16. ~Celine~
Chapter 16
~Celine~
I was literally shaking with nerves. Their opposing team hadn’t looked like much when I saw them playing pool at Howler’s the other night, but dressed for the fight, you could see they were well-packed with muscle and ready to go. Not that Ronan and his guys weren’t equally impressive, but the thought of Ronan getting hurt made me feel sick all over.
Of course, I’d never admit to him that I didn’t care for fights or boxing on television whenever Diego and my dad watched them together. It just wasn’t my thing. But now, knowing it was Ronan—gentle, charming, affectionate Ronan—down there about to be in the ring, I felt like my body was going to jump out of my skin. I was excited and terrified all at the same time.
The fighting ring itself, surrounded by fencing—an actual cage—looked so menacing. This arena was set in a giant ware- house near the port. Not exactly a fancy venue, but it was definitely making money. The stadium sat approximately five thousand people, and it was full. Concessions of beer and bar food were flowing.
“You okay?” Diego nudged my knee with his. “You look pretty pale.”
“I’m just scared.”
“Scared for your man?” he teased.
“Yes,” I agreed.
Diego took a swig of his bottled beer. “Ty says he knows what he’s doing.”
“When did you talk to Ty?” I snapped.
“The day after I saw Ronan drooling all over you at Howler’s.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“And get my head bitten off like right now?” He faced forward, watching the ring as the referee was talking to both teams. “I didn’t want to piss you off, but I had to check him out.”
He avoided meeting my eyes so I wouldn’t see the worry there, but I was an Aura so I could feel it anyway. Sighing, I linked my arm with his and gave him a sort of side hug.
“Thank you for looking out for me, but I know what I’m doing. And Ronan is a really good guy.”
“Yeah. I know.” He sipped his beer again. “I talked to Shane a bit too. He told me all about how he had a rough upbringing. No dad and that car accident they were in and his mom dying.”
My entire body went cold. I didn’t know he was in the accident that killed his mother.
“That’ll fuck up anybody,” Diego said, “but Shane says he’s a good guy. He’s just had a rough road.”
I blinked back the tears pricking behind my eyes. “I wish you’d tell Dad that when I let him know we’re dating. ”
“So you’re dating? It’s official? He’s your boyfriend ?” he teased.
Ronan hadn’t said so, but he didn’t need to.
“Yes.” Grinning, I turned back to face the cage as Ty stepped into it to fight one of the opposing team.
“Damn, sis. You’ve got it bad.” He chuckled, but just then we were jostled as Joaquin shimmied down our row past Morgan on the end, then Boomer and Diego before he took the empty seat beside me.
“Since when do you like to watch fights?” I asked, openly shocked to see Joaquin here.
“I don’t,” he growled. “I’m just here for moral support for your new man.”
Then the announcer was shouting into the mic. “Tonight, for our first bout, we have Ty Osborne of the Blood Moon Crew in red.”
An uproar of applause and cheers filled the enclosed arena.
“And from our defending champion team, the Iron Claws, we have Carter Douglas.” Even louder cheers erupted. Carter did a little grandstanding, waving to the crowd.
The referee said something quietly, and the two fighters went to opposite sides of the cage. The ref blew the whistle and the fight was on.
Ty bounced in place from side to side. Carter swaggered left a little, then swiftly attacked first, landing a hard punch to the jaw. Joaquin hissed in a breath next to me while I gasped.
Ty shook off the tough hit. I don’t know what happened next, but Ty spun fast and popped up behind his opponent, locking him in a choke hold before he could even react.
The other guy, Carter, struggled and tried to kick back and twist away, but Ty was locked tight on him. When Carter’s face began to turn red, I saw his claws come out. He scratched Ty’s arm, then reached back for his neck.
The referee blew a sharp whistle and rushed forward. Ty released Carter, who spun and snarled, but his coach and another teammate hauled him back.
The referee lifted Ty’s arm. “The winner!”
We all screamed and cheered, but then I leaned toward Diego. “What happened? Why’d the referee stop the fight before he tapped out? I thought they could use claws.”
I’d researched wolf cage fighting a little bit until it made me squeamish thinking about Ronan in a fight.
“They can, but they can’t strike or even appear to strike their opponent on vital arteries. He was going for Ty’s throat to make him let go. It’s an automatic win.”
The second fight was between Zack and Baron, the one Ronan had said was head of their team and the individual champion of the NOLA league.
Their fight went to the third round. Zack became trapped by Baron’s wrestling moves against the side of the cage in every round before he finally managed to break free. Zack landed several kicks to his chest in the first two rounds. But in that third round, Zack swung a kick to his chest again, but Baron caught him by the calf and forced him to the ground on his stomach.
That was it. He had Zack’s leg and arm pinned in such a way he couldn’t get free. The referee whistled and declared Baron the winner, raising his arm for the crowd’s applause.
“That’s all right, Zack!” yelled Diego, clapping at my side.
My heart clenched at the dejected look on Zack’s face as Ty and Bowie met him when he exited the cage. Ronan caught him, gripping him on both sides of the head. He told him something to which Zack nodded, then Ronan stepped around him and into the cage.
My entire being was fixed on him as Ronan walked to one side of the cage, turned, planted his feet apart, and held perfectly still with his arms at his sides. His opponent, who was announced as Adam Somebody, was grinning and pacing back and forth on the opposite side like a caged tiger.
While the referee made the pre-fight announcements that both teams had won one bout each, Adam walked back and forth, back and forth. Still, Ronan didn’t move, his eyes glinting bright and silver as he watched his opponent.
“Daaamn,” said Diego. “Ronan looks like he’s going to kill that fucking dude.”
It was true. There was something preternatural about Ronan’s stance, like a tiger keeping still while the prey crept closer.
When the referee blew the whistle, I couldn’t even breathe as Ronan launched himself at full speed across the cage. He spun and kicked Adam square in the face, knocking him on his back. Then Ronan was on him, straddling his chest and whaling on his face.
“Omigod!” I had my hands over my face, watching through my spread fingers.
The throng was on their feet, screaming and yelling for more. I had to stand, too, to see over the people in front of us. Then the referee blew his whistle. Ronan shot to his feet, both arms over his head, his gaze sweeping the arena till he found me. That was when he finally smiled, and I could breathe again.
It was terrifying and incredible and my nerves were completely fried .
“Goddamn!” Diego yelled and high-fived Boomer and Morgan, then wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close. “Your man is legit, sis!”
I was sort of in shock because the crowd was still losing their minds. He had pummeled Adam into unconsciousness in less than ten seconds. The referee had blown the whistle the moment Adam became unresponsive and unable to defend him- self because Ronan had completely annihilated him.
Joaquin clapped like a normal person and leaned toward me. “At least we know you’re well protected around your new guy.”
I laughed, because what else could I do? I’d just watched Ronan in action, and my new boyfriend was definitely an amazing badass.
Ronan picked me up and swung me around in the middle of Howler’s where we met after the fight. I squealed and laughed at the vibrant, euphoric feeling radiating from him and into me.
Vaguely, I noted Diego and others congratulating Zack, Bowie, and Ty. When Ronan set me on my feet, he cupped my face and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to my lips.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
“How? You just saw me before the fight.”
“I always miss you when you aren’t with me.” His eyes sparkled a heavenly blue, his aura beaming a jubilant bright pink.
“You were absolutely incredible in the ring.”
“Yeah,” said Zack, butting in and handing us both a bottle of Abita. “That douchebag had it coming. ”
Ronan stiffened next to me. “Damn right, he did.”
“Thanks, Zack,” I said, “but I don’t drink beer.”
“Doesn’t matter. You need something to toast with.”
Zack pushed through the small crowd, all regulars of Howler’s, hopped up on the bar, and pushed up to stand.
“Hey, everybody! Let’s all raise a glass to the Blood Moon Crew on our first win in the ring.”
Everyone cheered and whooped. Ronan stood beside me, one arm around my waist.
Bowie had won the final round against the last opponent on the Iron Claws team, which meant it was three out of four, giving the overall win to Ronan’s team. Apparently, in wolf cage fighting, the team of four fought and won according to how many total wins. And the individual fighter who won the most within the team was considered the overall champion. Currently, Baron was the champion of the New Orleans Wolf Fighting Championship.
“And also”—Zack lifted his bottle again and stared straight at Ronan, a purple bruise forming on his cheek—“to Ronan Reed, a really cool fighter and trainer. And a great friend.”
More cheers went up. I tapped my bottle against his. “I’ll toast to that.”
He sobered at Zack’s speech, his smile a little delayed before he raised his beer to his mouth.
“Hey, what is it?” I whispered.
“Nothing.” He blew out a heavy breath. “That was just unexpected.”
“What, your teammates never appreciated you back in Austin? ”
He shrugged. “Maybe not like these guys.” Then he stiffened, squeezing my waist where he still had one hand wrapped.
Diego was walking up to us, wearing his typical smirky smile. “Hey, Reed.” He reached out a hand. “I’m not coming over to beat you up.” He shook his head. “Not sure I could anyway the way you fight. I just want to congratulate you on the win.”
Ronan let go of my waist to shake Diego’s hand, still a little stiff and wary.
“Thanks, Diego.” He glanced at me cautiously.
“Yes, I know you’re dating my sister,” Diego added.
“And you’re cool with that?” Ronan asked, as if he expected resistance.
“As long as she is, yeah, it’s cool.”
I laced my fingers with Ronan’s hand. “Why, were you going to give me up if he wasn’t?”
“Not a chance in hell,” he told me honestly right in front of Diego. “I’m never giving you up, but I like to know who I have to fight beforehand.”
“No problems here.” Diego winked at me. “But now you’ve gotta tell Dad.”
“I know,” I admitted. “I plan to soon.”
Ronan smiled, his body relaxing. I squeezed his hand reassuringly as Ty walked up.
“Great fight tonight, man.” He clapped Ronan on the shoulder.
“You too. I knew you’d kill it in the ring.”
“I’ve got some ideas to counteract some of Baron’s holds.”
“Cool. We can go over it tomorrow afternoon.”
“See you at the shop.” Then Ty headed toward the exit.
“Ronan!” Bowie called from the bar. “Come on, man. Celebration tequila shots. ”
“Hell, no. We’ve got to train tomorrow.”
“Aww, man!” Zack whined. “One shot! I was the loser of the night. I need some consoling.”
Ronan chuckled and tugged me by the hand toward them at the bar. “A consoling tequila shot?”
“Yeah, that’s right.” Zack grinned and handed me a shot and twist of lime.
“Celine can take mine if she wants. I’m driving her home soon.”
“I’ll take his shot,” I told Zack. “Since you need consoling so badly.”
“Sweet. I knew I liked you, Celine.”
Then Zack handed the shots out to Bowie, Diego, and Boomer who’d been talking to some girl off to the side, one of their groupies. Morgan wasn’t with them. He must’ve gone straight home from the fight.
“All right,” said Zack, raising his shot. “To the Blood Moon Crew!”
“I’ll drink to that.” I smiled at Ronan, whose gaze on me was intense and heady.
I tilted back the shot and squeezed my eyes at the burn of liquor and tang of lime, not used to shots.
“Yeah, that’s enough.” Ronan set his shot glass on the bar. “No more shots,” he commanded. “Training tomorrow.”
Then he pulled me away from the crowd and toward the dance floor. There was no live music tonight, just one of their regular playlists I recognized. Currently, Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” pumped loud and strong, but Ronan pulled me into a slow dance.
He lifted my left hand in his right, placed his other hand on my hip, and hugged me close. Then he began moving and swaying, and I knew this man would be insanely good in bed. The way he held me firmly but gently, the way he led us in a slow dance that took hardly any motion at all, but somehow he commanded my body’s attention.
I stared up at him, his hair still damp from the quick shower in the locker room, his sharp features stunning beneath the blue lights over the dance floor, his eyes magnetic as they held me captive. And, apparently, tequila made me brave.
“I’m falling for you, Ronan.” I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. “Pretty hard and pretty fast.”
He lifted the hand at my waist and cupped the side of my neck, brushing his thumb along my jaw.
“I fell for you the second I saw you, Celine.”
“This feels kind of crazy, though, doesn’t it?”
“No.” He shook his head and lowered it till our lips were almost touching. “This is fate or heaven or whatever you want to call it, beautiful. You’re my mate.”
A shock rocked though me at the same time a tingling sensation buzzed through my blood like magic. It was magic. My mom had always told me that supernaturals, and even humans, had soul mates. But for a supernatural, especially a wolf, they knew instantly, long before their partner did.
“You’re sure?” I asked, feeling dizzy, my knees wobbly.
He chuckled. “One thousand percent.”
Then he brushed his mouth over mine, and I let him kiss me in front of whoever the hell happened to be looking. Even my brother. Because I wasn’t going to hide my feelings from anyone.
“Yes,” I whispered, nipping his bottom lip, making him groan and squeeze me closer. “You are my mate. ”
I laid my head on his shoulder, listening to Katy Perry sing about perfect storms and uncaged birds while magic sang through my blood, the euphoric sense of rightness buzzing through me like a drug. And I gloried in this sensation of falling in love with my soul mate, feeling utterly safe and perfectly content in his arms.