Page 36 of Wolf's Gambit

The crowd went wild, and I heard Vance leave the ring, which left Bullet and me.

I’d never seen Bullet fight, but he’d been watching me for weeks. He knew my tells and my moves. For the first time, I was at a disadvantage.

My wolf prowled closer, but I pushed her back. Bullet was a pig, but he was still human, and I would beat him as a human.

The bell sounded, and he came at me surprisingly fast. His fist knocked my head back, and I staggered back. My counter-jab missed him as he danced backward, a smirk on his face.

I went on the offensive and hit out at him with quick jabs and strikes and tried to control my frustration when only half of them met their mark. He was so fast on his feet, I would have suspected wolf if I hadn’t known better, but his scent was definitely human.

Bullet kicked out and caught my upper thigh, and I stumbled once more. Unlike me, he had kept his boots on. Bastard. As I lost my footing, his other boot crashed into my knee, and I knew that would hurt later.

Moving back a few steps, I watched him waiting for me. He wasn’t following me to attack. He was watching. Waiting.

That was my trick.

My head lowered, and I raised my fists in front of me. I studied him as we slowly circled each other.

He was fast.

He was assessing.

He was clever.

Running my eyes over him, looking for any tells, I saw once more the smirk. He was cocky. He thought I was just an unruly girl who needed a lesson taught to her.

Smugness, I could fight. Arrogance, I could beat.

Squaring my shoulders, I matched his smirk. Come at me, fucker. I’m ready.

It was as if Bullet read my mind—he darted forward and rammed his fist into my belly. The wind rushed out of me, and I doubled over. He didn’t wait, and the next punch landed hard against the side of my head, bringing me to my knees.

Shaking my head to clear it from the fog, I rolled out of the way of his boot just in time. With a backflip, I landed back on my feet, my landing not as steady as I would like, but I was on my feet, and that’s all that mattered.

Bullet was watching me, his eyes narrowed. Calculating.

When he came at me again, I stood my ground. I was usually on the offense, but I could defend as well as anyone. I had every kind of fighting training that Kris knew. I dodged the next two punches, spun from the next, and blocked the fourth. But Bullet grabbed my wrist and spun me, his hold viselike on my arm as he twisted it up my back.

“You look better bleeding,” Bullet grunted in my ear.

Bracing my neck, I threw my head back and heard something crunch when my head connected with his. He let me go as he was moved backward from my headbutt.

Turning quickly, I saw his nose gushing. “Funny, you look better when you bleed too, dick.”

Jumping up, I half spun and landed a kick to his jaw, sending him sprawling backward. As he fell, I leaped after him, the force of my follow-up kick in his side, lifting him off the mat.

Bullet reached out and grabbed my leg, pulling me off my feet, and I landed on my back on the mat. Quickly, I rolled to the side as his leg flung out in an effort to pin me.

Back on my feet, I took another running jump at him, but this time he was ready for me and caught me midair, and with my momentum, he threw me against the ropes, knocking the air out of me.

His fist on my side made something crack, and I yelled out.

It was time to finish this. I went on the offense again, fists flying, elbows jabbing, and feet raised in punishing kicks. Bullet took a lot of the punches, even hitting me back.

When he jabbed out, I managed to grab his arm, and using his weight against him, I flung him over my shoulder. He landed on his back, and I wasted no time in bringing my full weight down in one hard kick to his chest. I ignored his yell and brought my knee down on his throat.

He grabbed my hair and pulled my head back until I released the pressure on his neck. I still felt my foot connect with his jaw as he dragged me back. Turning, I was upside down on his body, the bitch in me unleashed, and I punched the asshole in his dick.

Back on my feet, I saw him curled in a ball as he cradled his crown jewels. “You want to fight dirty?” I sneered at him. “Pulling my hair?” I kicked him in the stomach. Bending over, I grabbed his hair, dragging him up. I looked into his hate-filled eyes. “Here’s your lesson, bitch.” I kneed him in the jaw, and with a last punch to his face, I knocked him out.

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