Merciless Saints (St. Monarch's Academy 1)

Damien’s left arm wraps around my waist, and then I feel his breath on my ear as he whispers, “You don’t belong here.”

His arm tightens around my neck, and it has me grabbing hold of his forearm and bicep.

When I try to suck in a strangled breath, my body bucking against his, Damien tightens his hold on me. My vision goes black from the lack of air, and the last thing I’m aware of is Damien’s body taking my full weight as I lose consciousness.

I don’t know for how long I’m unconscious, but when I come to, I find myself lying on a mat and not just on the side of the room like MJ. I shake my head to rid myself of the last of the dizziness, and when I sit up, I hear Hugo chuckle, “Aww, have a soft spot for the Blood Princess?”

Did Damien move me to the mat? Why would he do that?

Knowing Damien took it easy on me makes a wave of embarrassment crash over me. Just as my sight focuses on Damien, he mutters, “Can we get back to training?”

“Lamas versus Vetrov,” Grandmaster Yeoh grinds out, probably upset with MJ and me and our poor performances.

“I might as well take the day off,” Paulie mumbles.

“An hour on the reflex bag,” Grandmaster Yeoh instructs Paulie while Hugo and Damien face each other in the middle of the room.

Damien’s standing with his back to me, and my eyes narrow on him. Anger begins to simmer in my chest because he embarrassed me in front of the whole class. Instead of sparring, he choked me to get me out of the way.

I hear groaning coming from MJ as she begins to come to, and the instant Hugo glances at her, Damien darts forward. Spinning his body, he plants the heel of his foot against Hugo’s jaw.

While Hugo’s still shaking his head, Damien moves in on him, delivering punches. After the sixth, Damien ends with an uppercut to Hugo’s chin. This time Hugo’s dazed as he staggers backward, and Damien finishes him off with a knee to his chin, knocking him out cold.

For a moment, I forget about being embarrassed and angry as I gape at Damien.

God, no one stands a chance against him.

Damien’s muscles ripple as he steps away from an unconscious Hugo while grumbling, “Are we done sparring?”

Grandmaster Yeoh lets out a huff then waves an arm at the equipment.

As Damien walks toward the Wing Chun wooden dummy, he glances in my direction. Instantly the scowl on his face darkens, and then he turns his face away from me as if I’m nothing but an annoyance.

I climb to my feet, and with every step I take in Damien’s direction, my anger grows.

When I reach him, I snap, “I didn’t take you for a coward.”

Damien shoots me a glare, and where any sane person would back away and run for cover, I have to force myself to stand my ground.

“I’m here to train. Taking it easy on me won’t do me any favors,” I continue as I cross my arms over my chest. Damien’s jaw locks, and it makes a muscle jump in his cheek. Slowly, he turns his face to me, his eyes cold and merciless. We stare at each other, my anger and embarrassment clashing against his annoyance until I grind the words out, “Next time, treat me as an equal.”

He lets out a humorless chuckle. “That’s something you’ll never be, Princess.”

The egotistical sexist.

Just as I take a threatening step closer to Damien, Grandmaster Yeoh calls out, “Hemsley. Fang.”

I spare Damien one last glare before I walk over to the mat Grandmaster Yeoh is waiting on. “Fight,” he mutters, seemingly just as annoyed as Damien.

I take in my position with the full intention of trying to regain some of my lost pride.

DAMIEN

I should continue with my training, but I find myself turning to watch the fight. I’m not the only one. Hugo and Paulie actually step closer to the girls.

Anger still tightens Winter’s features as she focuses on MJ. Winter might be beautiful, but I couldn’t give two shits about offending her sensitive pride. I knew the fight between us was a no-win situation. If I hadn’t taken it easy on her, she wouldn’t be standing right now. I opted for the lesser evil because there’s no honor in beating up someone just because I can. That’s not what I’m in training for.

Besides, out in the real world, close combat is only in extreme circumstances. Like when you run out of ammo which won’t happen if you’re prepared at all times.

MJ throws the first punch, landing a blow to Winter’s jaw. I’m surprised when there’s no flash of pain on Winter’s face, but instead, she goes in for the kill. She moves fast, not giving MJ a second to recover, going from throwing punches to delivering the double-knee flying kick she took Paulie out with.