Chapter Twenty-One
Sherese
Once the meeting finishes, everybody goes their separate ways. Garrett disappears into the bedroom with Emma, and I track down Bryce. He and Ava are in the kitchen. I drop into the seat at the small kitchen table. “So, talk to me about Raechel.”
Ava turns and faces me. “She’s unhinged.”
“Okay. Thanks for that. Not exactly what I was looking for.”
“You mean for the fight Friday night?’ Bryce asks.
“Yeah. That.”
He nods. “She’s a good fighter. Really good. I’ve seen her fight.”
“She used to fight in an underground fight club in Chicago,” Ava adds.
That piques my interest. “Really?”
“Yeah. She was like their top fighter. That’s how she met Max.”
“Was that before he was an enforcer for the Northwoods Pack?” I ask.
“No, it was while he was an enforcer. He went into the ring to find her,” Ava says as she butters a piece of bread.
“Did he know she was his mate?”
“Nope. He figured it out once he met her. If you want to hear it in detail, Raechel will tell you. She’s told me a hundred times.” Ava’s voice is deadpan, but I hear the affection beneath her words.
“All that to say she’s a good fighter. I’m not even a fighter, and I know she’s good.” Ava’s lips tug down. “She always made Rose and me train; we were both terrible.”
“Hunter says you’re pretty good,” Bryce says, glancing over at me.
“I can hold my own normally, but I'm not sure about against a trained professional.”
“We’ll go a few rounds, and Bryce can critique you.
He’s seen Raechel fight,” Hunter says, coming into the kitchen.
I’m not surprised he’s there. I felt him before he stepped into the kitchen.
I’m not sure how I feel about that. I already have a vampire radar; I’m not sure I want a Hunter radar too.
“That work for you, Bryce?” he asks as he slides into the seat across from me.
“Sure,” the alpha says easily.
“There’s a workout room downstairs,” Ava adds. “I’ll come too. I don’t know how to critique you, but I’d love to see you take Hunter down a peg or two.”
I glance at Hunter, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered by her words. “I don’t know,” Bryce says as he leans against the counter with a mug in his hands. “Hunter’s a pretty good fighter. He’s the best in our pack.”
“Better than you?” Ava asks.
Bryce eyes Hunter. “Depends.”
I look between the two of them, trying to figure out that cryptic response. “On what?” Ava, who doesn’t let things go, asks.
Bryce looks away from Hunter to eye his mate, the affection obvious in his eyes. “He wouldn’t disrespect me by beating me.”
I feel like there’s something they’re not saying, but when I look at Hunter, his face is blank. “When does it work to spar?” I ask.
Hunter stands. “How about now?”
“Does that work for you?” I ask. He nods, and I glance over to Bryce.
He takes another drink. “Works for me.”
“Me too,” Ava adds. She grabs a bag of candy from the counter. “What? I need snacks for the fight.”
“I need to change really quickly; I’ll be right there.
” In my room, I quickly pull on leggings and a sports bra and then throw a cropped athletic tee over it.
I slip on my sneakers and head downstairs.
True to her word, Ava sits in a chair with her feet pulled up and a bag of candy in her lap. “Comfy?”
“Absolutely,” she says with a grin. “Go, do your thing.”
“My thing?”
“Yeah, wipe the floor with Bryce’s enforcer. He needs to be taken down a peg or two or a hundred.”
“I’ll go do that,” I tell her dryly.
But I do turn around and face Hunter, who’s watching me with that intensity that’s all him. “Ready?” he asks.
I nod. “Yeah.”
He approaches me, and I stand opposite him. “I’m not going to take it easy on you,” he warns.
I lift my chin. “I don’t want you to.”
“If Raechel’s as good as they say, she won’t go easy on you.”
I cock my head to the side. “Have you seen her fight?”
He shakes his head. “I’m sure I’ve been there when she’s fought, but I haven’t paid attention.”
“Let’s go, people,” Ava calls out, popping another sour Skittle in her mouth.
“Don’t those things hurt your tongue?” I ask.
“Yep. But only after you’ve eaten the whole bag.”
“Focus,” Hunter says, drawing my attention back to him.
I block out Ava and settle into a fight stance. “Let’s go.”
We circle each other for a moment, and then I attack.
I’m fast, but he’s ready for me. He dodges my blow easily and returns one of his own.
We circle each other, trading blows. He lands one on me, and I return the favor soon after.
It’s not long before we’re both sweating.
For all his talk, I can tell he’s holding back on me.
I land a solid blow to his chest, and he doesn’t even flinch.
I advance again, trying to get him to stop holding back.
I start a series of blows and back him to the edge of the circle.
I do a reverse spin kick and manage to get his legs out from under him.
He hits the mats hard, and I follow him down, ready to pin him.
But he’s too fast for that. He rolls before I can pin him.
He’s back on his feet a second later. I jump up and wipe the sweat from my brow before going after him again.
“Take a break,” Bryce calls out, surprising me. I’d kind of forgotten we had an audience. “Sherese, you’re a good fighter, but you’re kind of predictable. Once Raechel figures you out, she’ll use it against you.”
“Okay.”
He moves over to me. “Change up your sequence. You follow the same set each time you go on the attack. Second, you need to watch your feet. Raechel’s trademark is a sweeping kick to take your feet out from under you.
You leave yourself vulnerable to that each time you lean back.
Focus on leaning forward more than backward.
” He shows me a few things, and then motions to the two of us. “Go again.”
We start up again, and frustration builds in my chest because Hunter won’t really fight me, not like what I know he’s capable of.
I don’t even know how I know, but I know there’s a darkness to him that would give him the edge in a fight like this.
He’s a worthy opponent; that’s for sure.
But he could be so much more if he let himself go.
I land another blow on him that I know he could have blocked, and frustration burns in my chest. I don’t know why it bothers me that he’s holding back, but it does.
It really does. I want to win because I earned it, not because he was babying me.
“Fight back,” I snap at him after I land a hard hit on his chin.
“I am,” he says in a calm voice.
“No.” I swing. “You’re.” Kick. “Not.” Spin kick.
He effectively dodges my assault. But when he could have taken me down when I was slightly off balance, he doesn’t.
I go after him harder, trying to take him down.
He blocks every hit and even returns a few, but they’re nowhere near as powerful as I know they could be. “Stop babying me!”
And then he makes his move. The first two swings have me dodging to avoid the hit.
The third knocks me square in the chest, and then I’m flat on my back, trying to catch my breath.
He stares down at me with a dark expression on his face.
“Lesson number one.” His voice is low. “Don’t ever let your emotions rule you. ”
His words stir up the simmering anger in my chest. I push against his hard shoulders. “I’m not emotional.” That’s something I’ve prided myself on. I’ve never allowed myself to be “female” about everything I’ve been through. I pride myself on the iron control of my emotions.
“Raechel’s a professional. She won’t let emotion rule her. You can’t let it rule you.” His words grind against me. “As soon as your emotion takes over, you’re done, just like that.”
“You made your point. Get off me,” I grind out. He’s off me a second later, and I jump to my feet. Humiliation burns through me, and I don’t meet his gaze. “Again.”
There’s silence. “We’re done for today.”
I lift my gaze to his. “No, we’re not.”
His eyes are hard. “Yes, we are.”
“You don’t get to take me down and then decide we’re done. That’s not your call to make.”
He’s silent for a moment. “I didn’t mean to make you angry.”
“Didn’t you?” The words slip out before I can rein them in. “Pretty sure that’s exactly what you were trying to do.”
“Fine. I did.” Elation at being right burns through me, but it burns away a moment later when he steps close, right into my personal space.
“I did try to make you angry on purpose.” I stare up at him.
I forgot until just this moment how much bigger than me he is.
It’s so rare that males are taller than me, and he’s got a good few inches on me.
He makes me feel small, and that’s super unusual for me.
“I wanted to get a response from you, any kind of emotion.”
I scoff. “You just accused me of having emotion, and that made me a bad fighter.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I know. You shouldn’t have emotion of any kind when you fight, or it will be used against you.”
I cock an eyebrow. “And yet, you just said you tried to get me to show emotion.”
“I wanted to prove to you that you have emotion. Any kind of emotion. If that was anger, then I’d take it.”
Shock replaces my anger. “Why?”
He meets my gaze head-on. “Because I want you to know that you’re still human. You can still feel.” A rebuttal rises on my tongue, but he continues. “You may be a vampire, but you can still feel. You can still be happy, angry, sad, any of those things.”
“Like you?” I scoff and shake my head.
“What?” His tone is dark.
“You tell me I’m emotionless? Have you looked in the mirror lately?
You’re the embodiment of emotionless.” Regret burns through me even as I say the words.
I don’t like being heartless and cruel, no matter what I am.
I take a step back. “You were right the first time. We’re done here.
” Then I turn and flee. It takes me until I’m all the way back to my room to realize that Ava and Bryce disappeared somewhere in the midst of that showdown between Hunter and me.
Frustration burns through me. A quick glance outside shows it’s too late to go for a run; the sun is high in the sky.
I pace my room, wishing I could run. I need a break from my thoughts.
I can’t get Hunter’s words out of my mind.
He doesn’t understand. I don’t get to have emotion.
Being happy? I snort out a laugh to the empty room.
He really doesn’t have a clue. Even anger and sadness can’t be a part of my life.
Because if they are, then I might give in to the crushing soul-deep hopelessness I felt when I was first taken.
I made a promise to myself to never go back to those dark days.
The only way to avoid that is to not feel anything.
It’s worked for me for the last several years, and I’m not changing it now for some broody wolf.