The Alpha Gladiator

Evernight
Publishing ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright©
2015 Beth D. Carter

 
ISBN: 978-1-77233-432-6

Cover
Artist: Jay
Aheer

Editor:
Melissa
Hosack

ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

WARNING:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is
illegal.
 
No part of this book may be
used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This
is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

Big thanks to CR Moss and everyone at
Evernight
.

For Jeff, who is the unknown
Gladiator.

THE ALPHA GLADIATOR

Warriors
of the Arena, 1

Beth D. Carter

Copyright © 2015

Chapter One

A bonfire burned brightly under the
full moon
.
Its flames extended so high they set the night sky ablaze.
 
Ravage walked the perimeter of the clearing
where his people danced to honor the gods.
 
It was mating season, and he circled the young males and females who all
vied to capture one another’s attention.
 
His people called it the Thunder Moon, one that usually gave them inhuman
strength, but now roused them into a frenzied sexual need.
 
 
Ensuring the peace between the males as they
sniffed for their mates happened to be his duty as Alpha.

About fifty yards away sat another
bonfire, tended by the elder generations, those who already had mates, or those
who decided not to mate at all.
 
For them
it was a night of celebration, of gathering together in song and praise to
their ancestors and traditions.
 

Across
the way on the other side of the bonfire, Aleirah strolled along, keeping an
eye on people. Her long dark hair caught the glow from the bonfire and swung
with a blue gleam.
 
His cock hardened
with interest.
 
He wanted Aleirah, but so
far, she had rejected all his attempts at courting.
 
He had known his whole life that Aleirah was
destined to be his, just as he had known from a tender age that he would
someday be Alpha.
 
It was an innate
awareness beyond comprehension, a primitive call to be leader.
 
Alphas were bigger, tougher, and more dominant
than other Lycans and once he had reached maturity, his body had finally caught
up with the power he’d been born with, filling out with muscle and strength.
 
Ravage had risen quickly through the military
ranks until the old Alpha recognized who Ravage was meant to be.
 
Then he declared they fight in the Dominance
Battle, although Ravage had been reluctant to fight someone so old.
 
Still, it was the only way to become Alpha,
so he’d fought and won.
 
It had been the
last time he killed a man.
 

One day, the same would happen to
him, when the next Alpha rose to power.

Aleirah
’s laugh
trickled over the distance, bringing him out of his dark thoughts, and he smiled.
 
She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she
talked with another female, animated as she constantly moved.
 
 
She
was dressed in traditional garments of animal skin, which clung seductively to
her curves, and the wolf in him wanted to tear her clothes off with his teeth. But
then, this desire raging through him was nothing new. The first moment he’d
laid eyes on Aleirah, the need to be with her almost overwhelmed him.
 
He had been ten and she’d been seven and at
the time didn’t understand what his heart was telling
him.
 
So he
’d waited for
her to join the mating ceremony so he could claim her, but she had yet to take
part in the ceremony herself.

“
You can
’t take your eyes off her,” his beta, Fray, said wryly.
 
“Just go to her.”

“If
you haven’t noticed, I am monitoring the sex crazed youngsters,” Ravage said,
flicking a finger around the gyrating dancers.

“You
make it sound like you’re ancient
,
” Fray said.

Ravage snorted.
 
“Sometimes I feel ancient.”

“I’ll
keep an eye open,” Fray said.
 
“My mate
is sick so I won’t be participating in any pleasures of the flesh this
night.
 
You might as well go have fun.”

“Fun?
 
So far that girl has rejected me at every turn.”

“So what?
 
You
just going
to give up?”
 
Fray shook his head.
 
“That doesn’t sound like the Alpha I know.”

Ravage gave a wry smile.
 
He slapped Fray good-naturedly on the back
and turned over his chaperoning duties to his beta and friend, making a beeline
straight for Aleirah. She was tall for a woman, standing almost to his
shoulders, and her toned body made him salivate for a taste of her satiny
flesh.
 
He could picture licking her
until she squirmed under him, moaning his name and tugging his hair as he made
a feast of her succulent pussy.
 

“Alpha.”
She greeted him demurely, bowing her
head to show respect.
 

“
Aleirah,
” he acknowledged.
 
He pointed behind him.
 
“When will
you join the revelers at that bonfire?”

She peeked up toward the area where
the mating ceremony had turned into a stalking rite of passage.
 
The males would hunt the female that had
caught their scent, and in turn, she would run away.
 
If she was caught, truthfully if she
wanted
to be caught,
then the male would bite her and claim her.
 
If she got away, she was free to enter the ceremony the next year.
 

“I
have no wish to be mated right now,” she said.

He narrowed his eyes as he studied
her in the blazing firelight.
 
“You have been
saying that for the past ten years.”

“I’m
not sure if being a mate is where I see my life heading,” she said, a hint of
defiance in her tone.
 

He
decided to switch topics, show her a different reason of why she’d be a
terrific mate for him.
 
A strong Alpha
would need a strong mate.

“You
help take care of the elderly, do you not?” he asked.
 

She blinked and then nodded.
 
“Ah, yes.
 
I take care of patients with dementia.”

“That
is a sad way of life for a wolf to go,” he said.

“Yes,”
she agreed.
 
“My grandmother had it.”

“I
remember.”
 
He looked around.
 
“You are a compassionate woman.
 
Caring and kind.
 
You would make me a great mate.”

Her mouth dropped open
. “Excuse me?”

“A mate.
 
I have been waiting for you to enter the mating ceremony for ten years,
Aleirah.
 
Surly you knew that?”

She shook her head.
 
“No.
 
I … ah …
no.
 
I don
’t think I would
make a very good mate for an Alpha.”

“Why
would you think that?” he asked, a bit vexed.
 
Ravage was fast learning she could be a little stubborn.

“I’m…”
She paused and cleared her throat.
 
“
I just don
’t think I would.”

“I
beg to differ, and I hope you allow me to change your mind.”
 
He stepped closer to her and her breath
hitched in her throat.
 
He tilted her
face up and her mouth dropped open on a breathless little sigh.
 
The he offered her his elbow.
 
“Would you take a walk with me through the
night?”

She bit her bottom lip with her top
teeth, and the
action
had an interesting effect on his dick, which jumped to attention.
 
Ravage could just imagine her sinking her
teeth into his shoulder as he thrust into her beautiful body.
 
Hesitantly, she took his arm and as soon as
she touched him, he placed his hand on top of hers, trapping her by his
side.
 
Now that he had her, he wasn’t
about to let her get away.

He pulled her away from both
bonfires, into the woods, letting the darkness shroud them.
 
Sometimes it was easier to let go of secrets
and fears when the other person
was cloaked in shadow.
 
The night had always been a friend of the
Lycanis people, so Ravage used the moon to his advantage.

“I
remember you from when we were children,” he murmured.
 

“I
remember you too,” she said softly.

He grinned, pleased with her answer.
 
She may deny that she wanted to be his mate,
but the pheromones coming off her body indicated otherwise.
 
Aleirah found him desirable.
 
Whether or not she wanted to be his mate, her
body had already begun changing to accept his claiming bite.
 
Now, he just had to get her to admit it, and
he wasn
’t
above using seduction on his part.

He halted her by a big tree and
pulled her around to face him.
 
He tilted
her face up.
 
Even though he couldn
’t see her in
the absolute darkness under the branches, he traced her face with his
fingertips.
 
Her breath hitched. A heady
aroma wafted from her, not a true scent but one layered under the pheromones.
Her arousal had spiked. He pressed his cock between her thighs to let her feel
how hard she made him.
 

“
Aleirah,
” he whispered, a moment before he bent his head and
captured her lips with his. One hand came up to hold her immobile while the
other swept around her waist to pull her close to his chest. Ravage slid his
tongue into her mouth to twine with hers, jolting a salacious moan from
her.
 
She tasted like ambrosia, addictive
and sweet.
 
When he broke the kiss, they
were both panting.

“I
want you,” he managed to say, although it was difficult to talk when his wolf
clamored to take over.
 

“Yes.”
She gasped and pulled his head back to hers.

He kissed her again, or
rather,
she took over and devoured his lips in a kiss that
had him aching.
 

“I
want you to be mine,” he said when they broke apart for air.
 
He pressed little kisses on her throat.
 
“I want to claim you.”

“No,”
she panted.
 
“You can have every part of
me, except that of calling me mate.”

He
shook his head.
 
“
I don
’t want you for
one night, Aleirah.”

“I
know,” she said.
 
“I will be yours.
 
Just not your mate.”

“That’s
not—”

“Take
it or leave me, Ravage,” she said insistently.
 
She traced a fingertip over the planes of his face.
 
“I have wanted you a long time too, but I’m
not the right mate for an Alpha.
 
Will
you accept me as I wish?
 
Without questions?”

Ravage didn
’t like it one
bit.
 
He wanted all of her, body and
soul, with his brand upon her skin and his scent mixed with hers.
 
But Lycanis never forced women, so he would
have to be content with what she gave him until he could convince her
otherwise.

“I
will accept for now,” he said.
 
He cupped
her mound over the animal skin pants.
 
“But this pussy is mine, you hear me?
 
No other will be allowed to touch you.
 
I will have this pussy whenever I want it, however I want it.
 
It will only know my cock.
 
That is
my
condition.”

 
Slowly, she nodded her agreement.
 

With a surge of relief and
excitement, he bent his head to claim her lips again.
 
He sensed she was still a maiden, untouched
by any other male, and the knowledge of her innocence went straight to his
head.
 
Ravage might be able to take
things slow, ease her into how he liked to fuck, but he’d wanted her for so
long that he couldn’t hold back his desire.
 

“I
want you so much, Aleirah, and I’ll try to be as gentle as possible, but Gods,
woman, you make me so fucking hard,” he murmured against the curve of her
shoulder.
 

“Ravage,
I’ve never…”

“I
know,” he said when her words died away.
 
“I’m not a virgin, although I’ve never spilt my seed inside a
woman.
 
That is reserved for a mate.
 
But I do know what I’m doing, so I promise to
try not to hurt you.”