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LIVIA

“There will be several possible suitors for you who are attending the royal wedding and the games, Livia,” Dad said, calling over his shoulder five steps ahead. “I think you should get to know them a little better. Maybe you’ll meet a nice man, possibly even your mate.”

Beside him, Caelan’s jaw twitched, and I smirked. “Maybe I will.”

Caelan drew his tongue across his teeth. “Nobody good enough for her.”

“And how do you know who’s good enough for me?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“Nobody that I will allow you to mate,” he clarified, shooting me daggers with his glare.

“You don’t get to allow me to form a bond with my fated mate,” I taunted, acting like this was a totally normal conversation and nothing deeper so Dad didn’t catch on. “If I find him, who knows what will happen? Maybe I will leave this pack to be with him.”

While every muscle in his body tensed, he averted his glare to the forest in front of him and continued walking through the thicket of Dreadmire. Even though I couldn’t shift, Caelan and Dad and the warriors who were attending with us insisted on walking through the forest.

I hated it, like usual.

“She’s right,” Dad said. “If she finds a mate, then she finds a mate.”

Though I had said it, and while I expected Dad to want to dump me off to be someone else’s problem, his words still hurt. I knew I was an embarrassment to him because I couldn’t shift, and probably to Caelan as well, but Lycos … he didn’t have to say it aloud.

“You think you can find me someone suitable?” I asked Dad.

“Yes, I will introduce you to a few once we arrive.”

I smirked so hard that I knew Caelan could feel it burning into his back. “Sounds good.”

His hand was twitching, his back muscles rippling through his shirt. “You can bring one to the wedding as a date,” he said. I raised my brows, and he continued, “I’ll be bringing one as well. I have a meeting set up with The River Pack.”

My nostrils flared, and I gritted my teeth, fuming. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Nice girl, smart and strong .”

Lycos, he knows exactly where it hurts, doesn’t he?!

“I don’t want to go to the stupid wedding,” I growled, now completely pissed off because my little fun was over. I crossed my arms and stomped after them. “Please, let me go to the games. I wanna watch the fighting.”

“You want to watch the fighting?” Dad said.

“Yes, I wanna watch.”

Caelan tilted his head just enough for me to see his pissed-off expression. “You’re not going to the games. You don’t want to watch. You want to compete, and you do not have my permission to do so.”

“I don’t need your permission.”

He cut his eyes to me. “You’re not competing.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’re dangerous.”

“Not all of them.”

“The games you want to do are.”

“How do you know that? Maybe I want to–”

“Drop it,” he snarled. “We’re a mile from the Capital. You’re to be on your best behavior here, Livia. Don’t embarrass me.”

Don’t embarrass him? Don’t fucking embarrass him? Whatever he told me, I only wanted to do the opposite. Didn’t he know that by now? If he didn’t want me to attend the games, then I would. I didn’t care which ones I would go see, I’d be there.

And maybe… I’d even think about competing too in my favorite game: Mortal Combat.