(Olivia’s POV)

I woke to the soft sound of breathing nearby. Opening my eyes, I saw Matthew sleeping on the small sofa in the ward, his tall frame awkwardly folded to fit the limited space.

Despite my attempt to sit up quietly, his eyes snapped open immediately. The Alpha King’s senses were always alert, even in sleep.

“You’re awake.” His voice was husky from sleep as he rose and stretched. “How did you sleep?”

“Better than you, it seems,” I replied, eyeing the ufortable sofa. “That can’t have been pleasant.”

Matthew smiled, running a hand through his tousled hair. “I’ve slept in worse conditions.”

I felt my throat dry and scratchy. “I’m thirsty.”

“Let me get you something.” Matthew walked to the table where a teapot sat.

I couldn’t remember thest time he had done this.

Judy was much smaller than the others, but she wasn’t ipetent. She fought with all her might and speed, and she ended up on top at the end. She managed to defend herself and get a few really good blows in herself. She had a good technique, the element of surprise. She could see them, but they couldn’t see her until she wanted them to see her.

But still, the thought that something could have happened to her, my chest was aching by the end of it.

“Who is that girl that went flying through the air?” One of the Lycans, Mica, asked from his seat.

There were 4 Lycan chairmen in total, me being the strongest of them. There were others of Lycan blood around the world, but only the chairmen attended these events. The Lycans were pretty much the judges of these events along with a few appointed judges to help with final decision-making.

“I believe her name is Judy Montague,” Jeremy, the other Lycan, said, his eyes never leaving Judy’s wolf. “She’s quite talented. Her professors praise her and even Levi said he was impressed with her skill set.”

Mica nodded.

“We’ll have to keep her in mind,” Mica said thoughtfully. “What do you think, Gavin?”

“We’d be stupid to not pass her to the next round,” I said without a second thought.

“Really?” Mica said. “Do you think she’d survive it?”

“Of course, she would. If I were to bet money on anyone surviving, it would be Judy,” Jeremy said with augh. Suddenly, my blood went cold. I turned to face them; they were both smiling as they watched the ongoing fight. The timer was still ticking down and any minute now it would go off, indicating the fight was over.

Neither of them noticed my cold stare.

“What do you mean survive?” I asked. “Death is against the rules.”

Mica nced at me briefly before fixing his eyes back on the fight.

“Only for the first week,” he told me.

“What?” I asked again, this time louder and with more force in my tone, making them both look at me with wary expressions. Even fellow Lycan chairmen knew when to not push my buttons because it wouldn’t end well for them.

“The second and third-week death isn’t penalized,” Jeremy exined, narrowing his eyes at me. “You’d know if you attended thestpetition we had a decade ago.”

“Or the one before that two decades ago,” Mica said, shaking his head.

“He was a newly appointed Alpha at that point,” Jeremyughed.

“True,” Mica replied, turning back to the fight.

“What are the rules for the next rounds?” I asked through my teeth; my impatience was evident.

Mica sighed and nced back up at me.

“They can choose to die, or they can surrender,” Mica exined. “They don’t have to lose their lives… but if they don’t submit and surrender, their opponent can take their life without being penalized.”

“It doesn’t have to be a fight to the death,” Jeremy chimed in. “But if they are stupid and stubborn, which clearly a few are, then it will be.”

My blood went cold…

The buzzer went off, drawing my attention to the arena. Everyone started to shift back into their human forms; they were all naked and piled into the locker rooms.

I saw the small wolf that stood in the middle of the arena, she was staring up at the sky for a moment, like she was thanking the stars, or maybe talking to the Moon Goddess. She was waiting for something; she looked back at the crowd of shifters that were returning to the locker rooms in their naked forms, and she held back.

Her eyes found mine and held them. She stared at me for a long while, and then she turned and started to sprint in the opposite direction of everyone else. My heart raced… I had a strong urge to follow her, and I didn’t think I was going to be able to resist it.

I looked back at Mica and Jeremy who were talking amongst themselves. The chosen judges sat in the front, talking amongst themselves. Most of the audience went to greet the ones they were there to support. Nan was frowning in the direction Judy had gone while a guy spoke her ear from beside her. I didn’t recognize the guy, but he had his hand on Nan’s leg and my brows furrowed at the sight.

She never took me for someone who would hook up with a guy she just met. From the way he was touching her and his close proximity, I’d say they definitely hooked up.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I said to the other Lycans before I took off in the direction Judy had gone.

I found her crouching behind a tree; she waspletely naked and covering her body with her arms.

I walked around the tree, startling her.

“Are you hurt?” I asked her, kneeling in front of her. Her face was pale, and she had little blood on her lip, along with some bruising on the uses of her body. My chest tightened at the sight, and I had an urge to attack whoever did this to her. An urge I suppressed immediately.

“I’m okay,” she said softly. “You should see the other guy.” Sheughed lightly and the sound was oddly musical.

“I did,” I told her. “You did great out there.”

Her cheeks flushed and her eyes lit up.

“Really?” She asked.

I nodded. I reached into the bag I was carrying and pulled out one of my shirts. I keep it in there just in case, but I was d to have it so Judy could change.