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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

~Arcay~

I STOOD ON the platform and stared at Clay amidst the sea of darkness and Aldar. I ignored the other alphas in the crowd, all of their faces expectant as the silence dragged on and still no one challenged me.

Jursin taking Clay away from me had almost finished me. I was inconsolable, bereft without my omega, and so angry I could have killed someone. How dare they take him, he was mine.

The only reason I did not run to the cell where they kept him and tore him free was because Lendel and Kesk had begged me, pleaded with me, not to. I could not even go and see him, because I would not have been able to control myself. I had paced in my quarters, rage sparking through every inch of me, until Jursin came to speak with me again. He was lucky I did not attack him.

I managed to remain in control long enough for him to swear to me that he would not interfere again if I won Clay fairly at the tournament. The traditions stood. After that, it would be impossible for anyone to argue their case against me, and I would be left in peace to deal with my omega as I saw fit. That promise was the only thing that had kept me together while I waited for the tournament to begin.

And here I was, after long, torturous hours had finally dragged by, ready to fight anyone who dared to stand between me and my Clay.

For a moment I believed that my status would prevent any from taking the challenge, but then a commotion in the crowd tore my eyes away from Clay. One figure stood. Ulgar. I glared.

I had expected him to come forward, but hoped he might not after I had already beaten him once. It looked as though I would have to do it again for him to accept it. Stubborn as always. My body was still stiff from our last encounter, and the wound on my back made it difficult to defend my left side. But it would not be a problem. I just needed to keep him on my right. Even wounded, my fighting skills far outweighed Ulgar’s; I could easily beat him again.

Ulgar pushed his way through the crowd, and it opened for him to pass. As he made his way towards me I paced the platform, a caged predator, impatient to be finished. I would destroy him the moment the tournament began.

He stepped up onto the platform, spear gripped in both hands. I took my place on the far side, and we squared off. He was wider than me, but I was taller, faster, and more skilled. There was a reason I was the Second and he was the Third.

As we squared off, waiting to start, he tilted his head towards Clay and sneered at me.

“You had your chance, Arcay, now it is time for a real alpha to own him,” he said in a voice low enough for only me to hear.

My lips curled as I snarled. He would be a cruel mate, I had no doubt about it. Clay watched from his seat, wide-eyed. He was depending on me to win, I could feel it in his gaze. And I would. For his sake, and for mine.

Everything was still. The tension rose as the seconds ticked by. I cleared my mind, filled my lungs, and readied myself. Then with a flash the light changed from blue to red—the fight had begun.

In the next instant, Ulgar launched himself at me with a snarl, going directly for my left. He must have remembered that he had injured me there and figured out that it would be my weakness. Before he could get close, I brought my spear up, closing my side off, and caught his swing, pushing him back. I bared my teeth. He would have to do better than that if he wanted to catch me off guard.

He swung around to the other side and I went to meet him, but, with a speed I had never seen from him before, he feinted, changed direction, and went for my left again. I was not quick enough this time.

He hit hard, driving the blow into my weak side, and the flare of pain shocked the air out of me. I reeled, surprised. The crowd gasped, just as surprised as me. I managed to jump back out of his range before he got another blow in, jaw clenched in pain. I had made a big error in underestimating Ulgar. This was going to be harder than I had thought.

I needed to go on the offense and control the direction of the fight. I pushed forward, more careful this time, more aware of his movements. He tried to strike me a few more times, but I dodged and got through his defenses, planting a blow into his unprotected stomach. He stumbled back, but the punch must have been less powerful than I had hoped, and he recovered faster than I expected. He came back at me and we battled back and forth, matching each other, dodging, weaving, swiping.

Sensing another opening, I lunged forward. Ulgar moved, anticipating it, and hit me on the left again before I could reel myself back in. I gasped and staggered, twisting to turn it into another attack, but the wound weakened me and Ulgar got another hard strike in. My vision whited as pain shot through me, and I felt rather than saw Ulgar come at me.

I managed to flick my spear up and around. Metal clashed on metal, and Ulgar lost his grip on his weapon. It went spinning out into the darkness, but my victory was short lived. He jammed his fist into my side again, and my grip loosened. My own weapon was torn away as my head spun.

Before I could get my wits back he bore down on me, putting his full weight behind it, and I was slammed to the ground. I rolled, got my balance back, and used his momentum against him to pull him down after me.

We grappled on the floor, hands and fists pounding at each other as our bodies twisted together, too close to get any power into the blows. Both of us were fighting to get a hold of the other, elbows and knees. Somehow in the scrum, Ulgar planted his elbow in my side, driving with all the strength he had, and I spasmed and cried out. His arm snaked around my neck and squeezed, cutting off my air.

If it wasn’t for my wound weakening me, I could have easily broken his hold, but he drove his fist into it again and again, taking full advantage of my vulnerability. My head spun and I clawed at his arm. He paused to get his breath back and in that moment, sensing his victory, he hissed into my ear.

“I bet his tight little hole is exquisite. Have you been inside him yet? The moment this is over and he belongs to me, I will take him. Hard. And I will think of you as I do.”

The white cleared from my eyes, and I saw Clay, face drawn, startling blue eyes wide in horror as Ulgar choked me. I pictured him under Ulgar, face twisted as Ulgar claimed him by force, uncaring how it hurt him.

No. I would not let that happen.

Rage filled me, starting as a low noise in my chest and bubbling up into a howl. I thrust my head back, slamming it into Ulgar’s face. There was a crack that shot pain through my head, but I ignored it .

He shouted and his grip loosened slightly. That was all the opening I needed. I twisted in his grip and brought my knee up hard between his legs, in the same way that Clay had done to me.

An anguished howl ripped from Ulgar’s throat and he let go to clutch at his groin. I rolled onto my feet, wobbling for a second as the blood rushed back to my head.

By the time I could see clearly again, Ulgar was on his feet, spitting and furious. I attacked, dodged under his arm that went wide, and drove my elbow up under his rib cage. His breath rushed out in a whoosh and he folded. As his head went down, I punched upwards into his throat. He collapsed onto the ground, gurgling in pain.

I stood over him.

The tournament was the only time an alpha could kill another without consequence. If I wanted to, I could stamp out Ulgar's life here and now. But, instead, I stepped back. This fight was over, and he would no longer bother us; Clay was mine by law.

Vicious joy surged through me as I looked out over the crowd and fastened my gaze on Clay. He stared back at me.

He was mine.