“Release him. I’ll do what you want. His pack will come after you and cause more trouble; I have no one to claim me.”
“Sorry, Miss James. As curious as your request is, that’s not good business.” He leaned in so his voice wouldn’t carry. “Whatever feelings you might have for that man, I’d reconsider in your last moments. He’s a ruthless killer; I’ve seen it myself. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do to survive, and if you trust him, you’re a bigger fool than I took you for. So do me a favor and put on a good show.”
When he stepped away, I tugged at my chain. I got four steps into the cell before they yanked me back.
That’s when Wheeler swung his eyes up to mine. Those pale brown beauties glowed like embers from a fire, and I didn’t recognize the man standing before me.
Slowly the colored lights in the darkness became less frequent until they stopped altogether. The air chilled my arms, which were still damp from when they had thrown the water on me. I wiped my wet hair away from my face and tried to make eye contact with Wheeler. Could I trust him not to kill me?
“Gentlemen, we are releasing the chains.”
When Delgado nodded, my shackle clicked and fell away. I stumbled forward just as Wheeler’s right arm swung to his side without the chain attached. He stood catatonic, his heavy-lidded eyes transfixed on my legs.
The longer he stared, the more tempted I became to look down. I didn’t see anything outside of the mosquito bites, so I reached down and scratched one. Someone in the crowd chuckled.
Now what? No bell sounded. No announcement to begin. Just the sound of ice clinking in glasses, orange glows in the darkness whenever someone pulled smoke from their cigarette, and the sensation of my heart climbing out of my throat.
Wheeler walked along the perimeter of the cage. The fingers on his right hand touched the bars, tapping against each one as he approached me. When he inched near, he gripped the bars on either side of my head and leaned in so close that no one could hear anything but us.
“Shift.”
“No,” I whispered back, still trembling.
“Shift or else they’ll make us both shift.”
“My panther will kill you.”
His mouth grazed my ear. “That’s the point.”
My heart leapt to my throat. “I’m not going to do it. You shift.”
His face appeared in front of mine, hard as a stone. Shadows carved along his cheekbones, and I saw years of torment flickering in the depths of his eyes.
“My wolf will lunge at your throat before you can scream.”
“I can’t, Wheeler. I’m scared.”
“Do you trust me?” He brushed my cheek with the back of his knuckles in a predatory manner. “Trust me, Naya.”
Had he said that to all his previous victims? Wheeler’s eyes were devoid of fear, and his voice never wavered.
“Strobe lights are scheduled to begin in two minutes if the fight is prolonged,” Delgado announced.
A nervous flutter tickled my belly.
I cupped Wheeler’s face and whispered against his cheek, “I trust you.”
Every muscle flexed as my skin erupted, contorted, and I transformed into a black panther. I heard light gasps from the crowd as she circled the cage. She opened her mouth, smelling the spike in their adrenaline. Confused by her surroundings, she growled and paced anxiously. I waited apprehensively for Wheeler to make a move. I wondered how he’d killed panthers with his bare hands. He must have put them in a viselike grip, or maybe gouged their eyes out before gnashing at their throats with his teeth.
Wheeler knelt down in front of my panther and gripped both sides of her face. She trusted him—she lapped his chin with her rough tongue.
Wheeler suddenly raised his hand and slapped her in the face. He did it again, and then punched her in the mouth before sitting back with his arms spread wide and his eyes looking upward, accepting his fate.
Nooo! I mentally screamed.
She growled ferociously, and before I lost consciousness, I forced myself to shift, falling over him. “No, no. Don’t you dare do this to me!”
The murmurs in the crowd became loud and argumentative.
“Goddammit, Naya! Shift back!”
“Not if it means this. You can’t choose me over you!”
He softly touched my hair with his hands. “Who else can I choose? There is only you and me, and I will always choose you.”
“Turn on the strobe!” someone shouted. “I paid good money for a fight.”
“Listen to me, Naya. There’s no way out of this. I’m going to make this easy for both of us.”
Hot tears streamed down my face. “Don’t you dare give up on me,” I said angrily.
He laughed. “You want me to fight you? Only my wolf will do it, because I’ll never lay a goddamn hand on you.”
“You have a family. You can’t do this to them.”
“Are you saying my life is worth more than yours?” He shook his head. “Are we really fighting over who lives and who dies? Naya, let me do this. It’ll be the only noble thing I’ve ever done in my worthless life.”