Miatta
I saw him stumble. It was just a slight incident, so little that I thought it had been my eyes playing tricks on me. Perhaps my unsettled nerves had gotten the best of me but at that moment, I was sure of what I had seen. Ryker was whispering in his ear, presumably encouraging him and I wished I could be at his side as well. I wanted to hold him and reassure him that he was going to do great but alas, I was still a slave in the eyes of onlookers. Doing such a thing would draw the kind of attention I didn't need.
Hanjo on the other hand, bounced from one foot to the other, impatient to begin. His Alpha was done speaking to him and was seated in the booth prepared for visitors. He had a smug smirk on his face like his champion had won even before the match began. Yvette was not allowed to speak to him and he had no interest in interacting with her either. My mind raced back to my home in Black Fur Pack, a pack I had sacrificed my freedom to save. Tears stung my eyes due to the nostalgic thoughts and I prayed they hadn't forgotten about me. It was a considerable possibly for my brothers to put me behind them, my father perhaps but my mother would never forget. She was my last hope of being remembered.
Ryker returned to our booth with mixed feelings written all over him. I immediately sensed that something was up and it wasn't something pleasant. I seized him by the elbow before he could walk past me and he looked down, troubled indeed.
“What is the matter, Ryker? Is. . . is something wrong with my Lord?”
The loyal warrior sighed heavily and dropped his shoulders in defeat. My fear only heightened with his gestures and I was prepared to wrestle the answers out of him. I tugged harder on his arm and he cast his face aside. Frustrated by his silence, I unsheathed his bone dagger and held it at his throat. His breath hitched, caught by surprise.
“It would be better if you killed me, mistress because I wish for nothing more than to die with my master,” he lamented woefully. His words were alarming and it was my turn to be caught by surprise.
Mistress? Dying with his master? They were very strange words indeed.
“Ryker, what do you mean? Nobody is dying and why are you referring to me in that manner?”
He gulped and I almost heard his throat working noisily. Once he started spilling his guts, there was no holding him back.
“My Lord asked me never to call his mate by name ever again, mistress. I'm afraid that my Lord may not survive this fight. He is feeling a bit dizzy and his vision is zooming in and out. My Lord made me promise to take care of you in case anything happens to him. I'm sorry.”
I stepped aside, digesting everything he had said so far. My Lucas was fated to lose the match he was blindly stumbling into. I had to do something, anything, but I was out of ideas. He couldn't die; we had just found each other and he wanted to leave me after professing his love for me.
“No. . . No! He can't leave me! He said he loves me! Lucas cannot leave me!”
“Mistress. . .”
“No! Leave me be!” I barked at him, feeling my wolf awaken. She was equally aware of the consequences of losing our mate: a life of loneliness and meaningless existence. Sometimes, it seemed like a curse to meet one's mate because once the deed was done, you were tied to each other till eternity. I had to save my mate and selfishly, my soul from slow death. Suddenly, a gun was shot into the sky, signaling the beginning of the epic wrestling match and with it, my heart sank into my stomach.
Lucas
The ground I was standing on was spinning and my head felt light as if it had been severed from my body. It was dark around due to sundown, reducing my chances of using my normal sight. However, my supernatural abilities had been tampered with and I was in grave danger. I thought of calling off the fight or worse, forfeiting but I knew the repercussions of such a cowardly move. My father would be disgraced before his pack, the werecat clan would glory over our disgrace and my streak would be over. On the bright side, I would leave the wrestling ground with my life and I would get to be with Miatta.
Miatta, I thought dreamily as I grew more dizzy. I could not imagine a life without her anymore and yet I was sending myself to an early grave. My match with Hanjo was obviously a fight to the death though no one had outrightly labelled it as such. It was to be a fatal show of strengths and I was lacking. When I heard the gunshot to begin the match, I got up as slowly as possible, taking care not to rush so as not to display any clumsy mistakes. I could smell Hanjo—he was sweating profusely —and I could feel the energy surrounding him. He was ready to do battle and I was not.
“Ready, Hanjo?” the announcer asked to confirm.
“Yes,” he simply said in a gruff voice.
“Ready, my prince?”
“Ready,” I answered, nodding as well in case he hadn't heard me. I squinted to catch the face of my opponent but he wouldn't stay still, bouncing around like a prized gorilla. Sweat dripped off my forehead as I anticipated how my downfall was going to come quickly. All of a sudden, I heard her. Miatta.
Lucas, you have to fight for us.
I heard her gentle voice in my head. It was fuzzy in there and I could not understand how she was talking in my head. Before I could turn around to look in my assumed position of our booth, Hanjo took me down by shoving me roughly with his mighty shoulder. I hit the dirt hard and the sensation ran down my body, keeping me at a spot. He raised his arm to deliver a deadly punch but I scurried away to a side in time before he could pummel me out of shape. The crowd surrounding us booed, demanding that I attacked instead of being on the defensive. Little did they know that I was surviving on ruined sight and subdued abilities. The warrior roared into the night while I struggled to get back on my feet.
Listen to me, Lucas. You cannot do this on your own. I can help. Let me be your eyes.
She was suggesting something in my ears, a plan that could preserve me. I was worse than a blind bat and she was my own chance of survival. I stood up and as a reward for my trouble, a punch connected with my jaw and I withdrew, falling to a knee shamefully. The crowd went silent at that moment and it was to my benefit because I could hear her clearly now.
Miatta?
I'm here. She was there, waiting for my approval.
Let's take this monster down.