Page 18 of Urban Gladiator

“Ah, so you’re a cradle robber. I always knew you wolves were freaky. But I never suspected that you liked banging chicks young enough you could have sired them.”

I gritted my teeth. “I’m not a cradle robber when you’re of age.” Thank god for that. But twenty-two? She’d barely lived yet.

And I was going to snuff her light out. What I was once so certain about didn’t sit well with me. Could I be wrong? Could we have taken the retribution for the war too far?

But if we didn’t have a witch to sacrifice to rebuild the barrier, how would we keep it up? How could we protect Avalon and all its inhabitants from the outside world if the barrier fell?

We were already experiencing pushback from the orcs. They thought they should be in charge and were looking for any opening to usurp my father’s throne.

Studying her, my curiosity piqued, I asked, “How were you selected by the coven?”

“I wasn’t selected. I volunteered.”

“You what?” It was unheard of. She volunteered to be offered as a sacrifice. “What do you know about the barrier ritual that needs to be renewed every three months?”

Ember scowled. “What ritual? Look, all I know is that on the solstices and equinoxes, a witch is taken to that clearing and never heard from again. No one knows what happens to the witch. All I know is we’re paying for decisions made long before we were born, and it’s total and utter bullshit.”

She didn’t even know about the ritual. How was this even possible? Why hadn’t the coven mother informed her flock? Were all the witches being offered as part of the treaty ignorant of the reason they were being sacrificed in the first place?

If that were the case, it meant witches were being tortured and sacrificed without knowing why. It upended everything I thought I knew about witches. But I had to know. “Why did you volunteer?”

“To save my younger sister. She’s all the family I have left since our parents were killed.”

She’d not volunteered because she wanted to. She’d done it out of love for her family. “How long have you been on your own?”

“Since I was thirteen. I raised Iris. And when I learned she was going to be chosen as the sacrifice, I made a deal with the coven mother. My sacrifice in exchange for my sister’s safety. Iris will never be sacrificed.”

Noble. So fucking noble. And brave. She walked into this entire situation without knowing what would happen.

“What happened to the witches who were offered up before me? I didn’t notice any witches on our trek to the palace.”

That’s because they were all dead. But I wasn’t going to tell her that. Not yet. I needed to know if she truly was my mate. Because if she was, that changed everything. As much as I told Simon it wouldn’t, if she was my mate in truth, I couldn’t in good conscience allow her to be sacrificed.

I hadn’t a clue what I would do about the barrier to keep it from falling. But I wouldn’t sacrifice my mate—or an innocent. She might have a mouth on her and a bad attitude, but she had nothing to do with the wolves who were led to slaughter by witches.

“It’s up to the victor individually,” I stated as an explanation. “But that’s enough talking.”

I prowled closer. She had some game show on. But I wasn’t paying attention to the screen. I wanted to bury myself hilt deep and mark her with my scent.

Her chest rose and fell, making me realize I’d ignored her gorgeous tits. I knelt beside the couch and yanked her to the edge. Her tiny gasp fueled my lust. My wolf paced back and forth, howling to complete the mating rite. It wanted me to bite her, share my essence with her, and claim her.

Fuck. She really was my mate.

And because of it, I gentled my approach. I couldn’t claim her in truth. My pack would never accept a witch as their queen. Not to mention the alliances that would break down between the shifters and other supernaturals in Avalon. I didn’t even want to think about what the necromancers and ogres would do. And the giants—I needed a stiff drink even contemplating their reaction.

But we had this. I could give her this and then work to figure out how to keep the wall up without killing my mate.

Cupping her tits in my hands, I tested their weight. The apple-sized beauties were round and firm with dark blush nipples that stiffened at my touch. Her emerald gaze grew heavily lidded. I scraped my thumb over a silken bud.

Then I swooped in and sucked the peak into my mouth. She tasted like sunshine and evergreens. Her flavor made my wolf ache to roll around in her. He wanted to consume her. Mark her. Make her belly round with his seed. He wanted everything from this woman.

But most of all, he wanted to claim her. Bind her to us until the end of time.

I couldn’t do it. Not when I knew how poorly the other clans would take it.

I studied her, watching passion take hold and flood her features. She had the most striking face. High cheekbones. Delicately arched brows an even deeper red than her hair. Honey gold skin that was softer than the finest spun silk. A slender nose with a slight tilt at the tip. Full, top-heavy lips that were made to drive a man crazy.

I ached to kiss her again. The first time had upended my entire world. I craved another taste of her sweetness. So did my wolf. And I wasn’t in the business of denying myself things I wanted.

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