n

n

nIf you like listening to music while you read, try

"Trials

" by Starset when you're listening to this scene and the following chapter. It's the song I listened to while writing!

n~ SASHA ~

nZev prowled forward, chin low and eyes shining with the glint of death, stealing Sasha's breath because she'd never seen him look like such a… predator.

nFor a blink she saw him as others must—the honed body, the determined set of his jaw, the light in his eyes that rippled with the flames violence. She saw how his massive body flowed like water across the space between he and his brother, in the same moment his brother left her side and rippled across the space to meet him.

nShe wasn't sure what she expected—a handshake? A discussion? A referee? So her entire body startled when neither of them broke stride, but glided together—Zev stretching, one foot flashing in the exact spot Lhar's head had been just a blink before.

nSomehow Lhars dropped his upper body and whirled to bring his own foot up in a flash, straight for Zev's temple—but Zev had already ducked to throw a whip-quick jab at Lhars' ribs while his brother was stretched into the kick. Lhars blocked the blow, but with a grunt, and the two danced back away from each other, to prowl in a circle, their eyes locked—twin near-black hair, twin blue eyes, though Lhars' were more a stormy ocean to Zev's bright and sunny skies.

nThey were exactly the same height and breadth—from the back as they circled, Sasha would have struggled to tell them apart. But there was something sharper about Lhars, something harder—both in his face and his way of carrying himself.

nZev looked deadly, but leashed. As if violence was an answer to an unsettling question within him. While Lhars… Lhars seemed to quiver with joy as he measured his brother for a mortal blow.

nThese impressions passed through Sasha in a few seconds as the two men circled each other, then Sasha's stomach jolted as Lhars lifted a leg faster than Sasha could see him move. But the jerk was feinting, his eyes widening as Zev took the bait, throwing his own foot high to snap first for Lhar's head, then his side—and when Lhars blocked his foot, Zev thrust a fist at Lhar's side.

nTheir arms and feet slapped and thudded with the impact of their blows and blocks, and Sasha felt sick.

nThen Zev, his body positioned side-on and arms defending his side and chest, threw another whip-quick kick at Lhar's head.

nLhars dropped to a squat, following Zev up as he straightened, with an uppercut aimed straight for Zev's chin.

nImpossibly face, Zev's head and shoulders rolled back to give the swing space and, as he found his balance, his hands snapped out to block two quick jabs to the face.

nThey both turned into whirling tornadoes then, Lhars' leg swinging around as his body seemed to hang in the air until he unleashed a kick straight for Zev's face—while Zev turned and dropped so it whistled over his head.

nThen both were on the balls of their feet and dancing away again, their eyes promising death.

nSasha swore. They were so fast. So incredibly quick, it was only as she reviewed it in her mind that she could even take in what was happening.

n

"Someone's going to get killed,

" she murmured, hands both clenched at her sides.

"He has to stop—

"

nBut a firm hand caught her upper arm before she could even move and she snapped her head around, expecting to find one of these strangers holding her, but instead finding Dunken had slid between the wolves to her side. He met her eyes and shook her head.

n

"You can do nothing but distract him and make death more likely,

" he said firmly.

"This had to happen at some point if Zev was going to win you. His brother honors him by acknowledging him. They will fight, and they will hurt each other, then it will be over. This is what it means to be Chimera, Sasha-don. Watch and learn.

"

nHer jaw dropped.

"I'm supposed to just sit here and watch the love of my life get… get… pummeled, maybe killed in front of me?

"

n

"Yes,

" he said baldly.

"You would dishonor him if you imply he needed help to win. You would diminish him if you try to stop the fight—as if he cannot handle it. Not to mention that you would be suggesting you believe Lhars will win—and putting yourself in Lhars' hands. Is that what you want?

"

n

"No! I want them to not fight! I want them to realize that Zev is mine and I'm his and—

"

n

"They will see that. After this,

" Dunken said softly, his voice velvet covered steel.

"You cannot change the need for this, Sasha. I understand that in your world males do this for show more than truth. But here… here we understand the value of dominance. If Zev is to help the Chimera, he must prove his worth.

"

n

"I already know his worth! He doesn't have to fight to have my value!

"

n

"It's not your honor he's fighting for. It's his own. He will not see himself as deserving of you if he does not win.

"

n

"What?! But—

"

n

"Hush,

" Dunken said, turning back to watch the fight.

"Watch. Learn.

"

nSasha shook with indignation and… something she couldn't quite put her finger on. The sense that she was misunderstood, that something in this was wrong and she was being silenced for it. But there was also an uneasiness in her chest… what if Zev did lose? Even the best fighters could make a mistake, or slip. He already had sore ribs. And Lhars looked like he'd had a full night's sleep and was enjoying himself.

nWhat if Lhars won, what then?

n

"I can smell your doubt, Sasha,

" Dunken muttered, his eyes darting around the circle of men that surrounded them.

"Do not dishonor Zev. He needs every support he can get.

"

nShe turned on him to tell him where he could put his criticisms of her—concern was only realistic! But then she saw his eyes, fixed on her, pleading, and firm.

n

"In our culture,

" he explained,

"Alpha power and authority comes from within. You are born with it, or you aren't. But it is bolstered by the confidence of others. Do you believe in him, Sasha?

"

n

"Of course!

" she hissed.

n

"Then do not focus on your doubts, focus on that,

" Dunken said turning away again.

"The strength of your belief will feed his power. Watch.

"

nSasha frowned. How could the strength of her belief have any bearing on whether Zev was faster and stronger than his brother?

nBut for once, she kept her mouth shut. It seemed like every time she opened it here she was saying the wrong thing. If Dunken and the others believed that her believing in Zev could turn this fight in his favor, then she was going to believe more than anyone present.

nShe turned back to the circling brothers just as they flowed together, sending her heart into her throat.

nBut her heart beat for Zev, and in case it mattered, she did focus on that, remembering all the ways she'd seen Zev out-fight and out-wit those men that came after them the other night. He was a weapon, and a powerful one.

nShe willed him to show Lhars just how powerful he could be.

n