Page 83 of Brutal Reign
“I didn’t start shit, but I’ll gladly finish it,” I mutter, folding my arms across my chest.
Madd heaves a sigh, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I don’t give a shit who did what, the rules are in place for a reason. I won’t tolerate any infighting.”
“Sanction a matchup, then,” I blurt, the words leaving my lips before I even fully have a chance to think them through.
My cousin swings his gaze back on me, the corner of his mouth lifting in amusement.Madd does love a good brawl.“Is that really necessary?” he asks, staring into my eyes intently.
He’s giving me a chance to back out, and if I wasn’t so keyed up right now, I might take it. Instead, I jerk a nod, arching a brow in Jake’s direction that dares him to turn tail and run.
Then who’d look weak?
“Let’s do it,” Jake grunts, squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin.
My lips curve into a maniacal grin, and I swear I see a flicker of uncertainty cross his face at my expression.Good. Heshouldbe scared.
“Well, we weren’t going to do any sparring this morning, but if that’s how you two want to sort this out…” Madd trails off with a shrug. “Sure, go ahead. No cheap shots, though, and no serious injuries that’d put either of you in the infirmary and take you out of training.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter, waving him off as I turn away to get into position, the crowd around us tittering with excitement as they fall back.
This probably isn’t the smartest idea, considering the challenge I’ll be facing against Jake in a couple of weeks. My dad warned me to engage with him as little as possible until then. He definitely wouldn’t approve of me sparring with Jake in front of our entire recruit class, because whoever loses this matchup will lose the upper hand in our challenge.
Guess that means I can’t lose.
I’m better at hand-to-hand combat than Jake is, but he’s known for employing dirty tricks that toe the line of fair play. With that in mind, I scoop my long hair up into a tight bun, securing it with the hair tie around my wrist before grabbing for the hem of my t-shirt and rucking it off over my head. Balling it up in my hands, I strut over to Seb and Ace in my sports bra, thrusting the shirt in their direction.
“Hold onto this for me, will ya boys?” I ask sweetly, batting my lashes.
Neither of them appears amused. Ace’s brows are creased with concern, and Seb is so damn tense that he looks like he could explode at any moment.
Ace reaches out to take the shirt from me, leaning in and dropping his voice low. “Riv, you don’t have to do this…”
“Tag me in, I’ll take care of that shit stain,” Seb grumbles under his breath.
“I’ve got this,” I say confidently, whipping back around before they can argue further and stomping toward Jake to take my position.
The other recruits have formed a wide circle on the field surrounding the two of us, all eager to watch this go down. I glance toward my cousin as I take my place, and Madd gives me a subtle nod, bolstering my confidence even more.I can do this.Securing my glasses on the bridge of my nose, I swing my gaze back over to Jake, bending my knees slightly and beckoning him with a lift of my chin.
He starts in my direction and we both put our fists up, bouncing on the balls of our feet as we begin circling one another. The moment I’m within reach, he tries to throw a left hook, which I easily block. His right fist quickly follows, clipping me in the ribs, but I let it land since it gives me an opening to get my own hit in. My knuckles crack sharply against Jake’s jaw, his head cranking sideways from the impact and causing him to stumble back a few steps.
Could’ve been harder, but still got the job done.
Jake hocks a glob of pink-tinged saliva onto the ground, bouncing right back into position and putting his fists up again. He’s quick to recover, I’ll give him that. We start circling each other once more, and this time, I’m the first to strike.
He blocks my right jab, but my left uppercut lands true, rattling his teeth as he rains two punches down on my ribs in quick succession. Pain jolts through me as I feel one of them crack beneath his fist, jumping back out of range before he can land a third hit. He tries to follow, but I sweep a foot out, tripping him up. He stumbles, but he doesn’t fall, and then we’re right back to circling one another again.
Distantly, I can hear the jeers of the crowd urging us on, but all of it fades to white noise in my head as I focus intently on my form.My muscles are loose, my elbows are tucked.Certain voices manage to cut through the static, though. Two of them, to be exact.
Seb and Ace are cheering me on, and I don’t know if they’re truly louder than all the rest or if it’s just in my head, but my wolf surges forward with pride, giving me the extra burst of strength I need. Jake lunges in my direction and I meet him head on, dodging his punches and raining down a half dozen of my own. He manages to knock my glasses off, but I can still see well enough to give him the beating he deserves, using muscle memory to carry my movements. Kicking one of his legs outfrom under him, I take him down to the dirt, the two of us rolling and grappling as we fight for the upper hand.
Hayden whistles loudly as I put Jake in a headlock, wrestling him underneath me and pinning him face-down in the dirt. He bucks and grunts as I wrench both arms behind his back and press a knee into his spine, using all my weight to pin him like a bug. My muscles strain under the exertion of keeping him there, but my hold is ironclad. He’ll have to tap.
The fucker doesn’t give up easily. Jake growls in frustration as he squirms beneath me, my fingernails digging deeper into his skin with every yank of his arms. I shove my knee into his spine harder until he finally relents, his body going limp and sagging against the ground.
“Calling it for River,” Madd announces gruffly, and I shove off of Jake with a grunt, popping back up on my feet and wiping my nose with a forearm. A bright streak of blood is left behind, so I suppose Jake was able to get a hit in there somewhere after all. My adrenaline’s pumping so hard that I don’t feel any pain, though– just the euphoric high of victory.
Jake grumbles under his breath as he pushes up to stand, turning an angry scowl on me as he wipes the blood dripping from his chin. “Let’s see if you’re as good in wolf form,” he huffs, grabbing for the hem of his t-shirt and whipping it off over his head, readying himself for a shift.
The air punches from my lungs, blood turning to ice in my veins.