Chapter 531

Enzo

“Enzo…”

Nina straddled me, her long, dark hair falling like a curtain around us. We moved in tandem together, just as we had a thousand times before; she leaned down, pressing her warm, small hands into my chest, and began to trace gentle kisses along my jaw and neck.

I let out a soft moan and reached up to hold her slender hips in my hands, digging my fingers gently into her plush skin. She bucked her hips against me in return, her warm breath spraying across my neck as she whispered into my ear.

“Enzo… I love you…”

“I love you, Nina.”

My words were met with silence, and soon, I realized that there would be no response. The room was quiet and still, and when I opened my eyes, I remembered.

I wasn’t at home, in mountainview, with the moonlight shining over the ocean view. I was somewhere underground. Somewhere under a deep, endless mountain.

Mila’s palace.

But maybe…

I shot up to a seated position, my hand instinctively reaching out to the other side of the bed where Nina would normally be sleeping. But of course it was empty, the sheets cold and untouched.

Reality came crashing down on me like a tidal wave at that moment, and I knew for sure now that I wasn’t dreaming; this was my life now. Nina was gone, and she likely hated me after what I had done.

A lump formed in my throat as the memories flooded back. The look of heartbreak on her face when I told her it was over. The way her body crumpled to the floor as I severed our connection and rejected her as my mate.

And the shattering sound of her sobs echoing in my mind as I walked away, disappearing into the forest.

For a moment, I wanted nothing more than to go back home, to beg for her forgiveness and hold her in my arms again. She was my mate, my other half, my wife and the mother of my child, and without her, I felt like a piece of me was missing.

No, more than a piece. All of me. Nothing was left except for an empty shell.

But then the door opened, and Mila walked in, her presence like a breath of fresh air clearing the fog from my mind. She approached the bed, her fingers gently caressing my cheek.

“Good morning, my love,” she purred, sinking down onto the edge of the bed beside me. “Did you call out? Have a bad dream?”

Just like that, as she touched me, my doubts melted away. Of course I had made the right choice. Nina was my past, but Mila was my future. Mila was my one true mate. Nina had cheated on me, and that baby wasn’t mine.

“Morning,” I mumbled, leaning into her touch. “I did have a bad dream, but I feel better now.”

She smiled, her eyes sparkling with something I couldn’t quite place, not that it mattered. “Are you ready for what’s to come?” she asked. “We’re so close to our mating ceremony now, I can almost taste it.”

I nodded, setting my jaw hard with determination. “Whatever it takes,” I replied easily. “I’m ready to become your mate.”

“Good,” she said, her thumb tracing my jawline. “The preparations are almost complete. But there is something I must tell you… In order for the ritual to work, you must fight in the arena once more.”

My brow furrowed, and I felt a lump form in my throat at the mention of that wretched place. “The… The arena? But I thought the ritual—”

“Is far from complete,” she cut me off. “We need more power in order to ensure its success. One more sacrifice. It’s tradition, my dear.”

Something about her words sent a chill down my spine, but I pushed it aside. I trusted Mila, didn't I?

And yet, the memories of going back to that place still haunted me. I hated the idea of entering that arena again, of having to fight to the death once more. In fact, the very thought of it made me sick.

Somehow, though, an idea came to mind. Before, it had been so sudden and horrific; but maybe if I could meet my opponent first, get a feel for whoever I would be fighting, it wouldn’t be so bad.

Right?

“Alright,” I finally agreed, albeit hesitantly. “But first, I want to meet my opponent.”

Mila blinked at me in surprise for several long moments, clearly not having expected that suggestion. And at first, I thought she might refuse. But then, her perfectly sculpted lips curved into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Unconventional, but I’ll allow it,” she said cooly, standing and smoothing down her silken dress. “Get dressed. I’ll take you there now.”

…

Mila led me down a dimly lit corridor, the torches casting eerie reflections along the smooth and shiny obsidian walls. I walked behind her, my breaths the only sound filling the space aside from that of her silk skirts rustling.

Finally, we reached a heavy wooden door, and Mila pulled it open with ease. “After you,” she said, gesturing for me to walk in. I gave her a curt nod and walked past her to find a row of cells: silver bars lined each cell, much like the ones that I had been kept in back before I was a believer.

But this place was different. It was more dark, more dank, and the scent of warm musk filled the air.

As we walked between the cells, in which were huddled shapes that I could barely make out in the darkness, Mila wrinkled her nose. “I always hate it in here,” she complained. “It stinks.”

I didn’t say anything; not that there was anything that would come, even if I had tried. I was too stunned by the scene around me, by the huddled masses and quiet whimpers. It quickly became obvious to me that before, I had merely been in a holding cell.

This… This was a dungeon.

“Here we are,” Mila said calmly, gesturing to one larger cell at the end. “Your opponent.”

Swallowing, I stepped forward and peered in. And from that moment on, I knew that the sight that greeted me would be seared into my mind forever.

A massive black panther paced back and forth, towering over us. Its once-sleek black fur was now patchy and dirty, its claws long and sharp and yellowed.

But it was the eyes that really caught my attention—wild, feral, and greenish, with a hint of greenish foam gathering at the corners of its mouth. Just like the bear I had killed.

It hardly even seemed to notice our presence. It just paced, growling softly under its breath, too weak and hungry to even look at me.

“This… This is my opponent?” I breathed, taking an instinctive step back.

Mila’s slender fingers wrapped around my arm, holding me in place. “Of course,” she said with a soft chuckle. “What else did you expect?”

I swallowed, trying to keep my appearance calm. “Nothing, I just… Is he stuck like that?”

Her silence was enough of an answer.

“How… Why?” I murmured.

Mila sighed, as if explaining something to a child. “It happens, sometimes. And it makes for a better fight, of course.”

Bile rose in my throat at Mila’s words. A better fight. This shifter had lost his human form, and was nothing but a feral, rabid beast now. Maybe, by killing the bear before, I had done that poor man a service.

Maybe killing this panther would be a service, too.

But then, as I stood there watching the panther, it stopped its feral pacing. Slowly, it turned its head to look at me, its green-rimmed eyes unblinking as it took me in. And in that moment, somehow, I had a feeling.

That if I lost this fight, this would be my fate.