Chapter 169

Because there’s no denying it – no denying who he’s pointing to, or what he’s smiling about.

And there’s absolutely no way to pretend that I’m not laughing, and leaning across this barrier, and grinning at him with joy in every inch of me because I don’t feel precisely the same.

The crowd screams their approval of their champion and their Princess, and I let it all run through me, and I pass it to him, and let it bolster him.

My Luca, my mate. Our champion.

Luca laughs a little and stares up at me, almost as if he’s unable to take his eyes away, and then he brings his glove to his lips, kisses it once, and holds it back out to me briefly before he turns back to his corner, striding over to speak to his uncle and get his head in the game.

I lean back too, away from the barrier, still smiling like crazy, and when I look around at all of my family and friends I see that they’re all looking at me, beaming, and I can’t help it. I blush, and laugh, and lift my hands to my cheeks.

Because there’s no denying it anymore – the whole nation now knows that Luca Grant is my mate. And I’m so damn proud of it that I don’t even care.

I think sensing my happiness, my parents beam at me before they turn back to the ring. And Rafe slips an arm around my shoulders, giving me a little squeeze.

“Baby trouble,” Jesse sighs, laughing a little and smiling so hard his eyes crinkle at the edges. “Coming to the boxing match to steal the show.”

“I’m not stealing a damn thing,” I sigh, crossing my arms and shaking my head as I look down at my Alpha mate, watching him pull his robe off and hand it to his uncle before he slips his mouth guard between his teeth. Then Luca crouches down, nodding seriously to his uncle as he receives his final pep talk, and I can’t help but admire his cut muscles, his lovely tanned skin. “This is Luca’s night. How can it not be? Just…look at him.”

And Jesse nods, and refocuses on the match, just like everyone else in the booth. “Yup, Luca’s dreamy all right.”

“He sure as hell is,” Daphne murmurs, her voice appreciative, and as I laugh and grin at her I don’t miss Rafe’s tiny jealous scowl.

“Damn, did I miss it?” Ben asks, arriving at Daphne’s side, and my smile deepens when I see that his skin is back to its normal hue, that his eyes are shiny with excitement again.

“You didn’t miss anything, Benny,” I assure him, giving him a happy smile that lets him know that I’m glad he’s back. Ben gives me a wink and a little nod, letting me know that he’s fine.

The mood in the stadium shifts significantly, though, a moment later. I tear my eyes from Ben and quickly move them back to the ring as a huge pulse of bass sound moves through the stadium. My stomach drops as my eyes turn, as everyone else’s does, towards where the lights are now lighting the tunnel on the western side of the arena –

The tunnel towards the dressing room of the Atalaxian champion.

I inhale a deep breath as shadows start to appear at the door to the dressing room. I instinctually take a step closer to Rafe, though I don’t tear my eyes away from the figures that start to emerge.

“Oh my god,” Jesse breathes next to me, but I don’t have to ask why.

At the center of the group of people that emerges, walking in time to the pounding music that the stadium plays for them, is an absolutely gigantic man.

My jaw drops when I see the way that he towers over his coaches and trainers, at the way they almost have to scurry to keep up with his long stride.

“What the fuck,” Rafe snaps out, and I briefly glance up towards him before fixing my eyes again on the man who can only be the Atalaxian champion, dressed like Luca is in a boxing robe, his fists already laced into his gloves.

“What?” I ask, frantic now, worried at the size of this man but also because Jesse and Rafe – they’re not reacting very well either, are they? “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“He’s fucking huge,” Jesse whispers, and when I glance at my cousin I see that his brows are knit together as he addresses Rafe over my head.

“Is that bad?” I burst out.

“Of course it’s bad, Ari,” Rafe growls, though I can tell his anger isn’t for me. He flicks his gaze at me before snapping it up to meet Jesse. “This must be some kind of mistake –“

“It’s no fucking mistake,” Jesse growls out, tossing a hand towards the man as he strides down the corridor towards the ring. “Obviously, they’ve sent a ringer.”

Almost as if everyone’s realizing it just as Jesse does, the crowd starts to echo with boo’s, enough of them to carry out over the pounding music as the Atalaxian champion reaches the ring. The announcer, standing again at the center of the ring, looks around the room anxiously.

“Ladies and Gentlemen of Moon Valley, please welcome your contender – Anton Spiriatos of Atalaxia!” He smiles widely, raising a hand up to try to elicit a cheer, but the boo’s just get louder.

“What’s a ringer?” I gasp, glancing between my brother, and my cousin, and Luca down in the corner of his ring. Luca leans casually back against the ropes in his corner, perfectly at ease, studying his opponent. I work very, very hard to keep all of my anxiety to myself, not wanting to pass it down our bond.

But god, it’s hard. All I want to do is reach out to him – to ask how he feels – to see if he’s as freaked out as I am.

“A ringer,” Rafe growls, soft, in my direction, “is a guaranteed win, a cheat.”

“What?” I gasp, spinning my head to stare up at him. “But – but Luca’s so good! We were all just saying that he can’t possibly lose! You had such faith in him a moment ago!”

“Faith that’s well placed,” Jesse bites out, again gesturing towards the ring, “when Luca’s fighting in his weight class! But this guy – god, Ari, you can see it, I know you can. He outweighs Luca by at least thirty pounds!”

I snap my head back to the ring and assess the boxer again. Jesse’s right – the man is much taller than Luca – is potentially as tall as Rafe, and my dad, and Jackson. Maybe taller, even – it’s hard to tell from up high in this box. And he’s insanely well-muscled. Luca – he’s built, certainly, for the fight – but his musculature is much leaner than this man’s.

“We have to call this off,” Rafe grits, turning towards my dad.

“What!?” I gasp, desperately worried now – because Rafe, he knows what a big deal that is. I move swiftly, peering around my brother to see my dad already there, moving towards us. Daphne and Ben scurry back, making room.

“We can’t call anything off,” dad says, shaking his head as he meets Rafe’s eyes and then mine. “Everything, on paper, is legit.”

“What?” I ask, stepping forward. Mom peers around dad in the same way that I’m peering around Rafe, and I can tell that she – like me – is deeply concerned but not truly understanding what’s going on.

“How is that possible!?” Rafe bursts out. I feel a presence at my back and glance over my shoulder to see Jesse standing right there, backing me up. “That guy is –“

“They did weigh-in yesterday,” dad growls, holding Rafe’s gaze. “I don’t’ know how they did it – some kind of trick – but that champion and Luca are somehow in the same class.”

“And Luca would never back down,” Jesse murmurs, angry.

I look frantically around at my family and friends, trying to put the pieces together, my breath coming quick. “Please,” I say, throwing out my hands, stepping forward, begging, “please will someone tell me what is happening here!?”

“Some kind of dirty trick, Ariel,” my Uncle Roger says, stepping forward and holding my gaze. “They found a way to lie about their boxer’s weight and class, and then sent in that monster as a guaranteed way to take Luca – and Moon Valley – down.”

“But…” I say, my eyes wide, glancing down towards Luca now – who still, to his credit, looks perfectly confident. “Isn’t that…dangerous?”

“It’s incredibly dangerous,” Roger replies, his voice low.