Chapter Five
As the stringent aroma of smelling salts hit his sensitive nose, Brock swatted at the hand that held them. God, that shit stank.
It took him a second to find his bearings. It didn’t take long to realize he was lying on the cold cement floor of the fighting ring.
He pried his eyes open to discover the Hot Fur medic standing over him.
“You okay?” The medic quirked an eyebrow.
Brock cupped his nuts to make sure they hadn’t been kicked up into his throat. Feeling the familiar weight of his balls, he gave the guy a nod.
“Where’s the motherfucker I was fighting?”
The medic stepped to the side so Brock could see the lion shifter strut around the arena, hands held up in celebration. Well, Brock had news for the bastard. He wasn’t done, not yet.
Hopping to his feet lightning fast, he shoved the medic aside and stormed toward the lion shifter so fast the other man didn’t even see him coming. Fist already balled up and pulled back, he waited for the cat to turn. The second the lion shifter spied Brock, his eyes went wide, but the feline didn’t have a chance to do anything more.
Brock snapped his fist forward in a blur of motion and punched the lion shifter in the throat.
His opponent garbled in surprise, grabbing his throat while he bent over and wheezed.
Brock didn’t even feel bad about knocking the wind out of the motherfucker. He figured one dirty move deserved another, so the guy had it coming.
Sucking wind didn’t stop the cocky lion shifter from flipping Brock the bird as he gasped for air.
The crowd roared at Brock’s comeback. However, he didn’t stick around to savor the win. As far as he was concerned, it was a tie. Not to mention he had more important things to do. Like track down the delectable, seductive as hell scent of his mate.
Yeah, that kick to his nuts had knocked him out, but it hadn’t erased the memory of her sweet scent. Nor had it touched the craving his wolf had to lay claim.
Leaving the arena, Brock pushed past the crowd as he scented the air, desperate to find that aroma once again. His heart beat like a drum on steroids, and desperation rose inside him. She had to still be here!
Moving quickly through the crowd, he made his way up the stairs to the main floor. That was where he caught her scent again. That sweet, floral aroma of jasmine mixed with the warm musk of vanilla teased his senses. He followed the trail to the bar and didn’t stop chasing it until he stood behind one very lush and curvy woman.
She had a gorgeous hourglass figure; long, red hair that fell halfway down her back; and the creamiest skin he had ever seen.
His wolf raged in his mind, desperate to be let out to meet their mate. It took everything inside him to keep the beast caged for a little while longer.
He promised the wolf plenty of time with her as soon as they got her away from Hot Fur. Some place quiet and private where they could take their time mating her.
It wasn’t until he closed the space between them and placed his arms on the bar on either side of her, effectively locking her in his embrace, that she stiffened with the knowledge that someone was behind her.
Brock’s wolf was not happy that their mate hadn’t sensed them before that moment, but he calmed the beast with a reminder that he could teach her how to be more aware of her surroundings. Right now, he had to concentrate on fighting the urge to throw her over his shoulder and race out of the club.
Muscles locked, internal war waging between him and his wolf, Brock just stood there for a second, breathing in his mate’s scent. He tried to calm down as he watched the back of her head, as she slowly turned to look at him from over her shoulder.
He could smell that she wasn’t a shifter, but he knew she had to be something other. Hot Fur didn’t allow humans in the club. What was she, then? She didn’t carry the scent of sulfur like demons, and he could hear her heartbeat increase, which meant she wasn’t a vamp.
That left witch.
He had never considered having a witch for a mate, but now that he had finally found her, he didn’t give a fuck. She was his, she was here, and he finally had the one person he had been looking for, for what seemed like forever.
When her gorgeous jade green eyes hit his blues, he was done for. Logic was lost, reasoning was a thing of the past, and his wolf howled at him to claim her. Now.
She furrowed her brow in confusion, and then raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to speak.
“Can I help you?” she finally asked in a sweet voice when he didn’t do anything but stand there like an idiot.
Brock hadn’t figured out how to talk yet. He was torn between the growing need to shift and cover her in his scent, or grab her and run off to claim her. He fought a losing battle against his wolf.
The challenging look his mate gave him turned him the fuck on. With the way he felt, with the lust that rode him, he ached for her to challenge him in bed, where they could battle for dominance in the best of ways.
There was only one thing that came to his mind, though, as he stared at the face of an angel and wondered if he had died and gone to heaven.
“Mine.”