Hear Me Roar (The Bloodshed Duet Book 2) by Dee Garcia (7)

Why the hell did I think this was a good idea?

That was the very question I’d been asking myself since Knox began wrapping my hands. Had you asked me three hours ago, maybe even two, I would’ve given you a million reasons why. But now, as I sat here, anxious out of my mind, I couldn’t give you one. Regardless of all the training we’d done to prepare, I felt less than, and suddenly, all I wanted was the safety and comfort of what I was familiar with, and the certainty that came with it too.

“You ready, baby?” Knox asked, pulling the pink tape snugly around my fingers one last time.

My answer was instantaneous. “No.”

He froze and although my eyes were glued to the floor beneath my feet, I knew he was observing me keenly. The warmth of his penetrating stare heated every layer of my skin from the sheer force of its intensity. Setting the roll of tape down beside him on the bench, he sighed deeply.

“Talk to me. What’s going on?”

“I just...I...I don’t know,” I stammered, shaking my head as another wave of unease flooded me.

“Hazel, look at me,” he demanded.

So I did. I lifted my gaze and immediately noted the hint of worry that flashed over his expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t think I can do this,” I said, my voice all but trembling.

“This again? Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s just so different. There’s so many rules I have to abide by now, and Terra has much more experience than I do. Not to mention I’m the newbie. Aside from you, I won't have anyone out there rooting for me, and you know how much I love my fans. I thrive off their energy.”

Knox’s head reared back in disbelief. “You really believe you're not going to have a lick of support around that cage?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you’re in for a rude awakening, baby. Let’s put aside the fact that everyone we love is here, but when I went out there to show them to their seats, I caught groups of people who are here, just for you. If you don’t think your fans from The Underground have followed you since leaving, you’re wrong. And what does it matter that Terra has more experience? She was never Queen of The Underground for four consecutive years, and she sure as hell hasn't gotten a title since going pro. Listen to me.” He grabbed my hands. “I get being nervous, it’s to be expected with every new experience, but I know you can do this. You were made for this, kitten, but you have to believe in yourself. Where's the cocky, fearless Lioness I love so much?”

“Cowering like a wimp, obviously.”

“Well, tell her to quit it and lift that head up high. You’re a Queen, and I refuse to let you go out there feeling defeated, when the fight hasn’t even started yet. If you step foot in that octagon with negative thoughts, the outcome will be negative too.”

I turned my head away from him almost shamefully. I knew he was right, and I knew I could do this. But fear was a powerful emotion and change was fucking scary.

“Let me ask you something. Who rose to the top her first year as a fighter?”

The question pulled me away from my fears and sparked a familiar flame within me. “Me.”

“And who owned the title year after year?”

“Me.”

“And who was the fighter everyone dreaded going up against,” he pressed, spreading the fire through my veins.

“Me.”

“Exactly,” he growled. “I want you to do something for me.”

“What?”

“Pretend Terra is Lexi.”

My eyes swung back to where he sat, curiosity quirking my brow in a sleek arch.

“I know this is different in some ways, but it’s still an octagon, babe. You know exactly what to do within those eight walls. Instinct will always see you through. Just imagine they’re locking you in there with Lexi, and give it all you got, like you did in The Finals. Think you can do that for me?”

“I can try.”

“Try isn’t good enough. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes.”

‘What was that?” He held a hand to his ear. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite hear you.”

“Yes,” I said louder.

“A little louder for the folks in the back.”

“Yes!”

“Was that a yes?” he hedged, rising from the bench.

“Yes! Yes, I can fucking do it!” I roared, the vigor of my concession driving me to my feet.

“There’s my girl.” He smiled brightly. “Welcome back, baby,”

A matching smile drifted across my face, prompting him to swallow me in his arms. Resting my chin on his chest, I stared up into satisfied blue eyes and wondered what the hell I would do without him.

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I’m gonna ask you again. You ready?”

“Fuck yes,” I asserted, nodding and all.

Beaming, he squeezed me tighter and mumbled against the top of my head, “Bernie would be so proud of you right now.”

“I hope so.”

“He would, trust me, ’cause I'm sure as shit proud of you.”

My heart swelled to what felt like capacity. “I love you, Knox.”

“I love you more, kitten.”

Rising onto my toes, I pecked his lips, lingering for the briefest moment, and then I slid out of his embrace, feeling more sure of myself than I had in weeks. I was ready. With my man’s help, I'd gone from idle to wired, and it had never felt so good. I was The Lioness and it didn’t fucking matter if I was the new kid on the block. I was still going to dominate.

Taking hold of my hands, he checked over the wraps one final time, and handed me my brand spanking new, bright neon pink gloves. I slipped them on and flexed my fingers, noting how good they felt. They made me want to come out swinging, just to test them out. I couldn’t even wait, jabbing my fists at lightning speed in a one-two combo with a grunt. Knox’s grin could've lit up the room as he watched me. The pride in his eyes really did say it all: If all else failed, I’d always have him on my team.

Cheers from the arena began growing louder, as did the announcer’s voice that was now vibrating the walls of the locker room. This was it. At any minute now, he was going to call my name and this wouldn’t be a dream anymore. While I listened to what was playing out around the cage, Knox bent down beside my bag and pulled out my robe. My signature pink satin robe. The sight of it made me all the more excited, heightening the intensity of everything about this moment. Holding it out for me, I slid my arms inside the sleeves as he laid it over my shoulders and spun me around, pulling me against his chest, my back to his front.

“No matter what happens, I’ll always be proud of you. Understand?” he asked and I nodded, my eyes trained on the door that would finally begin this chapter of my life. Or our life, really, because he was part of it too.

“Yes.”

One word, spoken with certainty and clarity. There was no tremble to my voice and no doubt in my mind... I was here for a reason. Whether I was underestimating the situation or not, I'd earned my way here. I was allowed to believe in myself.

“This is the moment Underground fans around the Nation have been waiting for…”

Here. We. Go.

Knox pulled open the door and stepped aside to allow me through first. With a deep breath through my nose, I took off down the darkened corridor, heading towards the light seeping in through the purple curtain hanging at the end.

“She’s fast, she’s fierce… Ladies and gentlemen, The Lioness has returned! Please join me in welcoming her for the first professional match of her career...”

My heart was racing, adrenaline finding its way into every nook and cranny of my body. I flexed my fingers one last time and stretched out my neck. This. Was. It.

“Hazelll ‘Lionessss’ Perryyy!”

Showtime.

The sheer amount of screams that erupted, as I slipped past the curtain, took me by complete surprise. Through the bright lights illuminating the area and the one trained solely on me, I caught spectators leaning over the railings in hopes of a high five; some snapping pics, and some with signs too. I knew Knox had said there were people here, but fuck, this was way more than I could’ve imagined. Their presence only served to amp me up all the more, my legs carrying me in a steady, confident trot to the edge of the cage. I took one look at it, and it just felt like home.

I was home.

I’d fought in this ring four times, each one ending victoriously, and this time would be no different. Even as the ‘rookie’ with all odds against me, I was about to take that score up a notch and prove I deserved to be here. Slipping out of my robe, I handed it over to Knox, who was now holding the cage door wide open, an unfazed Terra waiting just inside, bouncing around on the balls of her feet. The smirk on her face was all the ammunition I needed to stalk inside with my head held high, the crowd around us going into hysterics now that both fighters were in the ring.

“Kick that ass, kitten,” Knox yelled from the sidelines as the door was locked in place, his hands cupped around his mouth.

I flashed him a cocky wink and turned back to my opponent, meeting her toe to toe center ring.

“It’s always fun taking out a newbie,” she said with smirk on her face.

Oh hell no.

“I’ll be sure to remind you how fun it is when you’re tapping the mat.” I smiled.

She laughed and shook her head, falling into stance as the ref came up beside us. I followed suit without a word because, pretty soon, she wouldn’t be laughing. The referee looked between us both, holding his arms out, a finger pointed our ways.

“Are we ready, ladies?” he asked, and we nodded, the crowd around us going wild with anticipation.

“Then let’s. Get. It. On!”

The bell sounded off as soon as he clapped his hands and the announcer officially declared the start of the round. To my surprise, Terra came out swinging. She almost clipped me right in the face, but I dodged to the side, swiveling back around to catch her charging toward me, the look on her face predatory. If she was trying to scare me, it wasn’t working. I knew this game too well and I knew how to play it better. I shot out towards her with a growl, her eyes widening in shock when she realized I was running to her versus away from her. That was her mistake. She didn’t cover herself as I closed in, and with an impressive amount of force, my fist made bone-crunching contact with the side of her face.

An audible “oooh” flew out from her mouth as she stumbled back, step after step, giving me the opportunity to lock my arms around her waist and slam her back into the cage. This sent the arena into chaos. I guess they hadn’t been expecting me to take charge from the beginning.

“Li-on-ess! Li-on-ess,” they chanted, as Terra grunted under my weight, trying her damndest to catch her breath after two blows back to back.

The ref was on my tail, watching my every last move, but I didn’t relent. I knew what I could and couldn’t do, and this was perfectly acceptable.

“Hammer punches, baby! Bring ‘em out!” That was Knox, I could hear him loud and clear above the noise.

Following his lead, I jabbed my fist upward. It caught her in the chin. Then I jabbed again and it clipped her jaw, chattering her teeth on impact.

Yes.

She was vulnerable like this, torn between struggling her way free and using her strength to cover. If I could keep her here until the clock timed out, that’d be one round down. The struggle would dwindle her power too, and that’s exactly what I wanted. So, I kept on throwing random jabs, squeezing her against the cage, despite her feeble attempts to break free. If she were smart, she would’ve been using her legs to knock me down, but apparently, she wasn’t as invincible as she believed herself to be.

“Time,” the ref called out, prompting me to swiftly release her.

I bounced back to center ring with a satisfied smirk, noting the infuriated gleam in her brown eyes. I was showing her up, more so than she thought, and quite obviously she didn’t like it. But she did very little about it because rounds two and three turned out to be much of the same. She got a few throws here and there, but nothing that stunned me for too long. It wasn’t hard when the energy swirling around the arena had my blood rushing through my veins. For every fan cheering her on, my name was screamed with double the power, thus granting me double the power in which to retaliate.

By round four, I’d done a number on her. She was bleeding from her nose, and from her brow. Her face on one side was swollen, almost angrily. For the most part, I remained unscathed. My jaw was a little sore, but the pain wasn’t out of this world. Nothing an icepack wouldn’t cure up later. Whatever blood laid splattered on me was hers and as we struggled back and forth on the mat, I became more and more determined to tap her out. I’d already drawn plenty of blood and a KO would’ve been too easy. I wanted that submission, especially after her threat to take me down.

I just had to get her on her back first.

We had each other trapped in a headlock, making it difficult to maneuver about much, especially with her on top of me, her legs pinning me down. With my free hand, I threw my fist into her side, hoping to knock even a breath out of her. That’s all I needed; one breath. One breath that would dissolve her focus long enough for me to take action.

“Li-on-ess! Li-on-ess, Li-on-ess!”

From my spot beneath her, I stole a quick glance around the arena. People were free from their seats, bouncing up and down. Others threw their arms in the air as they screamed. I had to make them proud. They were cheering for me and their cheers were going to get us to the end. And the end was going to be right...now.

I tossed my fist into her side again, and again, and again, but the last time, I nailed her right in the thigh. She groaned as pain lanced through her leg, and with her grip around my head loosening a little more every second, I threw her off me, onto the mat, and reared myself back, bringing my leg up to her throat. Terra gasped, her face igniting a deep red, and as the ref was getting ready to pull me off, she tapped.

She fucking tapped the mat, desperate to fill her lungs with air.

“TAP OUT!!! TAPPP OUTTT,” the announcer's voice blared amongst the clamoring cheers of victory. “YOU SAW IT WITH YOUR OWN TWO EYES!!!”

Terra’s coach flew into the cage as the referee proudly lifted my arm in the air.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THE LIONESS HAS ARRIVED AND SHE IS NOT PLAYING GAMES!!! SHE CAME HERE TO WIN, AND WIN SHE DID TONIGHT!!! MAKE SOME NOISE FOR YOUR VICTOR, HAZELLL ‘LIONESSS’ PEEERRRYYY!!!”

Panting and all, I took one last look at my opponent, defeated tears rolling down her face. Her coach tried his best to soothe her, but she was furious, a sore loser, amplifying the triumph that buzzed through my body. Knox’s eyes were on me – I could feel them honed in on me – and when I snapped my head toward him, he was beaming with pride, as wild as the crowd going off behind him.

I grinned.

The pro chicks are in for a rude awakening.

“Where is she?” I heard Reyna squeak as I emerged from the shower.

With a towel wrapped around my body, I followed the sound of her voice, dragging a large comb through my wet curls. When I appeared at the threshold, a surprised Luis – who I didn’t know was there – muttered something that sounded like “Oh shit” as he spun around quickly, in time with Knox’s growl of disapproval.

I rolled my eyes. “Relax. You act like he’s never seen a naked chick before.”

“He hasn’t seen mine, and that’s not about to change. Clothes, now,” he ordered, tossing me the outfit in my duffle.

“Chill, fucker, I didn’t see shit. She has a towel on,” Luis blurted out, now shielded behind his sister.

“Well, thank fuck for that. Let’s keep it that way.”

Reyna stood there, giggling away, as I retreated back the way I came before my man had a heart attack. I dressed hurriedly and grabbed all my belongings scattered around the bathroom, bounding back out to where they stood. Reyna swallowed me in a hug so tight, I almost couldn’t breathe. “You fucking slayed out there!”

“Beginner’s luck,” I quipped, and she pinched my arm.

“That was anything but beginner’s luck!”

“I have to agree,” Luis chimed in, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “You demolished her with your eyes closed.”

“Kind of like I’m gonna do to you if you don’t back up off her,” Knox gritted out at his best friend.

Rey and I giggled while Luis threw his arms up defeated. “Will you chill, please? I didn't see anything. Besides, you’re the one who let me in here.”

“He has a point, babe,” I agreed, stifling a laugh when his lips thinned as I stuffed everything into my bag.

For once, I was right.

“Alright, enough,” Reyna interjected, turning toward Knox. “We’ll continue celebrating once we get out of here, but in the meantime, show her.”

I glanced between the two of them, zipping up my duffle. “Show me what?”

Knox grinned and pulled out a card-sized envelope from the back pocket of his jeans. The seal was already broken, but he handed it to me as-is, without a word. I’d say my curiosity was piqued, but I’m sure you’ve already figured that out. Pulling out the contents from inside, I noted, upon first glance, it was an invitation. But it wasn’t just any invitation...

“Oh my God,” I murmured, staring at the blue tinged cardstock in shock.

“Yep. It’s official.”

“Did she just give this to you?”

Knox nodded. “Literally just ten minutes ago. She surprised us all.”

“Considering they said they were gonna wait two years, yeah, I can see that.” I chuckled, tucking the invite back into the envelope.

“That’s Karley for ya. One day, she's rational and the next, well, impulsive.”

“I wonder what prompted it?”

Obviously, she and Noah had been engaged, but not for long. They’d only been together about a year or so before he popped the question, but they’d claimed they wanted to wait another two years before actually tying the knot.

Knox, Reyna, and Luis exchanged a look. Clearly, I was missing something.

“Anyone wanna clue me in, since you all seem to know,” I said, unamused.

Rey ran a hand down her non-existent stomach and when my eyes bulged in realization, they all grinned.

“She’s pregnant!” I squealed.

“She’s pretty positive, but she won’t know for sure until she goes to her first appointment in a few weeks.”

Throwing my arms around Knox’s neck, I bounced against him. “Oh my God, how exciting! Baby, you’re going to be an uncle!”

“And you’re going to be an aunt,” he emphasized, squeezing me against me.

“You two are next,” Luis snickered, but the shit-eating grin plastered across his face melted away with a quickness when both Knox and I snapped our heads toward him, and I shot him the glare of death. I loved kids and all, but no, not now. Or, not anytime soon. We hadn’t even been together for a year yet.

“If anyone is next, it’s probably you and one of your random pussies,” I countered, choking out a laugh when he paled whiter than a ghost.

“Shit, it better not be,” Reyna warned, smacking the back of his head. “No babies for him, please.”

“Are you ready?” Knox asked, amused, tossing my bag over his shoulder.

“Yep. Is Karley still here?”

“She is. She wanted to congratulate you.”

“Well then, let’s go.” I held out my hand to him. “I’m not the only one who deserves a congratulations.”