Chapter 17 Lila The moment Damon spoke , the room erupted in shock . Gasps , whispers , and even a few barely concealed curses filled the air. A one - on - one match with the Lycan King was unheard of . At least surviving one was unheard of . I could feel the weight of dozens of eyes snapping to me , their expressions a mix of disbelief and , in some cases , satisfaction . Some of the girls were already celebrating my defeat in their minds . Who here could possibly best Damon in combat ? No one . That meant elimination , I was sure . Beta Ronan , now standing beside Damon , lifted a hand for silence . " This segment of the selection is meant to test stamina and combat ability , " Ronan announced . " After each battle , every participant will receive a score . The bottom twenty will be eliminated . " A ripple of uncase passed through the room . That was nearly half of the remaining candidates . " But , " Ronan continued , his mouth curving into something like amusement , " fighting the King doesn't necessarily mean elimination . " His eyes flickered toward me , assessing . " The matchups will be determined by lottery . Whoever draws the Lycan King's insignia will fight him . " A few girls exhaled in relief . A lottery . That meant I still had a chance to avoid getting my ass kicked . Damon showed no reaction , no flicker of interest in the chaos he had just created . His eyes swept the crowd once , then he turned away as if the whole thing was trivial . I clenched my fists . He had just upended my entire strategy - again - and didn't even care . I needed to get out of here . I turned on my heel and walked briskly back toward the residence , ignoring the looks still boring into me . Unfortunately , I wasn't alone Vanessa , seething , followed close behind , her heels clicking furiously against the polished floor . " This is your fault , " she spat . 1 let out a tired sigh . " What is ? " Her hand curled into a fist at her side . " If you hadn't been pretending to be weak , you wouldn't have ended up in this mess . And now , because of you , the training just got harder for all of us ! " I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her . " You think I wanted this ? " I snapped . " Your little performance was fun and all , but maybe use what little is in your head for once . You think I planned to get stuck in a fight with the Lycan King ? " +15 Bonus Her lips curled . " I don't care what you wanted , " she said . " Just know this … it's my new mission to make your life miserable . " I held her gaze for a long moment , then turned and walked away . Let her seethe . It didn't matter . I had bigger problems . ts tangled in too Back in my room , I slammed the door and sank onto my bed , rubbing my temples . My head ached ; my thoughts many directions at once . I'd always thrived with combat training , once upon a time . There had been a period when I was actually decent at it . I had even been proud of my skills before everything changed . Before my wolf … weakened . At first , I'd tried to keep up , pushing myself harder , training longer . But it didn't matter . Eventually , I just couldn't match the others . And now , the idea of stepping into a fight against Damon felt like a death sentence . A sharp , sudden voice cut through my thoughts in a mild link . Lila . My stomach twisted at Alpha Henry's mental voice . His tone was clipped , impatient . The strategy has changed . Forget about what you've been doing , from now on you will go all out and be selected . My breath caught . What ? You heard me . No more hiding . No more blending in . I need you to win . Panic clawed at my ribs . Why ? That wasn't the plan ! What if I get exposed ?! Do as I say . Henry's voice turned cold . 1 gritted my teeth and willed my heart to calm down . You're asking too much -