sensed my presence and glanced over, a wary look on his face. I understood why, he was expecting me to run over there and break that male’s legs.
Lionel’s gaze swung towards me and despite his dominant nature, the blood drained from his face.
Reed and Kawan shuffled their stances both watching me through narrowed eyes.
I lifted a hand in greeting, and forced my wolf to back down. He urged me to show the lion who Ember belonged to. Not today, my friend. I trust my mate, even if you don’t. She will not forsake us. He snarled, but reluctantly settled.
Rawson cocked his head, then nodded and raised his hand in return.
Ember climbed to her feet and looked directly at me. Her bright smile warmed my soul. Panting, with sweat running down her face, she looked like a warrior; so strong and beautiful. And so mine. My heart flipped. It was all I could do not to go to her, drag her against me and kiss the hell out of her in front of everyone. I smirked at the thought, but I didn’t want to scare her away by smothering her. She was too wild and too determined to forge her own path through this shit hole of a prison, and although I wanted to make sure every male in here knew she was mine, I had to agree with Owen and Stone, it would only make her more of a target to those who coveted my power.
Instead, I contented myself with running my gaze over her curves. My wolf peered at her through my eyes. He growled at the red marks on her skin and the small cut on her lip. I inhaled, scenting her blood even from this distance. It was a unique smell that was ingrained in my mind, one I’d memorised years ago when I’d first seen Rawson draw blood in one of their training sessions.
I grappled with my need to go to her, and instead, I forced myself to walk to the other side of the hall where Stone was training Santa Cruz, or rather kicking his arse. Owen worked nearby with a group of newbies. I’d get the low down on which were the best fighters later. Shannon’s eyes flashed as I strode up to Owen’s ring. She stood at the ringside, her blonde hair tied over one shoulder and her plump lips in a thin line.
I held in my irritation and smiled tightly.
She raised her brows.
“Oh, get over yourself Shannon. You aren’t upset about me moving on, only that you didn’t end up with my claiming mark on your neck. You aren’t my mate, you are a power seeker nothing more,” I said, calling her out.
“And? What’s wrong with that? That runt is only after the same thing as me.” She indicated Ember with her chin. “And I’ve been here longer. I deserve to stand next to you and wield the power you hold.”
I stared down at her, not understanding her pissed off, or entitled attitude. I was never going to mark her as my mate and I’d never pretended otherwise. I lowered my voice. “Your father threw you in here because you tried to blackmail him. That power play didn’t end well. Don’t make the same mistake with me, Shannon. If you mess up my relationship with Ember, your ending will be far worse and extremely painful. Are we clear? Not even the fact you are Ava’s sister will save you.”
Her gaze dropped. She nodded, but despite her lowered eyes, her chin remained high. “You’ll regret falling for her, Connor. She was never right for you. She’s unpredictable and will do whatever she needs to do to get out of here, that includes betraying you if she has to.”
“What? And you think you know her better than me because…?” I shook my head. “She was special to me long before I even knew you existed. She’s always been passionate, loyal and fiercely protective of the people she cares about. Completely the opposite of you. You, Shannon, care only about yourself. You go after what you want with no thought about who you hurt in the process. You have no loyalty to anyone, including your family, despicable though your father is. So yeah, you were never right for me. You were nothing more than a way to release some sexual tension. Now I don't need you.” I kept my voice utterly cold. But it was me alone who had decided I had a responsibility to