Chapter 166 The Masked Man (III)
Kristen's POV
Seeing Theodore in front of the rest of the contestants has me on my edge, and I am just trying to cover it up by holding Aiden.
It's clear he truly prepared for this pack run, and the crowd is breaking into a peal of excitement even though they don't know who he is.
They're running in their human form but Theodore is faster than all of them, running like his life depends on it.
It's impossible to feel relaxed at this point when my second mate has so much potential to win this race, even though there are more stages in front.
Once again, I call the attention of Aiden's nanny, and hand the child to her, before leaving my position beside Calhoun, because remaining seated is a bad idea. I stand in front to get a proper view, as I keep hoping
something will go wrong with the race and Theodore will be disqualified.
While the crowd keeps cheering for the masked man, I throw my hands across my chest, fearing this evening won't end well for me because, from the look of how Theodore seems unbeatable in this stage of the race, I fear he'll win.
When the contestants reach the level where stones are being thrown at them, Theodore skillfully dodges like he's a pro at this. While a few less calculative participants fail.
I drag in ragged breaths and fist my hands upon seeing the way Theodore effortlessly passes this stage. He's the only one who didn't get hit by any of the stones. He even looks way too confident of himself as he continues.
And I can't help but break into a sweat at this point, praying to whatever I can pray to, that Theodore doesn't win this
race.
When someone surpasses him in the race, a tingling of hope surges through me, because I am starting to think no one can beat him.
Stage 3 has to do with food, just like the last time. And three men get to the large table before Theodore who seems to have slacked.
"Water," I order the servant closest to
me, because my throat feels too dry, although I have gulped down more than enough spittle.
When she returns with the bottle, I
uncork the lid and drink it all in one
gulp.
All the contestants are eating now, something which will either slow them down in the race or give them more energy, because there are a lot more challenges to face ahead.
When the most burly man is close to finishing his food before anyone, I put my hands behind me and pray he beats Theodore in this race.
But I am struck with disappointment and once more fear when Theodore finishes before the burly man and disappears, completely wowing everyone.
How is it possible he finished before
the burly man? Did he trick everyone? Because he's frigging leaving again, and I find myself clenching and unclenching my jaw. How I wish
Calhoun will just call off this damn race and dismiss everyone.
Theodore is too full of himself, and it's
frightening to think he's going to take his mask off and confront Calhoun if
he wins.
We might still be mated to each other but I don't want him causing any trouble in my marriage with Calhoun. I want to secretly reject him to make peace reign.
Stage 4 has to do with swimming, and
contrary to what I had suspected, Theodore is a bad swimmer. Turns out he's the worst of them all.
They all swim better than him and he's
the last to reach the end of the pool.
This is enough to give me high hopes but this is Theodore we're talking about, he might wow everyone once more because he's unpredictable.
I return to my seat next to Calhoun and
watch as Thedore picks the last motorcycle. The other contestants are already far ahead of him, but immediately he hops on his bike, and
people seem to be more intrigued by the race.
Calhoun on the other hand seems unsettled, it's more like he's rooting
for the masked man to win so he'll get to see the masked man's face and hear the masked man's wish.
"You want him to win, don't you?" I find myself asking Calhoun this question.
And Calhoun snaps his head to face me.
"Who?" He holds my gaze.
"The masked man," I blurt out.
While Calhoun just chuckles and puts his fist on his mouth as he searches through my face.
And I know it's true.
"He's unpredictable in that mask and gets better in the race. No one can
match his energy." Calhoun says.
This is not good. This is so not good. Sighing, I turn away from him. Hating myself for letting things escalate to this extent with Theodore. Perhaps if I had told Calhoun about it all from the
very beginning, I wouldn't have told so many lies.
Another contestant gets to the huge barrier in front, and Theodore comes second.
And a collective horrified gasp bursts from the audience when Theodore takes the form of his beastly black wolf.
Calhoun jumps to his feet with wide eyes, because it's his first time seeing such a huge wolf being over six feet tall even as it's standing on all fours. And because the rest of the contestants
are baffled by the size of the wolf, they're taken back because they've never seen such a large wolf before in
this pack. Theodore takes this as an opportunity
to climb the barrier faster than all of
them.
Eyes are widening in their sockets and jaws are still touching the floor, because no one was expecting the
masked man's wolf to be this dangerous and powerful-looking. Even the guards around are exchanging stupefied glances because they know who it is now. They were present when Theodore shifted and they saw his wolf.
Putting my hand on my face, I sigh in
distress, wishing the ground can open up and swallow
me.