The Arena novel Chapter 29

I can’t believe I’m helping a dragon. I’m trying really hard not to be a fanboy, but I never expected to be in such close proximity to one of these magical, beautiful creatures. I don’t know why I’m so drawn to her. I don’t feel the same draw to Avani, but I feel an almost unignorable pull to this dragon.

She’s beautiful, strong, and so graceful. When I saw the harpoon launch and puncture her wing, I was furious. I took all that fury out on the man who shot her. But then Troy was there, fighting me and trying to kill me. I finally got the upper hand and threw him over the rim of the arena. I don’t know if he survived. I didn’t have time to worry about it. The dragon, Red, as I’ve started calling her in my head, got hit by a second harpoon, and without my help, she won’t be able to get out of here. She won’t even be able to shift. If she did, the harpoon would certainly rip her in half.

Her scent is overwhelming me. She smells so much like Tana. I’ll have to rethink what kind of shifter my mate is when I have a moment. But right now, I have to help this dragon.

When she laid her head down, letting me know she was going to let me help her, I almost got lost in the depths of her eye. It looked like a thousand emeralds shimmering and glowing together to make up her one eye. I could drown in that eye and die a happy Lycan. Fuck! I’m fanboying again.

As I run up her wing, I can tell that I’m hurting her. I distract myself by thinking of how she and Avani communicate. This is the second time that it felt like they were conversing, but I don’t understand the screeches and croons that the two of them emit back and forth.

I kneel down, laying my hands on either side of the harpoon. It’s huge and is going to take all my strength to pull out, and I know it’s going to hurt like a bitch. I squat on my feet, getting into position so I can pull it out in one motion. I give her a warning, but I don’t want her tensing up, so I pull before I get to three.

Obviously, the pain was as bad as I thought it would be. As soon as I rip the harpoon out, Red screams a horrible, terrible scream of pain and crashes to the ground. All I can do is hold onto the harpoon and balance myself on her wing as she falls.

I was terrified that she might shift before I got the other harpoon out, so I throw the harpoon into the now blazing inferno of the arena and run across her back to the other side. This one still has the chain attached, but I am running out of time. Her dragon will force the shift at any moment due to the pain.

Avani flies overhead and screeches. I’m not sure what he was trying to tell me; hurry up, maybe. No shit, dragon, I already knew that. I grab hold of the second harpoon and pull with all my might. When the harpoon comes out, the chain is still inside her wing. I’m deciding what to do with this harpoon while I pull out the chain when large talons come and take it from my hands more gently than I would have expected.

The wind of Avani’s wings is overwhelming, and he’s flaming the fire that continues to burn hotter, but he hovers so I can pull the chain free. As soon as it’s out, he flies off with the harpoon. I run to get off her wing, not wanting to be standing on her back when she shifts. Just as I reach her wing tip, I feel the wing retracting.

Her body is slow to shift, much slower than Avani’s when I saw him. I have to assume it’s related to her injuries. As her dragon forces her to shift, I see the arrows emerging from her body. There are several that must have punctured her in between the scales of her dragon.

I run to her, wanting to get the arrows out. When I get there, her face is covered in her red hair. It’s the same color as her dragon, only it doesn’t sparkle like rubies. I see that she also has a couple of places where bullets pierced her body. I use my claws to slice an opening so I can pull the arrows out, throwing them into the fire.

I begin looking for a way out. We’re surrounded by fire. I’m distracted as I catch whiffs of campfire and roasted marshmallows. Is Tana stuck in here, too? I look around, desperate to find her. The smell of burning flesh and wood is so strong that I can’t get a good feel of where she might be.