Page 49 of Alien Devil's Match

“Serena, as beautiful as ever,” Draven said.

“Thank you, Draven. You look very handsome yourself,” Serena said. “Excuse me, but I must get Jalik a drink.”

“Yes!” Draven said as she moved toward the bar. “Something strong! He’s earned it. Haven’t you?”

“You’re goddamn right I have.” I laughed. “Especially after this thing.”

“Come on, this party is for you, my friend!”

“Hmm,” I grumbled. “What’s the take? Tell me we’re at least making a lot of money after I busted my ass in the ring and rubbed elbows with the high rollers all week.”

“Oh, my friend, we are very, very rich. So rich that you won’t have to worry about stepping into the ring for a long time to give us another influx of cash.” Draven raised an eyebrow. “Though, I doubt you’ll let that stop you.”

“Put me in the ring every day of the week. I don’t care. Just don’t make me come to another one of these things pretending it’s a party for me.”

“But it is for you. Give it another ten minutes, and all the guests will be too drunk to remember to bother you. Then you can really enjoy it. The buffet table is stocked with all your favorites.”

“All my favorites?”

Draven simply gestured in the direction of the table. The crowd parted just enough for me to spot the roasted moonhog. My stomach instantly rumbled.

“Go, eat your fill.” Draven smiled. “I’ll point Serena in your direction.”

Draven got a thank you in the form of me rushing to the buffet. Although I wasn’t at the table for very long before someone came to interrupt me. But at least this time, it was a friendly face.

“Great fight last night,” a voice behind me said just as I pulled a rip off the moon hog. I turned to see Lila, Laux’s mate approaching me.

“Oh, thank you, Lila.” I ripped a big chunk off the meat off the bone with my teeth. The juicy tender meat was exquisite. I was on a strict diet for the fights, and I didn’t realize how much I missed food like that.

“Where is Serena? You two are so close, I’m surprised you could keep your hands off each other long enough to come down here at all.”

“Ah!” I laughed with my mouth full of food. “If I had my way, that would be exactly what would happen. But I had to come to my own party. Serena is at the bar getting me something to help make this whole thing more bearable.”

“Hmm, she’s a good one, that Serena.”

“Yes, she is.” I returned my attention to the feast of all my favorite foods. But in the corner of my eye, I still saw Lila standing there, watching me. “Is everything okay?”

“Jalik, I’m just going to cut to the chase here. When are you going to ask Serena to be your mate?”

“I – What?” Mate selection is usually a private affair for Vinduthi. There may be celebrations after, but asking questions like this beforehand is uncommon. “What makes you think I plan to?”

“I’ve seen the way you look at her. It’s the same way Laux looked at me when he was getting ready to ask me. Plus, you’d be stupid to let a woman like that slip through your fingers.”

“Is that so?” I smirked. I guess I assumed I was better at concealing my emotions than I thought. “You’re asking just out of the goodness of your heart?”

“Well… To be honest, us mates have a pool going. If you ask Serena to be your mate by the end of the day, I win. If not, Elara wins. And she already won the last two. I really want to win this time.”

“I don’t know how this affects the pool, but I actually asked last night. After the fight.”

“Really?” Lila’s face practically screamed her excitement. She turned around and tried to crane her neck over the crowd to see the bar. “Does she already have her tracery? How did I not hear about?—”

“She hasn’t said yes yet, Lila.”

“Really?”

“Nope. She asked the usual questions. ‘Does it hurt?’ ‘How long will I be out?’ ‘What exactly changes?’ And I answered them as best as I could. She needed some time to think it over, and I’m giving her just that.”

“Oh… Well, she’ll say yes. It might take some time but trust me. I know she will.”

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