Page 13 of The Alpha's Temptation

Instead, I pulled my silver dagger from my thigh strap and held it in front of me.

A moment passed. Then another. Then another.

Then everyone realized I wasn’t going to shift.

Maybe they thought I was waiting. Maybe they thought I was cocky. Arrogant.

But I couldn’t let anyone know the truth, especially Elijah.

I kept my gaze fixed on him for a couple moments, my heart racing. Would he even give me the chance to yield after a little bit of a fight? Or would he try to kill me right at the start? Our packs were enemies, but last night… he’d had a soft spot for me.

That had to mean something, right?

“Call off the match!” Caelan shouted in the crowd. “Now!”

I didn’t have to see him to know that he was here. He had come. He’d found me.

How had he found me so quickly? Did he really care that much?

But there was no calling off the match when both of the opponents were already in the arena. He knew that. Everyone knew that. All I could do now was not disappoint him. At least… not disappoint him more.

I had to fight, and I had to fight hard.

“Livia,” he shouted. “Step out of the arena. Yield to him as soon as the match starts!”

But I couldn’t. That would embarrass him, and Ialwaysembarrassed him.

I needed to show him that I was not all that weak. That I could fight, even just a little. Then maybe he’d have respect for me. Then maybe he’d finally want to mate with me. Maybe I would be a deserving luna.

After giving me one final chance to shift into my wolf, the announcer cleared his throat. My hands tightened around the dagger until my knuckles turned white. I had to do this for him, for my pack, but mostly for me.

“Begin!”

The word had barely left his mouth before Elijah had sprinted across the arena and pounced on me.

CHAPTER 9

LIVIA

Blood filled my mouth.The open field blurred all around me. I stared up at the giant black and brown wolf above me, who had smacked me down with just his paw. My tongue swiped across my split lip, tasting iron.

Howling erupted through the arena from the crowd. Caelan’s voice faintly drifted through my ears, but I couldn’t make out the words he was saying. So I held my hand out in front of me and scrambled to my feet.

I couldn’t die that quickly; I had… I had to prove to everyone that I wasn’t weak.

I had to be faster.

When Elijah lunged at me again, I swiftly stepped out of the way and cut him twice across the back. The silver burned through his flesh, the scent seeping into my nose. He growled and turned around, his wounds healing but healing slowly.

My lungs burned, and I grasped the dagger harder. It had barely been a minute, and I had already almost passed out. I didn’t know how to conserve my energy, not while I was competing, not yet.

Stars danced in my vision. I didn’t care if he was the son of an alpha.

He was our pack’s enemy. I had known that from the moment I saw him, and I went after him anyway. And now I’d really go after him. I’d show him. I’d show everyone. I wasn’t just the weak girl from Whitecrown Pack who couldn’t shift.

My name was Livia, and I could fight monsters.

His claws gleamed wet with blood, and I hadn’t realized that he had caught me in the thigh until my leg gave out and I dropped to the ground. His mouth stretched wide enough that I could see his large canines.

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