Page 87 of Wild Games

Dash bounces on the balls of his feet off to one side, the nerves on behalf of his brother unbearable.

They burst from the treeline at full speed, the finish line in sight. The crowd erupts, half cheering for Eli, and the other half, for Kain. The noise is deafening.

They're shoulder to shoulder, neither able to pull ahead. Eli's longer stride matches Kain's explosive speed. The final fifty yards become a dead sprint, both wolves giving everything they have left. Sweat and blood fly from their bodies, muscles straining with effort.

Twenty yards. Still even.

Ten. Neither gives an inch.

Five. The crowd is on its feet.

"No," Dean whispers. "No, no, no."

They hit the finish line in perfect synchronization, both stumbling and falling past it in exhaustion.

Eli and Kain lie on the ground now, chests heaving and covered in mud as they roll onto their backs, both gasping for air.

The crowd goes silent, confused. It’s a photo finish, and nobody can tell who’s won.

Callum looks between the two men who look equally baffled.

The silence stretches uncomfortably. Then slowly, all eyes turn to the VIP section.

Dean's jaw works like he's biting back words too profane to speak aloud while Jamie curses under her breath and grips his hand tightly.

Finally, he turns to Blake in disbelief, who, to his credit, seems to find the situation slightly more amusing than Dean. “Oh, for fuck's sake."

A ripple of nervous laughter runs through the crowd at Dean’s reaction.

The big alpha shakes his head, looking to Blake for answers. "What the hell do we do now?”

39

JAX

Blake's silence stretches on, his dark eyes moving between the two exhausted competitors, who still lie on the ground. The entire arena holds its breath, every wolf waiting for his final judgment.

Dean's fingers drum against his chair arm, the sound sharp in the quiet.

Blake strokes his chin, but I catch the glimmer of amusement in his eyes. He's enjoying this. The legendary head Alpha isn’t remotely concerned by this unexpected turn of events.

"Fascinating," he murmurs, grinning as he turns to those around him. “I mean, what are the chances, after all we’ve put them through?”

Eli and Kain are slowly helping each other to their feet, back slapping and giving nods of respect, but both still too anxious to hear what Blake has to say to even speak yet.

"Fascinating?" Dean's voice doesn’t hide his shock. "That's what you're going with? The rules don't cover this. There's no precedent."

Jamie leans into him, and he wraps an arm around her shoulders, stroking her long dark hair as he tries to rein in his frustration.

"Exactly." Blake's grin spreads slowly. "No precedent. Do you know what that means?"

Below, Eli and Kain are both looking toward the VIP section with matching expressions of confusion. The crowd starts murmuring, speculation running wild.

A re-run?

A tiebreaker?

A one-on-one fight for the title?