The Alpha's Gamble - Chapter 101: Chapter 101
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MADELINE
When Noah didn’t return this morning, Logan immediately reassured me that he was fine. According to him, the real pity should be on whoever they were meeting. That’s where my prayers ought to be, apparently. I don’t pray, and I wasn’t entirely convinced Logan wasn’t just trying to calm himself down by saying that.
Oh, and Logan had also decided to keep me company in his brother’s absence. Not because Noah used to when he was here—no, Logan just genuinely couldn’t function without his big brother. I was sure he felt left out that they hadn’t taken him along when they left.
Two hours with Logan felt like an eternity. His energy was absolutely uncontainable.
“You wanna go for a run?” he asked, jogging in place like an overexcited golden retriever.
I gave him a deadpan look, tilting my head down just enough to make it clear.
“Right. Never mind,” he muttered, raising his eyebrows.
We were in my room. The door stood open, and I was waiting for my dad to show up and escort me to the training field. That was the plan today, like every day before it, and every day until the Ember Ring, which was less than a month away now.
Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous. I’d come to terms with my potential demise within the first ten seconds of being selected. Something about accepting death really calms the mind.
A shadow passed in the hallway, and I expected my father to enter. But instead, it was one of the warriors. He stopped at the threshold of my room.
“Training’s canceled. Your father had other business to attend to.”
Oh, come on!
Behind him, someone else stepped out. I prayed for a second that Dad had changed his mind, but no. I wasn’t that lucky.
“Landon?” I said when I recognized the hunched figure beside the warrior. There was something dull in his eyes, and with his hands shoved into his pockets, his shoulders slouched inward. He looked small. Fragile. Pathetic.
We hadn’t seen each other since—when was it? Right. My birthday. The day Noah stole his clothes and broke me out of the food cellar.
Logan shifted in front of me, stepping between me and Landon. His stance was protective, his gaze sharp and unwelcoming.
They were still friends… right?
From the looks of it, Logan didn’t seem happy to see him, and Landon didn’t seem surprised. What the hell had I missed?
“It’s started,” Landon rasped out.
“What?” I asked.
“Preparations for the event,” he said.
The Ember Ring.
The brutal, bloody annual spectacle that people lined up for six months in advance to get tickets to. Barbaric as hell, but a major moneymaker, and apparently a cultural highlight.
Logan exhaled sharply, his shoulders tensing as his posture turned predatory. I saw his reflection in Landon’s eyes, wide and filled with foggy fear. Landon’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.
“Why the fuck are you telling us this?” Logan asked, voice flat and dangerous.
“The barrels,” was all Landon said.
Whatever that meant, it clearly clicked for Logan. His jaw clenched, and he ran a hand through his damp hair, still in sweats from his workout.
“Shit,” he muttered, already moving for the door.
My hand shot out and grabbed his arm.
“Take me with you,” I said. Begged, really.
“Maddie, no.”
“Please. I need air. And the sun. And people,” I said. For the first time in my life, I actually wanted to see people. Just hear them talking. I needed to feel like life existed beyond the four walls of my room.
“Please.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No!”
“Pretty, pretty please?” I gave him the full cutesy look—puppy dog eyes, trembling lip, the whole shebang.
I needed out. Even if it meant tagging along with these two unstable lunatics.
He stared at me, caught in a moment of contemplation. Then he raised a finger in front of my face.
“If Noah finds out about this—”
“He won’t,” I said, shaking my head. Fast.
Normally, in Noah’s absence, Landon would take charge—future Beta and all that—but after everything that happened, no one really knew where he stood anymore. So they followed Logan now, since both Noah and Dad were away.
We stepped out of my room, and the guards instantly tensed when they saw me. One even took a step back, like just looking at me might get him cursed.
“No word of this to anyone. Keep the door locked,” Logan ordered. “If Trevor asks, tell him Maddie is sleeping.”
The guards nodded and locked the door behind us.
Ants practically danced across my skin. I couldn’t contain myself. Freedom had never felt this euphoric.
Of course, Logan had to ruin it.“If you leave my side for even a second,” he warned, “I will throw you over my shoulder and march you back to your room. Got it?”
“Got it,” I grinned.
When Noah didn’t return this morning, Logan immediately reassured me that he was fine. According to him, the real pity should be on whoever they were meeting. That’s where my prayers ought to be, apparently. I don’t pray, and I wasn’t entirely convinced Logan wasn’t just trying to calm himself down by saying that.
Oh, and Logan had also decided to keep me company in his brother’s absence. Not because Noah used to when he was here—no, Logan just genuinely couldn’t function without his big brother. I was sure he felt left out that they hadn’t taken him along when they left.
Two hours with Logan felt like an eternity. His energy was absolutely uncontainable.
“You wanna go for a run?” he asked, jogging in place like an overexcited golden retriever.
I gave him a deadpan look, tilting my head down just enough to make it clear.
“Right. Never mind,” he muttered, raising his eyebrows.
We were in my room. The door stood open, and I was waiting for my dad to show up and escort me to the training field. That was the plan today, like every day before it, and every day until the Ember Ring, which was less than a month away now.
Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous. I’d come to terms with my potential demise within the first ten seconds of being selected. Something about accepting death really calms the mind.
A shadow passed in the hallway, and I expected my father to enter. But instead, it was one of the warriors. He stopped at the threshold of my room.
“Training’s canceled. Your father had other business to attend to.”
Oh, come on!
Behind him, someone else stepped out. I prayed for a second that Dad had changed his mind, but no. I wasn’t that lucky.
“Landon?” I said when I recognized the hunched figure beside the warrior. There was something dull in his eyes, and with his hands shoved into his pockets, his shoulders slouched inward. He looked small. Fragile. Pathetic.
We hadn’t seen each other since—when was it? Right. My birthday. The day Noah stole his clothes and broke me out of the food cellar.
Logan shifted in front of me, stepping between me and Landon. His stance was protective, his gaze sharp and unwelcoming.
They were still friends… right?
From the looks of it, Logan didn’t seem happy to see him, and Landon didn’t seem surprised. What the hell had I missed?
“It’s started,” Landon rasped out.
“What?” I asked.
“Preparations for the event,” he said.
The Ember Ring.
The brutal, bloody annual spectacle that people lined up for six months in advance to get tickets to. Barbaric as hell, but a major moneymaker, and apparently a cultural highlight.
Logan exhaled sharply, his shoulders tensing as his posture turned predatory. I saw his reflection in Landon’s eyes, wide and filled with foggy fear. Landon’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.
“Why the fuck are you telling us this?” Logan asked, voice flat and dangerous.
“The barrels,” was all Landon said.
Whatever that meant, it clearly clicked for Logan. His jaw clenched, and he ran a hand through his damp hair, still in sweats from his workout.
“Shit,” he muttered, already moving for the door.
My hand shot out and grabbed his arm.
“Take me with you,” I said. Begged, really.
“Maddie, no.”
“Please. I need air. And the sun. And people,” I said. For the first time in my life, I actually wanted to see people. Just hear them talking. I needed to feel like life existed beyond the four walls of my room.
“Please.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No!”
“Pretty, pretty please?” I gave him the full cutesy look—puppy dog eyes, trembling lip, the whole shebang.
I needed out. Even if it meant tagging along with these two unstable lunatics.
He stared at me, caught in a moment of contemplation. Then he raised a finger in front of my face.
“If Noah finds out about this—”
“He won’t,” I said, shaking my head. Fast.
Normally, in Noah’s absence, Landon would take charge—future Beta and all that—but after everything that happened, no one really knew where he stood anymore. So they followed Logan now, since both Noah and Dad were away.
We stepped out of my room, and the guards instantly tensed when they saw me. One even took a step back, like just looking at me might get him cursed.
“No word of this to anyone. Keep the door locked,” Logan ordered. “If Trevor asks, tell him Maddie is sleeping.”
The guards nodded and locked the door behind us.
Ants practically danced across my skin. I couldn’t contain myself. Freedom had never felt this euphoric.
Of course, Logan had to ruin it.“If you leave my side for even a second,” he warned, “I will throw you over my shoulder and march you back to your room. Got it?”
“Got it,” I grinned.
End of The Alpha's Gamble Chapter 101. Continue reading Chapter 102 or return to The Alpha's Gamble book page.