Page 66 of Little Mate
My mate walks away, and I follow her until she’s standing with her group again. Her smile is saucy, while the other women wear varying degrees of emotions across their faces—from annoyed to insulted and finally angry. Marcia is much like her brother, loyal and protective even if the younger shifter has yet to master her abilities.
So far, she does well with Meera and Gabriella, clinging to them as no other woman here will talk to her. They’re scared of what she and her brother can do, but more so her, since the bite of a cobra is quite painful even for a vampire.
She can’t kill them, but her poison is potent enough to knock Brodej on his ass.
We know this from their first encounter.
He and his wife learned to respect them the hard way.
Xadiel steps between me and my opponent, holding a hand up. All noises cease. “This is a fight for the crown. No winner will be declared until one of the two is dead, and the victor holds up their detached head.”
“Rules?” the other guy asks. I never cared enough to ask him for a name.
“None. Begin.” Before Xadiel steps out of the circular pit, I have an untrained and very disappointing vampire rushing toward me with his nails extended. He goes for my face, but misses and as he stumbles past, I kick him in the back. This sends him crashing a few feet away, his face landing on the stone bench near a water fountain. It cracks, as does his cheek.
I stand and wait for him to compose himself. I’m in no rush.
“You’re weak.” He spits on the ground; a tooth having been knocked loose lays there. “A pathetic excuse for a king.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Veltross enter the grounds and make his way toward my mate. There’s nothing in his hand, his sword and armor not on, but I still don’t like him close to her.
A punch lands on my jaw, but I don’t so much as turn my head. Then another, and still the same response. He has no strength behind his hits. Uncoordinated and untrained.
Veltross says something that makes Gabriella and her sister glare, their body language radiating anger, but I don’t move toward them as my mate brings a hand to his face and with a low utterance, brings the general pain. It registers in his expression before he places his one hand over his chest, a show of fidelity which I can tell is fake.
No. He’s not offering his loyalty but pissing her off instead.
I catch his next punch and then wrench the fist clean off from the wrist, tossing it aside. Next is his arm, the left and then right, leaving him without a way to hit.
He’s too stupid to use his feet or body.
“You, asshole!” the man screams; his pain is a beautiful thing. “Fight me like a man.”
“I am.” Landing a direct strike to his mouth, I take out the remaining front teeth and dislocate his jaw. The next one breaks his nose, and the last is hard enough to damage the right eye. It bursts from the impact, the fluid inside running down his cheek as tears would.
Yet, I’m not done.
His limp body falls to the ground in pain, and I straddle his chest, not allowing him to curl up into himself. He was never a challenge for me. Not even a distraction.
My pretty girl is handling herself just fine and is walking away from a still-shocked Veltross.
Xadiel and Tero are heading their way.
Brodej is kissing his mate goodbye, leaving on a special assignment.
“My mate was correct to call your arrogance idiotic. You were never a match for me.”
“Please don’t. I was hired by—”
“I know, and they shall pay.” With one hand around his throat, I squeeze until it collapses under the pressure. Not that it takes much—he truly was an idiot—and after a tug, I raise the horrified head up for my enemies to see.
They have a spy. So be it.
Scum always rises to the surface.
Before I can fully stand, though, I have a sweet little body wrapped around me and the head falls, thumping against the ground while a berry-sweet pair of lips press against my own. She’s pliant in my hold and squirming to get closer, but it’s the pride in her eyes that makes me hard as fuck.
So much love. So pure.