Ch. 101..110

Chapter 0101 I stood up to get a better viewpoint. "The clearings are obviously serving some sort of purpose, meaning packmembers are here, but there is so much space that a trained person would probably be able to get past undetected. I would run patrol patterns in an arc and have two groups of two or four running the same path, just running opposite each other, that way no one area is unprotected for long.

If you are having rogue attacks regularly, I would have patrol check in every hour, but from a different point in their path to keep communication open and minds sharp, especially at night. If there are specific paths in or out of the territory, I would have those monitored too, it's easy to keep your bearings if there is a road or river to follow. I would also use motion sensors that can be monitored at the packhouse or other central location. More than one set of eyes is always better." 1100k up to see Alpha Lucas smiling his gentle smile, the one he wears when he is in 'dad mode,' Luna Ava and Luna Queen Anne look impressed, but not surprised. "Is that right? I feel like I arn being tested right now and you are all making me anxious.

The Alpha King is the one who responds first. "Very impressive my dear. And you have no training in border security or patrols?" "No, sir. Only the little we have started studying in battle classes. "Bah! None of this 'sir' stuff. Alpha Reggie to you. And you seem to have a natural eye and realistic notion for what is needed. Let me ask you this, what would you do if you were protecting the Luna in an attack on this territory?" "Where is the attack coming from, sir?" He looks at me, eyebrows pressed together. My eyes go wide, unsure of what I did to earn that look for a moment, then it dawns on me. "Sorry, Alpha Reggie." "Let's say multidirectional attack. One from the mountains , one from the east entrance and one

from the west just beyond the lake. "Does the packhouse have a safe room?" I ask without looking up from the 'map' made of glasses, bottles, napkins and phones on the table, making a mental picture for myself. "Let's say no safe room." "I would have the Luna suppress her Aura and shift, we would run up the middle, trying to avoid the attacks from the East and West. Most Lunas would want to stay and fight or care for their pack, but keeping her safe keeps the pack fighting. She can keep morale boosted via the mind link as long as she is in range on the territory. If her aura is suppressed then it will take longer for the rogues to find her, giving warriors time to fend off the attack. More than likely, if the Luna is the target, the attackers will check the packhouse first and look for a safe room for her to be holed up in, that will also buy time if there is a rumor of a safe room planted. "What if there is an actual safe room?" "I would hope that it has two exits, like a rabbit hole, otherwise they can just sit on it, keeping her hostage and wait for her to need food and water. I would also hope it's built into the mountain, giving you options for exits. If your architect was skilled it could be a tunnel system that needs to be navigated like a maze to find." Pm just letting my imagination run wild now.

"You could also have more than one option for an exit with the maze system. It could also double to protect non-warriors of the pack in any type of emergency if food was stored and you could locate a source of clean water. It could be a place to keep your pack safe or as an evacuation point. I look up smiling at all of the possibilities. “Well now, I'm going to have to see how creative my architect can be.” Alpha Reggie chuckled at me. “Wait, What?” “This is the basic make up of the Royal territory and you, my dear, have picked apart our entire protective Strategy. Your fan club back there has spent the last two summers here at the training grounds.” He

points to a clearing close to the lake and I think of the picture in Kota’s room. I take a breath and then my eyes go wide and I can’t utter words. Did I offend him? Did I just embarass myself?

 

Chapter 0102 "Don't look like that. You didn't say anything wrong, but as you said having a fresh set of eyes always brings new light. Sometimes we get so familiar with things we don 't actually see them. Like you mentioning only one exit in the safe room. It seems common sense to have multiple exit points the way you said it, but no one else thought of it. We have always put focus on the outer border, and that has worked just fine. I'm not so full of myself as to think I have all the answers all Of the time. so thank you for your insight my dear." He smiles at me and I can't help but smile back. "Well this has been a very enlightening evening, but we are off to bed. My patrols have joined yours, so just let someone know if you plan on coming or going in the wee hours of the night." He looks right at me and winks. "Nope," I jump at the voice behind me. "Tiny has no plans in the morning. Goodnight sir." Cam says, then reaches for my hand, something none of them have ever done. I take it and stand, saying a quick goodnight to everyone while letting Cam lead me and the rest of our group inside. Just before we cross into the kitchen I hear Alpha Reggie ask, "Do they always flankher like that?" "Uh, huh, and I don't even think they realize that they are doing it..." I didn't hear the rest of Alpha Lucas' comment as we made our way. We head up the main staircase, Cam is not letting go of my hand under any circumstances. "Hey, Skylar." We stop just before the door to the third floor and turn around to see Prince Xander right behind our group. "Can I walk you to your room?" "She stays on the third floor." Kota responds a little curtly. "Oh, okay. Um, who are you sitting with during the trials tomorrow?" "Don't." I whisper to the guys as Cam's hand tightens around mine. To Prince Xander. "I'm not sitting with anyone tomorrow." He looked confused, so I decided to elaborate. Pm joining the trials, so I will be on the ground with the warriors. Pm not really the sit-in -the-stands-and-watch type." I just keep the conversation going as if we aren 't being eavesdropped on by all of my friends. "We'll see you tomorrow for breakfast. I smile at him and place my hand on his forearm for a brief second. I do like him and had fun talking to someone other than my usual guys. He really is very handsome, but I

just don 't have that same pull I have with the guys. It would be nice to be on friendly terms with the Alpha prince though. "Goodnight Prince Xander." I smile one more time and turn back to the door before anything else embarrassing happens tonight. Kota lets us in the stairwell and we all file up. "Man, I am beat. What time do we have to have Little Bit down to the training grounds?" Sam asks from somewhere behind me, breaking the silence. "Warriors arrive at 10 and the trials start at noon." Cam calls back "Oh and Tiny, Delta Kyle wanted me to tell you, that you are not allowed anywhere near the training grounds before 9:30, so you are hereby forced to sleep in and lay around, no matter what time you get up." A soft chuckle runs through him. "So, what do I do when my body decides 4am is the time I need to be up? I will go nuts, just sitting around waiting for the rest of you to come out of your comas." I ask a little flippantly. "Corne find one of us and we will snuggle you back to sleep. Oliver whispers in my ear and it gives me goosebumps, but I'm not sure if it 's a good or a bad thing,“Alright, TIny has her room officially now, someone can crash in Kota’s room, two of you on the couch and Sierra, you can decide who you're spooning with tonight.” Cam laughs again. “Where is Kota going to sleep?” I asked after doing the math in my head. ‘We usually share.” The twins say in unison. “We don’t spend many nights apart, never have.” Kota explains. Now I know why I was able to sleep in his room then. “Okay, goodnight boys, Sierra.” I say before turning towards my room. It's so crazy to think I have a room in the packhouse.

Chapter 0103 "Wait up there Shorty. Mateo pulls me into a hug from the back and kisses the crown Of my head like he did the other night. Sam and Oliver hug and kiss me on either temple too. Sierra just walks by me laughing. "They can 't even let you go long enough to sleep. I need to get out of this dress and into some pj's, I'll see you when they are done with you." She squeezes my arm gently before going into my room. Mateo, Sam and Oliver all walked away to wherever they were crashing for the night. I turn and see it's just the twins and I left in the hallway. They both have their shirts untucked and hands in their pockets, standing side by side looking almost shy in their slightly messy hotness. I take a breath and wait just a moment to see what they will do. When they make no indication of moving, I decide to tease them a little. "What? NO goodnight kiss from my future Alphas? I'm a little disappointed. Neither move, but they do look at each other before bringing their focus back to me. Then they both stalk the measly four steps towards me, Cam stands in front of me, Kota at my back. They are pressed so close to me, I could probably pick my legs up off the ground and I wouldn't fall. Ever so slowly they both bend down and touch an ear with their lips. My breath catches in my throat. "When we kiss you.. "It won 't be on the forehead..." "In the middle of the hallway... They both run their noses from my ear , down my neck to my shoulder and back up, perfectly in sync. Then they both slowly stand, but don't move away from me. "Breathe Skylar." One says, I have no idea, I'm so disoriented. I take a deep breath in and realize I have been going without oxygen for a bit as my chest starts to heave like I have been jogging. "You also have to let go, if you want us to leave. A husky low sound sends chills down my body again. I focused my eyes and see at some point during that I grabbed a wrist in each hand, one in front of me and one behind. When did that happen? I don't even remember moving. I slowly let go of my vice grip, clearly trying to keep myself upright. Once free they both slowly move away from me

towards Cam's room, hands still in their pockets. They never once touched me. "If you have trouble sleeping, you know where to find us." Kota says and winks over his shoulder. I shook my head a little and turned back toward my room, where Sierra is staring at me through a crack in my door with the biggest smile on her face. When I get close enough she grabs my arm, drags me inside and slams the door. "That was THE hottest thing I have ever seen!" She squeals. '[And they didn't even lay a hand on you. What did they say?" "Umm, that when they Idss me it won 't be on my forehead in the middle of the hallway." I'm still a little dazed. "Oh Goddess, do they have it bad for you. No wonder they all went possessive on you tonight. The Alphas are staking their claim. "What? No. Why would they do that? We aren 't mates, we are friends that would just be weird, if something happened. "But don't act like that little interaction didn't excite you. You are still in a haze. I don't think I have seen them flirt like that with anyone.

Chapter 0104 "Maybe a bit of both. We need to unpack this new development with the twins, then I for Sure cannot sleep without Sam, but he's patient, he'll wait all night if I want him to. She shrugs and we both laugh.

We both crawl in my bed and under my comforter and she teaches me the finer points of understanding boy behavior. I don't really care, and I don't really understand but it is fun to talk about something that isn't training or homework for a change so I just listen. It's the first time I've really ever just sat here and been a kid. It's a mind blowing concept for me. It's not long before I am dozing off in my cloud of a bed. She kisses me on the forehead and says good night as I drift off to sleep.

I roll over and stretch, I have no idea what time it is, but there is no light in the sky, so I can only assume it's my usual early wake-up. I get up, use the bathroom and then wander around my room. My room.

I can 't believe Mateo brought me here to get me away from our father, to give me some level of peace and acceptance. I tried to read in my new lounge chair, but I was too antsy. I need to get up and move, but I believe Sam's threat and I don't dare try to leave to go for a run.

I could go see the they said I 'know where to find them' if I can't sleep. Sierra confirmed they were definitely flirting with me and that made butterflies erupt in my stomach.

I have never thought of them or any of the guys like that before. Sure they are all drop-dead gorgeous and they all have the egos to back up their looks, but I never even considered anything

more than friendship with any of them. Until last night, when they invaded my personal space in a way that left my brian fuzzy and my legs weak and neither of them even touched me.

Come to think of it, of all the guys the twins touch me the least. Mateo, Sam and Oliver always put an arm around my shoulder or hold my hand when we walk and Sierra and I are always sitting on someone 's lap. Someone seems to always have some type of physical contact with me, but the twins are just there in proximity unless I arn on one of their laps, then a lazy arm is around my back Huh.

I moved to my door hesitating for only a moment so I couldn 't talk myself out of this. I tiptoed towards Cam's room, not wanting to be caught sneaking to them. I don't know why it bothers me, we all cuddle together and basically sleep wherever, but now it seems different. I get to his door and hesitate. Do I knock? Just walk in? I have no idea what I am doing or how any of this works. I shake my hands out, take a deep breath and turn the handle. The door slowly opens, I peekin and in the dim light from the hallway I notice it is almost exactly the same as Kota's, same color, set-up, everything, even the pictures on the walls. This twin thing is interesting. I look over at the massive bed in the middle of the room and saw the two most beautiful men I have ever seen. With their eyes closed, they are identical in almost everyway. If you didn't really knowthem, there would be no way to tell them apart. Kota is in dark shorts, laying on his stomach, his right arm up over his head, left down by his side. His playful look is long gone, and he just looks sweet. The muscles in his back and shoulders are defined and show of his strength even in this relaxed state. Cam is in dark shorts as well, but on his back One arm over his eyes, the other across his stomach, thumb tucked into his waistband. His usual serious look is relaxed.And those abs, oh Goddess help me.

Chapter 0105

The small space between them seemed to be calling to me. I padded toward the center of the foot of the bed and slowly crawled over the comforter that was piled there. I could feel their body heat from here and their combined scents of citrus and cinnamon is heavenly and my pulse instantly slows, like my body knows I’m Safe. I move all the way up to the pillows and lay down on my side, facing Cam.

I take another deep breath in and my eyelids droop. At the same time, both Cam and Kota shift. Kota, against my back and he wraps his arm over my stomach and buries his nose in my hair. Cam turns to face me, glides his hand down my side and rests his large hand on my hip with his fingers extending toward my butt. His head leans towards me, lips grazing my forehead. That’s the last thing I remember before I am dead to the world.

“WHERE IS SHE! IF SHE LEFT WITHOUT US I AM REALLY GOING TO KILL HER!” The door to the room banged open and my eyes flew open and took a sharp quick breath in, but I couldn't move anything.

What? Where am I? I took another deep breath and tried to look around. Then the familiar scent settled in and I remembered, I crawled in bed with the twins

when I couldn’t sleep last night. Oh jeez, I crawled in bed with the twins! What was I thinking? Before I could move or say anything, a gravelly voice spoke up.

“Are you sure you looked everywhere for her?” Cam asks from in front of me. His breath fanning over the top of my head and moved the baby hairs slightly.

I can hear footsteps pacing the room. “Yes. Her room is empty, she’s not downstairs in the kitchen or in the Luna’s office. We told her not to go without us, it’s 8, where else would she be if she didn’t leave?” I flinched hearing the time, I never sleep this late. How did I manage that? I think, starting to get uncomfortable at how close and intimate this feels.

Hands flexed on my hip and on my stomach. I stopped moving.

“I’m sure if you took a deep breath and calmed down you would be able to find her.” Kota says behind me. I can feel him huff into my hair behind me and I know he is smiling. They are clearly enjoying my brother’s torment and | have to admit, it is kind of funny. He hasn’t noticed I’m sandwiched between the two people he’s freaking out to.

“Fine,” I could hear him taking a deep breath. “

Wait!”

Both twins are laughing now, but they haven't moved from the position we started in. “Okay, you have had your fun with him, but I need to pee, so let me go.” I tell them, pushing up from Cam's well defined chest, not doing a good job of holding in my own laugh.

I climbed down between them and walked past my brother, not looking at anyone. I keep my gaze down as I walk past the rest of our friends. I can imagine what Sierra's knowing grin looks like, Oliver is probably confused or still just waking up and Sam is probably ready to throw a party. I don’t want to know, I just move past all of them, into my room and straight to the bathroom to do what I need to do to get ready.

I’m ready in 20 minutes, I couldn't stall any longer than that. I pull on black leggings, a black sports bra and black tank top that has a high neck. I don’t know what the trials are going to consist of, but I’m sure the more of my skin that is protected the better. I pull my hair up into a high ponytail and throw on my new tennis shoes. Somehow the Luna knew I busted through my last pair. I walk out of my room to see all my friends waiting for me on the couches in the sitting area and ready to go. No one says anything about where they found me this morning. We just walk to the stairwell and head down to the kitchen for breakfast.

“You seven really do travel as a pack, don’t you?”

“Good morning Alpha Reggie.” I say walking to the island covered in food. ‘Good morning Luna Anne, Prince Xander.” I acknowledge them as I get closer.

The rest of my friends form a line behind me to get food and I follow Cam and Kota to the large kitchen table set near the patio windows. We all slide into our own chairs and dig in.

 

Chapter 0106

“Are you really going to go through the trials today?”

Prince Xander asks. “They are really brutal.”

“Yep. I’m too young to join, but the more experience the better for when I am able to fully participate.”

“T don’t know if I’m going to be able to watch that.”’

He looks like he might be sick. He barely knows me, why would he be this emotional about it?

‘‘Now, son, don’t go giving anything away. No advantages to our young friend here. We can’t be showing any favoritism.” Alpha Reggie winks at me and I smile, but start to feel an unease set in.

I have to force food down after that little interaction.

Who knows how long the trials will be and if we will get food or water during it, but Iam not hungry at all.

That’s new. I’m actually nervous for something. I don’t know how to feel about that. At 9, I stand up from my chair and I look at everyone.

“Okay, I have held off as long as possible, I need to go or I am going to go crazy. Delta Kyle can deal with me being 30 minutes early.” Everyone smiles at me and I turn towards the door before they can laugh at me. I am already nervous, I can’t handle the playful teasing this morning. I just need to get there and get my head in the zone. Just when I think they are all going to let me have my space, I’m scooped up and thrown over a shoulder. The thick honey scent tells me it's Oliver.

“You didn’t think we were going to let you head to the trials alone, did you? You are about to do something massive without us. We are going to go with you as far as we can.”

“Can I at least be cavemaned in an upright position?”

I giggle at him.

“Fine, you can climb on my back, but you are staying with me. The twins got you all night.” Was that jealousy?

Without putting me on the ground, I scramble to his back. My legs are too short to lock around his waist, so he locks his hands together under my butt for me to sit on. 1 wrap my arms around his neck and rest my chin on his shoulder.

“Are you jealous?” I tilt my face to his to see his reaction.

Nothing on his face changes, but he turns just enough to look me in the eye. “Maybe.” He keeps walking forward. We are clearly not taking the truck. I take a moment to notice where everyone else is. They are all loosely walking, but seem to be giving Oliver and I space.

“Look, I don’t know what is going on, but we are all drawn to you for some reason. We all feel it. I just know that I like being near you, I like having physical contact with you, but I also know it isn’t something romantic or s*xual. It’s hard to explain. It is definitely more intense than brotherly affection, but I don’t think it’s the same as the way Cam and Kota feel. You keep me calm, keep my head on straight. When we thought you left this morning, I thought I was going to have a panic attack, then we found you and the first thought in my head was,

‘I wish they found you with me.’ I don’t know what to do with that, but I just wanted you to know, we all need you. You have your reasons for wanting to leave and I hope someday you'll trust us enough

to tell us the whole truth, but the idea of you leaving is making us all a little crazy, so you are going to have to deal with us being clingy and possessive.”

| Then he just turns his head forward and keeps walking. Holy sh*t! First, that is the most words at one time he has ever said to me, but it is also the most truth I have gotten from any of them. At least it explains their weird behavior recently and why they went all Alpha male last night.

I do the only thing I can think of in the moment and hug his neck tighter burying my nose in the crook between his shoulder and neck taking in his honey scent, calming my nerves as we get closer to the training grounds they are holding the trials at for the next two days.

“Thank you for explaining.” I whisper into his neck and goosebumps ripple down his arms, but he has no other reaction than that.

 

Chapter 0107

“Okay, my little love doves, we have to go and join the rest of the crowd and cheer on our favorite girl.”

Sam comes bounding up to Oliver and I.

I jump down from Oliver’s back and wrap my arms around Sam's waist and he kisses the top of my head, Mateo steps up and I do the same thing. I turn to Oliver and wrap my arms around his neck, he squeezes me tight for just a second before letting me go. Sierra wraps her arms round my neck and pulls me close.

“T want to know what that is all about, but later. Now focus and kick everyone’s ass like always.” She pulls back and we both laugh.

I step up to the twins and they do their usual sandwich, Cam in front and Kota behind. They both have their hands in their pockets again, like they are actively trying not to touch me. Cam leans down to my ear. ‘Do yourself proud, Tiny, we will be cheering you on.” He brushes his cheek next to mine, his nose running along my ear. Then he pulls back and I tum to Kota.

“Kick some ass Smalls. I can’t wait to watch you put someone else through the wringer.” I can feel him smile as he rubs his cheek on mine the same as Cam.

It’s like they are both trying to leave their scent on me before I go.

They leave me at the gate of the arena where the Royal guards are waiting for the crowd of candidates to begin lining up. I am getting my head in the game and focused on unknown physical and mental tests they will put us through. When the only thing that could possibly break my concentration did.

“HEY Boys!! I’m so glad you waited for me, thank you so much, it’s so sweet of you.” The grating high pitched, nails on a chalkboard sound breaks every ounce of calm demeanor the guys left me with.

“Kaley, not now. Run along and find your little minions. We have no plans to put up with you or your antics today, it’s too important. You have not been invited to the Alpha’s box and we wouldn’t have room for you if you were.” Sierra states matter of factly. I chanced a look over my shoulder to see they really didn’t go far from me and Sierra made her claims loud enough for all the patrol guards to hear, she knew exactly what she was doing, putting them on alert. My best friend is her own force to be reckoned with.

‘How dare you speak to your future Luna like that, you lowly little b*tch. Cam, Kota, tell her I am sitting with you, as your future mate we should be seen at functions like these as a united front.” She flips her hair over her shoulder dramatically.

“Just so we are clear,” Sierra’s voice get dangerously low, but still loud enough to be heard by the growing crowd, “I outrank you on so many levels and you only want to be seen, you could care less who you are with so long as you feel special in the Alpha's box.

You bring no value to any of us, go away before I have the guards remove you.” She spares me a quick look and wink over Kaley’s shoulder and I just smile back.

She’s not going to let that waste of space anywhere near my guys. It instantly puts me at ease. | Huh. I wonder when I actively started to think of them as ‘my guys’? But they are, aren't they? The twins said as much last night, Oliver said so on the way here. Ugh! Boys are so complicated.

But before I can get lost in my thoughts. Delta Kyle comes out of the gates that have been strategically covered so you can’t see into the arena.

“I’m impressed. I didn’t think you would be able to hold off. I was ready to fight with you at 5am.” He laughs at me.

I roll my eyes. “Haha, very funny. I wasn’t given a choice really. I was threatened by the guys and they made sure the Alpha King’s patrol knew I wasn’t supposed to leave early, so here I am, almost not early.”

“Well, let's get your name on the register and wait for the rest of the slackers to show up.” He hands mea clipboard that asks for basic information, like my name, contact info and pack affiliation.

At 10 all the competitors start to show up. I have no idea what the actual number is, but there are about a hundred people here of all ages. Once everyone is signed in, they divide us into groups. The high schoolers who are just here for exhibition purposes, those 20-30 and then anyone over 30. Since we age more slowly than humans do, our fighters continue until well into their seventies without issue. They don't divide male and female though, which I appreciate. There are a fair amount of females here, but we are far outnumbered by the men.

 

Chapter 0108

“Now that you are all in your groups” Warrior Nickloas calls out, “We will send you to your designated area. Once there we will pair you at random to spare one on one, two on one and wolf to human. Listen for instructions, the pace will go quickly. You will be ranked on many different aspects, but most of all your ability to not get submitted by your opponent. From there we will combine the groups, put you in order of rank and spar again, once that round is complete we will make our first round of cuts, then the gauntlet. Alright, let’s go.”

A hand shoots up from the crowd over in the 20-30 year old group. “When will we break for meals during all of this?” A high male voice asks and I have to fight an eye roll.

“You won't, this is not a leisure training, you are about to fight for your life. If you are not prepared to do that, the gate to the spectators is that way.”

Warrior Nickolas turns and walks away without another word or to see if Wimpy sticks around or not.

A low murmur comes over all the contestants. I figured as much, you don’t get breaks and days off as

an Elite Warrior. This is what he meant by packs sending whoever and them not even being ready to train.

We all file to our respective designated areas. The crowd is loud and someone has clearly fired them up.

I chanced a look at the Alpha’s box which has low walls blocking them from the rest of the crowd. The Alpha, Luna, Alpha King and Luna Queen are sitting in the top row, with two soldiers sitting

behind the ALpha King. The rest of our pack's ranked members are sitting in the row in front of them along with, I assume, more warriors or ranked members of the Alpha King. In the very front row is my crew all clapping and cheering me on, and in Sam’s case obnoxiously loudly. I also notice Kaley found a way to sit right in front of where the twins are to make it appear that she is close to them, the only thing separating them is the three foot wall behind her. | just roll my eyes and tune everything out.

Each group has two Elite Warriors giving out instructions and pairing us off. My first opponent is a guy I have never seen before, but about Oliver's size.

He smiles and says ‘hi’ and tries to tell me his name. I just nod in response and move to my side of our fighting circle. I’m not here to make friends, just to see what I am actually capable of.

A horn blows from somewhere and everything becomes a blur. Arms are flying, legs kicking, bodies being thrown in every direction.

No one is screaming or shouting in pain, no true warrior would do that, but there are lots of grunts and groans and muffled sounds of discomfort. I have no idea how long I fight with my first opponent, who is big and very strong, but not fast enough to get any real hitson me, when the two warriors walk up, tap us on the shoulder and point us each in another direction. I have anew target and don’t hesitate.

This goes on for so long, fight, tap, change opponent, I have lost track of how many opponents I have had, but I do notice the field is becoming more and more open, like we are gaining space. I shove that thought to the back of my mind for now and will ask the guys later.

When I feel like I am going to pass out from exhaustion, dehydration, hunger or maybe all three at the same time, someone runs by me and tosses a bag and then disappears in the crowd before I even catch it. The two people I was fighting have disappeared too. 1 look around to make sure another person hasn’t been sent to attack me before I look down at the bag.

It contains a bright yellow shirt, food rations, a bottle of water and a first aid kit. Most of it makes sense, the shirt I’m not sure about though.

“Find your respective colors’ corner and follow the instructions while you refuel.” Warrior Nickolas’voice booms over a bull horn.

Chapter 0109

I head to the corner of the arena that has a yellow flag. Three other people joined me. My first sparring partner who seems to have done well for himself, he doesn’t look like he sustained many injuries. A poor guy who looks like he has been a human punching bag for everyone stumbles over. He has acut across his right eyebrow that is bleeding into his eye, his nose is for sure broken and his lip is split and bleeding.

His whole face is going to be bruised soon, I hope his eyes don’t swell shut while we are trying to complete this course. The girl is one of the last opponents I had and she was giving me a run for my money. None of them look to be current students so maybe in the 20-30 group.

I start to wonder why I was put with a group of people actually competing for a training spot when Warrior Nickolas announces, “You have five minutes to strategize and tend to wounds, then the horn will blow. From then you will have 30 minutes to complete your task.”

“What task?” The girl asks as we all do the obvious and put on our team shirts.I dump my bag and so does my first fighter. Where I have a first aid kit he has rope.

“Check your bags, we all have different things and come here,” I gestured to the injured guy, “ Let me reset your nose so it can at least start to heal.”

The girl dumps her bag and a card falls out. The only thing on it is ‘Capture The Flag.’ My eyes light up, yes!

“What's got you looking so happy?” First guy asks.

“It’s my favorite game. Looks like this is a team effort. You are the tallest, can you see where they may have hung the yellow flag?” I ask while I am still tending to injured guy. “My name is Sky.”

Injured guy looks at me, “I’m Jeff, how’d you learn to do this?”

“You can flirt with her later, I see it, I'm Lillian, can he move yet?” The girl rapidly fires at me.

“He should be good, everyone eat and sip water so you don’t get acramp or throw up, it will slow us down.” I turn to see where Lillian is pointing. “I see it too, he should be good to go. Let’s assume that we have to get it and return it as ateam. Who’s the best scout?” I look at Lilian and First Guy. I don’t even

bother with Jeff for now, once I see him move I'l decide if I trust him to help.

“I'm a good scout, once we get over there I can keep anyone away who may try to intercept you guys.”

First guy shrugs. “Name’s Wyatt.”

“Okay, you’re pretty fast so we should work together to get to our flag.” I look at Lilian and she nods. “Jeff, can you be on the lookout for other team flags as we move?”

“Sure can, then I can help Wyatt with scouting.”

“Alright, Lilian lead us out, I'll cover your back, Jeff, follow me and Wyatt can bring up the rear. Our flag is on top of the rope climb, but it looks like they took the ropes off completely, so we are going to have to scale the obstacle course.”

I point out to Lilian, “the best spot is there to the right. The cargo net bracing is the most direct route and we should be able to jump from there, as long as we aren’t intercepted. I do have a couple back up ideas, but let’s hope we don’t have to use them.” I smile at her, and surprisingly she smiles back. Perfect someone else just as crazy as me.

We line up and the horn blows. The four of us take off behind Lilian and she follows the path I gave her perfectly. There is so much debris on this portion of the arena, it looks like a paintball field. I can hear others shouting directions to each other, but we stay as quiet as possible.

I figure we can rest up a bit if we don’t have to fight our way to the flag. She follows a path that takes us around the outer edge, Poor Wyatt is so big he barely fits, but he squeezes through and we come around to one side of the cargo net.

“Alright, this is where we let go of our cover, Wyatt, Jeff? You guys ready?” I whisper over my shoulder.

“Yes.” They replied together.

“Keep track of the other teams, we don’t know how big they are, assume we are outnumbered and fight like we are. Let’s go.”

Chapter 0110

Lilian and I do a running crouch to the other edge of the cargo net. It would be stupid to scale it and then have to climb across. I head up first and can hear Lilian right behind me, she struggles a bit as the net swings and shakes below me, but she keeps up. Once we are halfway up six people run out from various places along the ground. Wyatt is able to stop two with swift hits to the head, they go down hard. Jeff is fighting with one, and I have to say is putting up a good fight even with his injuries.

“Let’s go!” I shout to Lilian and hear a string of curse words with every movement. It actually makes me smile. Once we get to the top, I help Lilian onto the beam. “It’s aten foot jump, you have to take a running start.”

“You act like you’ve done something this stupid before.”

“Yep.” Is all I say before I take off across the support beam and launch myself onto the rope climb support.

“That’s all you girl, I'll catch you when you come back.” She laughs.

I grab the flag and go to put it in my bag, but as Iam, I have a thought and move it to my sports bra then make a show of closing and securing the bag on my back before running and jumping back.

“You were right we are surrounded, how are we going to get out of here with the guys? Wyatt isn’t fast enough to get up here and Jeff can only handle one person at a time.”

“T can handle several at a time, here, you take the bag and wait until we clear a path, then we can all run together.” Let’s see who takes the bait.

We move down and Lilian stays out of reach with both my backpack and hers on her. I jump in and start helping Wyatt clear out a path, there are only about ten people left and he’s knocked a few of them out.

Once we get a couple more subdued, I call up to Lilian.

“Get ready! Jeff flank her right, I will take her left then Wyatt can watch our backs. 3. 2.1. Go!”

Lilian drops down and starts to run, Jeff runs to position on her right side, I follow up on her left.

Wyatt grunts like he got hit and I risk a look back and see someone barreling at Lilian’s back. I move to intercept him, but his momentum is too much and all three of us go toppling head over feet. The guy grabs both backpacks and takes off hooting and hollering to his friends. Lilian moves to get up and chase him, so does Wyatt.

“Let it go, let's just get back to our side before time runs out, we only have 2 minutes.”

“But, it doesn’t matter if we don’t have our flag.” She whines as she stops moving.

I open my eyes wide and say again, “We should get back to our side before time runs out.”

“Ah!” Jeff says and jumps up to wrap a sympathetic arm around her gently guiding us to our corner, but she starts to dig her heels in. Then Jeff looks over his shoulder, “Would you please?”

The next thing I know Wyatt has Lilian in a fireman’s carry and we are slowly jogging back to our side while the other team is still having a party in the center. | don’t even think they checked the bags yet. We all step over our line, just as the buzzer goes off. There are cheers and boos from the crowd.

Warrior Nickolas walks to the group holding our bags, while medical staff goes to tend to the injured people.

He held out his hand to the leader of the group. The leader opened one of the bags and rummaged around in it. Then he flips it over and dumps it out, no flag. He moves to the second bag, and you can see the looks on the faces of his teammates change to worry.

He wastes no time dumping the bag and finding no flag. Warrior Nickolas looks over at us and Jeff looks right at me smiling as does Wyatt who caught on.

Lilian looks confused, then I pull the flag out of my sports bra and wave it around. My team and the crowd goes nuts. I have never heard it this loud in the arena before. The vibrations of all of the voices are rumbling the ground we are standing on. My team all hugs and we are laughing, Lilian is pissed I didn't tell her, but I had no way to and not give it away.