I was tired of the flowy fabric Cyrus dressed me in. He had explained trainers were a colorful people, often those with the most sponsors were the ones who stood out. Their managers usually dressed to match. But I was sick of playing by Preene's rules.

Besides, in a sea of silken color, I thought black leather stood out quite well.

My manager's eyes instantly became the size of apples the moment I sat beside him. I smirked at his overly expressive features. "Like it?" I purred, "This is what my outfit originally looked like."

Cyrus swallowed before answering. "Wow. That's certainly... unique..." His eyes scanned over me again. A small smile graced his lips as they landed on the leather whip curled at my side. "I thought you didn't use whips on Cerberus."

I shrugged. "It's not for him."

My manager gaped at me, then laughed again, though he looked considerably more nervous. "Right... you fit right in with the capital trainers, unique and eccentric." The tension eased in his shoulders. "I was a little worried about how nervous you were when we got here, but it seems Cicil is really bringing out the real you."

"It is," I hummed.

I watched the fights with a renewed interest. It still made me sick to my stomach to see lycans forced to battle for the amusement of others, even more so to see them beaten by their trainers, but now I had a purpose. I scanned the dividers as the trainers sent their lycans back to their stalls. They would do well to watch themselves. I was on a mission to keep my promise, and I would start with the most cruel of them.

"You seem unusually chipper today," Cyrus remarked. "What exactly did you do last night that put you in such a good mood?"

I rolled my eyes, though didn't look away from the pit. No one had caught my attention yet, but I was certain someone would. "I bought this." I tugged at my jacket.

Cyrus snorted. "Okay, whatever. You do realize this is the first time you've wanted to go to a fight Cerberus wasn't in?"

"He's injured," I huffed, then pointed up to the sky. "Besides, it's too bright. Don't enter him on sunny days, he doesn't do well."

"Right," my manager sighed. "I'm going to have to start writing this stuff down."

"You'll-" I paused. It was the end of an intermediate level female fight. The trainers had entered the pit. The winning female had already retreated to her stall, but the loser stood still. Her dapple gray coat shimmered with the vibration of her silent snarl as her trainer approached. The woman cracked her electric whip, marching toward her lycan.

Her anger blinded her to the warning signs. I could tell from my position in the spectator stands that the lycan had enough. She wasn't going to back down.

It happened in an instant. The woman swung out her whip. The lycan lunged.

Screams exploded in my ears, but I hardly heard them. My gaze was fixed on the female. She tore the woman's dress to rags, dyeing the orange fabric red. Her jaws clamped onto the back of her trainer's neck. She pinned her body under paws, shaking until chunks of flesh ripped from the woman's back.

"Cyrus," I murmured in his ear, "what's going to happen to her?"

He swallowed. His face had gone pale. "Kill her. She's untrainable now."

No. I jumped to my feet, immediately pushing my way through the shocked crowd. What did they think was going to happen? Surely, this female wasn't the first to have enough of being caged and beaten. I glanced down to the arena. Soldiers were descending into the tunnels that led to the pit. I broke into a run. No, I wouldn't let this female die for breaking her chains.

I stumbled over people's feet. My boots caught on robes. But I didn't care. That female wasn't going to die. I grabbed the doorway, swinging into the official's booth.

"Don't kill her! I'll take her! I'll take her!"

Everyone in the booth stared at me. A silver-haired man turned my way, blinking, then squinting. "Are you the girl who fell in yesterday?"

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"Yes!" I panted. "And I want that lycan! Don't kill her!"

The man nodded, frustratingly calm. "That was quite impressive. I'm surprised you survived."

"Yes! Yes! Why aren't you listening? Stop this! I want the lycan!"

He sighed. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, she's untrainable now. She'd just kill you, too."

I slammed my fists into the official’s table. A trumpet rolled off to the seat below. "I can train her, damn it! I'll prove it right now!"

The man blinked.

"You've seen my lycan. I ride him! He didn't attack me when I fell in! I can tame her-"

"Okay, okay." The man held up his hands. "I'll give you a chance, since you're so eager." He nodded to a younger man beside him, who raised a cone to his mouth, ordering the soldiers to halt. The elder fixed me with his gaze. "I do hope for your sake you're not being foolish."

"I'm not," I hissed, before turning and running out the door. I rushed through the stands, hardly paying attention to where I was going and who was in my way. The soldiers may be ordered to stop, but I wasn't taking any chances. I ran down the stairs and into the cement corridors before bursting into the pit. I stumbled through the deep clay toward the paused soldiers.

"She's mine!" I cried. "I can tame her!" Six pairs of human eyes and one canine stared at me as I bent over, catching my breath. "Leave us," I panted. "I got this under control." I stood up straight, though my chest still heaved from my run. "Go on! Leave us."

The men glanced to the official's booth before filing out the door I had come from. With the other humans gone, I turned my attention to the lycan.

She was frightened. I could see that in her trembling limbs. She eyed me with pale yellow irises. Slowly, her lip lifted in a silent snarl. Her fear and confusion would make her prone to attack. She knew what she had done, and what her punishment was. I took a deep breath and walked forward.

She swiped at me in warning. I stopped, watching her hackles raise. "I'm not going to hurt you," I whispered. My fingers found the loop on my belt, which held my whip to my hip. I pulled the button loose, releasing the leather into my hand. I tossed it away. "That's never struck a lycan. Nor human… yet."

The female's ears pricked forward. She tipped her head.

I glanced at the remains of the lycan's trainer. She had done quite the job tearing her apart. "She deserved that, didn't she? She hurt you and made you fight. Then, when you won her a living, she still beat and starved you."

The lycan dropped down on all fours. Her lip relaxed, once again covering her teeth. Her pale eyes softened. My heart clenched in my chest.

"I know what it's like; to be caged, starved... forced to do things you don't want to do. All you crave for is a little bit of power, just some sort of semblance of control in your own life. You want them to feel your pain. You want someone to suffer in the same way you have, just so you know you're not alone. All you can feel is hopeless and angry and hateful, but what you really want is someone, anyone in the world ,that you can trust."

I hesitated, then stepped forward. The lycan didn't move nor make any sort of aggressive gesture. All she did was look at me. The sadness in her gaze was so familiar to me I was nearly strangled by it. I fell to my knees, reaching out to her. The crowd murmured amongst themselves, but I ignored them. Right now, in this singular instant, she and I were the only creatures in existence, and even then, we were practically the same.

"Please, let me save you. I could never forgive myself if I didn't. They might not think you're capable of thoughts and emotions, but I know you are." I dropped my hand. The back of it hit dry clay. I stared into the red dirt. "Or you can kill me and take your revenge on one more human."

Her paws made the slightest of sounds as she stepped forward. Her damp nose brushed against my cheek. I stood still while she sniffed, wondering what her choice would be.

Soft fur made its way under my arm. I picked up my head. The lycan had placed her forehead in my hand. A small smile crept onto my face. I touched her shoulder.

"Thank you," I whispered. "Please, go back to your stall so I can take you to where you can be fed. But first- '' I grabbed her fur as she attempted to turn away. "You're very beautiful. I doubt the humans gave you a proper lycan name."

The female tipped her head.

"Right. I noticed you move with the smoothness of running water. Is it alright if I call you River?"

The lycan opened her mouth in a canine grin. She gave a quick nod before trotting back to her stall.

My audience exploded into applause and cheers. I paid them no mind. Unlike my old life, I didn't stage my actions for them. I watched as the stall door lowered, closing the female from my sight.

"Welcome to the pack, River."

***

When I got back to the inn, there was a letter waiting for me.

To the exceptional trainer of the albino champion, you and a guest are invited to a masquerade held in honor of the Royal King of Preene, Darrius.