I take in her words as Wyatt stands up and makes a dramatic exit from the ring, earning him some laughter. But when he raises his arms to the crowd, they cheer for him. He joins our group again. “Not a word, Rae,” he says when he passes Raechel.
“I wasn’t going to say a word about how you got your backside served to you,” she says with an evil cackle.
I turn my attention back to the ring, where Bryce and Liam, surprisingly, are squaring off. Ava leans forward, hands clenched in her lap. Raechel leans forward as well. “This ought to be a good one. They’re probably pretty evenly matched, but Liam has the edge simply because he fights here all the time.” She ends up being right. Liam does win, but it's not an easy victory. Bryce holds him off for a long time, earning my respect. I knew he was a good fighter, and I would imagine Liam, being beta, is one of the best.
I look over and see Hunter standing near the ring and wonder who he’s going to face. But Liam’s voice over the sound system catches my attention. “Our second-to-last fight of the night is going to be a fun match-up with one of our own, Raechel, the Dark Angel, fighting against a visiting fighter from another pack. Pack, let’s welcome to the ring, Sherese, the Avenger.”
My eyebrows go up at that. Raechel shakes her head. “He has way too much fun making up names.” She turns to me. “Ready, Avenger?”
“Sure, Dark Angel,” I say dryly.
She grins. “Don’t knock it. That monicker did well for me in Chicago.”
I stand up and walk down the steps after her. “Well, we’re not in Chicago anymore, are we?”
Her smile widens. “Let’s do this.”
She walks over to Max and hugs and kisses him, and I make my way over to the ring. I take off my boots and jacket and am just about ready to step into the ring when a hand on my armstops me. I don’t have to even look to know who it is. Hunter stands next to me, intensity radiating from him. “You’ve got this.”
And just like that, confidence floods my system. I look up at him for just a moment. “Thanks, Hunter.” He pulls the ropes apart, and I climb through the opening between the top and bottom.
I walk over to the far side of the ring and watch as Raechel makes a grand entrance. She stops to take off her heels and her jacket. Then she pulls her hair into a ponytail, kisses Max, and waves at the crowd. Max pulls the ropes apart for her, and she steps into the ring. But when she faces me, all signs of the fun-loving girl from a few minutes ago are long gone. In its place is the intensity and confidence of a seasoned fighter. I stretch my neck and my arms and loosen up. I regret sitting for so long, but I can’t do anything about it now. I jump up and down, warming up my body and wait for Liam to call the fight. I don’t miss it when Garrett steps into the ring. I know he’s there to protect Raechel, and I don’t take it personally. I get it. Liam says a few more things that I tune out, and then he gives us the go-ahead.
I tune out the crowd and everything else except the fighter in front of me. I watch Raechel, and my mind runs a million miles a minute, computing what I see from her. I don’t have to wait long to see her fight. She comes towards me, swinging aggressively. I almost don’t duck far enough on her second punch. She dances on the balls of her feet, and I continue to clock every movement and let my vampire brain work overtime. I let her come at me once again and pay attention to every single detail, my brain clocking and storing everything, even as I evade her hits. She raises an eyebrow. “Are you going to fight or just cower in the corner?”
I know she’s trying to goad me into fighting, but I don’t let her. I just need a little more from her.Come on; come at me onemore time.She does, and I pay attention to her hip placement, her feet, her fists, every single detail. My brain clocks it faster than I can even take it in. And when I’ve got it all, I attack.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hunter
I stand a distance away from the ring. I’m as close to the ring as Garrett will allow. My eyes are glued to Sherese. I wasn’t lying when I told her she’s got this. She’s a good fighter. I’ve heard the rumors about Raechel, but Sherese is good. She’ll be okay. I keep my focus on her face, so I don’t see the rest of her body. I nearly had a heart attack earlier when I saw her walk in. She always looks good, but tonight is the first time I’ve seen her dressed like this. I have to admit, I’m a fan. A huge fan. She’s the sexiest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. I force those thoughts away and focus on the fight. I watch as Raechel goes on the attack, but Sherese doesn’t do anything more than evade Raechel’s hits. I know exactly what she’s doing. She did the same thing with me when I fought her the first time, but it doesn’t make me any less nervous, especially when she almost gets clocked in the face. I keep all emotion off my face and watch her every move. I'm starting to wonder if she’s panicking. Maybe she wasn’t ready for this, and it’s all too much. I take a step forward, ready to call it off. But then she makes her first move, and it’s a doozy. She goes on the offensive, and Raechel almost doesn’t defend herself in time. But she’s too good a fighter. She recovers quickly, and they go at it, trading blow for blow. I can’t look away for a second. I found myself taking it easy on her when we fought. I knew I needed to be hard on her to prepare her for her fight, but I just couldn’t. But watching her now...Man, she’s good. A sixth sense tells me the audience has gone quiet as well. They’re just as enthralled as I am.
The first round ends, and they both go to their corners. I walk over to Sherese’s corner. I don’t care what Garrett said. I’m not going to let her stand there by herself, alone in this room of shifters. But then something catches my attention. I hear Ava’s voice and tune into it over the noise of the crowd. “Come on, Sherese. Finish this! Put Raechel in her place!”
“You’ve got this!” I hear Wyatt’s mate call out.
“Let’s go, Sherese!” Maverick’s mate adds.
I don’t go any closer, but I watch Sherese. I don’t think she realizes at first that they’re cheering for her. It's not until Raechel turns to them and flips them all off that she finally realizes. I watch her and go still. A real smile appears on her face. It’s only there for a second, but it lights up her face. I feel gut-punched. I knew she was beautiful, but that smile is out of this world. I realize how in trouble I am. If she ever turns that smile on me, I’ll be eviscerated.
Liam calls round two, and Sherese explodes from her corner. The two of them go right back to trading blows, and it’s beautiful to watch. They're like two skilled, talented dancers. I realize the talk of Raechel’s skills wasn’t hyped. She's an incredible fighter, but so is my girl. The second round ends, and they separate once again. I watch Sherese carefully for signs of fatigue. I’m satisfied she’s good to go another round. The third round starts. They both fight as if it were the first round. I watch as the clock winds down; it’s going to end in a draw. But then Raechel goes on the offensive. Sherese dodges every hit and returns a few of her own. But one of them, she lands just a little off. Raechel sees it. I hear Max say something, and then Raechel does her signature move—a sweeping kick that knocks Sherese’s legs out from under her. Raechel pins her a second later. I hold my breath. I know Sherese could use her vampire strength to get out, but she doesn’t. She doesn’t move, and Liam calls it a moment later. The crowd cheers, but I tune it out. I watch Sherese and will her tostand up. When she doesn’t move, I start that way. Liam stands next to Raechel and holds her hand up, but my eyes are glued to the girl who still hasn’t gotten up. Liam must realize because he frowns and turns towards her, but I’m already there. I reach her and drop next to her. Her eyes meet mine, and I see how dark her eyes are. My breath catches in my lungs, and I don’t stop to think. I grab her hand and haul her to her feet. I wrap my arm around her side and pull her into me. Raechel turns, and the smile slips from her face. She starts towards us, but I give her a warning look. She doesn’t come any closer. I can feel the tremor that runs through Sherese’s body. “Come on. Let's get you out of here,” I say for her ears alone. Max holds the ropes for us, and we slip through. We don’t stop for her coat or her boots. She walks beside me, and for that, I’m grateful. Carrying her would invite a lot of questions, and that’s not something Garrett wants. “Just a little further,” I tell her quietly. She doesn’t say anything, and I speed up. She’s still walking next to me, but she’s definitely leaning on me.
We finally make it to a closed door, and I throw it open, not caring what room it is. I close and lock the door behind us, knowing it won’t keep out any shifters. But it will give us privacy for a few minutes, and that’s all we need. I pull a blood bag out of my pocket. I always keep one on me. I take off the top and hand it to her. “Drink.” She takes it with shaky hands and drains it in seconds. I curse myself for not having a second one on hand. “I can go back to the house and grab another one.”
She shakes her head but doesn’t say anything. Her head is lowered, and I can’t tell how she’s doing. I’m just about to leave to grab another one when she lifts her head. Her eyes aren’t as dark now. “I’m okay,” she finally says. She takes a deep breath. “Thank you. I'm sorry. I didn’t realize how depleted I got.”
“That was a long fight.”
“I should have been in better shape,” she says, still catching her breath.
“You did really well out there,” I tell her honestly.
Her eyes meet mine. “Really?”
Something hits me then. There were all those screaming fans out there, and yet she wanted to hear from me that she did a good job. “Yeah,” I tell her in a voice that’s gruffer than I intend. “You held up against the Dark Angel. Nobody in this pack has been able to.”
Her eyes brighten at that. “Yeah?”
