Five

Moon

“ W ake up, Moon. The final trial starts in twenty,” one of the guys says, but I’m not sure who. I was dreaming about this final trial. There were zombies. I shudder, waking up as a shiver slithers down my spine, and my ears tingle.

I hate zombies. In reality, zombies could never actually exist. Not in the traditional way. Not in an animated corpse kind of way. Not without magical assistance.

Does that make them any less creepy? No, not at all.

“I need blood!” I yelp as I jump to my feet. Of course, I’m still tangled up in my sleeping bag, so all I manage to do is nearly end it all right here and now.

The bag gets stuck between my legs, I flail, and then fall. I’m headed straight for the fire when strong arms wrap around my waist.

“Will there ever be a day when your life isn’t being threatened by your own damn feet?” Silas hisses, and I shrug.

“Unlikely,” I tell him with a serious face, as he helps me untangle the bag from my limbs.

“If you could get your shit together, that would be great!” Tristan exclaims, and I roll my eyes.

“Shut your sassy Elf mouth,” I say, dusting the invisible lint off my pants. I take a minute to fix my hair and use a bamboo stick to clean my teeth since toothbrushes weren’t in any of the supplies. Then I head over to my Fae mate. “How are you doing?” I ask him, trying to read the emotions on his face.

“I don’t know?” he winces. “Knowing your mother is an evil asshole is one thing. Learning that not even her own child is safe from that evil is another thing entirely. I don’t think I’ve ever thought that she loved me, but I didn’t realize just how little I truly meant to her. I’m just another pawn to her.”

“I’m so sorry, Fenrick. I know I already said that, but I am. I don’t exactly have the best relationship with my mother, but I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling right now.” I wrap my arms around his middle and press my face to his chest. “But I’ll be here, with you, for everything that's to come.”

“Yeah, she will,” Tristan snorts, and I lift my face, so I can shoot mental daggers at the unhelpful Elf prince.

“I will sell you on the dark magical market,” I threaten, making him snort a laugh. It’s very cute, but I still stick my tongue out at him. “Ignore him,” I tell Fen, who chuckles. He’s wrapped his arms around my back and is pressing soft kisses to my head.

“Whatever comes, I’ll be by your side, Moonlight. You are the center of all my hope. I can’t imagine facing the future without you,” Fen whispers, and my heart fucking melts.

“Oh my starlight, are you sure you’ve never had a girlfriend before? That was so romantic!” I whine, making Fen smile.

“Come on, love birds. Moon, you need to eat something before the trial starts,” Daire says as he hands me a bag of dried meat. “You need blood,” he adds with a look.

“So do you,” I tell him, lifting my wrist, but he shakes his head.

“You need your strength. I’ll feed after.” Daire steps away, and I pout. I don’t like feeling like my mates are going without, just for my benefit.

“Feed from me,” Kili says, swooping in to drag me away from Fen. I still have food in my mouth, so I quickly chew while Kili starts pressing kisses to my neck.

It’s very distracting. By the time I finish feeding from Kili, the trial is only two minutes away. I never know what to expect. How these things will start.

With one last kiss for Kili and Crow, the world goes black.

Only I’m not unconscious. It’s just really fucking dark.

“Guys?” I whisper, but there’s no response. I reach my hand out in front of me, but I’m blocked. I’m inside…a wooden box? Oh, hell no. If I’m being buried alive, I will fucking riot!

“Contestants! Welcome to the final trial. I would hate to spoil the surprise, but I must inform you of the rules! First, don’t get bitten. Second, don’t die. I’ll just say this… It’s a free-for-all. Good luck!”

The announcer ends that with another one of his creeper laughs.

What did he mean when he said don’t get bitten… I have a very bad feeling.

I wouldn’t put it past the game makers to do the one thing I hope they didn’t.

What are the chances I’m that unlucky? Probably pretty high…

“Awesome. The final trial will certainly have fucking zombies. Thousand percent guaranteed,” I grumble to myself. I hold my hand in front of my face but can’t even distinguish my fingers. This is giving some serious horror movie vibes…just like the last trial. Why the fuck did I join these games?

Oh, right, I thought I was going to be freeing my father. Who isn’t my father after all, and according to my mate, probably isn’t even locked up! This is bullshit.

But would I have met my men if I hadn’t joined? Probably not. I guess fate had other plans for all of us. Nine mates is insanity… No, nine mates is pure madness.

I am nothing if not chaos. And a little Blood Fae, I suppose.

Good gravy, what the fuck am I going to do once we get out of these games? Two of my men are trapped in their personal hell. Another mate needs to save his sister from a rare blood disease.

Kili is a little bit off his rocker. Fenrick’s mother is a fucking evil cunt.

Chaos.

“Moonlight?” a deep, rough, scratchy voice growls my name, and I pause. That masculine tone does not sound like any of my mates.

“No?” I reply like it’s a question. Squinting, I wait for the voice to respond. I’m still surrounded by pitch black. I’m definitely still in a wooden box. It smells like a freshly dug grave.

“I know it’s you,” the growly voice says, and I shiver. Why does his voice sound like that? So overused? So rough… My body heats. I feel like I just took a shot of human realm whiskey.

“It’s not.” I shake my head. No way am I admitting shit to whoever this stranger is.

“Aphrodite Moonlight Blossom Hart,” he says, making me tremble violently. My name sounds like a purr on his lips, and I bite my lip to hold in the moan. A moan?! Whoever this guy is, I need to stay far away from him. “It is you,” he insists, and I play dumb.

“Nope. My name is…bananahammock…” Fuck. Banana hammock? Of all the fucking things…

“No.”

“Yes.” I don’t know why I’m arguing. Does it matter? This guy knows who I am… “Okay, fine. Who’s asking?”

“She calls me War.” He says this softer, but his voice is so harsh, it almost sounds like a growl.

“Okay, War. Who is she?” And why does he sound so sad?

“Mother.”

“Your mom? Okay… How do you know my name?” I ask, and he pauses.

“I heard them say it. Your mates, when they were talking about you. They keep you very close.”

“We keep each other safe,” I agree.

“No one keeps me safe. Just myself.” His words might be gravelly, but it’s clear he’s sad. And what makes less sense is the way that makes me feel.

Viciously, violently, and inexplicably angry.

“You can call me Warrior, I think.” His words are barely a whisper, but I hear them. And the second I do, something inside my chest snaps into place. There’s no doubt in my mind exactly who this man is to me.

“You’re my Heart Bonded…” I murmur, shocked stupid. “Ten mates? Sheesh.”

“You’ll keep me safe, like the others?” This question boggles my mind a little bit, but I nod. Then realize he can’t see me. Clearing my throat, I speak loudly, so I know he’ll hear every word.

“Yes, Warrior, I’ll keep you safe. Just like I do with the others,” I vow, not knowing who this man is but knowing those words are true.

“Then I will keep you safe, little Goddess.” These words are spoken with power and promise behind them, and it makes me feel all tingly.

A loud gong sounds, and then blinding white light flashes. I wait for the room to come into view, and when it doesn’t, I realize I’ll probably have to escape the fucking box.

There’s a loud crash nearby and what sounds like wood splintering. Then footsteps. I don’t have time to attempt an escape before the wooden box I’m in is ripped open.

The man before me comes into view slowly in the dimly lit room. He stands there, staring at me with an intense look in his eyes. That's when I realize he’s the man who smiled at me in the last trial.

“You!” I say, pointing at him. He steps back, giving me room to step out of the box. I do so slowly, and this closeup, I can see he’s covered in scars. “Where’s your shirt?” I ask because he’s in nothing but black combat pants and boots.

Pure muscle stands before me, and I can’t help but reach out to caress the skin of his chest. So many scars…

“Muncher beast got it in the last trial.” His voice is no less scratchy, and I frown. A thought occurs to me.

“Your voice…” I whisper, as tears fill my eyes. “From screaming?” He nods once but doesn’t speak. As if he’s ashamed that I realized why his voice is so raw. “Warrior?”

“Yes, little Goddess?” He's quieter now.

“Who gave you these scars?” I try to keep my voice even. I try not to let him hear the violence brewing in my heart.

“Mother.”

“Is that who you need me to keep you safe from?” I ask, and he nods.

“Listen to me closely, Warrior. I need you to hear every word. I need to know that you believe me.” I step closer to him, looking up so he can see my eyes. “No one will ever hurt you again. No one will ever touch you, ever again, without your consent. I will burn this fucking realm down, and any others, if they try. She’ll have to get through me to get to you, and I will die before that day comes,” I vow, barely holding back tears.

There’s an innocence in his blue eyes I can’t understand yet, and a softness I want to protect at all costs.

“And to get to her, she’ll have to get through us,” Silas says from behind Warrior, surprising me because I hadn’t realized anyone else was in here. Warrior doesn’t look surprised. He doesn’t take his eyes off me, though. Not even as my five mates still in the games all enter the room Warrior and I started in.

“We protect each other,” Tristan adds, gesturing to the men around him.

“This is Warrior,” I say, feeling fiercely protective of him in a way I've never experienced before. The urge to protect all my men is strong, but the fear I feel for Warrior isn’t something I’ve ever felt.

Every inch of his bare skin is covered in scars. Some deep, some raised, some thin and silvery.

“Fenrick.”

“Silas.”

“Daire.”

“Tristan.”

“Arlo.”

Each of my men nods their head at their newest…uh…my newest mate. I’m not sure what to call what they are to each other.

“We keep her safe?” Warrior asks, and the men nod again.

“And each other,” Tristan says again.

“You’ll get used to it. The trial has already started, Moon. We need to prepare. We’re pretty sure it’s–”

“Zombies,” I say, cutting Silas off. “Yeah, I know. I just got a little distracted. Have you found any weapons?”

“A few. But we need more,” Arlo says, as he walks over to hand me a metal bat.

“The plan is to eliminate the remaining contestants, and then we all tap out, leaving Moon to win,” Tristan explains, and I nibble my bottom lip.

“Daire can win?” I offer again but snap my mouth shut when all the men glare at me. “Or not, I guess, jeez.”

“Let’s just get–”

“Arg!” A loud moaning growl comes from one of the boarded-up windows, and for the first time, I take in the room we’re in.

It’s almost like a cabin, but older and more beat up. The doors aren’t really doors because they’re hanging half off their hinges. The windows are boarded up, and the lights flicker. Not that they provided much illumination anyway. The boards over the window start to peel away, and we all just stand here watching as decaying hands slowly pry one board away at a time.

“Take me out, Daire! Take me out, right now! End it all, I can’t do this!” I cry, running away from the zombie that's attempting to climb through the window. It looks exactly the way you’d imagine. A dead body, but it’s alive and wants my brains.

“The drama. You’ll be alright.” Daire rolls his red eyes, fixes his dark glasses frames, and then flashes to the zombie. The sickening cracking sound its head makes when Daire hits it with the bat makes me gag.

I bend at the waist, hands on my knees, and dry heave several times.

“I can’t do this,” I say again when I feel a heavy, warm hand on my back.

“Are you okay?” Warrior asks, and I look up at him, frowning.

“I don’t know. That was traumatic. I hate zombies,” I confess, and Warrior nods his understanding.

“I also do not like them,” he says, making me chuckle.

“Does anyone like zombies?” I ask, and Warrior shakes his head.

“Oh, fuck!” I hear Tristan yelp, and I straighten up, just in time to watch a zombie chomp on his neck. I scream. Frozen in place, filled with fear, I watch as Tristan gets eaten by a zombie, and all I do is scream.

It’s Silas who saves him, and the second the zombie is eliminated, I rush my Elven mate.

“Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Don’t die, please, don’t die!” I beg, as I press my hands to his bloody neck…only… “Is that fucking ketchup?” I yell, pulling my hands away as I look at the massacre before me. Even as more ketchup leaks from the wound, and Tristan grows pale, all I can do is stare.

“They wouldn’t actually let us get eaten by zombies, Moon,” Daire sighs. “It’s simulating death.”

“Fucking…hurts…” Tristan gurgles, as ketchup leaks from his lips. “Shit,” he sighs, letting out a breath. I watch in horror as his body is covered by a body bag that zips itself shut. Then it drags itself out of the room.

“I don’t like this!” I squeal, jumping back to my feet as I watch in horror as Tristan is dragged away by a magical body bag.

“We need to move. Things are only going to get worse,” Arlo announces, as he rushes over and grabs one of my hands, lacing our fingers together. six

“Keep up, new guy,” Fen says, as we start making our way from room to room. The guys kill zombies as we go, and I disassociate to cope.

“I do not want to survive the zombie apocalypse. Take me out in the first wave. This is my hell,” I complain, plopping down on my ass in the middle of the most recent room. Three other contestants were in here when we first arrived. The guys sacrificed all three to the zombies. It was almost a horror show, but the ketchup, rather than blood, kills the vibe.

“I thought you wanted to win for yourself, not let us carry you!” Daire reminds me as he takes out another zombie.

“That was before I knew there would be zombies. Silas, look out!” I shout, as I watch three zombies munch on Silas. He goes down like a bag of bricks, and once the guys have killed the zombies, I crawl across the floor to my Murder Noodle. “Bye,” I whisper, waving at him as he oozes ketchup from his eyes and ears.

I grab the bat he dropped and rise to my feet. There are only five of us now. Arlo, Daire, Fen, Warrior, and me. I don’t know how much longer we’re going to be here, but I need to do my part. Or, I need to at least try.

Countless zombies later, we clear five more rooms, eliminate three more contestants, and lose Arlo along the way.

“Attention. We’re down to the final five. Good luck.”

“There’s only one other person left,” I whisper. The end of this nightmare is near!

“Move, move, move!” Daire shouts, and we start running. “There’s a herd of them, fuck!” He faces us as we all move toward the opposite door. “I’ll hold them off!”

“Fuck!” I cry. Even though I know he'll be okay, I’m also horrified that he’s about to be mauled by zombies.

Three rooms later, and we haven’t found the other person still in the games.

“Maybe they were already eliminated!” I shout, but Fen shakes his head.

“They announce the top three!” he shouts back, and I groan, as I swing the bat once again. The muscles in my arms feel like jello, and I’m so over this.

“I’m tired of this grandpa!” I complain, but neither of my guys gets the joke. “Tough crowd,” I mumble.

“They’re coming in bigger waves,” Warrior says, looking around. “We need to keep moving.” He grabs my hand and tugs. I let him, and when Fenrick takes my other side, we bolt through the rapidly closing path. We run from what looks like thousands of zombies.

Throwing ourselves forward, I can’t help but wonder who the fuck has survived this long alone. There are so many zombies, and I fucking hate running. There is seriously no good reason for this much cardio. I want this to be over. I’m being a big baby… I know that, but seriously, have you seen zombies? Disgusting.

“There!” Fen shouts, as we come to a sliding halt in the middle of the room. In the corner, all alone, looking like a sad little bird, is Teresa. She sees us and launches herself at me.

I catch her, hugging her back as she sobs.

“They ate Percy!” she cries, and I pat her back.

“It’s okay. They’re just in exile. He’s okay!” I promise, hugging her back. She looks at me with so much hope, and I know that no matter what, there’s no way I can just eliminate her.

“Are you sure?” she sniffles, and I nod.

“The blood wasn’t real, it was just ketchup,” I reassure her as I take a step back, looking around the room she locked herself in. It’s got no windows, which explains how she made it so long alone.

“Moon!” Teresa shouts, and a second later, I go fucking flying. I scream. Teresa screams. The zombie I’m flying toward screams.

I land hard on the grotesque thing. So hard that when it hits the ground, its head just pops right off and goes rolling across the floor. I scramble to climb off it as fast as I can because I am now covered in zombie guts. Gross!

“Oh, ew!” I whine, realizing Teresa is still screaming. I spin around, but it’s too late. She’s under two zombies, but Warrior is already there, saving her. I rush to her side, reach for her hands, and try to soothe her. “You’re going to be okay, it just sucks for now. Percy is waiting for you in exile. You’re okay, you’re okay!”

She fades quickly, and even though I know I’ll be seeing her again soon, a tear still falls down my cheek. Ten seconds in a room with me, and she’s already getting eliminated.

“Congratulations to the final two. One of you will be the next Champion of The Tournament of Blood.”

“Final two!” I cry, looking around, and sure enough, Fenrick is being zipped into a matching black bag like the one Teresa is in.

“Moon?” Warrior whispers, coming over to my side, as zombies start piling into the room. We’re about to be overrun. Oh, god. I’m about to be eaten by zombies… “She’s going to punish me. For not hurting you. For losing.” He kneels beside me, taking my hands into his.

“What? No… No.” I shake my head. “She–your mother–she won’t hurt you again. I won’t let her.”

“She controls me. Only when I’m with you does my mind clear. Even now, I can hear her voice in my mind…”

“Then you’ll stay with me. I’ll find you. As soon as we’re free, I’ll go to you. We all will. My men won’t let her hurt you, Warrior,” I promise him, knowing that if I can’t get to him, then my men will.

“As soon as this ends, Moon, she will put me under her spell. I’ve never been able to resist her power. I don’t want to…” He shakes his head, panic filling his eyes as his breathing gets rapid.

“I will be there, Warrior. I won’t abandon you. You’re mine, now. I protect what’s mine.” I cup his face in my hands, forcing him to look into my eyes. “You will be safe.”

He nods, calming down marginally, but still looking frightened.

“In just a few seconds, we’re going to be overwhelmed. This will end quickly. Let’s go down swinging?” I say, grabbing my bat and handing Warrior his.

We stand back to back as the zombies surround us, and I start swinging.

“FUCK!”