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Prologue
Huling Na-update:
2024-10-29 19:42:56The cheers of the spectators are deafening, chanting for their favorite. Up there, the air is clean and the smell of food makes my stomach growl. Down here, under the arena, the Underground we call it, we are only fed when we win. You’d think they would want to keep us all healthy and well fed, they brought us here as modern-day gladiators, after all. But that’s not how it works.
Here, only the strongest survive, and I am one of the strongest.
My name is Tana, and I am one of the last Elemental Dragons in existence. There are only four of us left. One for air, one for water, one for earth and me, the one for fire. My captors do not know what I am, my fate would be far worse if they did. We’re not allowed to shift in the arena anyway. We must fight in our human form, which works to protect my secret.
The ones who imprison us do not care of our well-being. Supernaturals are easy to find, if not so easy to capture. There are very few of us who survive the first month of the arena, but there is a never-ending supply of fighters coming through the doors every week.
I’ve lost track of how long I have been here, I think it’s a year, but maybe it’s more. Our jailors keep us weak so that we cannot stage an uprising and get out of here, not that most are here long enough to even consider it. Every fight is to the death. If you don’t kill your opponent, the Commander of the arena will kill you himself and claim the other as the victor. I’ve never seen it, but we can hear everything from the Underground.
Cedric is fighting now. He’s been here nearly as long as I have. It’s only through our survival that we’ve become something like friends. We’re the two that have lasted the longest and because of that, we look out for each other.
He is an Alpha werewolf. I know this because I can smell the wolf on him and his aura is strong. He thinks I am also an Alpha werewolf, because I’ve hidden my scent and only someone that strong could survive here. I've never told him what I really am. The only other supe that has lasted close to our length of time is a tiger shifter, but he’s a loner and has no interest in getting to know us.
I’m standing at the gates, when Cedric is brought back in. He’s a mess. We always are after a fight. Based on the burns, I’m guessing he was fighting against a warlock or a faery. I watch as they drag him past me, hoping to catch his eye, but it looks like he’s unconscious. If I’m back quickly enough, I can help heal him. I’ve done it before when he’s been injured badly. It’s part of how we’ve bonded. He has made sure my food wasn’t stolen when I was unconscious, and I help him heal.
I turn back to the gates as my match is announced. Both Cedric and I are fan favorites and they begin chanting my name.
“Tana! Tana! Tana!”
The sounds of their feet stomping on the floor of the arena causes the ceiling of our prison to vibrate, making my scales ripple under my skin.
I hear the crowd begin to cheer as my competitor is released into the battleground. I only have to wait another minute and the gate is opening for me.
I slowly make my way to the battleground, to kill yet another supernatural.
Kaugnay na kabanata
The Arena Chapter 1: Cedric
I’m at home, in my pack. It’s the day of my Alpha ceremony. I turned 18 several months ago. My father wanted to give me time to find my mate, but after traveling to nearly every pack in the country, I haven’t found her.He finally agreed to make me Alpha, knowing I would continue to be exposed to other packs and would have an opportunity to find my mate. So, here we are, standing on the stage in front of our pack, my mother and younger brother are standing proudly behind us as my father begins the ceremony. Hundreds of our pack members are in attendance. It’s not every day that a new Alpha is sworn in. Every pack member will swear their allegiance to me, their new Alpha.As my father says the words, cutting my hand with the ceremonial blade, they come, the hunters. They shoot arrows laced with wolfsbane, and bullets made from silver. My father, our warriors and I all shift and begin fighting. They must have killed our patrols, otherwise the howl of alarm would have given us notice. B
The Arena Chapter 2: Tana
I have no idea why Cedric is acting like suddenly there is a way for us to get out of here. We’ve tried everything we can possibly think of to escape. We’ve both tried to pull our bars apart, we’ve tried not eating the food in case it was poisoned, we’ve tried climbing the walls to get to windows or air vents. Cedric even tried shifting, but he was unable. I did too, just in case it would work, but it didn’t. Nothing has worked.The only way we’re getting out of here is if someone comes to our rescue. My family is gone, so I know no one is coming for me. Cedric felt very strongly that his pack would come to save him, but they never did. It’s not that I think they left him for dead. Based on what he’s told me, I think that they either were brought here and have died in battle, or they were taken for experimentation. In which case, they are probably dead.I know when I was captured, my family chose death over the possibility of being experimented on. We didn’t even know about the arena.
The Arena Chapter 3: Cedric
I’m pacing in my cell. They shouldn’t have taken Tana two days in a row. That has never happened in the time I’ve been here. We fight once a week, every week, but that’s it. Then we are given food and rest until the next fight.If they are taking her again, it can only mean they want her dead. She’s become a liability. I’m guessing too many high rollers have bet against her and lost too much money, putting pressure on the Commander. So now they will make sure she dies and they win.I hear the first two fights and know that it’s not the tiger or Tana. They both end too quickly. Their fights are like mine, they last at least 30 minutes, sometimes longer and we always go last. We are the big events since we are the strongest.When the fourth fight starts I hear a lot of growling and snarling. I know one is the tiger. I’ve gotten used to his sound, but I can’t quite place the other. It sounds similar but I’d be surprised if they put two tigers together. Better to have two winners in the b
The Arena Chapter 4: Tana
I don’t know why Cedric is so damned hardheaded. I’ve been marked for death. Nothing that he does will keep me alive. If I was capable of shifting, I would have months ago and gotten everyone out of here.“Did you hear any more about that dragon shifter?” I ask him, wondering why, if they found another dragon, they weren’t in the pits today.“No, maybe it was a misunderstanding, and they were talking about the pride of lions or maybe they knocked the dragon out and they haven’t woken yet.”“Yes, but then, wouldn’t that be the fourth in our fight next weekend?” I ask.“I haven’t smelled a dragon.” Shere Khan says, looking at me meaningfully. Shit, does that mean he knows what I am?“You know what a dragon smells like?” Cedric asks him.“Yes, but unlike other shifters, they don’t share a similar scent based on their breed. It depends on their element.” He replies.“What do you mean, their element?” Cedric asks.“Do you not know anything about dragons?” He asks, looking at me again.Cedr
The Arena Chapter 5: Cedric
I can’t believe Ishir has met a dragon. They are supposed to be good luck. And that’s about all I know of dragons. His knowledge far exceeds mine. I’m hoping one day that I’ll get to meet one. I’m sure they would make a powerful ally to my pack.I have every intention of getting out of here next weekend and I’m getting Tana out as well. If Ishir is right, I’ll know when we are in the arena if she’s my mate. Even if she’s not, we’re getting her out of here. We walk back to where we usually sleep, laying down and holding hands.“The smartest move would be to get the lion to come back and open the doors for the supes. The three of us have been in the arena and know the structure, where the Commander and the other ranked members are. We know the weak spots and the best places to start the battle.”“I can go after the Commander.” Tana says. “I’ll start the fire, but the lion will need to get back down here right away. The keepers will try to take him out, so either you or Ishir will need t
The Arena Chapter 6: Tana
When they move me, they put me in a space that looks and smells like it is where the toilets are. There is no one here except for me and the smell is so terrible I can barely breathe. There is no air flow, so breathing becomes difficult. It’s not surprising that they only give me poisoned food, not that I could eat in this literal shithole even if it wasn’t poisoned. I realize starting on Thursday that the water they give me is also poisoned. So, basically, before my battle, I can’t breathe, I have no food and no water. If I were a regular shifter, like they think I am, the lack of water would be very problematic. But as a dragon, I can go long periods without water. It’s the tainted air that’s the problem for me. What water I might be able to draw from the air is contaminated. I can’t pull enough oxygen into my lungs because of the putrid scent in the air. On Saturday morning, the keeper comes in and shoots me with some sort of dart. I didn’t expect that it would affect me, but it m
The Arena Chapter 7: Cedric
My relief is palpable when Tana finally lifts her head. I’m not sure why the water was important until she says they had poisoned that too. It sounds like the Keepers were too stupid to realize that they might actually kill her before the battle. As the arena begins to fill with fanatics, I feel my strength returning. The fresh air and the extra food this week have made a difference. I look at my hand and attempt to shift, just one claw. I see that my finger shutters with the attempt to shift, but it doesn’t happen. I feel like Tana was able to make an impact on Zaiden and hopefully he’ll follow through with his part of the deal. I feel more confident when I hear that the first battle will be with one of his female lions. Even if she wins, he’ll realize that the battle to the death is a weekly thing, not a one and done as he seemed to think. Throughout the day, I’ve watched Tana sit in what looks like a lotus style, just breathing in the air. After her ordeal this week, I’m sure she
The Arena Chapter 8: Tana
I don’t know what the little kestrel told Ishir, but whatever it was, it nearly cost her life. I’m not surprised by the boos I receive froom the crowd, although, if these guys were smart, they would have played me up so that their odds would have been better. There’s no way they are making money if I die tonight. However, as the four of us take our stance, ready to fight, I know that none of us are dying tonight. But every spectator in this stadium will burn today. All afternoon, I’ve been soaking up the sun. I’ve been breathing in the fresh air and feeling my fire returning and burning in my gut. Unlike the others, I didn’t try to partially shift. If I had, everyone would have realized what I am. I saw Ishir watching me several times today. He knows my strength has returned. I’m not sure I can totally shift, but I can definitely breathe fire and burn these assholes alive. When the doors open, I see Cedric head toward Zaiden as planned. Ishir heads straight toward me and I run at hi
Pinakabagong kabanata
The Arena Epilogue 2: Tana
Eight Months Later “Momma, Kenna blew her fire on me!” My young son comes running into the room, his arms raised and big alligator tears streaming down his face. I reach down and pick him up, putting him on my hip around my growing, pregnant belly. “It didn’t hurt you, did it?” I ask. Our son, even though he has the Lycan gene, is immune to our fire. He got enough of the dragon blood to give him immunity from the dragon's heat. It had taken much longer this time to get pregnant. I was worried that it wouldn’t happen, since my uterus ruptured with Liekki’s birth, but Cedric had promised to try as many times as needed to put a pup or dragon in me. And he didn’t fail me. I’m considered a high-risk pregnancy, but so far, three months in, everything is going well. Kenna comes walking in behind Liekki. “I warned him, Momma. I told him if he touched my gemstones that I would blow my fire on him. He didn’t listen. He touched my gems, Momma.” “Sweetheart,” It’s so strange talking to Kenna
The Arena Epilogue 1: Cedric
Two Months Later I haven’t gotten Tana pregnant yet. We knew that it would be difficult after her uterus ruptured with Liekki, but my mate wants another pup or dragon and I’m doing my best to give her one. I can’t say that the constant trying to get her pregnant isn’t fun. But I know she’s becoming more and more convinced that she’ll never have another baby. We still haven’t found The Chief. We’ve gotten close, found old facilities and learned how he detonates the explosives he puts into the dragons’ brains, but we haven’t found him yet. Ishir did find a doctor that would help us. He’s human, in his mid to late thirties, but he doesn’t seem to care that we're part of the supernatural community. Or, more specifically, he fascinated by us, especially the dragons. At first, I thought I might have to kill him. He kept staring at Tana and Kenna. But when Avani, Zephyr and Kaylani showed up, I realized it has more to do with the beauty of the dragons than my mate and daughter. Ishir expl
The Arena Chapter 81: Cedric
A few weeks later, we’re joined by Avani, his elf friend, Merethyl, Kaylani and Ishir. Ishir is the best tracker in the group. With the work he does searching for missing humans and supernaturals, he travels all over and has the potential to find the hidden bunkers where the Chief is creating his hybrids. “We have to consider the fact that there will be more dragons.” Bastian says. His mate, Jena, recently delivered their baby, so he’s been out for awhile. I left him here while we went to bring down the arena. He wasn’t happy about it, but I needed him focused, and protecting his mate and unborn child had him laser focused on protecting the pack while we were gone. “Not only will there be more dragons, but we need to figure out how this Chief is able to kill them from a distance.” I have an idea about that.” Merethyl says. “I asked my brother to do some research for us and he found that, in the past, hunters would insert small mini explosive devices into the brains of supernaturals
The Arena Chapter 80: Tana
We’re halfway home from the battle at the arena when we hear Kaylani’s lament. “Something’s wrong Cedric. I need to go to her.” “Then, let’s go, Tana. I’m with you.” “I am too, Momma.” Kenna says. Ishir decided to run home before meeting us back at the pack, so Kenna isn’t carrying anyone. We turn and follow the sound of Kaylani’s cry. I’ve never been on this end of a dragon’s lament, and it’s heartbreaking. When we find her, we land, and I immediately see why she’s crying. She is standing over the young dragon. I shift quickly, rushing over to look at the young dragon who is lying broken on the ground. “Kaylani, what happened?” “I don’t know. We were talking and flying when she screamed. Then she just fell from the sky. I tried to catch her, Tana. I swear I did. But she just dropped so fast.” I lean over the young dragon. There’s blood coming from her mouth, nose and eyes. I lift her eye lids and see that her eyes are blood red. Not the pupil, what is supposed to be the lighter
The Arena Chapter 79: Cedric
I was nervous about helping Kaylani heal, but she’s a great instructor. She’s patient even when she’s in pain. She helps guide me through healing her and how much energy to push into her, especially since she’s not a fire dragon. Because we were together, I knew something was wrong when we heard the other dragon. “Kaylani what’s going on?” I ask her. My hands are still healing the hole in her wing, but I turn to see another dragon flying in our direction. “I don’t know, but she’s not a dragon we know.” As soon as the hole is healed, she’s up and flying over to where I can see Tana is trying to not fight the young dragon. A dragon that looks very much like her and Kenna. Kaylani turns back to me. “Help Avani, he’s still trapped.” I look around and see the tides are turning. My pack is taking out the hunters and those that are left are starting to run off. My pack is chasing them down. I race back over to the arena, rushing into one of the entryways. I see Kenna struggling to get t
The Arena Chapter 78: Tana
I only watch Cedric fighting Troy for a moment. Kaylani and Avani both still need help and Cedric looks like he’s holding his own against Troy. I turn back to Kaylani. “I’m going to shift and try to pull the harpoon out.” As I shift, I see hunters fighting past the pack. They are trying to get to me and Kaylani. I begin throwing fire balls at them, setting them on fire. They begin shooting at us and while silver doesn’t impact me, I know the paralytic will. I’m sending more fire balls at them, but there are too many. I’m standing in front of Kaylani who is using her water where she can, but she doesn’t want to douse my fire. Suddenly, I see the hunters start going down on my left. I turn, focusing my attention to the hunters getting through on the right. Cedric emerges on the left from the smoke and fires still burning the flesh of the hunters. He runs over to me, dropping his sword and grabbing my arms, looking me over. “Are you alright, Tana? Are you hurt?” “No, I’m okay.” “Wh
The Arena Chapter 77: Cedric
When Tana dropped me off, I had one goal in mind. Kill Troy. However, as soon as I got out of the fire and could see, I realized that the hunters were going after the pups. I immediately jumped in, protecting them, killing the hunters so my pack members could get them away. The rest of the pack that isn’t still underground begins fighting along side me. The pack will always fight to protect its own, but when it comes to our pups, we’re fierce. I make sure the group with the pups gets away safely before focusing on the group of hunters that is following my pack out of the underground. I can see the she-wolves that were captured are exhausted and starving, but they are fighting. It makes me so proud of my pack, proud to be their Alpha. As I’m fighting, I hear a dragon scream and I look up to see Kaylani has taken a harpoon to the wing. It looks like she flew in front of Kenna and took the harpoon to protect my daughter. That’s twice Kaylani has saved my family. I don’t know if I can e
The Arena Chapter 76: Tana
The next morning, we’re all up early. The pack is split in half, half coming to attack the arena and the other half staying to protect the pack and pack lands. Kenna and I shift, and Cedric and Ishir grab their bags of grenades. Cedric has his sword thrown across his back as he puts the harness on me. He grabs his bag then walks up my wing, getting himself settled on my back. The pack members coming with us shift, grabbing their bags and begin running to the arena. Once Cedric makes sure everyone is shifted and on their way, he gives Kenna the signal and she lifts into the air. Once they are far enough away, I lift up and we begin making our way to the arena. About halfway there, we meet up with Avani and Kaylani. I notice the Avani has a female on his back. I’m surprised, but I don’t have time to wonder about it. We lift up higher into the air so that we can see the arena from high above the clouds. We watch for Cedric’s pack and when we see them getting closer, he gives the signal.
The Arena Chapter 75: Cedric
When Tana and Kenna arrive back at the pack, it doesn’t take long for news to spread that we have two additional dragons on our pack lands. The warriors with missing mates all came rushing to ask about it. We are meeting in my office when they find us. “Alpha, did you find them?” “Have a seat.” I tell them as they come in. “Just tell us.” Another demands, causing me to growl a warning at him. Tana steps up to him. “All of you, have a seat. We have much to discuss and not much time to do it. Any time wasted arguing is time that we should be planning how to rescue your mates and pups.” They all walk in and sit, but they are restless. “So, you did find them?” “Yes, your mates and your pups are all alive.” Ishir tells them. Almost as one, I see their noses go up as they sniff the air. “This is Ishir. He’s a tiger and was in the arena with me and Tana. You can trust him. This,” I point to Avani, “is Avani, the earth dragon. And this,” I point to Kaylani, “is Kaylani, the water dra
