Page 135 of Wolf Blood

"Lead the way," Bloom said, relaxing more by the minute now that her mate's life was no longer at risk.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

harper

After a quick bite—forboth me and the asshole who challenged Maverick—we were all back out there for fight number two.

Rhone sat down on the dirt next to Bloom's camping chair, and when I tried to sit next to her again, dragged me onto his lap. His arms wrapped around my waist and stabilized me.

Maverick stood off to the side of the pair and announced the start of the challenge.

"Focus on me,"Rhone said into my mind.

I looked down at the inked-up arms holding me, instead of at the fight in front of us.

The men collided with loud snarls, and the scent of blood grew thicker in the air.

Their blood didn't appeal to me as much as Rhone's did, but I would always respond to it. It was wired into me too heavily not to.

It was just… instinct.

"Do you ever get used to being a predator?"I asked, glancing back up at the fight long enough to realize that the Wilder wolf was just toying with the challenger.

The Wilder guys were going to drag his death out. Make a statement. Make him suffer.

The large group of Maverick's other challengers already looked grim.

"You say predator like it's a bad thing. It's not. It's just a word to describe your nature. What you do with it is what matters."

"I guess I hadn't really thought about it like that."

He squeezed me lightly.

The fight ended.

Another hour-long break began.

Maverick was once again escorting the bloody, wrecked challenger to get a snack. Probably some chunky protein drinks.

I looked at Bloom. "You good?"

"Now that Mav's done fighting, I could do this all day." She leaned back in her camping chair, significantly more relaxed than she had been earlier. "What about you? How's the bloodlust?"

"Bloodlusty. I'm okay, though."

Bloom made a face. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Rhone's snuggling with me in front of the pack, so I'm getting some PDA out of it."

Rhone grunted, but slipped a hand under my shirt. The extra contact wouldn't be visible, but it felt nice.

Bloom tried to bite back a smile, but failed. "You guys are so cute."

"Cute is the wrong word for us."

"Adorable?"

"No."