The Arena novel Chapter 27

I sent Bastian to the human town to find out about our financials. I need to go after Troy. I got the intel, and my trackers begin identifying the places where they had last seen him. I start tracking the sightings and see that, once again, they are in a circular format.

Fuck! There’s another arena. With Bastian gone, I can’t afford to attack the arena yet, but I need to make sure that I’m right. I get a group of warriors together, and I tell Galen that he’s in charge. I make a plan to get additional intel and let the warriors know what we’re doing and what the plan is.

“This is a reconnaissance mission only. I’m not leaving the pack vulnerable without Bastian here. No offense, Galen.”

“None taken.”

“With Troy still out there, any action against me will give him an opportunity to attack, so until Bastian returns, we will just get whatever information we can.”

“With all due respect, Alpha, doesn’t that mean some shifters will die?”

I clench my teeth. That’s exactly what it means, and it doesn’t sit well with me, but I can’t guarantee that the dragons will be there again this time. I have to put my pack first.

“It’s a possibility. But if we don’t wait, it’s definite. We need to know what we’re walking into before we attack. These aren’t your everyday hunters. These people know exactly how to take us down and incapacitate us. I won’t risk any of you or our pack. Not for a battle we don’t yet know if we can win.”

The next day, we leave. It takes us three days to travel to the new arena. I realize immediately that this one is not a new arena. This one is as old, or older than the one that I was in. So, there was always more than one.

We find a place to make camp for the night. The next day, I send out scouts to watch and find the entrances. It’s another day before they return and give the coordinates. After everyone goes to sleep, I decide to watch the entrance closest to the forest where we are camping. I don’t know what pulls me to go and watch, but I do.

Late into the night, I see him. He’s big, heavy, and he knows where he’s going. He’s too big to be a Keeper. He’s a shifter. Maybe he’s here to help someone he cares about, or maybe he’s like me, wanting to destroy the next arena.

I watch as he ducks into the entrance. It’s over an hour before he re-emerges. The breeze has shifted. It’s putting me directly downwind from the shifter, and the minute I smell his scent, I stiffen. “Ishir,” I murmur.

My hands clench, and I have to hold the snarl that tries to rip from my mouth. He’s here again, casing the arena. I watch as he heads away, running back into the forest.

I take deep breaths until I calm myself down. Then, I sit and contemplate my next steps. Ishir is here at another arena. I know he was at the last arena because the little kestrel told me he was there before me, and he attacked just over a week later. Ishir seemed to know the dragons, and maybe he needed that time to convince them to help him fight. He’ll be back. Soon. And I already know that where Ishir goes, Tana goes. My mate will be here when Ishir returns, and I need to be here, too. This time, I won’t let her get away.

Before my warriors wake, I decide to go into the underground so I can see who and what type of shifters they have here. I immediately realize that this is a hardcore arena. All of the shifters are predators. I’m shocked that there are so many.

“Well, if it isn’t old fucking home’s week,” a familiar voice says.

I turn and walk to the cage. I’m shocked. “Zaiden?”

“First Ishir and now you. I’m guessing since you didn’t come with him before that you are no longer friends and aren’t working together?”

“How the hell did you get caught again?”

“Not sure, but my entire pride is here, except for the one that found Ishir and sent him on the hunt to find us.”

“What did Ishir say to you?” I ask.

He turns his head and looks at me sadly. “You know, I didn’t understand before. But we’ve been here for months now, and I get it. I know Ishir didn’t have a choice, just as I and my pride don’t have a choice.”

“What Tana told you was right. No one leaves here without dying. Or at least that’s how it used to be. Did Ishir say anything about dragons?”

For the next two days, we plan, then I get the warriors that I’m taking, and we are ready to leave again. This time, we’re prepared for the bullets. We had ordered armor after the last battle. So, while it won’t be ideal, it will help keep my pack from being severely injured. Since I’m a Lycan, I’ll have to put the armor on my warriors after they shift and then put on my own.

We arrive back at the forest around the arena on Thursday evening. We spread out and begin monitoring the entrances like we did last time.

The next morning, we watch the Keepers go into the entrances, presumably to feed the fighters before the event starts tomorrow. When they leave, I move to go check in with Zaiden and the others in the underground. This time, I walk around and find the locks for the cells. These cells all have multiple locks. It will be harder to get them unlocked. I’m not sure if this is because these are all predators and more deadly or if it’s because we’ve demolished two arenas, and they don’t want their ‘assets’ getting released.

I meet with Zaiden and his pride members, trying to make sure I have all the information they have on how to get these cages open. If Ishir is bringing his dragons, there is a larger possibility that these shifters could burn alive.

On the other hand, maybe they could tear these cages apart. But if they are releasing shifters, they won’t be fighting the spectators or the Commander and his ranked members. And, of course, this is dependent on whether or not Ishir brings the dragons.

If the dragons are ripping the cages out, then I’ll be inside the arena where Tana will be. I want to be near her so I can fight alongside her and make sure she stays safe.

The next morning, we’re in place and ready. As soon as the fighting begins, we rush to the entrances. I leave more warriors inside to start breaking the cages open. It will take them longer with the extra locking mechanisms.

We burst into the arena, and they are ready for us. The shots ring out right away. I anticipated this and had instructed some of my warriors to go up the spectator entrances so they can attack them from behind.

Zaiden isn’t in the arena, but one of his pride mates is, and she begins fighting beside us. While silver won’t kill her like it would my warriors, the bullets will still hurt. So, I try to cover her as best I can, knowing she can’t shift.

It isn’t long before I hear the screeching sound that may become my new favorite sound … the sound of a dragon. Just as I hear it, fire begins blazing across the spectators. My warriors on that side, jump down into the arena floor.

I watch the fire dragon for a moment, and that’s when I see it. One of the ranked members has gone to the structure at the end of the arena. As I watch, he pulls off the giant drop cloth to reveal the weapon underneath. It’s a harpoon. A harpoon meant for one thing – to bring down a dragon.