Claiming Their Queen

Chapter Five

Ivy:

I woke up with his voice in my ears, sweet like honey, a whisper in the wind that I couldn't be sure I heard right.

He had invaded my dreams every night; it never stopped feeling real, and because I couldn't sense or see any intruder, I concluded he must be a figment of my imagination—a sexy, rough-handed man of my dreams.

"Ivy! Wake up. We have to get to it." Nolan's tired voice outside my door snapped me from the blissful delusion of the shadow man's hands on my skin.

"I'm getting dressed. I'll be right down!" I yelled out, jumping from the bed.

Today, we will change the place Papa Alistair created for me. Yesterday, we made it through rain and heat, and today, we're doing wind and snow.

I ran down the stairs, excited to finish the day. It's Friday, and today will be my last training session before the games begin. Tomorrow, any alpha male from anywhere who wants to compete for my hand will flock to the pack house. There will be a welcoming dinner, we rest on Sunday, and then the Royal Games will begin on Monday.

Only Nolan, my parents, and my grandparents know I plan to fight for my own hand. That's why it is so important for me to ensure I am prepared for this. We are still determining how many suitors will show up or if anyone will at all. The latter isn't a risk I am willing to take.

I was making coffee, watching everyone bustling around to prepare for the games.

Nolan was watching me with a look I couldn't interpret.

"What is it?" I was stirring the sweet cream into my coffee, trying to figure out why his big brown eyes were stuck on me.

"This isn't fair. You shouldn't be in this situation." My lips turned up at his kindness.

"You're right, it isn't fair. But nothing ever really is, is it?" I laid the spoon down and began drinking my sweet salvation when Tatum walked in with his eyes glued to me.

"What happened to you?" He grabbed my arms, turning me around. His fingers grazed my bruised skin like Shadow Man's hands, but Tatum's fingers didn't warm my skin in fire and ice the way Shadow Man's did. I turned quickly, upset that he would even dare touch me after rejecting me.

"Beta!" I roared, turning back to face him.

"I—apolo—I'm sorry, my queen. It won't happen again." He bowed before me, eyes to the floor. My aura escaped, trapping everyone around me inside it.

With my coffee clutched, I turned, leaving Nolan and Tatum inside. Even with what just happened, I was more bewildered by Shadow Man's touch and how Tatum's turned my stomach, where the man invading my dreams had captured me entirely, entrancing me with his chilling warmth and fiery touch.

"Ivy, wait up!" Nolan called out, running towards me. But I didn't stop. H.e.l.l, I didn't even know where I was going. Finally, I stopped before opening the door to the creation made to prepare me for the games that I had no choice but to win.

"Come on, let's talk." Nolan reached out to touch me, stopping just short of my elbow.

"Don't worry about it. Let's get to work, okay?" I hoped he could see how desperate I was to put this awkward moment behind me. I had too much to do and too much at stake to let a small moment take away my victory… my freedom.

I stepped through the doorway with Nolan on my heels. My twin grandfathers, Axel and Atlas, were there waiting for us.

"Bout time, Pickle. We were beginning to wonder if you were coming." Axel's laughter eased the anger in my chest.

"I'm sorry, I got held up. What are you guys doing here?" I held them tightly, letting their familiar scents recenter me for my training.

"Alistair created this place, but he forgot one thing. There are many different things to look out for besides surviving the other competitors and the elements. Many obstacles could get in your way, and today, you go through those in the snow. You will not be able to use magic. It is against the rules. But you are one of the fiercest competitors I have ever seen, and I know you can do this. We all do." Atlas looked all too excited for this.

"Let's begin then." I smiled excitedly as tiny snowflakes began falling like ash from a fire, and the snow covering the ground sprouted an entity hell-bent on ensuring I had effective training.

It roared in my face, whipping my hair wildly around my already burning skin.

The cold had already settled in. I took in the crisp air, letting it charge me.

My grandfather tossed me a sword… my grandmother's sword, a sword created by the bones of Death… well… the Death that reaped souls before my father, Knox. That must have been why he didn't want to be around for it being gifted to me. I admit, it gives me the willies, seeing as though the current Death is my father. But the light blade was warm in my palm, erasing any thoughts other than the blade accepting me as its wielder.

I gripped the hilt tightly, swinging at the being of snow and earth and smiling as the blade made contact with its icy bones.

The skeletal frame of a reptilian creature made from snow and ice, its roar so loud it made my ears ache, and my bones vibrate with wonder and adrenaline. Its head fell to my feet, a victory that would be short-lived as others began to rise from the snowy ash.

"Run!" I turned to tell the others, realizing I was in a nest of them. They had gone, leaving me alone, a plan I hadn't been a part of.

I ran, sliding in the snow as ice and slush filled my sneakers to the heel in its fiery cold. My skin felt tight on my bones, and my breath came in hot gusts, but my feet never wavered. I dug the blade into the side of a stony mountain, using the blade as leverage to climb out of the valley I had entered.

My fingers burned from the ice coating them. My stomach dragged the sharpened rocks as I dug my way to freedom. The sounds of the beasts at my feet were my only motivator. If they got me before I reached the top, I wouldn't survive the first day of the actual games.

I dug the blade into the top of the mountain just as one of the beasts clawed onto my foot, dragging me back. My hand slid across Death's blade, making it cut deeply into my palm. I twisted my body, kicking my heel into the being's face, watching it fall to its death, only to return to the snow from which it was created in a powdery explosion.

I turned back, trying to regain my footing to climb to the top when the earth I had dug into gave way. Just as I began falling, Nolan reached out, grabbing hold of my wrist and pulling me to the top.

"NO!" I yelled while trying to catch my breath. The bed of snow I was lying in was biting into my bare skin. My lips were chapped and dry already, and my anger was the only warm part about me right now.

"I will not have any help in the games. You shouldn't have done that." I yelled at Nolan, who was surprised by my outburst.

"She's right." Axel rumbled, waving his hand, making our surroundings warm again.

"I'm sorry." He bowed to me. I felt terrible for my outburst, but this is serious.

"Don't do it again. Send me back, papa." I dug my feet into the earth, ready to be sent back into the nest of snow beings.

"Your stomach and hand are bleeding, Pickle. We should call it—." I turned swiftly, letting my rage fuel me to win this.

"Send me back, papa. I'm not mating with a disgusting, power-hungry pig just because I wasn't fast enough." I yelled at my grandfather, who finally agreed.

I did the obstacle six more times before they forced me to stop. Each time, I managed to get out, but just barely. The sixth time, I had it figured out. But that was just one of many scenarios that could happen in the course, and in real time, I won't get to practice. But I can't afford to think like that right now. Right now, I can only think of warmth, food… a hot shower…, and sleep.

Being a hybrid, I can eat food… or souls. Tonight, it was hot soup and warm breadsticks, and despite that warmth in my stomach, the fire on my chapped skin was my only focus. I sank into a warm, soapy bath, hissing when the water hit my pained skin like knives. Slowly, I melted into the comfort, finally easing my soreness instead of worsening it.

Damon:

Her room was dark. The only light streaming came from the bathroom.

I stalked over to the doorway, knowing by her scent flooding from the crack in the door that she was in there. Her soft snores confirmed that. I pushed the door open and saw her curled up in a tub full of water that had long turned cold.

She's working so hard for this.

With a sigh, I stepped from my shadows and grabbed a towel. If she wakes, she will see my complete form, a beast, unlike others.

Gently, I lifted her from the chilling water and packed her to her room, where I dried her hair and her body before tucking her into her blankets. Her skin was reddened and looked tender. I let my fingers rub against her, in awe of how the skin that was so irritated and red turned to a soft pink again. I laid down on top of her blankets, careful not to wake her. I was letting my care for her slip through my fingertips to soothe her pain like Silvadene on a burn.

She sighed, rolling onto my chest and tucking herself tightly against me. I pushed the hair from her beautiful face, burning each tiny feature into my mind.

Once satisfied, I summoned the shadows that would hide me from her once more.

Tonight, I will let her rest.