I bounced around the ring, moving over to my corner where Wolf was standing on the opposite side of the barbed wire. I squatted down.
“Who is it, Wolf?”
“You ain’t going to like it,” he grumbled. “They tossed for it and the fuckerwon.”
I was about to ask who when the door opened again and I looked up to see the one person I didn’t want to face.
Fuck.
“Don’t let him get in your head. You know how to fight, you know combat. Tell me you hid something in your bindings.”
I didn’t respond, only stood up and moved to the center of the ring where I saw the face of the one man I knew I’d never beat.
He’d be my executioner today.
But everyone else called him Pit.
“Ready to die, Viking?” he asked with a cocky laugh. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure to stick your body in a boat and throw you over the edge of a waterfall.”
“That’s mighty generous of you,” I shot back. “And when you fall, I’ll make sure to dig you a nice little pit to wither away into.”
He chuckled, because we both knew the likelihood of me winning was low. I waited for him to finish warming up by the side of the cage and kept my eye on him, blocking out all the noise around me. I needed to see Shae again, I needed to see those beautiful eyes looking into mine with desire, I needed to taste her again, to kiss those lips, to tell her how much I fucking loved her.
This wasn’t going to be the end.
She wasn’t going to have to bury me without ever knowing how much I fucking loved her.
No fucking way.
“Hurry the fuck up, old man, I ain’t got all day,” I yelled over to him. Pit’s snarl told me he was ready. He and I squared up in the centre.
“Time to put on a good show,” Pit said just before I clocked him in the mouth, my fist hitting his teeth. They cut into my skin, a slight tingle erupting over my fist as I watched his head shoot backward, blood spraying through the air. He stumbled from the velocity before he spat out blood and what looked like part of his tooth.
He’d been surprised, sure, but now he was pissed. I braced myself for what was to come. His sweeping leg almost got me, but I jumped out of the way before he could get me. Launching at him, I shoved him back on the barbed wire. His sharp intake of breath told me that he wasn’t prepared for the pain. He pulled himself free and ran for me. I dodged the first run, but he caught me by the hair and yanked me backwards. I slammed onto the ground, where he kicked at my ribs.
Fuck.
Rolling away, I pulled myself up quickly before I dodged another run. He stopped just before he got to thecage and wheeled around. I got into my fighter’s stance just as he landed a punch into the side of my ribs. I felt the pain radiate around my chest immediately.
Shit.
That couldn’t be good. I landed on my back, just as I saw him coming over to me again. I pushed back up, the pain so deep I could scarcely breathe as I heaved in as much air as I could.
Pit ran at me again and I dodged it just as I felt my ankle tip over and I fell into the cage. My hands gripped on the sharp barbs as I pushed myself back up.
That’s when I saw her.
In the crowd, next to Alex and Rebel.
Shae’s worried face looked up at mine, just as I felt pressure on the back of my head. My face was delivered into the sharp pieces of metal, the skin ripping on my cheeks as Pit shoved my head up and down for maximum damage. I kicked back, connecting my foot with his ankle. My head was released and I pushed back, feeling the sticky wetness drizzle down my face and onto my chest. Pit was bouncing back to his feet just as I laid punch after punch into him like he was a punching bag. His bloody mouth was open in pain as he tried to move away, each breath splattered more blood onto his chin.
Wheezing from my own pain, I stepped back. He found his way to his feet again, my own feet not wanting to stand anymore.
Finish it.
“You know what to do,” I heard Wolf yell.
Pit had been an absolute bastard to so many recruits, especially when we’d been training before we got our names and took our vows. He loved to torture you with mindgames, but it didn’t mean he deserved to die.
