Tanner lunged to the side, but as fast as he was, it didn’t save him completely. Spencer was still able to get his claws into him, tearing four parallel lines across his right shoulder as he flew past. The hybrid hit the floor of the cage with a thud that shook the whole ring, crashing forward in an out-of-control tumble that didn’t stop until he slammed into the fencing on the far side of the octagon. Then Spencer was up and readying himself for another attack.
The beast inside Tanner howled as much in frustration as pain, and he felt his claws and fangs slip out. He might not want to willingly hurt Spencer, but he doubted his hybrid half was interested in letting his body get ripped to shreds either. Tanner was in control for the moment, but he wasn’t sure how much longer that was going to last.
The crowd was going absolutely batshit, shouting and cheering for more. Tanner risked throwing a glance in that direction, shocked to see some of the people were shoving each other out of the way to get closer to the cage. Some were snapping pictures or taking videos as he and Spencer went at each other, but most only seemed to want to get closer to the bloodshed.
Tanner was still worrying about how much worse things could get if those videos ended up on the internet when his instincts warned him Spencer was coming again. He jumped to the side and hit the floor in a roll, coming up ready for anything.
That turned out to be Spencer coming at him in a full-on hybrid rage, his red eyes now devoid of even the tiniest shred of human intelligence, his mouth open wide in a growl that displayed more teeth than any human could possibly possess. Tanner wondered if this was what he looked like when he lost control. If so, he could understand why so many people were terrified of him.
Tanner blocked the claws coming at his neck, then punched the other hybrid in the face, hard. Spencer stumbled back a few feet but otherwise barely seemed to register the blow, even though Tanner was sure he’d caused some damage. Snarling louder, Spencer came at him again, his mouth opening wide as if he intended to tear Tanner’s throat out with his fangs.
Tanner darted to the side, slamming his heavy boot into Spencer’s gut at the same time. The move slowed the hybrid, but only for a moment. Then he lunged for Tanner’s neck again. Tanner tried to sidestep him, but there was no time. Spencer was too close and too fast.
Heart pounding, Tanner tried to get his arm up to protect his vulnerable neck, but even that seemed too little, too late. The best he could do was shove his forearm up against Spencer’s upper chest, shoving him aside and deflecting the hybrid’s aim. Instead of his friend’s fangs slamming into his vulnerable throat, they came down on the left side of his neck and shoulder, burying deep in the muscles there.
The pain was beyond intense, and Tanner’s inner beast crashed through the door out of pure survival instinct. Tanner knew if he continued to try to do this on his own, he’d end up dead, so he relinquished control, letting his claws and fangs fully extend as he forcibly ripped Spencer away from his neck.
Tanner didn’t want to think about how much damage he was doing to himself, which was good, since the wave of agony that tore through him made thinking impossible. So he stopped thinking and roared, the animalistic sound easily drowning out the crowd’s cheering and screaming.
Spencer growled and charged again. Tanner met him midlunge, spinning him around and slinging him across the octagon as hard as his inner beast would let him. Spencer was still three feet off the ground when he slammed into one of the gates and kept going, his weight and momentum tearing the gate partially off its hinges. Spencer smashed his head hard, then hit the stone floor outside the cage just as hard. He was up in a flash, growling and enraged even as blood poured from a wound across the side of his face.
Two guards who’d been serving as crowd control outside the cage ran straight at Spencer, weapons coming out at the same time. Spencer must have smelled them, because he spun in a move so fast, it was a blur. He swiped at the first guard’s neck, then the other, before he was on the move again.
The crowd had already been stunned to complete silence by Tanner’s roar and the sight of Spencer getting thrown right through the fencing of the cage. Now that Spencer was free, the crowd became completely unglued. First were the shouts and screams of panic, then the struggle to get away.
It only got more insane when Tanner climbed out of the cage, shoving aside the door that still hung there by one hinge and the chain that had been used to lock it closed. People took one look at Tanner up close and began climbing over each other to get away. That just made the panic worse. People got trampled, but Tanner couldn’t find it in himself to care.
A blur of movement caught Tanner’s attention, and he caught sight of Spencer making his way through the crowd, heading toward the steps leading to the second level. Tanner glanced up at the luxury box where Lillie had been, but there was no sign of the girl now, or Ryan and Nguyen for that matter. But Spencer must have believed he could find them in that direction, which was enough for Tanner.
He didn’t have to worry about the crowd getting in his way. Even the people taking videos of him on their phones practically killed themselves to get out of his path. He didn’t bother trying to exert his control over the beast and shift back.
