It wasn’t just avoidance; they’d created a wall.
My team had closed ranks around me, and the message was clear. He wouldn’t get near me again.
The warmth that surged through my chest had nothing to do with my recent fight.
Malcolm straightened from the wall. “Let’s rotate partners,” he said, scanning the room.
Before he could continue, I stepped forward. “I’ll take Maddox.”
The chatter died.
Lexie’s head snapped toward me. Bryson’s hand froze halfway to his mouth. Derren’s grin vanished altogether. Only Malcolm met my gaze, unreadable as ever.
“You sure?” he asked quietly.
“I am.” My voice didn’t waver. “He and I have something to finish.”
A muscle ticked along Malcolm’s jaw. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he gave me a curt nod.
Maddox turned, his expression hard, but I caught the flicker of hesitation. His bravado had slipped, and fear had begun to bloom where arrogance used to live.
Lexie leaned close enough that only I could hear her. “Don’t hold back.”
“Not one bit.”
The others moved aside. My pulse slowed. I rolled my shoulders once and took my stance.
Maddox did the same, but tension coiled in his body. He was too rigid, too unsettled to move well.
“Begin,” Malcolm said.
Like always, Maddox lunged first. Predictable, at least. I sidestepped, catching his wrist and twisting enough to make him hiss. When he stumbled, I released him, letting him recover.
He came at me again, faster this time. I kept my breathing even. Each strike he threw, I redirected. He hit air.
The room had gone silent except for the scuff of our boots andthe sharp rhythm of his breathing. I heard the echo of Thorne’s voice in the back of my mind.Don’t meet brute force with force. Meet it with precision.
Maddox swung for my shoulder. I ducked beneath it, planted a hand on his arm, and used his momentum to flip him onto his back. The mat groaned from the impact.
He got up slower, his lip curling. “You think you’re better than me?”
“I don’t even have to think about it.”
He came again, this time trying to catch me off guard with a feint to the left and a backhanded strike to my ribs. I blocked it with my forearm, the shock rattling through me but steadying my balance.
He grunted and swung again, wilder now. I slipped beneath his reach and swept out his leg. He hit the mat a second time, harder.
Laughter broke from Lexie’s direction, quickly smothered.
Maddox pushed to his knees, panting, his hair plastered to his forehead.
He lunged again, a snarl tearing from his throat. I pivoted, caught his arm, and twisted. His weight shifted exactly where I wanted it. He crashed down to one knee, his breath leaving him in a sharp bark of pain.
I leaned close enough for him to hear me breathe. “You poisoned me,” I said, voice low. “Come near me again and you’re dead.”
He stilled. Then his shoulders slumped, and the fight drained from him like water from a cracked jug.
I released his arm and stepped back, giving him space to choose. He could stand or stay down.
