Page 32 of Exiled Mate

My heart skips.

“Rylan?”

His eyes are wide. “Terra, we have to get Ember out of here, we have to?—”

The announcer blares over him. “And now, ladies and gremlins, what you’ve all been waiting for! Tonight, we have the Black Widow, and a surprise mix-up on the title card… all the way from Australia, the Thresher!”

My eyes widen. “Who is the Thresher?”

Rylan shakes his head. “I’ve met him before. He’s a shifter. Maybe. But I’ve never seen him shift. He’s…” He looks at me.

Oh, no.

I don’t like that look. Not at all.

“Terra,” he says, gripping my shoulders. “I love you.”

“Ry.”

He says it like he’s never going to say it again.

Rylan leans in. “Never forget that I love you,” he murmurs.

Before I can respond, he’s gone.

My stomach sinks. I push past Thorne, who currently has Chet in a headlock, and press my fingers against the side of the cage.

Ember glances at the little gate that’s behind her. Two men come out and grab her, and she tosses off their hands before she follows them, a confused look on her face.

There’s a heartbeat of time where the crowd murmurs with anticipation.

Then, a familiar shape emerges from the gloom.

“No,” I whisper.

It’s Rylan.

“Yet another last-minute change!” the announcer blares. “Today, we have a fan favorite. The War Wolf couldn’t let Thresher take this one, it seems! Old grudges die hard. We all remember the last time these two met, don’t we!”

The crowd roars its approval, and my heart sinks. I turn to one of the people next to me. “What happened the last time they met?”

“It was awesome,” the guy trills. “Thresher almost ripped War Wolf’s guts out!”

The scar.

“Oh,” I say weakly.

Inside the arena, Rylan shrugs off the sweatshirt he had on. He stretches, his muscles rolling, but Thresher stands, too, and…

Holy shit. He’s huge.

There’s no way that this guy is even remotely human. He stands somewhere about eight feet tall, and his body is covered in skin that’s a dull green hue. If I look closely, I can almost see the pattern of scales…

My eyes widen. I know what kind of scales those are.

He’s a saltwater crocodile shifter.

Most mammals shift seamlessly between a human and animal form. Most reptiles do not.

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