by Cecilia Lane
Chapter 12
She was leaving.
Seth moved through the crowd filling the warehouse. People packed the bleachers surrounding the fenced ring in the center of the room and overflowed in front of the makeshift bar. Irritation clawed at his insides. He wanted to throw them all out of his path with one sweep of his arm.
Music from the loudspeakers blared at an almost painful volume, but it was the sounds of the fight that made his heart thrum. Grunts reached his ears between the roars of the watchers. The cage rattled as fighters plowed one another into the flimsy barrier. Flesh hitting flesh, that was what he needed.
He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten there. Hell, a gun to his head couldn’t have tugged the day’s activities from his mind. It was a black hole with only a few bright spots sparking to life.
Taking Lilah back to the ranch. She’d hardly been able to stay still in her seat.
Seeing her around the lunch hour. A quiet word, a bright smile, those stuck with him more than the faceless figures in the background.
The look of confusion and sadness when she hesitated at his door before he slid behind the wheel.
She was leaving.
That was the damn goal. He’d been happy enough to see the end of his detail on any number of occasions. She wasn’t some pet he’d picked up on the side of the road. Seeing her safe and home was what the job required.
The job. Seth snorted. Fuck the job. He hadn’t done shit to keep her safe. Not really. He’d run off some attackers as they appeared, but the big bad? The real villain? The asshole in charge of Shiftermax squealed on himself and Jasper still waited somewhere in the shadows.
His stomach churned. He wished he had fangs to bite and claws to rend. Even without, he ached for a release. Blood and scraped knuckles and the tolling of a bell that didn’t sound like an advertisement of death. His or Lilah’s, he wasn’t sure which.
She wasn’t safe, no matter what Jaime said. Something stank about the whole damn situation and he wasn’t ready to give up the bit. Not until Lilah was well and truly secure.
That meant more fights. More pounding out his frustrations in the middle of the ring. More beating scraps of information from the fuckers who had to know something. Rumors, whispers. Anything. Jasper didn’t just vanish into thin air. He was a physical being needing food and drink. Power, too. A man ready to sacrifice countless lives to spark a war between shifters and humans didn’t orchestrate his own escape just to retire to the countryside.
Seth waded through the drinkers at the bar and past the smaller horde debating which fighter to place their bets on or working up the courage to throw their own names down for a match. They could know something, too. Once he was done soothing that drive to fight, he’d nurse his wounds over a few rounds and listen to the chatter.
Lilah was leaving, but he didn’t need to leave her unprotected.
He stepped right up to the woman in charge of setting the fights. “I want in,” he growled. “Don’t care who or when.”
She slid a look to the bookies, then over her shoulder. “I’m not supposed to.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Seth swung his attention to the bouncers shifting uneasily on either side of the organizer. Fuckers took a step back under the force of his glare. “Put my name down and call me up. No different from any other time I’ve been here.”
Zeke, that motherfucker, slunk around the bouncers. Seth felt a rattle in his throat at the bastard’s appearance. His blood boiled, absolutely boiled, to even the score from their last match. His hands tightened at his sides, already relishing being driven into the asshole’s face.
The other lion stepped behind the organizer and looped an arm around her neck. Zeke leaned close, lips almost touching her ear while his eyes locked on Seth. “Got a problem, darlin’?”
She shivered and caught her lip between her teeth. “Nothing I can’t handle. You know that, baby.”
“If the man wants to fight, let him fight.” Zeke nipped at her earlobe. “No skin off my back.”
“But what—”
Zeke slid a finger under her chin and turned her face toward his. “Times change, darlin’. Get this man set up. Let’s see if he’s still the best brawler around.”
Seth smirked. “Where have you been, Zeke? Last two nights proved that.”
The man ran a thumb over his fingernails. “What can I say? The fuckers around here just aren’t believable. I need to see the proof with my own eyes.” He met Seth’s look with murder in his eye. “Especially since you’re not supposed to be here.”
“You sure about that, Zeke?” Seth asked in a low, challenging voice. “Or do you need a handful of your friends to deliver the message?”
The roar of the crowd nearly drowned out the clang of the bell announcing the end of a match. Some of the bleacher crowd stomped their feet or threw arms around one another. Still others sulked with slumped shoulders or grimaces at those that bet the right way. The bookies and bouncers jumped into action to dole out cash in a somewhat orderly fashion.
“You’re up, boys,” Zeke’s woman called to them over the rush.
Seth made the familiar trip to the ring. He stripped off his shirt and emptied his pockets, then stepped through the doors to the buzz of excitement. His father was a bastard in nearly every aspect of his life, but he gave Seth a gift when he introduced him to the fighting circuit.
Power flowed into him. Along his skin. He could feel the electricity building in his muscles, ready to rip out in a flurry of blows.
He needed the release. He wanted to feel those brushes of his other side. With Lilah leaving, it was the only thing left to make him feel alive.
Sharp points raked through his insides right before Zeke nailed him with a punch to the ribs.
“Watch it!” the ref shouted from outside the fencing. Too late, doors still closing and locking them inside, the bell sounded the start of the match.
Seth staggered back to put extra space between him and Zeke. He raised his hands and prowled the edge of the ring, watching the other lion. Waiting for his moment to attack.
Fight hard. Fight smart. Fight to win. Dear old Dad’s words echoed through his head.
Zeke launched forward with his fists swinging wildly. Seth battered him back and slammed his own fist across the man’s cheek. His knuckles complained, but he grinned through the pain to see the fucker fall back against the chain-link fence and shake his head to clear the little birdies no doubt swimming in his vision.
He spotted Lilah first. Shining beacon that she was, he was momentarily blinded to anything else. His entire body twisted to stay squared to hers as she made her way through the crowd. His... something surged inside him, harder than ever, ready with a possessive need to keep the woman close. Now. Forever. No one touched her. No one threatened her. She belonged with him.
A shove from behind sent him stumbling into the fence. That break in his line of sight was enough to let him focus on everything else. Sights and sounds rushed in at him. The faces of the crowd filled his vision. Their bellowing cheers and cries for blood burrowed into his ears. He scanned the crowd again and found her. Found them. The rest of the Crowleys were with her.
Fuck. Fuck. What the hell were they doing there? Why had they let Lilah tag along? Why would she even agree to join them?
The fighting ring wasn’t the place for her. She was too jumpy. Too anxious. She didn’t trust shifters. Hell, she’d practically accused him of wanting to murder her the moment they met.
Worst of all, he didn’t want her to see him as the monster she’d imagined.
Zeke took advantage of his distraction. The bastard swung around and caught him by the neck. His forearm screwed down tight, until Seth’s breath turned to a sickening whistle.
“Look who came to watch you die,” Zeke hiss in his ear. “Do they know your dirty little secret, too?”
“Fuck. You,” Seth ground out.
“And who’s that with them?” Zeke taunted. “Should h
ave known you’d be involved with her. Snitches of a feather flock together.”
Motherfucker. No reason for him to give Lilah more than a stray thought, but that fucking asshole knew. All the uneasy feelings he’d carried since the meeting with Jaime flashed hot and boiled into fury.
Seth drove an elbow back and into the fucker’s side. Again. A third time. Zeke doubled over with a growl of pain, but Seth was already across the ring.
Time seemed to slow. He scanned the faces of the crowd, trying to pinpoint where he last saw Lilah. Too many people he didn’t trust. Too many potential friends and accomplices of Zeke.
His heart stopped when he spotted her picking her way closer to the ring.
Seth staggered under a fist to his lower back, then almost went down when Zeke kicked the back of his knee. He only stayed upright with a quick wrapping of his fingers in the chain-link of the cage.
“I’m collecting on a bounty tonight,” the other lion snarled. “Maybe I’ll get more if I bring your head, too.”
Something shrieked inside him. Half howl, half roar, the noise vibrated through his every cell and ripped at his control. Nothing mattered if Lilah was injured. Not the fight, not the world, not the whole damn universe. Everything standing in his way needed to be ground down to dust.
He whirled into Zeke and unleashed one blow after another. Fierce. Savage. He didn’t stop when fear sparked in the fucker’s eyes. He kept going when anger reasserted itself, but that didn’t last long. Zeke turned the fight into an act of survival. Lilah’s. His, if he lost her.
She belonged with him.
He didn’t give the thought any mind. It seemed right. Felt right. All he wanted at that moment was to make every fucker pay for touching his mate.
Snarls dripped off his lips as his inner sense pushed and shoved. More. It wanted more. This time, though, it wouldn’t be satisfied with besting another. It needed Lilah.
Zeke slumped to the floor with a snarl of his own, but pounded his fist to tap out of the fight.
“Unlock that fucking gate!” Seth yelled as he ran for the other side of the ring.
The chains wrapped around the handles clanked as the referee worked open the lock. Close. Seconds away. He shoved at the door as soon as there was enough slack for him to slip through.
And was yanked back by a hand on his shoulder.
“Shiftless freak,” Zeke snarled.
Pain exploded across his abdomen. Wetness rolled down his skin. He ignored it. Didn’t matter. Didn’t even feel it, after a second. Black ate at the edges of his vision, but he wheeled around and threw another punch right into Zeke’s face.
This time, the asshole stayed down.
Lilah. He needed to get to Lilah.
He elbowed his way through the crowd. Bodies pushed together. Drinks spilled. Angry words and threats were shouted at him, but they didn’t stop him. The throbbing along his stomach didn’t either. He had to get to Lilah. Absolutely necessary when his mate’s survival depended on him.
He shoved through the last line of strangers. Almost immediately, the others stepped in front of him, putting themselves between him and Lilah. He loved that his people—his pride—kept Lilah safe. He hated that he caused that sudden circling of the wagons.
“We need to go. Now.” Safe. She needed to be safe. That was all that mattered. He’d let them tear him limb from limb if those extra minutes got her to safety.
“What’s wrong?”
“What happened?”
“You’re bleeding like a stuck pig.”
Trent’s voice. Lindley. Dash. He felt them crowding closer, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Lilah. She lifted one hand to ring her throat. Eyes wide, heart racing, she reached for him with the other.
“There’s a bounty on you,” he told her. Over her head, he spotted Zeke and some others huddled close together. Hot rage twisted through him when their focus shifted to where he stood.
Shit. “We’re leaving.”
He slid his palm against hers. He allowed himself a split second to relish the feel of her soft skin against his and let the heat flaring to life sink deep into his bones. Then he was on the move, tugging her along in his wake.
Seth stumbled the moment he hit the parking lot. His ears pounded with every beat of his heart. His next step felt like he trudged through mud up to his chest.
He met Lilah’s worried look. She had gorgeous eyes. Brown with flecks of green and gold. He’d never be able to look at regular blues and greys or even his own brown without thinking them flat and lacking.
He shook his head to clear the spots dancing along the edge of his vision. He couldn’t give in to any weakness. Not with enemies right behind him.
“Seth?” Lilah asked in a shaky voice.
No, not asked. Stated in panic.
He reached for her, vaguely aware of the others pushing out of the warehouse. Safe. He had to keep her safe.
Darkness rolled over him as he sank to his knees.
Chapter 13
Lilah watched the door to Seth’s room and desperately tried not to imagine the worst. All involved Seth dying in one way or another. Bleeding out, some mysterious, unknown infection flaring up and consuming him within seconds, that shifter he’d been fighting bursting through the window and finishing the job...
She wiped her hands on her thighs, then tightened them to keep from shaking. He wasn’t going to die. Hailey had assured her of that. So had the others. Still, her stomach roiled and she thought she might get sick every time she swallowed.
This was her fault. She never should have agreed to go out. She should have known nothing was ever simple or easy with shifters involved. Danger always waited around the corner. If she'd just sat in his room and waited for the morning, he wouldn't be suffering for her yet again.
She’d trusted when they explained it was like watching an MMA fight. A little rougher, perhaps, but the idea was the same. None of those expectations factored in another near-miss or seeing her brief hope of returning to a normal life ripped apart with a handful of words.
“I want two rings of patrols tonight,” Trent murmured to the others huddled around him. “Rhys, Lin, you take up the fences. Dash, you stick close to the dens with me. I won’t give those fucks an easy time if they slip past the other two.”
Sage scuffed her foot against the concrete floor and cast quick looks to Kyla and Colette. "We're staying here until Seth is back on his feet. We won't leave her alone."
No question who the ‘her’ meant.
Their plans grated on Lilah’s nerves. Not the existence, she supposed. They were smart to make them. The close proximity felt far too much like listening to her parents talk to her doctors while she sat next to them, feeling small and insignificant. She’d been a problem back then, the same as she was now.
“You don’t need to worry about all that,” Lilah said softly. She rubbed her hands on her thighs when all eyes turned to her. “I planned to leave in the morning. I don’t see why that should change now.”
Trent slid a look to the others. Unreadable expressions formed masks on all their faces. “You should talk that over with Seth,” he said finally.
She opened her mouth to… what, she didn’t know. Argue again that Seth needed a hospital? Tell them she didn’t need anyone’s, let alone some random man’s, permission to carry on about her life? Her stomach still turned and the thought of leaving him without explanation made the feeling worse. She didn’t want to abandon him, but her options were limited. Heap trouble on others, or find somewhere else to hide.
Jasper hadn’t stopped. He still wanted her dead. She didn’t want anyone else taking hurts meant for her.
The entire group fell silent with the first turn of the knob and creak of the door opening. Hailey squeezed through and shut it behind her with utmost care, then charged across the breezeway with fire in her eyes. “What is it about knowing how to stitch up small animals that makes you idiots think I’m a human doctor?” she demanded in a low v
oice.
Lindley spread his hands wide. “You call us animals often enough. Pardon our confusion.”
“Har har,” Hailey snarked back. Her eyes softened when they landed on Lilah. “He’s been asking for you. The only reason he stayed still long enough for me to stitch him up was agreeing to let you in as soon as we were done.”
It was all the encouragement she needed. Lilah sprang for the door like an unleashed coil, anxiety whispering in her ear that if she just saw him alive and well, everything would be fine. She could leave as long as she knew he was whole.
Hailey stopped her before she touched the handle. “Keep him in bed. It’s probably impossible, but at least try.”
Lilah nodded, then stepped through and let the door close behind her with a quiet click. Her breath caught in her chest as her eyes found Seth. She didn’t know what she’d expected. Pale and sweaty, maybe. His muscles wasted away and a frail form left behind.
He rested on top of the comforter, pillows propping him up, one arm slung behind his head. If not for the bandage poking out of his jeans, he’d have been fit for the cover of a magazine. And not the innocent, family-friendly ones, either. The ones with centerfolds she and her friends cracked open and giggled over when they found a parent’s stash during the summer between middle and high school.
All the accidental touches and forced contact due to her own lack of cooperation didn’t hold a candle to the sight of him stretched out before her. She trailed her eyes up his body, taking in the dips between the planes of muscles above the bandage. Power was packed into every coiled inch of him. Her mouth dried and her stomach dropped to her toes. She’d watched it in action while he defended her, but it was hard to not imagine it being used elsewhere.
A slow, delicious smirk hitched up one corner of his mouth. “Lilah.”
Never had her name sounded so... so... sinful. His tongue stroked the syllables into a dirty promise. Heat washed down her spine. The chill left behind raised goose bumps up and down her arms.
Lilah inhaled sharply and shook herself back to reality. Her cheeks heated; she had no right to ogle the man who’d been sliced to ribbons because of her.
