LEO
The pit was circular, maybe thirty feet across, with walls too smooth to climb. Lights blazed down from above, and I could see thousands of faces pressed against the viewing rails.
They'd all come to watch me die.
Magnus rolled his shoulders, and I heard bones c***k. He was older, but he was still an Alpha in his prime. Trained. Ruthless. And completely in control.
"This is how it always ends," he said, circling me. "The Council's oldest tradition. The champion faces the Alpha. If you win, you earn your freedom and your demands. If you lose, you die, and everything you fought for dies with you."
I wiped blood from my mouth. "You never intended to honor any deal."
"Of course not. But the people need their spectacle." He glanced up at the crowd. "They need to see that rebellion has
