Two more men walk into the arena. One is also clad only in shorts and the other looks to be the referee. The crowd is quieter for Torrez’s opponent Stevens, but he’s still greeted with shouts of excitement and support. Stevens is smaller than Torrez and not nearly as built. He has muddy brown hair and freckles everywhere. They don’t look evenly matched, but I’m the last person who would underestimate someone based on that.
“This fight will be wolf only as was agreed by both contenders previously. Begin.”
With no more pomp or circumstance, the referee runs back out of the way, and I watch as both men strip out of their shorts and ripple into wolves. It happens in seconds, one second they’re men and the next, wolves. They slam into each other in a flurry of fangs and fur. Their feral growls simultaneously pull goosebumps from my skin and call to my basest nature.
Torrez and Stevens looked mismatched as men, but as wolves, they’re closer in size. The gray wolf is taller and fuller than his red and brown opponent but not by much. Stevens bites into Torrez’s shoulder, but he’s forced to release his hold when Torrez almost rips off his ear. They circle and then slam back into each other and before I can process how it happened Torrez has Stevens by the neck, and he’s shaking him. The fight is over on a matter of minutes, and now it’s my turn.
23
“Ifucking told you Stevens couldn’t do it,” Liev slaps lumberjack on the back, a huge grin on his face.
They rib each other back and forth, and a few shifters around us get in on the teasing and shit talking. A deep voice calls for any other challengers, and I’m up and over the barrier before the announcer finishes his sentence. Jeering and catcalls take over the arena, and small plumes of dust accentuate each step I take toward Torrez and the ref.
I stop a couple of feet away, and Torrez’s nostrils flare. His eyes narrow slightly, and he scoffs.
“Lost little witch?” he asks.
“Nope, I know exactly where I am, and exactly what I’m here to do.”
“And what’s that, princess?”
“Fuck up your undefeated record, of course.”
Torrez laughs a full, deep, and rounded belly laugh and snickers move likethe wavethroughout the bleachers.
“Well aren’t you cute. Stupid as fuck and delusional, but really fucking cute,” Torrez gives me an appraising look and licks his lips. His nostrils flare again, and I have no idea what he’s sniffing for, fear maybe, or attraction.Sniff away wolf-man you’re not going to find either.
“Oh, come on now Torrez, you know it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”
“True, but you’re confusing your witch for bitch, you’re no shifter. Why do you want to make me mess up that perfect face?”
His shit talking game is on point, and I can’t help but appreciate it. I smirk, and he scents the air again. Can shifters smell emotion? If they can, then he has to know that I need this fight more than I need my next breath. My unsatisfied bloodlust is tearing me apart, and this is the only way to excise all the rage and hurt festering inside of me.
“In or out wolf?” I ask, stone-faced. If he’s not interested, then I’ll find someone else to pick a fight with.
Torrez rakes his dark brown eyes over me one more time, and shrugs. “In, witch.”
I’m pretty sure these shifters expect me to have a problem with their use of the wordwitch, but I couldn’t care less: caster, witch, freak, it’s all the same to me.
The ref steps forward. “What are your terms? Shifter form, magic, what’s allowed and what’s not?” He looks at both of us.
“Wolf or man, I have no problem with either.”
“She can use whatever magic she has. She’s gonna need it.”
The ref nods and announces the terms to the crowd, even though I’m pretty sure they have super hearing and already know what the deal is. The ref raises both his hands and I stretch out my neck while I keep my eyes fixed on Torrez. My magic sparks awake inside of me and the tingle of bloodlust floods my limbs.
The ref drops his hands and Torrez is inches away from me in a blink.Fuck he’s fast! He’s still a man when he tackles me at the waist and tries to muscle me onto my back. I slam my elbow where his neck meets his shoulder, twice, before my back hits the dirt. I use Torrez’s momentum against him, and I kick him off of me instead of letting myself get pinned.
I use the runes on my legs to give myself extra power, and he flies five feet away from me before he hits the ground. I flip back up, and I land a roundhouse kick to his head before he can get all the way up on his feet. He grabs my foot as he falls back to the dirt and yanks me off balance.
Fuck, he’s strong too. I stumble but somehow manage to stay on my feet. Torrez rolls away from me and pops back up. He lets out a deep growl and wipes a trickle of blood from his bottom lip. His eyes flare with promises of pain and the tip of his hands elongate with claws.
He slashes out at me, and I dodge and weave out of his reach. He lunges in frustration, and I spin clipping my elbow against his cheek. Claws sink into my side as he falters, and we both step away from each other to recover. Torrez shakes his head in an effort to clear it, and I look down at my shredded shirt, my black sports bra peeking through the rips in the fabric.
I rip off the tattered garment and use it to swipe at the blood slowly dripping down my side. Wolf whistles and howls sound off around the arena. I look up, and Torrez steps out of his shorts. He stands there for a minute like somehow his dick is going to send me running.
I smile.“Cold?”
