Fighting for Keeps

by Grace Brennan

  Shooting him a surprised look, she replied, “It’s not uncomfortable. It’s soft, and I don’t feel any lumps…” she trailed off as they shared a charged look. “Surely not. No one hides money under the mattress. It’s an obvious place for burglars to look.”

  “Unless they live out in the country, in a small town where crime is basically nonexistent.”

  They locked gazes for a moment, and then both of them stood at the same time. Amelia placed the box and letter on the nightstand while Seth grabbed the mattress, hefting it up and shoving so it slid off the other side of the bed. He glanced at her to see the surprise on her face, and he looked down, taking in the stacks of twenties lined up on the box springs.

  “Oh. My. God. There must be hundreds and hundreds here,” she said, awe in her voice.

  “More like thousands,” he replied, picking up a stack and thumbing through it.

  Shaking her head, she stared at the stacks of money. “I don’t understand it. He let the house fall into disrepair, and he drove a truck that’s at least fifteen years old. There had to be things he needed, things he wanted. Why didn’t he spend any of this?”

  “Maybe he wanted to leave it to you. He left the ranch to you, right? He had to know you’d eventually find it.”

  “What if I hadn’t? What if I’d hired a professional cleaning service, found a realtor, and booked it back to England? And I saw him for a few minutes before he passed. He didn’t say a word about any money, just kept rambling on and on about—”

  Frowning when she abruptly cut off, he asked, “Rambling? Rambling about what?”

  Lips tightening for a moment, she said, “He never said a word about this. He wasn’t quite lucid, but this doesn’t seem like something a person would just forget.”

  Taking her by the arm, he pulled her around to face him, rubbing his hands soothingly up and down her arms. “We’ll probably never know why he did it the way he did, or why he never told you. But regardless of that, this is a pretty amazing find, no?”

  She gave him a timid smile before leaning into him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Of course it is. I’ve just never done well with puzzles I can’t find answers to, but I think this is one I have to accept I’ll never solve.”

  Hugging her close, he held her for a moment before kissing her head and pulling back. “I should get going. I know how much you want to read that letter, and I want to get one more training session in before bed.”

  “Will I see you tomorrow before the fight?”

  “I wish I could say yes, but I have a lot to do. I’ll see you there, though. I’m going to need a kiss for good luck before I get in that ring.”

  “You can have a million kisses for good luck,” she replied, eyes sparkling.

  Chuckling, he pulled her in tight one last time. “I think a million kisses would lead to much more than kissing, and we definitely won’t have time for that. You read that letter after I leave, and call or text me if you need me. I might not answer if I’m training, but I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

  “Thank you for coming over. Tonight was amazing. It was special,” she said softly.

  “For me too, honey. For me too.”

  Leaning down, he kissed her lips softly at first, and then with more intensity as his blood quickly heated. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but he pulled away, lips lingering against hers for a moment. Pressing a brief kiss to her forehead, he let her go, feeling the loss of her in his arms down to his soul.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow night,” he said, walking swiftly out of the room and down the stairs without waiting on a reply, knowing he’d be even more tempted to stay if he lingered.

  He loved spending time with her, and he was happy he could tell her about the hidden cash. And he felt blessed to have been there when she saw her mother for the first time, to have given her a letter that most likely came from her mother. He longed to stay longer, but he knew he’d be tempted, beyond what he could handle, to take their relationship to the next level. His body was yearning for it, and his leopard was throwing a fit, urging to go back and pick up where they left off.

  But it was too soon for that, and he needed to stop thinking about it, put it all from his mind. He had a fight to train for, and he needed to focus on that and nothing but that.

  But damned if he wouldn’t give up the opportunity to ever fight again to be able turn back around and hold her in his arms all night long.

  Seth’s focus was absolute, his brow furrowed as he concentrated on carving the swirling design into the edges of the table. This was the table he planned to give Amelia, and it had to be perfect for her.

  He spent two hours this morning training with Jax, and then he came out to his small workshop behind the house to work. He couldn’t train all day, no matter how much he wanted to. He had to give his muscles a rest, get recharged for the fight. Working with wood might be his day job, but it wasn’t work for him. He enjoyed it, and it relaxed and soothed him on a level nothing else did.

  Except for Amelia. It was such a contradiction, because he felt revved up, his body balancing on a precipice, surrounded by desire and need, every time he was around her. But something about her made him feel at peace and whole in a way he wasn’t sure he ever felt before. At least, not in recent years. He thought maybe he’d felt like that once, back when he was a kid, before everything went to shit. But even then, it wasn’t on this level.

  Blowing the wood shavings away, he eyed the design, making sure it seamlessly fit with the others on the edges of the top of the table. It looked like one continuous design, and satisfied, he put the Dremel down, standing back to eye it from farther away. He thought she’d enjoy the flowers he etched into the swirling design. They reminded him of the wildflowers he brought her last night, and he hoped that’s what she’d think of when she saw them, as well.

  As he was polishing the surface, he heard a knock, and he watched as Ian walked inside. He looked around for a moment before stepping up to the table, cocking his head as he studied it.

  “That looks really good. It’s more girly than what you usually make, but I like it.”

  “Yeah, well,” Seth replied, finishing his task and straightening up, tossing the rag on his work bench. “It’s for Amelia. Her uncle let the house kind of deteriorate, and she mentioned how bad her table looked last night. I thought I’d make this one for her.”

  “That’s a nice thing to do. Things must be going well with her,” Ian said, leaning against the worktable and crossing his massive arms.

  Seth was leaner than Ian, but he was by no means small. Compared to most men, human and shifter alike, he was much bigger than most he came across. But he looked downright small next to Ian. Ian was huge. The only man he’d ever seen come close to matching him in size, who didn’t look dwarfed by the tall, muscular tiger shifter, was Jax. Jax was an anomaly for a bird shifter, even a bird of prey, like his animal, the eagle. Most bird shifters tended to be smaller, more delicate and fine boned, even the men.

  “We’re just starting out, and we still have a few mountains to overcome, but so far, so good. But I still can’t believe you acted like a matchmaker.”

  “Every single one of you in my crew deserves to find happiness, Seth, even you,” Ian rumbled, giving him a pointed look, causing him to shift uncomfortably. “And I don’t hear you complaining.”

  “Because I’m not,” he admitted. “But doesn’t that include you, too? You deserve to find happiness with a mate just as much as we do, maybe more, and it would do Shelby a world of good to have a mother who was kindhearted. All she knows right now is that mothers are vicious and nasty to their children. You could give her that.”

  Ian’s expression softened at the mention of his daughter, but moments later he had a hard, unmovable mask in place. “A mate isn’t in the cards for me. And I wouldn’t risk bringing a woman into Shelby’s life who could turn out to be as mean spirited as Farrah is. Get that pitying look off your face, Birmingham. Shelby get
s better every day she’s away from her mother and that hell on Earth tribe, and I don’t need a mate. I have all I need in Shelby, and my crew of misfit fighters.”

  Eying him speculatively, and not believing for a second that Ian was fine without a mate, Seth nevertheless let it slide. This was a mountain of resistance best tackled slowly and with stealth. An all out attack would only result in Ian shutting down, and stubbornly holding tighter to the lies he was telling himself.

  “Did you just come out here to talk mates, or did you need something else? I wanted to get a bit more work in before I shifted.”

  “There’s more I wanted to talk about,” Ian replied, an uncharacteristically hesitant look crossing his features. “Are you sure you’re ready for this fight tonight? I can’t remember the last time you fought anyone besides us, and even then, it was never another shifter.”

  “I fought those goons when we went to Canada to help rescue Cammie a couple months back, and I beat every single one I took on,” he replied shortly, a scowl forming.

  “Not the same,” Ian replied with a shake of his head. “We were out in the middle of nowhere, with no human witnesses. At least, none who weren’t already in the know. It was battle, and we had no rules. You did great, but tonight, you’ll be fighting in front of a human crowd.”

  “What’s your point? I fight in front of a human crowd every Saturday,” he said.

  “Will you be able to control yourself when you have another shifter, who’s definitely not a friend, taunting you the whole time? Will you be able to control your animal, or handle it?” he asked with a meaningful look.

  Seth stayed silent, mind whirring. He hadn’t realized anyone knew his cat was borderline uncontrollable some days, and especially so during fights. He glanced up as Ian spoke again.

  “You do a good job hiding it, Seth. I’m not sure anyone else besides me even realizes it. They just think you rush your moves as a fighter, not because you’re not only fighting an opponent, but your leopard, as well. But I know you. I watch closely, and I pay attention. That’s my job as the leader of our little band of fighters.”

  “He doesn’t always fight me,” he muttered, not sure what to say. He couldn’t deny any of it, because it was one hundred percent the truth.

  “He does the majority of the time, and you never seem to know when he will.”

  “Do you not believe I can do this, Ian? Are you trying to talk me out of it?” he asked, starting to get pissed off.

  “Not at all,” Ian replied, surprise in his tone. “I know you can fight him. I know you can win. You trained hard, yesterday and this morning, and I’ve never seen you so focused and precise. But I don’t want you ignoring the reality, or what might happen tonight. I want you to go in, aware of what might happen, with every possible scenario thought through. You can do this. You can beat him, Seth. I really believe that, and I have faith that’s what you’re going to do. I just want you to go into this as prepared as you can be.”

  Ian clapped him hard on the shoulder, and left the barn, leaving the door cracked open. Exhaling heavily, Seth leaned against the workbench, thinking over what Ian said. It made sense, and he found himself grateful for Ian’s visit. He’d been training hard, and psyching himself up for the fight, but he’d also been avoiding the hell out of his problems with his leopard.

  The problem was, he didn’t know how to stop his leopard from taunting him, from fighting him during the fights. He’d tried before, and not only had it not stopped his animal, it seemed to spur him on, making it difficult to even keep his human skin during a fight. If he gave this thought, if he tried to talk to the cat and make him see things Seth’s way, the probability of the leopard making the fight harder was high.

  And Seth had to win this fight. Had to, for Amelia, and every other woman Zane might have harassed. Zane deserved to have his ass beaten, to walk away bloody and defeated, for how he acted and the way he spoke to Seth’s mate.

  Pausing for a moment, he let that sink in. She was his mate. He would forever be devoted to only her, and there would never be anyone else he was interested in. She was it for him.

  Yesss, mate.

  Seth paused in the act of taking his shirt off, still not used to his leopard agreeing with him on anything. But for once, he and his animal were completely on the same page. Now if he could only get his cat to understand that he couldn’t sabotage Seth tonight. He couldn’t let Amelia down. Had to avenge and protect her honor.

  Won’t let mate down. Beat dickwad.

  Seth froze, shirt half folded. A slow smile stretching his lips, he finished folding his shirt and placed it on the table. Looked like Cammie really was right. Amelia was doing the impossible, bringing him and his animal closer together, giving them something in common. Maybe the cat would still be a dick in other aspects of Seth’s life, but in the most important, they were on the same page.

  Kicking off his shoes, he unzipped his jeans, pulling them off and preparing to shift to his leopard form. Fighting for shifters, even when they were perfectly in sync with their animals, was incredibly hard, and took massive amounts of control. Fighting amped up their natural instincts, and their animals perceived it as being in danger. The way his kind dealt with danger was by shifting. As their animals, they had more weapons at their disposal. Teeth, claws, enhanced agility, and for most shifters, a tougher skin.

  Fighting recreationally as they did, in front of a human crowd, meant they had to be stronger than their animals. They had to fight the urge to shift, control the animal’s natural instincts. It made it a bit easier if they shifted before a fight, letting their animals free for a little while, but it was still by no means a cake walk.

  Hunching inward, the sound of his bones breaking and reforming echoed in the air, and his skin prickled as fur sprouted. With a blinding flash of pain, the transformation was complete, happening in the blink of an eye, and Seth was standing with all four paws planted on the ground. He twitched his tail, making sure his balance was on point, and then he walked to the door and nudged it open.

  Heading toward the woods, he took off in a flash, the trees blurring around him as he ran. To his surprise, he found his leopard turning in the direction of the Anderson ranch, and he forced the animal to continue their normal circuit.

  The cat let out a hiss of displeasure, but he complied, and after one circuit around Rocky River property, Seth slowed to a walk. While it was good to let their animals out and get some of the anticipation and nerves worked out, it wasn’t a good idea to exhaust himself. They needed to be in top form when they began their matches.

  Coming to a stop in a patch of sunlight, he sat and basked in the warmth of the sun as he leisurely licked his paw. A noise hit his sensitive ears, and they perked as he paused, glancing around the woods.

  A flash of orange caught his eye, and his hackles raised as he hissed out a warning. Zane surely wouldn’t be so stupid as to challenge him in animal form, and on Rocky River land. The tiger walked closer, head canted and neck exposed just a bit, and it was then Seth noticed its eyes. A blazing electric blue with silver specks. They belonged to Ian.

  Seth let out an annoyed growl as he sat back down, and then the piercing cry of a bird of prey echoed. Glancing up, he found Jax flying above them in eagle form. They never shifted together before matches, and his chest tightened uncomfortably as he realized they were showing their support and encouragement for his upcoming fight.

  Ian walked closer, distracting him, and Seth glanced over as he felt the foreign urge to swat at him. But it wasn’t in annoyance, or a need to fight. With shock, he realized his leopard felt the urge to play. When was the last time his animal felt playful? No doubt, it was in early childhood.

  Giving in to the urge, he bounded over and pounced at Ian. The tiger dodged, but Seth promptly swatted him while Ian hissed, exposing long, razor sharp canines. Undeterred, Seth pounced again, and with an almost human sounding sigh, Ian gave in.

  They didn’t play long, since they both neede
d to conserve their energy, but it was enough to leave him content in a way he hadn’t been in a very long time. He joked and played a lot in human form, but he couldn’t remember the last time he had fun as the leopard. Ian’s tiger was much bigger than his leopard, but his bulk slowed him down. Seth was faster, so despite Ian’s strength, he hadn’t been able to best Seth as they wrestled.

  Content down to his bones, Seth headed back to the house to shower and change. They needed to leave for the fights soon. Rushing through his shower, he grabbed the bag with his fight gear and met the others downstairs, following them out and piling with them in Ian’s truck.

  For some reason, the guys shifting with him left him filled with confidence. He wasn’t overly cocky. He knew it would probably be a hard match, and there was a chance he might lose. But he felt secure in his abilities, and like he had more than a good shot at beating Zane.

  They pulled up to the fight barn, getting out and walking toward the building. He wasn’t sure how many would be fighting before his match, but judging from the noises coming from the open barn doors, the first match was already underway.

  Walking in, they headed straight to the back of the barn where the fighters got ready. There were a few horse stalls, and every fighter was able to claim their own stall, complete with a speed bag in the corner, suspended from the ceiling. The stalls were spacious, so the fighters from Rocky River usually shared one on fight nights, despite there being enough to go around. It helped keep their animals in check if they were around other friendly shifters.

  Dumping his bag on the old bench in the corner, Seth pulled out his gear and quickly exchanged his jeans and t-shirt for the MMA style shorts. Not bothering with shoes, he pulled his hand wraps out and quickly wrapped his hands. Some of the men who fought here, regulars and out of towners alike, sometimes wore shoes, which he thought was epically stupid. They fought MMA style, which meant using the whole body, not just throwing punches.