63

“No weapons,” Von said. “All you have are your human and wolf forms and whatever fighting skills you bring to the brawl. Remember, killing is expressly forbidden and can be punished with expulsion from the island. That means you need to fight hard, but not too hard. Proceed,” Von said, slicing his hand through the air.

The vampire backed up quickly to join the others. Nathaniel raised his fists into a fighting stance and walked toward me.

“You screwed up now, motherfucker,” Nathaniel said. “Shoulda just given me the date. Shit, how is she gonna enjoy herself with a cunt like you?”

“Nathaniel, do you ever shut up?” I asked, walking forward to meet him.

He didn’t respond other than jabbing a fist at my nose. I turned my head aside at the last second. I was a little surprised by how fast he was. My face stayed passive as we circled each other. I’d already read him to the bone. The best way to fight a guy like this was to frustrate him. Once there, he’d make mistakes and give me openings.

Lightning-quick, Nathaniel juked in, slashing his left hand in a cross and then swinging his right upward in an uppercut. I slapped the crossing hand away and took a quick step back, allowing the uppercut to flash past my face less than an inch away. He was fast and knew how to fight, but he didn’t have my training. My hands remained relaxed at my sides.

“Are you gonna fight or not, pussy?”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, we’re fighting? I thought you were dancing with me. Is that not what was going on? Listen, buddy, if you’re looking to get a blowjob tonight, you’ll have to dance and buy me dinner. I’m not the kind of guy to put out on the first date.”

Laughter erupted from the stands. I didn’t dare glance over to see Kira’s reaction.

The laughter sent a spike of heat into Nathaniel’s already pissed-off mind. His face went red, and he lunged toward me, shifting as he did.

I took two steps back and shifted into my wolf form. Nathaniel’s jaws snapped shut right in front of my nose. I shot forward and slammed my head into his side, feeling his ribs flex painfully. Nathaniel yelped in agony and stumbled back before snapping at me again, this time catching my back paw in his teeth. I snarled as he pulled me to the ground with a twist of his head. In a moment, he was on top of me, fangs clicking together in front of my throat. My forepaws were on his chest, pressing him away.

He was strong, maybe stronger than I was. That was disconcerting but not totally unexpected. In his human form, he was a lumbering oaf, so it didn’t surprise me that his wolf was thickly muscled and had more mass than I did. I rolled out from under him and snapped my teeth, nicking a bit of skin on his side. Fur tore away, blood trickling from the wound. Shaking my head, I tossed the fleck of skin away. Then we attacked each other again, head-on.

The fight was brutal and seemed to drag on forever, but it couldn’t have been more than four or five minutes when Nathaniel finally made a mistake. He clamped down on my back leg again and swung me around, tossing me to the side of the stage. Instead of jumping atop me to get the advantage and bite down on my throat or belly, he turned to the alphas and Kira and raised his muzzle to release a howl of victory.

Before I’d even come to a stop where he’d tossed me, I was back on my feet, running full speed toward him. He had no idea I was right behind him when I leaped onto his back, forcing us into a tumble of snapping, growling, and salivating teeth. He latched onto my shoulder, but I jerked and yanked myself out of his grip. In two quick movements, I flipped him on his back, straddled his chest, and locked my teeth onto his throat, squeezing hard enough to cut off the air supply to his brain.

Barely getting myself under control before the bloodlust pushed me past the point of no return, I eased the pressure on his throat and pinned him to the ground. Exhausted and bleeding, all Nathaniel could do was whine and paw ineffectually at my chest and face. If I wanted him dead, all I had to do was snap my jaws fully shut and tear his throat out. The fight was over.

Von leaped to his feet, applauding like a madman, and the other guys joined in. Kira wasn’t clapping. I’d expected her to look annoyed or pissed at me, but that wasn’t what I saw as she stared at me across the stage. There was heat and desire in her eyes. Apparently, my wolf and fighting prowess had impressed her. Or, maybe she was excited that I’d saved her from a night of inappropriate jokes, ass-touching, and a desperate attempt to get into her pants.

My cock went hard, the testosterone and adrenaline from the fight making it worse. I wanted Kira but couldn’t have her. And the cameras were picking up the way we were looking at each other. Several had zoomed in, catching the fiery stare for the entire world to see. The spell was finally broken when Von stepped on stage and gestured toward me.

“The winner of the Alpha Brawl, Mister Wyatt Rivers. Well done, sir. You may release your challenger,” Von said.

Letting go of Nathaniel’s throat, I shifted back to my human form and stood to my full height. A few scratches and bite marks marred my skin, but overall I was in better shape than Nathaniel, who lay moaning on the ground now that he was back in his human form. I grinned at Kira, letting her know I’d seen the way she’d looked at me.

The guys came down and grudgingly congratulated me. Most of them seemed surprised that I’d defeated my rival that easily. Nathaniel was an impressive physical specimen but lacked the killer instinct to win a fight against someone like me.