HUNTER

 

Saxon did what I asked of him. Word spread. Fifth Street wasn’t big enough to accommodate the number of people that had come out tonight.

Everybody had gathered in a nearby rundown park. The crowd of people was more than 10 times what I was used to seeing. I didn’t let it discourage me. I kept my focus, knowing that everything was at stake.

I closed out the sound of the men and women hollering all around me. The only voice I could hear was Saxon’s.

“This is it,” he said. “This is what you wanted. Three opponents. Three Alphas just waiting to tear into you. Are you sure you wanna do this?”

I didn’t respond to him. He already knew what my answer was. Even if I refused, Saxon would find some way to convince me to go through with it. He had just as much to gain from this as I did.

“I’m putting it all on you,” he said. “You win and that’ll be more than a hundred gold. I haven’t counted exactly. I’ll do that when I gather it.”

“A hundred gold. I could do a lot with that.”

“Hey. It’s not all yours. I have to get my cut, too.”

I peeked my eyes open and raised an eyebrow at him.

“And what exactly is your cut?” I asked.

“Half. Look at the crowd. I say 50-50 is a deal for you.”

Seeing Saxon’s mischievous smirk made me laugh. As long as I had 50 gold pieces, I’d have enough to buy York’s freedom from Rip. Anything else was just a bonus.

“You ready?” Saxon said as he put a hand on my shoulder. “It looks like they’re ready for you.”

I looked across the grass and saw my opponents. Three Alphas, each as muscular and intimidating as the next. They removed their clothes to put their physiques on display. The amount of anticipation in the crowd was palpable.

I turned to the side and saw York standing next to Rip. York had his hands clasped together in a prayer. Rip eyeballed me with the animosity he always seemed to have.

This isn’t for me. This is for York.

I reminded myself of what I was doing. I couldn’t let myself lose. There was no way I could.

“Yeah, you’re ready,” Saxon said as he patted me on the back.

He took a step back and joined the rest of the crowd.

“Let’s go, Hunter!” he said as he clapped his hands together.

There was no point in waiting any longer. Underneath the moonlight in the heart of the slums in Dirge, my destiny had arrived.

I removed my clothes and shifted. I stepped forward on the grass and my three opponents shifted the same as me. Three menacing silver-furred wolves snarled at me. Their fangs wet and sharp, the wolves hungrily eyeballed me.

The crowd was cheering louder than normal. I drowned out the sound as I moved around. But there were three of them, so it wasn’t hard for them to circle around me.

I stood where I was, constantly shifting my head back and forth between all of them to avoid getting attacked.

One of the wolves suddenly leaped forward. I rolled out of the way but another wolf pounced on top of me. Fortunately, I was ready. I raised my claws up and slashed the wolf away from me. Before the third wolf could attack, I had escaped.

I’d managed to draw blood without getting hurt. This was only just the beginning.

“Tear him apart!”

“Teach that wolf a lesson!”

“Finish him already!”

The crowd was already growing restless. I didn’t care. I was going to take all night if I had to. My opponents had other intentions.

They rushed forward all at once, swiping at me with their claws and snatching at me with their fangs. The sound of them snarling filled my ears but none of them were able to put their paws on me. I countered their attacks with some of my own.

Back and forth we went. They kept trying to attack me all at once but every time, I got out of the way. I was able to draw blood from all of them. Streaks of crimson on their silver fur told me I was winning. But that didn’t stop their bloodlust.

They kept attacking me with a ferociousness that couldn’t be contained. I started getting fatigued from dodging all their attacks. A sudden swipe against my side made me howl in pain.

“Yes!”

“That’s it!”

“End this!”

The crowd was insatiable. Most of them had bet against me and they wanted to collect their winnings.

I wouldn’t let them have it so easily.

Despite how tired I was, I was getting into a rhythm. All of the wolves attacked with such viciousness it became predictable. As one wolf tried to pounce on me, I ducked under him and pounced on top of him. A swift swipe across the head rendered him unconscious. He laid on the floor unmoving.

Two of them were left.

I didn’t have time to celebrate my victory as they got on top of me. They swiped their claws across my chest, sinking them into my skin. I gritted my teeth in pain and used all of my strength to push them off of me before they could sink their fangs into me.

The sweat was dripping from my fur. Blood leaked from my cuts. I was doing everything I could to maintain my composure but I knew I was running out of time.

I got back on all fours and stared across the grass at the wolves. They were bloodied but they showed no signs of stopping.

“Let’s go!”

“Finish him off!”

The crowd was restless. As if answering the audience, the two silver wolves charged at me. I leaped up into the air to avoid having them pounce on me. Before they could turn around, I swung as hard as I could with all of my strength. A violent thud against one of the wolves’ skulls knocked him to the ground. I quickly backed away before the other wolf could attack me.

One more left.

I dug my paws into the grass and gritted my teeth. Even though I was almost there, I knew I was still in danger. The wolf staring at me looked even more enraged than before.

I turned to the side for just a moment to see York standing there. His hands still clasped in prayer, his eyes were narrowed like he was on the verge of tears. Seeing him frown with Rip right next to him filled me with the courage I needed.

Before the last wolf could attack me, I lunged forward. He slashed me across the chest. The stinging pain from his swipe didn’t deter me. I pounced on top of him and pressed my paws to his neck. I raised one up and crashed it into his head, knocking him unconscious with the rest of them.

A gasp came from the crowd before they fell silent.

I barely had enough strength to roll over off of the wolf I just rendered unconscious. I gathered my strength and sighed. I took a few moments to myself before finally shifting back into a man and standing up.

“I can’t believe it!”

“Are you kidding me?”

I didn’t know how I was standing but I was. Sweating and dripping blood from my wounds, I turned and looked down at the three wolves I’d beaten as people started to tend to them.

The crowd all muttered obscenities as they lost their money. But I was happy. Almost as happy as the man running up to me.

“Yes!” Saxon said as he pumped his fist. “I knew you could do it! Ha! You’re the best!”

He wrapped his arms around me and just barely got my feet off the ground. I gave an exhausted laugh as he dropped me back down.

“You got the money?” I said.

“Gimme a second,” he said. “It might take a bit of time to collect.”

The Beta started making his way around the crowd, holding out his bag as he collected his winnings from the people who bet against me.

While Saxon gathered the gold, I made my way over to York and Rip. York’s hands were still clasped together but relief replaced the frown on his face. I turned to Rip and he didn’t seem as upset as he was before.

“We made a deal,” I said. “Let York go.”

“I remember my deal,” Rip said. “Give me the gold and you can have this Omega.”

York couldn’t contain himself any longer. The blond Omega rushed his arms around me and squeezed tight.

“Oh, thank goodness,” he sighed. “I didn’t think you were going to make it.”

“I told you to trust me,” I said.

“I know. I… I trust you…”

Saxon arrived with a small sack of gold.

“All right,” he said. “It’s gonna take a bit of time to split it up. We probably shouldn’t be spending our time out here with this much gold. There’s no telling what these punks around here are capable of.”

“Count out 50 and give it to this man,” I said as I pointed at Rip.

“What?” Saxon exclaimed.

“Just do it.”

Saxon shrugged before eventually reaching into the bag and counting out the gold. Rip collected his money with a satisfied smirk on his face. As soon as he received his payment, he gave York and me one last look.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you,” Rip said. “You won’t be seeing me anymore, Omega. I hope this was worth it.”

As soon as Rip was gone, I felt a tremendous weight lift from my shoulders.

“I know you guys are really happy,” Saxon said. “But really, we need to get the fuck outta here. There’s still a lotta gold in this bag.”

“What do I care?” I said. “Most of it is yours anyway.”

I leaned down and kissed York softly on the lips. I laughed as Saxon grumbled his displeasure.

“Well, we should celebrate at least,” Saxon said. “I’ll tell you what. We get the fuck outta here and I’ll buy.”

“What do you think?” I said to York.

“A drink sounds great right now.”

“You’re on,” I said to Saxon.

The crowd in the park had dispersed after the fight. Most of them returned to the dark corners in Pandora they usually spent their time in. But there was still someone else.

I saw a man standing in the distance. He wore an expensive-looking suit, so he was clearly not from the slums. The fact that he was flanked by a couple of intimidating Alphas in suits only made him stand out even more.

He stared at me. Even from so far away, I could see his eyes locked on me. I kept watching and saw a subtle smile form on his lips.

“Who is that?” I said.

“Who?” Saxon said as he perked his head up.

Just as he said it, the man in the suit slowly started making his way toward us.

I got a better look at him and saw just how much he stood out.

It wasn’t just the suit. His face was clean-shaven. His white hair was slicked back over his head and shined underneath the moonlight. His skin was pale. Despite his mature face, he didn’t have any wrinkles.

He grinned a wide smile at me and held his hand out.

“Impressive,” he said. “What’s your name?”

I looked down at his hand before reluctantly shaking it.

“Hunter.”

“Hunter. My name is Valentine. I knew there was some good talent hiding out here in Pandora.”

“Talent?”

“I host fights in Azure. If you’re interested in making some real gold, why don’t you give me a visit?”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a card. He held it out to me and I took it.

“It was a pleasure watching you fight,” he said.

I looked down at the card as Valentine began to walk away.

“What is it?” York asked.

“It’s an address. I don’t recognize it. It must be in Azure.”

“I can’t believe it.”

York and I both looked up at Saxon.

“Valentine,” he said. “Valentine himself was here. And he came to watch you fight.”

I watched in the distance as Valentine got into his car and disappeared down the street.

“You thought this fight was big,” Saxon said. “If you get a fight with Valentine, it’ll be even bigger!”

“No more,” I said as I shook my head. “I don’t think I have it in me.”

“But Hunter—”

“No. I have everything I need right here. There’s no reason to keep going.”

I looked down at York and he smiled tenderly at me. I leaned forward and kissed him, listening to the sound of Saxon sigh in disappointment.

“Well, whatever,” he said. “We still need to celebrate tonight. You two still up for that drink?”

“I have some injuries that need tending to,” I said, my eyes still locked on York. “I should probably get some rest tonight.”