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“Two sizes.” The girl squirmed in her seat. “I’m sure it’s the store or something.”

“I’m sure,” Hayden bit out. More like those four little witches decided to play a horrible trick on the girl if her suspicions panned out.

“I told the bear to let me hold her dress. Delilah, Kylie, and Reagan are Laney’s puppets, and they’ll do whatever she tells them just to keep in her good graces,” Zoe spat.

“Emma is a sweetheart,” Bell whispered. “She can be a tad too trusting when it comes to her sisters. Those girls need a rude awakening.”

“We’ll give it to them. I promise,” Hayden responded.

“I hope so. I’d love to knock Laney down a peg or two,” Bell muttered.

“Here she comes.” Lacy pointed toward the stairs.

Wearing a pale-gray Grecian dress, Emma slowly made her way to their sitting area. Her hair hung in loose curls, topped by a wildflower headband. Her bright-amber eyes sparkled with merriment. Hayden could see why everyone had been upset. She didn’t think the girl could hurt a fly. Her friend, Terri, according to Bell, wore a pale-green frock and looked stunning in the gown. “The guys are going to eat their hearts out,” she murmured.

“You think so?” Lacy waved to her friends.

“I know it.”

A horn blew in the distance, pulling their attention to the field. In the middle of a dais stood a man dressed in a toga, wearing a crown of gold leaves and a pair of leather boots laced up his legs. His long black hair had been pulled back to the base of his neck and held in place with a leather thong. Hayden took a moment to study his features. The guy was gorgeous, of course, he had deep-set dark brown eyes, full bow-shaped lips, and a straight aquiline nose. He brought the horn back to his lips and blew again. “Ladies and gentlemen, the tenth annual Greek Shifter Games are about to begin.”

Cheers erupted from the crowd, and he raised his hand, calming everyone down.

“For the next five days, you will watch as each contestant battles it out until one person from each category reigns supreme. All of the funds raised through these games and the Howler’s Ball afterward will be going to the five charities the winners choose.” Cheers and applause rang through the stadium before the guy silenced them once more. The man’s deep voice enthralled Hayden. She’d practically been sitting on the edge of her seat in anticipation of what he’d say next.

“These games will consist of eight teams of two. Sixteen contestants will enter, only five will be your victors.”

Behind him, the college band began to play and marched onto the field. Bell sat forward in her seat and cheered. Gone was the hurt in her eyes over the comments Laney and the horde of witches had made. “This is intense,” she said, unable to take her eyes off the action on the turf.

“Very,” Hayden agreed with a little giggle.

“And now, I present to you the competitors. Show them some love!” The MC’s arms swept wide as the floats proceeded to enter the stadium, following the loop around the outer field. Walking behind them, the two-man teams for each participating fraternity, waved to the masses.

Several of the floats had heavy partying going on. Hayden caught a glimpse of her brother and Christoph waving to the crowd. Her brother appeared so happy out there. Like he belonged. She continued to scan the floats searching for the one person she needed to apologize to the most—Alex. God, she couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been. Of course, it’d been easy to blame the alcohol she’d consumed, but that would make her a hypocrite since she hadn’t listened to Nico. Her actions the night before had been out of frustration, and she never should’ve been so forward with him. It was inappropriate.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Hill and Winston’s fraternity float drive by. She recoiled, and her stomach soured. The little pissant, Winston, blew a kiss at her then waved to everyone else. Her wolf bristled. The little bastard tried his best to humiliate her last night, but it didn’t work. His personality matched his hyena brethren. Smarmy, greasy, and complete assholes. The idea of him ever getting near her again made her want to punch his lights out.

Beside her, Bell squealed. Christoph ran to the wall separating them then climbed up. Hayden understood why her cousin became flummoxed by the man. His commanding presence overwhelmed most and could make all the girls wanton hussies. His piercing blue eyes sparkled with intention as he stared at Bell. His rakish good looks gave him a bad boy quality mixed with the aristocracy. He placed a quick kiss on Bell’s lips before pushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

“The night of the ball you’re mine, kitten,” he growled then hopped down and rejoined his partner.

Bell’s wide-eyed stare made Hayden laugh. “Looks like someone’s getting lucky.”

“Hayden!” Bell cheeks turned a cute shade of pink as she buried her face in her hands. “I can’t believe he did that.”

“I can.” She grinned.

“Hey, isn’t that Nico?” Zoe pointed to the float where the guys were going nuts. A man dressed as Dionysus poured wine on himself. He flung grapes at the crowd and splashed his fellow brothers as they gnawed on turkey legs, but Hayden didn’t care about him or the other guys. As soon as she spotted Nico, she’d only had eyes for Nico.

Dressed in a leather skirt with forearm cuffs and leather sandals like the announcer, he looked like a Greek god. His stomach muscles bunched and pulled with each step he took. Her wolf preened, swishing her tail in invitation. Hayden licked her lips. Her mouth went dry. Her palms became sweaty as her heart pounded. He shouldn’t be there. How did he get an invite? She glanced at her cousin who stood enthralled by the lion who’d kissed her in public. This couldn’t be happening.

She shouldn't be reacting to him. He hurt her. His betrayal cut her bone-deep. Yet, despite the chiding she gave herself, Hayden couldn't keep her eyes off of the man who could have been her mate. The man who gave her, her first kiss. The man she had willingly given her virginity to after she'd been kidnapped. Then he went and screwed it all up with his philandering ways.

Don’t think about it.

Yeah. Right. That was like saying don’t drink the water when she was thirsty.

As he grew closer with each step, the urge to run crawled through her. Her wolf tensed, hating the idea of her leaving her mate behind once more. A battle of wills waged within her. The wolf wanted her mate. She wanted to protect her heart from the inevitable. If he cheated on her once, what would stop him from doing it again? The beast inside Hayden bared her teeth and howled in outrage. The hairs on her arms stood on end as the wolf skirted close to the skin. The beast won this round, forcing her to stay in her seat.