Betrayed by family

The day of the match came, the trainer came to get me first this time, well after he got the guards he had picked. All three of my unit were in the guard. The trainer started talking as soon as I opened the door, "You were right, I told her seven had volunteered and she didn't even bother to ask me who had, gave me leave to pick five. Didn't even ask who the seven were or tell me not to include any one. I am sure she will find a way to punish me for it again later but for now it is amazing."

I stopped and thought back on what had happened these last two weeks. I had thought the trainer had been gone for two days last week because he was tired of all the extra questions and not getting to really train, but maybe that hadn't been the case. "I am sorry, I should have been more aware."

The trainer looked surprised and my other sense let me know it was real. "No, it isn't your fault brother, there is always plenty to mess up."

"Of course, still wouldn't have been bad enough for that if I hadn't done what I did no matter what, mother used to justify it."

"From your words you know what it is and yet still you insist on keeping our sisters out of your room."

"Yes."

The trainer shook his head as he knocked on the first door, "You have a match, boy let's go!"

A boy of maybe 14 rushed to answer the door. He turned white when he saw me but he fell in as ordered. My conversation ended and the boy joined our group and we found his neighbor's doors.

The ten of us made a very large group as we walked down the hallway. Almost every man in the hall had their doors open to watch our group pass. I was happy to reach the landing. As the trainer led our way up to the arena that we had been told yesterday.

We had to wait a moment outside the iron gate before it opened this time. I stepped out into the cold sunlight. The unusual number of guards stood out like a slap in the face. I paid them no mind as I stepped onto the sand. What caused me to frown was that the other team had on leathers. I guess they didn't think that them being vets while I was teamed with bloodless children was enough of a stack for this first match. I gave a signal after taking two steps, I didn't bother to hide it. The other team didn't seem to care what I might be telling the boys.

I stopped short of where they expected me to go. The stands were almost full, clearly word had gotten out that Estro had an interesting male in their line up and the mother of Estro was having a hard time keeping him under a leash.

I dug my back foot into the sand and put my arms out in front of me to hold me up. I could hear the men laughing and the people in the stands whispering but I didn't look up. I waited for the horn, they would understand soon enough.

The horn sounded and I sprang forward towards the new set of monsters in the pin. They were all favored by their houses and had fought as many if not more fights in the arena as I had. They didn't need my mercy any more then I needed thiers. Giving the crowd a show could get the pups of my pack killed.

Two of the enemy died for they knew what hit them. The other two were shocked for a moment but didn't let it slow their movements. I used my collision to change directions before going out of the ring. The third got one chance to hit me before he went down. The pups hadn't moved and they watched me with eyes as wide as anyone in the crowd, as I found the fourth man. He had gotten to one of the pups. That one was trying to defend himself but he wouldn't have much chance against the older and more experienced monster.

The fourth monster tried to yell as I tore into his throat before he could quite get the leverage he needed on the pup he had gotten close to. The body fell into the sand and the arena was quiet. My eyes locked on the nearest pup when he hadn't moved after the body landed.

The look seemed to cause some memory to finally surface for the pup and his knees hit the sand. I looked over at the other two and they followed their brother's example. So I looked up at the matriarch. She was looking down at me and I couldn't read what she was feeling. I was pretty sure she didn't quite know herself but she had a plan and she was going to stick to the plan. "Continue."

"Are you going to provide me with the targets this time?"

The woman straightened, that wasn't how I was supposed to respond with so many men around. "Travis, you may only let your men enter if they are going to teach that wildmutt a lesson. Sisters you have my permission to put the mutt down, and actually end this fight."

The trainer looked up at the mother as the guards of the other two houses stepped onto the sand. "No woman but death controls what happens on the sand, mother. If you didn't want our guards to defend our house you should not have brought them."

Travis had made sure that the normal two guards knew that if they didn't want to die they should stay off the sand. The other three men waited until six of the other guards had stepped into the ring before entering themselves. They had to be sure they were within the law even as they upheld the spirit of the law after all. When the other houses saw the three men from Estro enter they ordered the last of their men into the overcrowded ring. It would be a four on ten match even though Estro was clearly feilding seven after what the boys had just seen they knew better then to stand and make themselves a target to the alfa demon that they had just seen in the ring.

It wouldn't have mattered if the other side had 50 men with how well they fought together vs the pack of four that started picking the men off one by one. While it might have taken fifty to actually be a challenge anything can happen in battle and one of the members of the unit did fall before the end. He was still in pain when the last enemy fell but it wasn't a wound he could survive.

I knelt in the sand next to him with my hands on his shoulders. At least he could still talk for now, "What do you want, brother?"

"I want two things."

"What are they?"

"For my sons to be safe and the bitch to be dead."

"Those run counter to each other, brother." His breathing was labored as his lungs started to fill his as broken ribs were still doing damage.

"If you stay away from that girl you court a little longer they might be the same thing. I am in pain brother, end it for me before the priests do."

"Only because you asked my brother. May your sacraffice feed our lord and may your soul find peace in the next life." He seemed to nod as I snapped his neck for him. The other two brothers of my unit watched from where they had stopped. They knew better then to move yet, but I saw the sadness in them and I heard the echo of my words. I stood and looked around the arena. Some of the women seemed unsure of their safety up in the stands all the sudden. I tried to get my expression back under control. As my eyes found who I was looking for. She was very angry, her face was red, I was a little worried about her heart with her advanced age. I then looked toward the priest door where the old man who I had expected waited.

"15 dead, that meets your requirement, making you the host, are you ready to call this match, father?"

The old man smiled; I almost thought I heard that I knew too much for my own good but the man seemed to sound happy about it. "Kneel, I will collect the blood price for our lord."

The air seemed to get thin for a moment as all the people watching did a surprised intake of air, and maybe more then one caught a fly even in the cold air. I just watched the sand as the brothers moved about. The mother of Estro was yelling at the men collecting the blood. None of them responded, 15 might be less bodies then the royal but there weren't actually supposed to be 15 bodies here.