Donovan (The Shifters of Eagle Creek Book 1)

by Ashlee Sinn

  Crossing my arms, I turned to him. “These people live on your land and you don’t even know their names?”

  “Nope.”

  “Well, that’s about to change.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I pointed at the shifters. “All three want to challenge you.”

  Rhys huffed a laugh and puffed up his chest. “Please,” he mumbled.

  “Seriously. Look.” I showed him my brackets where I had all the wolf shifters competing. “You get Jo in the first round.”

  “Oh, I’ll take Jo in the first round,” he growled. But then he slapped me on the arm and started walking away. “Guess I better go get ready for my fight.”

  “Are you going to help get the camp cleaned up first?” I shouted at his back.

  He lifted his left arm and flipped me off. Then, he sauntered over to Jo, nudged him to the side and gave him the “I’m watching you” sign with his fingers.

  “Good god,” I muttered to myself.

  “He is no god.”

  The deep voice startled me and I hated how jumpy I was. “Jesus, Max. You scared the shit out of me.”

  He laughed and hit me on the other arm. I had to remember to ask Donovan why these guys always wanted to punch me like I was their little sister.

  “Am I on your list?” Max asked.

  “Yep. You’re fighting the other cats.”

  “What about Donovan?”

  My throat clenched and my gut tightened with anxiety. “I…he won’t fight.”

  “Bullshit. He can just fight the last one standing. He’ll beat us all.”

  “I know. But he’s not really talking to me right now.” It had started yesterday, when he saw me putting the plan together. At one point, I’d set my stuff on his kitchen table, and when I came back, he’d crossed his name off of every slot and went for a five-hour run. I’d thought we made up when he came back, but then he started acting weird again this morning.

  “Do you want me to try?” Max was serious in his offer and it made me love this place even more.

  Before I could answer, Donovan opened the door to his cabin. He stepped out onto the tiny porch, scanned the construction going on in preparation for the fight, and then found my gaze. Staring at me and Max with an intensity I hadn’t seen in him before, I felt like I was sinking into the earth. My legs were heavy and my feet wouldn’t move. It was hard to breathe and I would have guessed Max was feeling the pressure of the lion’s dominance too. A handful of shifters, those who hadn’t signed up for the challenges, actually dropped to their knees as their animals succumbed to Donovan’s natural power.

  “Now he is a god,” Max muttered.

  I tried to smile, but still felt too much pressure in the air weighing me down. If I was being honest with myself, a part of that pressure was the guilt I was harboring by continuing with these challenges even when Donovan didn’t want it. But Eagle Creek needed this. We needed to be organized and ready to present ourselves in less than twelve hours.

  Eventually he would come around, right?

  Donovan spun slowly on his heel, walked down his steps, and jogged into the woods. My heart broke a little, not knowing how to help him heal.

  “He’ll be back,” Max said.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because Donovan needs this place just as much as it needs him. Besides, you’re here now and you’re his mate.” Max stole a quick glance to check out my reaction.

  “Yes, we’re mated.”

  He smiled and nodded his head slowly. “I knew it.” Rhys walked back into view, shirtless and shiny, and Max shouted to him, “Hey, dip shit. You owe me twenty. They are mated.”

  “Fuck,” Rhys cursed. It was loud enough for everyone around us to hear and I knew I blushed a thousand shades of red.

  “So, when do we start?” Max asked. He was looking at a black-haired woman with dark eye makeup helping the others with the ring. It wasn’t the first time I’d caught him staring at her.

  With a smile, I said, “Now. You want to gather everyone?”

  “Done.”

  Max jogged off to start collecting the challengers and I prepared the final entry on my bracket. Donovan might not want to fight, and I’d respect that by not making him fight those beneath him. But he would have to win at least two challenges in order to become alpha. And Rhys was right—Donovan was really the only true choice for alpha. If he had someone over him, his lion would never submit.

  As I wrote his name in the last two sets of boxes, I hoped he would come around to that understanding within the next couple of hours. I also hoped he wouldn’t hate me forever for siding with his friends.

  It took thirty minutes to get everyone ready—another reason why this place needed some hierarchy. Alphas would make them be on time. Once standing near the pit, I jumped on top of the railing and started my speech. “This will be run like a regular challenge. You will fight until submission. No shifting and no biting.” A bunch of moans filled the crowd and I shook my head. “Hey, if you don’t like the rules, then you can withdrawal your challenge. But if you break the rules, you’re out of Eagle Creek forever.”

  “That’s bullshit!” one of the cat shifters called out.

  “Follow the rules, or you’re out!”

  Everyone fell into a stunned silence at his voice. Donovan stood behind the crowd and as they slowly swiveled to look at him, his mouth turned up ever so slightly in the corner near his scar. “Mariah’s call is final. Everyone good with that?” They all bobbed their heads. “Good, then let’s get this over with.”

  I jumped off the railings and jogged to Donovan’s side. “Are you staying?”

  “Yes.” His voice trembled yet had an aura of determination with it too.

  “Good,” I said, squeezing his hand. “Okay, first up we have Rhys and Jo.”

  The crowd hooted and hollered at the two wolves as they stepped into the middle of the ring. Rhys towered over the young pup, but Jo’s eyes were focused and he ended up getting a quick kick on the side of Rhys’ face just as I started the match. Rhys spit blood on the ground, turned slowly toward his prey and feigned an attack. When Jo flinched, the crowed laughed. Rhys danced around him in the ring, taunting and teasing. I couldn’t help but smile when Rhys started making baby sounds at his opponent, even though I knew it was immature.

  “This is going to take forever,” Donovan groaned.

  “Ah, let him have some fun. It’s binding this crew together.”

  As if noticing it for the first time, Donovan’s mouth dropped open a little when he scanned the crowd. The entire camp was standing around the outside of the ring, cheering and laughing and having a good time. It was special and I think Donovan finally got it.

  “Huh,” he huffed, and then didn’t say another word.

  Rhys grabbed Jo’s leg when he went in for another kick, and with one twist, Jo was writhing on the ground complaining about a broken ankle.

  “Oh, get up, pussy. It’s just sprained. Nothing snapped,” Rhys teased. But Jo was done, and when he gave me the official surrender signal, I called the fight.

  “Winner is Rhys!”

  Everyone cheered and Jo shook his hand. Rhys helped him out of the ring as I said the next two names. “Okay, we’ve got Fawn versus Alisha.”

  Another round of cheers accompanied the two petite women dressed in workout clothes and ready to fight. And boy were they ready. Their fight lasted an impressive thirty minutes with Fawn, the dark-haired raven shifter I’d seen lurking around here, taking the victory. Max sidled up to her as she exited the ring, offering a bottle of water. Fawn’s smile had me guessing he might be the real reason she was here.

  The next couple of hours flew by. The cats, the wolves, the small mammals—each shifter category fought with passion until the best candidate won. Max was now stepping into the ring for the first time and he was facing his nemesis—the female lynx alpha.

  “This should be interesting,” Donovan teased. Over the last couple of
fights, he’d lightened up and had started to enjoy himself. Maybe it was the pheromones coming off everyone or perhaps it was the way the whole group was working together. Regardless, Donovan was still standing here and appeared to be enjoying the fights a little bit.

  Max ripped his shirt off and the women in the crowd whistled. But then Mary, the lynx, ripped her tee shirt off, exposing her six pack abs and graciously endowed, and perhaps fake, weapons tucked into a sports bra. The guys went crazy as Donovan leaned over to me. “I feel like we just stepped into the world of WWE wrestling.”

  With a giggle, I nodded and started the fight. Mary was a formidable opponent. Now sober and focused, she didn’t make the kinds of mistakes she’d made the other night when she’d attacked. Rhys walked over to us and hit me in the arm again.

  “Hey, I thought we kicked them out.”

  “Max said they could come back but they were on thin ice.”

  “Why?” Rhys asked, although he didn’t sound too upset.

  “Because he said they didn’t have anywhere else to go. Much like the rest of us I guess.”

  Mary landed a hard blow on Max’s jaw and the crowd cheered.

  “Hey Max! Are you going to let a woman hit you like that?” Rhys goaded. “Come on man. We can’t be friends anymore if you don’t—ah!”

  Max threw a hunk of mud right into the middle of Rhys’ face, again getting the crowd riled up. Donovan and I almost fell over from laughing so hard while Rhys started complaining.

  “Hey, that’s against the rules! He should be disqualified!” Rhys looked like he was being serious, but I couldn’t keep a straight face.

  Speaking to the crowd, I shouted, “What do you all think? Should Max be DQ’d for throwing mud?”

  Everyone laughed and yelled “No!”, and this included Mary.

  Rhys muttered to himself. “You bastards.” That had Donovan laughing even harder. It was a wonderful sound coming from such a tortured man. His deep, long laughs had me smiling so much my cheeks hurt.

  Max and Mary continued their fight until Max got her in a choke hold and she almost passed out. He tried to play it off like he’d been hustling her, but he was out of breath and had several large scratches all over his body.

  “Rough one, huh?” Donovan asked his friend.

  “Fuck you,” Max grumbled while giving him a smile. “Let’s see you in there.”

  I snapped my head to look up at my mate and gauge his reaction, but he…laughed.

  “You know, I think I’m ready.”

  “Really?” Max asked, wiping the blood off his lip.

  Donovan, calm and stoic, turned to me and said. “I want to fight.”

  Not only did I want to fight, I think I needed to fight. Watching these challenges had opened something up inside. And it wasn’t rage or anger…it was…pride. I was a damn good fighter and I wanted to show Mariah that I could actually be good at something.

  “Are you sure?” she asked, and then quickly glanced at her clipboard. “I mean, I didn’t put you in the brackets until the very end in case you didn’t show up.”

  “It’s okay, I’m ready now.” The words slid out of my mouth like a beautiful lie, yet I couldn’t stop them.

  “This should be good,” Rhys muttered, leaning over me to see the brackets. “It’s probably going to be the three of us against each other.”

  Mariah glanced at her clipboard and then quickly back up to me. “He’s right.” She squeezed my bicep and whispered, “Is that going to be okay with you?”

  “It’s how it should be,” Max grunted for me. “Let’s get on with it.

  Mariah didn’t speak until I nodded my head. I loved how she just knew what I was thinking and knew what I needed. Wrapping my arm over her shoulder, I smiled as she called out the last two fights. “We’re close to the end,” she yelled and the crowd cheered. “Up first, we have Donovan versus Max, followed by Rhys versus Justin. Winners of each fight will compete in a final challenge.”

  I looked over at my friend and raised a brow. “You ready, Max?”

  “Huh,” he huffed. “Just don’t make me look too bad.”

  I slapped the panther on the shoulder and watched as he hopped the railing and jumped into the ring. Removing his shirt yet again, he pumped up the crowd in a way that reminded me so much of my past.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Mariah asked me. Her voiced trembled and I hated the way I was the one that made her sound that way.

  Leaning forward and pressing my lips against hers, I pulled her up against my body. “It’s fine,” I breathed into her mouth. “I’ll be fine.”

  She squeezed my ass and slowly stepped away. “Everyone’s watching us.”

  I loved the way her cheeks filled with color. “Good,” I growled, kissing her again.

  “Come on, man. Get on with it.” Rhys muttered beside us and the crowd started calling my name.

  That familiar sense of pride and the racing waves of chills skittered along my arms. It had been a long time since I’d been in an organized fight, and something about the feeling in the air today had me excited for the challenge. I looked at Max, who was getting a pep talk from the petite black-haired woman who’d fought earlier in the day. He laughed and she smiled, and I felt happy for my lonely friend.

  And now I would have to fight him.

  Giving Mariah one last kiss, I hurdled over the railing and lifted my arms. The shifters cheered me on, shouting my name and asking me to take off my shirt. With a quick glance to a laughing Mariah, I complied. Max took a swig of water and shook his hands out as he jumped up and down like a boxer getting ready for battle.

  “You boys remember the rules, right? No shifting and no biting,” Mariah shouted.

  “Sounds good to me,” I said with a feral grin as I held out my hand toward Max.

  He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m gonna regret this, right?” He grabbed my hand and squeezed.

  “Are you submitting already?” I teased.

  “No way.” The large panther shifter stepped back, shrugged, and waved me forward.

  The crowd went wild with cheers and taunts as Max and I circled each other. We both had smiles plastered to our faces, although mine came from some place that had been hidden deep inside. I loved to fight. I was good at it. And I knew I would win this battle.

  Max feigned right and then jumped left as he shot out his hand to punch me in the gut. But I’d seen it coming. Jumping backward, I leaned down, missed his hand, and swung out my right leg to catch his own. Max leapt over my counterattack and let out a laugh. “So, it’s gonna be like that, huh?”

  I nodded.

  “Okay,” he said with a shrug.

  A moment later, I barely blocked a kick to the side of my head but still managed to land a punch to his jaw. His head snapped back, although Max recovered quickly. Dancing around each other, we feigned attacks and got in some hits. For ten minutes, we played this game. The crowd booed and hollered each time we pulled apart from the fight. Thirsty for blood—just like the people betting on the underground cage fights.

  Well, if it was blood they wanted, then it was blood they’d get.

  I spun on my heel and kicked my leg directly into the side of Max’s face. As I continued to spin, my other leg managed to get him in the shoulder, and by the time I’d finished the move, Max had fallen to the ground. He spit blood out of the side of his mouth and his left eye was starting to swell.

  “Damn, man. Where’d you learn to do that?” he asked.

  “Lots of practice,” I said with a smile. “Are you done?”

  As though that egged him on, Max growled, pushed to his feet, and tackled me. I fell flat on my back, knocking the air from my lungs, as the large man sat on top of me. I only had a moment to look at him before his fist slammed into my jaw. Over and over he pummeled me, and I simply laughed. It was a sick sensation knowing that this was the kind of pain my lion enjoyed. The kind of pain that brought us to that place where we could dominate the
world.

  “Donovan! Fight back!” Mariah’s voice carried over the cheering shifters and I managed to catch her eye. I tried to smile, but my lips weren’t cooperating, so I simply offered her a wink that said I knew what I was doing. Her lips formed a little “O” as she gave me a wide-eyed stare. I didn’t know if she understood what I was trying to say or not, but when Max punched me on the cheek again, I decided it was time to act.

  Without giving him any warning, I pushed my hips up into the air, grabbed his arms, and flipped us both around. Catching him off guard had been my plan, and it had worked like a charm. Max fell on his side, giving me the chance to get behind him and twist his arm up behind his back. He screamed out in pain, but I’d purposely resisted the urge to dislocate his shoulder. A few shifters behind me sucked in a collective breath, thinking I would be so cruel. Max slammed his head back and into my nose, the stinging pain blurring my vision for just a moment. But little did he know just how much I loved that pain—pain meant I was fighting, and winning, and being the best.

  I pulled on his arm a little harder as I kicked his legs out in front of him and wrapped my own around his waist. With my feet crossed, I squeezed him tight between my thighs while still twisting his arm up behind him.

  “Holy shit,” Rhys said to Mariah. “He’s like a fucking ninja.”

  “He’s not a ninja,” Mariah whispered, all the while never taking her eyes off mine. “He’s just a god.”

  At those words, Max huffed a laugh and shook his head. He tried to break free a few more times before finally saying, “Done.”

  Everyone clapped as I released the second largest man in this camp. He shook out his arm and sucked in several deep breaths before finally pushing up to his feet. Holding out his hand to me, he smiled and said, “Good fight, Donovan.”

  “You too, Max.”

  We shook and then Max pulled me into a hug. “You are a beast,” he whispered.

  And where that would have offended me any other day, today it sounded wonderful. I was a beast. A fucking beast who could dominate them all.

  “Okay, my turn.” Rhys dove over the rail head first, somersaulted into the center, and jumped to his feet like a damn circus act. Of course, he got the crowd all riled up again, but Mariah jumped up onto the railing and started shouting.