Chapter Three
The room was full of players, all in various states of dress. Some were bare-chested and boasted muscles bound in tape. Others were dressed with full equipment. Some carried sticks and others had military style water canteens. The room smelled of sweat and the whole place reeked of testosterone. Coral became aroused in spite of herself.
Danger was in the air and Coral found that her sensory system was on complete overload. To the side of her, she saw a group of wolves sitting in the corner, lounging on the floor. Another player stood next to the wolves. His arm was bare and a tattoo of a wolf with its teeth bared was prominently displayed on his skin.
There were other shifted creatures. Some which Coral recognized and others which she had never seen before. There were creatures that looked like serpents and others that had wings. There were panthers and wolverines and each of them was dispersed within the crowd — partitioned into independent social cliques.
The room was a large and empty warehouse. The only difference from usual warehouse structures was that the floor was made of clay. There was a slight give to the floor, though not enough to make Coral feel unstable as she moved forward. Looking on the ground, she saw claw marks that were as big as her head. The realization that she could be easily attacked and was vulnerable before these monstrous creatures, made her feel incredibly uneasy.
The lights were dim enough and the groups were mixed just enough in their segregation to where she was able to mix in with the crowd. She remembered that holding herself in a confident way was necessary when walking the streets of the slums. With a deep breath, she positioned herself in the same way. More than a few interested men gave her a raised eyebrow as she passed, but most were respectful of her presence.
“Maybe they think I’m one of them…” she thought to herself while heading toward the small grouping of the Bear Clan.
Sean rolled his eyes at her approach, but Ryder came over and put his arm around her shoulder.
“You know, you’d be better off if you let one of us mark you,” he said in a casual tone.
“You might be right,” said Thomas, though it seemed as though he wasn’t personally invested in the process.
“I thought they might think I was another Shifter…” Coral offered, trying to maintain her straight spine and broad shoulders.
Ryder laughed, his body hanging from her shoulders and causing her frame to sag slightly under his muscle mass.
“Sorry hun,” he replied, “but you’re pheromones are a dead giveaway. I’m actually surprised you made it over here without getting gang raped by those boars over there.”
“Heard that, Ryder!” shouted a gruff and obstinate voice not twelve feet away.
“Just sharing some safety concerns with the lady!” Ryder called out. “I forget how sensitive your Clan is…”
“If you’re tired of those ruffians,” the nearest boar addressed Coral. “You may come and spend time with us. Unlike the unsavory members of the Bear Clan, we know how to treat our mates with dignity.”
Ryder rose to respond, but Sean put a hand on his shoulder and caught him.
“Shut it, Ryder,” Sean warned. “The woman being here is enough of a liability.”
“We don’t want another Tiger Clan experience on our hands,” Thomas warned.
“Look, that was diff…” Ryder began.
Thomas punched him square in the chest. Ryder’s eyes looked up, slightly hurt, but he decided to stop. With a peaceable expression on his face, Ryder waved an apology to the Boar Clan. The gesture was intentionally ignored and Ryder considered that to be sufficient amends for his jibe. He nudged Coral in the side with his elbow and leaned in toward her ear.
“Your boy’s up,” Ryder remarked while pointing to a space that was clearing out in the center of the warehouse.
The crowd was all respectfully making way for the game to begin. The noise in the room calmed down from a roar to a near dead silence. Kalin and a tall, pale club resident remained in the center. Kalin stood with a stoic expression on his face. Over Kalin’s left shoulder, the Aryan type man stood with a smug grin on his face. Kalin’s skin was considerably tanner. Another point of differentiation was that while Kalin’s tattoos were tribal and matched the types of tattoos that the other members of his Clan shared, the Aryan’s tattoos were different in style.
The skin of Kalin’s opponent was pale, that much was true, but it was also nearly covered in geometrical patterns that reminded Coral of cellular structures and DNA. She felt a cold shiver run across her skin while she looked at the man. There was warmth in Kalin’s eyes that simply wasn’t present with this man.
A volunteer referee came forward. Standard practice was that the referee should be from a Clan which had no affiliation with the two who were currently in competition. Not every Shifter in the slums was present because not all were interested in the game, but there was a diversity present which made it easy to find neutral parties to moderate the game.
The referee produced a small rubber sphere and placed it on the floor between the two opponents.
“Kalin Mae’ve of the Bear Clan!” the referee roared, “And Damon Vira from the Wyvern Clan!”
Each member raised their hands into the air during their announcement, though Damon held his up for considerably longer. The crowd seemed to be in favor of Damon and it was evident that he was aware of the fact. Compared to his opponent, Kalin looked worn and haggard. The bandage on his shoulder reminded Coral of her own contribution to Kalin’s less than optimal state.
She felt a slight pang of guilt and gulped slightly.
Ryder apparently noticed because he gave her a warm pat on the shoulder.
“He’ll lose,” Ryder said with a confident tone. “But he’ll put up a hell of a fight. You should enjoy the show.”
Sean punched Ryder in the shoulder without turning around to see him.
“What?” he asked, actually slightly hurt this time, if only emotionally so. “Vira’s got wings and Kalin has a busted shoulder. I don’t exactly see this as rocket science.”
“Nothing is a foregone conclusion,” Thomas remarked.
Ryder was about to respond, but his voice was drowned out by a roar from the audience. The match had begun.