Pride to Pack
Page 4
***
My three day reprieve passed in the blink of an eye. It could’ve had something to do with the fact that I slept through most of it. My body’s natural urge to heal while I slept took over. I wanted to train but my body was having none of it.
I gingerly walk into the kitchen to give Benji and Aunt Lily a last minute hug goodbye. I’m not feeling very confident today knowing it might actually be the last hug I get to give them.
Aunt Lily dashes across the room the minute she sees me, taking me into her arms, surrounding me with her floral scent. “It’s an abomination. Making you duel when you are still recovering from the last one. I feel like storming down to that arena and giving them a piece of my mind.”
“You can’t do that. It will only cause trouble for Uncle Jack. I’ve trained all these years. I can handle it.” I pull away, putting on my brave face. I need to leave now before I crack. Causing her to do exactly what she wants, no doubt writing her own death warrant in the process.
Benji stands from his seat at the table. “Come on Bel, you don’t want to be late. I’ll walk you down the road. Uncle Jack said he’d meet you at Grigori’s. There was a meeting this morning.” He walks straight out the door without making eye contact with Aunt Lily or me. I can smell his tears so I know the reason why. It’s the same reason I follow him out silently, neither of us want to make Aunt Lily any more concerned.
Neither of us speaks again until we reach Grigori’s drive, both lost in our own heads. I can’t help looking at all the gorgeous houses, seeing the picket fences and beautiful flower beds, only to think people passing through this town would have no idea that the very people who keep these houses so beautiful would be trying their damnedest to have an eighteen year old woman killed just because she’s another species.
“Bel,” Benji’s whimper pulls me from my thoughts.
One look at his blotchy face covered in tears makes me pull him into my arms. “Shhhh. It’s okay, Benj.”
Grigori’s door opens. Jared, Uncle Jack and Grigori all file out. Grigori walks out the gate not even acknowledging that we are even here. But then again Benji is a lowly human, I’m a wolf and we already know what the lions think of me. Why should he bother acknowledging us?
I watch Jared expecting him to follow his father but he stops in front of us with Uncle Jack.
I release Benji, holding his shoulders firmly with my hands. “Go home and give Aunt Lily a hug. I’ll see you in a little while.” I don’t care that there’s no conviction behind my words. It isn’t like I can say, “Have a good life, I won’t see you again.” It’s probably true but it would just hurt both of us.
Uncle Jack pulls a sobbing Benji into his embrace, looking at me over Benji’s dark hair. “I’m going to take him home. You head down with Jared, I’ll catch you up.” With those parting words he walks off in the direction of home.
I watch them walk away for a second before turning back towards Jared, who’s still standing in front of me. In fact I’m certain he had moved closer because there’s barely an inch between us. I can feel his lion’s energy crackling against my skin.
“How are you doing, Bel?”
“I’m fine,” I answer. Why would I answer any differently when it’s his pride trying to kill me off?
He growls. I can honestly say I have never heard a growl come from a lion before, and it’s quite a disturbing thing. “Now, answer that again, but without the bullshit this time.”
“Fine,” I snap. “I’m feeling shit. It hurts to move. It hurts to breathe. It hurts to think about the fact that I’m being sent to my death by your whole goddamn pride and no fucker seems to give a shit! There, is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Not exactly but it’s much better than the first answer.” He turns coldly and starts towards the arena. “Come on, you don’t want to be late.”
The closer we get to the arena the calmer I become. It’s like a cloud has descended over me, nothing matters but the fight I’m about to face. No amount of worrying or complaining will change a thing. I’ve got to duel no matter what; I can’t ask anyone else to fight for me.
The pride is already circled around the arena, ready to watch the duel.
Jared grabs my hand and pulls me through the parting crowd.
Great, everyone is going to think I was about to run and needed escorting by the leader’s son.
Once we get through the crowd I pull my hand away from Jared’s.
“It’s about time you turned up. I thought you must have run off scared,” Daniel says, snarkily.
That growling noise comes from Jared again but he doesn’t follow up with a comment.
Grigori steps between us, stopping any verbal diarrhea from spewing out of my mouth. “Daniel, does your challenge against Rosabel still stand?”
“She killed my brother. Too fucking right it does,” he snaps.
“A ‘yes’ will suffice, Daniel,” Grigori says with a smirk.
Is this really a time for jokes? One of us is going to die in a minute. Looking at Daniel’s muscular body, I have no doubt it’s going to be me.
“Rosabel, choose a form.” Just like that, no formal wording.
“I challenge Daniel,” Jared shouts from next to me. I had actually forgotten he was there. Murmurs run through the crowd, people questioning why? Others questioning if it’s even a legal move on Jared’s part?
“Daniel, being the challenged party, you are required to choose a form. What do you choose?”
I’m too shell shocked to take in what’s happening around me after that.
Jared’s fighting for me and Grigori is letting him. Why? Have I been sucked into the twilight zone or something?
Someone’s hand grabs me, pulling me out of the arena and toward the spectators. They’re not attacking me, so I assume it’s Grigori. I can't tear my eyes away from the two lions in the arena long enough to see who belongs to the hand. All I can see is one mass of golden fur. With the roars and yips I can hear, it’s clear someone is winning.
It’s only a matter of minutes before it’s all over, the fur separates into two. The lion that’s moving shifts and a naked Jared is left standing in the centre of the arena.
I manage to breathe a sigh of relief before Grigori drags me back towards the centre. He clears his throat before speaking. “Jared as the winner, do you wish to take on Daniel’s challenge towards Rosabel?”
“No,” is all he grumbles, as he picks his clothes up off the floor and walks out of the arena.
Grigori passes me off to Uncle Jack. I have no idea where he came from or if he was even there through the fight, but he’s here now and leading me home.