Chapter Three

 

Otto felt hung-over the next day, even though he’d only had two beers—which was nothing for a wolf shifter like him. But the stress and lack of sleep from the night before had affected him more than he’d thought it would, and the idea of going to training felt like torture. But Otto didn’t dare try to beg off and say that he was sick. News of the sighting of two rogue shifters in the forest was already spreading through Gilt Hollow, and Otto didn’t want to give anyone a reason to a point a finger at him. Better to lie as low as possible, and that meant going to training without complaining.

And they say I’m not taking enough risks. Every day is a risk for me.

Otto threw himself into training with gusto, and he found that after the initial pain of getting started, the physical activity actually helped him feel better. He hated training, and the Shifter Games, but being able to fight and get some of his aggression out today felt good.

“Whoa, Otto. You’re on fire today,” one of the trainers remarked. Otto merely grunted in response, and continued on with his training. He never did much to acknowledge the trainers’ remarks, whether those remarks were positive or negative. He did what he was asked to do and that was it. He refused to act all buddy-buddy with the trainers, no matter how nice they tried to be to him. Nice or not, they were still Gilt Hollow citizens. They still supported the Shifter Games.

They were still the enemies.

Otto had been around longer than almost any of the other Shifter Games’ participants. He’d barely been more than a boy when he was dragged into this circus, against his will. The Gilt Hollow citizens pretended that every shifter who fought in the Games had volunteered, but the shifters all knew that wasn’t true. The Gilt Hollow nobles would go to Bear Hollow and threaten to kill off a shifter’s family and friends unless that shifter “volunteered” for the Games. Otto had been so angry when he was forced to move to Gilt Hollow that he had formed the resistance. That had been almost two decades ago, and progress had been slow, but steady. Otto dreamed of the day when no shifter would be forced into the Games ever again. He dreamed of the day when the Games would cease altogether. His own parents had passed away by now, and he had no siblings, which meant he could have refused to continue in the Games. He would be killed off, then, but at least he had no family left in Bear Hollow for them to kill off. And yet, Otto stayed. He stayed because he had found a purpose here, in fighting to end the Games.

Otto had achieved a bit of fame as a frequent Shifter Games champion, but that only made him hate the Games more, not less. Nothing felt more dehumanizing than being forced to shift into wolf form and fight a wild animal in front of an Arena full of screaming full humans who thought shifters themselves were only animals. The gambling, drinking, and general merriment surrounding the Games only added to the insult.

Otto had learned to play his part well, though. He worked for House Severson, and the Seversons cared more about having shifter champions than about anything else. Otto kept them happy by being a stoic, strong champion. The Seversons might have thought he was an oddball and a bit reserved, but they never suspected that he was leading the resistance right beneath their noses.

At least, he was trying to lead it. Apparently a lot of shifters in Bear Hollow thought he wasn’t doing all that great of a job. Otto took out his frustration on a punching bag, hitting it harder than he ever had before.

Punch, punch, punch.

Or perhaps only Kate thought he wasn’t doing enough. She was the only one who didn’t seem appreciative in Bear Hollow. True, the other shifters in Gilt Hollow sometimes gave him a hard time, but no one in Bear Hollow had ever criticized him, other than Kate.

Punch, punch punch.

Why did she get under his skin so much? She was only one shifter, and anyone in any sort of leadership position was bound to have people criticize them now and then. Otto frowned. He’d been criticized so many times here in Gilt Hollow.

But he’d never been criticized by someone so beautiful.

Punch, punch, punch.

He’d never been criticized by someone who made his insides twist up in funny, delightful ways, despite the fact that she was possibly one of the most obnoxious humans he’d ever met.

Punch, punch punch.

Shit. There was no way he was actually attracted to this girl, was there? Not that it mattered if he was. She might be attractive, but he would never attempt any sort of a relationship with someone as rude as her. Besides, even if he wanted to have a relationship, the fact that he lived in Gilt Hollow meant he couldn’t have a girlfriend in Bear Hollow. Technically, Otto was forbidden from visiting Bear Hollow. If the Seversons knew he was over there almost every week, thanks to a secret tunnel, they’d kill him. Literally.

Punch, punch, punch.

“Otto! Otto, do you have cotton in your ears today, damn it?”

Otto blinked and stopped his mad punching to look up at the trainer who was yelling at him. The trainer must have called for the shifters to stop beating up their punching bags, but Otto hadn’t heard it. He’d been too busy fuming over Kate.

“Sorry. I guess I got too into my work.”

“I’ll say,” the trainer said, raising an eyebrow. “Anyway, we’re done with our exercises for the day.”

“We are?” Otto glanced up at the clock in surprise. It was only four, and usually training went until five. Was he actually lucky enough that they were stopping early today for some reason?

“Yes, we are. But you’re not dismissed yet. I want you all to head into the actual Arena. Loki is there and wants a word with you.”

Otto resisted the urge to groan. Nope, he wasn’t lucky. The only thing worse than the Games themselves was Loki Severson. Loki was Zora’s brother, and he was the complete opposite of her. While Zora had cared about the shifters enough to stand up for them and leave Gilt Hollow behind, losing her life of comfort and ease as a nobleman’s daughter, Loki took every opportunity to degrade and yell at shifters. Otto would have bet that Loki didn’t just want to talk to the shifters. He wanted to yell at them. Most likely over the fact that two shifters had been wandering last night. Loki loved to remind all of the shifters that disobedience equaled death.

Otto followed the trainers from the training room toward the main Arena. The actual Games took place inside the giant Arena, but very little actual training was done there, which was fine by Otto. He hated the place, and all the bad memories he’d made there. He’d been forced to fight and kill innocent animals dozens of times, all so the Gilt Hollow citizens could be “entertained” by his wildness. Otto had sworn to himself that one day he would burn this place to the ground, or die trying.

The other shifters remained silent as the group walked toward the Arena. Otto was good friends with a few of them, but he never talked to them much during training. None of the shifters liked to talk in front of the trainers, or in front of any Gilt Hollow citizen for that matter. If you said the wrong thing and it got taken the wrong way, you’d be in big trouble. The Gilt Hollow citizens loved to punish the shifters for no reason, so the less you said around them the better.

Otto walked onto the Arena floor with a sigh, bracing himself for the coming lecture about god only knew what. Loki loved to rant almost as much as he loved to drink. Perhaps the two activities were related. As a rich nobleman’s son, Loki could spend his time pursuing whatever idle, useless pastimes his heart desired. Today, his heart must have desired a good long yell at the shifters.

But when Otto looked up to the first row of the stands, where Loki always stood when he came into the Arena, Otto’s jaw dropped. Standing next to Loki was none other than Kate Strouse. Kate, who had been on his mind all day in the most irritating of ways. Kate, whom he had been trying to forget. Kate, who belonged back in Bear Hollow. What the hell was she doing here?

His heart twisted up in fear. Had the Gilt Hollow nobles raided Bear Hollow and taken her prisoner? Had they figured out that she knew something about the resistance, and tortured information out of her? Otto had tried to keep the information about the resistance as vague as possible, just in case something like that happened. He didn’t want the citizens of Bear Hollow to feel the pressure of denying that they knew information when they really did know something. But some things were impossible to hide. Everyone in Bear Hollow knew about the tunnel, and everyone knew that Otto was in charge of the resistance. Beyond that, Otto knew that rumors had flown like crazy. Some of what was talked about in Bear Hollow probably held a bit of truth, but a lot of it was wild exaggeration.

After the initial shock and worry of seeing Kate, though, Otto realized that she didn’t look like someone who had just been tortured. Her shiny black hair was pulled back into a neat, tight bun, and her face had a small smirk on it that he could see even from halfway across the Arena floor. Surely, she wasn’t happy to be here? His heart twisted up with a whole new set of fears. Had she herself turned into a traitor? Had she voluntarily come to tell the Gilt Hollow nobles about the resistance? A small, burning ball of rage rose within Otto’s core, but it died down almost as soon as it started.

No, that couldn’t be right. Kate was wearing the uniform that all of the shifters wore when they participated in Shifter Games and Shifter Games training. It looked like Kate had been recruited as a Shifter Games “volunteer.” But that couldn’t be right either. No woman had ever fought in the games, as far as he knew. And why would Loki go after a woman if he wanted a new fighter? The odds of a woman being strong enough to outfight any of the men were low. Sure, women could be tough, and Kate did look like she was strong. But biologically speaking…men had the advantage over women in the Arena. That’s why there were no women in the Arena. Until now.

What the hell was going on?

“Hello, my friends,” Loki said, waving his hands wildly as though greeting a group of long lost buddies. Otto did his best not to cringe. He hated it when Loki called the shifter trainees friends. They weren’t friends. They were enemies, and Loki knew that. But Loki loved to act like he was somehow doing everyone a favor by existing.

“I’m sorry to end regular training a bit early today,” Loki continued. “But I have a very big announcement to make. We’ve had a new trainee join us today. She just arrived from Bear Hollow this morning, but she’s already eager to join you in training. May I introduce Kate Strouse.”

Kate smiled and made an exaggerated bow in the direction of the shifter trainees. A low murmur of disbelief rose up around Otto, but quickly died down. They all knew better than to say too much around Loki, who was starting to speak again anyway at this point.

“I know you are probably all a bit surprised by the fact that a woman will be joining you. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical myself when Kate first approached me and asked about joining the shifter trainees.”

Otto’s jaw did actually drop for a moment then. So Kate had actually volunteered. But why? Why in hell would any shifter in their right mind choose this life? Sure, over the years there had been one or two shifters here and there who were drawn by the money and couldn’t resist the chance to pull themselves up out of poverty. But those were few and far between, and were usually the absolute poorest of the poor in Bear Hollow. Otto knew for a fact that Kate’s family was better off than many of the families in Bear Hollow. Her father had been a known treasure hunter, talented at going into the Gilt Hollow markets and finding valuable items that had been left behind. It only took a fancy bit of jewelry here or a forgotten sack of juicy fresh fruit there, and Kate’s father had built up wealth by scrounging around.

So if not for the wealth, why had Kate volunteered?

“Kate told me she found it a great shame that no woman had ever competed in the games. She acknowledged that woman might typically be weaker, but she promised to make up for any physical weakness with hard work, speed, and cleverness.”

Otto chewed his lower lip in anger. Really? Kate was playing at something here, but what?

“Kate told me that a woman competitor might revive interest in the Games. As you know, interest has waned slightly since my former sister pulled that unfortunate stunt and intervened in a death match.”

Otto chewed his lip harder. Loki was referring to the death match where Oskar would have died if Zora had not intervened. That intervention had cost Zora her fortune and her place in the Severson family, but it had also undermined the unquestioning faith the Gilt Hollow citizens placed in the Games. Many Gilt Hollow citizens had started questioning whether the Games were truly voluntary and humane. Not that they really cared about treating shifters humanely, but they did care about the Games having the appearance of humaneness. They wanted to feel good about the horrible ways they acted, even though to an objective observer, there was no good in it.

“She convinced me to let her try her hand at the Games. House Severson has always prided itself in making history and breaking new ground, and this will be one more chance for my family to show off how cutting edge we are. We will be the first family to dare to throw a female in the ring!”

Loki finished his monologue with a long flourish of his hand, as though he expected everyone to cheer him on for being so fabulous. Instead, Otto and the other House Severson shifter trainees merely stared at him. Otto could not believe what he was hearing, and the dread that had been growing in the pit of his stomach since he saw Kate standing there was becoming suffocating. Something wasn’t right here. No shifter in their right mind actually volunteered for the Games.

Otto didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, because Loki was speaking once again. “As most of you know, I like to test out our new trainees by having them fight against one of our seasoned competitors. Would any of you like to do the honors of fighting against Kate today?”

Once again, the shifter trainees all remained silent. No one enjoyed fighting against other shifters, and no one wanted to fight against a woman. It just seemed so…unfair. Otto stared down at his boots, now dusty from the Arena floor, and prayed that Loki wouldn’t choose him.

Loki sighed. “Well, don’t all jump out at once. Otto, why don’t you take this round?”

Otto cringed. Loki frequently chose him for these sorts of things, just because Otto was the reigning Games champion. Well, technically, Oskar was the reigning Games champion right now, but Oskar had been banished from Gilt Hollow, so Otto had regained his title of champion—a title he had no interest in, but that had been thrust on him nonetheless.

Normally, Otto didn’t argue with what Loki told him to do. It just wasn’t worth it. But the idea of fighting against Kate was too much for Otto to be able to keep his mouth shut.

“With all due respect, I don’t feel comfortable fighting against a woman.”

Loki stared at Otto in dumbfounded silence for several moments. Otto had never refused an order before, and Loki didn’t seem to know quite how to handle it. But Loki recovered within a matter of moments, letting out a long, mocking laugh.

“No one ever asked if you were comfortable. A true champion doesn’t worry about comfort. I’m ordering you to fight Kate, and you will do so.”

Otto bit back a sigh. He should have known. It didn’t matter what he wanted to do. It mattered what Loki wanted. The spoiled Gilt Hollow nobles always got their way, especially when it came to their shifter “volunteers.” Otto might as well have been a slave. Yes, he got paid well. But what was he supposed to do with the money? He had no family to send it to, and there wasn’t anything in Gilt Hollow for him to spend it on. His food, shelter, and clothing were already provided. Otto would have gladly shoved all of that money back in the Seversons’ face and gone back to living in Bear Hollow with the other shifters. But that wasn’t an option. Too bad he couldn’t have just traded places with Kate, since she seemed so eager to actually be in Gilt Hollow. He would have gladly given her his title of champion and taken her place back in Bear Hollow. If only things actually worked that way.

But things didn’t work that way, and for some unknown, possibly sinister, reason, Kate actually wanted to be in Gilt Hollow.

She spoke up now, crossing her arms and sneering in his direction. “What’s the matter, Otto? Afraid of getting your butt whooped by a girl?”

Her voice taunted him, and pulled out all of the worst of his emotions. Anger flared up, and he suddenly didn’t mind that she was a girl and another shifter. She’d been poking him and trying to get a rise out of him ever since the bar last night.

Fine. If it was a fight she wanted, then a fight she would get. Otto stalked to the center of the Arena, cracked his knuckles, and stretched out his shoulders in preparation to shift.

“Come play, little panther,” he said in the same sneering tone she had used with him. “I’ll show you how the big boys fight.”

She gave him a dry smile in return. Then she hopped over the railing separating the stands from the Arena, and came sauntering toward him.