Page 39 of Ember's Claim

Ember lets out a little grunt in her sleep, and I twist to make sure she’s not on the verge of hurting herself. Her eyelids flutter, but she doesn’t wake.

“You want me to handle it?” he asks, like he already knows what’s coming.

Well, that would be convenient, since he’s a warlock and can use his magic instead of brute strength.

“Yeah,” I agree.

“I should have seen that coming,” he says, pushing himself off the couch. “Now, we just have to be prepared for when his supporters regroup and realize they don’t like what happened tonight. Technically, from what I heard, she never should have stepped in.”

“It wasn’t two-on-one, if that’s what you’re insinuating.” My eyes narrow as I try to determine if that’s what he really thinks happened.

“I wasn’t saying that, you cranky bastard,” Cohen says, tossing his middle finger up at me. “But until Aimes judged you and decided your fate, it was technically against the rules for another challenger to intercede.”

I wipe my free hand over my face. “It wasn’t a fair fight to begin with.”

“Probably not,” Cohen agrees, giving a nod and heading out.

Tonight was not my best look.

My stomach aches as I recall the way her wolf came to my rescue.

My wolf is simultaneously mortified and impressed by that. My other animal is a lion, and he’s even pickier. She’s a worthy mate, and they’ve waited hundreds of years for someone to spark their mutual interest.

Lions aren’t common in North America. Although, they are prevalent in Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America, due to where the shifter colonies settled.

Because of my dual nature, none of the normal considerations were honored during my challenge.

Wolves can fight in human or animal form. However, the former alpha declared one of my animal forms unusable, which I’d already seen coming. I had no hesitation against fighting in human form, but the alpha wouldn’t allow that, either.

The spineless fucker.

My wolf form is my weakest, which we both knew going in.

The only positive thing to come out of that debacle is that the pack saw him for who he truly is. Most alphas aren’t so rigid with the rules, because setting limitations shows weakness and a lack of confidence in their own abilities.

To make matters worse, Aimes wasn’t going to spare me. He would’ve taken a killing blow to end the challenge, even though it’s not required to win. It’s not unheard of for alphas to fight to the death, but he knew going in that I didn’t want the alpha title.

All I wanted was the power to get my little sister out of his makeshift prison and guarantee her safety.

Kent knew he was supposed to stay away. He just lost one of his dads. I couldn’t imagine him having to watch me die too.

It’s mind-boggling how he ended up with Ember in the first place. I’m pretty sure my seven-year-old nephew begged her to intercede on my behalf…

Goddamn.

That’s embarrassing.

My animal forms rarely agree on anything, but they don’t like it, either.

They’re rather archaic in their thinking. The male should always protect the female at any cost, be the provider, and spoiltheir mate with love, affection, and more orgasms than her lush little body can handle.

I frown.

That is truly unexpected.

Not unwelcome, but it’s surprising.

Ember whimpers in her sleep, causing my skin to prickle with discomfort. Find the problem, demolish the fuck out of it, and make her feel better.

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