Middleweight (Hallow Brothers Book 2)

by Trish Andersen

  The brothers climbed into the vehicles. Micah helped Eve into the Jeep and then hopped in the driver's seat. She watched Meg snuggle with Caleb in the cab of their truck. Momma was nestled contently in Josiah’s. Micah took her hand in his and then shifted into gear. All the light disappeared as they plunged into the woods after his family.

  »»•««

  Micah wasn’t sure there was a time this club wasn’t packed from one wall to the other. He searched the crowd for Lycan and his team. It helped to be abnormally tall.

  He felt a tug on his arm. “Are they here?” Josiah asked.

  Josiah kept looking. He nodded. “By the bar.”

  He studied them as they sipped from bottles of beer. Roman met his gaze and smiled. His second was hunched over a barstool, looking like he had seen better days. The others flanked either side of Roman, enjoying the scantily dressed woman crawling over them.

  “Pretty impressive, huh?”

  Micah and Josiah turned to find Leroy beside then. Micah shrugged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Leroy nodded toward the bar. “Roman and his guys. Best physical specimens I’ve seen. Spent night and day in Graves’s gym. I think they lived there. I mean, I’d love to compare your training to theirs but you’ve never invited me to your gym.”

  “And it won’t be happening anytime soon,” Micah responded with a snarl.

  “Suit yourself. I’m going to start the weigh-ins. See you in a bit.” Leroy turned and strode off for the stage. The brothers let out a collective growl as he left.

  “Ignorant dumb shit,” Josiah spat.

  “I know, right?” Micah agreed.

  Micah felt the crowd around him jostle, and then a pair of hands caress him. The hands that had touched him before made him feel sick. After the third pair, he threw up. This pair, however, set him on fire. His cock jumped in response. He didn’t have to know who held him.

  “Hey, baby,” he greeted.

  “Hey,” Eve returned. “How much longer?”

  “Leroy hasn’t started yet. But it shouldn’t be long. Who brought you?”

  “Cay and Meg. They found a booth in the back. They didn’t want to risk this crazy crowd with her being pregnant. I guess the last faceoff was pretty risky.” Eve pointed toward the back. Nestled in a plush burgundy leather booth was Caleb and Meg, cuddled together.

  Micah held her close to him, burying his face in her hair. He inhaled the scent of her hair. It steadied his stampeding heart. Together with Josiah, they watched each pair of fighters ascend to the stage to weigh-in and then face off. The announcer’s voice echoed through the speaker system, shaking the walls with stats, weights, and comments. Two fighters started their brawl early. The on-stage security separated them, keeping their large bodies between the competitors.

  Finally, the announcer motioned toward Micah. “And in our main event, a middleweight matchup for the title belt. First, let’s hear it for Micah Hallow of northern Minnesota.”

  The walls shook, and chips of plaster fell from the ceiling as the crowd roared. Micah gave Eve a quick kiss and then strode on stage with Josiah following. Caleb followed a few steps behind. Micah stripped down to his fight shorts. Whistles and catcalls filled the air. He stepped on the scale and waited.

  The doctor overseeing the weigh-in read the numbers on the scale. “One hundred and eighty-five,” he told the announcer.

  “One eighty-five,” the announcer relayed to the crowd cheerfully. Everyone cheered in response. He continued. “And coming all the way from Maine, his opponent, Roman Lycan.”

  Roman smacked his second, forcing him to stand. His team followed him as the crowd parted to let him up to the stage. He did just as Micah had, stripping off his clothes and standing on the scale. The club went silent as they waited for the result.

  “One hundred and eighty-five,” the doctor repeated.

  “One eighty-five,” the announcer spoke into the microphone. The raucous mob roared.

  Leroy motioned to Micah and Roman. “Face off, gentleman.”

  Micah strode to Roman until their noses nearly touched. Josiah and Caleb pulled him back. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  Roman smiled calmly at him. “I don’t want to fight you, Micah.”

  “Then what the hell do you want?”

  “Atticus sent us to bring you home.”

  Micah frowned at him. “We are home. This is home.”

  “No, it’s not. Home is with Atticus. He needs you to come home. He needs you and your brothers to take over the family line. Rule the pack. Follow your destiny.”

  “We’re half-breeds, asshole.”

  “It doesn’t matter to Atticus. You are the only heirs. Without you, we will fall apart and be destroyed.”

  “Caleb and I are mated. We go with our mates.” Micah glanced over at Leroy who seemed a far enough away to not hear them. “My understanding is that Atticus frowns on that.”

  Roman glanced down at Eve standing beside the stage watching them. “We will find you new mates. It will be painful. We understand. But we need you to breed. Your current mates can be disposed of.”

  Micah rushed him again and growled. “Fuck you. I will kick your ass and force you to go home. Send Atticus our deepest regrets.”

  Security and Josiah pulled him off Roman. Roman simply and methodically smiled at him. The fucker seemed brainwashed. He heard Leroy bark through the melee. “Pose, gents.”

  Micah snarled and then dropped into fight pose. Flashes from cell phones lit up the dim bar. Leroy slapped each man on the shoulder. The security guards handed them their clothes and shoved them toward opposite staircases. Micah pulled his clothes on and followed his brothers down the steps.

  “So that’s why they’re here,” Josiah said. “They are fucking werewolves.”

  “Yep,” Caleb agreed. “They’re Atticus’s fucking errand boys.”

  Eve pushed her way through the crowd, stumbling over the last few stray feet. She caught hold of Micah before she fell. She frowned at the brothers. “Who exactly is Atticus?”

  Micah’s gaze was locked on Roman as he and his team made their way to the door. Roman met his stare one last time before he stepped outside and disappeared. “Atticus is our grandfather.”

  “He said he wants you to go back to Maine. To rule.”

  Micah smiled at her. “You heard me. We’re not going. We are home. Right here. This black haired, blue eyed, foul-mouthed, law breaking hellion standing in front of me? This is my home. You, Eve. To me, you are home.”

  Eve wrapped her arms around his shoulders and lifted herself on her toes to kiss him long and hard. A few women hissed and cursed at the scene. The whole thing made Micah hard as a rock.

  As they broke apart, he chuckled. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home so I can rest. And you know just how to relax me.”

  Eve’s grin couldn’t be bigger when she kissed him. By the sudden pull inside him, by the way her fingers skimmed his cock through his jeans, he knew she was ready to alleviate all his tension. He just hoped she started with her pretty mouth. He gripped her tightly as she tugged him through the mob and out to the cold winter night.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Micah threw punches into the air as the heavy metal blared into his ears through his ear buds. A jab, a cross, an uppercut. Each smooth, fast, and deadly. Since he typically spent his time in the office as his brothers’ manager and not on the mats with them, he didn’t have a specialty. His standup was just as good as his ground game. Hopefully, all the time the boys spent with him sparring and grappling got him ready enough for this.

  His fists stopped short of hitting Josiah. His older brother grinned as he held up a pair of pads. “How about we give you something to hit?”

  Micah chuckled as he pulled his ear buds from his ears. He tossed them and his phone he had tucked in his shorts into his bag. “Sounds like a plan.”

  He threw jabs and crosses at the pads as Josiah shuffled around to make him mo
ve. On command, he shot a couple of body kicks into Josiah’s ribs and one kick to the temple. They stopped when the door opened.

  Joshua stepped inside. “You’re two fights out,” he informed Micah.

  “Awesome,” Micah replied.

  “And someone wants to see you.” He pushed the door open farther. Eve stood there, dressed in a Hallow Brothers T-shirt. It was a design the brothers had agree to years ago. Each used it. On her, it was just breathtaking. She strutted into the room, pulled him to her, and parted his lips with a kiss. He held her close, instinctively tipping her back as he reveled in the feeling of her body tight against his.

  As the kiss broke, he smiled. “Fuck, baby. That was incredible.”

  “Thank you.”

  “How are your seats?”

  “Awesome. So close to the cage I’m practically in there fighting with them.”

  “And how do you like MMA?”

  “I thought I’d hate it, but I love it. It’s probably good. Since I’m marrying a fighter soon.”

  “I’ll probably go back to being a manager.”

  “With a belt?”

  He chuckled. “Hadn’t thought that far through.”

  She laughed with him. They were distracted from each other by the door opening. He set her on her feet. Ezekiel slipped inside. “Knockout. One fight left.”

  “Micah, you need to get ready,” Josiah reminded.

  Micah placed one last kiss on Eve’s lips. “Wish me luck.”

  “Good luck, baby. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  She kissed him one last time before Joshua escorted her back to the arena. Josiah clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, Mike. Let’s get ready.”

  “I have a losing record, Joe.”

  “Until tonight. Tonight you send the motherfucker packing. You do it for your mate. You do it to keep her alive, to show him that she isn’t dispensable.”

  Rage flowed with anxiety through his body like a wild, fierce current. It made him shake. It made him feel sick. He looked up to find the rest of his brothers filing in the room. The last in the room was Littlefoot.

  “It’s time,” the older man announced.

  Micah nodded. He flexed his fingerless gloves a couple of times, bounced from one foot to the other, and then stormed to the door, leading the procession to the arena.

  The sounds of ancient, tribal music drifted into the hall from the arena. Micah frowned and shook his head. He stopped at the curtain and waited, his head low, his feet bouncing. Let the brainwashed freak show enjoy whatever music this was. He’d get blasted out of the cage in a minute.

  There was a moment of quiet before the old school rap song thudded the bass beat. Between the music and the roar of the crowd the building shook. Micah leaped off his toes and strode into the arena. His brothers followed close as they made their way to the cage. Even though Josiah and Littlefoot would corner him, the others wouldn’t be far in case something went down.

  He gave his brothers each a quick hug before turning to Littlefoot. The older man gently rubbed petroleum jelly onto his face. His gaze fell on Roman as he turned to the official. Once he was patted down and showed the official his mouth guard, he jogged into the cage.

  The referee called them to the center to go over the rules. Then he ordered them to shake hands. He frowned as he noticed Roman staring off into the distance, licking his lips. He followed the stare to Eve. Roman’s glare was pure evil.

  “Start the fight,” Micah demanded with a snarl. He paced back to his corner. He seethed as he hopped up and down. The ref looked to him and then to Roman. He dropped his hand. “Fight!”

  The two men circled, each looking for a moment to strike. Roman lunged forward as he threw a jab and then a cross. He finished it with a leg kick to Micah’s thigh. Micah returned with punches of his own before backing away. Roman looked dazed but far from done. Micah threw another jab and cross. His head snapped back from Roman’s uppercut. His thoughts spun in his head as he staggered back. He caught himself before he fell.

  Roman rushed him to take him down to the mat. Instead of falling to the mat, the two men ended up against the wall of the cage. They clinched up as they traded punches and kicks. As Roman shoved away from Micah, Micah reared back with a knee connecting to Roman’s nose. Roman stumbled back and landed on his back on the mat.

  Micah sprang forward and descended on Roman, hailing down fists on his opponent. Roman struggled to lock Micah up in his guard. It only lasted a second or two before Micah’s punches overpowered him. He tried to cover up as his head bounced off the canvas. The ref pulled Micah off before he knocked Roman out.

  The crowd roared as Micah stumbled back to his corner. The door opened. Josiah and Littlefoot were by his side. The ref motioned him back to the center of the cage. His hand was raised in victory. The announcer wrapped the belt around his waist and fastened it.

  Just as the ref dropped his hand, he grabbed Roman’s bicep and glared at him. “Go back to Maine. Tell my grandfather to leave us the fuck alone.”

  Roman snorted as he wrenched his arm free and followed his team out. Josiah and Littlefoot congratulated him as photos were taken. He searched the crowd frantically. If Roman cut through the crowd, if he found Eve…

  “Who are you looking for?”

  He glanced down to find his mate at his side. She thumbed over her shoulder. Caleb stood against the cage wall, hugging Meg for all he was worth. “Cay snuck us in.”

  Micah stared at her. She was the reason he stepped into the cage. He did it to save her life. In the end, she saved his too. “I love you, baby.”

  “Love you too, champ.”

  The rest of the chaos faded away as he kissed her. The future was unclear. It was dangerous. But with her by his side, he was invincible.

  Epilogue

  Eve sat on the bench of her vanity. Her beautiful white gown spread across the floor behind her. She glanced up at her reflection in the mirror, her hair held up in curls. Micah had made this for her, so the cabin felt more like home. It wasn’t the only thing he did. He unpacked all her things. His once sparsely decorated cabin was now borderline cluttered. It wasn’t his home anymore. It was theirs.

  She sighed. She loved Micah so much. He was barely out of the cage before they were making wedding plans. With it being winter, they looked long and hard for someplace indoors for the ceremony. The rest of the family flew into action. Gear was stowed who knew where. They worked day and night. Before they knew it, the gym turned into a chapel. Eve was certain if someone pulled a pin, everything would come undone like in the cartoons. Micah chose the day before the full moon for the wedding. Once the ceremony and small reception was over, they would head to the North Cabin. He would hunt at night. Eve would sleep. And during the day they would make love until they ached.

  She wiped away a tear. She tried to tell him over and over she couldn’t conceive. She could never give him a child. No matter what she said, he wanted to spend their honeymoon during the full moon. He smiled and kissed her affectionately. He told her to believe in the magic of it. Magic brought them together. Maybe it would give them a child.

  She turned as the cabin door opened. Meg shuffled into the bedroom dressed in a floor-length lilac gown. Her baby bump rounded against the satin. “They’re ready, Eve, and you’re beautiful. We need to go.”

  Eve shook her head. “I can’t get pregnant. Micah would make such an incredible father. How could I stop him from that?”

  “Eve, whatever power took us over dictated that. So it doesn’t matter. It did that to him, not you.”

  Eve sighed. “I suppose.”

  “And we might be on the doorstep of a war. We know the werewolves want you and me dead. And from what we can tell, vampires are after Momma’s amulet for some reason. Right now maybe bringing a child into the world isn’t a good idea.”

  Eve looked at her and then down to her belly. She cocked a grin at Meg. “All right.”

  “Hey, we d
idn’t know about the other werewolves and vampires at the time we got busy. All we had was my psycho ex. Besides…” Meg took Eve’s hands in hers. “I side with Micah. I believe in the magic. I think before long, my little one will have a cousin.”

  “Meg, I…” Eve glanced away out the window. Her words failed as she saw Micah pacing in the snow. The way he looked dressed in his tux took her breath away. He’d offered up his life for her. He gave her shelter. He gave her a family. He gave her love. He gave her him.

  Suddenly, she started to believe in the magic a little, too.

  She crossed the bedroom to the door and scooped up the thick crimson velvet robe waiting for her. Once she slipped it on, she turned to Meg. “We have a wedding to get to, don’t we?”

  Meg laughed. “That was a mood change. Let’s go.”

  The two women wove through the cabin and stepped outside.

  Micah grinned when he saw her. “I was wondering if you were leaving me at the altar.”

  She stepped through the snow to him until she was in his arms. “Never. It’d be hard to get away all the way up here in the middle of nowhere. Besides, I proposed to you, remember?”

  “Shh,” he chided. “Meg thinks I did.”

  Eve laughed as she kissed him. None of them knew what the future held. Whatever they had to face, she would do it at this man’s side. She wove her fingers between his. He kissed her once more, and then led her into the family building for their wedding.

  About the Author

  Tricia Andersen lives in Iowa with her husband, Brian and her children—her sons, Jake and Jon, and her daughter Ali. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in English and from Kirkwood Community College with an Associate of Arts degree in Communications Media/Public Relations. When she’s not writing (which she loves to do), Tricia practices mixed martial arts, coaches and participates in track and field, reads, and is involved in many of her children's activities.

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