Page 66 of Savage Games

The forest grows silent.Even the birds have stopped their morning songs.The edge of the clearing where Brad ambushed me is barely visible now, the trees swimming in and out of focus as the poison takes hold.

Jamie...I need to reach her.If I die here, Brad wins.Naomi will never know what happened to me.She'll think I abandoned her, just like everyone else in her life.

With the last of my strength, I reach for our sibling bond, praying she'll sense my distress before it's too late.

“Naomi,” I mutter, rolling onto my back, shouting in pain as my weight presses down on the gaping wound in my back.

My fingers claw at the ground beneath me, the only part of my body that I seem to be able to move now, as I blink up at the sky and stare as it slowly changes from bright blue to grey to black.

25

Naomi

The morning air clings to my skin as I pace behind the guest cabins, trying and failing to organise my thoughts.

Maddie is here, Brad knows she's here, and everything I've worked for is on the verge of collapse.And I can't see her until later because the next round is due to start.

My wolf is restless, pacing frantically inside me, and agitated, not just by the lingering pull of the mate bond but by something deeper, a primal warning that something isn't right.Since dawn, the connection between Wyatt and me has felt different, strained in a way I can't explain.

My instincts are screaming to find him, but I need to understand what's happening with Maddie first.What possessed her to leave Northern Ridge now, after all these months of cautious planning?Did Brad finally push her too far, or has something else happened that I don't know about yet?

I’m so tense.My muscles ache, and my shoulders hurt.I stretch, trying to ease a pain between my shoulder blades, no doubt brought on by all this stress.

A movement near the main path catches my eye, and when I can’t scent Wyatt, I instinctively step behind a thick tree trunk.

My heart races as a scent I despise, one that makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, tickles my nose.With my skin growing clammy, and my stomach feeling nauseous, I peer through the leaves and watch as Brad strides confidently toward the packhouse, looking almost smug.

His dark hair is still damp, like he's just stepped out of the shower.Despite what he tried to do to Wyatt last night, he looks like a man who slept like a baby.

He makes my skin crawl.Not with the usual revulsion I feel in his presence, but something about his cheerfulness feels wrong.My wolf snarls silently, hackles rising.He looks almost satisfied.Briefly, I wonder whether he's gotten to my sister and scared her into silence.I hope not.

Narrowing my eyes, my brain attempts to connect the elusive dots that are dancing just out of reach.

I'm so focused on Brad that I nearly miss Jax approaching from the opposite direction.Dean's younger brother moves with unusual purpose, his normally casual stride replaced by something more determined.I've barely seen him during the Games.He avoids crowds and daylight, only appearing at dusk or dawn, like some mythical creature.

But here he is now, striding straight toward Brad with a look of barely contained fury.His fists are balled at his sides, his shoulders tight with tension.When he intercepts Brad, positioning himself directly in the alpha's path, I strain to hear their conversation, sensing its importance.

"Alpha."Jax acknowledges, polite but strained, his deep voice carrying just far enough for me to catch."Dean needs to speak with you.Immediately."

Brad's expression shifts, annoyance flashing across his features at being ordered around by the younger wolf.The fact that Jax is Dean's brother is the only reason Brad responds with any level of respect."About what?"

Jax hesitates, and I watch as he subtly inhales, his nostrils flaring slightly.

Something changes in his expression, a flicker of confusion, then he gives Brad a once over, his lips pressed hard together.Whatever he's picked up, he's not happy about it, and I finally get a glimpse of the wildness inside him.His wolf flashes in his eyes even though he's addressing an alpha.

Jax's eyes glow amber for a moment, the wolf rising dangerously close to the surface.His hands twitch at his sides, and I wonder what scent he's detected that's causing such a reaction.There's something feral about him, something barely contained that makes even Brad take a half-step backward.

Finally, he grits out a reply to the very impatient man in front of him, making a big show of looking toward the gathering crowd near the lake."He didn't say.But he was clear it couldn't wait."

With an exaggerated sigh, Brad shakes his head.

"I'll catch up with him later, I need to..."He makes a dismissive gesture and goes to side step Jax, but Jax cuts off his objection and edges in front of him, refusing to move out of his path.

"It's about Maddie," Jax adds, his tone deliberately neutral."Dean said you'd want to speak with him, given it's about one of your own."

Jax watches Brad's reaction as closely as I do, and my alpha doesn't disappoint.At my sister's name, Brad's entire demeanour changes.His shoulders stiffen, his easy confidence hardening into something more cautious.

"Maddie?"

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