I’d seen enough fights break out in my life to know where this was going. Acting fast, I rushed towards them. Muzo wasn’t the brawling type, but he had the kind of whimsically clueless personality that pissed off hotheads looking to throw the first punch.
“Sorry, man,” Muzo said. “You’re so tall that I can’t see past you.”
As I got closer, I saw snow-white hair and heard a softer voice behind him. They belonged to Poppy, the arctic wolf shifter from season one.
Poppy’s voice trembled, just like the rest of him. “Muzo, don’t argue, let’s just go...”
“I’m not arguing!” Muzo argued. “I’m just tellin’ the truth. This guy’s huge, so he’s blocking my line of sight.”
The omega roared. “You calling me huge, pipsqueak?”
Muzo’s eyes widened as he realized the danger he was in. “W-wait, not like that!” he yelped.
Too late. The big omega drew back his arm—with a large, tight fist at the end of it.
My heart lurched. Muzo was so small that the force of the blow would knock his teeth out, if it didn’t knockhimout first.
Acting fast, I threw myself between them.
The man’s fist caught the side of my head. Pain shot out from my temple, dizzying me for a second. I stood my ground and tried to keep my legs steady.
Poppy gasped in fear behind me.
“Matteo!” Muzo cried out.
I saw stars and couldn’t speak, but I held up a hand to let them know I was okay.
“Dude, what the hell?” the man shouted. An angry vein popped in his forehead. “Why’d you get in my way?” His breath stank of booze, but it wasn’t being served in the lobby. The jerk must’ve snuck his own onto the island.
I shook off the addled sensation with a low groan. “Ever heard the saying, ‘pick on somebody your own size’?” I asked.
Shockingly, that didn’t calm his fury. He snarled at me. “Oh, likeyou?”
“No, I—”
My sentence was cut short as the man took another swing at me. This time I got clobbered on the opposite side of my face.
By now, everyone around us had noticed the fight. A few fellow jerks actually cheered—I suspectedtheywere boozed up, too—but most people shouted angrily at the perpetrator.
I swayed on my feet, then felt a pair of hands grabbing my arms to keep me upright. Poppy and Muzo had my back.
“Are you crazy?” Muzo demanded.
“Leave him alone!” Poppy said. His gentle voice was louder than I’d ever heard it, yet barely audible over the crowd. Still, it warmed my heart that he tried to protect me.
“It’s fine, you two,” I mumbled, but it came out less confident than I intended.
A sharp, ear-splitting whistle rang out. The crowd dispersed as two stocky, stoic-faced kobolds burst through. Their short stature didn’t stop them from looking intimidating.
“Violence is strictly forbidden,” one barked at the fist-swinging omega.
“And bringing your own booze, too,” the other boomed, holding a flask. They must’ve ferreted it out of his room. If he was as smart as his behavior indicated, I doubted he’d done a good job of hiding it.
“You’re out!”
The kobold security crew escorted the perpetrator back to his room. Once he was gone, a kobold medic rushed towards me.
Good timing, too—just before she reached me, I swayed and passed out.
