Rise of the Alpha
Chapter 18

Zeke

One hour earlier

“Snap out of it, man. Just give her time to process, and she’ll see it was just a simple misunderstanding,” Blaine barks out at me with the superiority of being a wolf shifter. Wait, make that an Alpha heir wolf shifter.

The fucker can talk shit because he wasn’t the one it happened to. She’s pissed at me, and it feels like my heart is being ripped from my chest. Standing up, I begin to pace back and forth across the room, trying to calm my nerves. Jude and Blaine think I don’t see the knowing glances they’re shooting back and forth between each other.

I need to get out of here and beat the shit out of someone. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I shoot off a text to Timur. The word through the grapevine was there was a fight tonight, that’s exactly what I craved. I just needed to see if I could get on the docket. It takes no time for me to get a message back.

Timur: F**K YEAH!!! Shit dude, the crowd is gonna go crazy when they see you’re fighting. When can you be here? Fights start in thirty minutes.

Me: OMW now. See you in 10-15 min

I slide my phone into my back pocket, move over to my bed, kneel down, and reach under my bed to pull out my gym bag. It has my fight clothes, hand wraps, and anything else I may need. Standing up, I pull the strap up on my shoulder and head to the door.

“What the f**k, man? Now is not the time,” Jude chastises, stopping me dead in my tracks with my hand on the door handle. I know he does it out of concern, but it’s f*****g annoying. “And to just walk out of here and not say anything. Bitch move, man.” He’s already standing from the bed and moving toward me.

“Look, I’m going to explode if I don’t release some of these emotions I’m feeling. I got this. Besides, even if I didn’t, I’d deserve to get the f**k beat out of me. I should look as bad as I made her feel.” Turning the knob, I open the door and step out into the hallway, leaving it open knowing one, or both of them, will be following me.

My thoughts are confirmed when I hear Jude speak, “I got him,” before running out the door behind me.

He catches up to me at the stairs, and I know he’s wanting to say something but is fighting to keep his mouth shut. He keeps glancing at me as we walk over to the rings, but finally, I can’t take it anymore and let out a deep sigh.

“F*****g spit it out already,” I bite out, fed up with the sideways glances.

“Come on, man, don’t fight. You’re upset and not thinking clearly. You made a mistake, it’s a misunderstanding, it’s not your fault. Listen to Blaine, just give her time.” Jude tries to reason with me, but he’s only pissing me off more.

I stop and glare at him. My skin is boiling, and I work to rein in my anger before talking to him. Once I have it under control, I lay into him. “Look, if you’re adamant about coming with me to babysit, then keep your mouth shut. I don’t need or want your advice on the issue. I’m fighting. So just be my friend and shut the hell up.” Turning away from him, I start walking again. I can hear his footsteps behind me but refuse to turn and look at him again.

Walking up to the abandoned warehouse, my adrenaline starts pumping even more erratically. I love the fights. I thrive for them. They’re the one place where I feel strong, better than any of the other f*****g supernaturals around me. Here, as a human, I am stronger and better than any of them. I’m the predator, and they’re my prey for once.

Saxon is standing outside the building tonight. I don’t have to give the ridiculous a*s password, instead, he nods for me to go inside. Reaching out, I open the metal door and step inside with Jude right behind me. The thumping of the bass music playing can be felt through my feet as it vibrates the floor.

Slash is working behind the counter, and a cocky a*s grin covers his face when he looks up and sees me. “Well, well, Bone Crusher. Timur told me you were added to the docket tonight. Elizan jumped at the chance to have a match with you. He’s still a little bitter about the loss to you a few weeks back. You’re in the dressing room to the left.”

Internally, I’m laughing because the fucker was too cocky for his own good. When he made the comment about making me a pet for his niece, I lost it. I left him in a puddle of b***d, reminding him not all ‘housepets’, as he so eloquently called me, are docile. “Looking forward to it,” I throw back at him as I head through the doors. This puts me in a little bit of a pickle, though, because I wanted to let someone beat my a*s tonight, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let him win.

I head to the back, but I’m stopped by Jude when he reaches out and grabs my arm. “I’m gonna get a drink from the bar. Do you want a water?” he asks, finally accepting that he’s not going to be able to talk me out of it.

“Yeah, I’m gonna go get changed. See you in the back,” I tell him before heading off.

Thankfully, the dressing rooms are out of the way, and each fighter is designated an area based on the matches for the night. This keeps you out of the crowds and opponents apart from each other while they’re getting ready. Wouldn’t want to have any fighting happen that’s not in the cages. That would prevent Timur from raking in the cash from the eager supes betting on them.

Heading inside, I see about eight other guys in there getting ready. From the amount of noise when we came inside, I knew a fight was already taking place. Some of the guys give me a nod, but I’m not here for conversation, I’m here to fight, and right now, I need to get my head in the game.

Moving away from the others, I head to the locker with my name on it. Yeah, I’m that good. I have one assigned to me on either side. I set my bag down on the bench and open the locker door. Slipping out of my shoes, I pull my shirt and pants off, hang them on the hook inside, then set my shoes on the bottom.

I slip my shorts on before I sit down and tape my hands up. Once that’s done, I pull my hair up into a tight bun before putting on my fingerless leather gloves.

Sitting there, I allow all thoughts to leave my mind. I breathe in and out slowly, calming my nerves and running through any possible scenarios that could happen with the fight. It’s how I prepare before every match. I’m so lost in my pre-fight routine, I don’t hear Jude come up behind me, until he places the cold as f**k water bottle on my back, causing me to jump.

“Are you ready? That crowd’s f*****g crazy out there!” Jude exclaims as he drops down on the bench beside me.

“Staying back here or going out front?” I look over and ask him, his eyes focused on his phone. “Waiting on something?”

“Huh?” he asks, as I point my hand at his phone, clueing him in. “Nah, just thinking. I’m going out front when you head out. Gonna watch the fight like all the common folk unless you want me outside the cage acting as your coach,” he says with a forced laugh as he slides his phone into his pocket.

“I’m good. You can head out. Should be about time for me to be up. I know I’m not the featured fight tonight. Just don’t get trashed; I don’t want to have to carry your a*s home.”

“Whatever, man. You know you want to give me a piggyback ride. But now that you mention it, another drink sounds good. Catch you on the flip side after you whoop that fucker’s a*s.” He reaches out with his hand, giving my shoulder a firm squeeze before standing and heading out of the dressing room.

Now I can go back to my routine without any further interruptions.