The Forbidden Wolf King: Kings of Avalier, Book 4(11)

Her mouth popped open in shock, her wolf retreating as her eyes returned to their normal blue color. She said nothing in response. I could smell the fear on her and I hated that she’d even been chosen to compete. She didn’t belong here.

“Do you want to live?” I asked her plainly.

She swallowed hard and nodded and then it was too late to speak any longer. The advisor was here and he held the box towards her with two choices.

A small dagger and a throwing knife.

She looked at me.

“Dagger,” I told her and she took the tiny replica of the blade, ready to exchange it in the weapons tent for the larger life-sized version.

The advisor appraised me once again, his hazel-eyed gaze searing right into mine. “Last chance?” He offered me the throwing knife.

I could feel Ivanna’s glare burning into me without even looking. If I took this puny weapon, she won.

I shook my head and he snapped the box shut.

“Everyone follow me,” he stated and walked out of the tent.

As a group we stepped out into the sunlight in a single file line and followed the advisor. The entire front lawn of the palace was jam-packed with wolves from all over the realm, but they parted as we passed.

“Go, Mud Flat pack!” someone screamed and I couldn’t help a grin. I recognized the voice as one of my packmates.

“Wash Basin pack!” another chanted.

“Eagle Cliff pack!” More chants and then howls and pretty soon the crowd was deafening, cheering on their favorite contestant or packmate.

When we reached a large open area that had been roped off into a circle, my eyes searched for Axil. The king. A little jolt of electricity ran through me as I found him already watching me. He was wearing a red silk tunic, unbuttoned at the chest. The sun shone on his tan skin as he sat upon a raised throne that looked out over the fighting area.

At the sight of him and the fighting ring, again I was pulled into a memory of our summer together.

“Axil Moon, you are up to spar. Pick your opponent,” Coach Varryl had said.

It was the second day of camp, and although Axil and I had spent the previous night dancing and kissing, I didn’t know if that was just a one-night thing. All of the students stood in a ring around the thick foam mats where the wrestling match was about to begin and Axil walked slowly past each person. Some of the males growled at him as if begging him to pick them. I hoped he wasn’t one of those guys who wouldn’t spar with a girl because he was afraid of hurting her. I wanted him to know I wasn’t delicate. When he passed me, I stepped out of line and right up to him, tipping my chin up as if to say, choose me.

The lopsided grin he gave me was so enticing my legs went weak.

“I choose Zara Swiftwater.”

I tied my long hair up and handed my shoes to a friend before going to stand before Axil on the mats. My heart raced as we walked around each other, sizing the other up. I could feel the dominance coming off of him in waves. His gaze was difficult to hold for too long, though not impossible, and I felt that for him to really want to be with me, he had to know I was strong.

The coach blew his whistle and I charged forward, sweeping my leg out and pulling Axil off his feet. He went down with a grin and I leapt on top of him, straddling his waist as our friends and fellow campgoers went wild with cheers. The moment I positioned myself on top of him he bucked upward with his pelvis and grabbed my arms, throwing me to the side and then reorienting himself so that he was now on top of me. It happened so fast I could barely track it. He was sitting on my ribcage, pinning my arms down, and the screaming of excitement around us was deafening.

“It’s okay to tap out,” he teased.

“Never,” I growled and a fire lit in his eyes.

But he had underestimated my flexibility. Because he was sitting on my ribcage and not my pelvis, I was able to throw my legs upward and cross my ankles in front of his neck, pulling him backwards off of me. He went down hard and I rolled away, taking him into a chokehold. I thought for sure he was going to tap out but he reached up and pried my arms away from his neck.

I growled in frustration and then he flipped over, reaching down to pick me up, tossing me over his shoulders like a scarf. The crowd went wild as Axil walked over to the coach.

“Call it off,” he begged. “She’s my future wife and I can’t hurt her.”

All of the girls at camp gave a collective ‘aww’ and I couldn’t help but grin. Axil was a charmer and I was fully under his spell.

The coach blew his whistle and gave us both a little chuckle.

“Young love,” he muttered.

Now I forced myself to push away the memory and look away from Axil, not liking the effect he had on me and not wanting Ivanna to get wind of our past romance.

The grassy fighting area was quite large, big enough for us to shift into our wolf form and run circles around our opponent without feeling squished.

The red-tent fighters lined up around the edge of the rope opposite us, then the king stood and cleared his throat.

“We’ve long held the belief that a queen does not deserve to serve next to her king unless she is the strongest among us!” he shouted and the surrounding wolves chanted and howled their agreement.

“Just as I fought my way into this spot, my future queen must do the same!” He gestured to his brother, whom he’d nearly killed to become king, and again was met with excitement from the crowd. I watched his brother’s face, the clenched jaw and fisted hands, and knew he was not over the defeat. Why Axil let him live I would never know. It was rare that two brothers fought and one forfeited. It made me think Axil had a soft spot where his older brother was concerned.