My heartbeat slammed into a harder, faster rhythm. Primal. Hungry. Absolute. I had the sudden, nearly uncontrollable urge to vault over the seats, storm down there, wrap her in my arms, and never let go.
I crushed my grip on the metal seat until it bent, forcing myself to stay put. She shrugged off her jacket, handed it to the manbeside her, and turned back to the crowd, arms thrown wide as they roared for her.
She motioned to the announcer, who threw her his mic, then her voice, light, teasing, slid into every corner of the room.
“As you all know, I’m Nova Rossey, the current head of the Rossey clan.”
The name snagged in my mind, followed by a flash of her file, the grainy photo I’d seen at my desk. I’d always stayed out of supe business, but after becoming a cop, the Syndicate’s reach became impossible to ignore, along with the Rossey clan’s role in it.
The crowd erupted at her introduction. She leaned against the ring wall, that hundred-watt smile making the beast inside me salivate. I clenched my jaw.
“Now, I see a couple new faces…” She shielded her eyes, scanning the crowd. Her gaze caught mine for a heartbeat, and my wolf threw himself against my skull, begging to see her, talk to her, shift with her.
No. Not happening.I locked him down. I was in control.
“So, I'll explain,” she continued. “The last fight is usually for the best-known fighters, but here? The last fight is for anyone who wants a shot at leading the Rossey clan.” Her smile sharpened into something dangerous. “You just have to get throughmeto take it.”
She whirled around to point at a mountain of a man vaulting into the ring. He glared at her like he was already planning to rip her apart. He was three times her size—illegal, if there were anyjustice in the laws of physics. Even if she was fit and skilled, this guy could snap her in half.
Big wolf. Protect mate.
For once, I agreed with the intruder inside of me.
She was toned in all the right places, her crop top revealing sculpted abs and taut arms. That grin—cocky, playful—made me want in on the joke. Made me want to be in other places.
Wait. She’s a supe. What the hell am I thinking?
“I’ve accepted a challenge from little old Smitty here,” she told the crowd, jerking a thumb at him before pointing outward. “And all of you are witnesses.”
She tossed the mic back to the announcer, cracked her neck, and nodded.
“Alllll riiiigggghhht! On the count of three, the fight begins!”
Panic prickled up my chest as she started swinging her arms loose.
“One!”
The beast paced inside me, back and forth, eyes locked on her.
“Two!”
Her opponent didn’t move, just glared at her with laser-focused hatred.
“Three!”
The first moments were chaos. Both of them shifted in a blink, lunging at each other like missiles. The collision was all teethand claws. The impact was so hard I could feel a gentle breeze all the way up here.
He became a hulking, black-furred monstrosity, night given form. She was his opposite, pristine moonlight-white fur that was so soft-looking I wanted to know what it felt like under my hands.
In a flash, a splash of crimson slashed across that perfect white fur, and the beast inside me locked up in fear. Then, like a dam bursting, his thoughts flooded into mine. He wanted to take control, rip out the black wolf’s throat, and lay it at her feet as an offering. A plea. Asee-me-choose-megesture to win our mate.
I shook him off and forced him back down, telling him we needed to watch the fight rather than daydream.
As the fight carried on, I realized the black wolf had the size, but her smaller frame gave her speed. She didn’t charge head-on. She went for pain points, darting in and out. Smart. It made me think she just might keep her position, though I still couldn’t figure out why she’d risk it at all. Especially for a woman, it seemed needlessly dangerous.
One second, they were trading blows, her white wolf raking his belly before spinning out of reach, but the next, his stance shifted. Something was coming.
He swiped short with one claw, baiting her, and when she dodged, his other came down fast. She twisted and rolled, avoiding massive damage, but his claws clipped her leg. She turned to hide the injury from him, but that was all it took, just a second, for him to pounce.
