HUNTER

 

The following night…

 

I looked out the window of the car as we headed toward the richest part of the city. I could never get used to a place like Azure. Even if I spent the rest of my life in that part of Dirge, the amount of affluence wasn’t something that would ever seem normal to me.

It didn’t matter though. If things went as planned, I would never have to bother coming to Azure again.

York and Saxon were silent during the car ride. You would have assumed that they were the ones fighting with the amount of anxiety that appeared on their faces. Their faces gave me another reminder that they were the reason I was going through with this.

When we arrived at Valentine’s place, I noticed there was a bigger crowd outside than the last time. I assumed it was because the legendary Golden was fighting that night. I ignored the wealthy men and women crowded around and headed into the mansion with an escort of guards.

I sat inside of the locker room with my eyes closed. I did my best to steady my heart even though it was trying to jump out of my chest. I breathed softly, hoping to save all of my energy for what was about to happen.

My injuries hadn’t healed much. They were still bothering me even though I wasn’t moving. But at this point, there was nothing anybody could do. Even York and Saxon were resigned to the fact that it was something I had to deal with.

The moment had arrived.

Another set of guards arrived at the locker room to escort me toward the arena. As we made our way down the long, dark, and narrow pathway, the murmuring of the crowd grew louder. When the sprawling arena came into view, the crowd all turned their attention toward me. I ignored all of them, instead looking at the man responsible for everything so far.

Up a set of steps sitting above the arena, Valentine looked down. He had no expression on his face. He sat comfortably with his legs crossed. His suit looked just as expensive as it always did. I kept my eyes locked on him as I prepared myself on my side of the arena.

But a sudden eruption from the crowd made me turn my head. I looked across the arena and watched as a man slowly stepped forward. Just a quick glance of the shadow he cast was enough to tell me who he was.

Golden.

The champion of the arena in Azure.

His golden-blond hair flowed down his back. Tan skin stretched over bulging muscles. A perfectly-cropped goatee that surrounded a confident smirk. A blue-eyed stare that would have made anybody tremble just from a single glance.

He sauntered forward with the kind of arrogance one would expect from a man labeled champion. His eyes shifted left and right toward the audience that showered him with cheers.

I’d never seen an Alpha like him before. The amount of adoration he received was like something out of a storybook. In nothing but a pair of jeans, Golden was treated like royalty.

“That’s Golden?” York whispered. “You’re going to fight him?”

“I’ll beat him,” I said.

I turned around to the two people accompanying me. I remained as confident as I could.

Saxon looked uneasy, his eyes locked on my opponent across the arena. I kept staring at him until he finally looked back at me.

“You got this,” he said with a nod.

He patted me on the arm and took a step back near the rest of the crowd.

York was looking at Golden with the same concern that Saxon had. For some reason, I couldn’t fight a smile from coming to my face.

“Be easy,” I said.

I raised my hands up and rested them on his shoulders. York was trembling on the spot. I wanted nothing more than to ease his worry.

“I can beat him,” I said. “You have to believe me.”

“I believe you. I just don’t think Golden is planning on letting you win.”

“When this is over, you will no longer have to live the life you once lived.”

York looked down and shook his head.

“I would go back to that life,” he said. “I would go back to the life I had in Pandora, working for Rip… I would live that life a thousand times over if it meant I got to be by your side.”

I put my hand on his chin and gently raised his face up.

“Once is enough for me,” I said. “I am an Alpha. Let me do what an Alpha does for an Omega.”

His eyes locked on me, York took a deep breath through his nostrils and nodded. He took a step back next to Saxon near the rest of the crowd.

The cage fencing started to lower down from the ceiling, locking me inside with my opponent. Valentine stood to his feet and raised his hands to quiet the murmuring crowd.

“The time has come,” he announced. “A great fighter who made his way through the slums of Pandora has earned his spot in the arena. A new challenger! Hunter!”

The crowd was silent as Valentine held his hand out to me.

“Tonight, it is a pleasure to introduce to you all, back inside of the arena, the champion of Azure, the one and only, Golden!”

Golden roared and threw his fists into the air. The crowd erupted in a deafening cheer so loud it almost startled me. I looked around and the audience seemed closer than ever.

None of that mattered now though. It didn’t matter who was cheering for whom. It didn’t matter how much gold was being bet. It didn’t matter who wanted what. The cage was in place. There were only two Alphas who could decide the outcome.

“Begin!”

Valentine shouted his announcement. Golden immediately shifted into a lion. A majestic beast with golden fur and full mane. His tail rocked back and forth on the ground as he eyeballed me from across the arena.

I took my form as a wolf and howled to the delight of the crowd.

“Come on, Hunter,” Saxon grunted at me. “Beat this guy.”

I circled the cage. The injuries I had still lingered on my face and body. My rib hadn’t gotten any better.

Golden didn’t seem eager to engage with me. Despite the encouragement from the crowd, he circled around the arena like he was waiting for something. I had to remain patient. I couldn’t waste my energy. I couldn’t strain myself with my injuries.

But Golden remained passive. Even the way he walked around the cage was slow. I knew he was only waiting for the right moment. I’d never encountered a lion before but there was no doubt he was capable of the worst kind of violence.

“Go get him, Hunter!”

I listened to Saxon’s words of encouragement. I raced forward and swiped at the lion. I hit nothing but air as he moved out of the way. Fueled by a sudden aggression, I kept moving toward Golden, hoping and clawing to draw a piece of him.

But Golden had been in the cage with too many wolves before. My claws met nothing but air as I tried desperately to hit him.

My heart was already racing. A tinge of sweat covered my skin underneath my fur. I took a moment to catch my breath.

That was when Golden finally struck.

He charged at me. I expected him to tackle me but he suddenly leaped into the air and pounced. I fell to the ground with a thud with him on top of me.

“No!”

I heard York’s scream among the cheers. Nobody outside of the cage could do anything now though. All I could do was try to deal with the massive beast on top of me.

Lions were a lot stronger than I expected. Golden held me down with both of his paws as I struggled underneath him. A swipe of his paw against my face left me dazed.

“Hunter!”

York’s voice spurred me to move. With all fours, I placed them under Golden and shoved him off of me. I ran to the other side of the arena to catch my breath. But all the time in the world wouldn’t allow me to recover from just the single hit Golden had given me.

Golden wasn’t in a hurry. He seemed to enjoy the sound of the crowd chanting his name.

I leaned up against the cage fencing and looked at the only two people in the building who wanted me to win.

“It’s not too late,” Saxon said. “It’s not too late for you to—”

Before he could finish, I galloped toward Golden.

If I were going to beat him, I had to use all of my aggression.

Golden stood there and waited for me to hit him. But at the last second, I leaped into the air and landed on his back. We scrambled on the ground with one another. As strong as he was, the lion wasn’t as fast as me. I got on top of him and used all of my strength to swipe at his face. My claws sank into his cheek and drew blood.

The crowd gasped just as Golden pushed me off of him.

I stumbled backward and quickly got back up to my feet. Golden shook his head. Blood trickling slowly down the side of his face, the look of rage on his face couldn’t be mistaken.

He narrowed his eyes at me as he suddenly charged. I moved out of the way but I wasn’t fast enough.

Golden collided with me, hitting me on the side right where my broken rib was.

I couldn’t help a grunt from the surge of pain.

“Hunter!”

York’s voice was distant. I gritted my teeth as I tried to deal with the pain pulsing through my body. It was like electricity was covering every inch of me.

Golden’s eyes were still full of rage. But it looked like he was smiling now. I sat there, trying my best to recover but the pain was too much for me to bear.

“Hunter!”

Just as York shouted, Golden raced at me. I barely had enough strength to move out of the way but not before he managed to swipe at my side. The stinging pain of a lion’s claw digging into my skin was like nothing I’d ever felt before.

I stumbled forward but another swipe found its way against my side.

Golden gave me a moment of reprieve. He walked around the arena with a confidence I’d never seen before.

My entire body was hurting. The injuries from Golden’s attack seemed amplified. I couldn’t pinpoint any one spot where it was all coming from.

I barely made my way to the side of the cage where York and Saxon were standing. I leaned up against the fencing and tried to catch my breath.

“It’s not too late,” Saxon said.

“What?” I replied.

“You can just submit. You don’t have to die in there.”

I looked at Saxon in confusion.

“The gold,” I said. “You’d lose everything we’ve won at this point…”

“It’s all right. There will be other fights, Hunter. There is other gold to win.”

I couldn’t believe what Saxon was telling me. But the look in his eyes told me he was serious.

“We can go back to Pandora,” he said. “There’s no shame in going back.”

My eyes shifted to York. His lips were sealed. His eyes were glazed over on the verge of tears.

“Just submit and we can go back to Pandora,” Saxon said.

I ignored him.

The chanting of the crowd. Golden across from me. Valentine watching from above. Nothing else existed except for York.

I looked into York’s eyes and saw everything.

My past.

My present.

My future.

My Omega.

If I were to die here, then I would die happy knowing that York was the last thing I ever saw.

“No,” I grunted. “We’re not going back to Pandora. Not without our gold.”

“Hunter?”

I ignored Saxon’s urging. I clenched my jaw and breathed hard through my nose.

I turned toward Golden across the arena as he continued to bathe himself in the adoration of the crowd.

I rose to all fours and stuck my chest out proudly. I looked up at Valentine as he sat above the arena. There was no expression on his face. No smile. No frown. Just a look of disdain that he no doubt felt for me for not submitting at this point.

“Hunter? What are you doing?”

Saxon yelled at me but his voice was drowned out by the cheers of the crowd.

I kept moving forward until Golden finally took notice of me. He readied himself and ran forward to meet me. He leaped into the air and I did the same.

The two of us collided in the air with a hard thud. As we fell to the ground, I immediately raised my paws up and with all of my strength, swiped down into his side. My claws sank into his flesh.

Golden roared in pain as he squirmed underneath me. He swiped hard at me, sending me flying backward.

I fell to the ground. But I was already numb to all of the pain. Every bone in my body felt like it was broken. I was leaking blood from so many cuts that I felt like passing out.

York…

I refused to stay on the ground. I remained standing.

Golden was bleeding just as badly as I was. Despite the crowd cheering for him. Despite Valentine wanting him to win. Despite Golden’s pedigree. He was still just another Alpha. An Alpha like me.

I howled to the ceiling and charged at Golden. He tried to meet me again and leaped into the air. But instead of meeting him, I stayed on the ground and slid under him.

Before Golden had a chance to recover, I pounced on his back and mounted him. I raised both paws up and sank them into the sides of his mane. I kept swinging my paws, left and right, knocking them into the side of his head.

The crowd gasped at the scene before them.

“Come on, Hunter! You can do it!” Saxon cheered.

I kept swinging. I felt exhaustion consuming me. But Golden started moving less and less until he finally stopped.

I’d beaten him into unconsciousness. I rolled over from exhaustion and listened to the sound of Golden breathing softly in his slumber.

I closed my eyes and caught my breath before finally working my way back up to my feet. I shifted and stared up at the man looking down at the arena.

“It’s over,” I shouted. “It’s over! It’s over!”

I kept saying it to make my point clear.

The entire arena was silent. Valentine stood up from his seat and stared down at me. His brow slightly furrowed in anger, he kept his lips sealed as he locked his eyes on me.

The cage fencing slowly ascended back toward the ceiling. As soon as it was up, York rushed forward and wrapped his arms around me.

“Oh, thank goodness,” he sighed against my chest.

I managed to work a smile onto my face despite how tired I was.

I looked at Saxon. His yellow-toothed grin had never looked so good.

“Nice job, Hunter.”

He chuckled as he patted me on the arm.

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get our gold and get the hell out of here.”

I made my way out of the arena with Saxon and York helping me. Guards came into the arena and helped Golden back to his feet.

Just as we were about to leave, I heard the sound of clapping coming from the crowd.

I slowly turned around and saw the audience applauding as they stared at me.

It was a strange sight. Men in expensive suits and women in fancy gowns. The people of Azure were so different from the people in Dirge. But they still gave me the praise I didn’t expect nor care for.

I gave one last look up at Valentine and saw a subtle smirk form on his face.

I was tired. I was beaten. My body was on its last legs. But I had done what I needed to do. If this were my end, at least York would be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor.