Wyatt and I slowly circle each other, neither of us ready to make the first move. As I’ve been trained, in part by the women fighters of the underground tournament, I let the background noises, the roars and jeers of the crowd, fade away into the background. Instead, I focus fully on Wyatt. Every
Smaller, we thought, than a ponytail. Unfortunately, for all of his misses, Wyatt catches me here. I jolt back, captured. He roars as he throws me head first toward the floor. I lift my arm to save my head, but my body collides with the full impact of his throw. The breath knocks clean out of me
When I blink my eyes open, I’m in my bed in the Pyramid. Steven is beside me, resting on the edge of the bed. My ribs ache, but the pain isn’t so all-encompassing this time. It’s more a dull thrum, present, unavoidable, but not overwhelming. “You have several broken ribs,” Steven says. He delivers
“Please get back in bed.” “Chloe, please.” “You need to rest.” And finally, “You are as stubborn as Neil is.” Eventually, I make to Neil’s room. The door is open, a nurse and Beau are inside. “What the hell is this?” Beau demands. He jumps to his feet. “Steven?” “She wanted to see Neil,”
The ceremony to remove Wyatt as the Hayes’s Beta, it turns out, is not all that formal. It mainly consists of all of the brothers and a witness to the declaration of dismissal. We don’t even have to dress up. Thank the Gods. I really doubt I could squeeze my broken and battered ribs into any kind
“You don’t think he’s still here?” Beau asks Archer. Archer’s face tightens, grim. Without a word, he heads for the door. Beau, cursing, starts to follow. “What’s happening?” I call after them. “Stay here, Chloe. Stay with Neil,” Beau shouts back. Mia starts to fuss more. “She’s hungry,”
Wyatt – a spy? For Alpha King Hayes? “We found all of these in his room,” Beau says. “He left them out everywhere, sitting there like he wanted us to find them. Bastard is mocking us.” “Here,” Archer says, shuffling through the papers. “List after list. Our schedules. The girls we’ve seen. The c
They must know that. Neil must, at least. And I think he does. As I look at him, I can practically see the wheels in his head turning. “He’s more powerful,” I say. “He’s the most powerful man in the kingdom. You can kick Wyatt out. You can barricade the Pyramid, but you cannot start a war with t