Page 106 of Court of Evil

I rush her, but she manages to kick it up, catching it midair, and duck under my punch before coming up behind me. She kicks me down, and I hit the mats again.

She uses her shirt as a weapon, winding it around my neck and yanking me up onto my knees. Most would lift their hands to grab it, but instead, I reach back, clutch her thighs, and flip us forward. It loosens her hold as she hits the mat, and I let the shirt drop as I slam her hands above her.

“Give up, angel?” I pant into her face.

Her eyes are narrowed, her lips thin. “Never.” Her head jerks up and slams into mine. The force makes me see stars, and I don’t let go, but she manages to flip us, and I lift my hands at the last minute to protect my face as she rains brutal punches to my arms until they ache.

Kicking up, I wrap my legs around her waist and roll us again. “Not the face, angel.” I lean down so only she hears me. “How will you ride it later if you hurt it?”

That pisses her off just like I wanted.

Her elbow comes up, hitting my chin, and I actually fall back from the force. She’s on me then, her hands on my cheeks, and my eyes widen as memories assault me—no, not memories. These are thoughts.

She throws them at me like a physical block, blinding me.

I see her on top of me, our bodies writhing together in ecstasy.

I am not sure if they are her wants or mine, but it does the trick, and when I manage to shake off the stupor, my face aches and she’s hammering into it.

Rolling away with a groan, I kick her, and she hits the mat, breathing heavily. She holds her side as she climbs to her feet and faces off with me again. “I see you’re getting stronger.” I’m careful about what I say, but I mean her abilities.

Her lips tighten, and I don’t know if she meant to control it or if it just happened. Either way, it worked in her favour. I’m dripping blood, my face hurts, and exhaustion is setting in, but she’s leaning to the side and bleeding too. She won’t give in, and neither will I. If we continue this way, one of us will end up dead.

“Draw?” I ask.

“Fuck that.” She flies at me again, and I catch her fist and spin her so her back is to my front. “Draw, angel, before one of us kills the other.”

“Then kill me.” She elbows back and spins, kneeing me in the groin. I go down with a groan, clutching my prized possessions. Agony races through me as she smirks, and she uses my weakness. Her knee comes up, and I feel my nose burst, but I manage to block her next blow. She hits the mat hard as I wrap my hands around her throat. She narrows her eyes as her legs come up and circle my neck.

Both of us clench hard, choking the other.

It’s now a game of who has the most courage.

Dots dance in my vision, and she’s breathing heavily from the earlier hit. She’ll let me kill her before she gives in, but I don’t want that. I don’t care about looking weak, but I care about hurting her, so I loosen my hands and she takes it, thinking I’m losing. She flips me, looping her arm around my neck. “Give up?”

“I give up.” I tap out, and she leaps to her feet, raising her hands in victory.

I watch her with a smile on my face as Ronan grins at me, floating upside down. “You let her win.”

“She deserved it,” I mutter as I climb to my feet, touching my battered face, knowing she did a number on it. When she glances back at me, though, I know it was all worth it.

CHAPTER 44

Heading away from Shamus and the crowd around us, I keep my eyes on my monsters. I ignore the congratulations and the fact that those who were looking at me with suspicion now look at me with awe. Humans are truly fickle creatures.

It’s always like this with hunters. They respect strength, not knowledge, and you earn loyalty through blood, sweat, and gritted teeth. Shamus gave me that opportunity, so I should probably thank him for that and the fact I finally got to smack his pretty face.

It was satisfying as hell to see him bleed. The shock in his gaze when I landed that hit, yeah, I’ll admit it made me wet as hell.

There’s something about taking a man down a peg that does that to me.

Watching the realisation setting in that they might have been the top of the food chain before, but with me, they aren’t is addicting. Since I was brought back and embraced the darkness to hunt down Black, I’ve noticed these thoughts a lot more. It’s as if whatever restrained me previously doesn’t now.

Maybe I lost my morality or soul along the way, but I can’t seem to care as my monsters grin and cheer for me as I walk their way. The gym is filled with so much excitement, people even chatter near my monsters without throwing them dirty looks.

My eyes narrow, however, when a hunter gets too close to Fang where she sits on top of a bench by a weight press. She eyes him disdainfully and looks away, her eyes meeting mine as I head towards her. Uncaring about her reaction, he leans closer, gripping her hair and jerking her head around. Her eyes widen in fear as his other hand reaches for her shoulder to pull her towards him, and I lose it.

I see red. His hands are on her, on what’s mine, and a male is touching her when I know she hates it. I appear next to them, and the gym goes quiet, no doubt sensing my change in mood—all but him.

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