Page 202 of Galaxy Circus Act One

I also understand her reasoning, and once Xavier gave the babies extra protection, I had to stand back and let her defendthe omega. Saxon is right, her new Vilaxian abilities will help her immensely, but I vibrate with tension as I watch the two of them circle each other in the arena. Natalia doesn’t hesitate to use her lightning, but sure enough, Lila is too fast and dodges every strike. This seems to piss Natalia off even more, and she snarls, circling Lila. The two of them exchange words that are too quiet for my advanced senses to hear. Natalia is looking for an opening, and Lila is not giving her one.

The crowd around the arena shouts words of encouragement, but my focus is on the two in the middle, unable to look away.

Something Natalia says makes Lila flinch, and I see her calm fade away and her eyes light up with intense anger.

“Oh, I wonder what she said,” Xavier murmurs next to me. “Lila just became livid.”

“And distracted,” Saxon grumbles as Natalia lunges at Lila, raking her claws down Lila’s arm before she can move fast enough to avoid her.

“Lila!” I shout in distress and go to move toward her, but Xavier and Saxon clamp a hand down on my arms.

“Don’t interfere. You will cause her to forfeit,” Xavier warns, but I hear the concern in his voice.

“She is fine, look.” Saxon points as Lila lifts her arm and swipes her tongue over the wound, cleaning the blood and sealing the injury with her Vilaxian saliva. “She is smart,” he rumbles approvingly, and I scent his attraction to our mate. This has a calming effect on my kraken, and I settle down to watch the rest of the match. I won’t jeopardize her chance to kick this bitch’s ass and protect the omega cat, who is watching Lila like all of his wishes have come true. I know exactly how he feels.

Natalia screeches her annoyance at Lila’s abilities, and Lila shakes her head and says something we can’t hear, and all of a sudden, Natalia starts grinning like a clown.

“What the fuck?” Xavier mutters, sounding confused.

We watch as Astrea, Maxsim’s mother, gestures for Lila, who uses her Vilaxian speed to move over to her. She whispers something in Lila’s ear, but Lila doesn’t take her eyes off Natalia before she nods her response and moves swiftly back into the middle of the arena.

“I wonder what she just told her,” Saxon muses as we focus on the fight.

Natalia once again defaults to her lightning attack, but Lila dodges them before stepping forward, rotating her hips, and throwing a roundhouse kick directly to Natalia’s head, shouting something that sounds like “sleep” at her. Natalia’s head snaps to the side, her eyes roll back in her sockets, and she drops to the ground, out cold.

There is a split second of stunned silence before the crowd goes wild. Lila looks a little bit stunned as she stares down at the fallen female before lifting her head and glancing toward us. She’s not looking at us, though, she’s looking to the side, and when I turn my head, I realize she’s watching Maxsim and Echo embrace with a small, sad smile.

“Hmm, that is going to be a thing, me thinks,” Xavier mutters as I return my attention to my mate. Her smile fades, and her mouth drops open in shock as she tilts her head slightly as if she’s listening to something.

“What’s wrong with her?” I ask the other two.

“I’m not sure.” Saxon takes a step toward Lila, but before he can get much farther, a voice screams out over the celebrating crowd.

“Lila!”

She turns toward the dais and Minx, who was responsible for screaming her name, but it’s too late. The matriarch has already launched a huge bolt of lightning at my mate, and it hits her before she can even think about moving.

Lila starts to convulse, her mouth open, but no sound is able to leave her lips. Lightning sparks across her body, but instead of burning her, it seems to flow over her limbs in a caress before grounding through her feet. It makes no difference. Lila’s eyes roll back, and she collapses to the ground in a heap.

“Lila,” I scream and run toward her as my two co-mates do the same thing. We get to her, and her body continues to seize despite the lightning no longer flowing through her.

“What’s happening to her?” I demand as I crouch to pick her up.

“No, don’t touch her.” Xavier stops me, and I freeze, watching helplessly as our mate continues to jerk uncontrollably.

Before anyone can give us any answers, a loud screech has us all looking toward the dais. Astrea is there with her claws inside the matriarch’s chest, and with a vicious yank, she tears them out before using her other hand to slice her claws across her throat. Blue blood spurts out, covering Maxsim’s mother’s face as she growls triumphantly, holding aloft the now dead matriarch’s heart.

Once again, the crowd cheers with approval, chanting Astrea’s name with glee. A new power is rising in Iceen.

“It is done, thank goodness.” Echo sighs next to us, sounding relieved. I’m not sure when he and Maxsim appeared, but his words have my attention going back to my mate who is now lying still and unconscious. Before I can reach for her, Echo kneels next to her, taking her hand and bowing his head.

“I’m so sorry. She was defending me, and this is the thanks she gets. Can you forgive me, and how can we repay you?” Tears stream down his face, and Xavier squeezes his shoulder.

“This is not your fault, and the one responsible is dead. We can ask for no more,” he assures the omega.

“Yes, without her, Echo would have been killed,” Maxsim admits reluctantly, but he is still scowling at my mate. A growl leaves my chest at his ungrateful behavior, but before I can call him out, Lila’s body starts to shimmer.

“What’s happening?” Saxon asks, sounding distraught. “We need a doctor. Someone call Link.”