giant roar filled the air and Heather was thrown through the air, hitting the wall opposite.
Pain rushed through her body.
She had no idea of knowing if the she-bear did that on purpose or as part of the act.
The wolf came toward her, spreading his legs, stiffening his body, and growling.
The she-bear lifted up and slammed her fists against her chest, going back to the ground and roaring once more. The sound echoed throughout the arena.
Heather had no true idea of where they were and could only assume.
The crowd was going wild. She saw money exchanging hands. They were all monsters. Taking bets on how long they were going to last.
“Any idea on what we’re supposed to do?” he asked.
“We can’t kill her. We are going to need to put on a show.” Heather got to her feet.
“A show? You think I’m going to pretend to be thrown around by this … thing?”
“Don’t think of her as a thing. Think of her as a she-bear. We’ve got to protect her, no matter the cost.”
Heather looked up to the crowd. They were all practically drooling, chomping at the bit for them all to fight. To watch them die.
“And to make this work, we’re going to have to fight each other,” she said.
She took a step away, moving as if to surround the bear.
“What now?”
“The she-bear is a tasty meal to these people, right? We’ve got to try and take on the bear, and to attack each other for the right of victor. You and I, we’re not pack. They saw you not eat. They know you’re hungry.”
This was the last thing she wanted to do. Staring at the she-bear, she thought of the young woman, curled up, terrified, shaking like mad. This was not going to help her in any way, but to keep them all safe, Heather knew what she was going to have to do.
“I’ve got to alert her. Let her know what we plan.”
“That’s not going to be possible. Not without someone seeing,” he said.
The she-bear turned in a circle and Heather stared into her eyes, hoping against hope this wasn’t going to destroy the last part of her sanity.
In her mind, she tried to convey, using any means necessary for the young woman to know she didn’t mean any of what was about to happen. They were on the same side. They were all fighting to stay alive.
This had to work.
“David, if you can hear me. Please, please, come.”
She pulled back, aligning her body in a pounce pose, and then, using as little strength as she could, she threw herself at the she-bear.
Before Heather made the connection, the she-bear struck her hard, throwing her across the cage.
She had no idea if the young woman knew what was happening, or simply fought to kill.
Her new wolf friend did the same, trying to snap at her, but his teeth never connected with the flesh.