The last day had been quiet. Hope was grateful for it. It gave her time to think. Though, it was a bittersweet reward because when there is time to think...there is time to grieve.

Hope did this now, in her own silent way.

Huddled in the deepest corner of the pack she'd been not so readily accepted into, she held her shirt up on one side, just high enough to see the black ink that had left its mark on her skin. The mutilated crow wore a broken crown. The crown was cracked right down the center and falling to either side. The grotesque picture was surrounded by a black circle. She hadn't noticed the crown upon her first inspection the day before, maybe she'd been too exhausted to give it much thought, but now it was all she could see.

The symbol left a message that made her skin crawl. Tiny bugs she couldn't see parading up and down her flesh.

The grotesque crow meant slaughtering her magic. The broken crown meant shattering her dignity. The black circle, she assumed, meant it was neverending.

Did everyone here have a tattoo like this? It seemed so...specialized to her, but maybe she was overthinking the implication.

"Hope." A familiar voice freed her from her thoughts.

She looked up to see Dominik approaching her. He'd done well giving her space. Time to cope, she assumed. But, to her, it was time to plan. Time to devise a devious scheme that would free her of this place's clutches and Dorian's.

Hope had nothing to show for the time spent contemplating.

"Hm?" She asked, letting her shirt fall back into place.

Dominik offered a little smile and slid down the wall next to her. He lowered himself into a sitting position and looked over at her. "I know you're still adjusting...."

"I'm not," Hope said plainly, eyes locked with his, "I've no intention of staying."

He chuckled gruffly and nodded, leaning his head back against the dusty wall. "I like that way of thinking, believe me, I do, but here you also have to think realistically. So many have tried and failed to make it out of this place. I'm sorry, but here you won't be leaving unless it's in a body bag. If they even grant you that courtesy. Most just go into the pit."

Hope furrowed her brow and cringed inwardly, trying to keep it off her face. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what the pit was.

"Even if that's true, that doesn't give me the excuse to give up," she shook her head, thinking back to her family, who never gave up, "I will find a way out." She looked over at him and offered a small smile. "When I do, I'll take everyone here with me."

"You're very confident" Dominik nodded slowly, raising a dark brow, holding a smile that didn't quite touch his eyes. Doubt, she saw doubt in his eyes. It was a rightful emotion, she supposed.

"Yeah, well," she pursed her lips into a thin line and tapped her fingers against the knee she pulled up to her chest, "Sometimes, the more you pretend everything will be alright, the easier it is to believe it will be. It's not always terrible to live in a delusion if it means you never lose hope."

Dominik's brows pulled together as he studied her silently for a long moment. Hope could feel the weight of his gaze, but she matched it with her own. She was not daring to look away, refusing to submit to his stare.

Hope was almost positive Dom was an alpha wolf. He'd done a lot, seen a lot, but she couldn't let that intimidate her. Like he's been telling her, being here could be a battle between life and death. If she didn't hold her ground initially, she'd never find her footing again.

"You're very insightful for being so young..." he started, but Hope cut him off abruptly.

"Age has nothing to do with what you're capable of." She bit her lip hard enough to leave a slight indent; she didn't mean to come across as rude or coarse.

"I never said it was," he flashed a grin, "But you clearly have experienced more than most of the kids your age here. Even before being taken here. You wanna tell me more about that?"

Kid. The word cut her more than she'd like to admit. Maybe while her father needed to work on his paranoia, she needed to work on her pride. Especially in regards to her age, which she's finding is a touchy subject. Everyone seems to assume you know nothing when you're young.

Hope returned the same grin, her eyes a little colder than she intended as she guarded her secrets. "Nope. Not really."

"Not now or not ever?" He asked and chuckled, shaking his head, "You are one tough nut to crack, Hope. Do you ever get softer?"

Hope nodded with a smile. "Hm, I blame it on the lack of coffee."

Dominik barked a laugh. "Well, don't ask them for coffee here. I did once, and they handed over crude oil."

Hope shuddered and then thought for a moment, her mind wandering into a pretend scenario. "Oil, hm?" she asked. Petroleum is flammable. That may just come in handy, she thought just as she heard a buzzer go off from somewhere above.

"Breakfast," Dominik nodded and offered her his hand, "Come on. Won't be many spots left to watch."

"Watch?" She asked as she took his hand and stood slowly, happy her muscles weren't nearly as achy from her night of sleep in the sleeping bag. "Watch what?" She questioned as she dusted her hands off on the back of her jeans.

"The fight," Dominik nodded, pursing his lips, "They have two fights a day usually. One in the morning, one in the night. They put a live feed near the meal area."

Hope's jaw dropped a little as she looked over to see people were starting to gather in a huddle in front of a large screen. "You just watch them? Like some reality TV show?" She gaped at him.

Pursing his lips into a hard line, he nodded slowly. "I...yes, I'm afraid we do," he sighed softly and rubbed the back of his neck, "If it helps at all, I only watch to learn the technique of other fighters in here."

Hope met his eyes again with a frown. "So you can kill them."

His eyes filled with soft remorse. The edges of his face smoothed into less harsh lines. "Hope...I told you. It's kill or be killed here. You're not the only one with a family to get home to. If I have to fight to live another day, then that's what I'll do."

Hope took a deep breath and slowly nodded. She didn't have to understand it, but she respected it. His desire to learn to live. Maybe she should share the same passion. Her stomach turned into a rock as she walked with him and the remaining pack in their corner toward the mass collection of supernaturals settled in with their bowls to watch the fight. Their friends...maybe for some here, their family.

Sitting down in the back, she could still see the screen, not looking over at Dominik as he set a bowl of grayish slop into her bowl. She didn't even focus on the smell as she took a bite, watching the black screen. Another buzzer sounded above them, and the screen turned on.

The view had them nestled in a high corner where they could see the stadium filling with spectators and the ring below. The ring itself was basic. The ground was bare dirt, packed tightly. Likely to keep from sending too much dust into the air. A white rectangle outlined the edges, from one set of bleachers to the next. Within that, a white ring was constructed within the rectangle. Two spells, she could see, but what was their purpose exactly?

"They have boundary spells?" Hope asked, not taking her eyes off the screen for confirmation.

She saw Dominik nod out of the corner of her eyes. "Sort of. One, the big rectangle, keeps everything supernatural inside the ring. No escaping. The circle takes away witches' powers."

Hope looked over at him with confusion swirling inside. "They don't let witches use their magic?"

"No," he shook his head, "Ever since one witch, in the beginning, started trying to counteract the boundary spell with one of their own. Trying to help everyone escape. So they executed her on sight."

Hope felt suddenly sick to her stomach. A whirl of emotions spun through her like a raging tornado. "They...they just send them in to be slaughtered? How do they even stand a chance if they can't use their power?"

"They don't." A different voice sneered right behind her shoulder. Hope flinched involuntarily, not realizing she was so loud to gain others' attention.

"Back off, Flynn," Dominik grunted with a roll of his eyes.

Flynn moved, so he was directly crouched in front of Hope. His fangs elongated, eyes dark. The veins wriggled under his eyes as he hissed low and slow. "Oh, come on, Dom. Just welcoming the newbie."

He was the average man she might have seen on any street corner. Someone she'd assume was rushing home from work to see his wife and kids. Tousled brown hair in need of a cut, scruffy cheeks, angled features. He was handsome, sure, but the venom on his tongue made him ten times less attractive in Hope's eyes. Here, it seemed he'd embraced the term monster whole-heartedly. Nothing but a bully. Hope could only assume he'd won his share of rounds here to gain his reputation. His confidence. No, cockiness.

"She is pretty...." Flynn continued, looking her over with lust-filled eyes. Hungry eyes.

Hope kept her expression plain. Her eyes didn't waver from him even for a moment.

"Oh," he put a finger to his lips, "We'll have to continue this later. I think the blood's starting to spill."

Hope watched him walk away and join a little group of vampires up near the front. Five of them altogether. A little coven of their own here.

"I'm sorry about him," Dominik started, "He likes to intimidate the newcomers."

"I'm not worried about him" Hope shook her head.

Her eyes returned to the screen in horrific anticipation as the large double doors leading to the ring opened.

Two people walked out slowly, the crowd beginning to howl and holler over each other. Some screamed out 'witch' while others chanted 'wolf.' Letting their preferred sides be known. Were the only spectators' hunters? Hope swallowed...she never realized just how many there were. Even with the stadium only half-filled, it was a staggering number collected in one place.

Dominik seemed to read her mind. "The night fights usually have more turn-up. The stadium gets so filled it overflows."

"All hunters?" She asked with a frown.

"Some. Others are wealthy aristocrats, humans, or vampires usually. The ones who enjoy a good fight. Money goes a long way to keep you out of the ring. The wealthy vampires usually spend the most money on who they're betting on. Especially when they're drunk. They love...watching people they deem below them ripping into each other."

A sickly acidic taste built in the back of Hope's throat. How could people be so cruel? Even for being vampires...how could they watch all of this unfold, let alone participate in funding it?

The two figures in the ring, one a tall, lanky woman with long blonde hair, and the other a shorter husky man with broad shoulders and muscular thighs, began circling each other. Earning another wave of cheers from the crowd.

A witch couldn't use their magic. A werewolf would be utterly defenseless without the aid of a full moon. Did only the vampires have the upper hand in this game?

Her eyes moved toward where Flynn sat with his crew, who intently watched the fight. But, of course, they didn't care who won or lost...they would always have the advantage. Was it purposeful?

If she could assume anything about Dorian, it would make sense for him to make such a game that always held the vampires' upper hand. He was one himself, after all.

The bell in the ring rang, and the fight began.

In the beginning, there were a lot of hesitant lunges. An attempt at intricate footwork, but it was clear the people brought here were not given training. Missed attacks from both parties. The taller one was more slender and could more easily avoid the stocky man's attacks, but whenever one of his blows did connect, it made a lasting impression on the woman. Her energy was depleting quickly. Hope wasn't sure who would win, but Dominik had said not all fights ended in death.

After the five-minute mark of only a couple of scratches and bruises from either side, it seemed the crowd was growing restless. Some even began booing from the lack of action.

Hope watched in silent shock as both participants suddenly grabbed hold of their heads as if they were both suffering from a massive aneurysm. Hope remembered practicing with volunteers provided by her aunt Freya. She cried every time they held their heads like that - every time they screamed like that. Surely they wouldn't kill them like that because they were boring the crowd.

Right?

The two straightened, a new look of desperate intent changing their postures. The man attacked with remarkable speed. The woman had no way of escaping even with her quick feet; once he had a hold of her, there was no getting away.

Hope gaped with wide eyes at the screen, wanting desperately to look away but unable to as the wolf began beating the witch. Crushing her head and smashing in her face. He crumbled her chest where her heart had likely already stopped or was barely pumping. Brain matter splattered the canvas of dirt in a crimson spray. The man pulled away as the crowd cheered.

The wolf had beaten his opponent this morning to death.

Silence washed over Hope and the rest of the room. Even Flynn and his gang had gone speechless. Everyone stared at the screen. It was evident by the moment of eerie quiet that this display had, if not ever, occurred in a very long time.

Hope wasn't broken from her gawking at the screen even as Dominik finally broke the silence. She couldn't hear him past the ringing in her ears. All she could do was stare as the wolf was led away from the ring and the cleaning crew came in to dispose of the body. Or what was left of it.

She's probably going to the pit, she thought.

"Hope," Dominik was suddenly in front of her "Did you hear that?" He asked gently, his eyes no longer looking warm. They looked...terrified. Cold fear had crept its way into the warm brown that usually resided.

"Hear what?" She asked, lids fluttering as she returned to reality.

"They called your name," he said gently, holding her hands in his large ones, "You're fighting Flynn tonight..." he swallowed hard, eyes searching her face, which she knew was cold and pale.

Hope let his words sink in. Her gaze flitted over to Flynn, who was already staring at her. His expression wasn't the sneer he'd worn earlier. No, the mask he wore now was one of cold determination. She could see it in his steel-gray eyes...he had no intention of being the one smeared across the ring floor.

She knew now what Dorian was doing. This morning, he'd made the witch in the ring an example of what this business was capable of. Murder.

Maybe they'd relaxed the last year, but now Dorian had someone he wanted to be his ultimate champion. Finally, he had someone who would make him a profit, and he wasn't going to let her stubbornness snuff out the potential of growing the business.

Hope had initially planned to skirt the rules whenever summoned into the ring. Maybe cause minor damage without killing anyone, then nestle back into the cavern to continue hatching her escape plan. Dorian must have assumed she'd do this because he'd just made his intentions very clear with the fight this morning.

Hope wouldn't have the choice to spare a life.

Dom had been warning her this whole time that this would be a matter of life and death. Flynn was a fighter; she could see it. He would go in for the kill to spare himself the first chance he could manage.

The facts were, only one would be leaving the ring tonight.

Flynn walked by as she slowly stood, stretching out her numb limbs. He leaned in close, his lips pushing past her curtain of dark hair that she'd let frame her face as a shield from others' wandering, curious gazes. Apparently, newbies weren't usually thrown in so quickly.

His breath was hot against her ear. It sent a thrill of panic down her spine and a sprinkle of goosebumps over her flesh.

"Good luck tonight, Hope," he murmured, "You're going to need it." Flynn met her eyes as he stroked her hair, tucking the loose bits behind her ear he'd whispered in. The action made her want to throw up on him.

Hope looked up at him with her own quiet strength. "I hope I don't have to kill you tonight, Flynn." Even if he wasn't her favorite person here, surely he didn't deserve to die.

Flynn chuckled low in his throat. A deep, guttural sound, almost morphing into a soft groan.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about me, sweetheart" he flashed her a curved smirk, a devilish glint sparkling in his eyes as he moved away from her and back toward his coven. They all eyed her with the same hungry gaze. None seemed too worried about what might go down tonight.

Hope's stomach churned, threatening to bring up the few bites of breakfast she'd eaten as she realized... if she was going to make it out of this alive, to see her family again, to be with Derek again... she had to make sure she was the victor. Hope would have to leave something behind tonight if she would survive this.

Her humanity.