Free NocC 018 - Kristin Miller - Forbidden by Fate - Harlequin 2012-07 by Nocturne

air. Damon wouldn’t say a thing to his queen. He would fight…because that’s what he’d been prepped to do. After seeing the way he fought and killed Gordon—with such confidence and brute strength—Sasha knew he’d grown into a warrior, through and through.

    And warriors didn’t yield. She both admired and hated Damon at this very moment.

    If she couldn’t convince Kenyon to stand down, he’d send the strongest Were in their pack to fight Damon. And just because she couldn’t promise Damon a life together didn’t mean she wanted to see him fighting to the death with one of her packmates.

    “I understand your reasons, Father.” She met his onyx eyes and suppressed a shiver. It was like pleading to Death himself. “But I have mine as well. Reconsider the fight.”

    He studied her face and the crumpled lines in her clothes. “Of what reasons do you speak?”

    Lying through her teeth, she said, “I fear for our fighter’s life.”

    “You have our pack’s interest at heart?” He raised a brow and snapped for a guard to open the side door leading into the antechamber. “How is it possible that still, even now, you’ve learned nothing about being Alpha? You disappoint me.”

    The largest Were Sasha had ever seen entered the den, ducking beneath the door’s threshold. Even though he was fully clothed in leather, Sasha could tell he was a solid wall of muscle turned steel. He had gray-blue hair, a splotchy beard and coal-black eyes that seemed to burn through her. Well over eight feet tall, the beast had a lumbering stride and clenched fists that brushed his knees.

    “You don’t lead our pack by fearing for their survival.” Kenyon, a massive Were in his own right, strode beside the warrior. Although Kenyon seemed to blend into his shadow, he still exuded the air of a natural, unchallenged leader. “You lead by showing no fear at all. I’d like you to meet Bludge.”

    Bludge?

    Wait…Sasha had heard of him before. In fact, she’d met him during negotiation over the eastern end of Were Mountain a few years back. The falls had belonged to the Merfolk back then. Kenyon had used Bludge as a bargaining chip, intimidating the Merfolk into unfair terms.

    Bludge smiled, revealing a mouthful of silver and gold, and stretched out his hand.

    Sasha didn’t take it. How could she, when she could barely speak through the shock pummeling her system? This monster was the warrior who’d fight Damon?

    Damon was stronger and faster than she could’ve ever imagined, but who was she kidding? He didn’t stand a chance.

    There was only one way out now. One way to save Damon’s life. Sasha looked to her father, feigning confidence she didn’t have. “If this is the Were you’ve chosen to fight for the hot springs, say goodbye to him now.”

    Bludge flinched at the words as if she’d struck him, but her father held his ground, leveling her with an eerie blank stare. “Calm down, Bludge. She may be young and stupid, but she’s learning.”

    Damn the mind-chatter. Would she ever be able to hear their thoughts and command their actions? Would the position of Alpha grant her that?

    “Bludge has never lost a fight, Sasha. He’s a living, breathing war machine, bred for a moment like this, when we can call upon him to uphold our honor. He won’t let us down.”

    “He will.” Sasha willed her legs to move, one foot in front of the other, then perched on the edge of the leather back chair in front of the room. “He won’t stand a chance against the Draco they’ve chosen.”

    Her father’s gaze flared as it set upon hers. “How would you know which Draco they’ve chosen to fight?”

    She chose her words carefully. “I saw a warrior, one of the largest Dracos I’ve ever seen, kill Gordon with a single swipe of his wing.”

    “You lie.” But even as he spoke the words, he snapped to a guard and pointed down the hall. The guard was gone. Going to check Gordon’s whereabouts, no doubt. They