Arranged To The Alpha
Chapter 78

Blake:

Natalia and I kept our eyes on the lion who growled.

I had to fight back returning the growl as the two of us remained completely still, our breathing calm as the lion walked around us.

My wolf was alert, but I knew that one wrong move could end up being catastrophic, and that was not something that I wanted to deal with. The last thing that we needed was to deal with such issues, and considering the fact that I knew that things only meant death here, I knew to be careful with what we were to do.

I’m guessing that standing the way that we are is not going to get us anywhere.” I said, and Natalia nodded as she kept her eyes on the lion. I could tell that we were going to need the keys, though how we were going to get them was something that we didn’t know.

“That’s why you two are not going to be able to get this.” Riya said, getting on one knee. She extended her hand to the lion who walked toward her. His eyes glowing red as she turned into a snake, hissing at him as she looked at the thing, putting him under a trance. I looked at Natalia and shook my head, not liking this. If she believed that we were going to let her get past this first, then she was very wrong. If anything, at this point, I trusted neither one of them for this.

I purred, breaking the lion’s attention from Riya as I pulled Natalia to her knee, wanting her to show submission to the lion. Sometimes, being brave did not mean to fight or manipulate. Sometimes it was to submit to those who you knew were stronger than you were. Fighting a lion in this state was going to get us nowhere, and if anything, he was the king, and we were to submit. It was a discipline that wolves learned the second they started shifting.

They knew to respect and submit to their Alpha, no matter how strong they thought they were.

“You two are stupid.” Elijah said, vampire speeding toward the lion. I wasn’t even sure how he passed through the knights that were blocking him, but judging by the b***d that was on his shirt, I knew that it didn’t come as easily as he would have anticipated.

He grabbed the keys from around the lion’s neck, pulling them off before his body froze completely. I frowned in confusion and a roar filled the air, taking us by surprise. I tightened my arm around my wife, pulling her to her feet as the lion’s eyes widened with rage. The two of us took a step back, avoiding the raging creature before knights turned their attention to attacking us once again, protecting the lion who kept his eyes on Elijah.

The man’s body rose to the air, freezing completely as if turning to stone before that stone exploded. My heart raced against my chest as the key landed around the lion’s neck once again. Natalia’s hands shook as she looked at the ‘stone’ that broke before it turned to a knight, one like the others who had their swords extended toward us, ready to attack.

These knights are all people who died?” Natalia asked, these games did not just start now.”

(They have been going on for centuries, dimwit.”

Riya said, glaring daggers at Natalia and I. “And thanks to you, now we have lost…?

“NO!” Screams could be heard from the podiumn, and looking up, both Natalia and I frowned when we saw Drake and Myla looking at the crowd who were raging. It was the vampires, Elijah’s family, who were watching us.

I looked at Natalia and shook my head at her, not wanting her to get distracted by this. We had to find a way to get the keys without losing our lives to the raging lion. That is, of course, provided that we actually needed the key…

“Nat,” I whispered, looking at my wife who frowned in confusion. “Do you trust me?”

(You’re seriously asking that now?” She asked, glaring at me.

“I don’t think that we need the keys.” I said, and she frowned before I nodded toward the gong and helmet. “I think we need to get to the helmet and door, the keys are only a distraction.”

And to get past…

“The golden helmet is the key.” I said, looking at the thing and the gong. The door had a helmet shape on it, but had no keyhole. This was just something to distract us from the actual target.

A timer suddenly flew over our heads, and both Natalia and I frowned when we saw that we had a few more minutes to go. Riya looked at the lion before her eyes turned bright red again, hissing as she tried to compel him. I looked at Natalia and nodded at her to follow me, ignoring the elves who were trying to find a way to fight the knights.

Natalia’s heart raced and ice formed on her palm before she froze the knights like she was doing before and the two of us ran as fast as we could to reach the helmet.

We stood in front of the stand for a second as the knights defrosted, some turning to face us, and others fighting those who were trying to get past them. Riya kept her eyes on the lion and Ariana was looking at the two of us from a distance. She shook her head, and a mischievous smile that I couldn’t understand formed on her lips before she tapped Riya’s shoulder.

“You go and get the helmet, I’Il hold off the knights.” Natalia said, breaking the train of my thoughts, distracting me from the sight. The helmet needed me to climb to reach it, but the last thing that I wanted to do was leave my wife to fight the knights of.

“Nat…”

“Blake, we don’t have much time, and we are not going to be able to do this individually. We will work as lions and wolves do in a pack. Together as one to get our tasks done.” She said, stopping me. I looked at her, studying her expression for a few seconds before nodding. She smiled and turned to the knights as water, land, fire, and wind formed in front of us as barriers to protect us. I turned to the stand and climbed, knowing that our time was limited. The stony pavement cut my palms, but I didn’t bother caring as I took a deep breath, making sure to hold on to the right stones that ensured supporting my body weight. I could tell that some were smaller than others, and I was sure to avoid them.

It was then that I was thankful for the training that we had at the pack. Climbing, though we didn’t really need to climb trees much, was something that I had as essential in our training to ensure physical strength. I reached the top in two minutes before grabbing the helmet and jumping down.

The helmet glowed under my palm, and I looked at my wife who had her eyes focused on the knights, falling into the trance of her powers. She was my queen, a queen of elements, and she was showing it off in the best way that she could.

I looked up at the time, noticing that we had three minutes left. I nodded and put my hand on my wife’s shoulder, and both my hand and her shoulder glowed as the helmet took on an effect. The lion who had his attention on Riya looked at the two of us, his red eyes turning into a deep shade of golden before a path showed its way under our feet.

I nodded and took my wife’s hand, squeezing it gently before we both ran. The knights who were against us seconds ago turned around to face the other contestants, turning against them as they understood that the keys were only for distraction.

One minute and a half left.

I put the helmet through the hole, my heart racing as the gong was suddenly knocked three times. The loud sound filled the podium around us before the door opened. My heart raced, and both Natalia and I walked past the door, not bothering to think twice about it, knowing that it was either that, or our fate would be fixed on what the timer said.

The knights seemed to freeze, and the lion who was looking at us bowed, taking a step back, allowing the others to race toward the door. The elves turned against one another as they ran, some pushed each other to their doom while they fought to reach. Riya and Ariana ran as fast as they could and two vampires rushed toward the door, getting past in seconds.

My heart raced, and I looked at the time to notice that there were two seconds left. Ella, who was a few steps away from the door, fought to reach only for her body to freeze completely the second the clock called zero.

The door slammed shut, and my heart dropped as I realized that those who did not get past were dead.

Natalia’ s hand shook in mine, but she didn’t say a word as I turned her around and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tightly. The crowd around us cheered, and I looked up to find Natalia and I on the screen, announced as the winners.

I cupped my wife’s cheeks and kissed her as if my life depended on it, and that was when the ground went wild. We pulled away to look one another in the eye and she smiled despite the pain that was in her eyes. “We did it, baby girl, we got past the first of this. “

Natalia nodded before a roar filled the air, breaking our conversation. I wrapped my arm around my wife to-find the lion approaching the two of us and two women by his side, both were witches. And I could see in their eyes that they were not happy with the results.

“Announcing our winners of the night. The king and queen of the lion’s heart. Blake and Natalia Knight, congratulations.”