En Garde! My Wolf

has a value. Historical, political, academic, emotional, or financial. Usually several at once. Yo

oal suit and silver-threaded hair made age feel irrelevant. I liked her

even exhausting months cataloguing municipal records had taught me a harsh reali

owledged, keeping my

ually be trusted with things peo

h of a smile or some subtle indication that she

tense thing to hear befo

also

ern estate shattered every expectation I'd brought on the early morning train. The original residence sat at the cent

e fifteen minutes earlier.

e Great Houses with their name stamped across banks, energy consortia, research foundations, and legislation that reached people who would never come within a hundred kilometers of

e from walking beside Dr. Maëlys Corvin, whose papers I had cited so heavily tha

h glass cases of fencing squads, tournament programs, and antique blades. A s

ard the ceiling.

ning," Dr. Corvin sighed, checking

and Circuit didn't ope

s smaller, preliminary bouts, spons

g concession to the outcome of a sanctioned bout, money, equity, sometimes voting rights

thing. Risking a multi-million-dollar distribution contract on some

r major corporate assets ove

"You've read the legal framewo

xists and seeing it being actually enforce

an excellent perspective

applause cascade

re showing you your workpla

her. "A pl

aluable. Besides, if I continue lecturing you on climate-control storage protoc

I protest

, raising an eyebrow. "Where is the pri

and realized I had completely forgotten the low

touched the corner

step, filled with applause, spatial audio, announcements, and the overlapping hum of hundred

ailing, momentarily breathless. The venue was centuries old, yet

ructed, leaning her el

ach other with terrifying grace, moving at speeds no human athlete could match. Blue

ition clips online. Seei

ll wolf strength?" I whispered, m

an peak. Partial shifting fangs, claws, optical shifts is strictly prohibited on the strip. Enhanced perce

tors, others stayed isolated. Some guests moved through security without pause, others waited. Near

on Hohen

the casual composure of people who had never doubted their place at the top. Their eldest son I knew only by

wolf competitions as "crass displays of animal instinct." She insisted she bore wolves no personal ill-will w

back to the main floor. The primary digital display abo

RED PLE

CATIONS - SOUTHERN

ITIONAL

t... that cannot possibly mean twelve p

responde

reath. "I tho

gional subsidiary that controls all dis

tared at her. "That is

is

important enough

cusing into a beam over the central piste. The ambient chatter

ard the far arch

d worn white, pale grey, or heraldic colors. His jacket was matte black, tailored so sharply it looked like armor, broken onl

von Hoh

e thousands of eyes on him. His coach stepped forward and spoke into h

the opposite side in shimm

ce murmured behind

rity networks across the continent. Their long-standing, tense corpora

avored to win?"

tel

ee minutes of live fen

e eyes.

r bounced on the balls of his feet, shifting his weight, and twitch

tirely still. Arr

e! Prêts

a flurry of speed. Dashiell yielded ground smoothly, stepping back inch by inch. S

in

oulder. Dashiell's micro-parry turned the blade a fraction of an

Green

her

ng the distance

ed at me. "Mostl

k touches in a row sent a roar t

y. Dark hair clung damp to his forehead as he wiped sweat from his jaw with the back of his glove. A sudden pressure locked behind my sternum. Tight, then

.. and snapped his head up, locking onto the exact plac

n the line. Two hundred people packed this side of the gallery alone. There w

drifted as he sli

ll

lunge. Dashiell reacted a fraction late

li

inally looked away, and the pres

e. Heavy parries rang through the hall like gunshots. Three seconds later, the winning touch landed so fa

beat. Then the Hohenzollern boxes e

ION SA

RT OPTIO

d under one family's control because one man drove a piece of s

a word, spoke briefly to the official, and turned. Before he