Page 49 of Midnight Moon
I winced. “I didn’t want anyone to see me if I failed.”
“Win or fail, I’ve got your back, Blair.” Stephanie vowed, bringing a grateful tear to my eye. “Let me get off here so I can call Angelina and tell her I’m joining. I’ll text you our flight details the moment I have them.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “Thanks, Steph. You’re the best.”
“Don’t I know it.”
We ended the call. I remained curled on the oversized chair, smiling at the ceiling.
Stephanie joining me wouldn’t erase the failure of today’s game, but I knew having my best friend’s support would make the coming days more bearable.
And, hopefully, her presence would help distract me from a certain Wilds Pack shifter.
Fourteen
As expected,the Badlands healer declared Hunter incapable of participating in the second game.
If the host pack weren’t a neutral party in the Alpha Games, my father and Beta Nathan might’ve challenged the decision, but the Badlands shifters had no skin in the game—literally and figuratively
So, I was on my own.
Game two was an elaborate contest of capture the flag, and I couldn’t have picked a worse competition to be alone. My stealth and ingenuity were up to snuff, but my lack of teammate made watching my back difficult.
It was nothing short of a miracle that the packs were divided into two groups, and the contest wouldn’t pit pack against pack. I would’ve been the target of every shifter had I truly been on my own.
The Coastal and Moors Packs were a team. Me, the Wilds Pack, and Northeastern Pack were the second team. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me.
I’d made such a big deal aboutnotpartnering with the Wilds Pack again. It seemed the Mother enjoyed making me eat my words.
Initially, the Moors Pack complained that our team had one extra person, but Tyler, true to his asshole ways, laughed it off. He said I would be more of a hinderance than an advantage to my team. It took everything within me not to punch the guy in the face. I couldn’t believe I ever had a crush on the guy.
The objective of the second game was simple: each team had half an hour to plant our flag somewhere in the Badlands’ forest. Then, the goal was to protect the flag while also retrieving our opponent’s flag. As in the first game, the first team to return to the clearing at the edge of the forest would claim victory.
The Northeastern Pack had brought up the question of how points would be awarded in the competition. Alpha Kurt explained he would distribute points based on how the packs in the winning team contributed to the team’s victory.
The pack most credited with facilitating the team’s success would earn three points, the next most-impactful pack would earn two points, and, if there were a third pack, they’d earn one point.
“We should plant the flag up there,” Kendrick Shane, the beta to the Northwestern Pack said to our group. He motioned to the topside of a cliff hanging above the trees.
I shuddered. It was a different cliff, but the rocky outcropping reminded me of Hunter’s attack all the same.
Our group had been hiking through the forest for twenty minutes. I was glad I’d packed a pair of sturdy boots in my luggage. I would’ve already twisted my ankles had I been wearing tennis shoes.
“It will be too easy to spot,” Chase objected.
“But the high ground will make it that much harder for them to retrieve the flag,” Kendrick countered, “and the position would mean they’d only have one way to approach.”
“The Coastal Pack is skilled at scaling cliffs,” I informed the group.
At their doubtful expressions, I added, “Their pack’s training includes routinely climbing the cliffs in their territory.” Had none of the other competitors researched their opponents, or was I the only overachiever?
“In wolf form?” Asher asked.
I kept my eyes on the Northeastern shifters. “In both human and wolf form.”
I needed my group to win the game, but that meant the Wilds pack would win, as well. I could only hope Asher and Chase didn’t earn first place. If they did, it would be hard for any other pack to kick them out of the lead, and my fate would be sealed.
Focus. Don’t worry about that right now.
