GIFTED RILEY by Lacy Mierr

Chapter 24: New Challengers Enter The Arena

*Riley*

His kiss was soft while also being exciting. His tongue slowly caressed mine as he pulled me in by my waist. His other large hand, which had started at my lower thighs, slowly traced up my body until it reached my bottom and squeezed. I had gasped, which was what allowed him. entrance into my mouth in the first place.

It was slow and sensual. Warming up my body from the inside out and I was sure I was as red as a tomato at the attention. My arms were wrapped around his neck as I delved into the passionate kiss with him. The longer I was with him, the hotter I got.

Everything about this was perfect. I had no intention of ending this encounter, though I’m not quite sure how it started in the first place. No matter how perfect, my body needed more. I wanted more.

One arm released its tight hold on his dark hair, slowly trailing down the front of his body. I would show him what I wanted. It was far too embarrassing to admit out loud. So my dainty hand slowly traced down the center of his chest.

That was when I gasped awake. Realizing that I, for the third night in a row, had dreamed about kissing the terrifying lycan king. I groaned, just thinking about being left wanting in the center of the large and empty bed. This wasn’t healthy for me to want someone as badly as I

Chapter 24 New Challengers Enter The Arena

wanted him now that we shared our first kiss.

Why did I miss his kisses so much? It was like I was possessed. These shouldn’t be my thoughts, and they weren’t really to my knowledge. My subconscious was messing with me. Making me think things I would have never thought about before meeting Nicolas.

As soon as the kiss ended that day, I ran from him as fast as my human. legs could take me. It was something I was thankful for. My instincts. chose the right thing for me that day. If I stayed, I worried that I would give more of myself to him. A man I felt like I barely knew!

Since the kiss, he seemed to think the same. For the past three nights, Nicolas hadn’t returned to the room to sleep. When I asked Sara, she said that he was sleeping in his office. According to her, he has been extremely busy, but I’m not sure if that was true. It was far too much of a coincidence for it to be during the days after our first kiss.

I tried not to ask any more questions. I didn’t want to show that I was any more interested in the lycan avoiding me. It was best that he stayed away. I liked being alone in the room. It was getting easier for me to sleep in the large room when the room was so empty.

So I kept to my routine as usual. I cleaned up the messy bed, preparing to leave for my training as I always did.

The training hall was loud and lively as I entered the room. While some still glanced my way at my entrance, I didn’t get the same treatment I did when I first entered the room. I took a look around the room, surprised at how full it was for the day. It was full with so many

new faces that I was surprised.

Knox came to my side as soon as he noticed my presence in the room. I gave him a smile in greeting, slightly confused as to where Vera was for the day. Most likely busy helping out Nicolas for the day, since she was the Beta after all.

I cursed myself in my mind as my thoughts wandered to the lycan once. again. I didn’t need to think of him every minute of the day. I needed a distraction and, hopefully, this training session would be just that.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed, but today we have another batch of the newly eighteen year old she-wolves joining us for the day.” Knox commented. casually, as if it was just a few wolves joining in on the session rather than the twenty new faces surrounding them.

I nodded in acknowledgement, “Sounds good to me. What’s first on the agenda for today then?”

He nodded to the mats on the floor a few paces away. “Let’s all start with some easy warm ups. You’ll follow my instructions then we will get into the really fun stuff later today.” I hummed at his words, moving away from the G a m a to get through the warmups.

The warmups to the wolves were much different than the warmups to a human like me. Mine had to be made slightly easier for myself, but I did try pushing myself a few times through the moves. After everyone had their time to stretch and get ready, Knox called for all of us to

gather around.

“Now that everyone’s ready, we will be doing some one-on-one training in our human forms. While I understand that you all want to take your claws out on your first day, we need to remember that it’s important to know how to defend yourself on two feet.” He explained casily above some complaining whispers among the crowd. “We’ll go one at a time. While you wait, don’t be afraid to do some exercises on the side of the mats.

While he said we could do things on the sides, everyone circled the fight to watch each other. It was a high praise to win against another wolf. It declared your ranking among your brethren, so it was nice to watch where you stood in the castle.

I tried to get some exercises done, but finally turned to watch the fights myself. It was like watching an accident. It was hard to look away, no matter how much I may have wanted to.

A pair that I didn’t know fought, the larger wolf easily pinning the other girl to the floor. Knox gave them both a few pointers on what they did well and what they could approve upon before he moved on.

“Let’s see.” His eyes scanned the crowd around him before landing on another she-wolf I didn’t recognize. “You. Who would you like to challenge for the day?”

I watched as the woman’s eyes slowly scanned over every face in the semi-circle that formed around the fighting mats. When her gaze met. mine, though, she smiled wide. I was shocked as she lifted her pointer

Chapter 24 New Challengers Enter The Arena

finger aimed right at me, “I challenge you!