34. Max
MAX
“What are we doing?” I asked as the Shadows led us all outside.
Obi waited in the grass, his arms crossed.
The sun was already shining on the back patio, the morning light glowing through the trees surrounding the house.
With only a few weeks until fall, we could still feel the humid warmth beginning to blanket the backyard.
“You’ll see,” Ciel said cryptically. The hacker and I hadn’t gotten to know each other—he seemed to keep to himself—but he seemed almost excited.
I glanced at Leona to see if she had any clues, but she also looked confused. She pursed her lips. “What’s happening?”
“The gauntlet,” Ryu said, grinning.
Wynn placed a couple of bottles of water on the wooden railing of the patio. Obi gave Leona a hard kiss and a whispered good morning before all four of the Shadows walked into the grass and stood in a line, one by one. Obi began wrapping his knuckles with the tape they used to spar.
“What the fuck is the gauntlet?” Cas asked. Once Obi was done, he tossed the wrap to Wynn. It only took a second for their actions to click in my head.
“It’s a test.” I watched as Wynn handed the tape to Ciel. My heart thumped inside my chest. “A test for me.”
Obi inclined his head. “The gauntlet is a challenge to earn a position in the Shadows. To gauge your loyalty. We’ve all done it.”
“It’s changed over the years,” Wynn said. “The more members we’ve gained, we’ve had to switch up how it works.”
A test. Ever since I showed up on their doorstep, I knew the Shadows didn’t want me here. I didn’t blame them, but I had worried at what point they were going to make their decision whether I was worthy of staying. It seemed like the time had arrived.
My back straightened. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
I consciously avoided looking at Leona, but her gaze burned the side of my face.
“It’s a physical and mental test. Are you sure you’re up for it?” Wynn said as he glanced at my side, where my wound was still healing. The stitches were out, but the skin was still tender and sore. In the mornings, when I’d worked out with Wynn, I’d not even been close to my best.
“Yes.”
“You’re still recovering,” Wynn added.
“I know.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Ryuji said, cocking his head to the side. For once, his face was serious. He wasn’t teasing.
“I do.” What were the consequences if I said no? “If this is your test, I’m doing it.”
Leona spoke up from my side. “What about me?”
Ryu let out a breath. “What about you, hanii?”
“If there’s some sort of test to join the Shadows, I should have done it ages ago,” she replied, hands on her hips.
“I told you she’d say that,” Ryu quipped.
Ciel shook his head. “Our agreement cemented your position as a Shadow. Same with Cas. You don’t have to do it.”
My situation was different. I had been their enemy. Of course, they would test my loyalty.
“But what if I want to?” Leona pressed.
“I told you—”
“Shh, Ryu,” Ciel cut him off. “You got shot yesterday. Are you sure?”
She looked down at the bandage on her arm. “Oh, it’s fine. It’s just a scratch—”
“You needed stitches,” Obi interjected.
She rolled her eyes. “And the stitches are in great shape! Cas helped me change the bandage this morning! I’ll heal up nicely.”
Ciel gave her a crooked smile. “You can if you want to, baby girl, but it’s unnecessary. We know that you’ll pass.”
I appraised her, remembering the words Wynn had said earlier. If she had wanted to kill you, she would have. I’d seen Leona in the field. The past version of me would never have believed she could become as strong and as capable as she was.
“What are the rules?” I asked, turning back to face them. “What’s the test?”
“It’s simple,” Ciel said. “You fight each of us, one by one, hand to hand. No weapons. No breaks in between matches. At the end of the gauntlet, we decide if you make it in.”
“Like sparring?” Leona said excitedly, bouncing up on the balls of her toes.
Wynn shook his head. “Not sparring. Going all out. Nobody pulls their punches.”
This…would not go well for me. Not for four of them in a row, and definitely not when Ryuji had been specifically out to get me. I rolled my shoulders. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“I’ll do it, too,” Cas said. “Leona’s right. We should have done this months ago.”
“All right,” Obi said. “But if Leona wants to participate, she should go first.”
The four Shadows exchanged some sort of knowing glance—one I didn’t understand—before they all nodded in agreement.
Leona smiled, her eyes completely lit up, while she pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail. “Me first? Then Cas? Max last?”
“Sounds good to me,” Ryuji said, cracking his knuckles. “Let’s get going then.”
“Quick question,” Cas said. “What happens if you fail?”
“Caspian and Leona are already part of us. If they fail the challenge, it means nothing.” Obi looked me head-on. “But if Max fails the challenge, he doesn’t have a place among us.”
Leona frowned and opened her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. “I understand.”
“But—”
“No,” I said. “If I fail, I’ll leave.”
I’d come this far. I wanted in, but more importantly, I wanted their respect. Their trust. I knew I had to earn that. At least they were giving me a chance to start.
This was the family I’d chosen. I’d fight to the death to keep it.
“Max…” Leona looked up at me, her eyebrows knitted in concern.
“Don’t worry about me,” I said with a small smile. “I want this. If this is the way I prove it, then so be it.”
She reached up to wrap her arms around my neck, and I hugged her back tightly. My heart swelled in my chest. It didn’t matter what this fight was; I’d live up to the challenge.
“Okay, hanii,” Ryuji said. “You’re first.”
“All right.” She stretched from side to side. “Help me tape my hands.”
While Ryuji taped her knuckles, Wynn, Ciel, and Obi got in a line one after another. After he was done, Ryuji found his place between Ciel and Obi. Cas and I took a few steps back, hovering near the patio railing.
The only time I’d actually seen her spar was when she’d punched me in the face. Besides that—and what we’d been through together with the Albanians—I hadn’t really seen her fight hand-to-hand.
“She’ll be fine,” I said quietly to Cas.
He gave me a sideways smile while he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the rail. “It’s not her I’m worried about.”
“Two minutes per round,” Wynn said. “Next match starts immediately.”
“I’m ready,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“Begin,” Obi called.
Both Wynn and Leona sank into a fighting stance, almost perfectly mirroring each other.
From the tip of her head down to the lightness of her feet, she seemed calm and controlled.
It was obvious he’d trained her and trained her well.
They circled each other, slowly getting closer, until she jabbed first. He dodged to the left and jabbed back, but she used her forearm to knock his blow to the side.
He gave her a little smile, and then the entire tone of the fight changed.
His punches were lightning fast, one right after another, but it didn’t even faze her.
She shifted her weight at just the right time and returned a punch immediately after he extended, catching him right underneath the armpit.
The blow was exactly what she needed to open up his defenses.
She got in two more before he leapt back to recover.
With a perfectly placed kick, he caught her in the stomach, and the umph that wheezed from her lungs made me flinch.
They seriously weren’t pulling their punches—or kicks? Not even against her?
She ducked her shoulder and rushed at him, but when he planted his feet, she used one hand to circle his shoulder and then used his thigh as a platform to leap onto his back.
Her legs wrapped around his throat, and she used the momentum to yank him to the ground.
As soon as his back hit the grass, Obi called time.
“Again, darling?” Wynn said, a mix between a grunt and a laugh. “You know how I feel about that move.”
She rolled over and hopped to her feet, grinning with pride. “Exactly, which is why I knew it was the last thing you expected.”
“Next,” Obi said, immediately making her whip around to face Ciel.
“Whoa,” she breathed, dodging his first punch. But the hacker was also fast, and he danced around her until he got a forearm around her neck in a chokehold.
I took a step forward, but Cas grabbed my arm and held me back. “Watch.”
Leona grabbed Ciel’s arm and then dropped her body weight, making him lose his grip. She grabbed him around his waist and pulled him to the ground, where they tumbled together. I flinched as they both exchanged multiple punches to the gut, but no one else seemed fazed.
I thought the match was over when he straddled her, trying to pin her arms over her head, but she planted a foot on his stomach and pushed.
He tumbled over his head, flipping and smacking his back against the ground.
She stood and leaned over him. He lay still for just a second before he kicked and swept her legs out from under her.
She yelped, surprised, as she collapsed.
Before I knew it, Ciel was on his feet again. “You’re done, ángel.”
She nodded. He pulled her back to her feet, and she braced her hands on her knees to catch her breath.
“Next,” Ryuji said, raising his fists in front of his face. “Come on, hanii.”
She straightened, but instead of raising her fists, she pulled up her shirt. The breath caught in my throat as she flashed him, bare-chested, and Ryuji froze. Immediately, she kicked him in the balls, and he dropped to the ground.
“Oooohhhhh,” the rest of us chorused in unison.
“What the fuck,” Ryuji gasped, hands cupping his dick.
“Fair game,” she responded. “Don’t get distracted next time.”
Cas started laughing so hard he bent over. A smile spread over my face, too.
“Oh, you’re going to fucking pay for that later,” Ryuji grunted, moaning in pain.
“What happens in the gauntlet, stays in the gauntlet,” she said, breath short, but everyone saw the devious smile on her face.
“You cheeky brat,” he wheezed. “Better turn around.”
She whirled and came immediately face to face with Obi.
With his size and strength, I didn’t expect this fight to last, but I doubted he’d go hard after her either.
When his fist cocked back and he jabbed at her, though, that changed.
The hit caught her in the shoulder, and she tumbled backward.
Her teeth gritted together, but she was agile.
She danced around him, exchanging a few more hits to his arms and stomach.
He caught one punch against her chin, but then she landed a high-kick firmly into his cheek.
When Obi left an opening after an over-extended punch, she ducked under him and darted around to his back.
Like a fucking monkey, she climbed up him and wrapped her forearm around his neck.
He hissed as she squeezed, but then he bent forward and flung her over his shoulder.
He had just barely braced her neck before her back slammed to the ground.
We all heard the air rush from her chest.
Without wasting a second, she tucked her arms close to her body and rolled before he could pin her.
Then she scrambled to her feet and launched herself at him.
With a yell, she knocked him backward and punched him in the face before he whipped a fist into her side.
They tumbled on the ground, and all of us watched wide-eyed as the fight turned vicious.
Each had cuts to their face, dripping blood, when Ciel called time.
But then Obi flipped her onto her back in a dominant move, pinned her hands above her head, and fused his lips to hers.
She groaned against him, arching her back as his hands smoothed down her torso.
They were a tangle of tongue, hands, and heat until the kiss broke.
He smiled down at her. “I’m proud of you. ”
She grinned back, rolling her hips against his. “Are you going to fuck me here in the grass? That sounds nice.”
A sound rumbled from deep in his throat. “Keep piling on your punishment. I don’t mind.”
“Hey!” she exclaimed. “You started it!”
“You started it the other night in my office.” Almost reluctantly, he sat back and pulled her up. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”
She was already flushed from fighting, but her blush deepened. It made my mouth water. What was this they kept teasing about punishment?
All the Shadows gathered around her while Cas and I watched on. Scrapes covered her knees and face, and she already had bruising on her cheek. But her smile was huge. Her laugh was full. She was completely, truly one of them.
Cas’s hand landed on my shoulder. “This is what I was telling you about.”
“They saw her potential and helped her become the queen she was meant to be,” I said, repeating what he’d told me before at the penthouse. “We could never have given her that.”
He shook his head. “Nope. But they could. And I’m glad they did.”
“Me, too,” I whispered, watching as each hugged her and kissed her and ruffled her hair and picked her up, only to pretend they were going to tackle her to the ground. It was everything I’d ever wished for her. Safety. Love. Freedom.
“My turn,” Cas said, stretching his arms over his head. “Do you think Ryuji would fall for it again if I flashed my dick at him?”
I snorted, almost in surprise. “I think you could take him fair and square.” Then I grinned. “But yeah, I think he’d fall for it.”
Cas gave me a wink. He called over to the rest of them. “Hey, hey, move along now, we don’t have all day!”
Leona grabbed a water bottle from the patio and took a deep drink while everyone got in line again. She gave me a look out of the corner of her eye, but said nothing.
“That didn’t look that hard,” I teased. “They let you win.”
They definitely didn’t, but it was fun to egg her on.
She almost choked on the water. “Oh, yeah, just a regular fucking walk in the park. I just beat up the Shadows. The least you could do is look impressed.”
I grabbed her head and pulled her against my chest in a move so casual it had both of us freezing for a second. But then she melted against me. “I am impressed.”
“Get used to it,” was her muffled reply.
“Same rules,” Wynn said. “Except, darling, come take your place with us.”
Her head perked up. “What?”
“You’re a Shadow,” he answered. He pointed to the other side of Obi. “You’re part of the gauntlet.”
My eyes went wide while she jogged over and joined their ranks. The realization sat heavy in my gut, almost tugging on my still-bruised ribs.
Once Cas passed their test, I’d have to fight all six of them in order to win. My breath rushed out of my lungs. There was no way.