M&L03 - SS

by Stacie Simpson

  I’m not sure if you can ever forgive me, but I want you to know that I love you Solomon, not just as a friend or even as a lover or a mate. I love every part of you, and I love the person I am when I’m with you.”

  I cradled her head gently between my hands. “There’s nothing to forgive Renee. We’ve both made mistakes, but if we’d made different choices, we wouldn’t be the same people we are today, and I couldn’t be happier with the woman standing before me.”

  Tears slid down her cheeks again, but this time they were tears of joy.

  “I love you Renee, with every part of my being, I love you.”

  I lowered my head to hers, and when our lips met, I felt as though we’d come full circle. We were here, where it all began, on the day of our new beginning. The past thirty years had been the best of my life, but now, with our mating bond complete, my life was absolutely perfect.

  We made it back to the stadium right before the sword fights got under way and sat with a large group of our friends. Almost everyone was there since the majority of people had already been eliminated from the various competitions. Only Dragon, Lucien and Katerina made it to the semifinals.

  There should have been eight participants in the sword fight semifinals but with my disqualification, there were only seven. That meant the first round would have three matches while one of the semifinalists sat out. As last year’s runner-up, Katerina was chosen to have that honor. Now, she waited alone while swords clashed in the other three chambers.

  I surveyed her competition, then sent a quick text to my favorite bookie.

  When Renee realized what I was doing she asked, “Who did you pick to win?”

  “Chen doesn’t stand a chance against Sergio, and Danarius has this match in the bag. Just look at how hard Kalen is working when Danarius is hardly breaking a sweat. I’m surprised Scarlett made it this far, but my money’s on her against that vampire.”

  Renee scrunched up her nose, watching the action on the battlefield for a moment, then she shook her head. “I’m not sure I agree with you on Scarlett. That vampire is pretty damn good.”

  “Would you care to place a wager on that?” I asked, grinning.

  She rolled her eyes but said, “Sure, what did you have in mind?”

  Even with the noise of the cheering crowd, our friends could likely hear every word we spoke. Deciding Renee would rather they not hear my request; I slipped into her mind and imagined her doing a very naughty strip tease. She laughed and sent me a vision of her own that featured me with a certain redhead straddling my face.

  I leaned over to kiss her cheek, then whispered in her ear as quietly as I could, “I plan to enjoy that dessert every day for the rest of my life, whether you win this bet or not.”

  Her cheeks flamed red when Doyle chuckled beside me.

  “Red cheeks will only encourage Doyle,” Angela warned from the row behind us. “Take it from someone who knows.”

  “I’m not sure why the mention of dessert would embarrass Renee,” Doyle said with a shrug. “We all know how much Solomon loves his cream filled desserts...”

  I wrapped a portal around Doyle and he was gone in an instant.

  “Where’d he go?” Renee and Angela asked at the same time, both of them looking around for the big wolf shifter.

  “I dropped him in the lake near the waterfall,” I told them, smiling at their astonished faces.

  When they realized I was serious, they both burst into laughter. Several of our friends joined them until the whistle of fireworks drew our attention. The semifinals and finals were always a lot more showy than the earlier matches were. When Scarlett drew blood for the third time, a shower of red fireworks was sent into the air.

  I grinned at Renee, already imagining my private strip tease.

  She smiled back but said, “I should have known better than to bet against you.”

  “I’ve been wrong before,” I shrugged. “At least once.”

  She rolled her eyes and we focused on the remaining two matches. I expected Scarlett to move right into the next chamber and face off with Katerina, but her chamber remained sealed. A few minutes later, a shower of red fireworks came down over Danarius and black fire sparkled above Sergio. By the time the smoke cleared, Katerina was smearing her blood on the red wall in Sergio’s chamber and Scarlett was squaring her shoulders as the black contestant against Danarius. I sent another text to my bookie asking him to put my winnings on Katerina and Danarius.

  Once the matches began, it was obvious Danarius knew the importance of putting on a good show. He wasn’t toying with Scarlett, but neither was he in a hurry to score points. Sergio on the other hand, was going after Katerina with everything he had. Of course, he didn’t really have a choice in the face of Katerina’s fury. She had apparently taken his attempt on Renee’s life very personally, and from the looks of things, she planned to offer him the same end.

  It wasn’t long before Katerina drew the first blood with a deep gash along Sergio’s side. She’d been aiming for his stomach, but he deflected the blade and spun out of the way in time to avoid being gutted. The next point went to Sergio when he managed to nick Katerina’s arm.

  Through the entire match, his lips were moving and I suspected he was readying a spell. Confirmation came a few minutes later when Katerina lunged forward and sliced across Sergio’s forearm. He smashed his bleeding arm into her face and a blinding flash of light seared my eyes.

  I should have been the only one to see it, but Renee gasped beside me, “What was that?”

  “That was Sergio’s spell bouncing off my deflection charm.” I answered, blinking away the lights dotting my vision.

  Rook sat forward in his seat behind us. “He tried to use magic against Katerina?”

  “Yes, but my spell kept her safe.”

  “That son of a bitch just doesn’t know when to quit.” Rook’s eyes were swirling silver, a sign we all knew indicated strong emotions.

  “The sorcerer’s backhanded tactics will gain him nothing but an enraged dragon,” Claire imparted, “and Katherine is nothing if not deadly when she is enraged.”

  Claire’s prediction was proven accurate a moment later when Katerina drove her sword straight through Sergio’s throat. Red fireworks lit up the sky as blood poured from Sergio’s mouth. Katerina tensed and I knew she planned to take his head, but the shimmering rainbow of a portal suddenly appeared between them. Katerina was left on one side of the portal holding the hilt of her sword while Sergio was on the other side with the rest of her sword still lodged in his throat. Before she could react, Sergio fell into the portal and it closed behind him.

  Katerina let loose a deafening roar, spouting flames into the air as she transformed into an enormous red dragon. She took to the air and the crowd went absolutely wild.

  During all the excitement between Sergio and Katerina, I’d nearly forgotten about the other match taking place. Just as Katerina took off into the night sky, a spectacular display of red fireworks signaled Danarius had drawn Scarlett’s blood for a third time. The vampire took a bow and then exited the arena using a portal that Grayson opened after he dissolved the chambers.

  There was a short intermission before Merek’s latest maze erupted from the sand covered battleground of the arena. It was an interesting mix of snow and ice and promised to be as slippery as it was cold. The tunnels and chambers were surrounded by jagged peaks rising from the arena floor to the first level of seating. Wind and snow swirled through the maze with an eerie whistle that chilled me to the bone.

  Dragon and Danarius were still tied for first place, with enough points that no one was even close to catching them, but the other two competitors in this round - Noah and an Irish wolf shifter named Seamus - would fight to the very end on the off chance that the leaders would be disqualified.

  The prey for this round was a chameleon demon that was caught spying for Travali during the Great War. Even with our preternatural eyesight, it was almost impossible to spot him once he
blended in with his surroundings. And even from his position in the sorcerer’s booth, Merek would have a difficult time ensuring the prey did not escape the maze. As a result, the contestants would have to work harder than usual, tracking the prey by scent. If the chameleon escaped the maze, all four competitors would be disqualified from the round and Merek would be eliminated from the entire maze competition. Neither possibility would make a difference in the final outcomes of the tournament, but none of the people involved would ever live it down if they let the prey escape alive.

  While the four contestants prowled through the passageways of the maze, sniffing out their prey, I focused my attention on Noah. For a new shapeshifter, he showed remarkable tracking abilities. He came within three feet of the prey several times before any of the veteran hunters even caught the chameleon’s scent. Unfortunately though, the demon managed to slink away every time just before Noah realized how close he was.

  I sent a text to my bookie, betting that Noah would win this round. It was a long shot, but my gut told me it was the right call to make, and I always went with my gut when it came to placing wagers.

  The stadium was full to capacity and though the spectators were far from silent, they were unusually calm as they watched and waited for the first trap to be sprung.

  About ten minutes into the match Dragon set off an avalanche and narrowly missed being buried under its crushing weight. Too bad for him, that was where his luck ran out. With Dragon effectively trapped in a dead end tunnel, spectators debated how he would escape. Going with his strengths, he attempted to melt the snow blocking his path and realized too late that he’d only worsened his situation. The liquefied snow rose up in a wave and curved over his head like a surfer’s dream come true. Just as it crashed down on his other side, the freezing water solidified again, leaving the Dragon King imprisoned in a thick tube of ice. The crowd members gasped as one and the bookies moved in to take advantage of this new development.

  Merek had obviously considered Dragon’s fire breathing abilities when he designed the maze. Dragon would eventually claw his way out of the tunnel, but that probably wouldn’t happen before someone else got to the prey.

  Surprisingly, Danarius was the next competitor to walk into one of Merek’s traps - literally. He’d taken a wrong turn and ended up in a roundabout with no other exit. When he was striding down the corridor back out to the main part of the maze, he suddenly bounced back as if he’d walked straight into a rubber band. While he slid on the ice and regained his footing, a walking ice sculpture emerged from the spot where he’d been thrown back. It was an exact replica of Danarius himself, a perfect clone, and when it attacked Danarius, it fought with the same strength and skill of the original.

  Eventually, Danarius was able to dispatch the creature by ripping its head off, at which point it melted back into the maze. During that fight however, several more clones had materialized from the invisible barrier. They backed Danarius into the circle and came at him from both sides. He remained on his feet, taking them out one by one, but there was no way for him to escape the endless stream of icy assassins.

  It was a brilliant bit of magic that was sure to earn Merek a top spot in the sorcerer rankings. He still wouldn’t win the tournament; Sergio already had that win locked in, but it would certainly open a few doors of opportunity for the Irish wolf shifter.

  With both the top contestants out of the running, the crowd watched the remaining two competitors with bated breath. The intricacies of the maze had kept the prey retracing his steps for most of the match as he backed out of one dead end after another. As a result, his scent was most likely everywhere, making it even more difficult to track him.

  Seamus came to a Y in the tunnels and paused. After evaluating both options he chose the right tunnel, never realizing that he was only going back the way he’d come. The tunnel entrance turned out to be a hidden portal that opened behind the spot where Seamus had just been standing.

  At the other end of the maze, Noah was moving right along, methodically searching each and every tunnel for the stealthy chameleon. He came close to a few traps, but always backed off right before they were sprung.

  After his fifth near miss Renee asked, “Can he see those traps, or is he just getting extremely lucky?”

  “What traps are you talking about Renee?” Angela asked, peering closer at Noah and the maze.

  “The ones he’s been avoiding. Like that pit he just skirted without even pausing.” She pointed directly at a black hole spell that would have taken Noah the rest of the match to escape.

  “They can’t see the traps Renee, and I honestly don’t think Noah can either,” I informed her. “Though perhaps he can sense the magic enough to know there’s something there he should avoid.”

  Her eyes flashed to mine before she looked back down at the maze and the numerous spells yet to be triggered. “Then how can I see them?”

  “My guess would be the mating bond. Anyone with magical abilities can sense magic, but only the strongest of us can see the actual spells. Even then, most spells are designed to be hidden, but most sorcerers aren’t strong enough to hide their magic from me. As my mate, you can see what I can see.”

  “Well that might come in handy sometimes, but I think it might also be distracting when I want to enjoy one of your shows.”

  “I can teach you how to turn it off,” I assured her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

  She snuggled closer to me and I suddenly wished the match would end quickly. The sooner it did, the sooner Renee and I could be naked again. The few hours we had earlier in the day weren’t nearly enough to sate my desire for her.

  Having obviously picked up on my rising desire, her voice whispered through my mind, “Why wait?”

  Then I felt a soft hand caress my jawline from front to back. It was warm and gentle as it slid down my neck and chest, and then lower to my rapidly hardening shaft. There she lingered, stoking the fire that would never be fully extinguished. I closed my eyes for a second, enjoying the teasing way she stroked my cock. It felt damn good even if it was only in my mind.

  Renee continued her slow torture as Noah and Seamus drew closer and closer to their prey. I considered leaving early a few times, but then I decided waiting would be so much more fun. Waiting allowed me time to play; time to make sure she was hot and wet when I finally plunged into that sweet spot between her thighs.

  Slipping into her mind, I imagined my fingers teasing her clit with slow circles. Desire flared through the bond, but outwardly she hid her reaction well. Taking it to the next level, I imagined sliding my fingers inside her tight sheath, caressing the sensitive tissue until she was squirming in her seat. Of course then she had to ramp up her efforts, changing the slow tortuous motion of her hand to a more determined, purposeful rhythm.

  We kept the game going as the match below grew closer to an end. The chameleon demon was all but cornered. His only chance of escape was to sneak past the two competitors without being noticed. Noah and Seamus were coming at him from opposite sides with their noses to the ground so to speak. Neither one of them was likely to let the chameleon slip by unnoticed.

  Noah and Seamus entered a large chamber at the same time, snarling ferociously when they came face to face. I was sure they could both smell the demon hiding against the far wall, but there was no way either one of them was going to let the other near him.

  Seamus growled at Noah, trying to warn him away. He probably thought Noah would scare easily since he was so new to our world, but Noah wasn’t about to back down. He charged towards the wolf shifter with his inner bear roaring. When he slipped on the ice, his claws slid out, breaking through his boots to give him better traction. By the time he reached Seamus, his hands, feet and jaw had been transformed into those of his bear.

  It was really quite remarkable that he had that kind of control only a few months after being changed over. The strength and control of his mate had apparently helped him come a long way in a very short pe
riod of time.

  Noah swiped his razor sharp claws across the wolf shifter’s chest. Seamus came right back at him, ignoring the blood pouring from his wounds as he slammed into the angry bear. The two fighters went down in a tangle of arms and legs, fur sprouting, claws ripping, teeth shredding.

  As their battle raged, the chameleon crept along the wall, clearly hoping to evade their detection. When he was only a few feet from the exit, Noah roared loud enough to shake the entire stadium. The stealthy demon finally came out of hiding and took off into one of the tunnels.

  Noah flipped Seamus over his shoulder and rushed to follow the prey, but Seamus wasn’t having any part of that. He landed a kick between Noah’s shoulder blades and the bear went sprawling face first into the snow and ice. Seamus moved to finish Noah off, but the bear was suddenly on his feet with his claws buried in the wolf’s gut. Noah pulled his arm back and Seamus went down and stayed down. His insides spilled onto the cold ground as Noah took off in pursuit of the chameleon demon.

  Several twists and turns later Noah finally caught up to his quarry. The two faced off but the demon was no match for the enraged bear shifter. The chameleon was slammed into one wall and then the next until his head lolled to the side, and his body hung limp as a rag doll. With a thunderous roar, Noah snapped his jaws and bit through the demon’s neck, severing his head from his body and winning the round.

  The crowd cheered for the young bear but I was already reaching for Renee. I knew it wasn’t her hand on my cock, but the relentless friction perceived by my pleasure sensors couldn’t tell the difference. My dick was standing straight up, hard as granite. Add in the blood and violence and I was ready for a good, hard, fuck.

  Renee was panting when I shoved her through the portal. Her need vibrated through the bond, chipping away at the last of my control. She gasped when we came out on the other side, her eyes wide as she took in our location. “Why here?”