Chapter 14: You Missed One

The arena split like a family dinner discussing politics: "how dare she" versus "how dare you." Derek missed both sermons, staring into the middle distance like a man watching his life get repossessed.

"Derek."

Silence.

"Derek."

He blinked. Landon was standing in front of him with both hands on his shoulders. Tavian was up too, positioned like he was ready to tackle.

"You good?"

Derek glanced down. His suit was lit. He had no memory of standing. He didn’t remember his wolf surging either, but the growl vibrating in his chest said it had. Landon holding him like a lid on a pressure cooker meant the subtlety ship had sailed, caught fire, and sunk.

"I’m fine."

What left his mouth was 50% man, 50% animal, 100% oh fuck. That close. Mid-stadium shift, and he hadn’t felt a damn thing. Wolf in, wolf out, blackout style.

He shook his head once, hard, and dropped back into his seat. The suit took its sweet goddamn time going dark, like it didn’t trust the performance and needed to think about it.

Landon sat but didn’t take his eyes off him.

"What were you trying to say a minute ago? You’ve never seen what?"

Derek’s smile returned. "I’ve never seen a hologram play for that long. Riveting stuff. Really held the room."

"Long one, and wrong one," Tavian agreed. "But whoever decided to play that reel really fucked her over. Entertaining? Absolutely. Great for her life expectancy?" He made a flatline gesture with his hand. "What do you think will happen to her?"

Landon’s whiskey glass exploded in his hand. He didn’t notice.

"Starborne is a bastard," he gritted. "But he’s a businessman first. You don’t damage merchandise at peak price."

Tavian glanced at the shattered glass in Landon’s hand and handed him a napkin. "Problem is, smart doesn’t sell. Obedient does. What she did up there was a neon sign that says high-maintenance. Cut her value down the middle. Hate to see it."

Derek’s throat worked once.

Then the jumbotron flickered her intelligence score.

REGISTRATION #7709 — INTELLIGENCE: 99.97TH PERCENTILE

"And now they are showing the score out of order," Derek muttered to no one.

"Man, they really wanted to make sure the arena knew. Hopefully someone buys her. A waste for the lottery if you ask me," Tavian said, gesturing at 7709 with his cup.

Derek turned his head slowly at a speed that said say that again.

"If I didn’t know better," Tavian continued, taking a sip, "I’d say someone was doing it on purpose."

He glanced over at Derek.

"What is it?"

Instead of answering, Derek shotgunned his entire beer, then reached over and downed Tavian’s as a follow-up crime.

"Hey, that’s mine," Tavian protested.

"It’s mine now. Circle of life."

Tavian watched his beer disappear and decided to channel his grief into something productive. "Didn’t you put fifty of Landon’s tokens on intelligence?"

Landon’s head turned slowly to look at his brother. His face was mid-calculation, oscillating between homicide and a hug.

"Yes. Fifty thousand. You both keep leaving the thousand off of it and it’s starting to hurt my feelings," Derek replied, examining his empty cup like it owed him a refill.

Landon’s voice was low. "How much did I just win?"

"Depends. What’s the current exchange rate on brotherly love?"

"Derek."

"One point five million, buddy. Who’s brother of the year?" Derek pointed at himself. "This guy. Right here."

Landon cracked a smile. "You’re joking again."

"I’m not."

The arena floor shimmered. Red water hologram materialized. Steam. Rope. Endurance replay.

"No, no, no."

Derek was on his feet before the terrain finished loading. Landon was already standing. Both suits lit up at the same time like synchronized catastrophes. Neither of them noticed. Neither of them cared. The Thunderfang section was glowing like a nightclub and every pack member in a three-row radius was shielding their eyes.

Tavian stood up, put a hand on each of their chests, and eased them back into their seats the way a kindergarten teacher handles two kids who both stood up at the same time during circle time.

"I think I know why your suits keep lighting," he said. "It’s from the jumbotron acting up. Do you feel it?"

Derek didn’t hear him. He was too busy watching the hologram of Nova in the black jumpsuit.

"ELDERS, PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS BEING FIXED!" Celeste’s voice cut through the arena. "You gave a SLAVE two replays in a row. That is unfair to me and every other contestant! This is supposed to be about equality."

The runes flashed blue and an elder’s voice filled the arena. "Please take this time as an intermission. We are experiencing technical difficulties and are working to resolve it."

"Thank you, Elder," Celeste said, chin lifted.

No one moved from their seats.

"If I go through the water, it doesn’t break a rule. Could you confirm?" 7709’s voice filled the stadium.

"LET IT PLAY!" someone in the crowd called.

"WE WANT TO SEE THIS."

"SOMEBODY GET THE PRINCESS A DRINK! OH WAIT, HER BROTHER HAS ALL OF THEM!"

From the Starborne section, Kai Starborne, three triples deep, stood up and waved. Luna Odette’s hand found Kai’s collar and yanked him back into his seat.

A hover tray appeared at Derek’s elbow carrying a single drink.

"I didn’t order—"

Derek stopped mid-sentence. There was a message flash on the surface of the tray. One that was gone in two seconds.

I know you are looping too.

You missed one. Fifth bomb in jumbotron. Disarmed.

Derek looked up at the jumbotron.

"Hey, Tav," he said without looking away from it. "I need you to trust me on something."

"The last time you said that, I became a millionaire against my will."

"This one’s easier. I need you to go collect your winnings from the east concourse bookie. Right now."

"Right now? That’s the furthest away from here. We’re in the middle of—"

"A million Helix points, Tav. Hit the payout terminal, scan your wrist, make sure it clears your wallet."

Tavian opened his mouth.

"We won’t know that she won the full thing until all the scores are posted."

"Yes, but you still collect half of it now because she beat Celeste."

"Right." Tavian gave a nod. "Good point. East concourse."

"You got it, big guy."