Page 26 of The Queen

“Good fight, Dani.”

The next up was the scrawny beta who smelled like spoiled wine. Shadow didn’t look very happy, but then again, did he ever? It might mean nothing. They touched knuckles and stepped into a fighting stance. The beta took a swing, but Shadow made no move to block it.

I was puzzled as the beta’s fist collided with my alpha’s jaw. I bit into my knuckle, worried. Why had he let him hit him like that? Was he injured?

It seemed I was worried over nothing because, in the next instant, Shadow’s fist came out of nowhere, slamming into the beta’s jaw and dropping him to the ground, unmoving.

I gasped. “Stars! Did you kill him?”

Everyone around the edge of the clearing smiled or laughed at my reaction, but a powerful looking blond woman responded. “No, Your Majesty. Mik just likes to hit above his weight class. He hasn’t figured out that money can’t buy success.” She gave me a wink, grabbed the beta’s wrist, and dragged the passed out, but very much alive, man off to the side.

“Albion, do you want to go a round?” Shadow called to her.

She smirked back at him. “I’d hate to make you look bad in front of Her Majesty.”

“If you do, it’s as much as I deserve,” he replied and held out his hand, beckoning her forward.

“If that’s what you want.”

They touched knuckles and squared up. This looked like common practice based on the way they mirrored one another. These two were intensely watching each other’s every move. This fight seemed different somehow. There was more than sheer power at play. The look in their eyes was calculating and patient. One took a step, and the other countered as they circled the ring with purpose. They traded a few blows to the ribs. All the face shots were blocked on both sides.

I wiggled closer to the edge of the log, my eyes fixed on the two fighters.

She kneed him in the ribs, then ducked his swing. She was good, more calculated, if less explosive than the last alpha. Shadow landed a glancing blow and swept her legs from under her, but she was fast and back up on her feet in a blink.

I gasped, wiggling in my seat.

He was already moving toward her, but his attention shifted to me and my reaction. His eyes caught mine just as the woman made her move. She used his momentum to launch him over her shoulder into one of the trees lining the perimeter. The thud nearly stopped my heart. Before I knew it, I was on my feet.

Shadow rolled to his knees, heaving air into his lungs in gasps. Blood streamed down his back in a river of red.

“Shadow!” I rushed to him, but he was standing by the time I reached his side.

He was smiling and bumped fists with Albion. “Good match.”

The woman had a horror-stricken look on her face as she watched me trip over myself to inspect the gash. “Yeah, good match.” She seemed uncertain what to do in the face of my concern.

“I’m fine, little omega,” Shadow said to me.

The rest of the audience was smiling and chatting among themselves, unconcerned with the outcome of the match.

I was not convinced. “Can someone get a doctor? Someone get Grey right away, please.”

Albion grabbed her shirt off a log. “I’ll get him for you, Your Majesty.” She pulled her shirt on and was buttoning it closed as she disappeared down the tunnel.

I grabbed Shadow’s hand and tugged him off to the side, where I pushed him down on one of the logs. “Let me look.”

He seemed slightly annoyed, but bent forward so I could inspect his back. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s bleeding,” I said as I looked at the skin peeling away from raw flesh.

As I reached out to inspect it more closely, Shadow caught my wrist and pulled me down onto his lap.

“I said.” He pressed his forehead against mine. “I’m fine.”

I fell into the depths of his fathomless black eyes. His scent enveloped me, dragging my thoughts to starless skies lit by flickering bonfires where it was just the two of us.

The sound of fists on bare flesh brought me back to the moment, and I looked over my shoulder to see a shorter black-haired alpha going a round with the alpha Shadow had first fought. No one else seemed worried about the wound that was still seeping blood, but that didn’t mean I was letting it go.

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