Inevitably Yours

QUINNFrom NôvelDrama.Org.

While I still felt like an animal, being led by my waist versus my neck was far less embarrassing. Michael and I held hands as we walked; I didn’t care anymore. I had probably already doomed us, and I was losing hope that I could get us out of this. Michael was too stubborn to give up. I knew we discussed our contingency, but he would still try to get us out.

His hand gripped mine tighter as we approached a large coliseum-looking structure. Suddenly, this last trial felt more daunting than either of the first, and I was curious why they allowed Michael to be with me again.

Another Fae fell in line with Arathorn as we entered the arched doorways. A quiet conversation passed between them that I couldn’t make out. Then, Arathorn passed the rope attached to me to this Fae. My heart raced as they began to part.

“Wait, where are you taking her?” Michael growled angrily. I could see his spine ripple; Eros was probably ready to burst out.

“I suggest you do not make things worse for yourself,” Arathorn said plainly. His gaze circuited mine, and I could swear something was in his eyes.

“M,” I said, tearing my eyes from our keeper. “M, I’ll be okay. Go.”

The Fae, now leading me, scoffed and pulled me along. I looked over my shoulder at Michael, who was looking back at me too. I tried to take in the face of the man most precious to me, not knowing if I would see it again. Whatever they had in store, I didn’t think it would go our way.

We approached a staircase that went up in a wide circular arch and began climbing. The longer we walked, the more nervous I became. I wished I could link Michael and know what was happening with him.

After climbing at least a hundred steps, we reached a landing, and the Fae stopped. He turned to me, and the look on his face made my stomach turn. “Hands,” he demanded.

I hesitantly lifted my arms. He produced another rope and tied my wrists together to the rope around my waist. “Why?” I asked.

“Do as you’re told,” he barked at me. He pulled the rope unnecessarily tight before letting it go. I bit my l*p, trying not to let on how much it hurt.

He continued to lead me through the vast, arching walkways of the structure until we entered an area deeper inside. We stepped out onto a balcony that overlooked the center of the colosseum. It looked like something out of a history book with a column-lined dome that housed a sandy floor, levels below. The Fae tugged at me, turning me to the right where our balcony had a full view of another where the King sat. The Fae always surrounding him were on lower seats below him. The Fae who led me bowed his head and stilled. I tried to look around for Michael, desperate to know he was okay.

“Are you ready for your final test, dog?” the King asked lazily.

“Y-yes,” I stuttered, bringing my attention back to him. He waved his hand in the air. A creaking noise sounded, and I looked down at the ground. A door was rising. Soon Arathorn strolled out, pulling my mate with him. I could barely make out his irate expression from my position. “M…” I gasped.

“Who has been selected as the first opponent?” the King asked. The door opposite Michael and Arathorn opened, and someone emerged. It was hard to tell, but he looked young compared to some of the other Fae we had seen. Younger than Arathorn, for sure. He only wore pants, his bare chest pale under the sun. He didn’t appear to have much muscle tone or mass, but I knew that didn’t necessarily mean he was weak.

Arathorn undid the rope at my mate’s waist, then headed back through the door. Michael was left standing near the center of the arena facing the young Fae.

“Miirphys is ready, your majesty,” the Fae next to me said. The King dismissively waved again. The Fae turned to me. “This trial is simple. Heal the other dog. If he survives three opponents thanks to your success, you pass.”

“What,” I gasped. I looked down at Michael, who wasn’t even paying attention to his opponent. He was looking up at me. “But I can’t- I don’t know- how do i-”

I couldn’t get words out. They were going to make Michael fight three Fae, and I had to keep him alive. Losing my mate would lose me the trial. I had only ever “healed” him with food, and even then, it was only from fatigue and soreness. I looked wildly between the Fae and Michael. What was I supposed to do?

“Begin,” the King called.

“Begin,” the King called.

MICHAEL

I silently vowed to myself that I would find a way to kill Arathorn. I didn’t care about whatever bound him to the King. This was beyond the line. Quinn was several stories above me on a platform that jutted out over the arena. I could hear the pain in her voice as we both realized what this trial meant. Losing it equaled me dying.

“So be it,” Eros said darkly. “Kill them and then end us so we can get to each other again in the next life. There’s no reason to pretend we’re getting out of this any longer.”

I looked up at Quinn, then the terrain around the platform. I could reach her if I moved quickly. Eros was right. I wouldn’t die without making sure Quinn was released from this hell with me. It would hinge on not letting Arathorn stop me with his stupid power.

“Too scared to even look at me now, dog?” a voice called out across from me.

I’d been so engrossed in my thoughts of Quinn I hadn’t paid my opponent much attention. I was surprised when I looked up.

“I see you found some new clothes,” I taunted. It was the Fae who met Eros and pissed himself. He’d either get mad and kill me with his overwhelming power or do something stupid that would get him killed. After our prior interaction, I was comfortably betting on the latter.

“You’ll regret your insolence,” he roared, drawing an ornate short sword.

“I only regret that my time with her is being cut short,” I told him truthfully. What the Fae wanted or didn’t want was of no consequence now. All that mattered is I would never spend another night with her or see our pups again. The life we built together had been burned to ash, and at least some of them would pay on my way to her. This one would pay.

“Don’t worry,” he sneered. “Once you’re gone, I’ll make sure to walk her daily.”

“That’s bold of you to assume,” I replied.

“Assume what?” he asked in confusion.

“That you’ll be able to walk.”

The blade came over his head in a wild attempt to strike me down in one blow as hard as he could swing. I side-stepped and allowed his momentum to carry him past me. From the lack of technique and how easily he’d been taunted into a fight, I could tell he was an amateur at best. The Fae swung from the ground towards my jaw with ill intent. I stepped backward, allowing the blade to pass in front of my face, missing by only a few millimeters. As the sword passed by, I launched a punch into his chest. It knocked the wind out of him, and it caused him to let go of his sword at the end of his swing. It flew off to bury itself into the coliseum wall, quivering as it sank into the hard surface.

The Fae looked at me in confusion as he tried to catch his breath, and it took all I had not to laugh. I still lost the fight with myself. After all that bravado, he was useless. Laughing again apparently wasn’t what he wanted to hear, so he lunged at me again. I stepped into him, bringing one of my knees tight to my chest before lunging out and smashing my heel into his face. When I hit him the first time, I noticed that the Fae body was incredibly hard. It was like hitting a wall made of steel. Luckily, wolves weren’t weak, so as I connected with his face, I felt his nose crumble.

I’d spilled first b***d. I didn’t know why I expected anything different, but his b***d wasn’t red; it was purple. It covered his face, and, even hurt, he just kept coming. He may not have been exceptionally skilled at anything, but it was like hitting a tank and telling them to stay down. He was not obliging.

Even with a shattered nose and bleeding profusely, my opponent persisted. He lunged forward again. This time, I decided to try a different approach. I changed levels as he came in. I dropped below the punches, and my shoulder hit him hard in the waist as my arms wrapped around his legs. I stood up with him in my arms and then used my shoulder to drop him back to the ground with me on top of him. I quickly climbed onto him, a knee on either side of his h*p. He was pinned to the ground with nowhere to go, so I began to rain down punches on top of his broken nose.

Punch after punch landed until I heard his face beginning to crack and his skull beginning to collapse between me and the ground. I heard nothing. I could see nothing. There was only rage. I’d let it out now, and I wasn’t sure I’d get it back in the bottle. Even in my fit of rage, my mind was registering that my punches were doing damage, but the guy was still moving. He was just refusing to die, even though his face was a complete and utter mess. I knew it had to be because he was Fae, but it didn’t make it any less unsettling. His hands continued to raise, and his breath came in ragged gasps.

“His head,” Eros growled. “Even they can’t live without their f*****g heads.”

Somehow, even angry, Eros was a comfort to me. He was also right. Extending the claws on one of my hands, I looked down at the pitiful man under me. I wasted no time ripping my claws against his throat to sever his head from his body, and when I was done, I tore my prize free. I stood, exhausted but elated. They could die. I looked down at my body covered in violet b***d and my now headless Fae. I’d brought his head with me as I stood. To the dismay of the assembled Fae, I held the head up for all to see. Some reactions spanned from horrified to outright anger.

Now that I was starting to come down from the adrenaline, I could feel my hands. I’d broken something in both of them on the Fae’s exceptionally hard body. Even his face was incredibly durable. This would cause me problems in the next two fights, but I kept up appearances to hopefully make them think twice about who they sent me.

I threw the head down at my feet, “Is that all you have for me?”

The King looking unphased, just waived his hand to the Fae holding Quinn hostage, “Bring in the next.”