"Why do you keep trying to punch me?" Dex asked Seb.
Seb spun with a snarl. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the fact you're underestimating me, seeing me as a Human, as someone smaller and weaker than you that you can overpower. Your punching me is not going to knock me out."
"I never said you were weaker," Seb replied, his eyes narrowing.
"No, you're just treating me like I am." Dex motioned to Sloane. "Would you attack Sloane the same way?"
Seb frowned, puzzled. "Well, no, obviously."
"Why? Because he's bigger? Stronger? A jaguar Therian?" Dex shook his head. "Never underestimate your opponent." Seb took a step forward, and Dex put a hand up to stop him. "Stay there. Both of you. Observe." Dex turned to Sloane and took his position. "How about showing them how it's done?"
Sloane ducked his head, his amber eyes almost black as he met Dex's gaze. "My pleasure."
Dex readied himself. This was going to hurt oh so good. He'd done it before. Several times. Dex grinned wickedly. Sloane wouldn't attack first. He never did. His Felid half wanted to stalk, to catch Dex unawares, which was why Dex wouldn't give him the opportunity. He took off in a run toward Sloane. Sloane was heavier, bulkier, and weighed a fuckton more than Dex, which worked to Dex's advantage.
Whatever Dex did, Sloane would do his damn best to keep his feet on the mat. The floor was not where he wanted to be. Which was why it was exactly where Dex had to get him. The bigger the Therian, the harder they fell. Sloane took his stance--left leg forward, right leg back, knees slightly bent as he anchored himself. He held up his fists, ready to strike. Dex picked up speed, grabbed Sloane's shoulder, flung himself up in a flying scissor kick, and wrapped his legs around Sloane's neck, using the force of his momentum to bring Sloane down, flipping him over onto the mat. Dex kept his legs wrapped around Sloane's neck. This was where Dex would have gouged out the dude's eyes, but he wasn't about to do that to his beloved, so instead, he tightened his hold and smacked Sloane in the face.
With a feral growl, Sloane rolled with Dex still on him so Dex had his back to the mat. He thrust his hands down against Dex's groin and jerked backward, but Dex only tightened his hold on Sloane's neck. He grabbed Sloane's thumb and bent it back, forcing Sloane's arm--and more importantly his elbow--away from Dex's groin area. Had this been a real scenario, Dex would have won by now. Sloane twisted and threw his weight against Dex, thrusting his elbow back and hitting Dex in the balls.
"Fuck," Dex said through gritted teeth, loosening his grip enough for Sloane to force one leg off him, and giving Sloane the room he needed to slip out. Dex quickly rolled away, and Sloane came down onto the mat, elbow first. That would have hurt like a son of a bitch. Dex pushed through the pain to his boy bits and got to his feet in time to have Sloane slam into him from the side. Dex landed several feet away, his whole left side throbbing from being body checked by a two hundred forty pound--probably more like two hundred fifty pounds now--Therian.
All he could do was push through it and get on his feet quickly. When Sloane lunged at him, Dex dug deep. His eyesight sharpened, and he let out a fierce growl as he threw one arm around Sloane's waist and grabbed at the back of Sloane's right leg, jerking it forward so he could lift Sloane of his feet and slam him onto the mat where he brought his knee down against Sloane's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He was mindful to use just enough force to hurt but not seriously injure his boyfriend. With an arm pressed to Sloane's neck, his knee ready to do some damage, and a fist over Sloane's face, Sloane tapped out.
Dex grinned down at him and kissed him before rolling off to catch his breath. Sloane laughed softly as he lay on the mat, his chest rising and falling in rapid breaths. He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his wrapped hand. He turned his head to look at Dex.
"Nicely done."
"Thanks." Dex got to his feet and held his hands out to Sloane, then helped him up. He turned to Seb and Hudson, who were gaping at him. "Obviously that would have ended a lot sooner had I gouged out his eyes, but I kind of like his eyes," Dex said, batting his lashes at Sloane. "They're pretty."
Sloane chuckled. He shook his head and wiped more sweat from his brow.
Rolling his shoulders, Dex turned back to Seb and Hudson, his expression once again stern. "Now, let's try that again."
"HOLY...." PANT. "Crap." More panting.
Sloane dropped onto the mat. He was dripping with sweat, and every muscle in his body ached. He wiped his face with the clean towel, then chuckled at Seb, who dropped next to him and lay sprawled on his back.
"I think... my heart... is going to... explode," Seb said, breathless.
"I warned you, didn't I? But you didn't listen. Your exact words were 'how strong can he really be?'"
Seb turned his head to pout at Sloane, his brows drawn together. "I was wrong, Sloane. So very wrong. I will never doubt your words again." He sat up with a groan and grabbed one of the rolled-up towels beside him to wipe the sweat off his face. "I can't believe Dex took me down."
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall."
Seb narrowed his eyes at Sloane. "I'm a tiger Therian. Your not-even-two-hundred-pound boyfriend is not supposed to be able to take me down."
"Except he's been training his ass off, is no longer Human, and I'm pretty sure he's still getting stronger." Every time Sloane sparred with Dex, he noticed an increase in Dex's strength. It was in minimal increments, but enough for Sloane to see the difference. "It seems to come in little bursts when he gets worked up or pissed off, but when that happens, he's stronger than I am. If this keeps going, he may even end up stronger than you, or who knows, maybe even Zach. Not even TIN knows what's going on inside him. The tests are starting to come back inconclusive again."
"How is that possible?"
Sloane shrugged. "No one knows. TIN's brought in their top specialists, and they have no idea what the hell is going on inside Dex. Every time they run a test for something, whatever they're looking for, it's gone, but they know it's there because they can see it. They did a blood test, and it came back Human, but when they did a different test that wasn't specifically looking at his blood, it pinged Therian. It's like his DNA and everything that makes him a hybrid is trying to protect itself by avoiding detection."
Seb seemed to think about it. "So if someone ran a test to see if he was Therian, they'd get something else?"
Sloane nodded. "Not sure if that's a good thing or not. My worry is when he'll need to get treatment. Unless whoever's treating him knows what he is...."