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“What if I don’t volunteer?” I ask.

He licks his lips as he watches me. “Volunteering doesn’t guarantee entry into the games. You also need to be nominated.”

Shit. I do?

“And you intend to nominate me?” I ask.

He shrugs. “If you want me to. But you still need to choose.”

“Choose what?” I ask, finding myself leaning closer to him.

He seems to memorize the curve of my lips, then he matches my gaze. “You must decide who will stand by you during the Monster Games. Who will be your protector and, ultimately, your mate.”

“So you mean I get to decide who is qualified?”

He grins. “Yes.”

“And you think you meet those qualifications? I’m human. My own family didn’t even want me. I have a… a birth defect.”

I don’t know why I’m telling him all this. But we’re still linked. He needs to know that it would be better to find a way to sever our link than to give him unrealistic expectations. We’ll both die if he thinks I can survive with just one mate.

Ze’ev at least seems to understand how much support I actually need.

Or maybe he’s just psychotic, like Godric said.

Arwan closes the distance between us until his lips hover over mine. I don’t dare breathe. “I know,” he says simply. His kiss is brief, comforting, and leaves me aching for more when he leans away and settles himself again. Then he closes his eyes.

Stupid royal and his flirtatious games.

Sighing, I glance out over the treetops, and the image of Ze’ev smiling between my legs makes my heart skip a beat.

A wave of heat rushes over me, making me dizzy.

Ze’ev had assisted with these side effects that threatened to melt me from the inside.

And Godric had watched.

As I try to add Arwan into that mix, I can’t picture it.

Both of them had accepted the other because I needed them.

I doubt either of them will accept Arwan.

Much less Arwan accepting either of them. He thinks far too highly of himself.

He thinks far too highly of me.

“You’re special,” the vampire hybrid whispers as he leans in closer to me. I don’t move as his lips graze my shoulder.

“So I’ve heard,” I say.

I’m not so sure about that right now.

“You don’t think so?” he asks.

My brows pinch together before I finally turn to face him.

Arwan is incredibly beautiful. He steals my breath away with his mere presence.