Page 95 of The Blackened Blade

CHAPTER 26

MICAI

Icatch Annex’s black leather jacket and top as he heads into the large metal fighters ring and get a few narrowed looks from a few scantily dressed women around the ring before they turn back toward the fight.

I get the jealousy…his body was a lot more built and toned than evenIthought.

He has a perfect six-pack that's laced with tattoos. They stretch and swirl around each ab and taut muscle, etched from the top of his neck down to his hips, and then further dipping into his low strung black trousers.

There were skulls, snakes, black roses and wisps of shapes trailing down every inch of his bare skin; the look as dark and intimidating as much as it was striking. Match that with his piercing blue eyes and bad boy aura, and even I was pulling his top closer to me.

A shiver runs up my spine, so I throw the jacket on. I was probably still cold from the bike ride over here.

Who knew I’d be riding the back of a motorbike tonight. I had never been on one before, previous life included. But I had always wondered what it would feel like. And hell if it wasn’t fun.

It was more freeing than I’d ever thought it would be. A kind of rush I’d never felt before and something I definitely wanted to feel again.

Even if I had to ‘borrow’ Annex’s bike from him to do it.

A smoky scent hits my nose as I pull the leather jacket on. It smelt like the embers of a dwindling fire, with a hint of a deep caramel scent lingering behind it.

I look around, noticing lights flickering overhead in the large warehouse. Huge metal machinery and large rusted grey chains with hooks fall from the metal beams above us. The beams and roof are rusting into a reddish-brown hue as the wall's grey paint below it fades and peels away. A large battered blue signboard catches my eyes. The words‘Bellevere Abattoir’ arewritten in a greying-white script on the old decaying wood.

The crowd around me begins cheering loudly again, pulling my attention back to the fight just as the bell rings and the fight begins. Some of the people in the crowd push up against the cage in their excitement, shaking it as they continue to shout and cheer.

“You sure you’re okay here, little sea star?” Ezra stands beside me, a small awkward smile gracing his lips as he watches me.

He flickers his gaze toward the bustling crowd around us as they become more rowdy, his brow furrowing as people push past us and closer to the ring. He pulls me into his side as a large man shoulders into me, trying to get a closer look at the fight.

Ezra releases me, taking a step closer toward the man with a dark look in his eyes. I grab his hand and he whips around quickly. His gaze flickering to his hand in mine.

“I’m good, Ezra.” I give him a little squeeze, his eyes slightly softening as a small smile tilts his lips. “Let’s watch Annex. Do you think he’ll win?”

Ezra chuckles before looking behind me. “What's his odds again, Creed?”

I turn around, not having noticed him behind me.

The silent hoody boy, that I now know is calledMallyn, makes his way over to us, standing to the other side of Creed. The ass in question narrows his eyes at me before answering Ezra.

“Obviously, there's no competition.” He glares down at me. “Don’t wet yourself or run away crying when it gets bloody,Micai.” He calls my name as if he's pronouncing some slur word, a sharp bite to every syllable that rolls off his tongue.

But blood doesn’t scare me, and I don’t run from fights. Not anymore.

I give him a smile so big it stretches my cheeks.

“No need to worry,Creed. I can handle myself. You just worry about you.” I turn back toward the fight just as the host shouts ‘Begin’, and watch as the large shifter and Annex begin to circle each other.

The shifter's eyes begin to glow, preparing for whatever attack he has planned. Annex just smiles mockingly at the huge tank of muscle.

I glance back and forth between the two. Was this a fair fight?

I had never seen Annex fight before so I didn't know what to expect.

I know students and teachers in the academy fear him, but that's different from a huge shifter, that quite literally just killed someone a few minutes ago.

Would he be okay? What if he got hurt?

I know he likes to annoy me most days and can be a bit of a psycho, but there was something about Annex. He was different from all the preppy or pompous asses in the academy. He acted the way he wanted and bowed to no-one, not caring about status or other people's thoughts.

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