HUNTER

 

As I laid in bed, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d ever been in this kind of pain. Even working in construction, nothing serious ever happened. The most I ever had to deal with was a muscle strain here or there from working too hard. The injuries I’d sustained in my past fights had healed themselves.

But the severity of my injury wasn’t what I was focused on at the moment. The man standing next to Saxon, glaring at me, had me more concerned than anything else.

“What happened?” York asked.

I sighed a deep breath. I knew he wasn’t going to be happy but I had no choice but to tell him.

“I was on my break,” I said. “I was just relaxing, minding my own business like I normally do.

“Brady came over and said the foreman wanted to talk to me. I headed downstairs to look for him. Then the foreman tells me somebody wanted to talk to me. Didn’t say who they were.”

“You should have been suspicious,” Saxon said.

“I was suspicious. I had my guard up. I was cautious. But there was more than one of them.”

“More than one of who?” York asked.

“A bunch of men. Must have been at least five of them. They all pinned me down to the ground before I had a chance to react. They just started roughing me up. They hit me and left before anybody else knew what was happening.”

“It was a good thing I showed up,” Saxon said. “Those guys laid you out real nice.”

York moved closer to me, looking my body up and down.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

I knew my face had been scuffed up. My arms and legs were sore from the punches I’d taken. But more than anything, the pain near my stomach couldn’t be denied.

“I think they broke one of my ribs,” I said.

“They broke one of your ribs?” York said. “Hunter, you have to go to a doctor—”

“I can’t go to a doctor.”

“Why not?”

“Because it doesn’t matter. I still have to fight Golden. I still have to—”

“You’re serious?” York interrupted me. “You just got beat up and you’re still going to go through with the fight?”

York turned toward Saxon. Saxon looked just as depressed as the Omega next to him.

“This is what Valentine does,” Saxon said as he shook his head. “Valentine has enough money to get people to do his bidding. With Hunter injured, it’s a guarantee that he won’t win the fight. That’s why he didn’t bother killing Hunter altogether.”

“Then don’t win the fight,” York said. “Just lay down.”

“I can’t do that,” I said. “You know I can’t do that. There’s too much gold at stake.”

“What good is the gold if you’re dead? You’re stepping into the arena with someone and you don’t know what he’s capable of. You’re already hurt! You know Valentine will do anything to make sure you lose. And you’re still going through with it?”

York was pleading with me. His voice cracking, York was doing everything he could to try and change my mind. He was heartbroken and it hurt me in a way I’d never felt before.

“Saxon,” I said. “Give me a moment with York. I need to talk to him.”

Saxon nodded and excused himself from my apartment. York took a seat on the bed next to me.

“Look at you,” he sighed. “Your face is bloodied and bruised. You’ve got a broken rib. There’s no telling what other injuries you have.”

“I can fight. I know I can.”

“Just because you can step into that arena doesn’t mean you should. Hunter…”

He reached over and took my hand in his. His eyes started to glaze over while he continued to plead with me.

“…There are other ways,” he said.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re doing this for the gold. There are other ways to make money. I’m looking for a job in Pandora. You’re still working construction. There’s still a way to make this work.”

“And what about the shelter? What will you tell the Omegas when you run out of funding to take care of them? What will you tell the new ones who arrive, looking for a place to stay? Will you turn them away?”

York closed his eyes and took a deep breath to gather himself.

“I don’t want to lose you,” York said. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt—”

“You’re already hurt! Now you’re planning on stepping into a fight with the most dangerous Alpha in Dirge.”

York couldn’t hold back any longer. Tears leaking down his cheeks, he squeezed my hand tight in his.

It only made my decision that much easier for me.

“All my life, I’ve been alone,” I said. “I’ve been an ordinary man living in Dirge. I wake up every morning and go to work then come home at night. I’ve done that every single day for so long.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the way you live.”

“I know. But when I met you, everything changed. I know what it’s like to have someone special. You’re special, York.”

“Hunter, don’t—”

He looked away from me.

“I see it in you. I see how much you care about all of those other Omegas in the orphanage. I see that you’re willing to do so much for them. You sold yourself just to put food on their table.”

I squeezed my hand tight in his to make sure he couldn’t walk away from me. Even though he wasn’t looking at me, I knew he was listening.

“I won’t let you go back to that life,” I said. “I will never allow someone like Rip or anybody else to take advantage of you. When I win this fight, I’ll have enough gold to take care of you and every other Omega in that shelter.”

York sighed again through his nose then opened his eyes. He looked at me, his eyes glazed and red, his jaw clenched.

“I don’t wish to fight,” I said. “This is not the pride of an Alpha speaking.”

“Isn’t it?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I am doing this for you, Omega. I am doing this for the people you care about.”

“If you’re doing this for me, then you won’t go through with it. Don’t step into the arena and risk your life. You know Valentine will do everything he can to make sure you lose that fight. There’s too much at stake for him.”

“He thinks I’m fighting for the gold. He thinks I’m fighting because I want to bathe in riches like everybody in Azure does.”

“Isn’t that the case?”

“Have you not been listening? I will win the fight. I will beat Golden. Not because I want gold. Not because I’m tired of working every day. No… I will win because you will be there with me. We will do this together…”

I squeezed my hand tight around his. I waited for him to squeeze back.

But he didn’t. A frown on his face, York slowly let his hand slip free from mine.

He stood up straight with his back turned to me. I didn’t know what he was thinking but he looked hesitant to walk away from me.

“I care about you,” he sighed. “I care about you more than any Omega could care about an Alpha.”

“It will be the last time I fight.”

York turned around and shook his head.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he said.

“York—”

“I need some time… I need some time to think. There has to be another way.”

“What other way is there?”

“I don’t know! But there has to be! I’ll figure out a way to save the shelter. I’ll figure out a way to make some money. Just…”

York let out another frustrated sigh.

“I need to go,” he said. “I need to think.”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. I laid there and watched as York left my bedroom.

A few moments later, Saxon stepped back inside. The concern on his face wasn’t something I was used to seeing.

“You’re still going through with the fight?” he asked.

“What other choice do I have?”

“I was thinking… Maybe I could bet against you. With your injury, Golden would be the overwhelming favorite but if you lost, you’d still have some gold to fall back on.”

“It wouldn’t be enough. The only reason everybody else will be making money is because they have so much of it. I have to fight Golden and I have to beat him. That’s the only way I’ll win enough money to help the shelter.”

Saxon nodded though he didn’t appear to agree with me completely.

“You agree with me, don’t you?” I asked. “You think I can beat Golden?”

“Well—”

“Be honest with me. For once in your life.”

I smirked and he chuckled softly back at me.

“I’ve never seen Golden fight,” he said. “But he’s a lion. That means he’s very dangerous. I believe in you. I would have put the odds of you beating him about 50-50. It would have been a nice payday.”

“And now?”

“Now… I think you should listen to the Omega. I think you should lay down for Golden. At least you’d walk away with something.”

“I’ve had something all my life. That’s not good enough any longer.”

Saxon looked down at the ground. The gears were turning in his head. But I knew that even he couldn’t come up with a solution to the problem facing us now.

“You know why Valentine sent those men to attack me?” I said.

“Why’s that?” Saxon said as he raised his head up.

“Because Valentine is afraid. He knows that I can beat his champion. It’s not just about the gold for him. He would be completely embarrassed that a man like me, who fought his way up from the slums of Pandora, beat the man he groomed for success.”

“Valentine has an ego. That’s for sure. You can’t be an Alpha and not have one. Case in point…”

He pointed at me. Even though it hurt to laugh, I couldn’t help it.

“…But you’ve got that going for you,” Saxon said. “Maybe you can beat this lion.”

“I will beat him. Bet everything on me and you’ll get your share after I win. We had a deal, remember?”

“Yeah… Yeah, I remember.”

Saxon took a step back.

“The fight’s in a few days. Maybe you should get some rest, all things considered.”

“I don’t think I have much of a choice,” I sighed.

Saxon turned around to leave. Just before he left, he spoke.

“I’ll talk to the Omega,” he said.

“He needs time. He’ll understand eventually. Just give him his space.”

“He needs space from you. I’ll make sure he’s all right. There’s no telling what Valentine could be up to.”

“…Saxon…”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

Saxon turned and nodded before leaving me in my bedroom.

With the fight just a few days away, time was running out. I wouldn’t be fully-recovered by the time I stepped into the arena. Now, I could only hope that I would have enough strength to do what I needed to do.