Chapter 1 - The Arena of Shadows
The arena was immense.
The guests, masked.
The ten women, numbered.
And in the center, fear.
Billionaire Alexis Vernet had turned cruelty into entertainment.
When the lions were released, the candidates gathered in tears.
Except for Candidate 07.
She stepped back slightly, as if waiting for the right moment.
The youngest of the lions ran toward her.
One of the women screamed.
Candidate 07 then slightly opened her arms and said a single phrase.
"Hélio... stop."
The lion braked abruptly.
Then he let out a strange sound before coming to place himself near her, like an animal protecting its mistress.
This time, several candidates understood that she was not just a simple victim.
Alexis, however, paled.
Hélio was not an official name.
It was one inscribed in the original documents confiscated before the animals arrived at the estate.
He took the microphone.
"Tell us who you are."
Candidate 07 raised her chin.
"It depends, do you want my name today... or the one your men tried to erase fifteen years ago?"
The silence became total.
Even the other lions seemed hesitant to move forward.
One of the candidates looked then at the torn sleeve of 07.
Under the fabric appeared a small tattooed symbol.
An old animal reserve mark.
The billionaire stepped back.
He had already seen this sign.
On a woman he thought was dead.
Elara Vance was supposed to have burned in the sanctuary fire he orchestrated to steal her family's land.
Alexis slammed his fist onto the control panel of his VIP balcony.
He grabbed his security radio with a trembling hand.
"Kill the girl and shoot the beasts."
A dozen heavily armed guards stepped out from the shadows of the arena walls.
Red laser sights danced across the dirt, converging directly on Elara's chest.
Elara did not flinch as the weapons locked onto her heart.
She simply lowered her hand and whispered a command in a forgotten language.
Hélio let out a deafening roar that shook the glass of the spectator booths.
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But the sound was not a threat to the woman standing beside him.
It was a battle cry that instantly summoned the other four adult lions to her side.
