Chapter Twenty-Three
Sherese
I stop in front of Garrett. He sniffs and nods.
“I can mostly just smell Hunter. That’s good.
I told the pack that we had a visitor from another pack,” he wastes no time saying.
“I didn’t tell them what you are. Max, Madison, and Kyle will be nearby all night, but stay alert.
I will as well.” After those ominous words, he lifts his head and takes in the group behind me.
“I hope you were able to get some rest this afternoon. Everybody ready for tonight?”
Ava sidles up next to me as Garrett talks with the others. “You ready?”
“Yep.” I’m ready to just get in there and get to the fight. I don’t like all the build-up.
Garrett leads the way inside, and we all follow. Once we get all the way inside, I go still. My eyes scan the bleachers, and I fight the growing unease. Ava stops next to me. “What is it?” she asks loudly to be heard over the crowd.
“Just how big is this pack?”
“Oh, it’s huge. Like four hundred or something like that.”
“I thought it would be the size of the Phoenix Pack or just a little bit bigger. This is...a lot.”
Raechel bumps my shoulder. “You’re not chickening out on me, are you?”
“No.” My answer comes without thinking. I agreed to this, and I’ll follow through with it. “I just wasn’t expecting this many wolves in one place. It’s terrifying when I think about it.”
Raechel glances at me. “Don’t think about it then.” Then she strides away in her heels.
“Oh, to have that kind of confidence,” Ava says from right next to me.
I kind of have to agree. But I haven’t been through everything I've been through to be a weakling now. I lift my head. I notice Kyle and Madison standing only a few feet behind me. Madison nods at me but doesn’t say anything, and I turn back around.
“Hey.” Ava elbows me. “Garrett said he can’t scent you.
Just don’t show any fang, and you’ll be fine.
This pack always has people coming and going.
People won’t think twice about another visitor.
” We walk past the first set of bleachers, and I stiffen.
But nobody shouts anything or even acknowledges me.
I follow Ava and settle on a seat a few rows up.
Raechel joins us, and so do the other healers and their mates.
Kyle and Madison do as well. I expect it to be awkward, but there isn’t a chance for that. There’s too much going on.
“Look,” Raechel yells over the noise, pointing across the gym. “Hunter’s in the ring.”
I turn that way, surprised. He hadn’t said anything about fighting tonight, not that he fills me in on his life.
We’re not close, but I can see what a good fighter he is, even from here.
And I know by watching him that he was definitely holding back with me.
I hear a voice I recognize over the sound system and realize it’s Liam making the announcements for the night.
When he announces Bryce as the visiting alpha of the Phoenix Pack in the next fight, Ava cheers loudly.
I watch as the alpha takes on a member of the Northwoods Pack.
The guy looks young. He’s a good fighter; I’m pretty sure every pack member here is.
But Bryce is just better. He ends it after a little bit, and Ava cheers loudly for him.
I watch as Wyatt saunters over to the stage where Liam and Garrett are.
Ava must see me watching because she leans towards me.
“He used to be a pack member of the Northwoods Pack.” The camaraderie between the three of them makes sense then.
Wyatt heads back our way, grinning the entire time. “You just couldn’t resist?” I hear Samantha ask.
“I gotta prove I still have it, my Sam,” he says, and I can hear the grin in his voice.
I get lost in the thrill of being there.
I watch as Hunter fights again and knocks out his competitor after just a few seconds.
Bryce is a little nicer to his opponent, allowing the fight to last for at least a few minutes.
Wyatt is by far the most entertaining to watch.
He laughs and talks to his opponent; it must be someone he knows well.
But then, when he goes for it, he’s brutal in his attack.
It’s obvious he used to fight in this pack; it just shows in his form and approach.
I watch a few of the women’s fights, but it’s not really anything impressive.
“Too bad Maddie’s not fighting tonight,” Ava says at one point. “She’s fun to watch.”
As the night progresses, more and more competitors get knocked out.
Bryce, Hunter, and Wyatt are still in it, but so are some other members of the Northwoods Pack that I’ve seen are really good.
The women’s matches die down until there’s just one left.
The two fighters are pretty good, and I enjoy watching the fight.
Liam calls the winner, and everybody around us cheers for the winner.
Then it’s back to the male fights. Bryce, Hunter, and Wyatt all advance to the next round.
Wyatt stands in the ring and waves at the audience, earning him a loud cheer.
It’s obvious he’s still well-loved here.
“He’s such a ham,” Raechel says over the crowd.
Samantha smiles affectionately. “He is.”
Wyatt faces the group still in the competition. “Who am I facing? Don't be scared,” he says with a wicked grin.
“All right, everybody,” Liam calls out into the mic. “Turn your attention to one of the semi-final rounds. In ring one, we have Wyatt.” A cheer rings out around us, and he waves to the crowd, bowing dramatically. When he stands up, he faces Liam. “Where’s my opponent?”
I watch Liam grin and wonder what’s up. The mystery is solved a moment later, when Max ducks under the rope. Wyatt’s smile falls. “Really?” The audience thinks this is hilarious, and I look around, watching all the smiling faces.
Ava laughs next to me. “What?” I ask curiously.
“Bryce,” she nods at the floor. “He’s worried that he’s next to fight Max.”
I eye Max. “He’s a big guy, but that usually means they’re not as fast.”
Raechel must hear me because she turns to me. “You’ve obviously never watched my man fight. Watch,” she says, nodding towards the fight. “And be amazed.” Max takes his shirt off, and Raechel cheers and whistles, earning her more than a few chuckles.
I lean forward, excited to see what’s going to happen.
I’ve watched Wyatt fight all night. He’s really good.
It will be interesting to see if Max lives up to the hype.
“Let’s gooooo!” Liam yells into the mic, and the place goes crazy.
I watch the two of them carefully as they circle each other.
Wyatt goes on the offensive, and I’m impressed.
I’m not sure how he still has that much gas in the tank.
Max blocks his blows, but Wyatt gets in a good hit.
Raechel grunts as if the hit landed on her.
I watch Max and begin to think that his skills were blown out of proportion, but then he goes on the offensive.
Wyatt never stood a chance. I’m on my feet with the rest of the crowd when Liam calls the fight for Max.
Raechel elbows me, and I turn and see her obnoxious grin. “Get it now?”
I nod. “That was seriously impressive.”
“I know.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me and then whistles loudly for Max. “They didn’t call him the Dark Knight in Chicago for nothing.”
I take in her words as Wyatt stands up and makes a dramatic exit from the ring, earning him some laughter. But when he raises his arms to the crowd, they cheer for him. He joins our group again. “Not a word, Rae,” he says when he passes Raechel.
“I wasn’t going to say a word about how you got your backside served to you,” she says with an evil cackle.
I turn my attention back to the ring, where Bryce and Liam, surprisingly, are squaring off.
Ava leans forward, hands clenched in her lap.
Raechel leans forward as well. “This ought to be a good one. They’re probably pretty evenly matched, but Liam has the edge simply because he fights here all the time.
” She ends up being right. Liam does win, but it's not an easy victory.
Bryce holds him off for a long time, earning my respect.
I knew he was a good fighter, and I would imagine Liam, being beta, is one of the best.
I look over and see Hunter standing near the ring and wonder who he’s going to face.
But Liam’s voice over the sound system catches my attention.
“Our second-to-last fight of the night is going to be a fun match-up with one of our own, Raechel, the Dark Angel, fighting against a visiting fighter from another pack. Pack, let’s welcome to the ring, Sherese, the Avenger. ”
My eyebrows go up at that. Raechel shakes her head. “He has way too much fun making up names.” She turns to me. “Ready, Avenger?”
“Sure, Dark Angel,” I say dryly.
She grins. “Don’t knock it. That monicker did well for me in Chicago.”
I stand up and walk down the steps after her. “Well, we’re not in Chicago anymore, are we?”
Her smile widens. “Let’s do this.”
She walks over to Max and hugs and kisses him, and I make my way over to the ring.
I take off my boots and jacket and am just about ready to step into the ring when a hand on my arm stops me.
I don’t have to even look to know who it is.
Hunter stands next to me, intensity radiating from him. “You’ve got this.”
And just like that, confidence floods my system. I look up at him for just a moment. “Thanks, Hunter.” He pulls the ropes apart, and I climb through the opening between the top and bottom.
I walk over to the far side of the ring and watch as Raechel makes a grand entrance.
She stops to take off her heels and her jacket.
Then she pulls her hair into a ponytail, kisses Max, and waves at the crowd.
Max pulls the ropes apart for her, and she steps into the ring.
But when she faces me, all signs of the fun-loving girl from a few minutes ago are long gone.
In its place is the intensity and confidence of a seasoned fighter.
I stretch my neck and my arms and loosen up.
I regret sitting for so long, but I can’t do anything about it now.
I jump up and down, warming up my body and wait for Liam to call the fight.
I don’t miss it when Garrett steps into the ring.
I know he’s there to protect Raechel, and I don’t take it personally.
I get it. Liam says a few more things that I tune out, and then he gives us the go-ahead.
I tune out the crowd and everything else except the fighter in front of me.
I watch Raechel, and my mind runs a million miles a minute, computing what I see from her.
I don’t have to wait long to see her fight.
She comes towards me, swinging aggressively.
I almost don’t duck far enough on her second punch.
She dances on the balls of her feet, and I continue to clock every movement and let my vampire brain work overtime.
I let her come at me once again and pay attention to every single detail, my brain clocking and storing everything, even as I evade her hits.
She raises an eyebrow. “Are you going to fight or just cower in the corner?”
I know she’s trying to goad me into fighting, but I don’t let her.
I just need a little more from her. Come on; come at me one more time.
She does, and I pay attention to her hip placement, her feet, her fists, every single detail.
My brain clocks it faster than I can even take it in. And when I’ve got it all, I attack.