The interlude by the platform in the woods suddenly made a lot more sense. “Bessemer has named me an aspirant.” Graeson didn’t dispute the assessment. “That’s what Imogen meant. She’s going to challenge me, and when I lose, she’s going to claim you as her mate because she’s a high-ranking pack member.”

“That’s her plan.”

He sounded so calm about it while I wanted to poke Imogen in the eye. “You’re okay with that?”

“No.” Emotions cascaded over his face too quickly for me to parse. “I’m also not okay with you getting hurt. This isn’t your culture. These aren’t your laws. I won’t allow you to be punished to assuage Bessemer’s pride.”

I linked my hands in my lap. “You sound certain I would lose.”

The lack of faith shouldn’t have bothered me, not when I doubted I could win a fight against a mature warg female frothing to mate with the next best thing to an alpha, but he deserved better. Bessemer clearly prized viciousness and mean-spiritedness in women. That kind of mate would break Graeson. He was strong but emotionally raw. Saddling him with a woman who would pick him apart piece by piece in this stage of his healing process was a mistake. It wouldn’t take long for her to get through the meat to the bone.

He cocked his head, lips twitching. “You sound ready to fight.”

I didn’t dignify that with a response. “How do I get disqualified?”

“You throw a match.” His gaze dipped. “The winner claims her prize and you walk away.”

“Just like that.” A lifetime commitment cemented in blood.

“Just like that,” he agreed.

“That’s why you went home with Imogen.” It all clicked into place. No wonder Dell had sounded so grim. It wasn’t what he had done, but what he planned to do. “You think she’s most likely to win, the one people will expect to win, and you made a deal with her.”

“This isn’t your fight, Ellis.” He swept out a hand, indicating his home or the state or the pack. “You don’t want this.” He brought that same hand to his chest and thumped it. “Or this.”

In typical Graeson style, he didn’t ask my opinion. He assumed, because he had decided it was best for me, that I didn’t want him when even I didn’t know if I did. His instincts told him once that I belonged to him. What did that mean? I wasn’t a warg. I knew the lifemate bond wasn’t possible. But for him to give up on pursuing me in the span of a few days… It stung my pride.