Page 59 of Wolf Bound

Ryker’s chin is a little red from the punch he received, but other than that, he looks fine. Ransom has blood dripping from his mouth, and when he sneers at Ryker, his teeth are also red with blood. I used to take a kickboxing class back in San Francisco, and this reminds me of that, but a whole lotbloodier.

“It’s all superficial wounds,” Ranger says, still standing behind me. “They’ll be healed in no time.”

I continue to watch them, my head cocking to the side as I study how they evade and deflect each punch or kick. They have so much practice protecting themselves and fighting off attackers, something they will need if and when Nicolai makes his move. Then something dawns on me…

“I want in,” I announce, feeling a grin form on my face.

“Excuse me?” Ranger sputters.

“Nicolai isn’t going to go away without a fight,” I say. I spin on my heels to face him. “I can’t always rely on you guys to save my ass if something happens and somethingisgoing to happen.” I grab my stomach. “I canfeelit.”

“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 thisasshole,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’mfine,” 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.

“Wellyeah,” Ransom says with a shrug, “but it wasRyker. 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.

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