Winning the Legend
By B. Kristin McMichael
Copyright © 2013 B. Kristin McMichael
Smashwords Edition
August 31, 2013
ISBN 978-0-9891218-4-2
This book is licensed for your personal use only. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means without written permission of the author. All names, characters, and places are fiction and any resemblance to real, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Summary: Arianna is now the prize of the competition- too bad she doesn’t believe in just sitting and waiting for the men to decide her fate. To get what she really wants, Arianna must take fate into her own hands.
Books By This AUTHOR
To Stand Beside Her
The Blue Eyes Trilogy
The Legend of the Blue Eyes
Becoming a Legend
Winning the Legend
Day Human Prince
(Early 2014)
Chalcedony Chronicles Book 1
(Early 2014)
My past defines who I am by the choices I have made.
My future is defined by being smart enough to learn from those choices.—Ari
Chapter 1
Arianna Grace looked up from the floor where she lay sprawled on the training mat. Her dark blond, sweat-soaked ponytail was hanging limply. It had been twenty-nine days of endless training, and she still couldn’t fight back well enough to defeat Andrew Lucan, even though he wasn’t even fighting at full power in his baku night human form. She had gained ground in fighting him in day human form, but once they were night humans, it was hopeless. Andrew had been through too much training. Arianna brushed back her sweaty bangs and pushed herself off the floor. Her muscles ached, but she wouldn’t quit. She couldn’t quit. The fate of everyone Arianna knew hung on her ability to win. Strength was the only ally she had at this point, and the only one that would save everyone. She had to get stronger.
“I think it’s about time to go over everything else one last time with Thomas,” Andrew replied. He was the picture of perfection. His wavy, almost black, shoulder-length hair wasn’t even messed up as he gazed at her with steel gray eyes. He didn’t take any pleasure in beating Arianna. He was probably one of the strongest opponents she would ever face, but even that didn’t deter her.
“One more time,” Arianna begged.
Andrew reluctantly stood back in his starting spot across the room from her. He hadn’t yet even broken a sweat, but Arianna was relentless in her effort. Arianna already knew she’d won that argument before he even moved. Her persuasiveness was actually her strongest trait. Andrew could never really say no to her.
“Fine, but after you promise to go straight to Thomas? No begging Molina next.” Unfortunately, Andrew was already two steps ahead of her.
Arianna grumbled at his suggestion. It was her plan to beg Molina next, but she wasn’t going to admit that. After a month of hapkido, jiu jitsu, jeet kune do, keysi, and street fighting training for eight hours a day between Molina and Andrew, Arianna was getting better. She could now fight in both night and day human form toe-to-toe with Molina. Arianna preferred to fight with Molina, who didn’t have to hold back. Andrew was much stronger and every fight showed how unequal their abilities still were.
Andrew mockingly bowed to Arianna and waited for her to make the first move. He was anxious to stop her overexertion, but it was best to use her skills against herself rather than attack first. Arianna moved, and Andrew countered the punch, deflecting her momentum. Arianna regained her footing momentarily, only to find that Andrew had a lock on her arm. Instantly he twisted her arms while swiping her feet. Arianna flipped to counter his move, but she exerted too much spin on her flip causing her to grab Andrew’s arm for support. Arianna let him flip her around to lessen the damage as she hit the floor, she knew that Andrew had the upper hand the moment she grabbed his arm. Andrew rested, pinning her on the floor beneath him.
“Fine,” she mumbled, tapping the floor. The full-grown baku pressing her to the floor made her belly flip, but she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of not only beating her in less than two minutes, nor of making her go weak in her the knees just by his presence. Arianna closed her eyes to not have to look at him as she admitted her defeat.
Andrew smirked and leaned down to kiss her. He already knew his effect on her was the same as hers on him, but he was much more schooled in hiding his thoughts from others. Andrew’s lips gently touched hers. Arianna wanted to pout more but couldn’t. She eagerly returned his kiss, sliding her hands down the chiseled chest that was keeping her pinned to the ground
“Is this a new method of teaching?” Thomas asked from the corner of the room. He had watched Arianna get beat, and then watched it turn into a make-out session on the training floor mats. Most of the fights ended that way these days.
Arianna blushed as Andrew very deliberately stood slowly and pulled her up with him, keeping his hands on her exposed abdomen. Just his touch alone was enough to cause the blushing to escalate to a full-scale red face. Andrew chuckled as his hands skimmed the top of her shorts as she marched over to Thomas and ignored Andrew.
“So, what was the bet this time?” Thomas asked Andrew, trailing Arianna. In all her fighting with Andrew, she had only once actually put a scratch on him. After that, Andrew had beat her every day, though she didn’t give up trying.
“I gave her the day off,” Andrew replied reluctantly. He followed her, disappointed that Thomas had to be there right now. Andrew wouldn’t mind having a few extra moments alone with Arianna.
Arianna sulked. “No motivation makes me do worse.” She wiped the sweat off her face and retied her ponytail.
“I doubt you need much motivation beyond the joy of actually beating him,” Thomas mumbled as he watched her. Everything about her was perfect from head to toe, yet all he felt was the intense need to protect her. His attraction to her wasn’t physical like Andrew’s, but more of a family bond. Thomas wanted to feel the passion he always saw between them. They were amazing when they were together, either in combat or not.
“Time for a shower before we start?” Arianna asked, looking down at her sweat-stained sports bra and shorts.
“Always,” Thomas replied. He, like Andrew, was not in the habit of telling her no.
Arianna ducked out of the training room and ran past their hosts on her way to get clean. She needed to make it back to Thomas within five minutes. Maxim Moro nodded to her as she passed him a second time. He was the youngest of his clan at twenty-two, and there wouldn’t be another for at least eight years. The cycle to increase the clan members would begin again soon, and he would be expected to contribute. The wurdulac were a dying race, as they could only feed on loved ones. They were always born with pairs in mind, and while his mate had been born two years before him, Maxim was completely captivated by Arianna. She was similar to them in many ways, especially being limited to the blood of only people she loved, but since she came from multiple night humans she had an abundance of people to feed from. Jealously of her freedom kept Maxim around, but more so, he was fascinated by the outsider. The wurdulac didn’t often allow outsiders to enter their territory, let alone their homes.
Serge Moro, Maxim’s father, followed Arianna as she made her way to the library. He lagged a bit behind. Both father and son watched her intently. They could feel the immense power that came off such a small girl. She did her best to rein in her power, but even before she had taken the five keepers’ blood a month ago she was never really good at keeping her power to herself. They were as fascinated by Arianna’s personality as they were with her uniqueness.
“Surveillance shows eight people around the e
state,” Serge said, joining Thomas and Arianna.
“Only eight?” Thomas asked.
“The rest are with Devin and Turner,” Molina replied, entering the room as well. “They assume that if they can’t follow Arianna, they can always follow Devin.”
Arianna took the bottle of water from Andrew as he entered, now fully-cleaned and changed. Andrew sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him. Arianna leaned back into his arms to listen to Thomas and Molina talk more with Serge. It was distracting to sit like that, but her time was limited. Soon, they would be surrounded by men trying to win her, and if she couldn’t prove herself to the men, she wouldn’t get any more time with Andrew. Arianna worried that if they failed to win the tournament, Andrew would truly lose it, and against nine powerful night humans, he didn’t stand a chance. Andrew’s hands skimmed down her arms, distracting her from her horrible thoughts.
“It looks like they found tunnels seven and nine last night,” Serge added, watching Arianna’s mood fluctuate.
Thomas rubbed his forehead, ignoring Arianna and Andrew. “Then that leaves only tunnel three to leave from?”
“Yes,” Serge replied. Unlike his son, he wasn’t just fascinated by the outsiders. Instead, he felt an overwhelming sense of duty to help this young girl after the visit from her great uncle. Gabriel had showed up on his doorstep only a month ago asking for a favor after years of not seeing each other. In return, he promised the wurdulac a possible cure from their limited feeding. Serge didn’t want to change his clan, but it was only a matter of time before they would die out. Fewer and fewer children were being born each cycle, and Gabriel offered hope to him. Gabriel had assured him that the young, innocent girl sitting before him was the key.
“That makes things a bit harder,” Thomas complained. “I really wanted to have at least two tunnels open so that we would create a distraction.” The wurdulac estate sat above a honeycomb of tunnels. For over a century the wurdulac had used the tunnels to come and go without other clans knowing the exact entrance to their estate. While keeping them isolated from the world, the tunnel system also kept them safe.
Thomas looked at the screen of the computer before him. It would have been nice if all the tunnels were open, but that wasn’t going to happen. The leading clans were all too persistent in their claim of Arianna. If only her guardian Devin had somehow tricked her into marriage before she turned seventeen, this all could have been avoided. Clan law stated an unwed female was up for contest by all clans if unwed by seventeen. Thomas tried to study the screen. Heck, at this point he would have married her to keep her from this fate. Arianna reached over and placed her hand on Thomas’ hand.
“Getting away shouldn’t be a problem,” she tried to reassure him as the worry creases deepened in his forehead. Thomas looked up from the screen and smiled slightly at her.
“I know,” Thomas replied. She was stronger now. They didn’t need tricks to escape, but it didn’t hurt to have several plans.
Andrew had made sure she was completely trained to sneak around. It would be the only skill that could keep her alive when all hell broke out. Thomas tried to plan for every scenario that might happen at the clan tournament, but he was sure nothing would go as planned. Thirteen powerful men, all hungry for her blood, in one location was not going to lead to anything productive. Thomas’ need to protect her outweighed every other thought for the past month. He was thinking in circles from sundown to sunup. He didn’t have the brawn to fight for her, but he did have the brains. It was just that there were so many unpredictable variables.
‘We can do this,’ Arianna tried her best to reassure Thomas mentally. She sensed the strain pour off him. Arianna leaned back again into Andrew and looked up to his eyes. He felt Thomas’ worry also. She didn’t think this would turn out well either, but she had to be strong for everyone. Each day of training was making her stronger, but they were out of time.
“I can take her out through the lower caves,” Maxim suggested from behind his father. Thomas looked to Maxim hopefully.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Serge replied, considering the offer. “The lower caves are unsafe.”
Thomas’ hope faded at their new option. The ground beneath the wurdulac tunnels was riddled with caves, but they were considered dangerous because even though the night humans had immense strength and skills, caves could be a trap for someone who didn’t know where they were going.
“I know my way through them,” Maxim continued. “I’ve been exploring them since I was ten.”
Thomas typed more while Molina looked on. The grounds were littered with night humans waiting for Arianna to leave. Each person that was tracking her had brought additional men to keep a watch out. Their jumpy figures showed their anxiety as the day was drawing closer.
“Where does your path end up?” Thomas asked Maxim.
“Move over there,” Maxim pointed to the left of the screen. “I can get through the caves and up at several points, but this would be the closest to your location.”
Thomas zoomed in and smiled. Arianna could walk right under the men waiting outside, and they wouldn’t know the difference. Not a single man was as far out as Maxim could go. In fact, she would be close enough to the tournament estate that it wouldn’t take more than an hour of running to get there. Thomas looked back to the third tunnel. It wouldn’t be long before someone found it. The night humans dotted the countryside, relentless in their quest to find her. Thomas nodded to Maxim.
“How long will it take to get through?” he asked.
“About three hours,” Maxim replied.
“And Andrew will fit through?” Thomas questioned, knowing that Andrew would be in full-protection mode from the moment they left the house, and Andrew was quite a bit bigger than either Arianna or Maxim.
Maxim nodded regretfully. He would rather leave the baku behind, but that was for personal reasons and not safety. With Andrew around, Arianna hadn’t even looked once in Maxim’s direction. Maxim wanted to catch her eye, but Andrew was all consuming. Maxim observed, as everyone else had, that Andrew was Arianna’s mate, but it didn’t mean he liked it or wanted to accept it. Serge placed his hand on Maxim’s shoulder and squeezed lightly. He knew his son was fascinated with Arianna.
“And from there will you need us to get you to the estate?” Serge asked.
“No,” Andrew replied, now looking at the screen as well. “We’ll be better off with just the two of us. Arianna and I can travel during the daylight hours and not be restricted like the other races.”
“Then we will plan for this to happen tomorrow at eight in the morning. That way, you can exit the caves at eleven, burning hours.” Thomas looked over to confirm with Molina. She nodded. No one liked not being able to travel with Arianna, but they all knew that she was safest with Andrew. Arianna nodded to the people around her. She was their hope to change the night human world and that would have to start with this tournament.
After the travel details had been decided, everyone left Arianna with Thomas to wrap up the tournament specifics. He had already spent weeks drilling in the routine, and it was second nature to Arianna by now, but Thomas was relentless in going over everything to make sure every detail was correct. By the time Arianna couldn’t hold back any more yawns, Thomas was thankfully satisfied. After first a physical workout, and then a mental one, Arianna was more than ready for bed.
“I got it,” Arianna finally said, her voice subdued. “I’ll just greet them with the prepared speech and then wait for you to arrive.” Arianna yawned again.
“Maybe we should do it one more time,” Thomas suggested, not watching her yawn but concentrating on the task at hand. It was his job to make sure she was prepared. He couldn’t do much in a fight, or defend her like Andrew might, but he could make sure every possible outcome was analyzed and that a course of action was plotted.
“No,” Arianna complained. “I got it. Really I do. Welcome to my tournament,
yada yada, where you boorish pigs can all fight over me like I’m the last bit of food you will ever see, yada, yada. I got it.” Thomas smiled and nodded. He couldn’t help but hold her to the same standard to which he held himself.
“Fine,” Thomas replied, standing with her. “Go to bed, get some sleep, and tomorrow this all starts.”
Arianna nodded before giving him a quick hug. She missed both Devin, her protector since she had started her life as a night human, and Turner, the best friend that she made along the way. Since they had both entered the tournament, Arianna couldn’t see them until they started the competition. They were the only constant in the night-human world into which she was dropped over a year ago. Right now, she missed them both greatly. It was nice to at least have Thomas around, no matter how stuffy and grown-up he was at times.
“We will be fine,” she said, trying to reassure them both at the same time. “How can we not? I am a legend, remember.” Arianna winked at him as she opened the door. “Legends always win.”
Thomas only nodded, though he didn’t agree. Some were legends because they’d died young. He didn’t want her to be that kind. He sensed, deep down, that she was meant to be the kind that changed the world. He hoped he was right. He smiled and waved her away. Nothing could damper her spirits, no matter how unsure she was. Thomas needed her positive energy right now to get through the next day. Plan as he might, Thomas needed to be ready to change anything at a moment’s notice.
Arianna silently approached her bedroom door. She felt Andrew inside it. Without visually seeing anything she already knew he was lying across the bed, reading. Her senses were almost fully developed, and Andrew was the easiest to feel. She’d grown even closer to him in the past month, and could sense everything about him as if they were her own feelings. Even without seeing him, she pictured every movement as he turned a page. Slowly, she crept through the open door and paused just within the shadow of the doorway. He was a sight to see, lying stretched on his back, propped up on her pillows. He was, of course, as he spent most of his time—shirtless. It was easier to run around shirtless than to be continuously ripping off shirts when he changed into his night human form, not that Arianna minded much. Arianna admired his sculpted form as he relaxed. Day humans would be jealous of his six-pack abs and lean arm and shoulder muscles. He wasn’t bodybuilder bulky, but not skinny either. He was well-formed from years of training. Andrew tucked an arm behind his head while still holding the book with one hand. His perfect pose now showed off not only his abs, but his muscular arms as well. Arianna held in the sigh that wanted to escape from her lips.