Chapter 36
Amie
he day had finally arrived. I had been waiting for it since I was a pupT and first heard the stories about the games. I dressed in my training clothes and when I almost ran into Finlay and Sam outside our rooms, we all grinned.
“Time to go, boys,” I said, heading for the stairs.
“Hey, who are you calling a boy? I’ll let you know I have a daughter. I’m all grown up,” Sam objected, and both Finlay and I laughed. We joined the others for breakfast and there was a nervous excitement in the air. We didn’t know what the day would bring, but it was finally here. Matilda was ready for everything. She had made an array of different snacks, ready to eat meals and beverages. Everyone who wasn’t participating would be watching the games. They would all make sure her food got there and could be handed into the appointed space as needed. Jake was looking nervous.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Not really. Why did we need to start with a strength test? I’m useless on those,” he told me.
“It’s not my strong point either, no pun intended,” I told him and managed to get a smile from him. “But we are a pack and we work together.
You and I will do our best and we will rely on the other three to do most of the work. Then you and I will take the lead when we need to use our brains,” I added.
“Yes, Beta,” he said and looked a little more relaxed.
“I feel like there was an insult embedded in that, but I can’t figure it out enough to be upset about it,” Sam told Ramses. Finlay laughed. Despite the nerves, we were all in a good mood. After breakfast, we all headed towards the gathering point.
“Participants, please go into the stadium, spectators please go to the right and you will be guided to where you can watch the game,” an official was telling us. Our party split up and the five of us headed into the stadium. We went to our designated seats again. There were considerably less wolves there today as only five from each pack had been allowed in. We sat down and waited for what would happen. Nine o’clock sharp, there was a sound coming from the speakers and then the voice of the head of the council.
“Good morning. Today marks the first game. It will be performed in seclusion. This means we have prepared four identical areas. Each pack will do the game without any other packs present or able to see what is happening. You will not be told what the game is until you arrive at it. You will have ten minutes to plan and twenty minutes to complete it. There will be equipment provided. You may choose to use all, some or none of it. All packs will have the same equipment provided to them. The order in which the pack will perform the game has been drawn at random. Please stay in the stadium until an official calls your name and follow the instructions given. Once you have completed the game, you are free to join the spectators. Thank you for participating.” ‘Looks like we are in for a wait,’ I mindlinked the others. ‘Try and get as comfortable as possible and move around from time to time,’ Sam told us. We all nodded and did our best to keep our nerves in check as we watched other packs being called. I saw Elder waving at me from the seats closer to the stage and I waved back. He gave me a thumbs up and I smiled. Finlay pointed out some of the packs to me, letting me get a look at what he thought would be the top contender for the high rankings.
As he did, he placed his hand on my arm. It was a simple gesture we both had started doing after my birthday. Just seeking out each other. In the middle of him telling me about the Narrow River pack, I felt the sensation of being watched. I looked around. James was staring at us, zoned in on Finlay’s hand on my arm. Finlay had noticed I wasn’t listening and followed my eyes to what I was looking at. ‘Ignore him’ I mindlinked Finlay.
‘I don’t think this is just a way to get through the games for him,’ Finlay said, not looking away from James. ‘Don’t care, don’t have time to think about it. It is for me, and the boll is in my court. Now stop obsessing,’ I told him and flicked his forehead with my finger. He looked at me and rubbed the spot. Sam looked highly amused, and I suspected he had guessed what was happening. Jake and Ramses were deep into their own conversation.
“Blue Mountain pack, please follow me,” an official said. We all looked at each other as we stood. This was it. The official guided us out of the stadium to a waiting minibus. They drove us into the woods and we could see a clearing up ahead. We were asked to step out and walk to the clearing.
In the middle of the clearing there was a large rock structure. About thirty feet from it there was a railing and on the other side of the railing there were benches for the spectators.
“Welcome to the first game, Blue Mountain pack. In the rock before you there are hand and foot holds carved. Your objective is to get all five members to the top of the rock formation, using only the designated holds.
It’s not allowed to carve out new ones, use your claws to find a better grip or damage the rock formation in any way. You have been provided with tools on the table to your right. It is up to you if you use them or not. You will get ten minutes to plan and prepare and then you have twenty minutes to reach the top. If not all members reach the top, points will be deducted. If none of the team reaches the top within the set time, no points will be given.
We will look for physical and mental strength and teamwork and will be awarding points based on how well you perform. Have you understood?” a
speaker's voice explained.
“We have,” Finlay answered.
“Your time has started.” We all walked up to the table. Gloves, rope and
talc powder. ‘Sam, give us your plan,’ Finlay asked. ‘I say we use the rope and talc powder. No gloves. I also say we go without shoes. From what I can see the holds look shallow, we will get a better feel without them. I say you go first Alpha, Amie second, Jake you have the middle and then Ramses, I will go last. We connect ourselves with the rope. That way we have the two strongest at each end,’ Sam instructed us.
‘And me in the middle,’ Jake said. He didn’t look too pleased about the thought of climbing the rocks. I was with him. I wasn’t afraid of heights, but I was highly uncomfortable with them. ‘Yes. If someone falls, we have a better chance of holding them up with two strong endpoints. We can also see and adapt the pace so everyone can keep up. We do this nice and slow. Twenty minutes is a good amount of time. I rather we use eighteen minutes and all of us get up there, than spend twelve and lose one member on the way,’ Sam explained. We all nodded as we removed our shoes and put on the bags of talc powder. Sam tied the rope to us and made sure he was satisfied with the order and distance before he nodded.
“We are ready for the next phase,” Finlay said.
“You now have twenty minutes to reach the top,” the commentator said.
We jogged up to the rock formation and Finlay started to move up the first holds. He looked around to see if I was with him. I had no issues with the first holds. They were comfortable and even if the rock face was steep, they provided enough grip to let us climb them. One by one we climbed up. The path the holds took wasn’t straight up, but instead it sneaked around the formation. It meant we could only see a few feet of the holds in front of us and the ones above us. We moved at a slow but steady pace. I made sure to keep an eye on both Finlay and Jake. The higher we climbed, the narrower the holds became. I was happy we had chosen to go barefoot as I needed my toes to get the hold my feet needed. ‘It looks like we are approaching an out croup which will force us to use arm strength alone,’ Finlay told us. I leaned out as much as I dared to get a look around him. A piece of the rock formed a ledge and the holds were carved on the underside of it. ‘Get as close to it as you can and then stop. We will take two minutes to shake loose our arms,’ Sam said. We stopped and did our best to restore a decent blood flow and shake the muscles back to life. ‘Here we go, try and keep moving forward once you start. Use your body’s momentum to move forward,’ Finlay told us as he started moving under the ledge. I followed and could feel the hard stone dig into my fingers as my body weight was put on them. I moved steadily forward, Finlay was almost at the end of the ledge. I was focused on him. If he made it, I was almost there as well and I could give my fingers and arms a well-deserved break.
“Fuck!” I heard Jake’s call a heartbeat before I felt the rope around my waist pull tight. It knocked the wind out of me, but I didn’t let go of the holds. My fingers weren’t just holding up my weight, they were now holding parts of Jake’s as well. 'Red, how are you holding up?’ Finlay mindlinked as he looked back at me. ‘Fine. I think I can hold on. But I don’t think I can pull him up,’ I said. ‘Ramses, Amie, stay put and hold on. Alpha, let's make our way as close as we can. If they act as anchors, we can pull him up,’ Sam said. I focused on breathing and not thinking about the pain in my fingers. Finlay came
back and was next to me. ‘Ready?’ Finlay asked. ‘Ready,’ Sam agreed. Finlay used one arm to reach across to where the rope was holding up Jake, swinging below us. When Finlay and Sam pulled on the rope, I felt relief as the weight was no longer on me. It was hard for them to pull him up using only one arm each, but it didn’t take long before Jake reached up and took a grip on the holds. ‘Got it?’ Finlay asked. ‘Yes, Alpha. Thank you, and sorry about the trouble,’ Jake replied. ‘Don’t think about it. Let’s finish this,’ Finlay said and started moving across again. My arms objected as I started moving. It was hard going from a standstill to swing forward. When we all had come past the outcrop, we took a moment to breathe again. ‘It won’t get easier, let's get it over with,’ Finlay told us and we moved again. The climb became steeper, the holds smaller. As the top came into view, we could see how small it was. It would be a stretch for us all to fit.
The holds were barely enough for me to be able to put my weight on. All parts of my body objected as we pushed forward. ‘I’m up,’ Finlay declared, and I felt him pull on the rope to help me with the last part. When I got up on the small flat surface, we took a hold of the rope connecting me to Jake and helped him up as well. We manoeuvred so Finlay could help Jake to pull Ramses up and finally Sam joined us. We had to hook arms around each other for all to stay in place and not fall off the edge.
“Blue Mountain pack, you have finished the game with four minutes to spare. One moment and we will get you down. Congratulations on finishing the first game.” There were howls coming from our pack members who had
been watching us. Two officials brought over a ladder which we all climbed down. ‘Well done, everyone. Let’s join the others and watch the rest of the game and then we go back to the cabin and talk it through,’ Finlay mindlinked us.
We all walked over to where the rest of our team sat on the benches.
“You were brilliant. Well done!” Matilda said as she handed out bottles and sandwiches to us.
“Thank you,” I said as I was grateful to sit down. My arms were burning and my fingers and toes were chaffed. They would heal before the end of the day, but for now, they were painful. ‘Are you okay?’ Finlay asked in a mindlink. ‘I’m fine. A little bruised, but nothing that won’t get better before the day is over. Especially when I get Matilda’s food. How about you? It was very impressive to see you and Sam pull Jake up like that,’ I told him. He gave me a smirk. ‘How impressive? Impressive enough to earn me a reward?’ he asked. I
smiled and shook my head. ‘We will see,’ I said. ‘Eat,’ he told me and nudged me with his elbow. ‘You eat,’ I said, giving him a nudge back. We both smiled as we started in on our sandwiches. We watched as another pack started up the rocks.
They had also chosen to tie themselves together with the rope. About halfway up the rock, the last one in their group lost his grip and fell. The second to last got the entire weight on him. There seemed to be confusion in the group about what to do and, in a panic, the second to last member used his claw to sever the rope. The member who was dangling from the rope gave a shout as he started free falling. I gasped. He hit the ground with an audible thud. Everyone watched the body on the ground. There was a moan, and he rolled over on his back. We all drew a sigh of relief. At least he was alive. The group, still on the rock, continued climbing and eventually reached the top. ‘What the fuck was that?’ Sam asked in a mind link. ‘Pathetic,’ Finlay said. ‘It’s not the first one. We have seen three packs that have lost team members on the way up,’ Hugo, one of our support staff, said. ‘Three?’ I asked in disbelief.
‘Some didn’t even use the rope,’ Matilda scoffed. It was clear what she thought of those packs. ‘But teamwork was one part they were scoring,’ Jake pointed out. ‘Some packs have too much confidence in their own capabilities. I bet my tail on that they all expected their pack members to make it to the top without issue,’ Finlay remarked. ‘Yeah, that’s true. They probably have a team with strong pack members,’ Jake said. ‘Strength isn’t always a positive thing for this kind of task. I think we will see that now,’ I told him as I saw their old pack, led by Finlay’s brother, come to do their first run at the game. Finlay tensed up next to me. ‘They are strong at least,’ Jake said. I could hear in his voice he was blaming himself for his grip slipping. ‘They are,’ Sam agreed. ‘But they also have the body weight of three of you. There will be a lot of weight put on their digits.’ We all watched as they stood in a group, mindlinking their strategy on the side of the rock formation. They didn’t even look at the tools provided for them.
“We are ready,” Finlay’s brother called out after five minutes. The announcer started the clock for the game and all five of the participants flew towards the rock formation. They made decent progress for the first third of the climb. I knew it was after that point the holds would get smaller. I could see the speed of their progress decrease. It almost came to a stop as they struggled. By the time they came to the outcrop, they looked visibly exhausted. As they started to make their way under the ledge, they struggled. One of the men slipped with one hand and everyone gasped as he managed to keep his grip with the hand he still had a hold with.
“Don’t fucking slip,” Finlay’s brother growled for everyone to hear.
“Yes, Alpha,” the team member said in a strained voice. I could see his efforts to raise himself high enough to be able to get a new grip with the free hanging arm. Finlay’s brother had made his way to the other end of the ledge, and the other three had gone back so they wouldn’t have to wait while putting all their weight on their fingers. ‘Why aren’t they helping him?’ I asked Finlay. ‘Because that would be to show weakness,’ he told me. I disagreed with his brother. It was not to show weakness to help a pack mate in need. It was to show weakness when you were too afraid to help those who needed help.
“Use your claws,” Finlay’s brother growled. Again, for all to hear. It was a clear sign of how tired and unfocused he was.
“But Alpha,” the man objected.
“Just fucking do it,” Finlay’s brother demanded. I could hear the claws digging into the rock and it let the dangling man lift himself up and continue. His teammates followed after. They resumed the climb, but the mood was off. I could feel the irritation in the air from where we sat. Their struggle to get all five members to stand on the top was interesting to watch and reminded me of a wrestling match. I tried my best not to giggle, but I heard several audience members failing at the task. When all five pack members finally stood on the top the commentator was heard.
“Ocean shore pack, you have completed the game with two minutes to spare. You did use claws, which is a clear offence of the rules. Your final score will be marked down by fifty per cent.” ‘Oh dear me,’ Matilda said. Finlay just shook his head. We watched the final packs as well. When the final pack of our designated area had finished we packed up and headed back towards our cabin.
“Amie!” The pack closed ranks around me, as my name was called. I looked around me at my pack mates with a mix of surprise and gratitude. ‘It’s okay, it’s my brother,’ I mindlinked them. They reluctantly parted to give me space to walk up to Elder.
“They are protective. I’m guessing you have told them about what’s happening?” he asked as he looked back at the group from my pack. They stood a couple of feet away, none of them even pretended they didn’t listen to what we were saying. I smiled.
“We did, and they are. How did it go for you today?” I asked.
“Good, I think. We all made it to the top within the set time. It’s a little nerve-racking that we don’t get the points until the final day,” he said.
“How did you do?”
“Same here,” I told him.
“Good. I was wondering, tomorrow is set aside to let the packs talk to each other and arrange for diplomatic meetings. Would you be free in the evening to go for a run with me and my mate?” he asked.
“Just you and your mate?” I asked, I needed to be sure.
“Yes. Just family,” he reassured me.
“I would love to.” He smiled.
“Mom and dad can’t stop talking about your call. By the way dad boasts about his daughter being the Beta of her pack, you would think I was a regular pack wolf,” he told me and laughed.
“I have always been their favourite,” I teased him.
“No way. Mom always gave me the bigger portions,” he objected.
“Because you were growing like an ogre,” I reminded him. We both
laughed.
“See you tomorrow, Amie.”
“Looking forward to it.” I said. We gave each other a hug, and I returned to the pack. “See. I’m fine. Thank you for looking out for me,” I told them.
We went back to our cabin and Matilda and two others started with dinner while Finlay, Sam, Jake, Ramses and I sat down to talk things through.
“We did good today,” Sam said.
“I messed up,” Jake objected.
“No, there was a mistake. It happens,” I insisted.
“She is right,” Ramses agreed. “If anything, it gave us an opportunity to show off our teamwork.” We all nodded.
“We all got to the top, followed the rules, and no one got injured. It was a good day,” Finlay said. there was a knock on the front door.
“Looks like it won’t end,” Sam said as he got up to open the door. He returned and handed an envelope to Finlay. “From the council apparently,” he said. Finlay opened it, read it, looked like he was going to kill someone and then took a deep breath which he slowly released.
“Amie, Sam, with me,” he said and headed up the stairs. Sam and I looked at each other as we followed him.
