Before Dawn

by Olivia Hutchinson

  The door swung open to reveal a huge, packed room. Declan went first, taking Natalie's hand as he led the way down the rickety metal stairs. People were shoulder to shoulder, all facing a massive metal cage in the center of the arena. The cage was empty now, but even from across the room Natalie could see the scratch marks on the concrete floor.

  It was hard for her to see with the only lights coming from just outside the door they came through, and the spotlights pointed toward the cage. She hugged Declan's side as he weaved them through the crowd toward the front, not willing to let herself become separated from him. It was dark, musty, and the stretch of sweat hung heavy in the air.

  “It should start soon,” he said next to her ear once they stopped a few rows back from the cage so she could hear over the roar of the crowd. “Stay close to me. Things can get rowdy.”

  “No problem,” she said as he put his arm around her shoulder, clutching her against his side. Declan’s chest seemed to expand next to her and power radiated from him. When she looked around and noticed more male eyes on her, she understood the change in his demeanor. He was staking his claim. Almost instantly, most gazes averted.

  After a few minutes, Declan leaned down again. “Let me know if you want to leave at any point, and we'll go.”

  She nodded but didn't say anything. It was hard to believe that anyone would try anything with Declan there. It was clear that most knew who he was, based on the nods of acknowledgment she saw.

  “Hey!” A feminine voice said. Natalie turned just in time to see Hannah pushing her way through the crowd, a wide smile on her face. When she pushed passed the last behemoth man who was standing a few feet from Natalie, she grasped Natalie’s arm. “I didn’t know you guys were coming out tonight.”

  Hannah was wearing a pair of torn, low-riding jeans, brown work boots, and a green Notre Dame Fighting Irish t-shirt that had been cut into a tank top. The black lace from her overflowing bra was peeking out the top. Her hair was twisted up on the top of her head in a messy bun.

  “What are you doing here?” Declan asked.

  She shrugged. “I'm always here.” Hannah turned her attention to Natalie. “I've been trying to get Teddy to let me fight for the past six months, but he keeps telling me no.”

  “You don’t need to get in the cage.”

  Hannah scowled at her brother. “You sound like Dad. You of all people should be supportive.”

  “No one wants to see you get your ass kicked.”

  “I could kick your ass, Declan. Shut it.” Hannah stuck her tongue out at him, and it was only then that Natalie realized they were joking around. Sort of.

  Hannah looked perfectly capable of taking care of herself, Natalie thought. She wasn’t someone she would ever want to have a conflict with even if she wasn’t a werewolf. “Why won’t he let you fight?” Natalie asked.

  “Who? Teddy?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m not the Azarov he wants.”

  Natalie frowned, ready to ask her to elaborate when the music began blaring in the room, shaking the walls and hurting Natalie's ears. Both Hannah and Declan were gritting their teeth until the music was turned down a few notches.

  “Hey, hey, hey!” The crowd went wild around her as soon as the woman’s voice came on over the speakers. The cage door opened and it was only then that Natalie saw a tiny woman go into the cage. Teased bright purple hair matched the wings spreading wide from her back. She wore a tiny little white dress that showed every curve. She held a microphone to her mouth as she looked around at the crowd. “Who here is ready for a fiiiiiight?!”

  “I love you, Bethany!” a man screamed from a few rows behind Natalie as soon as the roaring died down a bit. The emcee began laughing over the speaker when she heard the declaration.

  “We have three fights for you tonight, ladies and gentlemen, and as always, it’s ladies first! Tonight, we have Marlowe versus Cray.”

  As the emcee continued describing the female fighters, Hannah leaned over and said, “They’re both six and one. My money is on Cray.”

  “Why?”

  “She’s hard to hit. Too fast.”

  The mic cut off, and music started pounding through the speakers again as two women entered the cage. Both wore shorts and tank tops that clung to them like a second skin. If looks could kill, both women would be dead on the mat.

  “That’s Cray,” Hannah said, pointing to the pale Asian woman. Her short black hair tied back in a tight braid. When she smiled menacingly at her opponent, Natalie caught the glimmer of her fangs.

  Vampire.

  Now Natalie was really curious. Marlowe’s chestnut hair was cropped close to her scalp. She was the bigger of the two women with strong, boxy shoulders that held a lot of strength. She snarled at Cray as she took a step back, bouncing on bare feet over the concrete. The emcee left the cage, closing the door behind her. As soon as the cage door latched, the women stepped forward, hands up.

  The sound of the bell over the speakers started the fight. Bare fists up, Marlowe struck first and just as Hannah had predicted, Cray spun so fast she almost blurred. The strike missed its mark. The audience was cheering, screaming the names of their fighters.

  Natalie relaxed against Declan's side and drank her cider, marveling at how fast they moved. They seemed to ricochet off the cage walls, leaping into the air to avoid a strike. They couldn't always prevent it. Marlowe got two good hits on Cray, breaking her nose and spraying blood onto the concrete. As soon as blood was drawn, Natalie tensed up, waiting to see what a vampire was going to do with a bleeding opponent.

  Her answer came when Cray hit her again. And again. There was only the slight flash of fang before Cray was on top of Marlowe, pummeling her. A loud, wounded growl tore from the woman’s throat as her opponent laid into her.

  Declan took a swig of his beer before saying against her ear, “She’s done.”

  Sure enough a few seconds later, Marlowe tapped, and Cray jumped to her feet, punched the air, and screamed in celebration. The crowd went crazy, cheering and whistling, as Marlowe pushed herself to her knees and finally to her feet before slumping out of the cage.

  When someone bumped into Natalie, Declan snarled. He moved slightly, shifting Natalie until she was standing in front of him, her back pressed tightly to his chest. She stiffened for a moment as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He seemed so comfortable with her. Acted so natural. With every display of affection, every handhold, it was becoming harder and harder for Natalie to remember that their relationship was fake.

  The emcee returned, announced the next fight, and Natalie relaxed against her guardian as two males entered the cage. The back-and-forth between them was far more aggressive and brutal than the battle between the females. Natalie watched, curious what the two men were who were fighting, especially after the bigger of the two men – MacLeod – smashed his fist into his opponent's jaw and shattered it. It didn't take more than a few seconds of the opponent dancing backward, dodging hits, before Natalie realized his jaw was fusing back together.

  Declan’s voice tickled her ear. “MacLeod’s a dragon. Dragons are the only faction not allowed to change during a fight. Safety reasons.”

  She sucked in a breath. A dragon? Holy crap. Turning her head, she met Declan's eyes in question. Her mouth began to form her question when he guessed it and answered her, brushing his lips against the shell of her ear. "Turner’s a werewolf. Ah, there he goes.” Natalie glanced up at the cage to see Turner morph into a beast on two legs similar to what Kaleb had looked like in Lila’s living room.

  “It seems unfair he’s allowed to change when MacLeod isn’t,” she turned her face up toward Declan only for her mouth to be centimeters away from his.

  “He's not going to win even in that form. He's just here for the publicity anyway. MacLeod has only lost one fight, and that was against Jackson Vastag."

  He mentioned Vastag when they were still in Cantor, but now after seeing MacLeod fight, she was dying
to see Jackson take on someone. "Is he supposed to fight after this?"

  Declan gave a quick shake of his head. “Next fight is Bowinger versus Koskinen. Shifter and warlock. You want to see Vastag fight?”

  Definitely. “Yeah, I do.”

  “We won’t get to. His next fight is in Toronto in a few weeks.”

  Natalie frowned and turned her attention back to the cage just as Declan gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. Addled, she glanced back up at him. A crooked smile played on his lips as he met her eyes. Butterflies exploded in her belly, and when he turned back to the fight, she sucked in a breath and took a long gulp of her cider.

  Phew, he was in trouble.

  Natalie was dragging up all of those protective instincts, especially where they were. Males outnumbered the females five to one with the majority of them unmated and looking for an opportunity to prove themselves. Every bump of someone's shoulder made him want to ensure she was without injury. Fragile. She was so fucking fragile.

  He caught Hannah glancing at him out of the corner of her eye a few times. If Hannah actually knew what was going on between himself and Natalie, he would deny everything, but as it stood, her looking at him approvingly was only driving home their deception.

  It made him sick. He disliked lying to his family, his sister especially.

  He was barely able to pay attention to the Bowinger-Koskinen fight. It hadn’t been nearly as exciting as McLeod and Turner, which didn’t help him either. Bowinger hadn’t even bothered shifting. He crushed Koskinen within a few minutes, his face and bare chest splattered in Koskinen’s blood as he raged his victory in the cage. A few men went into the cage to drag the unconscious Koskinen out. The warlock would heal, just not as fast as the shifter.

  Natalie’s soft body stiffened against his chest as she watched the spectacle while Hannah had sucked in a pained breath. How his sister could have had a relationship with a man like Red Bowinger was beyond him, but he wasn’t one to judge.

  When Red caught sight and glared at Hannah, a low growl vibrated Declan's chest. Hannah's spine straightened, and her chin lifted a notch as if Bowinger's dismissal hadn't just felt like a slap, but he knew his sister. The only time she stared someone down like she was doing right now was when they hurt her and she was building her walls up.

  Natalie turned to face him. Her arms came up and wrapped around his neck, pulling him down to her. She stood on her tiptoes, and for a moment, he thought she was going to kiss him. A snarl froze in his throat.

  She bypassed his mouth and went to his ear. "You're growling," she whispered, but he could hear her clearly even over the noisy crowd. "You're not doing her any favors by being the overprotective big brother."

  Declan drew back and looked at her. Natalie was right. Hannah was already the victim of their parents’ meddling, more so than he ever was, since she was their only girl and their baby. The last thing she needed was for Declan to begin interfering with her relationships or breakups. She hadn’t asked for his help.

  He didn’t say anything. People began piling out of the room, stepping around the three of them while he stood there, staring down at the perplexing little human.

  “What are you guys doing now?” Hannah asked, interrupting his thoughts.

  Natalie looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to answer Hannah. Right. “Dinner?” he asked Natalie.

  “I’m hungry,” she answered.

  He turned to Hannah and grabbed hold of Natalie’s hand. “We’re going to eat. Want to come?”

  Hannah hesitated, glancing at Natalie, and then said, "Sure, but can we go somewhere with wings? I've wanted buffalo wings for like three days now."

  He could put away some wings.

  “Sounds good to me,” Natalie said.

  The plan established, he kept hold of Natalie's hand and led them out of the arena. There was a party going on in the bar, so he pushed his way through the crowd and out the door, paving the way for Natalie and Hannah behind him.

  Once they were in the cold night air, Declan stopped. “Where are you parked?”

  Hannah pointed at the lot across the street where they also parked. “Over there. Harbor Tavern?”

  “Oka—”

  "What are you doing here?" Red Bowinger's voice boomed as soon as he slammed open the door to Slugger's. The shifter was already mostly healed from his fight, but he was still streaked with blood. He stank of sweat, whiskey, and annoyance.

  Declan’s first instinct was to get in between Bowinger and Hannah, but Natalie squeezed the hell out of his hand and said, “Wait.”

  Hannah was ramrod straight, glaring at Red. “Watching the fights. What do you think I was doing?”

  “We discussed this,” he said, stopping a few inches in front of her. Hannah didn’t back up. The few people who were lingering outside the bar stopped talking and were openly watching the argument. “We said that you would stay away.”

  “No, you said I should stay away from you, but you’re the one who chased me outside, Red. Psshhh…” Hannah waved her hand like she didn’t have two minutes to give him.

  “You’re here.”

  “So what? I’ve always watched the fights. I’m not about to stop now just because you don’t want me here.”

  Bowinger was shaking his head, irritation clear on his face before shooting a glare at Declan and Natalie. “Whatever, Hannah. Stay. The fuck. Away. I don’t want to see you.”

  Hannah’s brown eyes narrowed and all but glowed with finely controlled anger. “Then maybe you should stay away from me.” She spun away from him and faced Declan. “I’m suddenly not hungry anymore. I’m going to the house.”

  He was about to let her go, staying put to ensure Bowinger didn’t follow her, but Natalie began shaking her head.

  “Nope,” she said. “We’re going to eat, Hannah, and I’m riding with you.”

  Hannah stopped mid-step and frowned at Natalie. A silent exchange between the women and his sister changed her mind. “Fine. Let’s go.”

  Natalie grabbed Hannah’s trembling arm and pulled her toward the lot before shooting a determined look at Declan over her shoulder. “Come on. I’m hungry.”

  She told him not to interfere, but here she was, interfering. Strange, strange human. He wanted to swing on the shifter, but he kept his fists clenched at his sides and followed behind Natalie and his sister. More enemies were not what he needed.

  "I'm not apologizing for that," Natalie said once she was belted into the passenger seat of Hannah's hatchback. "He was acting like a pit stain, and there's no reason you should allow him to bully you into doing what he wants. He doesn't own you, and he can't tell you what to do. And by the way, you were awesome back there."

  Hannah glanced over at her, a frown etched on her face, as she pulled out of the lot. “Yeah?” Hannah moved to put the car in gear, her hands shaking as if she were coming down from an adrenaline rush.

  "Yeah, you were. You didn't back down even though it was pretty clear he expected you to. I don't get the impression he's someone used to being told no." Natalie settled in her seat and leaned back onto the headrest. "You had this look on your face that said ‘no one messes with me' that was just sooo badass. I wish I could look like that when I get ticked off."

  Hannah shook her head as if to clear it and sighed. "I was crazy about him, you know. Like totally crazy. He was all funny and charming and made me feel like I was something special. I gave my mom shit earlier because of what she said to his sister but to be honest, I felt him starting to pull away as soon as I slept with him. It was just after that stupid dinner party though that he texted me and told me he was done and to leave him alone. I meant nothing…like I am nothing."

  "No, Hannah. You're not nothing." Natalie blew out a breath. "Besides Declan, you're the only person who's been nice to me since I got here. You never talked junk about me while pretending I can't hear every single word. You haven't told me that I not good enough for your brother. Hannah, you're kind, and you're strong.
And you deserve so much better than Red Bowinger."

  "Thank…thanks." Hannah dashed away the few tears that had escaped, and Natalie couldn't help but reach over and pat her forearm.

  "I'm serious, Hannah. One day you're going to meet someone, and they're going to rip the floor out from underneath you. You won't have to worry about where you stand with them because they'll tell you what you mean to them. You'll find someone worthy of you."

  Hannah glanced over at her. “I hope you’re right.”

  "Oh, girl. I'm never wrong." Natalie glanced in the side-view mirror to see Declan's SUV was right behind him. "I hope I didn't annoy your brother back there, though."

  “I heard him growling. I’m glad he didn’t do anything stupid. He can be rather protective, but it’s been a long time since Declan was in a cage.”

  Natalie swung around in her seat, eyes wide in disbelief. “Declan used to fight?”

  “Oh, yeah. He never told you that?”

  “No!”

  Hannah laughed. "He was young. Like nineteen or twenty. He's the reason I want to fight now. Oh, he was so good, too! All three of the boys were always fighting growing up, so he got plenty of practice. They were constantly going at it either with fists or claws. Didn't matter but it was all for fun. By the time he was eighteen, he had fought and won a fight in Toronto against Verner Byerly, a mean witch – no offense – known for using spells to amp his strength."

  “Huh.”

  Hannah glanced in her rearview and merged into traffic. “By the time he was twenty-three and quit it, he’d won all of his fights except two. One against Brennan MacLeod who we watched fight tonight, and one against Jackson Vastag.”

  “Why did he stop?”

  "My dad," she said with a snort and a small shake of her head. "He left the territory and the district one seat in Long Lake and came to Boston. Azarov territory needed a new leader. Gabriel and Kaleb already had the Wolf's Den up and running, and they wanted absolutely nothing to do with politics. There was no one else except Declan to step in, unless my dad handed it over to another family – which he would never do.”