Page 7 of Savage Games

Without giving her a chance to dwell on it, I charge straight toward the high wooden obstacle ahead.

Naomi hisses my name but then hurries after me, and I grin as she closes down the distance between us, panting hard, but so fucking fast.She’s like lightning.

We hit the slope together, but while I run forward and grip the lip of the platform with my fingers, one knee raised, Naomi jumps, and parkour style, stands on my thigh before pushing higher, getting a grip on the ledge.

I drag myself up, only realising in the nick of time that the alpha behind me was reaching for my ankle, attempting to drag me back down.My wolf curls a lip in disgust, but instead of focusing on one wolf’s bad behaviour, I spin to watch as Naomi hauls herself up, inch by inch, over the edge.

Other contestants close in, and I twitch, struggling to contain the urge to tell her to hurry, or to simply stoop and lift her onto the platform.When she finally rolls onto the top, officially through to the next challenge of the day, I whoop, extending a hand to help her to her feet.

She holds my hand, my palm pressed tightly to hers as she brushes off her clothes before she stands and stares out at the cheering crowd.The moment our skin connects, our eyes lock, and I know she feels it too.That undeniable rush, the sense of rightness, pulses between us, invisible to others, but as real to me as the ground beneath my feet.

When she turns to me, face bright, pride shining through her eyes, her entire body vibrates with happiness.“We did it.”

I beam back, lifting her hand high in the air, even though technically I won that round.

The crowd erupts in squeals and shouts, which are deafening to sensitive ears.Her friends and companions are delighted to see her through, and those with no skin in the game are just thrilled to see a woman progress.

But none of that matters as everyone and everything else melts away.“Yes, we did.And that’s only the beginning.”

3

Naomi

Wyatt’s joy shines through his eyes as he beams in my direction.We stand close together, his heat touching my skin as we stare out at the cheering crowd who’s enjoyed our little display of teamwork.

Women swoon at the hulking hero who helped me make it instead of powering ahead and worrying solely about himself.

Some might still think of him as nothing more than a brutish rogue, but I can feel a shift in the air.There’s still some support for him from the spectators, even if the same can’t be said for the competitors who glare up at us.Only ten are assured a spot in the next stage.They don’t see us as worthy and consider our success as two wasted places.

But right now, I couldn’t care less what they think.

My wolf rolls over as I glance up at Wyatt.She’s practically drooling, already enamoured by this seriously impressive male.With his broad shoulders, stacked muscles, and giant frame, Wyatt towers over me in a way few men do.

I can feel him, not just his physical presence beside me, but something deeper, like whispers of his emotions brushing against my consciousness.My wolf knows exactly what he is to us and recognised him instantly as ours.

It's easy to see why others find him so intimidating, but as he stands there grinning, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand in soothing circles, his fingers squeezing mine, he just looks like mine.

"Wow," is all I can say, completely shell-shocked.Adrenaline pumps through my veins.Combined with the power of the mate bond and the endorphins being dumped into my bloodstream from his touch, it’s a heady mix.

"Wow," is all he says right back as we stare at each other.

We're still there, frozen to our spots, until one official waves us off the platform to make way for other competitors coming through behind us.I’d completely forgotten where we are, but as we move to the side, the noise and activity around us slowly comes back into focus.

Shaking my head, I slip my hand from his as we make our way down the steps, a feeling of icy dread sliding down my spine at my faux pas.

How stupid could I be?

I can’t act like a lovesick teenager in public like that, no matter how smitten I am with my fated mate.

Not while he’s watching my every move.He’ll ruin it.He’ll twist it.There’s no way he’ll let me be happy.

Brad's cruel eyes track me from across the field, his stance rigid with barely contained fury.He's my alpha, but only in title.I haven’t officially joined his pack.When I travelled to his pack six months ago, I never imagined I'd still be trapped under his thumb.The way he looks at me makes my skin crawl.He’s made his intentions clear, but with each rebuttal I make of his affections, he seems more and more determined to change my mind.

By any means necessary, ethical or not, including refusing to allow my widowed sister to leave his pack and move home with me.

Brad said he wasn’t coming, and that it was ridiculous that I even thought I had a chance of winning.That I should accept his generous offer to become his luna and be happy with that.

Why the hell is he suddenly shouting for me to win now?

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