Chapter 470
Brandon charged toward me. I stood firm as he ran, my stillness apparently confusing him; the idiot swerved around me at the last moment. His voice boomed across the circle, loud enough for everyone present to hear. He was turning this into a circus, not the battle it was meant to be. “Move! Fight! Do something instead of standing there! Put up a tiny bit of a fight before I show everyone here who the real alpha is!” He was taunting me, hoping for a reaction, but I remained motionless. He scoffed. “Next time I won’t miss.”
I extended my hands, allowing my fangs to drop. My eyes flashed golden, and the crowd edged closer. Closing my eyes, I focused on his footsteps, listening as he circled, trying to intimidate me. “Are we playing? Or are we fighting?” I called out. His snarl came from my side, followed by his charge. Someone in the crowd yelped, but I shifted at the last second. My hand shot out, landing a punch to his ribs, snapping one and sending him sprawling. “That’s one.”
He wheezed as he stood, then chuckled. “Okay,” he said, shaking his fur. “I’m not going to hold back any longer.” He snarled. “Do you think you can make a fool out of me by standing there?”
I swiveled to face him. “Brandon, I think it’s pretty apparent I don’t have to do anything to make you look like a fool. Everyone here can see you do it all on your own.” He charged again, sliding toward my ankle, but I sidestepped and booted him in the face, breaking his cheekbone. “That’s two.” I wiggled two fingers, earning another snarl.
He stood, shaking his head. Blood flowed from his lip; I must have cut the inside of his cheek with my kick. I smirked. “You are a stupid bitch,” he snarled.
I looked at Vince, who inched closer to the center. I raised an eyebrow, but he shook his head. “Stop playing with him,” he whispered, low enough that I barely heard it, but I nodded.
“Fine.” I turned back to Brandon, who glared at me. He circled me, but this time I circled with him. “You are trying to make me look weak,” his voice, low but carrying.
“You do that yourself,” I retorted, bouncing on my feet. “But don’t worry,” I continued, as he stiffened slightly. “What I’m about to do to you, no one here could stand up to.”
He laughed, but I had better things to do than waste time with him. I needed to go home, save the kids, pack a few things, and smuggle two families and information out of here. Brandon’s brain caught up, and he stilled. “What?” But that was all he managed before I charged. His eyes widened as I vanished from across him and reappeared beside him, slamming my fist into his eye. I felt the bone give way; the crack of the orbital socket echoed.
Instead of pulling back, as I had the last few times, I kept attacking. Fists flying, I landed several more shots to his ribs, feeling another crack beneath my blows. The sound of his lung filling with blood reached everyone’s ears.
Vince’s warning growl reached me, and I raised my hands, backing away from Brandon and walking back to Corzone. He watched me with slightly amused eyes, refusing to let any emotion touch his face. “Are you okay?” His question caught me off guard.
“Yeah…I’m fine. Why?”
He furrowed his brow. “You are covered in blood.” He gestured, and I looked down.
“This is all his.” I raised a shoulder and wiped the blood on my shirt. I kept walking, but something made me stumble. I turned, and it was like moving through syrup; the air had condensed into a thick, hard-to-push-through force.
My eye caught Vince, his mouth moving as he clutched his necklace; I knew he was using magic. My brain raced through my Book of Shadows for a spell to slow someone, and the counter-spell.
I heard Brandon struggling to his feet and knew I was running out of time. Corzone looked confused as I stopped. “Are you okay?” He tried to reach for me, but Vince yelled out, “If you touch her before the match is called, she loses. We can’t interfere.” He sounded smug, and that angered me.
My brain latched onto the counter-spell. Corzone’s eyes widened as he screamed my name, “AMY!”
“Kento farwa spunto corna.” The air returned to normal, and I spun just as I felt Brandon’s teeth graze my neck. My fist connected with the underside of his jaw, sending him tumbling back. He landed hard beside his father, who dropped to his knees.
“ENOUGH!” The referee called. “Alpha Amy wins. Alpha Brandon is disqualified from the battle for trying to land a death blow.”
Vince looked back at me, his eyes filled with hatred, but he picked up his son and rushed him to the pack doctor.