6. Ivan

I make my way down to the training area. The large wood-panelled exercise halls almost make me like a young teen back in training. Except the pommel horses have been replaced by boxing rings and blood spattered punch dummies. Denton in particular liked to punch them until his hands bled. Some pathetic display of strength I guess.

It certainly intimidated the newer recruits.

There were twenty men including myself.Six rooms became available last night after the Showcase, seeing as they always end in an opponent's death, therefore six fresh faces sat eagerly on the front row of the benches as instructed, each holding their newly issued robe, the colour corresponding to their living quarters. 

They were a mix of old, grizzled, desperate and terrified. All had probably succumbed to building up debts with Vincent’s Axelon group. Sometimes fathers built up the debts and sent their sons to pay the price. A disgusting betrayal of family, they never lasted beyond one fight. 

If you are not driven by a psychopathic need to destroy something, or have an overbearing wolf like me, you don’t stand a chance in the Cage.

Vincent coldly announced the statistics for the evening's income, margins and feedback from the crowd. It was coolly removed from the blood and guts of the night before. I usually took a keen interest in the financials, something different to think about but today my mind restlessly wandered.

Annoyingly it kept wandering to the clear blue eyes peering out of snow white towels, crowned by blondest hair I had ever seen. I hadn’t actually fallen asleep when she finally emerged last night. I pretended until I heard her little footsteps creeping across to finally eat some food. I found myself worrying that the hot heat of the bathhouse would leave her faint.

I cannot even remember the last time I wondered about someone else's well-being. It is a truly unsettling feeling in a place such as this. My daydream was broken by the arrival of Kingsley on the stage. Dressed in black and with a superior smirk on his face he began, as he did every month, by trying to terrify the new recruits. 

After over a year here I knew his routine by heart.

“For the new faces. You are here because your bodies no longer belong to you. They belong to me, my father and the Axelon team. If, the day before the next showcase your assigned coloured ball is drawn from the bag then you are to fight in the Cage. You will face another team member. There will be six bouts so every month twelve of you will fight. It also means next month six of the men sitting here will be dead.”

He always gave a dramatic pause here, trying to milk his moment. Denton and Xavier stood near the back of the room listening, arms folded and quietly chuntering to each other like naughty school kids. Too cool to listen to Kingsley now they had survived for over a year like me. I still keep my head down and behave though I observe from the corner of my eye. 

Xavier idly picked at the scars around his eye and grumbled. “My prize was a bust last night, I had to knock her unconscious to get anywhere.”

“I threaten to take their tongue off,” Denton offered flatly, stroking his dark beard.

“But how is she going to suck me off after?” Xavier chuckled back, “anyway, she’s fucked for a few days now, should be back soon enough.”

“I tried that thing you told me,” Denton muttered, “the back of the head punch, fucking dream, tightened everything right up. Bitch died straight after though.”

“No way! Gutted you only got one go,” he joked, before they moved on to bitching about the new recruits and betting which ones would make it past one round.

Hearing their sick conversations made my stomach churn. I don’t even know her name but I cannot allow Denton to attempt to stake a claim on her. He’s done it to other, newer fighters in the past. I know my lack of participation in his macho bragging games irritates him but I am too dangerous to take on. It’s coming though. 

Both of us know one day, Vincent will fix it so one our winning streaks come to an end.

The blonde hair and blue eyes that continued to drift in my imagination were acting like a defibrillator. Suddenly my idling pulse, breathing, sensation of skin felt the volume had been turned up. On automatic pilot for so long I had ignored the disgusting reality l I was living and partaking in. The strong emotions suddenly swirling around left me feeling dizzy.

Combined with the revulsion and anger towards the people around me I also felt shame. Overwhelming shame that I was a veteran, practically a celebrity within this system. How many women had died whilst I blithely sat here in a depressive daydream, thinking only of my own misery? 

Looking down at my hands I realised my fists were clenched white in anger. 

I tell myself, and Kohl, we are better than this shithole.

Inhaling deeply, adjusting my posture to sit taller, prouder I remind myself I was, am still in fact, a White Forest Beta. I served under Alpha Romanov, Alpha Bram and Alpha Alexander. I was a high ranked warrior. I fought bravely against many enemies and yet I am sitting here with these delinquents. 

I was a man of honour. A thoroughly decent man actually. 

/Finally/ murmured Kohl steadily, his low rumble adding to my thoughts. /Now, let us remain composed whilst we put a plan in place./

Vincent took to the stage again. This was highly unusual. The briefing was usually Kingsley’s big moment. He stood wide and proud, hands on hips, legs splayed, full alpha male stance. Yet someone as vile as him could never truly be an Alpha, even with all the money in the world. Even now, physically past his prime his silver-grey eyes still looked ready to kill. I dreaded to think how massive his wolf form would be.

“Fighters, I have news. In order to access other…markets we are taking a select group south to promote the Axelon team. Of course we will discuss this more after the next Showcase, no point picking you to go if you wind up dead,” he chuckled darkly. “Now, get on with whatever it is you want to do.”

Kohl perked up, a little pulse of excitement ran through me. /We make it through another match and we can maybe escape/

But what about the girl? 

It’s a ridiculous urge but for some reason, I want to make sure she is okay. Instead of spending countless hours smashing a punching bag just to kill time, I’m heading back to my room. Ideally her eyes won’t be as terrified of me, but hopefully they will still be that crisp ocean blue. Martha is a good woman here, she won’t let anything happen to her.

“Hey Ivan,” Denton barked across the gym as I rose to leave, “hope you found your cock last night, heard your girl was chilling in the bathhouse, what the fuck?”

Vincent, Kingsley and everyone else's eyes turned to me in curiosity. Fuck.

“Enjoy your lonely wanks Denton, if you’re killing them you’re doing it wrong, do you even know how to fuck a woman or is it just goats you’ve had before,” I barked back. As I headed out of the wooden double doors they crashed together behind me, the loud laughs of the other men bouncing around the room.

/What about keeping our head down/ my wolf hissed.

Shut up Kohl, I mutter inwardly, jogging back to my room, furious that I’ve shown a weakness to the team. If they know I am not hurting her, they might use that to hurt us both.