Page 59 of Winning the Wolf

"Yes," I breathed when he let me go, not quite believing that we'd somehow pulled off our plan.

"But," he murmured, "if you're going to be my mate, we need to get you trained. You're a terrible fighter."

"If I'm going to be your mate?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "Do you doubt it?"

"No." Gathering me to him, he hugged me and looked into my eyes. "You're my mate, as decided by the Mating Bonds Games. We just need to attend the final ceremony."

A cackling laugh disrupted our tender moment, drawing our attention away from one another.

The witch had her hands tied behind her back and her hip cocked. Her dishevelled hair covered one side of her face as she laughed again.

"That little spell you just broke?" she said, nodding her head towards Jeremy. "Has an insurance plan. Once broken..." Shrugging in glee, she sighed. "...it severs all ties that were formed at the games. You're no longer mates."

Killick's chest rose and fell as his anger rose. I released him, almost yelping as the heat of his fury burnt my skin.

No, surely everything we'd fought for hadn't been ripped away?

"I'm... sorry," I whispered for the third time.

He came back to me then, crushing his lips against mine and clinging to me desperately. I held on tight, trying to swallow down the grief that bubbled under the surface. We might have caught the enemy but at what cost?

"No," Killick hissed in my ear. "I refuse to let you go."

Taking a shaky breath, I pulled away and looked into his eyes. The pain of disconnection started to filter into us both as the spell took hold. I had ruined everything, forever.

"Don't!" Clasping his cheeks in mine, he pleaded with his gaze. "You sacrificed yourself for me. I will fix it. I will have you as my mate. And we'll have our happy ending."

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