“The other times?” he asks.
“When you put two feral shifters in the ring, you can’t always control what happens.” I weave through the seats, walking toward the ring. “Heath has always been misjudged. For a while, no one knew what he was. He is the mysterious man,” I say, my voice deep, and he grins. “The people who fought were scared of him, and the crowd just wanted a glimpse of him. He didn’t watch all of the matches.”
“He did yours,” he guesses.
“Always.” I stop outside the ring. “Once you are in his circle of trust, he’ll die for you. He is brutal when betrayed. Men who abuse or steal from him should run to the other side of the world. Mistakes are always made, though. He had Breeane kidnapped. She is mated to three shifters in the family. When they met, she was human and had an awful brother. He stole from Heath.” I lean against the mat, and Ezra nods to the center of the ring. I lift and roll inside. He hands me the bag and joins me as if he’s done it before.
“Was she hurt?” he asks, sitting.
I join him in the center.
“Yes, but by the men Heath trusted to bring her to him. He felt horrible and admitted he should have handled it better. I know he felt guilty. He killed one of the men because of it, and let them have the other.” I watch him unload the food. “Hunter and Bane worked for him then, and saw everything. They are loyal to him, but would never hit a woman.”
“Has he been forgiven?” He lines up four containers and hands me water.
“Of course. He apologized and set things right. Breeane understood and encouraged her mates to forgive. Heath wasn’t the one who hit her. All he wanted to do was talk.”
He lifts two coffees out of the bag. He thought of everything.
“Did her brother take the bait?”
“Yes.”
“You respect him,” he hums.
“More than anyone,” I say softly, and he nods.
He gives me some plastic silverware and then opens a lid.
“Breakfast burritos and hash browns.” He reveals the last two. “Pancakes, because I love them.”
“Whipped cream and sprinkles.” I giggle.
“Always. I believe you should always indulge. My mom still makes me pancakes with heaping whipped cream. Sometimesshe makes a smiley face with the sprinkles.” He dips his finger in the cream and holds it in front of my mouth. “You know you want to,” he drawls.
He’s ridiculous and very hard to resist.
I open my mouth and stare at him. He tilts his head and slides his finger between my lips. His focus drops to my mouth, and I suck. A slight growl rumbles in his chest, and I lick his finger once before releasing him. He slowly lowers his arm, and I shift. Sweeping my legs to the side, I press my knees together and lean on my palm.
“Your mom indulges you.” I pick up my burrito.
“Yes, she does.” He cuts into the pancake. “So, what’s the difference between the fights?”
“Then, when shifters lost their humanity, they came to Heath. One woman lost it and killed her daughter.” He grimaces and takes a bite. “The girl was mated, and her mom had a moment of clarity. She volunteered to get in the ring with her daughter's mate.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.” I lick sauce from my lips, and sit straight.
“Now?”
“It’s just like any other fight. There are rules, and the fighters make money if they win. Shifters are against shifters. He does have some matches with humans. Hunter and Bane are here to control the crowd and escort the winners and losers to the back. We have shorter rounds, so the humans don’t know we heal faster, and Heath’s careful.” I sip my coffee.
“Why do you love it?” he asks.
“That’s a complicated question,” I mumble.
“Is it?”
