The Initiation (Darkness Within Duet 1)

“I had no idea.”

“Now you do. There’s no getting out of this. No backing down.” He pressed a kiss to her lips.

She turned back to look at the stage as someone else entered the ring. It was two new people, two new fighters.

With each fight, she found herself flinching less and less, even as her stomach turned from seeing the blood.

When two women entered the ring, Harper couldn’t believe the violence they displayed. They tugged and pulled at their hair, one woman tearing out a huge chunk.

Pulling a band from her jacket, she did no more than pull her hair up on top of her head, ready in case her number went up.

“You look hot,” Draven said.

“This isn’t funny.”

“I’m not laughing, babe. I tried to warn you. No backing down now.”

She nodded. When Draven’s number was read out, she watched him go. He released her hand, and Axel pulled her into his arms. He held her hands, and his body pressed against her back. She liked his heat and took comfort in his touch.

“He’ll be fine,” Axel said.

“How do you know that? I can’t believe I’m about to watch this.”

“Draven’s a monster,” Buck said. “He’s one of the best fighters here. No one can best him.”

Biting her lip, she watched as another guy entered the ring. He was huge. He had to way close to a hundred pounds more than Draven, and his muscles were twice the size of Draven.

“He’s going to get killed,” Harper said.

“Have faith.” Axel wrapped his arms around her.

“Are you even his friend at all?”

“You’ve seen him during training. Draven is one of the hardest, fiercest bastards here. He could kill them all. It’s why he’s so deadly. Why his father keeps him so fucking close. Draven could take over now because he can make the hard decisions, and above all else, he can fight. He commands respect. Trust him, Harper, watch him.”

So she did.

She watched as he shook his opponent’s hand, and they stepped away from each other.

Silence rang out. No one spoke. Once the fighting started, she realized he’d been holding back. He hadn’t been joking about testing her.

Draven unleashed a monster she had never seen before. Blow after blow he landed. He took a couple, but he shook them off as if they meant nothing to him. Each movement was carefully calculated.

He was a machine. No one stood a chance against him. He didn’t need to strike every single time. He landed blows to the face and body, and when the guy went down, Draven didn’t pursue him. He waited.

Once again, the guy was up, not ready to call the fight quits.

Draven got hit in the face, and then he twisted the guy’s arm, backhanding him, and kicking him down.

He got up again, only to be pummeled in the face and shoved hard. That one shove and the guy lifted his hand up in surrender. Blood poured from his nose and mouth.

Draven was the victor.

He grabbed his ticket and jacket, and walked back over to them. She saw there was a little bruising on one cheek.

“Did you let him hit you?” Axel asked.

“I had to make it look good.”

“Wait, you let him hit you?” This was insane. Crazy. She couldn’t even believe they were having this discussion.

“It is what it is, baby,” Draven said, kissing her.

They stood together again. Axel had to fight, followed by Buck. Both of the guys were fearless. Buck lost his joker face, and she’d never seen how deadly he was. The change in him scared her, and the same for Axel, even though he was more serious to start. There was something off about him. Like he’d been putting on a mask for others to see, and now she saw the real him.

Four more fights and then her number rang out. She held her ticket, and Draven gripped her arm.

“You’ve got to let me go.”

“Get angry,” he said. “Don’t lose control. But feel that anger spread.”

Her number was called again.

“Don’t turn your back.”

“I won’t.” She pulled out of his arms and headed to the ring.

Draven, Axel, Buck, and Jett followed her. They were close to the stage for her first official fight. Removing her jacket, she did what she’d seen others do and dropped it to the ground.

Climbing into the ring, she presented her ticket and glanced at the woman opposite her.

“So, you’re the Stonewall whore,” the woman sneered.

Harper didn’t even recognize her. She didn’t say anything.

“I’m going to pound your face into the fucking dirt. They’re never going to want to fuck you again.”

“Well, well, well, ladies, we’ve got a newbie here, and let’s see what she’s got,” the man said.

Stepping away from the woman, Harper waited for the bell, and when it happened, the woman charged. Harper moved quickly, but the woman expected it. She didn’t even have a clue who she was.