Chapter 25
Caspian’s POV
The 10 behemoths blocking the locker room door are glowering at me with a mix of resentment and uncertainty. They might not want me to win, but I am still heir to the pack. I am still an Alpha by blood and birthright. James might be a persuasive speaker, but he does not possess my authority, and he is nowhere near as dangerous as I am.
“You do realize what he’s doing don’t you?” I ask, “He wants you to exhaust yourselves fighting me so that you won’t have the energy to fight him.” I point to the door where James retreated. “That’s been his strategy through the entire Games. He set the fastest and strongest trackers on me so that I would knock them out before they could complete the trial. He’s doing the same now, using me to get you out of the way.”
The wolves glance at one another hesitantly, and I press on. “Is that really the kind of shifter you want vying for control of your pack, one that cheats and props himself up on stronger men. One who kidnaps women – mates – to blackmail his way to success?”
Mutinous muttering rolls through the huddle, so I hammer one final nail in the coffin, “I’ll fight you if that’s truly what you want, but you will lose before we ever get into the arena. Is that what you want? Is that why you joined this competition?’
“Fine,” a giant called Fernando speaks for the group, “We’ll save the fight for the arena, but make no mistake, we will be coming for you.”
“That’s fine by me.” I flash my teeth, “As long as you don’t interfere now, I welcome the challenge.”
“We won’t get in your way.” A slightly older wolf I don’t recognize promises, “mates are sacred. He crossed a line.”
Viviane’s POV
Viviane?
Caspian’s voice sounds in my head like a bolt of lightning, sudden and sharp. Caspian? I answer, still unsure of this strange mental link.
I’m close, baby. He reassures me, sending a flood of relief through my veins. I’m on your scent. Are you okay?
I’m fine. I promise, feeling like I might cry. It’s not a complete lie. I am unharmed; James hasn’t treated me badly at all. In fact, in terms of prisons, this stay has been my nicest incarceration yet. However I’m about as far from okay as a person can be.
Perhaps it’s simply my history which makes even the most gilded cage unbearable, or perhaps it’s the relative freedom I’ve enjoyed over the last few years, but being trapped anywhere makes my skin crawl. I'm in a nice hotel, deprived of any methods of escape but otherwise provided for, yet I feel as if I’m back on the pearl farms.
The truth, kitten. Caspian chastised me mentally.
I hiccup a sob. These last few weeks have been too much for any one person to handle. And all I want is my mate. I need you. I respond pitifully, please don’t go away again.
I’m not going anywhere, Viviane. He rumbles in my head, I promise.
Within minutes I hear pounding footsteps in the hall, and my mind goes completely blank. I pray it’s Caspian, but I’m too afraid to reach out and ask. What if it’s James? What if it’s someone worse?
I curl up in the corner behind the bed, trying to make myself as small as possible. The door crashes open and I bite my tongue to avoid making a sound.
The next thing I know, Caspian is charging towards me and I’m clamboring into his arms, sobbing into the curve of his neck. “Get out!” He commands his men, kissing and petting me everywhere he can reach.
Later, when I see the pearls around us, I understand why he ordered his men out, but for the time being I can only cling to my mate, desperate for the comfort only he can provide. “I’m sorry.” I cry. “I’m so sorry.”
“Shhh, kitten,” Caspian brushes his lips over my hair, “Why are you sorry?”
“You’re missing the games.” I whimper.
Caspian pulls me into his lap, settling us on the bed. “I don’t give a damn about the games.” He confesses, “If you asked me two months ago I would have said they were everything. But my everything is very different now.” His scruffy jaw nuzzles the sensitive skin of my neck. “There’s no place I’d rather be than right here.”
I want to give in to my instincts, to every nerve ending which urges me to disappear into this man’s arms and never emerge. But even now my past will not fade, and I cannot relinquish control without his help. “Just let go.” He croons, caressing my spine. Little by little I melt into him, until I’m so relaxed that I don’t hesitate to answer his questions, no matter how invasive.
“Did he touch you?” My Alpha growls.
“No.” I whisper, burying my face in his chest, “I went to the pack house to talk to you about what happened and he offered me some tea and then I woke up here. That’s all. He never hurt me, I just couldn’t leave.”
“I’ll kill him.” He rumbles, swearing under his breath when I flinch, “I’m sorry, sweetheart. It’s going to take me a while to learn to be more gentle.”
“I don’t need you to be more gentle.” I tell him, “As long as you’re with me.”
To my complete surprise, Caspian stiffens. “I’m not good for you.”
“What are you talking about?” Mere moments ago he was talking about the future, and now it sounds as if he’s trying to end things.
“I heard you talking with your mother the other day.” He begins, “She was right.” Caspian’s eyes sparkle against his dark skin, a beautiful blue abyss I could easily fall into. “I’m so relieved you’re alright. I would give anything to make you happy.” Caspian cradles my nape, “But you were kidnapped because of me, you’ve been bullied because of me. You were assaulted again, because of me.”
“None of this happened because of you.” I argue. “I was bullied because I’m a mermaid. I’ve lived in hiding because I’m a mermaid, and landed in vulnerable situations for the same reason.” Feeling horribly bashful, I press myself closer to him, “you’re the only thing that makes me feel safe. Please don’t take that from me.”
“I promise.” Caspian swears, “As long as I live, you’ll have my protection.”
I never thought I would be able to sit through the Pack Games: they’re so violent, so jarring. Yet watching Caspian compete is another matter entirely. Somehow I don’t mind watching him tear his competitors limb from limb, seeing the ruthless way he forges into battle.
We barely made it back to the arena in time. Caspian hadn’t wanted to come, but I insisted. He trained for years to compete, it’s only right that he be afforded the opportunity. I refuse to let him give up anything for me.
I thought I would hate it. I thought seeing my mate fight would make me feel sick. Instead, watching Caspian destroy his opponents without breaking a sweat has made me want him more than ever.
They all come for Caspian at once, closing in around him like a unified front, despite the fact that this competition is supposed to be individual. James disappeared after Caspian questioned him, but that didn’t stop the other competitors from joining together against the future Alpha. Apparently being the strongest contender put such a target on his back that the rules of the competition went out the window.
The wolves descend in full force, and Caspian unleashes the feral beast within. As I watch the group combat round unfold, I realize I have never seen Caspian truly angry. He’s been frustrated, disappointed, even outraged, but he’s never looked at me with the kind of emotionless wrath he levels at his opponents. To be perfectly honest it’s terrifying. If I saw Caspian Shaw coming towards me with that look in his eye I would run away and never look back, never have a relationship with him.
One by one Caspian takes his challengers out, until he is the last man standing and the only thing remaining is to name him victor. All at once it becomes clear this was never an open competition, but a futile test of the inevitable Alpha.
Though I’ve been in the Pack House countless times and even been manhandled by the Alpha himself, seeing Jasper Shaw give Caspian his crown feels all too surreal.
Whatever doubt there might have been in the early days of the Games are gone, and I pray, even the dramatic events I set in motion can be forgotten. Caspian keeps me close by his side, introducing me to his father and the pack Beta and Gamma, holding me tight as we move through crowds of aristocrats and dignitaries.
It is a world unlike anything I’ve known. Yet at the same time, Caspian’s protection and guidance shields me from the worst. I don’t know how I’ll ever tell my mother, but once again I find myself incapable of denying the truth.
Caspian Shaw is my fated mate, and it’s long past time I tell him I know.
