A Warrior’s Second Chance novel Chapter 206

Marcus sat in his office, the envelope still warm from Gerald’s hands lying open before him. The invitation rested delicately between his fingers.

He stared at the parchment for a long moment, reading and rereading the words as though they might shift under his gaze and reveal another meaning. But they didn’t. Alexander had said exactly what he meant.

The Ring of Fire…a death challenge.

Marcus leaned back in the seat slowly, though his pulse thrummed with something sharp and electric beneath the surface. He hadn’t expected this. Not from Alexander. Not even after all the careful pressure, the destabilizing moves, the subtle threats, and the political manoeuvring he had planted around him.

But here it was—a direct invitation to the one thing Marcus had always wanted.

A legitimate chance to tear Alexander down publicly, permanently… irrevocably.

Gerald sat across from him, watching him with an expression Marcus recognized as smug anticipation. The old man’s lips were curved-not into a smile, exactly, but into the quiet satisfaction of someone who had expected this outcome long before anyone else.

“Well?” Gerald asked, his tone almost playful. “I assume you’re pleased. This is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.”

Marcus didn’t answer immediately. He let the silence stretch as he traced a finger over the edge of the invitation, absorbing the weight of it. He felt pleased-triumphant, even-but he also felt a flicker of something else.

Because Alexander had surprised him. He didn’t like surprises.

“Of course I’m pleased,” Marcus finally said, voice low. “He finally understands that this ends only one way.”

Gerald gave a small, satisfied nod. “He has backed himself into a corner. And when a child is frightened, he clings to the most reckless option he can find. The Ring of Fire is not an arena for the inexperienced. Alexander is digging his own grave, and he doesn’t even see it.”

Marcus hummed under his breath. He wasn’t fully convinced. He knew Gerald expected him to take comfort in the thought that Alexander had been rash-emotional, desperate.

But Marcus couldn’t shake the thought that something wasn’t lining up. For Alexander to leave the summit, return to the archives, and resurrect a forgotten and deadly tradition-he must have known what this meant. He must have understood exactly what he was asking for.

And that was the problem.

Alexander was many things-masculine, dominant, emotionally volatile at times-but he was not stupid.

“He caught you off guard,” Gerald said knowingly, misinterpreting the look on Marcus’s face. “You didn’t expect him to choose such a dramatic path. It means he panicked.”

Marcus shrugged slightly. “Maybe. Or maybe he has something else in mind”

Gerald barked a laugh, dismissing the idea instantly. “Alexander? A strategist? Please. The boy spent his entire life so far believing people respected him because he was honorable. He actually thought that being straightforward made him strong.” Gerald leaned back, shaking his head. “He lacks subtlety, lacks cunning, lacks the ability to think three steps ahead. He is nothing like his father… your father, I mean.”

Marcus’s jaw ticked at the mention of his father. He pushed the irritation down and focused again on the letter in his hand.

It was beautiful, almost artful, the weight of the challenge wrapped in ancient tradition and blood-bound law. Once sealed, neither combatant could withdraw. Once entered, the battle ended only with death. The winner claimed all rights of leadership.

Everything Marcus had always wanted.

Gerald was right about one thing-the Ring of Fire favored the lawless, the relentless, the wolf who would use every move inside and outside the box. Alexander did not fight that way.

Marcus did.

And everyone knew it.

Still… that lingering unease remained.

“What if this is a trap?” Marcus asked calmly. “A ring that ancient? A tradition no one alive has seen? What if he resurrected it because he already knows how to win?”

Gerald waved a dismissive hand. “There is nothing to know. A circle of flame, an enclosed arena, no weapons but your claws and your rage. It is the purest form of dominance.” His voice softened into something almost condescending. “Alexander is not capable of subtle treachery. He does not plot, he reacts.

And he is reacting now because he thinks honor will save him.”

Marcus let the old man’s words sink in. Maybe Gerald was right. Maybe Alexander’s move was not strategic, but emotional.

Maybe this really was stupidity disguised as bravery.

But Marcus had never underestimated

Alexander’s physical strength. If the boy had one advantage, it was his raw power… at least that was what he had heard. Alexander could hold his own. He could even win-if Marcus allowed sentiment to dull his edge.

But Marcus didn’t do sentiment.

He smiled, slow and cold, his fingers tightening around the invitation.

“I will accept,” Marcus said simply. “I will give him exactly what he asked for.”

Gerald’s smile widened. “Good. Because once he is gone, the pack will have no choice but to follow you. And the family business-finally-returns to the hands of someone capable.”

Marcus’s pulse thrummed with anticipation.

He glanced again at the ornate lettering, imagining Alexander’s expression when he received Marcus’s acceptance. Would he be relieved? Determined? Terrified?

It didn’t matter.

Because Alexander wasn’t walking out of the ring alive.

“I have waited years for this moment,” Marcus said quietly. “Everything that should have been mine-my birthright, my father’s legacy, the respect of the pack-has been kept from me by that boy. But no longer.”

Marcus’s lips curved again-not into joy, but into hunger.

“He has finally stepped into my arena,” he murmured. “And I will take what should have been mine from the very beginning.”

FAYE

My office was too quiet.

It wasn’t usually a problem-l liked silence, worked well in silence-but today it felt like the walls themselves were pressing in on me. My thoughts kept spiraling, looping, twisting around each other in ways I couldn’t untangle.

I had been trying to focus on the documents on my desk, but every line I read blurred into something else.

Alexander, the Ring of Fire… the fight he was willingly walking into.

And that empty baby cot…

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and let out a slow breath.

I still didn’t know what that vision had been-if it was a vision. Maybe it had been a hallucination. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me because the fear had been sitting too close to my skin for too long. Ever since l discovered I was pregnant, it felt like my senses were magnified in ways I couldn’t always control. Lately, it felt like every joy came with a warning in my head… every blessing came with a shadow attached.

It was ridiculous, I knew. But somewhere deep inside me, that haunting image of an empty crib kept flickering, refusing to leave me alone.

“Stop” I whispered to myself and leaned back in my chair.

This should have been a happy time. I should have been glowing-laughing-planning my wedding. Alexander had proposed. He’d been impossibly gentle with me. The love he gave me felt overwhelming sometimes, warm and protective and unshakable. And now there was a child-our child.

But instead of floating, I felt like I was holding my breath.

I missed Nova.

Normally this would be the part where her voice would rise in the back of my mind-steady, teasing-telling me I was overthinking again. Telling me everything was fine. Telling me she was here.

I rubbed my palms together slowly. She wasn’t gone. She was still with me, just… quieter. The thought soothed me a little, especially when I remembered how I healed Cole. That burst of energy. That sharp pull in my chest. That didn’t come from nowhere.

Maybe Nova wasn’t too far away after all.

That made my lips curve into a small smile.

A knock tapped sharply at my office door.

My eyes flew open.

Before I could even say “come in,” the door swung open and Irene burst into the room like a gust of glittering energy. She was practically glowing-smiling so hard her cheeks must have been aching, eyes sparkling like she’d just been told she won the lottery.

“Faye!” she squealed.

I didn’t even get a word out before she leaned in and kissed both my cheeks dramatically, hands gripping my arms as though we’d been separated for years instead of days. I let out a surprised laugh-one of those helpless ones that just push out of your chest whether you want them to or not.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, wiping an imaginary lipstick stain off my face.

“To see my dear sister-in-law, of course,” Irene said, tossing her hair as she flopped into the chair opposite my desk.

I raised a brow at her theatrics but couldn’t stop my smile. With Irene, you didn’t really have a choice. Her excitement was its own weather system-loud, bright, infectious.

Then her eyes dropped to my hand.

“Let me see it,” she demanded, though she was already leaning across the desk like she had x-ray vision.

I couldn’t help it-l grinned. I stretched out my fingers, wiggling them a little because she deserved the full effect.

She gasped, snatching up my hand with both of hers. “Oh my Goddess, Faye,” she breathed. “I trust my brother to go all out, but this? This is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.”

I chuckled. “Thank you, I suppose.”

“No, no, no, she corrected, wagging a finger at me. “Thank you for saying yes.”

I smirked.

She squealed again.

I wondered briefly if she had already told half the pack. With Irene, anything was possible.

Then she clapped her hands. “Okay, so listen-l want to take you out for lunch. A celebration lunch. Just the two of us. Sister bonding.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “What do you say?”

I snorted before I could stop myself. “I say that’ll be nice, but I have work to finish. Unless you’re planning to get me fired, which-“

“That wouldn’t be a bad idea,” she cut in with a shrug.

I gave her the look. She froze, then burst into laughter, hands shooting up in surrender.

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding. Goddess, relax.

Though honestly, me being the reason you get fired would be iconic.”

“You are chaotic,” I informed her.

‘I’ve been told,” she said proudly.

I leaned forward. “I really do need to finish this.”

“Fine,” she sighed dramatically, flopping back in the chair. “We’ll meet at home instead. And we move the celebration to this weekend.”

“You’re staying?” I asked, because she had been spending more time at Helen’s lately.

She nodded. “For now. And I’m kidnapping you for the entire weekend. Tell Alexander I said so.

“Of course,” I said, amused.

She hopped to her feet, already halfway to the door. “See you at home!”

I laughed softly. “See you at home.”