The Arena novel Chapter 43

I ran past the last mountain where I found her scent and continued on to the next mountain range. I sniffed around but didn’t find her scent. I ran up one of the mountains to the top and looked all around. Off in the distance, I see another mountain range, so I head down and begin running to that one.

Halfway there, I stop to eat and get some food. I catch the scent of other shifters, but none that smell like predators or predators in my immediate vicinity. I lay back, looking up at the night sky, listening to the sounds of the forest around me.

I wonder where Tana is. Is she truly with Ishir? Avani? Both of them? I hate the thought of it, the thought of my mate with another. So, instead, I remember our time together, our one night. I fall asleep thinking of how fantastic it felt being inside my mate.

I’m awakened by a strange sound far in the distance. I hear it several times before it finally ends. I have no idea what the sound is, but now that I’m awake, I get up and begin moving toward the mountain range again.

Once I get there, I smell her immediately. Her scent, blended with other fire scents, is strong in this area. I lift my nose in the air, searching for her. Maybe she’s here, maybe I’ve finally found her home.

I begin climbing to the top of the mountain. It’s by far the highest mountain I’ve found with her scent so far. I come to a ledge and look up. The cliff face is practically vertical. I can’t help but smile. If my mate thought that a vertical cliff would keep me from her, she is sorely mistaken.

I slam my claws into the side of the mountain. It’s slow going, I’m basically scaling a wall with claws instead of carabiners. My feet have claws, but they are not as long as the claws on my hands, so while I can use my feet to hold me steady, I can’t use them to climb. So, I pull myself up, using my upper body, then slam my free claws into the mountain before pulling myself up. Claw, pull, repeat. Claw, pull, repeat.

When I finally reach the top, I pull myself over the ledge and roll onto my back. I roll to my side and look back down the cliff face. I’ll have to be careful going down, or I’ll end up rolling down, or worse, falling on my face and breaking something.

Once I catch my breath, I stand up, looking around. The landing up here is large, larger than a normal landing on a mountain. Large enough for a dragon to land. As I look around, I realize that this portion of the mountain has been molded over time. Where it once may have ended at a sharp point, someone or more than one person has been leveling this part of the mountain out for a very long time.

As I turn around, looking at the area, I realize that one side is still a mountain. Perhaps Tana hasn’t completely leveled the area yet or….

As I look, I move toward the area. I look at it more closely. There’s something not quite right with it. It’s … staged.

I’m about to go to the boulder that is standing much too properly against the mountain when I feel the gust of wind, and the scent of campfire and marshmallows hits my nose.

I whip around, and there she is, my beautiful mate.

“Tana,” I whisper.

I watch as she leans back and gracefully shifts, landing on her feet as her wings tuck into her back. She’s so beautiful. I can’t believe she’s here in front of me. No battles, no arena, no Avani, no Ishir. Just me and Tana.

“What are you doing here, Cedric?”

I take a step toward her. “I’m looking for you.”

“Well, you’ve found me,” she says, spreading her arms wide. Her naked body on display for me. I have a good memory, but nothing compares to the real thing right here, in front of me.

“I want you to know how sorry I am. I should never have left you as I did. I was unprepared for you to have more power than me. I was expecting to mark an Alpha werewolf. I knew as soon as I sank my teeth into you that you were so much more.”

“So, you decided you want me for my power?” she asks.

I take another step toward her. “No, I want you for you. I wanted you before I knew you had power.”

“So, you’d prefer that I didn’t have power?”

I take another step. “I want you, for you, Tana.”

“Why did you leave?” The tone of her voice is vulnerable, and I can hear the hurt that still lingers from what I did.

I take another step. “I was a fool. I was arrogant. I thought I knew it all. I was stupid.” I take another step, and I’m close enough to touch her.

She looks down at the ground. “It’s too late,” she whispers.

I take one more step and close the distance between us. I can feel her heat and smell the salt of the tears she is fighting.

“Why?” I ask, just as quietly.