The Dragon King's Heart

The Colosseum of Champions lived up to its name. It was circular in shape, with a huge battleground in the center. The seating area surrounded the battleground. As they got close, they could hear the cheering of the crowd from within. 

Werewolves were streaming into the Colosseum in droves. Word traveled far and wide despite it having been a short period of time. Victoria, accompanied by Laina, Kol, and the knights, were brought into the preparation area. 

Kragen was there too. 

"Ah, there you are. So, what are our ground rules, Victoria?" Kragen asked with a grin. 

Taking a quick look at the array of weapons and armor that had been set up before them, Victoria bit her lip. She was not skilled in any of these. In fact, she had not even tested out her abilities. 

She was going into this blind and she just realized that. But she was not about to show any sign of weakness to Kragen. She knew if she did, she would have already lost the battle. 

"No weapons, no armor. And, we fight in our wolf forms," she laid down the rules as they came to her mind. 

Kragen agreed to it immediately. This was advantageous for him. In his wolf form, Kragen had been known to be unstoppable. They had not even begun and he knew victory was his. 

He pats Victoria on the shoulder before taking his leave to prepare elsewhere, "May the best of us, win."

He walked away while letting out a hearty laugh. His voice echoed down the hall. Laina glared at Kragen as he walked away into the distance. But that was no longer important. 

Victoria was whom she needed to help now. 

Turning back to see her, she realized Victoria was shaking. Laina placed her hands on her shoulders, "What\'s wrong? Is everything alright?"

She was concerned, she could hear Victoria\'s heart beating rapidly. Laina quickly sat her down and had her take in deep breaths of air. Victoria looked up at her. 

"Princess Laina, did I make the wrong decision? What if… what if…" her lips were quivering. 

Laina looked deep into her eyes, "Hey, hey, look at me, look at me."

Victoria wavered, but she did as Laina asked. She looked deep into her eyes. 

"You need to have faith in yourself. Alright? You have the Moonlight Wolf, you have the blessing of the Moon Goddess. You can do this. There\'s still time for you to prepare. So let\'s make it count."

The Crown Princess\'s words reignite the flame in Victoria\'s heart. She knew what Laina said was right. She was no longer the helpless young woman who was caged in the dungeon. 

She knew who she was. Victoria closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath of fresh air and calmed her heart. She placed her hand over her heart. Memories of the past resurfaced in her mind. 

She remembered the memories she shared with the family who adopted her. She remembered their kindness. She remembered the times they shifted from their human form to their wolf form. 

Victoria was always curious about how they shifted from one form to another. She had them describe it to her on multiple occasions. Though she did not have the experience, she had the knowledge. 

When she opened her eyes next, she looked at Laina with confidence. 

"I\'m ready."

Sometime later, royal guards came to escort Victoria into the arena. As they stepped out of the walkway and walked into the arena, the surrounding cheers grew louder and louder. 

Laina and Kol were escorted to a special viewing stand to be amongst the nobility who had gathered to watch. Once seated, Laina eagerly craned her neck to look for Victoria. 

She was worried for Victoria, uncertain if she would be able to defeat Kragen on her own. Though Victoria was stronger in terms of her bloodline, her lack of experience could easily bring about her downfall. 

If things went wrong, she would not hesitate to step in and help.

Victoria, who had stepped into the arena, looked all around the colosseum. She did not expect to see so many people gathered to watch their fight. At the opposite end, Kragen, dressed in finery, walked out into the light. 

The crowd roared and cheered him on. It was almost deafening to the ear. Most of them had seen Kragen in battle before. They knew his strengths. None of them had seen Victoria. 

"Come on Victoria, you can do this," Laina whispered beneath her breath. 

"May I join you, your Highness?" A familiar voice rang from behind. 

Laina turned. She gasped in shock, "Dante? What… what are you doing here?" 

She wanted to leap into his arms and give him a hug, followed by a slap on the face. But she curled her hands into fists, choosing to stay firmly in her seat. But her eyes betrayed her, as she continued to look towards him as he took a seat next to her. 

Dante reached over and gently kissed Laina on the back of her hand as his lips curled into a cheeky smile. 

As he glanced over to the battle that was about to begin, he explained, "I heard that there was about to be a change in the monarchy in Wolfenheim. So I decided to come and take a look."

His eyes never left Laina\'s. He watched her expression go from excitement to disappointment as soon as he finished speaking.

"Oh, is that so," Laina replied absentmindedly as she turned away from him to look at the arena. 

She removed her hand from his but then she felt his gentle touch on her chin. Her entire body tingled as her heart began to palpitate. Dante tilted her to face him once more. 

"I might have lied about my intentions, your Highness," his soothing seductive voice was like liquid honey. 

Laina gulped as she felt the heat rising in her body. Her cheeks were beet red from blushing. But, Laina remembered how he had disappeared. How he left her hanging each time she reached out to him. 

She began to pout and swiped his hand away as she crossed her arms and looked away from him. But she could not help but look over to the side in an attempt to see how he reacted to her abrupt gesture. 

But she could not look far enough for her to see his face. Laina kept tilting her head back even further.. As soon as she saw Dante looking at her, she turned her head back to look at the arena.