The crowd of mostly men chuckled, murmurs of how they “gave it” to their girls at home echoing down the line. The few women in the room rolled their eyes in unison, used to the idiot talk. Men’s egos were so damn fragile.
Thinking he could get the drop on me with my back turned, Benson sped forward, going for a right hook. My wolf’s senses skyrocketed as I felt the air around me move.
I leaned back, grabbed his extended arm right in front of me, and threw him to the other side of the cage. He bounced off the titanium chains and landed on the mat with a thud.
Turning back to Gideon, I pointed at him, warning, “I’m gonna tell Shera you said that… in front of all these people.”
His face turned white as a sheet, and he mouthed, ‘You wouldn’t.’
Lucy covered her mouth as she giggled, and I winked at her. I wasabsolutelygoing to call Shera after this. He was one hundred percent dead by the time he got home.
I was too busy gloating to notice young Benny boy had gotten up and was now coming at me by faking a left hook while switchingto a right kick. As soon as my back bent to dodge the kick, he was on me, using his body weight to take me down. It was inevitable.
So, instead of fighting it, I went with it, going down but throwing my left arm behind his neck, looping it back beneath his chin with a firm grip, and throwing my body weight to that side so I landed on my knees with him secured in the headlock.
Circling my right arm around to my left wrist, I pulled with my right to choke him out harder. As a vampire, he couldn’t die from asphyxiation, but it was still unpleasant and frightening to feel like you were choking to death.
He gave it his best shot, wiggling around, trying to throw his body left and right, but all he did was put more strain on his neck, which equaled more pain. I hunkered down, keeping my center of gravity planted, and watched his face turn blue.
Clawing at my arms, trying to kick me or punch me didn't work, and he ended up tiring himself out. When he finally tapped out, I let go and stood up with my hands high. The crowd went wild.
Roars of cheers filled the space. It's not that I took a lot of pleasure in taking down a young buck like this, but there was always going to be one like this in the new recruits, and I liked to establish dominance early. They needed to know I was confident I could beat them all. If they didn’t, they would smell blood in the water and think they could come for me. There was always someone who thought they could steal the top-dog spot with just brawn on their side.
I looked down at the mat to see Benson gasping for air like a fish out of water, crawling, his fingers gripping the mat. Defeat and disappointment clouded his eyes, so I crouched down.
“Hey. Know that when you come at me fast, I can feel the wind shift, so save those quick punches for up-close shots—stuff the others can’t get away from. When you want to be sneaky, go slow. Catch them off guard by doing the opposite of what they think you’ll do. Kay?”
I watched the depression in his eyes melt, a renewed sense of vigor taking over. Biting his lip, he nodded his head. Giving him my hand, I hoisted him back up and shook it before turning to the rest.
“Anyone else?”
Most of the ones chomping at the bit sealed their lips and looked away, suddenly hoping I didn’t remember how eager they’d been to take me on earlier.
“I will.”
My smile froze as I looked into a set of sharp golden eyes glinting beneath the lights. His lips were pressed into a frown.
Nick. The turned wolf I’d bet on.
Heat flared across my wrist, a dangerous pulse I ignored as I straightened, watching that large frame stalk toward me. My eyes devoured him before I could stop myself, tracing the shift of his shirt over the grooves of his stomach. I didn’t need to touch him to know those abs would be hard enough to dig my fingers into.
Nova, girl, keep your shit together. Be strong. He means nothing.
My wolf stirred restlessly in my chest, bringing with it unease, confusion, and hunger. She wrestled with the emotions as Ishoved them down, locking them up tight. At least until I was done wiping the mat with him.
Schooling my features, I let a cocky grin curl across my face as I cocked my hip. “Come on up, then. I’ve always got time to show you all who’s the boss and why.”
He prowled forward, golden eyes locked on mine, and warmth spread from my left arm through the rest of my body. My breathing turned shallow, betraying me, as he opened the cage door and stepped inside.
“Do we just start whenever?” His voice was a low growl, threaded with anger.
I arched a brow.What the hell did I do to piss him off?I’d helped him get here, fought for him, even. Hime never would’ve given a turned wolf a chance like this without me pushing for it. He fucking owed me.
The more that thought circled, the hotter my blood ran, rage burning away those flickers of attraction. This wasn’t flirtation. This was war.
“Go whenever you feel like it, pumpkin. It’s no swe?—”
His fist flew, a solid right hook, but I slid aside with ease, my counter kick snapping into his side.
