SHATTER

Chapter Nine

Bloody hell, it was hot. David wiped the beads of sweat away from his forehead as he dragged another body off the grass of the arena. This poor lout had gotten his legs broken during his round with Raine. He shouldn't have tried to kick her in the face. It took little to nothing for Raine to grab his leg and swing him into the concrete wall. In honesty, she swung him like how a toddler thrashes around a new toy. However, it seems like this boy's legs weren't as durable. Although he was against the use of unnecessary violence, today was needed. It still sent fire through his veins at how the packs, especially the Alphas, reacted at her arrival on the stage earlier this afternoon. David could still taste their disapproval and judgment drifting around in his mouth. If he could spit it out, he would.

Any sympathy he might have felt for this wolf was drowned out by the rotten taste of disdain that he had yet to shake from earlier. The sheer force of the crowds' disapproval when Raine had revealed herself on the stage had imprinted itself permanently in his mind and senses. He could smell it, their confusion and distrust, fusing with the air and swallowing them up. He could hear their murmurs of doubt about the validity of the situation. But worst of all, he could feel the air of arrogance that oozed out of each challenger before this tournament had begun. It brought him much satisfaction that the suffocating egotism that thickened the air had dwindled to almost nothing. If this was any other wolf at any other time, David might have felt remorse or pity because of the state he was left in. His eyes were swollen shut, his rib cage had caved in, and his right leg was turned in an ungodly direction. But today, he felt nothing. He felt less than nothing when he dumped the challengers' body at the mouth of the southern entrance in front of all the other men who had dared challenge not only his Captain but the foundation in which he stood.

Mocking the Captain meant mocking the team, and that was inexcusable. His stoned composure gave away to disgust as he looked at the beaten-down soldiers swaddled in the shadow of the arena's entrance. Another aroma was invading the area, assaulting his senses. David opened his nose to the new smell and almost barked out laughing. Wafting through the air around the beaten-down contestants was the unmistakable stench of shame. None of the men who had so boldly stepped forward to claim his Captain's spot would even look him in the eyes now. Pathetic.

David could feel the wet and dry blood mix together on his hands as he rubbed them on his pants. It was an unspoken rule amongst his team that if the contender's body was closer to your post when Raine finally handed out the last blow, you were responsible for transporting them off the field. However, Raine had gotten into a really bad habit of tossing her victims' bodies in his direction as if to say, "I want you to take out the trash." It also didn't help that she had left her last few victims, particularly bloodied and broken.

He approached a very pleased looking Fairy on his path back to his position on the west side of the wall. Her cropped pink hair sat in two pigtails on her head. She didn't even bother wiping the blood off that caked her hands. She marveled at this. People underestimated Fairy because of her small size and the flamboyant nature in which she kept her appearance. Little did they know that they were playing with a sadistic little demon. That's the best David could describe her. Besides Raine, Fairy was the only person he was almost afraid of. Goddess forbid a man ever wronged her. David had no doubt that Fairy would rip off his testicles and keep them in a jar for memory purposes. A terrifying girl indeed, but that didn't stop him from sending her a wink as he passed by. Sadistic as she may be, she was nothing short of family. Ever since camp 13, they all had been this way. No one cared about your flaws or shortcomings. There was a time in all of their lives where all they had was each other, and that was all they needed. David knew deep down in his soul that he would brave the fields of war for any person on his team, and he knew that they would do the same.

At his spot on the wall, he stood between a smug-looking Jess and a bored-looking Edos. Edos's body wasn't even at attention. He leaned back against the wall as he flicked the dirt out from under his nails with one of his pocket knives. It seemed like Raine's victories had shocked none of them. This wasn't even her at her worst. If David could see Jasper from across the field without interference from the sun's glare, he's pretty sure that he would find him nodding off. Gemma and Elijah, on the other hand, were probably worrying their hair out. Those two would cause a dead man to have anxiety. It didn't matter how secure the victory was; they always seemed to fret about the small details. Don't let those two be stuck in a room together; they would probably worry each other to an early grave. He bet Gemma was chewing down on her thumbnail at this very moment.