Chapter Fifteen

Kael’s POV

My gaze remained fixed on her from the very beginning of the fight, unwavering in a way that slowly became noticeable even to me, as though something in my body had already decided she was the only thing worth watching in that entire arena.

The noise around me rose and fell in waves, the sound of bodies colliding, the dull thud of impact, the sharp gasps and cheers from the guests, yet none of it managed to pull my attention away from her for more than a second.

There was nothing weak about the way she fought.

Nothing uncertain.

She didn’t move like someone thrown into a game she wasn’t prepared for, and she definitely didn’t move like someone who had been injured.

Her stance alone was enough to make something in me stiffen slightly, because it wasn’t wild or instinctive in the way most of them were. It was controlled and well-balanced. She moved like someone who had been taught.

Who exactly was she?

"I expected her to be way weaker than this. She sprained her ankle during a spar with Riven."

Nicole’s voice broke through my focus, and for a brief second, my hand stopped moving entirely.

"What?" The word left my mouth lower than I expected, edged with something sharper than surprise, and my head turned toward Riven almost immediately.

My eyes locked onto him, studying the tension in his posture, the set of his jaw, the irritation that seemed to sit just beneath his skin like he was struggling to keep it contained.

"When did that happen?" I asked, my voice quieter now, but far more deliberate, as my shoulders straightened slightly. "And why didn’t you tell me? Since when did we start keeping things from each other?"

He said nothing.

Not even a glance in my direction. Why was he acting clueless right now? What the hell came over him?

The silence lingered long enough to settle heavily in my chest, and I held his gaze for a moment longer before forcing myself to look away, though the tightness in my jaw didn’t ease.

Of course he would keep that to himself.

He was the one who suggested this entire game in the first place, the one who insisted on the rules or probably the lack of them. and now he looked like a man watching something slip through his fingers.

There was something almost irritating about that, not because of him, but because I understood the feeling more than I wanted to admit.

I had felt it before, watching her win when I didn’t expect her to, watching her stand out when she should have blended in, and even now, as I watched her dominate opponents who should have overwhelmed her, there was a quiet resistance building somewhere beneath my ribs.

"Don’t you think it’s strange?" I said after a moment, my voice calm, though my fingers shifted slightly against the armrest, pressing harder. "She could barely walk yesterday."

Nicole exhaled beside me, nodding slightly. "I thought the same thing. She was limping the last time I saw her, and now she’s moving like nothing ever happened."

That didn’t sit right with me. I need to do a background check on her. I needed to know her full name and her last name. That’d help locate her family who gave her off.

There were eleven of them left.

The fight had dragged on long enough for exhaustion to settle in, visible in the slower reactions, the heavier breathing, the way their bodies no longer moved with the same speed they had at the beginning. It wouldn’t take much longer now. One more fall, and it would be over.

Everything shifted in the next second.

A scream tore through the air, sharp enough to cut through every other sound, and my head lifted instantly. What was going on?

Another scream followed, louder this time, layered with panic, and suddenly the arena was no longer controlled chaos but something far less predictable.

The girls began scrambling out of the pool, mud splashing beneath their movements as fear spread rapidly, their earlier determination replaced with urgency.

The guests reacted almost just as quickly, voices rising, some stepping forward, others leaning in with a kind of excitement that made something cold settle deep in my chest.

My eyes moved across the scene quickly, searching, calculating—

A lady stood upright in the mud, her posture unnaturally steady compared to the chaos around her, a knife clutched tightly in her hand.

The blades had blood dripping off of it. Whose blood was that?

A smirk stretched slowly across her lips as she stepped forward, unhurried, completely unaffected by the panic she had caused.

The reaction from the crowd was immediate. My fingers curled tightly into my palm.This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

My gaze shifted again, more urgently this time, searching for her without conscious thought, and when I found her, everything else seemed to dull at the edges.

Our eyes met.

Her grip on her tummy was tight, but her hand trembled slightly, and even from where I stood.

I could see the tears gathering in her eyes, the way her lips parted as though she was trying to steady her breathing.

Her body dropped. Her knee gave it away.

The movement was sudden enough to make something in my chest pull sharply, my body reacting before my mind caught up as I pushed myself to my feet, the chair scraping faintly behind me.

"Call the physician immediately. Make sure nothing happens to her."

Nicole’s voice cut through the noise, firm and commanding, but I barely registered it.

My attention remained fixed on her as the omegas rushed forward, pulling her from the mud, her body limp in a way that didn’t sit right with me.

"Everyone can return to their homes. The game is over." The words echoed, but they felt distant.

"Seems like she lost already."

Riven’s voice broke through clearly this time, and I turned my head toward him slowly, the movement controlled, deliberate.

"Someone cheated."

My voice didn’t rise, but the tension in it was unmistakable, carried in the tightness of my jaw, the way my shoulders remained rigid. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"No rule was made, Kael. Not a single rule." Riven stood, brushing himself off as though none of this mattered. "So what exactly are we arguing about? The outcome is clear."

I held his gaze, unmoving, the silence stretching long enough to feel heavy.

"We both know that’s not the point."

He didn’t respond.

I exhaled slowly, forcing the tension down, though it didn’t leave completely. "Whatever helps you sleep at night," I said, my voice quieter now, colder. "Do things your way."

I stepped back, my posture straightening as I turned away from him. "But don’t hide things from me again."

My eyes flicked toward him briefly, sharp, before I continued walking.

"I hate that."

I didn’t wait for a response.

********

Three days had passed since the incident, yet she remained exactly the same.

I found myself watching the steady rise and fall of her chest as though it was the only thing confirming she was still alive.

It irritated me.

My jaw tightened slightly as I looked away, my shoulders rolling back as though I could shake off the feeling, but it lingered, settling somewhere beneath my ribs in a way I couldn’t quite ignore.

And it reminded me of something I didn’t want to think about.

My fingers stilled briefly before curling again, the motion subtle but firm, and I let out a slow breath through my nose as I forced my attention back to her.

The last time I stood this close to her, I hadn’t cared.

A faint scoff slipped under my breath at the realization, my posture straightening slightly as though correcting it.

I didn’t even know her name and I had never asked.

"Princess" was enough. "Or probably my toy."

It was easier to keep it that way, easier to remind myself of what she was and what she wasn’t.

A knock sounded against the door, sharp enough to pull me out of my thoughts immediately.

"Come in." The door opened, and James stepped inside, his presence as composed as ever.

"What do you have for me?" I asked, my voice steady, giving nothing away.

"It’s about the lady who stabbed her." He stepped closer, his movements careful. "The knife that was used...it isn’t normal."

My eyes shifted to him fully now, narrowing slightly.

He unwrapped the fabric in his hands, revealing the blade, and the moment it came into view, my body went completely still. The knife had a design on it that screamed, "Power"

Someone planned this! Someone in power wanted her dead. What?