Page 48 of Rejected By a Wolf

Sophia grumbled, “And she saysI’mthe one who doesn’t want to live.”

“I can assure you, if we die out there it won’t be because of me.” Maya brought her attention to Antonio. “My powers work just fine, but they work best when I’mnotdead. Someone has to have my back while I’m wielding them, if not I’ll be defenseless.” She glanced at Sophia. “And I’d rather not put my life in her hands.”

“Why’s that? You don’t think a fey could defend you?”

“It has nothing to do with you being a fey and everything to do with you hating me.”

Sophia shrugged. “Checks out.”

Maya nodded, telling Antonio, “I’m going to need you to defend me while she takes our opponent’s flag. I’ll fight offanyone who tries to attack her while you defend both me and our own flag. How does that sound?”

Honestly, Antonio wasn’t sure how it sounded to him. While the plan was a fine one, he didn’t like the idea of Sophia running off on her own out there. How could he protect her if she was on the other side of the field, away from him?

Maya must’ve noticed his hesitancy because she added, “I’m not going to let her die, wolf. Remember, if she doesn’t get that flag wealldie.”

“I’ll be fine,” Sophia assured Antonio. “I can do this.” Confidence blazed in her eyes.

Antonio trusted Sophia would give this her all. He also didn’t doubt her talents. She was nimble and small, easily able to maneuver her way through even the tightest of crowds. He would know. More importantly, shebelievedshe could do this. He could see that clearly.

“Very well.” Words laced with threats, he told Maya, “You allow her to get hurt, I’ll gut you myself.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Sophia Brenning

Sweat trickled down Sophia’s forehead as she and her two teammates marched into the arena, anxiety consuming her. The surrounding crowd seemed to tower over her, the mud covered field seeming as if it had doubled in size.

A stage-like platform with two flagpoles - one holding a blue flag and one waiting for a flag to hold - stood in front of them. On the opposite end of the field another team of three walked forward, approaching their own platform, theirs holding a red flag.

“Mud and more mud. It doesn’t seem like these elves were entirely creative in their design for this particular challenge.” Maya drawled in annoyance as she hopped onto the platform with all the confidence in the world.

“She’s gotta understand there’s about fifty matches today. There’s no time to set up for every one of them,” Antonio commented to Sophia.

“I don’t think Maya cares enough to evenwantto understand,” Sophia said, trying to hold back the urge to search the crowd for Casper and his siblings.

When Antonio’s hand rested on her back, she almost relaxed against it. “We’re going to do fine.You’regoing to do fine,” he assured her, and she believed him.

“If you’re confident in that, then so am I.” She wasn’t lying.

“I am.”

Then so was she.

Sophia nodded, eyeing the red flag posted on the opposite end of the field. All she needed to do was sprint across an open mud pit to reach it. It was a good thing weapons weren’t allowed during this round. With no weapons she didn’t have to worry about someone shooting at her from a distance as she tried to cross the field.

Their three opponents seemed to be a trio of demons. Being demons, she knew none of them had the ability to split, which meant Maya could catch them before they caught her. Demons were also incredibly strong, but not incredibly fast. Sophia was faster. She’d reach their flag before they reached theirs.

She let in a deep breath, telling herself,I can do this.

As if reading her thoughts, Antonio told her, “If I didn’t think you could do this, I wouldn’t have agreed to it.”

Again, she believed him. Unlike Casper, he recognized her strengths. Casper, on the other hand, believed he had to teach her the basics of fighting today. Sophia knew Antonio for only a few days and he already seemed to understand her more than her best friend of years.

“I appreciate your confidence in me.”

“Remember, I’ve seen you in action,Fia.”

Why did Antonio’s nickname for her send butterflies shooting through her stomach? Whenever Casper called herSophshe never felt this way. In fact, she never felt anything special when he called her by that name. It simply felt like a friend casually addressing another friend, nothing more.