Winning the Legend

by B. Kristin McMichael

  While all the men in her life were beyond attractive, all-American Devin, rebel Turner, and even studious Thomas, something about Andrew made him stand out from the others. Arianna wanted to believe it was more than her night-human essence calling for its mate in his essence. It felt deeper than a primal need for each other. Andrew always made her feel safe and cared for. Even at this distance, where they were far enough apart to not feel each other essences, Arianna couldn’t help but to just stand and stare at him. Andrew was all she ever wanted, and if they lost the tournament that might not matter. This tournament changed everything. She agreed to the tournament—a glorified fight for her hand in marriage—only to save her people from war. As she watched Andrew read, she was filled with regret. She could never feel about someone else the way she felt for him. She loved him with every fiber of her being. Arianna hoped Thomas’ plan would work, but if it didn’t, she would be losing the only thing in the world that mattered more to her than her own life: Andrew.

  In a blink, Andrew was across the room wiping the tear that had slipped down her face. His thumb gently rubbed her cheek, keeping a few more at bay. While his touch was always tantalizing, she couldn’t enjoy it. Tomorrow was the day her life as she knew it for the past year was truly ending. Even through all the changes, she was finally getting used to her new night human life. Now it would no longer be that way; she would have to stand before thirteen hungry men waiting to devour her. Not a single one knew her for whom she was or loved her in the way that Andrew did. They all wanted the prize of her bloodline. Arianna had kept up a strong front for the full four weeks they had been training, but now it was all becoming more real. She was sure she was going to lose Andrew.

  “Hey,” Andrew said in barely a whisper. “You promised, no more tears.”

  Arianna sniffled. Yes, she had promised right after they arrived, but she didn’t really mean it. When she knew she was alone in the house, she would let herself cry, just not in front of Andrew.

  “Until you turned on the waterworks, I didn’t even know you were here,” Andrew said, trying to cheer her up as he lifted her in his arms to carry her back to the bed.

  “Really?” she asked. All her worry flowed away. She couldn’t continue her train of thought about losing him when he held her. Right now he was hers, and felt so much more real than what was waiting.

  “Really,” Andrew assured her. He had done his best to train her in stealth. If he didn’t have the connection they had, he really would have lost her. She was almost as good at it as her great uncle Gabriel, the head of the baku night human family and the best at stealth for generations.

  Tears still burned in her eyes as Arianna leaned against his bare chest. His heart beat beneath her. The swish of his blood perked her night human appetite, but she kept her craving to herself. Any feeding on Andrew would weaken him, and she needed him at full strength for tomorrow. He was her last chance at freedom if Devin and Turner could not win the tournament.

  “Love,” he murmured as she caressed his neck, “you need to feed now.” He moved her up so that she was in perfect position to feed on him.

  Waves of anticipation rolled through him as he thought she would feed.

  “Not now,” she said, scooting back down into his arms. “I fed earlier today.” It was a lie, but one that was getting easier to tell him.

  Andrew nodded and allowed her to cuddle into his arms. He, too, felt the change coming and was anticipating the fight to keep her safe. They would protect her. They had to. She was the one born to change the night human world.

  Chapter 2

  Arianna and Andrew had been following Maxim for over two hours as they twisted and turned through the endless tunnels. Arianna hoped Maxim was right about where they were, because by now she was completely lost. Andrew seemed lost in his thoughts, more than likely mapping their route in case he needed to get them back to the estate. Andrew always seemed to be more on protection mode when around Maxim, as if he sensed the young man’s longing for Arianna.

  “This one might be a little tight for the pale giant,” Maxim called ahead of Arianna. Like all night humans, Maxim thought that his own night human form was the most magnificent. Arianna couldn’t deny that he was a sight to see. His refined features set off his dark eyes and even darker hair. He wasn’t grossly exaggerated in any sense and seemed like he could be an underwear model with his perfect body.

  Andrew grunted behind her, acknowledging his thoughts of Maxim’s insult of him. Arianna was between the two men, and it had been a long walk of insult trading. Neither seemed to like the other. Arianna reached back mentally to Andrew.

  ‘Just let him talk,’ Arianna said. ‘We need him to get out of here.’

  ‘And then I can smash his head in?’ Andrew asked.

  ‘No.’ Arianna reached forward and took the hand Maxim offered to help her over loose stones.

  Even in her night human form, which gave her several inches, Arianna was still short. Halfway over the stones, she was lifted into the air from behind, breaking her contact with Maxim. Andrew ducked to get through the tunnel as he set Arianna down in front of himself, regretfully putting her closer to Maxim again. Maxim smirked back at Andrew and offered his hand again.

  ‘If he finds any more reasons to touch you, I might have to remove a few appendages,’ Andrew threatened.

  Arianna declined Maxim’s extended hand. He looked disappointed. Arianna smiled encouragingly, trying to hurry him along to their destination. She felt his interest just as much as Andrew, but was better at ignoring it.

  ‘His appendages stay on.’ Arianna used her authority voice, and Andrew sulked. As his leader, he had to obey her orders and this wasn’t one he was happy to follow.

  ‘The night human brat needs a lesson in manners,’ Andrew replied.

  “Watch your head here.” Maxim ushered Arianna forward, putting her in the lead and now he could follow and watch her.

  Arianna moved forward until there was space to pass and motioned for Maxim to keep leading. Maxim brushed past her, making contact on his way. Andrew growled a response before Arianna pulled his hand to her waist. Andrew calmed down as she turned to keep walking, but kept closer to him than Maxim.

  “How much further?” Andrew asked, getting sick of all the times Maxim had tried to hit on Arianna since they entered the caves.

  Maxim didn’t answer but kept leading them along.

  ‘I think I’ll start with an arm,’ Andrew grumbled to Arianna.

  ‘You’ll start with nothing,’ Arianna replied. ‘If you’re going to act this way the whole time, then maybe I’ll have to leave you back here with him. I can’t have you ripping off arms of the leaders of the thirteen clans.’ It was a disaster in the making, bringing Andrew along. Time alone had only strengthened their bond and made the whole process of the competition harder for both of them.

  “How much further?” Arianna asked the same question.

  “We are almost there.” Maxim didn’t try to hide the bit of disappointment in his voice. He kept in the lead as they made a few last turns. Arianna noticed a bit of light in the distance. They neared a small hole framed by green.

  “Evergreen shrubs,” Maxim explained. “Keeps the tunnel hidden even in winter.”

  “Poisonous?” Arianna asked, looking closer at the leaves as they got near.

  “Not to my kind,” Maxim replied. “Who knows if it is to others?” Arianna felt the hope in his words that it might be for Andrew. Andrew reached past Maxim and moved the vines out of the way for Arianna.

  “Guess it’s time for you to go back to your cave, troll,” Andrew replied, ushering Arianna out of the cave. Andrew didn’t hesitate to push her outside. He’d been tracking other night human activity since they’d entered the passages, and they were miles away from everyone.

  “Andrew,” Arianna scolded.

  “I’d say it has been nice knowing you and having you ogle my girl, but it has not,” Andrew replied. “Gabriel will return with payment
after we get settled.” Andrew was all business. At least he wasn’t ripping limbs off, yet.

  “Thanks for everything. Tell your father thanks,” Arianna said as Andrew reached for her hand and tugged gently. There was nothing wrong with Maxim, as Andrew wanted to believe. He’d been a nice guy the whole time they’d stayed with his family. Maxim’s attempts to hit on her were only halfhearted at best. He had already been promised to a mate in his own clan. Andrew tugged again. Arianna smiled at Maxim, and he nodded back before Arianna turned to begin their run.

  Arianna looked over to Andrew as the scenery passed. It had been dark in the caves, though they could both see fine in the dim light, but now in the sunlight she was getting a much better view of him. His hair blew in the wind as did her own light blond hair, which kept smacking her in her face. There was just a bit more grace to Andrew than Arianna, but she was getting better at all of it. In the past month being a night human came easier, since she drank the blood of five different night humans. It had been her choice to become the legend, and physically she didn’t regret her decision. Mentally, it would be much harder now that the clans were all meeting to fight over her.

  Andrew’s night human form seemed more of a ghost of him in the bright daylight. Unlike the other night human clans, baku had evolved to be able to withstand daylight. Most did not go outside in their night human form during the day, but Andrew needed to now to run through the forest. It took years of training to be able to hold a night human form in any bit of sunlight. Andrew’s day walking ability had been perfected in the past month, and he was the strongest of the albino-like clan. All baku transformed into a night human with a complete lack of pigment, no matter what they looked like before. Andrew’s normally dark brown, wavy hair was now long and white. His tanned skin was paler than Arianna’s normal coloring. And his eyes had a pink tinge to them. While it was a stark contrast to what she was used to, she found herself admiring his night human form as much as his day human form. He was different, but she knew he was still him. Little details still remained after he transformed. While his hair was white and longer, it still had the slight curl at the ends that was there in his day human form.

  ‘Getting tired?’ Andrew asked with concern in his thoughts as she dropped behind him a bit.

  ‘Nope, sorry,’ she replied, focusing on the run and not the perfect form beside her. ‘Just distracted.’ Arianna raced ahead of him a few feet to cover up her red face. Andrew approved of that answer and easily moved beside her to catch a glimpse of her blush.

  Chapter 3

  Arianna busted through the large, ornate, gold-lined doors of the Meyer estate. To call it a country home was a bit of an understatement. Tucked into its own private mountainside just north of her normal estate, the Meyer home took up more than eighteen thousand square feet with fifteen bedrooms, twenty bathrooms, a great hall, and a ballroom. While moving back into elaborate quarters should have felt like home to Arianna, as her own estate was larger, it didn’t. Arianna really missed her aunt and uncle’s small apartment over their family diner more than anything. This was just another large, ornate building that would be used as the setting for her latest drama. It wasn’t a home by any account.

  Andrew followed close behind, checking the perimeter for any who had followed them. He extended his senses for miles around and concluded that they actually had escaped without anyone noticing. The competition would work much better if no one showed up. Andrew looked at his watch. They had two hours before the deadline. That was more than enough time for everyone to make it since they were close enough running at full speed, but his life would be easier if they didn’t arrive at all.

  Arianna raced by the waiting staff in the entryway and clutched the two men at the end of the line. Her personal guard Nixon grabbed her first and hugged her before Jackson took her and embraced her also. Relief was written all over their faces. They had both made a pledge to her dead grandfather to protect her with their lives, and they had to let her go away without them for a month. They were as happy to see her as she was to see them. Arianna didn’t realize how much she missed her protection team until she saw them there waiting for her. Her two human guards had been at the estate since she had gone into hiding.

  “She’ll be here soon,” Arianna whispered to Jackson, already knowing what he wanted to hear. Before they’d left, Jackson had asked to be Molina’s keeper and then they were forced apart. “She misses you a lot and wouldn’t stop talking about you. Are Nelson and Mica here yet?” Arianna looked behind the guards to see no other guards waiting.

  “No,” Nixon replied. “Gabriel tried to move them around but couldn’t mask them like us since we’re just day humans.” Arianna nodded and continued to look around. The plans included Devin arriving first since he could be masked being only a day human. Nixon and Jackson were moved second being that they were also day humans. Jackson pulled her into another hug.

  “He missed you, too,” Jackson said cryptically for only her to hear. “He’s in the library.”

  Arianna stepped back to see if Jackson was teasing or not. He was completely serious. She knew what he meant. Devin had already arrived. Arianna took off down the hallways, twisting and turning to follow the sound of Devin’s beating heart. She had never been to the Meyer estate before, but she didn’t need a map to get to Devin. Andrew followed at a distance, knowing who she was looking for. He had sensed Devin the moment they walked into the main house. Andrew had won Arianna, but there would always be a part of her that wanted to be with Devin.

  Arianna made it quickly and silently to the room where Devin was sitting. The door was wide open, and from the hallway she studied him. He was busy working, as always, shuffling papers around. Arianna watched like it was the first time she’d seen him in years. Part of her would always be attached to him, no matter how much she now felt for Andrew. Andrew stood back and didn’t interrupt her time. Devin would always hold a piece of her heart. Andrew just hoped the piece he held was bigger.

  Arianna glanced around the book-lined chamber. Walls of books of every color surrounded Devin as he sat on the old-fashioned couch in the middle of the room. He was completely oblivious to the history contained in the old, leather-bound books around him, whose pages were yellowed with age. If Arianna could concentrate on anything else, she would have seen the beauty in the room, but her eyes couldn’t be swayed from Devin.

  ‘Hello,’ Devin said mentally to Arianna as he continued to read. Even with her new skills, Arianna couldn’t fool Devin. She heard him no matter where he was, but he made sure she knew that he knew she was present also.

  “Hi,” she said, cautiously entering the room. Their last time seeing each other, Arianna finally found out why she was drawn to Devin. Her night human dearg-dul form felt Devin was her mate as much as her night human baku form wanted Andrew. Andrew moved back down the hallway to give them privacy. She was safe when she was with Devin.

  “You know, you’re breaking the rules,” she said. “I’m not supposed to have any contact with contestants until this all begins.” It was a rule to keep the other constants away, but it backfired when Devin and Turner both entered the competition.

  “I thought you arriving made it begin,” Devin replied as she inched closer.

  “I guess so.” Arianna wanted more than anything to run over and throw herself into his arms and hug him. She missed him. It wasn’t the same passion she felt with Andrew. Andrew was her lover now. Devin was her family and always would be. He had been her rock for the past year when her life spiraled out of control and she was thrown into her new night human life. Without him, the dearg-dul clan, and her own life, would have fallen apart.

  Arianna sat down on the opposite end of the maroon couch and watched Devin as he continued to work. It was safer to keep a distance. A second rule she learned after she left was that she couldn’t touch any of the contestants during the competition. She did not agree with this.

  “Everything go okay on the way here?” Devin aske
d as he read on and signed a few more papers.

  “Yep. Not a single person knew we left or followed us. When will Turner arrive?” Arianna asked, gripping the couch pillow to keep her hands to herself. This competition was going to be agony for her with the rules stating that she couldn’t interact with her keepers as she pleased. She couldn’t wait for everyone to arrive and tell them the new rules.

  “Turner plans to roll in thirty minutes before the end so that we can get rid of as many of the followers as possible. And Thomas?”

  “He should be flying here soon. He was going to wait until the sun was off a little so that he doesn’t get sick from the flight.” Devin was gripping his pen almost as hard as she was gripping the couch. At least he missed her, too. That was a little bit of comfort.

  Devin finally looked up. Arianna couldn’t decide which she wanted to do more, cry or smile, as she looked into his all-knowing blue eyes. In reality what she wanted most was to crawl over and climb into his lap and have him tell her this was all a dream. This game for her hand in marriage was becoming both more real and surreal at the same time. Not a single clan cared what she wanted. Only her family cared, and they were powerless to stop what was coming. Breaking the rules, Devin reached over and brushed a lone tear from Arianna’s face.