Chapter 10
T he beast let out a roar that chilled me to the bone. Wylen sat and pulled me close to him, and to be honest, I didn’t have the wherewithal to do anything about it. That man had just turned into a fucking tiger, and the thing was only a few feet away from me.
Shaking its massive body, the tiger rid itself of what remained of the red shorts.
Several pieces flew into the crowd, fans fighting over the scraps of fabric like they were worth gold.
I scooted back against Wylen’s chest when the beast suddenly looked my way.
He chuffed a few times, shook his head, and then focused on Tris.
I noticed my friend had pulled himself up to a sitting position, and with his mouth hanging open in surprise, he was watching the predator stalk closer toward him.
“Tris?” I asked, voice barely more than a whisper.
“It’s okay. I’m okay,” he said to me, but never broke eye contact with the tiger.
Where I was scared shitless on the inside, Tris appeared to be calm and…
almost mesmerized by the sight in front of him.
He even reached forward like he wanted to pet the tiger but then dropped his hand when the big cat chuffed again.
The fighter-turned-animal sniffed Tris’s head while my friend sat utterly still.
After nudging his shoulder a few times, Tris chuckled .
“It’s all good, man. I’m okay.”
The tiger gave my friend a nod a second before another roar echoed through the large building.
As one, the crowd turned and looked back up into the ring.
A massive grizzly now stood in the space, up on his hind legs and taunting his opponent.
The tiger took a few steps back from Tris, the crowd parting to give him room.
He hunched forward, sticking his tail into the air.
And the growl that rumbled in his chest scared the crap out of me.
The crowd cheered when the big cat lunged and took off at a sprint back toward the fighting ring.
In one magnificent leap, he bolted from the floor, over the cables forming the perimeter, and landed directly in front of the grizzly.
Tris jumped to his feet and joined the rest of the enamored audience running to watch the two top predators battle it out.
My brain spun as my world continued to throw me for a loop.
Shape shifters? I didn’t know if my psyche had the ability to process anymore weirdness.
“Come on,” Wylen said gently as he helped me to my feet.
“Is this really happening?” I asked, looking up at his perfect face.
“Yes.”
He didn’t try to comfort me with any kind of explanation or justification. He just gently nudged me forward to get us closer to the animal cage fight. It sounded like one of the beasts definitely had the upper hand.
Some instinct told me to turn around, and I did…just in time to see a few men drag the dead woman out of the cage behind us. A trail of smeared blood followed in her wake, and I quickly whipped my head back around before I threw up. Wylen must have noticed.
“It is their way, Sosie. They knew what they were signing up for.”
“A fight to the death?”
He nodded. “It comes with great honor. Only the best ever get the opportunity.”
“Is that what’s happening here?” I jerked my chin toward the tiger versus grizzly fight, sickened at the way their beautiful fur was now matted with blood. I couldn’t tell who was winning as both still stood and continued to snarl at each other.
“It’s a little different for shifters. Or so I’ve heard.
” He pushed us through the cheering crowd until we could see Tris.
He was right up front, face next to the ring, and way too close for him to be safe.
“Shifters fight when they are told to fight,” Wylen continued.
“At least that is my understanding from what I’ve read about your world. ”
“ This isn’t my world,” I muttered to myself, looking around and feeling very much out of my element.
But then I made eye contact with Tris. He waved me forward, excitement oozing from his pores.
The grizzly slammed into the side of the ring near his head, and he jumped back with everyone else.
Then he cheered. All of them cheered. Jumping up and down like they’d just scored or something, all the people around Tris celebrated the carnage happening before them.
I wasn’t angry…at least I didn’t think I was.
But I was having a hard time understanding the appeal.
Tris turned and reached back to grab my hand. “Oh my god, Sosie! This is fucking awesome!” Everyone yelled again when the grizzly roared, and something wet hit our faces. I squeezed my eyes shut, not knowing what it was and not particularly interested in finding out.
“Tris?” I questioned.
He laughed and rubbed his hands over my cheekbones. “Just a little blood from the beasts, Sosie. No biggie.”
When I felt like it was safe to open my eyes, I was greeted with his handsome face and giant smile. Tris pulled me forward, away from Wylen, and wrapped his arms around my torso. With my back pressed against his chest, he nuzzled against my neck and sucked in a deep breath.
“Can you believe this shit is real?”
I shook my head, half distracted by the brutality of the fight in front of me and half distracted by how good Tris felt up against me. With his size and his muscles, he easily made me feel safe despite all the chaos around us.
“Going rate is five-to-one odds,” a raspy voice said in my ear.
Startled, I jumped back along with Tris and turned to see the man standing next to me.
He was about my height, so rather short for a guy.
Bald with leathery, tanned skin. A somewhat hooked nose and bright green eyes.
He wore a tight navy-blue T-shirt and jeans and held a little notebook in his hand, poised to take our bet.
“Five-to-one for who?” Tris asked over my head.
“The bear. He’s undefeated in the ring.” The small man watched me as I switched my gaze back to the fight where the tiger had just pinned the bear to the ground.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked.
The man laughed. “Don’t underestimate him.” Then he leaned in close and cupped his hand around his mouth like he wanted to tell me a secret. “He likes to play dead.”
Surprised, I found myself wanting to see the outcome. Why? I had no idea. Perhaps it was the amount of pheromones in this place that made me want to be a part of it all.
“I’ll take that bet,” Tris said, dropping his arms from around me to grab his wallet out of his back pocket. “Fifty on the tiger.”
The small man smiled, and I noticed that his teeth seemed a little pointier than normal. He scratched something down in his notebook and took the money. Shoving it into a little velvet bag attached to his waist, he asked, “Name?”
“Tris.”
“Okay, Tris.” They were shouting at each other as the cheering crowd got louder and louder.
“Bets can be claimed on the north side of the building. Just follow the signs.” He looked at my friend…
and then really looked at Tris’s body. I felt uncomfortable, so I couldn’t imagine how Tris felt. “Athlete?”
Tris nodded. “Used to be.”
“Chosal Ball?”
“Yes, sir. ”
The man sniffed the air around Tris, similar to what Wylen had once done.
Then he stepped back and smiled, a huge smile that made his cheekbones stick out and accentuated the sharpness of his nose.
“Troll.” He hadn’t asked, he just knew. Pulling his little notebook back out, he wrote something down on the paper, ripped it out, folded it several times, and then finally gave it to Tris. “We should talk more.”
With that, the man slapped Tris on the shoulder, gave me a wink, and then disappeared into the crowd. Tris and I followed him with our gaze until the people pushed back together and we could no longer see him. “That was a little strange,” I mumbled.
An animal screamed. And not just a regular scream. This was a cry of pain. And fear.
We looked back up into the ring just in time to see the tiger rip out the grizzly’s throat.
The tiger had been hovering over him, the bear still on his back on the ground.
The grizzly’s plan of playing dead proved to be his fatal mistake.
As the cheering got louder again, I watched as the tiger swallowed the flesh stuck between his teeth, licked the blood off his muzzle, and slowly pushed to all fours.
The bear was on the ground on his side. The gurgling noise coming out of his neck made me ill.
Blood bubbled with the only oxygen left in his system, and within a minute, he’d stopped breathing all together.
I thought it was over. The tiger paced in a circle around his opponent, head low and tail flicking back and forth. His ears twitched in every direction, listening to the chanting crowd.
“What are they saying?” I asked Tris, who now held me tight again.
“Take his head,” Wylen answered. He really liked talking over Tris.
“His head?” I swallowed hard.
“If he doesn’t, the bear might be able to heal,” Wylen explained.
“But he’s not breathing.”
“He is. I can hear the faint heartbeat. ”
I looked up at Tris who mirrored my own freaked-out face. “You can hear his heart?” Tris asked the fae.
Wylen shrugged. “Of course. I am a Hound.”
Tris mouthed the words silently, acting like a child by mimicking the fae. I tried not to smile, since the situation in front of us didn’t seem to call for one. “Well,” Tris started, “I can’t hear his heart, but I think I just made some money.”
Everyone suddenly stopped their chanting, and we refocused on the ring.
The small man who’d taken Tris’s bet had climbed through the ropes and entered the ring.
The tiger growled, but the man dismissed him with a flick of his hand.
Walking toward the bear, the crowd sucked in a collective breath.
The grizzly’s body, even on its side, was almost as tall as the man.
But unfazed by this, he leaned forward and whispered something into the bear’s ear.
I looked over at Wylen to see if he could explain, but he just watched in fascination like the rest of us.
The man placed a hand on the bear and closed his eyes.
Tilting his head to the side, it almost looked like he was listening.
I mean, the bear had no throat left, so I wasn’t sure what he was listening for, but that’s at least what it looked like he was doing.
After nearly a minute of this, the man nodded and brushed his hand back and forth over the bear’s fur a few times.
And when he stood, not a sound was made in the warehouse.
“He is finished.”
Silence still reigned even as he gestured to the tiger.
The beast walked forward and bowed his head.
The man laid a hand on the giant skull of the predator for just one moment before turning and walking away.
I was too short to see where he went, but I could still see the head of the bear and the tiger now sniffing his wound.
“You might not want to watch this,” Wylen said to me.
Instantly offended, I snapped right back. “Watch what?”
“The kill.”
What? Now that I knew somewhere deep in my mind what was about to happen, I was a little bit embarrassed to say that I couldn’t turn away.
The tiger didn’t play around. With a few swipes of his claws and several crunchy chews, he tore the head off the bear, and the crowd went wild with cheers.
I swallowed down my disgust, but when I noticed Wylen watching me, I schooled my face in an effort not to let him know it bothered me. And it bothered me a lot.
“Well, the fight’s over,” Tris said. He was looking a little pale but still gave me a small smile and a squeeze. “Let’s go get my money.” Tris opened up the piece of paper and froze. “Holy shit.”
“What?” I asked.
“That man? You’re never going to guess?—”
“He’s Razi,” I said, somehow knowing that I was right.
“He’s Razi,” Tris confirmed. “Son of a bitch, he was right here.”