“Ryker isn’t going to let you—”
“He isn’t in charge of me,” I interrupt. “This is happening.” I grin. The new part of me I don’t quite understand yet is itching to punch something. I’ve never been an aggressive person; I’m usually the one who tries to stop situations like this, but I—my wolf—wants to join in on the fun, and I’m trusting she’ll take control once we’re in the makeshift ring.
“This is going to be bad…” I hear him mumble as I turn to watch the end of the fight. Ryker is on top of Ransom, delivering blow after blow to his head and chest. Luckily, Ransom has his hands up in front of his face, so he’s able to deflect many of the hits. Then Ryker manages to land a punch square in Ransom’s face after a few tries.
Ransom taps the floor, and Ryker lets up. I’m prepared for Ransom to be pissed at his older brother, but instead, when Ryker pulls him to his feet, there’s a big smile on Ransom’s bloody face.
“You broke my nose, fucker,” he jokes, shoving Ryker’s shoulder.
“Should’ve kept your hands up.” Ryker just shrugs.
His gaze scans the room and lands on me. The smile on his face makes my heart flutter. Even sweaty and covered in Ransom’s blood, he’s smoking hot.
“Good morning,” he says before kissing my forehead.
“Good morning,” I reply to both Ryker and Ransom. “You’ve got some blood—” I gesture to his whole face, “—everywhere, Ransom.”
“I know. Every time I spar with this asshole, he breaks my nose.” Ransom touches his nose lightly, wincing in pain when he does.
“And yet you still challenge me.” Ryker smirks, looking proud of his achievement. “Did you sleep well?” His brows furrow when he looks at my face. “You have dark circles under your eyes...”
“I couldn’t fall back to sleep when you left for patrol.” I wipe at my face even though I know I can’t wipe off dark circles. “It’s fine. I’m fine,” I insist when I brush off his hand as he reaches up to touch my face.
Logan steps onto the mat behind Ryker. He’s shirtless, like many of the men in the room. Black tribal tattoos wrap around his dark skin, and I can see there’s bruising starting to form around his ribs.
“Who did he fight?” I ask.
“Me,” Ranger admits lifting a hand. “He got me in a chokehold, and I had to tap out.” Ranger winces when he touches his neck, and now that he mentions it, I can see dark bruises forming on his jugular.
“Loser,” Ransom says under his breath, and all our heads turn to stare at him.
“That was you tapping out just a minute ago when Ryker kicked your ass, right? Or am I mistaken?” I raise a brow at him and hear Ryker cough on a laugh behind me, but I keep my focus on Ransom.
“Well yeah,” Ransom says with a shrug, “but it was Ryker. No one ever beats him at these things.”
“You should remember that next time,” Ryker tells him.
We’re laughing and teasing Ransom more when Logan’s deep voice booms through the room. “Ryker won the last match,” Logan calls out to the room. “Anyone want to challenge him?”
Everyone is silent as they all glance around at each other, averting their gazes when Ryker looks at them. In seems no one wants to draw attention to themselves. I also notice some of them even go as far as to take a step back in an effort to distance themselves from Ryker.
Fuck it.
“I will.” I shrug. Who else is better to teach me the ins and outs of fighting then the one they’re all afraid of?
I didn’t think the room could get any quieter than it already was, but it turns out I was wrong. Everyone looks like all the blood has drained from their faces, and their heartbeats are erratic.
“I think the fuck not!” Ryker growls.
“Why not?” I ask him, bouncing on my toes. “It’ll be fun.”
“I’m not going to be responsible for hurting my mate,” he scoffs.
“You won’t hurt me. Look. See?” I put my head back and point at my neck where the gashes have almost completely healed over. “I heal fast now too.”
He shakes his head at me, a slightly irritated look now covering his attractive face. “Absolutely not.”
“What? Come on, please?” I even go as far as batting my lashes at him.
“No!”
I cross my arms and glare at him, annoyed he won’t do this for me. I’m about to say something to him when Remington pushes through the crowd wearing a pair of black leggings and a neon green sports bra.
“I’ll do it.” She grins at me. “Since my brother is too much of a puss—”
“Remington,” Ranger scolds.
Ryker shakes his head at his sister. “You guys aren’t doing this.” He scowls. “She doesn’t have any experience with hand to hand fighting.”
“She held her own with your psycho friend a couple weeks ago, didn’t she?” Remi points out as she kicks off her tennis shoes.
I think back to when Avery tried to attack me and how fast I was able to move. I pull my long hair into a ponytail, so it’s out of the way. “Yes, I did.” I lift my chin in defiance. “I’m doing this,” I tell him before I also kick off my shoes and walk onto the mats.
“Pruitt…” he warns me, but I don’t look back at him.
Remi and I bump fists, grinning at each other as we do. I can already feel my wolf coming to the surface in preparation for the fight. My whole body buzzes with excitement, nerves, and power.
“I’m not going to go easy on you,” Remi warns me as she pulls her shoulder-length hair into a knot on top of her head. Her gaze slides over to where Ryker stands. “He just doesn’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I know, but he
