“You live here too, buddy. From where I’m sitting, you’re not looking as superior as you think you are.”
Zane’s eyes narrowed, the hatred in them burning brighter. “You are pond scum, and not fit to lick my feet. And soon, the whole world will know how inferior you are.”
Greg announced Zane, and the tiger shot him a goading look as he walked toward the ring. Blowing out a breath, Seth bounced on the toes of his feet, focusing all his efforts on pushing Zane’s words of his head.
By the time Greg announced Seth, he was feeling in control of himself and his emotions again. His leopard was alert inside him, but the cat wasn’t insulting him, which was another great sign. His confidence returned, and he walked in the ring to the sound of the roaring crowd, ready to do this.
He turned to face Zane, feeling relaxed and confident. They walked to the middle to bump fists, the official start to the match.
“Think about it, Birmingham. She’ll turn all that desire she feels my way. Soon, I’ll know how she tastes, what she feels like under me, skin to skin. You’re just a novelty to her, and it won’t be long until she gets bored and turns to me, looking for what you’ll never be able to offer her.”
Seth stood frozen as Zane bumped his fists and backed away, a smirk on his face. A buzzing sound was ringing in Seth’s ears, and a red haze coated his vision as he looked at Zane.
Maim, destroy, kill.
His cat was hissing and spitting inside him, urging Seth to let him out. Seth kept a tight reign on the animal, but he wasn’t going to be able to control him while he fought. And he didn’t want to, regardless of the likelihood that he would spill his secret nature to the humans. Zane was asking to die, and Seth was just the person to grant his wish.
No. This was what Zane wanted. And Seth wasn’t giving that fucking tiger one sliver of an advantage over him.
Do not react. Do. Not. Fight. Me. We take this asshole down, he ordered his cat. Get the fuck back in line and on the same page again.
For a moment, he worried his cat would refuse. He couldn’t do this if he was fighting his emotions and his leopard while he fought Zane. The fight needed one hundred percent of his focus.
If we want to repay him for what he said, the best way is taking him out in this fight. We humiliate him, because that’s something he can’t handle. And we need to do this for Amelia. Remember Amelia.
At the sound of her name, his cat slowly and reluctantly settled down inside Seth, and his mind was suddenly focused and clear. He and Zane circled each other, and even though he had opportunities, Seth didn’t strike. He wanted to lull the tiger into thinking he had this. He wanted him to think he had a shot, to get his hopes up, before Seth crushed him to dust.
Zane darted forward and slammed his fist into Seth’s jaw. His head whipped back as pain exploded, but when he looked at Zane again, a grin spread across Seth’s face.
Now fuck him the hell up.
Already on it, he told his cat.
“And that’s the only hit you get tonight.”
And with a flurry of movements, Seth lunged, and started landing blow after blow, never letting up. For the first time, he and his cat were one in the same, and it was perfect. And now it was time to show this tiger who the truly superior shifter was.
Amelia made her way to a spot in the stands, warring emotions dueling it out inside her. She was here tonight for a very different purpose than trying to figure out what Seth was. She was here to support him, to encourage him. And even though she’d seen him fight and knew how good he was, she couldn’t help feeling fear he’d get hurt. Research was the last thing on her mind.
Things had changed so much since she’d arrived. She’d changed. So much happened in so short a time, it left her reeling inside, unable to find her footing. And the longing she felt for Seth threw her into another tailspin all over again when she thought about it.
For the first time, she wasn’t thinking logically, wasn’t thinking in black and white. She was thinking as a woman—a woman who had major feelings for Seth.
The crowd roared, drawing her attention back to the ring, and Amelia frowned, chewing anxiously on her thumbnail as Seth stood frozen. She was near enough that she saw Zane say something to him, but not close enough to hear the words, especially over the crowd. But whatever he said obviously packed a wallop, if it was enough to stun Seth.
Holding her breath as Zane darted in, she silently urged Seth to move, but he just stood there while Zane landed a powerful blow to his cheek. What the hell was he doing? He could fight, she knew he could. She’d seen it with her own eyes, but he acted like he was in shock. Getting concerned, she started to move toward Greg, and have him call the match off, but she paused as Seth’s lips moved. She couldn’t be sure, but it looked like he said, “And that’s the only hit you get tonight.”
Suddenly, in one powerful move, he lunged toward Zane, catching him off guard as Seth landed his own blow, the force of it sending Zane stumbling backward. Not giving him any time to recover, Seth was on him again, landing a succession of blows that made Amelia wince.
Mouth hanging open in growing shock, she watched as Seth thoroughly kicked Zane’s ass. As far as she could tell, he wasn’t using any of his supernatural enhancements, although it was possible he was using strength. But she knew whatever Seth was, Zane was as well, because she saw his eyes change color before the fight. And unlike Seth, he was using his advantages, moving too quickly, healing too fast. But even using them, he was still no match for Seth, even while fighting at human level.
Seth drew the fight out, a mocking smile directed Zane’s way the whole time. Amelia had no words for the moves he was making, having no clue of the fighting terms. But Seth never let Zane land even one more hit. He was poetry in motion, graceful, powerful, every move thought out and precise, delivered seamlessly.
He took her breath away.
Zane kicked his leg up, looking like he was aiming for Seth’s chin, but Seth caught his foot, twisting slightly as he pulled up, throwing Zane off balance and sending him to the floor. His back hit the ground with a thud she could practically feel vibrating her feet, and Seth was on him in an instant. Shoving Zane onto his stomach, Seth strad
dled him as he yanked Zane’s arm up behind him in a maneuver that looked so painful, Amelia couldn’t help but shudder.