by Bryce Evans
She wasted no time in jumping up and shifting. Grabbing the bars to try to get out, her body was flung against the wall. Falling to the ground, she only heard the guards laughing as she hit the ground and passed out.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Caz walked around the castle for the hundredth time. They told him to get some sleep, but he couldn’t sleep. His whole body was hurting now. Aching. Every time he stretched, he thought it would help but it was only for a few seconds. He knew the moment she was free and shifted. How? He didn’t know, but he could feel it. His tiger knew.
He had been walking for hours, watching the sun come up and still no signal. That was until Riley came running out the door. “They got a signal but only for a few minutes. They have coordinates. The problem will be finding the island. There are about fifty in the area. None of these islands are inhabited. A lot of them are owned by billionaires as nature preserves and private islands.”
“Of course, that way nobody would go snooping on the island. But planes fly over it and someone had to see something. Wouldn’t you think?” Caz asked. He was getting impatient. She was getting impatient.
“You can feel her, can’t you, brother?”
Running his fingers through his hair, Caz could feel her getting angry. “Yes, and right now she’s pissed off. Someone is going to die. Which may be a good thing. I can’t think like that. I have to think positive.” He looked at his sister. “They have to find her, Riley. I can’t live without her. I can’t.”
His sister wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. Until they found Raven, he would never rest easy.
“Found it,” Calum said, opening the back door and walking outside. “Come on you two.”
He calmed himself and closed his eyes. “Hang on, baby. I’m coming to get you. Just hang on.”
Don’t touch the bars. Just don’t touch the bars and kill Archie. Kill Archie. Find Leo and find a way out. She could hear people chanting and then she heard her name being called. But what she found funny was the announcer telling the crowd that the female bear named Raven would be fighting a polar bear who had screwed up and now he was here to redeem himself. “Can he do it, ladies and gentlemen? Let’s find out.”
Raven turned as the wall started to rise. She paced until she could run out and that’s exactly what she did. Ran out. And the crowd went nuts. Hundreds of men and women were up and cheering. She could tell they were all rich people because of what they were wearing.
She feverishly looked for any exit. A way out. The coliseum was round just like in the movies and the walls were tall, and on them was something shiny. She guessed whatever it was, was meant to keep fighters from climbing the walls.
“In this corner, you have the beautiful grizzly bear, Raven and in this corner, we have Archie, the polar bear. You have one minute to put your bets in. Hurry, it’s going quickly. This is going to be a good one. I’m sorry, pretty bear, but the money is on Archie. But I think you are going to give this crowd one hell of a show. The rules...Well, there is only one. Two go in and one comes out. Good luck.” The horn sounded, and Archie charged her.
She still wasn’t feeling herself from being knocked out and left confined in some type of coffin, but she had to do this. She would do this.
Archie was faster than she thought as he barreled into her ribs. Flying in the air, she smashed into the side of the wall. Get up, Raven, and get him. But Archie was fighting for his life. And she was getting slammed again. This time his big paw slapped the side of her face. The force he used was so hard that she almost passed out. She could feel the blood dripping down her face.
Shifting back to her human form, Raven tried to get her wits together.
“Get up, Raven. Get up.” Shaking her head, she looked for the voice. In the corner on the same level as her, Leo and others watched behind bars as she got her ass kicked by Archie Peebottom. No one touched the bars. Before she could go to him, another swipe from his paw peeled back skin from her shoulder. She ducked when the next one came toward her face.
He was really trying to kill her. That’s enough. This time she shifted back into her human form and ran as fast as she could around him before he knew what was going on. Just like before, Archie was slow. For some reason he was mesmerized by her as he just watched her. He tried slapping at her again. Missing her, she watched as Archie pushed off the ground getting up on his hind legs giving her time to slide in. That’s when she hooked him in the balls with her middle claw. It attached to the undergrowth and she held on as Archie the white polar bear started to turn red.
As long as she had her claw hooked to his privates, he was paralyzed. If he moved, she would rip them off. If he stayed still...well, she had planned to rip them anyway. Plus, she owed him a parting gift from all the shifters and vampires he put in this hell hole.
She watched as Archie partly shifted and spoke. “Please, please, don’t do it, Raven. You’re a Death Hunter. You’re not supposed to do this. I’m a victim here just like you. I have a family now. I have a kid to put through college. I—”
Getting right up to his face, Raven snarled as the pain from her shoulder started to burn. She could feel herself swaying from the blood loss. If she didn’t kill him, he would definitely kill her. This shifter didn’t give her a choice. This was a fight to the death.
“I’m a Death Hunter and I sentence you to death, Archie Peebottom, for all the innocent victims you sent to this place. And it’s going to hurt.” She didn’t give him time to say another word. Shifting back to her bear she jerked with all her might and ripped it all out. Blood poured to the ground, but she didn’t stop there, Raven was so angry, she couldn’t stop. The thought of all the young children and mothers they brought here. She could visualize the whole picture now. They made these babies fight to the death. No wonder they never found any clues. How many had been killed. Raven swiped her paws against his stomach until there was nothing left of Archie Peebottom except a bloody mess.
Raven fell backward on her butt and the crowd went nuts as Archie Peebottom bled out. He was dead, but the crowd still chanted. “More, more, more.”
“I told you, folks. The new winner, Raven.” She shifted back to human and lay on the ground panting. She had lost a lot of blood. Guards came out of the walls, their guns pointing at her. Getting up to her feet, her eyes started to cross as the guards pushed her toward Leo. Of course, that was exactly where she wanted to go. When the bars opened, Raven fell into her brother’s arms.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you,” Leo said into her ear. She was bleeding a lot. Archie did a number on her and it would take a while for her healing to start. She needed food and water but by the looks of all the people standing and watching her, there wasn’t much if any at all. All she wanted to do was sleep knowing that she was losing too much blood. Her last thoughts were of Caz. Where are you, mate?
Chapter Twenty-Four
“We’re going to what?” Caz shouted as the alpha of the eagle shifters explained his plan.
“Once we get close enough by boat, we will shift, and you will get on our backs and we will come in by the sky and the others will dock on the shore. That way we have our guys coming at them from all angles and we will bring the magic. Scarlett, Quinn, Greer, and Jade will all work together. Whatever spells they are using to hide whatever it is on that island, we can get through. It’s the only way, Caz.”
What could he say? It was a good plan, but the fact that he would have to ride on the back of a bird was beyond his reality. However, they were the size of a personal jet, and he would have no problem getting on. It was the holding on that scared the crap out of him. He was a tiger, and yes, most of the time they did land on their toes, but not from a hundred feet up.
“Let’s go.” They were off in the plane, and before he knew, they were on a boat. That was two hours ago. It was starting to get dark again and he didn’t feel Raven anymore. Nothing.
He started to freak out, but he couldn’t. He had to keep it together.
Apparently, Aziel noticed his uneasiness and put his hand on his shoulder. Closing his eyes for a few seconds, the omega said, “She sleeps. Blood loss.”
“What?” his voice screamed out.
Lennox and Cosmo ran over to him. “What is it?”
“She’s lost a lot of blood and is sleeping,” Caz repeated, but with sheer panic in his voice.
“Caz, calm down. This is the only way for her to repair. She’s alive and this is all you need to focus on right now. We’re almost there.”
She’s alive. She’s alive. Focus, Caz. His sister put her hand on his back. “She’s okay. I know it.”
He glanced at her. She had on clothes that would break away when she shifted. “Please be careful. You’re not trained for this. I can’t believe you are coming. I can’t bear the thought of losing you too.”
“Because your mate is there. Her brother is there. And many more shifters and vampires. This is survival of our kind. If we don’t stop this, then it will keep on going. And we may all be here one day. I can’t live with myself if I just stay behind. I’m a tiger, Caz, and I know how to fight and hunt. And this is what I plan on doing. So, deal with it.”
He could never argue with that excuse and she was right. His sister was always the wisest of them all. All the Death Hunters were on the boat along with shifters from the Dixon pack and the Crenshaw Clan. Then there were the eagle shifters. All of them were here. Oh, and the witches and vampires.
The concern was that Greer and Jade would destroy the whole island before they found everyone. Nobody knew what they were running into or what they would find. Emotions were on high alert. Including his.
He continued to try to reach her, but Raven was still out. The sun had already come up and time was a-wasting. Did his mate have much longer?
“I said get her up and ready to fight.” She could hear Leo arguing with the guard. “They want her to fight this morning. She’s become a favorite and the boss said she goes no matter what.”
“Look at her. She’s out. No food and no water, she can’t heal fast enough. What the hell is wrong with you people?” Leo yelled. Her eyes opened when she heard the Tasers going off. Her brother had grabbed one of the guards that had gotten too close to the cage.
She propped herself up and they were all on him. Tasing him with high voltage. “Leo.” Her brother had already shifted and was jerking the guard’s arm off trying to pull him through the bars.
She tried to get up, but someone held her. “Don’t! He knows what he’s doing. Leo planned this.”
When she looked back, she recognized the woman from the file Calum gave them. Boris Conner’s mate. She was still alive. Her attention went back to her brother. They were still shocking him even though he had let go. “Stop it. Stop it.”
“Get up and get ready. Get him ready too. You two are going against each other,” the guard said, smiling.
“He’s my brother.”
With a sneer, the guard told her, “Then you should pay him back for all the stuff he did to you as a kid.” Raven felt energy like she had never felt before. It hit her like a bolt of lightning. She went to her brother. He was hurting, but not enough to put him down. He was a grizzly bear and a Death Hunter.
Getting down close to his ear, she whispered, “Are you okay?” When he nodded, she continued. “We are going to fight each other. We need to do the cat and mouse game. Until we can’t hit or go on any longer and we both fall out. I feel energy. I know it’s Caz. He’s close. I feel it. I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I...love you, brother. I love you.”
Guards grabbed her and pulled her toward another entrance. As they hauled her away, the other shifters helped Leo up. She hated this. Yes, they had played this game over and over as children and as Death Hunters, but not for life or death.
“Remember, brother. I love you.”
It didn’t take them long to get her in her corner. Think, Raven. Think of a way out. There has to be a way out. As she stared at the wall that rose to let her onto the battleground, she saw a crack toward the ceiling. It wasn’t very wide but if she could get her claws in it and crawl up, then she could make it to the crowd before they killed her. But only if the crack went all the through the wall. Most likely, it was from wear and tear of someone being thrown into it.
Now she would have to get Leo to throw her into it over and over and maybe throw him into it too. His weight alone might it crack more. They had one shot at this before they killed them. Because she sure wasn’t going to kill her brother.
She listened as they announced her and Leo. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the fight you requested. The mighty Raven, who nobody thought would survive. Not only has she survived, she has become the little darling of the coliseum. Can she defeat the powerful Leo, both grizzly bears and sister and brother? Now this is going to be a good one. Your bets start now.”
As soon as she could get out, she was going for the announcer. Jerk. Not one of these people deserved to live. They were nothing more than killers of innocent children.
“You have five, four, three, two, one, the betting has ended. Now, here they are Raven and Leo.” She listened as the crowd went wild. There had to be more than yesterday’s crowd. Once the wall lifted, she couldn’t help but turn around and around looking at all the people. It was packed.
A guard came out and poked her with his gun. The crowd was going wild. “Raven, Raven, Raven.” She looked at her brother who was just as amazed.
“Wow, sis, you are a rock star,” her brother said. Her brother shifted first as she waited. As siblings, Raven and Leo could talk to each other in bear form. This was an advantage when they fought together. She prayed this would work. Putting her hand out, Raven pointed at the area they needed to work on. The crowd believed she was trying to hold him off. She hoped they would continue to believe that until they started climbing up the wall.
“Shall we play the cat and mouse game.” Leo’s fury face scrunched up, glaring at her. Nobody but her Alpha and Beta knew how they played this game.
She could only smile as she shifted and they circled each other. “You see the wall behind me?” Raven grunted. “Throw me into it and then do it again. Then I will duck, and you slam your fist where my head is.” Raven swiped her paw, giving the crowd a show. “I will duck but I’m hoping the crack will widen big enough to get my claws in and we go up into the crowd. Let the killing begin. Got it?”
Her brother didn’t give her an answer. Instead he rushed her, then picked her up over his head, and flung her toward the wall. She slammed hard into the wall. Shaking her head, she looked at her brother and growled. Blood dripped down her furry face. The idiot threw his hands in the air and jumped around taking all the attention. The crowd loved it and was going crazy again. Idiot.
Then he rushed her as she stood. She ducked when Leo’s paw came rushing toward her head. She moved in time for Leo to connect to the wall. She saw the crack as it widened, but not enough.
“Again,” she yelled. But this time she grabbed Leo’s furry leg and swung him around and around until she found the spot then let go. She watched and listened as Leo’s thousand-pound body connected to the wall. The crowd, and apparently the guards, didn’t have a clue what was going on. Everyone was on their feet and leaning over to watch them go at it.
Her body was hurting but she had trained for this. And this was their only chance. It was up to Leo and her to save themselves. She didn’t think the signal was getting through. They should have been here by now.
Giving them both time to rest, Leo started circling her again. The crack was much bigger, and it went farther up the wall. They could shift back to their human forms and jump. It was the only way. Hopefully they would catch the people and the men with guns off guard.
They both shifted back to their human form, and this time Raven slammed her brother into the wall. This time she saw chips break off and the crack got wider. Enough, but just in case, she would throw him again. Like the guard said,
she owed her brother a few more times.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Caz and the others waited on the boat several miles off shore and listened as one of the eagles landed on the ship to report what they were seeing.
“Boats are docked everywhere. And I mean lots of them. But here is the worst part, they have a coliseum, just like in the gladiator days. They are fighting shifters against each other.” One of the eagle’s guards looked at Caz with sympathy in his eyes. “And they have Leo and Raven fighting each other. Looks like they are both going at it.”
Lennox snorted. Then he looked at Cosmo and they both laughed. Hard. “I don’t see this as funny. My mate is having to fight her own brother to death,” Caz shouted.
“Caz, this is a game that brother and sister have perfected over the years. They call it the Cat and Mouse game. And they are looking for a way to get out. Trust me when I say they can go at it for hours. They have been doing this with each other since they were cubs.”
Looking at his alpha, he admitted, “I still don’t like it. What happens when they continue to fight, and the people get tired of it?”
“That’s where we come in. It’s time to get our people,” Lennox said. “How many guards cover the beaches?”
“There are a lot, maybe fifty, but they look human. They are carrying guns but I’m sure that can be handled,” the eagle guard said, looking at his alpha.
Lennox looked around at the other alphas. “It’s time we take back what is ours. Girls, you are up with the magic. Take that spell down.” The eagle shifters shifted and the ones who were going to ride jumped on. It was all happening so fast.
He got on top of Aziel and grasped whatever he could. He had to get to Raven before the guards figured out what they were doing. He grabbed a hold tighter as Aziel lifted into the sky. “Woo.”