Page 52 of The Red Moon

“No!” I scream, my heart rate spiking. My blood reaches a scalding temperature, melting the ice forming in my veins. I’m done waiting around for him to decide when I’m ready. “You might be able to stop me from fighting your battles, but you won’t stop me from fighting mine.”

“You’re right, I won’t,” he says.

“This is my decision, and you will not interfer—” I trail off and my mouth slams shut, leaving his words to play on repeat in my head. You’re right, I won’t.

He grins, folds his arms over his chest, and gives a subtle nod. “Remember what I taught you.”

Somehow, I don’t think he just means the fighting techniques, not when we spent hours perfecting each one. It’s Jade that has him concerned. Her flawless ability to get under my skin. I don’t know how she does it, but Christ, it’s like she’s paying rent to live there.

“Are you sure this is good idea?” Dimitri whispers, leaning toward Nik. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dimitri.

“Relax, moy brat,” Nik responds, though his eyes never leave mine. “My little wolf might surprise you.”

“Let me get this straight,” Jade interrupts. “You are going to let us fight. And if I kill her, this won’t affect your deal with my father?” She points a clawed finger at me for emphasis and waits for his response.

Nikolai doesn’t say a word. He barely even acknowledges the heiress standing a few feet from him. All he does is nod again, golden eyes striking through me sharper than any claw.

Jade howls with laughter, and the sound is as insulting as it is obnoxious. She turns her piercing gaze on me now. “I’m going to enjoy this, mutt. More than you can possibly know.”

I take a defensive position and breathe through the shudders rattling my chest. She’s not going to go easy on me. No, I think Jade would rather gnaw off her own arm than show mercy. Remember what I taught you, his words echo in my head loud enough to block out the sounds of the chamber. I do. I remember everything. But this time, I’m not sparring against Nik. I’m fighting for my life.

“Begin,” Nik announces as cheers erupt from the sidelines. The circle of wolves close in around us, leaving no chance for an escape. And now I’m boxed in, too. Just fucking great.

Even a few feet away from her, it’s easy to notice the differences between Jade and the wolf Dimitri took down. Gabriel didn’t have a plan. He charged at Dimitri, hoping his strength and speed would outmatch him. With Jade, it’s different. She seems more calculated. Poised. I can’t spot a single opening for an attack without paying the price. And the going rate in this fight is my life. Is it too late to call this thing off?

A snarl breaks free from Jade’s mouth, strings of spit dangling off her pointed teeth. I guess not. I block out the noise of the chamber, bringing my hearing into focus, and searching for any sounds to use to my benefit. Her heartbeat. It’s steady. Easy to spot among the dozens of others here. Besides Nikolai, Jade is the only other calm one in the room. I don’t know why, but the thought somehow unsettles me even further.

“You’re scared,” she says, mouth widening into a sadistic grin. “I warned you before about controlling your heartbeat. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. It makes sense why he doesn’t think you can handle the blood moon.”

Fuck. My airway shrivels. How could I have been this stupid? I should’ve known she wasn’t just going to size me up physically, not when she has the ability to hear what’s happening in my body like the inner workings of a fucking clock. It’s too late to try and suppress it now. Her and probably every wolf in this chamber knows I’m afraid. But maybe, I can use this to my advantage.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I stammer.

Jade’s grin deepens as she takes a step forward. When I don’t claw at the air in response, she takes another. “You sure about that? I can hear the bones in your knees quiver.”

I retreat a pace, leaving a foot between me and the wolves at my back. “Positive. You—you don’t scare me.”

She tilts her head to the side, eyes a bright and seductive green. “We don’t have to do this, you know. Show me your neck, and I’ll let you live.”

“Really?” I stare at her, my features easing with relief. A little bit closer. “If I submit, we can move on and start over?”

“Yes,” Jade hisses and draws closer.

“Nikolai. Don’t—” Dimitri starts and silences the second Nik waves him off.

“But there’s a tiny problem,” I say and wince.

Jade’s eyes narrow to slits as her guard falters. She’s within striking range now, and little does she know, it’s right where I want her.

The dread in my features melts away, and I flash her a smirk of my own. “I don’t fucking trust you.”

She roars and slashes for my face with the hand I expected her to. The same dominant hand I watched her use during each meal the past few nights. Right hand to drink. Right hand to knife through food. She might’ve been tallying up everything that makes her better than me in her mind. Me? Well, I was busy taking note of the things I could use against her. The hand she’d attack with was the first thing I committed to memory.

And Jade doesn’t disappoint.

I slide underneath her claw on my knees and drag my nails across her stomach in one quick swipe, ripping through layers of fabric and flesh. It isn’t deep enough to be life threatening, but that wasn’t the goal. I needed to prove a point. I’m not the frightened little pet she thinks I am.

“Pretty fast for a mutt, huh?” I can’t help the shit-eating grin from slithering across my face. I can’t get cocky, though. Not yet. Not until she tilts her fucking neck.