“You’re crossing the line Monica,” I warned.
She reached out and trailed her fingertips down my arm over the mating mark. “This doesn’t have to be a prison sentence Solomon. Once your bond is complete and the mating frenzy cools, Renee will realize that one woman will never be enough to satisfy you. And when she does, she’ll share you with us just like she always has.”
“Monica, we’ve had some good times and I’ll always remember them fondly, just like I will remember all of the women I’ve shared myself with over the years, but Renee is not just one woman, she is my mate. I don’t think I could describe what I feel when I’m with her so that you could understand, but I assure you, I will never want for anything as long as she is in my life.”
Monica glanced to my left and her lips curved with a sly smile. “We’ll see what happens when the mating frenzy no longer rules your bodies, won’t we Renee?”
Renee came around and stepped in front of me. It bothered me that I hadn’t felt her coming. If the bond had been working properly that never would have happened.
Renee put her hands on her hips and quipped, “Don’t you have an elsewhere to be, Monica?”
Shit. When Renee started channeling Cordelia from Buffy the Vampire Slayer things were about to get ugly real fast. I reached out and pulled her back against my body, wrapping my arms around her in the process.
“Enjoy it while it lasts Renee.” Monica smirked, and then she strode off with the other women following behind her.
Renee turned in my arms and looked up at me. “Apparently some of your more devout followers won’t be deterred by something as trivial as a mating bond.”
“I’m sorry Renee; I never imagined anything like this could happen. Mating bonds are sacred among our people and Monica was born a shifter. She should have backed off as soon as she knew we were mated.”
“You were very good to them Solomon.” Her lips twisted with a wry smile. “And no matter how high Kasper’s hopes are, no one’s ever going to fulfill their needs the way you did.”
“That still doesn’t give any of them the right...”
Renee went up on her toes and pressed her lips to mine. Long moments later she went back down on her heels and I said, “Now who’s using her feminine wiles to win arguments.”
She smiled briefly then her jaw set with a hard edge. “I’ll take care of Monica, and anyone else who thinks you’re still available to be their boy toy.”
The fierce glint in her golden eyes left no doubt as to how she planned to take care of the problem. It was hard for me to imagine Renee fighting anyone who challenged her place by my side, but it was the way of our people. I knew I couldn’t continue to hold her back as I had just moments ago, because if I did, she would be seen as weak and even more challenges would come her way. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as we walked towards the fire pits and the feast.
“I have no doubt you will. You might be smaller than most of the females around here, but you’ve always taken your combat training very seriously and you’re faster than anyone I know.”
Renee snorted. “Now you’re just blowing smoke.”
I looked down and met her eyes. “No, no I’m not. I’ve seen what you’re capable of and if Monica had too, she wouldn’t even consider challenging you. Until now, she never saw you as a threat so she never paid much attention to you. Now she might not live long enough realize her mistake.”
“You honestly don’t have a problem with that? That I might have to kill someone?”
“The idea of you fighting anyone to the death scares the hell out of me, and I wish I could fight this battle for you, but I can’t. It’s the way of our world; I accept that. So the idea of you killing someone only bothers me because I know it’s not something you want to do.”
“Maybe it won’t come to that, but if it does hopefully one death will be enough. I think that’s what Claire meant earlier today when she said the rapid spread of information could be used to my advantage. If that one death is brutal enough, then the gossip mongers will do the rest of the work for me.”
“You’re probably right. Let’s go get something to eat before all the good stuff is gone.”
We made our way through the crowd to where several long tables were set up near the fire pits. Each table was overflowing with a variety of dishes ranging from ordinary human food to the most exotic demon dishes. Olivia and her crew had really outdone themselves. We filled our plates, and then stopped at the fire pits to load them up even more with various meats and roasted vegetables. Once we were finished there we spotted Rook and Angela sitting with Lucien and Liliana and we parked on a nearby tree root.
Shortly after we sat down Angela asked, “Hey Solomon, we got a little side tracked earlier when things turned ugly down in the maze. Could you finish explaining how the rest of the hand-to-hand competition will work?”
“Sure. From here on out contestants will earn points through a series of match ups and the two with the most points at the end of the third day will participate in the finale,” I explained. “Each match up will take place in a different maze which we sorcerers will take turns creating. Every fifth maze will be mine. Four contestants will participate in each round. The contestants will start on the outside of the maze and their prey will be at its center. When the match begins, the prey will try to make its way out of the maze while the contestants try to find it. The contestant who takes the prey’s head first wins the round. If the prey makes it out of the maze, all of the contestants participating in the hunt are disqualified from that round.”
Angela looked at me and her eyes begged me to deny what I was sure she’d already figured out. “What is the prey?”
I shrugged, unable to offer what she was asking for. “A prisoner trying to win his or her freedom.”
Now Liliana turned to me in horror. “They are going to hunt other people? Supernaturals maybe, but people?” She looked from me to Lucien who was sitting beside her. He tried to soothe her by rubbing calming circles on her back. If this was how she was reacting now, she really wasn’t going to like how the marksmanship finale worked.
Renee responded before I could. “Have you ever seen the dungeons?”
When Angela and Liliana both shook their heads no, Renee continued, “Let’s just say I’d rather be dead than be kept in the dungeons. It’s not like being in a human prison and a life sentence takes on a whole new meaning when you can live forever. The prisoners they use for prey are fed well and allowed to train for the six months prior to the tournament. If they make it out of the maze, they will be set free. If they don’t, they’ll be dead. Either way they’ll be better off because they won’t be suffering in the dungeons any longer.”
“The upcoming rounds will also be more difficult than the one today because the mazes will have magical booby traps,” I added trying to move the conversation towards something less distressful for Liliana. “That’s one of the ways that we sorcerers compete. If the contestants are taken out by our traps, they’re disqualified from that round and we get points. If the prey is killed by one of our traps, all of the contestants are disqualified and the maze creator is awarded a lot of points. If the prey escapes the maze however, the contestants are disqualified from the round and the maze creator is eliminated from the entire competition. The sorcerer with the most points gets to create the maze for the finale.”
“What other ways do sorcerers compete?” Angela asked.
“We each get a chance to transform Supernova using whatever theme we choose. Then all of you will vote for whichever theme you like best. The winner will be announced during the feast on the final night of the tournament.”
Angela sat forward, eyeing me curiously. “What theme did you choose Solomon?”
“He won’t tell you,” Rook answered from beside her, running his fingers through her long blonde hair. “It’s the same every year. None of the sorcerers reveal their plans ahead of time.”
I grinned at him.
“The surprise is half the fun. Not knowing what to expect really ups the wow factor in show business.”
The group continued talking while we finished eating. Just before it was time to head inside, we noticed Jasper moving from one cluster of people to the next. Each time he stopped, he said a few words and then he moved on to the next group. Upon his leaving, the people he’d just spoken to jumped up as if they’d been set on fire and hurried off to some unknown destination.
When Jasper finally reached us, he said, “They’re arm wrestling up by the main entrance to Supernova and that new guy Noah has already finished off fifteen opponents.”
We all jumped up and started in that direction. Arm wrestling was always a popular event with lots of betting opportunities that often led to even more exciting fights.
The gleaming white edifice that housed Supernova was very Greek in its design with a wide marble staircase, towering pillars, and ornately carved relief sculptures decorating the pediment. Those marble steps and the grassy area surrounding them were currently overflowing with eager spectators, cheering and chanting for one brawny arm wrestler or the other.
The crowd was circling Noah and his latest challenger, a wolf shifter from one of the European clans. The cheering grew louder as the two opponents struggled against each other’s strength and skill. Moments later Noah slammed the wolf’s hand down for yet another victory. Scarlett threw her arms around Noah’s neck and kissed him enthusiastically while the crowd went wild. The wolf stepped back, cradling his arm and was quickly swallowed by the excited mob as they wondered who Noah’s next victim would be.
“Enough!” Gunther roared, his voice deep and growling as he stepped into the circle of people and leveled his eyes on Noah. Scarlett’s entire body went rigid. Anticipation had the rest of us watching the six-six, brute with rapt attention. “No more lightweights for you whelp; it’s time you took on a real man.”
Noah whispered something in Scarlett’s ear then he set her aside and met Gunther’s dark gaze without flinching.
“Bloody hell, I need to find a bookie.” After a quick scan of the area, I found three bookies and hurried over to the closest one. Renee was tight on my heels so we wouldn’t be separated in the growing mass of people.
Once I was finished placing my bet, Renee asked, “Who did you bet on?”
“Noah,” I replied, nearly shouting to be heard over the crowd. Her eyebrows flew up and I explained, “Gunther is a mountain of a man and strong as hell, but arm wrestling takes more than strength. It takes skill, and I believe Noah has that in his favor. If I’m right, I’m going to win a lot of money because the odds are not in his favor.”
We pushed our way to the front of the crowd. As two of the shortest people here, we wanted to get close enough that our view wouldn’t be blocked by all of the people towering over our heads. They were using a large tree stump as the table for the arm wrestling match. Noah and Gunther approached the stump and planted their elbows on its rough surface. Their eyes locked as their hands came together. The challenge in Noah’s eyes went far beyond this match and signaled trouble ahead. I couldn’t really blame him. Gunther was an asshole and he’d likely been riding Noah’s ass since he joined our world.
Gunther and Noah nodded when they were ready, and then the crowd counted down, “Three! Two! One!”
Their bodies tensed, both of them grabbing onto the stump with their free hand. For the first few seconds nothing happened. Then ever so slowly, Gunther began lowering Noah’s hand towards the stump. Noah concentrated harder, focusing with everything he had until he was finally able to push Gunther’s hand back up, and then past the midway point. Both men were growling and I thought if this kept up their beasts might just take over. It went on like this for several minutes, each of them taking turns on top. Then suddenly, Gunther’s hand was slammed down onto the stump with a deafening roar from Noah.
Their hands came apart and Noah stepped back. The crowd was chanting his name but he paid them little attention, keeping his focus instead on the enraged bear shifter in front of him. Gunther stood there trembling, his nostrils flared, his face red with fury. He looked like a bull about to charge. His claws shot out of his fingertips and I was sure his attack was imminent. Then Dragon stepped forward and slapped his hand down on Gunther’s shoulder. Gunther’s head whipped to the side and their eyes met. For a very long moment they just stared into each other’s eyes. The crowd grew quiet, watching as Gunther brought himself under control.
Finally, Gunther’s claws retracted and Dragon said, “If you tear into him now, I won’t get a chance to beat him.”
Gunther inclined his head to Dragon with a grunt and stepped back. Murmurs spread through the crowd like the buzzing of a thousand bees.
Dragon turned to face Noah. “Think you’re up to another match? Or do you need to rest your arm?”
Noah rotated his shoulder a few times. “I’m good.”
Dragon smirked at him and placed his elbow on the stump. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I barely had time to get my bookie’s attention before Noah stepped forward to meet Dragon’s challenge. I let him know through hand gestures that I wanted to let my bet ride. This match went about the same as the previous one, only it was a little longer and Noah had a much harder time making the back of Dragon’s hand meet up with the tree stump. When it was over Dragon bowed slightly to Noah, which seemed to startle the younger man, but he recovered quickly and returned the gesture. That was when Doyle emerged from the mass of spectators.
To Dragon he said, “Step aside old man, let me show you how it’s done.”
Dragon chuckled and indicated Doyle should go ahead. “Just remember, if you beat him it’s only because eighteen of us wore him down before you were man enough to step forward.”
Doyle cocked his head to the side and asked Noah, “Are you feeling worn down?”
“Nah, I’m just getting warmed up,” Noah replied with an easy grin.
At this point, I decided it was best to change my bet. Noah was good, but I was pretty sure Doyle was better, and no matter what Noah said, his arm had to be getting tired.
This time when the crowd finished counting down, Noah wasted no time and nearly slammed Doyle’s hand down with his initial burst of energy. Doyle recovered just in time however and brought Noah’s hand back up to the starting position.
“You’re good kid,” Doyle admitted, looking right into Noah’s eyes. “But I’ve been at this for a few hundred years.”
Slowly, Doyle began lowering Noah’s hand towards the stump. Muscles bulged and sweat broke out across both their brows, but Noah couldn’t stop the slow descent of his hand.
“We’ll do this again real soon, when no one can say I only won because you were already worn out,” Doyle promised as he pressed the back of Noah’s hand firmly into the tree stump.
The crowd surged forward and I went to find my bookie.
Chapter Fourteen
~ Solomon ~
Eventually we climbed the wide marble steps leading up to Supernova and found ourselves hovering just outside the doorway. Apparently there was a costume party going on inside.
“Who do you think we’ll be once we cross the threshold?” Renee asked me.
I looked into the club and shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”
Renee hesitated but I took a few steps inside the club and was immediately transformed by Merek’s spell. Within seconds, my entire body was covered from head to toe with stretchy red and blue material. If that wasn’t enough to tell me who I was supposed to be, the web design on the clothes and the mask over my head were pretty good indicators.
It was obvious the spell made everyone inside the club look like comic book characters, but I had a feeling the magic went beyond simple appearances. To test my theory I reached out towards Renee and flexed my hand. A sticky white substance shot out of my wrist and latched onto her hand when she raised it to shield her body. I gave the spider web a tug and Renee came towa
rds me, laughing all the way.
Once she crossed the threshold, her hair grew longer and the color changed to a dark, fiery red. Then her hips and breasts filled out to near sex demon proportions. The transformation was complete when she wore a pair of skintight blue jeans and a low-cut top that accentuated her new curves perfectly.
“Damn, so this is what it’s like to have cleavage,” Renee exclaimed, palming her rather large breasts.
Watching her squeeze those perfectly round globes was such a turn-on that a half growl, half groan escaped my lips. Her eyes snapped up, and then slid over the length of my body, pausing for a moment at my groin.
She raised an eyebrow and cautioned, “You’d better be careful Spiderman, or everyone will know exactly what’s on your mind tonight.”
“Well if Mary Jane would stop fondling her own breasts I might be able to control that a little better,” I informed her.
She just grinned and gave her breasts another squeeze. I bent down to kiss her, thinking it might be time to hit a base run, when I realized the mask needed to come off first. I reached up to pull the mask off my head and found myself being transformed once again. This time I was wearing a pair of jeans, a button up shirt with a loosely tied tie and a pair of eyeglasses.
“Huh.” Renee let her gaze slide over me again. “Are you supposed to be Peter Parker now?”
“That would be my guess,” I agreed, slipping the mask into my back pocket. Maybe later I’d put it back on to see if I could crawl up the walls.
Getting back to my earlier impulse, I was just about to kiss Renee when a mass of green muscles came bounding up beside me. “Do you think Danarius would be too upset if I threw him around a bit and called him a puny god?” Doyle asked, describing a scene from the most recent Avengers movie where the Hulk does that very thing to Loki.
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