“We’re going to do like a grand reveal. Put you in a new outfit, do your makeup, and all that.”
“Ava, I’m going to a fight.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh, I forgot about that.”
Now my eyes widen. “You forgot? What time is it? Am I going to miss it?”
I start to get out of my chair, but she stops me again. “No, wait. I’ll check.” She picks up her phone once she finds it. “What time is your fight?”
“Noon.”
“Oh, well, at least you’ll make an entrance.”
I’m out of the seat in a flash. “I’m not making an entrance. What time is it?”
She cringes. “Five til. It’s a good thing you’re a vampire,” she calls out behind me.
I yank open the drawer and pull out a pair of athletic, loose pants, and throw on a sports bra and the first t-shirt I can find that I think I’ll be able to move in. In seconds, I’m wearing socks and sneakers, and my new dark hair—that I haven’t even seenyet—is in a tight braid. “Thanks, Ava!” And then I’m out the front door. I flash over to the fight area. I’m glad Hunter told me last night where it would be. If it was going to be sunny, they were going to hold the fight inside. But the weather cooperated. There’s a small group gathered, and I’m grateful it’s not more. I slow down right as I get there and make my way over to a certain tall, dark-haired guy.
“Nice of you to show,” Hunter rumbles next to me.
I ignore him and take in the circle as my mind races through what I need to do to stay inside the circle. I’m not sure if that’s one of the rules, but I’ve fought that way many a time. I take off my sneakers and socks and take a breath and steady myself. I’m a little unnerved at being late, but I push all that aside. I need complete focus now. Hunter steps into the circle, and Alicia steps in next to him. When I don’t move, he looks at me and raises an eyebrow. I scowl at him and make my way over to them.
“Vamp, I thought you got smart and decided not to come,” Alicia says. I ignore her and look at Hunter.
“First person to make three points wins, unless somebody taps out first. A point is earned by getting your opponent to step out of the ring, by landing a blow, or by a takedown. You both understand?”
I nod, kind of surprised. I figured it would be a fight to first blood. That’s how the vampires always fought. I’ll have to be careful to not let her land any blows on me. Sometimes, I take a blow when I know it can set me up for a good move. I won’t be able to do that now. Hunter moves out of the circle, and I watch Alicia.
“Begin,” Hunter calls out.
Alicia doesn’t wait. She attacks, and I dodge her blows. She’s fast, but I’m so much faster. After fighting with vamps, her moves feel so slow, I can anticipate what she’s going to do almostbefore she does. I let her go at me for a little bit, and then I attack. I explode off the balls of my feet and fake a right hook before sweeping my leg out and taking both her legs out from under her. She hits the ground, and I bounce back on the balls of my feet. She recovers quickly and jumps back up, but I can tell I got to her. I don’t leave any time for her to recover. I begin a quick series of punches and kicks, and she can barely dodge them. She steps out of the circle, and I win my second point. I can feel her anger and see it in her eyes. Her eyes light up, and I know her wolf has had it and is ready to come out and play. I keep my focus steady, knowing that she could shift to her wolf at any second. I can fight her wolf, but it will be more difficult and definitely more painful. I need to end this quickly before she shifts. If I had more time, I would play around with her and let her tire herself out before I made my last move. But I really don’t want to fight a wolf right now, so I go on the attack. I don’t hold anything back. She's down in seconds.
“Three points,” Hunter says. I walk over to her and put my hand out. She glares up at me but puts her hand out, and I pull her to her feet. I walk over to the side of the circle and put my sneakers and socks back on.
“Where’d you learn to fight like that?” I turn back. She hasn’t left the circle. I know if I tell her who taught me, it will just make her madder; so, I just shrug. “It was the vampires, wasn’t it?”
I meet her gaze and don’t sense any hostility from her, at least not right now. “Yes.”
She stares me down, hands on her hips. “Good fight, Vamp.”
“Thanks. You too, Wolf.”
She scoffs but doesn’t say anything more. A few wolves congratulate me, but most of them just step away from me. I start towards Hunter, and I feel him fall into step next to me. He doesn’t speak until we’re back at the house. “Was it the hair?”
I glance up at him in surprise. “What?”
He nods at my hair. “The hair change. Was that what made you win?”
I snort. “Sure.”
He doesn’t say anything, but when I glance up at him, there’s a small smirk on his face. We head inside, and he walks into the kitchen and opens the fridge. I’m just about to head back to my room, but he turns and tosses a blood bag at me. I catch it midair, surprised. “Thanks.”
“Do you need double because of your run as well as the fight?”
“Uh, no. I’m good. Thanks.”
I don’t tell him that I almost always feel hungry. I’ve gotten used to it, of course. But it’s always there, taunting me. The vampires told me it’s because I drink blood out of a bag and not fresh. If that’s the case, then I’ll stay semi-hungry the rest of my life because I’m not ever changing. I down the blood on the way back to my room, bury it in the trash can, and wash my hands with hot soap and water. I almost head back into the kitchen to ask Hunter if he knows anything about the missing blood bags, but I think better of it. He’ll probably just think I’m losing my mind. Once I’m back in my room, I head into the bathroom to pick up, but Ava beat me to it. I pull out my phone and shoot her a text, thanking her for picking up and for dying my hair. Since I’m already in the bathroom, I undo my braid and finger my dark black hair. It makes me look so different, and I find I really like it. I head out to my closet and drawers and start looking through the clothes that Ava and Bryce bought me. I have no idea what I’ll ever do to repay them, but as Hunter said, I can at least start by wearing them.
