13
Chapter 13 Karly
I had to admit,perching on the edge of my seat wasn’t the most comfortable position to be in, especially with my leg all messed up like it was, but I couldn’t sit back and relax. The fifteenth lap of the race was becoming one of the most exciting yet, which was saying something because this had been intense. We’d been reporting on the build up to the Astro Games for a while now, and I knew through my research that there had been some wild rides out on the racetrack in the past, but this was something else. Thank God Ben had a much cooler head than me and was able to do the reporting in a much more calm and collected manner than I was. Every single time the words fell apart on my lips, he was there to pick them up and keep going.
“With eleven laps left,” Ben said firmly into the microphone, “Drew and Alek are head to head. There’s no telling where this will go. It’s certainly going to be a very tight race!”
It was only as I tried to shift myself back a little bit that I realized my knuckles had turned a funny shade of white from holding onto the desk so hard. And not because I was so concerned with who won first place, but because I needed to be following four riders at once—Alek, Chase, Rory, and Hatcher. It was giving me a bit of a head ache because it was so fast paced and insane, I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to see them all at the same time. But I also couldn’t fight the urge to look at them just to check that they were safe. Even from the box seats, the best seats in the house, it was damn near impossible to keep track of everyone.
“We’ll be right back,” Ben said when he noticed how zoned out I was. “You okay, missy? If you’re in too much pain, please feel free to go get some rest. I’ll be fine on my own.”
I instantly shook my head. There was no way I could miss out on this race, no matter what was going on with me. Even if my leg was on fire I would have wanted to stay so that I could be one of the first people to see the outcome.
“Ben…” I had no idea what I was going to say until the words came out of my mouth. “When you were in a harem…or when you were on the verge of getting into a harem, what did you do?” He gave me a teasing look. “No, not like that,” I said, even if I was a little intrigued about the bedroom side of things, but figuring out how I really felt had to take priority here. “Like, how did you get to know one another and know that it was the right thing for you?”
His s raised one eyebrow. I already knew what he was thinking without him even saying it. He was wondering why I was so busy fixating on men who were partaking in the Astro Games to marry the princess and eventually be in line for Bear King. But I really did feel like this was the only chance I would get to explore being in a harem, so I knew I needed to take advantage of this while I could.
“Well, camping was always good.” Ben shrugged. “Out with nature is always a good place to get to know one another. You know, to really get a sense of one another.”
“That would be a good idea if my leg wasn’t injured.”
“That is a bit of an issue, isn’t it?”
The producer called to us, snapping us back into action before Ben could give me any ideas that could actually work for me. I became absolutely determined to focus on what I needed to do here, because these distractions were going to end up costing me my job if I wasn’t careful. I didn’t want that. I would speak to Ben about this at a more suitable time.
“Welcome back to the track,” I said. “Drew is in the lead, but Alek is coming up on the left-hand side, and oh my God, Alek is surpassing him!”
I forgot was all about doing my job. I forgot about my leg too. I actually jumped up and cheered because I was so happy for Alek and proud of him. This was what he’d always wanted and he was achieving it. It didn’t even cross my mind what the prize was. Instead of being the neutral news anchor I was supposed to be, I was acting like the proud girlfriend in the crowd.
“If any of our viewers didn’t know, Karly is a Gemini, supporting her own,” Ben laughed, thankfully picking up the ball I’d just dropped. “But yes, Alek is now in the lead, although he’s headed to his pit stop bay, during which time anything could happen…”
There was a change in the atmosphere. Something new was happening. Something not good. As Alek slowed down to enter his bay, Drew clipped the back of Alek’s bike at such an angle that he actually flew into the air. As pushed the bike away from him, Alek fully shifted before landing with a growl. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, but also much too quickly for me to be able to do anything. All I could do was watch in horror. The arena fell silent at the act.
“That was a trap,” I screamed. I didn’t even think about my crutches as I took off toward the racetrack, to get closer to Alek. I couldn’t even feel the agony searing through my leg because I was only focused on him. I needed to calm him down, to stop him from overreacting and doing something crazy. I needed to keep him and everyone else in the area safe.
In the midst of my panic, I spotted Drew on the big screen. He was smirking, still human, still fucking racing, and looking like the cat who got the cream. This was a trap. I knew it in my soul. Drew was an asshole who clearly didn’t care about who he trampled to get where he wanted to be.
“Alek,” I screamed as I watched the bear rise to his feet and begin barrelling down the track toward Drew. “Alek, no. Stop.”
As soon as the word was out of my mouth, his paws came to a screeching halt. He was still huffing angrily, but he wasn’t running anymore. Thank God. That didn’t stop me from moving though, even when someone in the crowd told me not to step out on the track. I’d been around Alek as a bear before and I knew how to stop him from losing control of his animal. I’d always helped him get back under control and I’d never been hurt before. I didn’t see why that would change now.
Alek was panting as his bear eyes fixed on mine. The man was still in there, I could feel him. I walked slowly, but there was no hesitation in my steps. I didn’t take my eyes off him. I couldn’t. My hand extended so that once I was in reach, I ran my fingers through his fur. I didn’t say a word, but I didn’t need to. I knew he could feel it just as much as I could. He’d told me many times that in his animal form, he was more susceptible to picking up my feelings, so he had to know that I wanted him, that I really loved him, and that no matter what happened, I always would. Eventually, I wrapped my arms tightly around him and breathed him in, holding him until his fur was replaced with soft human skin.
I didn’t move right away, waiting until I was one hundred percent positive he wasn’t even part bear anymore, that he was fully human and going to stay that way no matter what Drew did. Once I was sure, I pulled back and smiled at him, wishing the regret wasn’t quite so painful in his eyes. I could have made a joke about keeping his anger in check in the future, but he didn’t look like he needed to hear that.
“You saved me,” he whispered as he stroked a stray strand of hair out of my face.
“I know, but you have to remember I might not always be able to.”
I didn’t mean for his features to darken and for hurt to cross his face. This was just supposed to be a little reminder, nothing more, so he didn’t get carried away again. But the next time he spoke to me, I knew I’d done some damage because his tone was hard.
“I don’t need saving, Karly. Don’t you worry about it.”
Those words felt like a slap in the face, but even as the sting wore off a little, I couldn’t run after Alek. Not with Ben grabbing my arm and demanding my attention. “Here are your crutches.”
“I don’t need…” Nope. No point in arguing that. My leg was absolutely killing me. I snatched the crutches from him and balanced myself on them. Although I’d already done too much, and with the adrenaline wearing off, the pain was intense. Great. “What now?”
“Now, we need to haul ass to the judges’ table,” Ben said. “They are going to have an opinion about this, don’t you think?”
I turned back to where Alek was before he stormed off on me. Why did he react like that when all I was trying to do was help him? There was no need for it and I was going to talk to him about it later. No matter what he ended up doing in life, he had to remember to treat his supporters right.
“What are they going to have an opinion on?” I asked Ben distractedly. “Drew cheating? That was a shitty move. And he can’t deny it because we all saw him. And where did it even get him? The race has stopped.”
I didn’t even know where Drew went in all the chaos. Hell, I hoped.
“No, not Drew. Alek,” Ben shot back as he indicated for the camera crew to hurry up and join us so we could get all of this on film. “He shifted during the race. Fully shifted. That’s illegal. He might be disqualified.”