Tasting 343

343–Taking Credit

Nora

The night passed quickly, and now the day of the first battle had arrived.

As I was escorted to the van with my cage inside. I noticed something strange in the garden–Rollo

with his sister, Carla

Carla looked exhausted, almost disheveled Why was she awake so early? It wasn’t as if she’d gone

for a morning run, she wouldn’t have come back looking that messed up. Her body leaned heavily

against her brother’s. almost as if she were drunk The moment Rollo’s eves landed on me, he

shifted, positioning himself to block her from my view

I didn’t understand what was happening, but I didn’t have time to focus on them I was loaded into

the van, caged and ready to be transported to the arena. They drove us around for a while, showing

me off to the pack members like a spectacle I noticed the other van doing the same with the

monster inside

It felt like we were about to perform in a circus

Once we arrived at the arena, they dragged our cages out, but we weren’t introduced to the crowd

yet We remained in the back, still hidden from

“Are you nervous?” Rollo leaned on my cage, whispering even though he new I could barely hear

him over the cheering from the arena and the grunting of the mutant in the adjacent cage.

“Not really,” I lied I was anxious. It had been so long since I’d faced a monster like this, and the fact

that I wasn’t allowed to kill it instantly was

343 Taking Ca

343–Taking Credit

Nora:

The night passed quickly, and now the day of the first battle had arrived.

As I was escorted to the van with my cage inside, I noticed something strange in the garden–Rollo

with his sister, Carla.

Carla looked exhausted, almost disheveled. Why was she awake so early? It wasn’t as if she’d gone

for a morning run; she wouldn’t have come back looking that messed up. Her body leaned heavily

against her brother’s, almost as if she were drunk. The moment Rollo’s eyes landed on me, he

shifted, positioning himself to block her from my view.

I didn’t understand what was happening, but I didn’t have time to focus on them. I was loaded into

the van, caged and ready to be transported to the arena. They drove us around for a while, showing

me off to the pack members like a spectacle. I noticed the other van doing the same with the

monster inside.

It felt like we were about to perform in a circus.

Once we arrived at the arena, they dragged our cages out, but we weren’t introduced to the crowd

yet. We remained in the back, still hidden from view.

“Are you nervous?” Rollo leaned on my cage, whispering even though he knew I could barely hear

him over the cheering from the arena and the grunting of the mutant in the adjacent cage.

“Not really,” I lied. I was anxious. It had been so long since I’d faced a monster like this, and the fact

that I wasn’t allowed to kill it instantly was

343–Taking Credit

terrifying.

“Okay, listen up,” Brody, who had been greeting council members from distant packs, returned with

excitement in his eyes. “The arena is packed.”

That meant money and attention.

He was thriving–his pack was going to stand strong, perhaps even securing second place after the

Red Raven Pack.

“I know. They’re all waiting,” Rollo grinned at him.

“Just make sure you don’t kill him before fifteen minutes. Do whatever you can–delay it, cause

drama. Try to act like you’re losing halfway through so the tension builds,” Brody said to me. In that

moment, I saw only hunger for power and riches in his eyes.

There was no concern for my safety. He wanted to milk this fight for the spotlight he had always

dreamed of.

I remembered whenever he spoke of Nash, he would wish for someone in his pack who could hold

matches like this, bringing attention and wealth.

I guess he found his very own Nash: me.

“And think of the prize afterward,” Rollo added, hinting at my babies.

I nodded, understanding them all too well. I would do anything- absolutely anything–to be with my

babies again.

“Will I get time to heal?” I asked, and the two of them turned to me with frowns.

“Let’s discuss that later. You shouldn’t be worrying about injuries right now, Nora. When an alpha or

warrior goes to war, they don’t worry about what will happen afterward, they focus only on their

goal,” Brody said as

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343–Taking Credit

if it was my desire to set the arena ablaze with this match.

My goal was to take care of my babies. I had to think about what would happen to me afterward, for

their sake.

But I didn’t argue.

I was anxious, sweating even though it was freezing cold.

“Let’s drag the cages to the ground,” Brody patted Rollo’s back, who then gestured at the warriors to

drag the beast’s cage into the arena first. The moment the creature was in full view of the crowd,

silence fell. I craned my neck to watch the scene unfold.

The rich and high–ranking individuals sat in their elevated seats on one side, while the pack

members and lower–ranked guests stood on the other.

“They’ve never seen a monster like that before,” Rollo muttered, his arm still resting on the cage, his

eyes on me.

“Don’t worry. If you feel like you’re getting too injured, don’t think about the time–just finish him,” he

whispered, clearing his throat quickly and looking away when I turned my attention to him.

“My dear crowd, today we have captured the deadliest creature from the mountains. These beasts

were once so fearsome that just their mention would have us praying to the Moon Goddess for

protection. But today, our warrior will show you how easily we can conquer our fears and defeat

these monsters. Today, I will show you how I’ve trained my warriors, especially one, to fight against

these beasts,” Brody paused as the cheers grew louder.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact that he took all the credit for my strength.

“I have spent every day and night training this warrior for the protection

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of my pack members. I couldn’t bear to see you all live in fear. This entire pack, and the land, will be

ours soon.”

As he finished, the crowd went wild. I could even hear the council members cheering him on. He

was now seen as a hero, and everyone. would only speak highly of him from now on.