Page 19 of Promise & Artem

“Hell no. They’d be so pissed.” He scrubbed his free hand through his hair. “I found out when I woke up after the fight that the wolf I killed was planning to kill me. He wanted to be the best fighter and get the big prize money. It doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t mean to kill him and I’m still wrestling with guilt about it, but it’s chilling to think I went into the fight planning to actually just fight when he wanted me dead.” He shook his head. “I still can’t wrap my head around it.”

“I can understand your guilt at taking a life, but it also sounds like your minotaur wanted to come out to protect you because he wasn’t going to stop coming after you. Maybe you didn’t knowfor certain he wanted to kill you, but maybe your beast suspected it.”

He hummed, his brows rising. “I hadn’t thought about that. It was just instinct when my minotaur was trying to come out. I still took a life, though. Self defense or not. I don’t think I’ll ever really forgive myself.”

“I’m not just trying to make you feel better about something that you feel bad about, but I think if you don’t forgive yourself for what happened it’s going to eat at you. That’s no way to live, honestly. Regardless of what happened, I’m thankful that you were victorious in the ring, because if you hadn’t won, if that wolf had killed you? I would never have met you.”

“I’m glad for that too.” He smiled at her. “I need to talk to my parents about my fighting and I also need to quit.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t need the outlet for my aggression anymore. I don’t need to fight. I never liked it anyway, it was just a means to an end.”

“That makes sense.” She smiled. “Did you get that scar on your back during one of the fights?”

“I drove a four-wheeler down the mountain on a dare when I was twelve and cut my back open on some rocks. I wasn’t old enough to shift so it just scarred.”

“A daredevil, huh?”

“Maybe in my idiotic youth.”

“Okay, so I dreamed about you fighting. What did you dream about?”

“A bonfire. I saw you, but all I could really see was that you had dark hair. You were talking to me, but I couldn’t hear the words.”

“Our pack always has bonfires on the full moon. Maybe that’s why.”

“Makes sense.”

They ate and talked, not speaking any more about his fighting during what she figured were spectacularly bloody battles. She couldn’t believe that people paid to watch shifters beat each other up and even placed bets on who would win. She was definitely glad that Artem was going to quit because she didn’t want to worry about him.

Even if she could heal him with her venom.

She told him about being an apex, and how she hadn’t used her healing venom in ages until she’d helped her mom heal her friend Remy’s mate, Thyme.

“It’s so freaking noble to use your power like that to help people,” he said. He pushed his empty plate away and leaned back on the couch. “So much more noble than me punching people several nights a week.”

With a laugh, she leaned back on the couch and turned so she could face him. “The roads we chose in our lives brought us to this place, so I don’t have any regrets except that I wish I’d come here sooner.”

“I wish you had too.” His eyes simmered, the brown getting eclipsed by the red as the spicy leather scent of him made her stomach flip.

“What now?” she whispered.

He leaned over and brushed his lips across hers. “I’m supposed to be helping my dad look over some new four-wheelers I brought in last night. Would you like to walk over to the workshop with me and meet him?”

“Sure.”

He kissed her again. “Promise, I want to take you to bed and mate you right now. But we just met. And I haven’t even asked you to be my mate properly. I want to take you out tonight and then we can see where things go between us.” He gave her a curious look, his eyes darkening back to brown. “If you think I don’t want to strip you and find out what you sound like whenyou fall apart, you’d be greatly mistaken. Because it’s all I can think about.”

Her cheeks heated and her skin tingled. “It’s all I can think about too.”

“Later.” He rose to his feet and brought her with him. “You’re the definition of addictive, beautiful.”

“You are too.”

They left the cabin, hand in hand, and walked to the workshop. She couldn’t believe she was about to meet her truemate’s dad.

She couldn’t wait to call Rio and tell her the good news.

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