"Looks like our king's mate bond is grating on him a little. Hello, possessiveness," the announcer purred.
I stared the man down.
He stepped back slowly before disappearing into the crowd.
I still fucking wanted him dead.
"Fighters, please take your places in the cage," the announcer said.
I didn't budge, finally looking back down at my mate.
There was fire in her eyes.
"What are you doing?" I asked in a low voice.
"Reminding you who you belong to, Gray." Her voice was innocent, but the wickedness behind the words was enough to make my cock throb violently. "After I win, I get to kill anyone who challenges you. Hurting someone's mate is a killable offense. Leon's bite on your skin isn't going to age well."
My magic rippled around me in a hot, fiery wave."You don't get to fight my battles for me, Love."
"I'm a fae queen, and you're my fated mate. I get to do whatever I want when it comes to you," she breathed. "And I already announced it, so there's no going back."
"Unless I take you down."
She gave me a small, sexy smile. "You won't. You need me to fix your problems too badly."
She was right.
"Is the king going to forfeit to his mate this easily, or is he going to give us a show?" the announcer mused.
More cheers erupted.
"If we do this, we're sealing the bond," I finally warned.
"As soon as the fight's over."
"And you're not running away from me again. We're doing this the right way. As real mates, Merrily. You're going to stop denying that we have a relationship."
"Agreed."
"I'm going to make you fall in love with me," I stated.
Her cheeks reddened, just a tiny bit. "You can try."
I captured her mouth with mine, and my ears rang from the screaming around us as she laced her arms around my neck and kissed me back.
After I pulledaway, I forced myself to release Merrily's waist. Then, I stepped back into position, and waited for the announcer to start the fight.
The volume in the room was still so high that I had every ounce of my shadow magic wrapped around my female, protecting her as well as I could without touching her.
Merrily's chin was high, and her eyes were bright. "Let's give them a show," she mouthed.
"If you insist," I mouthed back.
Her lips curved upward.
Merrily tried to mimic my stance, curling her hands into fists as she bent her knees. Without my shadows dancing on her skin, the woman struggled just to leave her bed. She had no idea how to fight.
The buzzer went off to sound the start, andI stepped toward Merrily.
