Chapter 23 #2
By the time we make it to Georgia, I’m already exhausted from the memories of her. The way her dark hair had whipped around us as she rode Cirrus with me. The giggle that escaped her when she realized how fast we were going. The awe in her voice when we arrived in Alaska or Georgia.
Every fucking detail of her is equivalent to a tiny cut and I’ve got more than a thousand of them.
In Georgia, I settle into one of the spare bedrooms she never used. Still, her absence haunts me. How can such brief moments with her have such a lasting and devastating effect on me?
I take a piss, shower, then make myself a protein-heavy meal so I stand a chance at the fight. Not that I care about winning or losing. My goal is to forget and nothing distracts the mind like physical pain.
As the owner of the MMA gym, I put up specific rules regarding these illegal fights.
First and foremost, no anthros. In fact, they aren’t even aware of these fights since we close the gym on Thursday nights as if that’s our resting day.
With a little help from friendly witches, we’re able to cast an invisibility spell just in case anyone passes by and hears the commotion.
The rest of the time, the gym is just that…a popular gym.
Pierce has similar rules for his clinics when he needs to have a specific day for supernaturals.
Slash doesn’t need to hide as much with his mercenary fighters.
Each unit is either all supernatural or all anthros.
The DOGS—Delta Ops Guardians—are regularly deployed on jobs that no other company wants or can handle.
The best part of it all is how Slash gives the companies nicknames.
Unit one is the Bulldogs and unit four is the Rotties.
Last I heard, they’d just come back from a deployment that had them running from Montana to the east coast then back west to Texas.
Something to do with bikers from North Carolina.
Who the fuck knows, I’m not privy to all the details.
As for Slay, as intense as he is on any given day, he likes to relax at his anthros job growing a small fortune in vineyards and delicious wine with a method used by his family back in Upper Mesopotamia—Iraq today.
When we walk inside, the place is humming with a deadly undertone. Mostly because of the fight to the death show we’re about to put on, but also from my actions two weeks ago. A couple of vampyres hiss as I walk by but I ignore them and they don’t persist.
I guess their love of fights is more important than the fact I killed one of their own.
“NDAs signed?” I ask my second in command, Bodhi. And by signed, I do mean with blood, not pens.
“Sure thing, boss.” I nod and as a unit, we all move to the back where the fighters prep and get mentally ready for their win or death.
It’s true we heal quickly when we’re not being poisoned, but all it takes is someone strong enough to rip our hearts out of our chests or decapitate us for life as we know it to be over.
Complete and total darkness forever.
Slay goes first, his opponent worthy but too green to find himself face to face with Death. In an act of empathy, Slay doesn’t kill the wolf shifter, but he maims him enough to teach the kid a lesson. Never fight above your weight.
Next is Pierce. He’s evenly matched with another demon but I can tell he’s holding back, wanting to keep the fight going long enough to enjoy himself. But twenty-five minutes in, he gets bored and throws the knockout punch. Again, he doesn’t kill but he’s not far from it.
I’m last, after Slash, who gets his ass kicked all the while grinning before he actually starts fighting and kills the nephilim. This is why we have NDAs as well as consent forms, to avoid spending time in an underground prison for murder.
As I step into the ring, I stare at my opponent. I’m met with unblinking yellow eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth. It’s then I realize there’s a full moon out there tonight and werewolves are psyched to be able to participate.
Great news for me since I’m yearning for a beat down and this motherfucker looks all too happy to deliver.
When the referee, a tall, distinguished angel, sounds the beginning of the fight, I let the were do his worst. Punches and scratches fly my way, his teeth latching on to the meaty part of my shoulder when the ref isn’t watching.
With every punch, my head swings to one side, then the other, but I don’t back down. It’s the whole reason I’m here.
In the corner of the ring, Pierce is yelling at me to get my ass in gear but all I can think is that if I want, in just mere minutes, I could end all of this. I could let the were destroy me. I could stop the pain.
I’m almost to my knees with the need for that mental image when it occurs to me that even if I die, I’ll never truly rest.
“Come on, Hack! Get your shit together.” Pierce continues coaching me but my will is losing this battle.
From the corner of my eye, I see a vampyre screaming at me and instead of concentrating on the were, my attention focuses on the vamp for just a second, making out what he’s saying.
“She deserved to die, you murderer of kyn!” She deserved to die?
Where my fight just wasn’t there seconds ago, it returns with full force.
Rearing back my arm, I let loose a punch, then another, and another, until the were can no longer get a move in edgewise. I pummel him until one eye pops out and several teeth fall to the mat.
I continue punching and kicking him until his knees can no longer hold him and one of his arms hangs loosely at his side.
But when the vampyre calls my chosen an anthros whore, I lose my ever-loving mind.
In two well placed moves, I immobilize the were, pressing my palms to his temples and turning his head like a screw until it rips from his body.
Next, I fly through the cage door and make a beeline straight for the vampyre, ready to repeat my move I just used on the were.
When I reach him, the world goes fucking crazy.
The building shakes, everything and everyone moving against their will. The chairs bounce as the roof threatens to collapse with cement raining down on us like a summer shower.
When a huge piece of concrete falls down in the middle of the arena, taking several supernaturals with it, I realize this shit is serious.
As if my life wasn’t already a fucking shitshow, now I’ve got Mother Nature trying to kill me with her off-the-charts earthquake.
Fucking awesome.