I sank back on my haunches, training my eyes on the shapes of two wolves that crept through the woods. Suddenly, I launched myself toward them, taking them off guard so thoroughly that I managed to snap my jaws around one’s collar before she even realized what was happening. I ripped it off with a jerk of my muzzle, then turned on the other wolf.
Her ice blue eyes went wide, and she froze at the sight of four wolves and her eliminated team member. Taking advantage of her hesitation, I charged toward her, ripping her collar off as well.
The two downed opponents grumbled and growled at their defeat, but they didn’t look like they would give us any trouble, so we began working our way deeper through the woods in search of our opponents’ base. A few minutes later, I caught the scent of several wolves having passed this way and knew we were on the right track.
A blur of movement to my left had me turning. But it wasn’t the red team.Sydnee.
What was she doing? She padded up to us, and I wondered where she’d been and why she’d charged off without us. But now wasn’t the time to worry about it. She was here now, and we had a flag to find.
Surprisingly, Sydnee joined our maneuverings, helping us to clear sections of the woods quickly as we made our way deeper into enemy territory, following the scents I’d picked up earlier. We were onto them, but we should be good as long as none of the red team’s wolves came across our scents.
Before long, we found the red team’s home base clearly marked among the trees. What was the best option? We could all charge in at once and take them unawares. Or a couple of us could sneak in and leave some teammates behind just in case it was an ambush.
I opted for the latter, signaling Sydnee to come along with me and the others to stay behind. Together, Sydnee and I crept closer. I couldn’t see any movement ahead, but the scents were getting stronger. They’d likely be able to scent us soon, so I paused to think through the plan’s next step.
Suddenly, a wolf came barreling toward us from behind, teeth bared, eyes fixed on Sydnee. Without thinking, I pushed her to the side and stood to face off against the charging wolf. I knew what to expect with these collars.
Standing my ground, I waited until the last minute, then sank low and darted to the right, snapping my teeth around the collar and ripping it off before the other wolf could do anything.
Sydnee stared at me, body heaving, then shook her head and padded ahead. I glanced up among the tree limbs once we were further into the base, wondering if they’d had the same idea we did. But no luck. Eventually, we found the flag hidden inside an old rotting tree.
While the other team hadn’t used the limbs high above, the only way to get the flag was to shift back to human form. The opening in the tree trunk was just too small. Sydnee shifted, and I wondered how she hadn’t tired from multiple shifts so close together. I stood guard while she retrieved it.
As soon as she had it in hand, another wolf came charging at us. I squared off against it, buying Sydnee time to shift back, but we’d been fighting only moments before Sydnee joined the fray in wolf form.
I fell back to catch my breath, noticing Sydnee had dropped the flag on the ground in her haste to shift. Quickly, I scooped it up in my mouth.
I looked back at Sydnee in time to see her rip the other wolf’s collar off. The other team was dwindling fast in numbers. If we could get back to our base quickly enough, victory was ours.
I turned to run, but Sydnee blocked my way. Before I realized what was happening, she lunged, ripping off my collar before snatching the flag from me and running into the woods.
I stared after her, shellshocked. My own teammate disqualified me.
Anger flared inside me. I had no idea how this would affect my standing in the Contention or what the criteria for elimination would be.
Running through the woods, I made my way as quickly as possible out of the arena. When I saw one of Willow’s assistants standing there with a robe, I shifted back and pulled the robe around me.
“Follow me,” is all she said.
I did, fuming that I’d trusted Sydnee. I should have known better than to think I could work with her, even when we were teammates. Really, the only person I had to blame was myself.
The assistant led me down a path that wound around a hilltop, revealing a door built into the earth. She went inside, and I followed behind. I was surprised to see a room full of screens showing everything that was going on in the arena. I grimaced as one screen showed Sydnee running through the woods with the red team flag clenched in her teeth.
I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for Sydnee’s deception.
“Is what she did allowed?” I asked anyone in the room who was listening. “Can I be disqualified by my own teammate?”
Assistants and contestants alike shrugged.
“I have no idea,” the woman who’d led me here said, “but I can radio for Willow.”
She appeared a few moments later and pulled me aside. “You had a question?”
“Should I be disqualified or still in there playing?” I gestured to the screens. “Did you see what happened?”
She nodded and pursed her lips. “I did. That falls in a gray area within the rules. It isn’t specifically stated that eliminations must come from opponents. Normally, I would let Holden make the call.”
My pulse leaped at the mention of his name, but I kept my face carefully blank. “Well, where is he? I didn’t see him in the viewing room.”