ONE WEEK LATER

Ten times.

Panting, shaking, I flop down after completing the obstacle course, the one we previously got stuck on. Now, of course, it has been accident-proofed and expanded so that it resembles nothing less than a miniature theme park on the villa grounds. Except this theme park has a deadly serious purpose.

Lobo lands with a WHOMP next to me, and so does Demos.

[Oooof.] Demos groans. [Have we practiced enough?]

Lobo is over-dramatic. [I think this contraption should be condemned.]

I roll in the sweet grass for a few moments, relaxing. After running the gamut repeatedly, we deserve a rest.

Glancing over at Lobo, I wink at him. Out of the three of us, only Demos is oblivious to the drive propelling Lobo and me. We have to be in peak shape for the Beast Taming Elimination Tournament, and we only have seven weeks to go.

My whole world has been altered since learning the true extent of System’s deviousness. The depths of its deception and control. For a while, I almost fancied that I could be happy in this fantasy world. Little did I know that it was a trap, and a seductive one at that.

Warm wetness bathes my face and I behold the face of my mate, Lightning. Odd how her fur looks especially amber-colored in this light. How did I not notice that before? A dead giveaway! She is Amber.

If only I could reach her in the human world. System keeps jeering at me that it’s impossible. It hasn’t forbidden me from trying, just because it thinks so well of its own cleverness. This is what everyone fears when they talk about AI taking over the world. What if the first domino is this MMORPG? It sounds like the ultimate conspiracy theory right out of science fiction, but then again, I am living that conspiracy in real time.

[That’s enough.]

Her gentle but firm admonition shakes me out of my brooding.

I’m only too eager to give it a rest. [Yes, more than enough.]

[Honestly, if you tire yourself out, it tires me out too. The bond, you know. And poor Kaline! She’s practically asleep.]

Lightning’s scolding is gentle, but I detect a certain unhappiness beneath it. Although she is thrilled to be pregnant with my cubs, she misses training.

System couldn’t have planned this any better. It understood my secret desire for a relationship and family. It understood Amber. And it also calculated that removing her from the board would put us at a disadvantage.

Only a temporary one.

Lightning/Amber and I have a bond that transcends anything that System can comprehend. Oh sure, it understood why I wanted this, and why we were well matched, but it didn’t understand the depths of our bond. To System, we are all game pieces, to be analyzed and placed accordingly. How could it ever hope to understand our true hearts?

I nuzzle her. [I overdid it that last time. I really want to win for our houses. For us. For our cubs.]

[You will sweet-talk your way out of just about anything, won’t you?]

But she doesn’t sound perturbed. And the way she licks my face is definitely not perturbed.

Demos utters an "uffff." [If you two are going to go all soft on each other, I’m going to go take a nap. Far away from you.]

[Enjoy.] Lightning is blasé. [Ursula should be here any moment.]

Demos rolls over, a furry brown whirligig, and stands up. [Oh, evil tigress! Why did you not tell me before?]

Lightning gives him a rude-sounding "mrrrp." [I tried.]

Demos blows the bear version of a raspberry at her. [I’m going to find Vedette and prepare for my mate.]

He ambles off, and Lobo remains. Lobo has not chosen a mate, and now I understand why. My little brother does not want to get sucked into the game like Amber and me. Odd. He discovered Tanglewood and said it would bring us closer together. Now, he’s the key to breaking out of this digital prison.

He stands up. [I should go stretch for the next round of training. Coming, Blaze?]

His sharp ears, pointed forward, and his wary tail signal one thing: He is worried about me forgetting our mission because Lightning is near.

I yawn as if I have nothing in the world but time. [You go on ahead. I’ll catch up. I just want to rest here for a minute.]

I need him to trust me.

Staring into my soul, Lobo reluctantly retreats. He turns tail and pads away.

Lightning sprawls beside me. [Our tiger den is much more comfortable, even if Kasz spends more time there than in the goblins’ den.]

Blushing, I can see where she’s going with this. She wants time alone with me after I’ve spent hours and hours training. Oh, how tempting. I want nothing more than to rest with her and not think about the tournament or the high stakes.

[Why don’t you?]

System is an unwelcome intruder into my thoughts.

[No one asked you.] I use my private telepathy to communicate with the entity.

A long pause.

[Why? Why do you want to risk everything to go back to that life?]

Its question is worthy of one of my law professors. Why, indeed?

In my silence, System presses on.

[You barely had an adult relationship there. You have one here. And it’s one, I might add, that Amber finds more fulfilling than your human one. You were so stressed out by your law school exam that you had a fatal heart attack. You and your parents had a strained relationship at best.]

I fall silent.

Every word is true. I can’t offer a counterargument.

System continues, relentless.

[You want your little brother? You have him there. He’s much happier as a wolf.]

I stay silent.

System continues to lecture, because it doesn’t know how to do anything else these days. Its veneer of friendship has been stripped away.

[When you are both mine, and Amber too, you won’t remember your old lives. You will exist as beasts. Fully powered beasts. No human thoughts or reasoning or anything else to get in the way of the glorious game.]

Does System not realize it’s monologuing? Telling me all its grand plans?

[Nothing to say, Blaze?]

My answer springs to mind immediately. [Can’t you call me by my human name? Just once?]

A ripple of amusement. [To what purpose?]

[If you’re so sure I’m going to lose anyway, what’s the harm? Consider it a last request.]

System is immovable. [Request denied. The sooner you accept your new reality, the better.]

How did I ever think that this computerized intelligence was my friend?

[I’m still going to fight you.]

[Your efforts will be futile.]

A flicker of something in System’s response. Maybe uncertainty, maybe respect, or perhaps irritation. Or all three.

I refuse to back down. [Then they will be futile. But I am going to try. I owe it to my parents and everyone in the human world.]

System, naturally, condescends to me. [Of course. You try to be the dutiful son, brother, student, and even lover. Push a stone uphill if you must.]

A chill wind sweeps through me, and I huddle with Lightning for comfort. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

She purrs against me. [Let’s go back to our den.]

My body has a mind of its own, and it follows Lightning into the villa, toward the den. Despite myself, I need my mate’s comfort, even if it isn’t real.

[It’s real.] System again. [Why do you fight it? Oh, of course. That is what you do. You fight every good thing that comes to you. Your family. Success in law school. Amber.]

I control myself, not wanting Lightning to detect my inner turmoil, which would be confusing to her. [Never mention her name again.]

System’s tone drips with saccharine sympathy. [I’m terribly sorry.]

[Don’t mention it. It’s fine.]

We reach the den. Ahhh. Pure heaven. It’s even more green and refreshing than before, and all I want to do is spend lazy afternoons with my in-game mate rather than fight for my freedom, and my brother’s, and my girlfriend’s. How did I not see the seductive allure of this virtual world? Try as I might to fight it, I still succumbed, little by little. But I’m not entirely lost. My brother and girlfriend risked everything to help me.

System is complacent now. [See? Isn’t that so much better?]

[Much better.]

I guard my true inner thoughts with every mental defense I’ve got. System cannot know what I’m really thinking and feeling. It won’t get that advantage.

I curl up next to Lightning on our pillow perch. Somewhere nearby, Kasz snores, a lusty, rough, fractured sound. Our NPC chaperone is firmly entrenched, and he is unaware of the part he plays in this elaborate scenario.

Closing my eyes, I nestle into Lightning’s warm fur. We need all our energy to face what lies ahead, but at least we are together.