“What?” his voice screamed out.
Lennox and Cosmo ran over to him. “What is it?”
“She’s lost a lot of blood and is sleeping,” Caz repeated, but with sheer panic in his voice.
“Caz, calm down. This is the only way for her to repair. She’s alive and this is all you need to focus on right now. We’re almost there.”
She’s alive. She’s alive. Focus, Caz. His sister put her hand on his back. “She’s okay. I know it.”
He glanced at her. She had on clothes that would break away when she shifted. “Please be careful. You’re not trained for this. I can’t believe you are coming. I can’t bear the thought of losing you too.”
“Because your mate is there. Her brother is there. And many more shifters and vampires. This is survival of our kind. If we don’t stop this, then it will keep on going. And we may all be here one day. I can’t live with myself if I just stay behind. I’m a tiger, Caz, and I know how to fight and hunt. And this is what I plan on doing. So, deal with it.”
He could never argue with that excuse and she was right. His sister was always the wisest of them all. All the Death Hunters were on the boat along with shifters from the Dixon pack and the Crenshaw Clan. Then there were the eagle shifters. All of them were here. Oh, and the witches and vampires.
The concern was that Greer and Jade would destroy the whole island before they found everyone. Nobody knew what they were running into or what they would find. Emotions were on high alert. Including his.
He continued to try to reach her, but Raven was still out. The sun had already come up and time was a-wasting. Did his mate have much longer?
“I said get her up and ready to fight.” She could hear Leo arguing with the guard. “They want her to fight this morning. She’s become a favorite and the boss said she goes no matter what.”
“Look at her. She’s out. No food and no water, she can’t heal fast enough. What the hell is wrong with you people?” Leo yelled. Her eyes opened when she heard the Tasers going off. Her brother had grabbed one of the guards that had gotten too close to the cage.
She propped herself up and they were all on him. Tasing him with high voltage. “Leo.” Her brother had already shifted and was jerking the guard’s arm off trying to pull him through the bars.
She tried to get up, but someone held her. “Don’t! He knows what he’s doing. Leo planned this.”
When she looked back, she recognized the woman from the file Calum gave them. Boris Conner’s mate. She was still alive. Her attention went back to her brother. They were still shocking him even though he had let go. “Stop it. Stop it.”
“Get up and get ready. Get him ready too. You two are going against each other,” the guard said, smiling.
“He’s my brother.”
With a sneer, the guard told her, “Then you should pay him back for all the stuff he did to you as a kid.” Raven felt energy like she had never felt before. It hit her like a bolt of lightning. She went to her brother. He was hurting, but not enough to put him down. He was a grizzly bear and a Death Hunter.
Getting down close to his ear, she whispered, “Are you okay?” When he nodded, she continued. “We are going to fight each other. We need to do the cat and mouse game. Until we can’t hit or go on any longer and we both fall out. I feel energy. I know it’s Caz. He’s close. I feel it. I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I...love you, brother. I love you.”
Guards grabbed her and pulled her toward another entrance. As they hauled her away, the other shifters helped Leo up. She hated this. Yes, they had played this game over and over as children and as Death Hunters, but not for life or death.
“Remember, brother. I love you.”
It didn’t take them long to get her in her corner. Think, Raven. Think of a way out. There has to be a way out. As she stared at the wall that rose to let her onto the battleground, she saw a crack toward the ceiling. It wasn’t very wide but if she could get her claws in it and crawl up, then she could make it to the crowd before they killed her. But only if the crack went all the through the wall. Most likely, it was from wear and tear of someone being thrown into it.
Now she would have to get Leo to throw her into it over and over and maybe throw him into it too. His weight alone might it crack more. They had one shot at this before they killed them. Because she sure wasn’t going to kill her brother.
She listened as they announced her and Leo. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the fight you requested. The mighty Raven, who nobody thought would survive. Not only has she survived, she has become the little darling of the coliseum. Can she defeat the powerful Leo, both grizzly bears and sister and brother? Now this is going to be a good one. Your bets start now.”
As soon as she could get out, she was going for the announcer. Jerk. Not one of these people deserved to live. They were nothing more than killers of innocent children.
“You have five, four, three, two, one, the betting has ended. Now, here they are Raven and Leo.” She listened as the crowd went wild. There had to be more than yesterday’s crowd. Once the wall lifted, she couldn’t help but turn around and around looking at all the people. It was packed.
A guard came out and poked her with his gun. The crowd was going wild. “Raven, Raven, Raven.” She looked at her brother who was just as amazed.
“Wow, sis, you are a rock star,” her brother said. Her brother shifted first as she waited. As siblings, Raven and Leo could talk to each other in bear form. This was an advantage when they fought together. She prayed this would work. Putting her hand out, Raven pointed at the area they needed to work on. The crowd believed she was trying to hold him off. She hoped they would continue to believe that until they started climbing up the wall.
“Shall we play the cat and mouse game.” Leo’s fury face scrunched up, glaring at her. Nobody but her Alpha and Beta knew how they played this game.
She could only smile as she shifted and they circled each other. “You see the wall behind me?” Raven grunted. “Throw me into it and then do it again. Then I will duck, and you slam your fist where my head is.” Raven swiped her paw, giving the crowd a show. “I will duck but I’m hoping the crack will widen big enough to get my claws in and we go up into the crowd. Let the killing begin. Got it?”
Her brother didn’t give her an answer. Instead he rushed her, then picked her up over his head, and flung her toward the wall. She slammed hard into the wall. Shaking her head, she looked at her brother and growled. Blood dripped down her furry face. The idiot threw his hands in the air and jumped around taking all the attention. The crowd loved it and was going crazy again. Idiot.
Then he rushed her as she stood. She ducked when Leo’s paw came rushing toward her head. She moved in time for Leo to connect to the wall. She saw the crack as it widened, but not enough.
“Again,” she yelled. But this time she grabbed Leo’s furry leg and swung him around and around until she found the spot then let go. She watched and listened as Leo’s thousand-pound body connected to the wall. The crowd, and apparently the guards, didn’t have a clue what was going on. Everyone was on their feet and leaning over to watch them go at it.