Lucas guessed even the upper classes were desperate for alpha female matches at this point, for someone like Bruce to be here competing in this stupid event.
But somehow, despite his relative lack of physical fitness, Bruce had won every match so far with a knockout, usually within the first minute or two of the fight starting.
Bruce was one of the few unknown competitors on the list that Matt had given him, so Lucas had no idea what he was dealing with. He just knew he hated him. And he would take him down for touching his mate.
Lucas growled and went into a defensive stance, waiting for Bruce to make the next move.
At first, they just circled each other, Bruce just moving lazily, as if he had all day. Then he suddenly lunged at Lucas with a sloppy front kick. Lucas dodged easily to the side but was surprised to find that Bruce had anticipated his movement and caught him with an elbow strike that just grazed his cheek. Bruce took advantage of the opening to throw more punches, and Lucas put his hands up to deflect the blows.
There was nothing supernatural about Bruce’s strength or his speed. Nothing superb about his form or his abilities thus far.
Or at least Lucas thought so until Bruce swept his knee, catching it squarely and throwing his balance off. While Lucas had been defending against Bruce’s punches, his fists had blocked his view so he hadn’t seen Bruce’s attack coming.
Lucas recovered and threw a hook at Bruce, who dodged back flawlessly. Once again, it was like trying to punch air, and Lucas growled in frustration as he dodged back to assess the damage to his knee.
It hurt, but he could fight through it. He’d have to. But somehow his body didn’t feel as immune to pain as it had when he’d thought Lily was beside him.
“You feelin’ it?” Bruce asked, walking lazily toward him with a grin. His voice grated intensely. All he could remember was them in the garden and Bruce’s taunting voice as he leaned forward to kiss Lily. And she’d let him.
And she’d never come to explain. Because there was nothing to explain. Maybe he should just let Bruce win. Maybe she’d be happier that way. She’d probably felt guilty for letting him down and had said she’d come talk with him but had chickened out, not wanting to see his face when she broke his heart.
Dark thoughts flooded through him, making his wolf at odds with his human, and he tried to fight them off so he could think well enough to fight. But not knowing if his mate wanted him to win tore him up inside.
“I said, are you feelin’ it?” Bruce repeated, coming closer.
“Nope, not a thing,” Lucas lied, not willing to give his opponent any kind of recognition.
“Ha-ha, you will be pretty soon,” Bruce said with a cocky smile. “Everyone was talking about how talented you were, how strong you were. Do you know how fucking annoying that was? But I’m here to prove that no matter what you stupid upstarts think, you can’t do anything against a real alpha with a real alpha power. And we’re just getting started.”
“Unless your alpha power is shit-talking, I suggest you hurry it up,” Lucas spat back at him. Then he went on the offensive again, throwing everything he had into it in an attempt to get past Bruce’s perfect defense. If he could just land one punch, he knew he could take the other alpha down and physically wipe that smirk off his face.
But once again, it was impossible, a waste of Lucas’s energy, as Bruce just dodged each attack as if he’d fought Lucas millions of times and knew his every move perfectly.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Bruce jeered. “You might as well just give up now, since we both know you can’t win this.”
Lucas gritted his teeth. He might not have the same reasons for winning as before, but he still wanted to knock Bruce’s teeth in.
“Only I’m not going to stop at knocking you out. No. You’ve been with Lily, and for that, I’m going to end you. It’s going to be fun,” he said. “Something to celebrate with my future mate.”
Something in Lucas cracked at Bruce referring to Lily as his mate. Lucas cringed at the insinuation that he was in any way worthy of Lily. He charged at Bruce, but Bruce met him halfway, and the two grappled while standing, trying to throw the other off balance. Bruce was surprisingly strong, but that wasn’t it.
They were clinched, neither making headway, and the crowd was getting more boisterous with the lull in the fighting. Their noise filled Lucas’s ears, so he tuned it out.
All he could hear was Bruce’s breathing. All he could see was Bruce kissing Lily. Bruce walking up to the VIP room when it was over, picking her up, taking her to the bedroom.
A second later, Bruce took advantage of his momentary zone out to take him to the ground, pinning him fiercely. The next second, he crashed down on Lucas’s sternum with his elbow, digging it in painfully.
Lucas tried to strike Bruce off of him, hoping for an opportunity to flip them over and get the upper hand. But Bruce answered his attempts with a fist to the face that left Lucas dazed.
Focus, he told himself. Stop thinking about Lily. We can’t do anything about that right now. But it was easier said than done. The image of her kissing Bruce was burned into his brain, as was probably Bruce’s intention.
He pushed at Bruce’s side, hoping to angle him off.
“Keep struggling, lover boy. It’ll just make it that much easier to crush you in a second,” Bruce taunted.
Lucas bucked with his hips and followed with a hook to Bruce’s face, just to see if it could rattle him, make him go on the defensive. Instead of connecting with his face, though, Bruce caught Lucas’s fist with his open palm without looking. From a spectator’s view, it could have appeared that Bruce just put his hand in the right place at the right time and happened to catch Lucas’s fist. But Lucas knew better. That sort of shit didn’t just happen.
Bruce grinned, squeezing Lucas’s hand. “Sorry, I know how this part goes. You’ll try to throw me off. I’ll push you back down. You’ll try to hit me. That will leave your arm open for me to grab and then…” He made a snap sound with his fingers. “It just goes downhill from there.”
Lucas grimaced. It was as he suspected. It wasn’t that Bruce was stronger, faster, or more experienced.
He knew exactly what was going to happen before it happened. He could predict each and every one of Lucas’s moves with perfect precision.
Bruce looked down and smiled at Lucas as he made the realization. “Go ahead and do what you’re going to do already. I haven’t got all day,” Bruce said with a smirk.
Oh fuck, this was bad.
* * *
Lily’s whole body strained with tension as she watched Lucas on the ground, being pounded by Bruce. This was her fault. Somehow, she should have been stronger. Somehow, she should have fought her dad, found a way around Bruce.
Lucas had been fighting for her for so long, and what had she done? He had even saved her sister. She looked behind her, glad her father’s thugs were gone. Not that it mattered. She was remembering the girl she’d been with Lucas. The one that had learned to fight, the one that had hope. The one that didn’t let everyone else run the show for her, at least when she was with him.
He needed her now.
She stood to face her father.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked. “You can’t interfere now. The match is almost ov—”
He was interrupted when she put a hand on his shoulder and brought her knee up into his stomach as hard as she could. He toppled forward with a thud. She heard him curse in agony, but she’d already hopped over him and run for the door before anyone in the VIP room could really make out what was happening.
It was sweet justice that it was the self-defense Lucas had taught her that had finally felled her dad.
It didn’t just feel good; it felt awesome. For once, she wasn’t held back by fear, because her only fear was not getting to Lucas fast enough. If she didn’t get to him in time, if she didn’t wipe that look of despair off of his face and set him straight, nothing else would matter.
She didn’t even blame him for being this beaten down. She was his mate. A shifter lost all purpose when he thought he’d lost his mate. But she needed to make him see he hadn’t lost her.
Not at all.
She ran down toward the arena, pushing through the crowd and ignoring the mutters and curses from those she shoved out of her way. She saw her father’s guards making their way toward her, and she ran across a row of people, begging their pardon as she stepped over their legs.
On the ground, Lucas was struggling. He didn’t look like he had much longer. A guard was waiting for her on the other side of the row, but he wasn’t one of the bigger ones, so she decided to try one of the self-defense moves Lucas had taught her before. She slammed her palm upward into his nose, and it made a satisfying cracking noise as he stepped back with a shriek. She shoved past him and ran down the stairs toward Lucas. There was almost no one in her way anymore.
Just hang on, Lucas, just a little longer…
* * *
Lucas felt despair sinking through him as Bruce continued to strike his face. Hit after hit left him dazed and bloody as he tried to consider a way out of this position. He knew what Bruce was now, but it changed little. He continued to try to strike Bruce to get him off, but Bruce anticipated one of his hits and was able to trap Lucas’s arm in a vise. He started cranking it back at the elbow, causing severe pain that nearly made him black out.
Using all of his energy, Lucas moved to break free from Bruce’s grip. For a moment, Lucas felt Bruce’s weight shift too far to one side, and Lucas pushed off, coming out from under him and coming back to a standing position.
It had been close. His arm, face, and chest ached. Bruce didn’t have alpha strength, but he’d had the better position on the ground for far too long, and he was still a shifter.
“Not bad. Not that it matters,” Bruce said, coming forward menacingly. He swiped hard with his right leg at Lucas’s head. Lucas tried to raise his arm to block, but the force still threw him to the ground. He was still dazed from the pain of nearly having his arm broken.
Lucas tried to roll back onto his feet, but his movements were too sluggish, and Bruce threw a kick into his side that hurt like hell. Lucas tried to push himself off the ground, but instead, he coughed and saw blood on the ground. Never a good sign.
“Hey, now you’re making it too easy,” Bruce said, kicking Lucas onto his back and sitting on top of him. Rage ran through Lucas at Bruce’s words, but it was like they were coming at him through a tunnel, echoing and distant. He needed to get up, needed to beat Bruce’s face in, needed to make sure he never got another chance to touch Lily.
But Bruce had a power he could never match, an alpha power to surpass all others. And Lucas had no alpha power. His only power had been knowing for sure that he was Lily’s alpha, and that had been taken from him.
He couldn’t win.
Bruce slammed his fist down into Lucas’s face, again and again, and Lucas tried to cover his face as he became more and more dazed.
“Get up!” a hoarse female voice yelled at him. “Get up now, Lucas, or I’ll never forgive you!”
Was it Lily? He tried to turn to see her, but couldn’t.
“I still love you, Lucas,” she shouted. “I’ve always loved you. If you die, I die, so get up, you stupid wolf! You know I would never betray you! Get up and beat his ass like I know you can!”
Lily’s words seemed to penetrate his very bones. It was the voice of his mate saying she was his, saying she believed in him, and he felt his body flooding with strength he hadn’t known he possessed.
It made no sense, but as her voice became clearer, he found himself able to deflect Bruce’s punches.
He pulled his fist back and slammed it through Bruce’s face. For some reason, Bruce didn’t see it coming, and he flew back off of Lucas with a grunt and an arc of spittle and blood.
Gathering all his strength, Lucas stood, ignoring the screams from his spent muscles, his aching head. His eyes found Lily standing beside the ring, waiting for him to win.
It was the most welcome sight in the world. He wanted to go to her but Bruce was already pulling himself to his feet.
“I should have seen that. It shouldn’t have happened.”
“Looks like you’re the one running out of steam now. One thing I heard about alpha powers, the stronger they are, the more they wear you down. Maybe you shouldn’t have spent all that energy punching me when I was on the ground. Now I doubt you’ll be able to finish me.”
The tightness of Bruce’s jaw indicated Lucas was right. It would finally be a fair fight. Except it wouldn’t be fair at all because Lucas had Lily on his side, and with her, he couldn’t lose.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll still end you now. What I don’t understand is how you got a second wind like that.”
Lucas didn’t feel like he owed Bruce an answer. And even if he gave him one, he doubted Bruce would understand. He almost pitied the awful bastard because he would never have something like he had.
“All you need to worry about is how to eat this knuckle sandwich,” Lucas growled. Then, in a lightning-fast move that no one could see coming, Lucas shot forward with a perfectly aimed punch that seemed to go directly through Bruce’s face. He felt the satisfying crunch of multiple of the alpha’s bones, felt his fist driving forward with a need for vengeance. When he was done, Bruce flew backward, staggering until he hit the cage and then slumped in a boneless heap.
Lucas stood over him, waiting impatiently for the judge’s official declaration.
“The winner, Asher Vale!” said the ref. The crowd went wild with applause. It all seemed so surreal. Lucas looked over for Lily. Her face glowed with relief, reflecting exactly what he felt.
She was his. Bruce was done. He sank to his knees in gratitude and waited for them to unlock the cage so he could get out.
9
Lily waited for them to announce the winner and let Lucas out of the cage. His eyes met hers and she warmed all over. She still saw confusion there, still knew there would be lots to talk about and explain, but at least he seemed to believe her.
And luckily, it seemed to have given him a second chance in the fight.
She reached a hand under the cage, hoping to reach Lucas, and he scooted forward to touch her fingers. She grinned at him and he exhaled in relief. As long as they were together, things felt so much better.
Lily heard footsteps behind her and then was yanked unceremoniously from the ring and tossed back as her father walked forward to face Lucas.
“You think you’ve won,” he snarled. “But I’ll have you disqualified, just as soon as I have proof. I’ll be damned if you ever see my daughter again.”
Behind him, two guards latched onto Lily, and Lucas snarled in anger.
“So once again, I win and you lose. This time when I disappear, I’ll make sure you never find us. And I won’t be dumb enough to set something up like this again for my daughter. I’ll just choose someone myself.”
“What about all your rules?” Lucas scoffed. “What about your family’s offer?” Lucas looked out at the crowd around them. “You promised her to the victor.”
“The victor wasn’t supposed to be you!” her dad spat. “Not after all these years. Not after all I’ve done. I won’t have it wasted.”
Lucas wasn’t listening. Lily saw he was studying the wire fence in front of him that surrounded the ring. Then, with one easy move, he vaulted up and over it, landing directly behind her sputtering dad.
As her dad turned to face him, Lucas caught him with a fist right in the nose. Her father howled and fell back, clutching his face, and Lucas walked toward him, glaring. “I’m taking Lily now. If you want to take her, you better bring a fucking army. Because Lily is my mate, and by the time you find us, Ill have claimed her. And then no one in the world can take her away from me.”
Her father sputtered but didn’t respond. He was finally beaten.
Lucas turned to the gu
ards holding Lily. “I suggest you get the fuck off,” he said, and both stepped away easily.
Lily ran forward into his arms, and the crowd cheered. Presumably, they didn’t know what had just gone on with her father, but they also didn’t care. He tilted her chin up and took her lips with his, searing her to her core, washing the anguish and stress away.
He cupped her head in both hands and continued to kiss her, ignoring the roar all around them. Then he put a fist up to the crowd, scooped her up in his arms, and carried her off, up the steps that led out of the arena.
“Where are you taking me?” Lily asked as he continued carrying her out to the parking lot.
“Home,” he said, holding her tight.
“Lucas, I’m sorry about last night. There’s an explanation. I promise.”
His face tightened, but he kept walking. “I hoped there was. I wanted there to be, but when you didn’t come last night…
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“You kissed him,” he said, his arms tightening around her as they reached his car and he lifted her into the front seat. “I saw it. And you wouldn’t let me stop him.”
He walked around to his side of the car and got in. For a moment, he just rested there, one hand on the wheel, head slightly lowered. Then he started the car and pulled out.
“I couldn’t let you stop him,” Lily said, sad that he was still upset but glad he was actually letting her explain. “He had proof that you weren’t Asher. He could have shown the other alphas and gotten you thrown out. I know it was wrong, but he asked for one kiss with a pack’s promise that he would leave us alone after that. At least he wouldn’t get you thrown out. I had Tim and Tom waiting in the garden, in case things got out of hand. I couldn’t risk bringing you there.”
Lucas was quiet, so she continued. “I was planning to explain, but my father locked me away after the party so I couldn’t go to you.”
Alpha Champion (Wolf Fighters Book 1) Page 8