Ripper(133)

“He was willing to get you pregnant to save himself.”

He wouldn’t look at it that way. “He was willing to get me pregnant because that’s often what married people do. He wanted a family. If it bought him a little time, he was already planning it anyway. We can’t judge him. We don’t know what it’s like to walk in his shoes. I know I can’t be with him, but Jamie, I can’t walk in there knowing he’s going to be all alone. He needs someone. Yell at him. Beat the shit out of him. I don’t care. Don’t leave him alone. I couldn’t handle it if something happened to him.”

“I’ll try, Kels. But only for you.” He turned to Marcus, giving him a forbidding look. “You better be everything they advertised or I’ll be hunting a couple of vampires.”

Zack led Jamie off and it was just me and Marcus.

He gazed down at me, his eyes deepening to a fascinating obsidian. They were so dark. I could lose myself in those eyes. His hands found mine, drawing them up to his chest. “Keep your hands on my body. We need connection. Listen to me. Let everything else fall away. There’s only you and me in the whole world.”

I breathed and felt his chest rise. His heart beat and mine found his rhythm. Slow and steady as the sun. I let everything slip from me but the feel and smell of him, the sight and sound of him.

“I want you to accept the beast that lives inside you. Clear your mind of everything except the coming fight.” His hands moved up to cup my face, but mine stayed where he’d lain them. “Relax, cara mia. Let me in. I will be with you the whole time. You will not be alone for an instant.”

Magic, soft and warm, was inside my head before I had a chance to defend against it. I wouldn’t have. Marcus’s magic was too seductive to throw a wall up against. He spoke to me with his eyes. I have no idea how long we stood there with him whispering in my head, making a place for himself deep within my brain, but a bond formed in those moments and I knew Marcus had become important to me. Necessary. He was a source of strength to tap into, a place to calm myself. I merely had to hold the thread that bound us together and he would be there.

“Is she ready?” The king’s voice interrupted us.

Marcus leaned over and his lips brushed my forehead. “She is.”

“Then take your place, Marcus,” the king said. “I’ll walk her out.”

“I will be in the stands, cara mia,” Marcus promised. “You’ll be able to see me and I will join you immediately after you defeat Castle. When you are out there, relax. Let me and your wolf take control. We won’t steer you wrong.”

Even through the calm, I began to panic because it was all getting too real. The crowd was chanting, eager to get this started. The gloves on my hands felt wrong. “But I don’t even know how to use these things. I…I’ve never fought like this.”

“But I have,” Marcus replied calmly. “Who do you think those belonged to? I fought many times using them. At one time, they were so familiar to me I felt naked without them.”

“You were a gladiator?” Donovan asked, his eyes lifting in surprise.

“I wasn’t always an academic,” Marcus said with a small smile. “In life, I was a warrior. Well, I was a criminal because of my religion. I became a gladiator because I had no choice. I was much like you, Kelsey. And like you, I was terrified the first time I was tossed into the ring. But I won, as you will. I will tell you everything, Kelsey, all my stories if you allow me to help you.”

“Your Highness.” The big wolf, McKenzie, strode up to us. “We have to begin. Castle is accusing her of running. My people are getting riled.”

Marcus gave me one final look and walked out to the stands. McKenzie followed him and then the king’s hand was on my back, nudging me forward.

“Kelsey, I know you won’t believe me, but I’m sorry it’s come to this,” the king was saying. “I never meant for this to happen to you. I only meant to find you and train you.”

I doubted that. No matter how well-meaning he was, he was always a king and that meant he would always have an agenda. I simply nodded because I knew railing at him would do nothing but bring shame on Marcus. Somehow, in those moments, I’d truly become his student and he my mentor. There was a pact between us and I meant to honor it.

Even though I wanted to tell Donovan to stuff it.

We marched to the end of the walkway where the concrete met sand. The crowd saw me and began to howl. I could see three men pacing at the other end of the arena. I noticed all three men were naked, ready to change. Castle’s head came up when he scented me.