by K. D. Jones
During the quick intermission between matches, Lindy went to use the bathroom and to get something to drink. She was starting to get hungry but didn’t want to eat anything in case Talon planned to go out for dinner after his match. She got that funny feeling again that someone was watching her. She turned to look, but she couldn’t see anyone. She shook off the feeling thinking that she was just overreacting.
She was grateful the creepy guy wasn’t in his seat when she returned. She looked around the arena and spotted him talking to another man in a suit at the far corner. They shook hands and then the creepy guy left the arena. She breathed a sigh of relief. Something about that man really bothered her. Hopefully, if she were lucky, he wouldn’t come back the rest of the night.
Finally it was Talon’s pair match. Lindy was full of excitement. He was partnering with the GCFA champion, Rage the Animal. Rage was a Beastial, which were known for their size and strength. Too bad Christy wasn’t there; she had a thing for Beastials. He was huge, around seven feet tall, maybe even a little taller than that. He had muscles everywhere. Lindy’s breath caught when she saw who their opponents were.
Two full Cyclops. Cyclops were the biggest and most aggressive of the alien species. They stood at seven and a half feet. They were both bald and had one eye in the center of their head. Oh, shit! Lindy was worried about Talon. How was he going to fight someone who was about a half a foot taller and much stronger?
He turned in her direction and gave her a wink. It warmed her immediately that he would take the time to acknowledge her, though she wondered if she should leave so she didn’t distract him from his match. But the idea of not watching him fight did not appeal to her at all.
“Do you mind if we sit next to you?” a female voice asked.
Lindy looked up and was surprised to see the male and female Rasilian couple standing there. She looked at the empty spots on either side of her and prepared to move one seat over so that they could sit side by side.
“Stay in your seat, we don’t want to make you move,” the female said as she sat beside Lindy. The male sat down on the other side of her. Both of them wore a few fading bruises but that was all.
“I’m Lindy Stamos,” she introduced herself.
“I’m Resa and this is my husband, Tipin.” They each took turns shaking Lindy’s hand. The male held on to her hand a little longer than necessary, which made her feel uncomfortable. She tried to shake the awkward feelings, and remind herself that these were Talon’s friends and team members. She didn’t want to offend them or upset Talon.
“Nice to meet you both. I watched your match and you guys were awesome,” she sounded like an obsessed fan.
“Thanks,” Resa replied, giving Talon a nod of her head.
“How long have you been seeing Talon?” Tipin asked, shifting in his seat, bringing himself closer to her.
“Only met him yesterday for the first time. We really hit it off and I like him a lot,” she told them.
“Are you planning to come along with him on the circuit tour?” Resa asked.
“He asked me to, but I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“Well, we leave after tomorrow night’s events. We hope to see more of you, a lot more,” Tipin commented as he and his wife stood to leave. The weird vibes she got from them confused her. She would have to ask Talon about the two of them. How close was he to them? The ring of the bell cut into her thoughts and she focused on Talon’s fight.
Talon and Rage strutted their stuff as they walked around the inside of the cage. They were very intimidating figures and it was clear that there weren’t metal bars strong enough to hold them. They raised their arms up in the air and the crowd went crazy for them. Lindy found herself clapping and whistling right along with everyone else.
Booing commenced when the opponents, Cyclops One and Cyclops Two, started to make lewd gestures. The announcer introduced the two teams and explained the match would begin tag teaming, only two fighters at a time, through two matches. Then for the third round they would be allowed to fight simultaneously, all four fighters would fight together. Neither team made a move to shake hands or anything. Lindy figured that there was no love lost there.
She clutched her hands together as she watched Cyclops One shuffle his heavy feet toward Talon. Talon had the advantage of being lighter and faster. He seemed to almost fly around his opponent staying out of striking range, while looking for an opportunity to get in a punch here or there. Whenever Talon was able to make contact with a punch to Cyclops One’s stomach, it would just bounce off, not making a dent at all. Talon staying in constant motion was an advantage. The much larger opponent was starting to get tired. He was breathing hard trying to keep up with Talon. Lindy sucked in a breath when the huge opponent hit Talon with one punch, making him fly across the cage and hit the bars hard.
Rage tagged his hand and stepped in. She was relieved that Talon would have a little time to recover. Rage was a Beastial, they were known for their strength and boy was he strong. Lindy watched as the Beastial’s body grew larger before her eyes. He went at the Cyclops making him move back into the other side of the cage away from Cyclops Two.
The bell rang, ending round one. Both teams went to their own corner of the cage to regroup. Talon gave her a wink before he turned back to Rage, who was telling him something. One of the trainers was there helping to get them ready for the next round. He glared at Lindy when he saw Talon wink at her. She blushed from his scrutiny. He must be Lesak, the man that helped raise Talon when he was a kid. It was obvious he didn’t approve of her.
The ring girls came out in their skimpy outfits signaling the beginning of round two. Cyclops One immediately tagged Cyclops Two as soon as the bell rang. Talon tried to get Rage to tag him, but Rage shook his head that he was still good. Lindy felt relief. She wasn’t sure how Talon was going to keep fighting the huge opponents when every punch he threw their way bounced off like it was nothing.
Cyclops Two wasn’t tired out like his partner was. He came at Rage with a vengeance. Rage was able to take the punches better than Talon because of his larger body. But Lindy knew that it had to hurt like hell. Lindy was wringing her hands when Rage tagged Talon to take his place.
Talon didn’t waste any time. He used a superman punch to catch Cyclops Two by surprise. He feigned a kick with his rear leg, snapping it back while throwing a cross punch with his right hand. It was freaking awesome.
“Get him, Talon!” Lindy couldn’t stay quiet anymore. She stood and pumped her arm in the air in support.
Talon did his flying bit around the cage and she could definitely see that Cyclops Two was getting tired. Talon tagged Rage and Rage came in with the heavy uppercut punches. He switched back and forth, hitting the head, then the upper chest. Cyclops Two was unable to block the punches and ended up falling to his knees. Lindy was excited. Could it be ending already? Unfortunately, the bell rang ending round two. Damn it! All they needed was another couple of punches and they could have won the fight.
Talon and Rage both were looking haggard as they took to their corner. Talon was favoring his left shoulder. How much more could they take? The trainer was there yelling something at the two of them and they both nodded their heads in agreement.
The bell rang for the start of the third and final round. Now the fighters would fight simultaneously instead of tag teaming. Lindy hoped that Talon and Rage had a plan. They both had taken a beating from the Cyclops fighters.
Talon and Rage each took a Cyclops and made attempts to separate them from one another. Talon did his nearly flying routine, trying to tire the Cyclops out. It looked like it was working because the Cyclops he was fighting was heavily winded. Then Talon and Rage switched Cyclops. Rage came over to the one that was struggling to catch his breath. He laid in heavy punches, not letting up. They switched it up several more times.
When both Cyclopes looked tired and confused, Talon and Rage corralled them to the center of the cage. Talon and Rage both went for
the Cyclopes’ knees. Down they went. Talon and Rage jumped on their chests and pummeled them. Talon was only using his right arm as he punched the larger opponent. They didn’t let up until the referee intervened, which was a mechanical arm with a camera attached. The countdown began but neither Cyclops could get up. Damage had been done to their knees. The bell rang signaling the end of the fight and the referee announced the winners to be Talon and Rage.
Talon walked over to the side of the cage directly in front of where Lindy was sitting and bent down on one knee pointing to her. It was a very romantic and public gesture. The commentators went wild over it. Lindy blushed from receiving all the attention from the crowd. Some of the women in the VIP section glared angrily at her. Oh boy, she wasn’t winning any friends here.
“Miss Stamos?” a tall, thin man wearing a GCFA t-shirt and blue jeans asked.
“Yes,” Lindy answered curiously.
“Mr. Talon wanted me to go ahead and escort you to the banquet room. He has to report in to the Healing Facility first and wants to change before he meets you there.” He pointed down the aisle.
“Okay.” She went in the direction that he pointed to. He led her to the banquet room that she and her friends had attended the previous night. These guys sure liked to party.
*****
The tall man left her in the room alone. She was one of the first guests to arrive. She sat down at a table in the corner. Non-fighters started filing in talking and laughing. The fighters trickled in half an hour later.
“Why are you sitting alone?” a male voiced asked.
Lindy looked up and met the twinkling eyes of Zen the Sin. Oh dear. He had flirted with her and her friends the previous night. “I’m waiting for Talon.”
“I wouldn’t leave a woman as beautiful as you alone.” He took it upon himself to sit right beside her.
“I’m sure he won’t be much longer,” her voice sounded nervous and a little shaky.
“Zen, Talon is going to rip your head off for talking to his little human,” a very large man with a bald head and gruff voice said. He sat down in the seat on the other side of Lindy. She couldn’t help but feel cramped sitting between two large men.
“Relax, Hammer, he’ll get over it,” Zen said nonchalantly. Then he leaned closer to whisper in Lindy’s ear, “Don’t worry, I would never go after a friend’s woman. I’m just sitting here to protect you from the vultures. Talon, unthinkingly, made you the center of attention by dedicating the fight to you.”
Lindy looked at him in shock. “He dedicated the fight to me?”
Zen nodded, “When he went down on his knee.”
“You really saved Zen here,” Hammer said with humor in his voice.
“What do you mean?” Lindy asked.
“The commentators created a fake story about Zen and Talon having a romantic relationship. None of it was true but ever since the rumor started, Zen and Talon have received a lot more variety of fan mail,” Hammer said while chuckling. He checked his phone for messages.
Lindy joined in the laughter. She had heard the commentators make those assumptions, trying to make a story out of something. She turned to Hammer. “I’m Lindy.” She reached out her hand.
Hammer reached over and took her tiny hand in his much larger one. “Hammer.”
Hammer was known as the Sledge Hammer. He was a Biclop’s halfsie, half Cyclops—half human. His human side gave him the two eyes, which made him a Biclops, but he was as big as the full Cyclops that Talon had fought that evening. He had the warmest brown eyes she had ever seen and what surprised her the most, was how careful he was holding her hand. The description gentle giant definitely applied to Hammer.
“Could you stop looking at your phone for at least fifteen minutes? Maybe long enough that I can introduce your cock to a few available females?” Zen glared at his large friend.
“I have to keep check on the kids,” Hammer answered defensively.
“They would be much happier if you let loose and got laid once in a while,” Zen complained.
“You have children?” Lindy asked.
Hammer nodded, “I am guardian to my nephew and two nieces.”
Lindy smiled trying to imagine Hammer with three small children. “How old are they?”
Hammer pulled out his wallet to show Lindy pictures, while Zen grumbled beside her. “Lauren is thirteen, Tomas is nine, and little Kate is eighteen months old.”
Lindy looked at each picture of the smiling kids. The little boy had Hammer’s sweet brown eyes but the little girls had bright blue eyes. “They are adorable. You must be proud.”
Hammer smiled while rubbing the images of the children with gentle fingers. “Thank you, I am. They have become my whole world.”
“Oh look, Taurus needs my assistance with some beautiful ladies. Excuse me.” Zen stood and walked across the room to their teammate, Taurus, who looked extremely uncomfortable being surrounded by women.
“Pardon Zen, he doesn’t like to talk about anything more serious than having a good time,” Hammer explained to Lindy.
“It’s just a disguise though, right?” Lindy asked, having more room now to turn and speak to Hammer.
“Yes, it is. Most of us halfsies have a tendency to hide our true selves as a way to protect us from being hurt.”
“Wow that was extremely insightful.” Lindy couldn’t help but be impressed with the big guy. At first glance, she thought he was all muscles with nothing much in the area of his brain. However, she was pleasantly surprised that she could have a decent conversation with him. Realizing that she had been staring at Hammer, she turned her attention back to Zen and his friend, Taurus.
“So what’s the deal with Taurus? He looks just as uncomfortable tonight as he did last night.”
“Sorry, that’s his story to tell.”
Zara stormed into the room heading directly toward Lindy. Uh oh, what did she do to piss off the Amazon now?
“Come with me, human, you are needed in the Healing Facility.” Zara didn’t wait to see if she followed her out of the banquet room.
Lindy jumped up and ran after the tall woman. She had such long legs it was hard to keep up. “Is Talon alright?” She worried when the other woman didn’t answer her. He hadn’t looked like he was in that bad a shape. Please let him be okay. She made herself run even faster to keep up.
Upon arriving at the Healing Facility, she found two security guards standing outside the room. They were big and mean looking, both blocking her from entering the room. “What business do you have here, pure human?”
“I…I’m here to see Talon,” she stuttered.
“Easy Tiny. This is Talon’s human.” Zara patted the largest man on the back. He grunted but moved to the side to let Lindy pass.
Lindy whispered to Zara, “His name is Tiny?”
Zara nodded, “He was the runt of the litter.”
Damn! If he were the runt, she would hate to see the biggest. Lindy followed Zara into the treating room. Several beds were lined up but only two beds were occupied. Talon was struggling with the healers who were trying to get him to lie down on the bed. Rage sat up on his bed yelling at Talon to calm down.
Zara yelled out, “Talon, stop being an ass! I’ve got your human right here.” She then shoved Lindy forward toward Talon.
Talon turned in Lindy’s direction. The moment he saw her, he calmed down. Lindy rushed to his bedside.
“What’s going on?” she asked, carefully touching above his eye that was bruised and half-swollen shut. Talon didn’t say anything. He closed the one eye that was opened and leaned into her touch.
Lesak spoke up. “Both Rage and Talon have suffered extreme internal damages. Talon’s shoulder had to be reset. Now the healers need to put them in an unconscious state so they can make the repairs needed safely.”
Lindy gently pushed Talon in the bed. He tried to hide his pain, but she saw him flinch. “He’s in pain? What are you waiting for?” Lindy demanded, glaring at the healers.
“He refused to be put under anesthesia until you were brought here,” Lesak answered angrily.
She looked at Talon and he opened his eyes to stare back at her. He kept his eyes on her. She tried to reassure him. “I would have been fine.”
Talon shook his head. “Mine.” He grabbed her and pulled her close so that he could lay his head against her breasts. He snuggled against her in front of everyone and made her blush. Then she caught what he had said.
Mine? When did that happen? Was she ready to be his? Fuck. “Let the healers put you under so that you can heal.” His response was to pull her tighter. She saw Rage look at Talon worriedly. She ran her fingers through his hair. “I’ll stay right here by your side. I’ll wait for you, I promise.” When he still refused, she added another incentive, “The sooner you heal the sooner we can go back to your suite and be alone.”
He finally nodded his agreement. She backed up to allow the healers to administer the anesthesia. He refused to let go of her hand. He held her tightly and she knew the moment he was out completely. The hold loosened enough for her to pull free, but she didn’t let him go, not right away. She kept holding his hand, comparing the size differences in them. He was large where she was small. He was hard where she was soft. But put together, they made something beautiful. She couldn’t deny it; she was falling in love with Talon.
She laid his hand down on the bed gently. There wasn’t a chair close by, but she spotted a vacant one on the other side of the room. She fetched it and brought it back, sitting down beside Talon. She hesitated for a minute before she picked his hand back up. The warmth of him was comforting to her. She felt eyes on her and looked up. Rage was watching her from his bed. He had the healers administer the anesthesia after he knew that Talon was completely out. She could see him fighting the fatigue.
“He’s acting like he has formed some kind of bond with you,” Rage stated.
“A bond?”
“I’ve seen it a few times. A full species or halfsie will bond with someone. They connect on all levels. Not just physical.”
