Page 99 of Midnight Moon
“You have no idea.”
Twenty-Five
The restof the afternoon passed by much too quickly, bringing with it heightened anxiety and uncertainty.
Asher and Chase had won their match against the Northeastern Pack. The fight lasted less than fifteen minutes. Alpha George and Beta Kendrick were simply unable to withstand the stamina of the younger wolves.
I’d expected Asher to come talk to me at the end of the match. His gaze had slipped my way more than once during his match. Once, it nearly cost him a nasty slash on his underbelly, and my heart almost flew out of my chest.
But instead of coming to speak to me, Asher had hopped over the railing and disappeared into the crowd.
I didn’t know what to make of his swift departure. I could have sworn there was something on his mind. I remembered how my dad had spoken with him prior to the match, and I wondered if the two were related.
I debated what to do for several minutes, and was seconds away from going after Asher, when Hunter joined me and Stephanie.
When the second round’s horn sounded, I resigned myself to wait to speak to Asher later.
Due to Wilds Pack’s swift, impressive victory, Alpha Kurt gave them a direct ticket to the final round. They would get a break while the Coastal Pack fought the Moors Pack in the second round.
Unfortunately, Alpha Diego’s impressive size and wealth of experience was not enough to beat the cheating Coastal shifters. Tyler and Jasper defeated the Moors pack in half-an-hour.
So, the final match would be between the Coastal and Wilds Packs, and everyone, except me and my packmates, was bursting with anticipation at the pairing.
Asher promised to try to lose to the Coastal shifters, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. It didn’t help that he seemed to be avoiding me.
I hadn’t seen Asher since he left the field after his win. I could’ve used a little reassurance.
“How’s your leg?” Hunter asked around a bite of mashed potatoes. He, Stephanie, and I sat in the meeting hall, eating dinner. For the better part of the afternoon, the siblings had worked to keep up easy conversation, doing their best to distract me from my obvious unease.
No doubt, they assumed I was nervous about the Wilds Pack winning the games, but that was only part of it. I couldn’t deny that concern for Asher’s safety was high on my list of worries. I’d felt a sorcerer’s interference during my match, and I didn’t know how he or Chase would be able to withstand that kind of attack and still be able to fight.
“Fine,” I replied.
“How about your scratches?”
“Almost healed.” He sipped water. “By this time tomorrow, I’ll be stepping off the plane in Colorado without a single scar.”
I tried to smile, but my lips wavered and the expression fell away. I wished I could share Hunter’s optimism, but I just couldn’t.
I picked at the food on my plate, trying to find my appetite, when Hunter abruptly excused himself to go speak with a Moors shifter. He needed to talk to him about some seafood trade agreement, or something like that.
Stephanie and I were alone, and my best friend jumped at the chance to get some answers. “All right, girl, spill it. What’s up with you?”
I pushed aside a piece of corn to the pile I made on the other side of my plate. “Nothing, I’m fine.”
“Lies. You haven’t been ‘fine’ since you lost the match,” she countered. “Is it your leg? Do you need to see a healer?”
“My leg is fine.”
“Then you better tell me what’s going on before Hunter gets back because I am not dropping this until you give me an answer.” She lowered her voice. “Are you worried about them winning? They promised they wouldn’t.”
That was before their lives might depend on winning…
I dropped my fork and rested my head in my hands. My fingers pressed into my temples, and I fought the urge to cry.
“I know. This just sucks,” I murmured, not knowing what else to say.
“It will be over soon.” Stephanie touched my arm. “Once it is, we can go home, and everything will go back to normal. You’ll see.”
