Page 58 of I Am Lioness

Hazel mounted Ashley and threw her fists down like a jackhammer, landing several solid hits to her face. Ashley finally covered and jerked her upper body away from the hailstorm of punches raining down over her but she didn’t get very far.

Hazel pounced and draped her body over Fierce’s chest, trapping her head to the mat and her arm in a lock that left her nearly immobile.

Ashley laid still for a moment until she noticed the referee looming beside her, ready to begin the countdown. She wiggled her other arm from under Hazel’s legs and sank her fingers in Hazel’s hair, pulling her back far enough to free herself in entirety and toss Hazel over her in a heap.

Both women scrambled to their feet, prowling around their corners. The ref pointed to Fierce in warning for the hair pull, granting Hazel the opportunity to quickly advance to the middle.

Fierce approached, arms up in a weak cover, watching Hazel bouncing around her with brisk feet and lithe grace. Round and around they went until finally Ashley swung a leg out, but Hazel’s movements were much too quick and she jumped back out of reach.

I could see Fierce growing angrier by the second, rage flashing in her eyes as she lunged for Hazel, pushing them back against the cage with force.

They struggled against each other for quite some time, alternating their grips and who was trapped against the cool steel. Hazel had the advantage more times than not, throwing in heavy-handed punches that eventually wore Fierce down enough for her to wiggle free and retreat to center ring.

“LI-ON-ESS, LI-ON-ESS!” The crowd was chanting now in unison.

Hazel grinned and coaxed Ashley with her hands.Bring it,I saw her mouth.

With a growl, Fierce pushed off the cage and bound toward Hazel in a rush. Hazel shot out first, catching Ashley just beneath her eye to which she stumbled back, momentarily stunned. She shook it off and jabbed out, alternating her fists in a speedy double that my girl dodged without batting an eyelash.

A swift and unexpected gut punch brought Fierce to her knees. The ref stepped in front of Hazel with an arm out, keeping a watchful eye on Ashley who was now folded over on the mat, clutching her stomach as she attempted to fill her lungs with air.

Her coach was just beyond the cage urging her to get to her feet with words of encouragement barely heard above the crowd. Despite the pain lancing through her body, Fierce sucked in a deep breath and lifted herself off the mat, using the adrenaline that pumped through her veins to charge toward Hazel before the clock timed out.

Terrible mistake on her part.

As she zeroed in, Hazel cocked a fist back and nailed Ashley dead-center in the face, effectively knocking her back onto the mat with a loud thud.

Blood immediately began to pour down from her nose and down the sides of her face to where she laid nearly motionless. Her eyes were clamped shut, face scrunched in excruciating pain.

It was quite possible Hazel had broken her nose. The referee dropped down beside her, slamming his hand down as the countdown commenced with the crowds assistance.

Ten…

Nine…

Eight…

Seven…

Six…

Five…

Four…

Three…

A split-second was all it took for Fierce to take the entire arena by surprise when she hobbled up to her feet and once again charged towards Hazel with a feral growl, knocking her back against the cage with such force, her head bounced.

Hazel swung a leg out in attempt to fend her off but Fierce latched on and pulled Hazel down instead, mounting her in a speedy fashion. Before Hazel could cover, Ashley slammed her fist into my girl’s face once, twice, three times...

No.

Loud gasps of shock resounded around me as dread and panic consumed me in an instant. I was suddenly very worried this was about to take a gruesome turn.

My stomach churned at the sight of Hazel’s semi-limp body, my fingers white-knuckling the cage as I belt out words of encouragement to her in fear.

Above the chanting in the arena though, my voice was barely audible. All I could do was hope that their chanting would bring her back and spring her into action.

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