Page 34

Fitz

Closing my eyes, I breathe deeply through my nose. My tiger is ready and raring to go, riled up by the knowledge that this is the first staff Pred Games match of the year. Chess would tell me this is the point of Apex holding these games—helping the more violent residents get some of their aggression out in a controlled setting, so that we don’t tear into their little darlings. This one is the first of six held throughout the year and the winners take home both the glory and the women.

I should know; I’ve won six of them since we arrived.

Felix won the first three years, of course. He needed that outlet more than anyone and plenty of staff met their end when my exiled Raj took his anger at our asshole patriarch out on whatever pred he could prod into getting in the ring with him.

Oddly, Zhenga’s the only one who’s survived him all these years, and that tells me she should be in charge of her people, not her dimwit siblings. That woman was not made to be married off and sentenced to raising cubs she doesn’t want. She’s annoying, but she’s a force of nature and the Leonidas’ are as stupid as the other fuckwits on our esteemed Council.

The swimmers and winged preds have already headed to their own fighting spaces. I’m sure the gargoyle’s prey friends are wrangling the ring they place in the lake for that arena and who the fuck knows what the fliers do. My focus is the ground game here in my family’s arena—this is my space and I refuse to do anything but dominate it.

Sadly, we’re not supposed to kill people here.

On Bloodstone, death matches were how they settled damn near every conflict. My father and the rest of the family sat on high in our boxes like the emperors of old, watching the players go at one another until one paid the ultimate sacrifice. Felix and I watched tigers, rejects, criminals, and more tear each other to pieces from the time we could walk. Violence is not only in our blood, but such a part of lives that we breathe it.

Khoon mein, ham bandhate hain; mrtyu mein, ham vijayee hain. ? 1

The Khan motto is branded on every feline in our ambush at birth and we’re expected to live it every moment of every day. Our Pred Games team is the dirtiest, bloodiest opponents in the entire league, and I used to lead them. When Felix and my father started fighting over his consort, I quit the team and came home to show them Felix would have a strong enforcer to back him up. I thought it might change things, but it didn’t.

I don’t regret it for a fucking second, though.

Walking away from the trees, I approach the stands, watching one of the male lions go after a grizzly bear. I’m fairly certain the lion will win—bears are vicious when cornered, but slow and easy to wound if you know the right spots to hit, then dart away. I do and I’d be willing to bet any cat trained by Z knows that as well. She’s thorough as hell and won’t let one of her pride make the family look bad.

I squint at the smarmy looking fennec foxes running around taking bets as usual. Foxes make up for being some of the smallest preds at Apex by being criminals. They run sports betting, bootlegging, black markets, and even procure skin for the right price. Something about them makes my fur itch, but I recognize their place in our ecosystem. Adults trapped with teenagers have needs and their vices are being tended to by a species who would otherwise make a good snack.

Que sera and all that shit.

The bell clangs when the bear finally taps out and I smile as Zhenga runs over to check out her fighter. He’s a little torn up, but not bad, so she’ll have someone run him to the infirmary. This fight was the last one before the intermission and after that, comes the ultimate battles. The biggest, baddest preds take these two slots and it’s where Felix and I usually dominate the field.

My eyes roam to the crowd, drifting back to where Chess is sitting with my woman and her two weird friends. I like that she has them, but I set the spicy lizard on checking them out despite Chess’ vouching for them. The gangster badger worries me a little because his reputation with the students is like mine and he looks like three miles of dangerous road. The colorful polar bear is less worrisome and I enjoy the way my girl giggles when she’s talking with the curly haired thespian.

I lift a hand, nodding at Chess. He smiles broadly, elbowing Dolly so she looks over at me. I see her cheeks flush and it makes my dick jump in my pants. I can’t believe one brief trip to town to grab shit helped my cheetah get comfortable with her, but since it did, I can put my master plan in effect. If I can get my darling feline on board, I can get my brother on board, and then the two ancient assholes.

Then we’re one big banging family and everything I want will be in place.

Chess says I miss having the whole ambush to curl up in more than I want to admit and this is ‘transference', but he’s wrong. I love being in the enormous pile and sometimes Felix will let Chess and I do it with him as long as I behave.

What I really want is a family—one I choose who won’t drop one of us for some bullshit ‘flaw’ or a disagreement. The Khan ambush is the antithesis of that, but if getting his throne back will make my twin happy again, I’ll do anything to make it happen. At least, I thought I would until this leggy bunny walked into our lives and changed everything.

Now I’m not sure and that makes me irritable.

Using that, I bounce on my feet as I keep my adrenaline flowing through the break. I don’t want to lose momentum because after Felix told me about all the trouble those idiots on the far side of the stands have caused my girl; I knew I had to show them what happens when you piss off a Khan. He said she held her own, but I don’t give a fuck. They tried to hurt my baby girl and I will make sure every single one of them pays dearly.

Especially that little shit from prom night who dared to mouth off in Felix’s class.

“Eager to fight the snow leopard, enforcer?” Zhenga walks over to me, arching her brow as her grizzly friend Raquel follows behind as usual.

I snort. “Barely worth my time. I’ll have him tapping within a minute. You can put money with the slimy bastards on it.”

The lioness laughs throatily, nodding at the dim-witted bear. “Go do that. And make sure you put a grand on the Raj. He’s fighting Gregor and you know how much the canines and the cats hate one another.”

“The alpha will win,” Raquel says as she shakes her head. “Felix is too soft to do what it will take to beat him. Alpha Gregor is dominant in every way—just look at him.”

Her words draw a snarl out of me and Z has to push me back so I don’t go for her throat. “That mangey, flea-bitten mutt beats the females and acts like an assault should turn them on. Felix has wanted to get in the ring with him since he arrived late last year. This will be a bloodbath.”

“He fights dirty. Felix shouldn’t pull his punches,” Zhenga comments.

As if we summoned him, I grin at my twin when he rocks up with an expression of pure fury on his face. I tilt my head, curious why the sudden flip in his demeanor. He’s never Sally Sunshine, but he seems particularly enraged at the moment. I follow his gaze and find he’s not looking at his moronic opponent—no, he’s looking at my baby girl laughing with Chess and her friends like she’s a flank steak and he’s starving.

I couldn’t have planned this more perfectly myself.

The wolf is enormous and I’m not sure all of it is natural. Rumors spread like wildfire around Apex, even amongst the staff, and the word is the wolf pack expects a particular look he couldn’t achieve without chemical assistance. He must spend a small fortune on his habit because shifters process drugs differently than humans and whatever he’s doping with is not made by our kind. I eye him carefully, knowing Felix is next to me, doing the same. His size is an advantage, but given Felix’s speed when shifted, it will probably work against him.

“Dibs on this fucker next round if he survives,” I mutter, and Felix chuckles darkly. My penchant for picking the dirtiest, bloodiest fights is well known amongst the participants in this league. I feel like Felix requested a change in the card on purpose, so I’ll let it slide.

Felix listens as they announce the wolf, his expression getting darker by the second as Zhenga’s shit-stirring grizzly friend gushes over his past wins. When the muscle-bound douche finally walks into the ring, my twin stands taller, disguising his fury with a nonchalant look. The rightful Raj of Bloodstone never lets the sheep see his actual feelings. They get the disinterested mask now that he’s no longer on his bender.

Tearing his shirt off, he smirks when the crowd roars as he saunters into the ring. My brother is leaner than me, but every inch is hard muscle. The strength of our entire ambush flows in his veins and he looks at the rowdy on-lookers with a regal tilt to his chin. This ring is nothing compared to the trials arena at Bloodstone and Felix is used to looking up at an entire island worth of hungry fans.

When the noise dies down a little, the contenders take their places and I sneak a look over at my baby girl. Her mouth is hanging open, and she looks like she’s contemplating jumping into the ring to climb him like a tree. My lips curve as I consider what’s going to happen when he shifts and no longer has clothes for his human form. Felix’s dick is going to make her lose her goddamn mind and it will be on display when he knocks the snot out of this mutt.

What? My dick is no slouch, but my twin is terrifying—even I know that.

I finally drag my eyes away from her curves to note Felix and Gregor circling one another. The wolf looks smug, and I can’t fathom why. This idiot has never beaten anyone of our caliber, and I don’t know why he’s not scared. There’s a little crazy in those yellow orbs and for a moment, I wonder if he’s doing more than juicing. If so, I hope my twin sees it because it will change Gregor’s reaction times.

The alpha runs his mouth as they move—bullshit trash talk that wouldn’t distract me from finding his weaknesses and certainly won’t fool Felix. It’s dumb shit and while he’s spouting it, I notice him favoring his left arm. Something about it is off and I’m sure my twin sees it, too. That’s a perfect opening, especially if that’s an old injury.

Felix’s tiger ripples under his skin and I think he’s going to make his move when Gregor says something in a lower tone. In a blink, I feel my brother’s tiger bust loose, forcing a half-shift as the idiot in the ring points towards…

Oh, shit. Bad move, dawg.

Gregor’s lips are hitched in a slimy sneer, and his finger is pointing directly at my baby girl. The depth of fury I feel is making it hard not to react, but I know Felix has to handle this. That one gesture is a direct challenge to his authority, both at Apex and as the heir to Bloodstone. If he doesn’t meet it with severe punishment, our father will get word. The last thing we need is for him to decide our girl is another weak spot for his exiled son.

One set of enemies on campus is enough for now, thanks.

The ref hits the bell and Felix leaps through the air like he has fucking wings.

I swear to hell, I’ve never seen my twin move like this, but he’s on the dumb motherfucker so fast it barely registers. His claws are tearing into the wolf and everything from fur to skin goes flying. The scent of blood is heavy, amping up the crowd as they watch what a true king can do in battle. Gregor is definitely high because he’s scrambling for better purchase, but not tapping out. His eyes flash as he shifts to full wolf form, scampering out of Felix’s range.

The sound of a bone-rattling roar echoes off the buildings when my brother’s tiger enters the game. When he shifted, Felix is ten feet and almost eight hundred pounds of cat. He’s the biggest member of our ambush at home and I’m sure that played a part in my father’s ludicrous decree. He can take six tigers in the ring without breaking a sweat; that kind of threat had to be neutralized somehow. I watch him stalk towards Gregor, his prowl slow and intent.

Shit. Okay, I might have to tap in, or he’ll kill the flea-bitten shit.

Moving to the ref, I tap him, letting him know I want to sub in for my brother. He blasts an air horn and I almost tear into the dopey looking Komodo when it rings in my ears. The spectators boo, having sensed this fight was about to become a bloodbath. I don’t give a shit about their disappointment; I’m worried about Felix losing his coveted control publicly. He’s already so close to the edge—if he kills Gregor, no one will care, but it will make him punish himself even more.

I walk up to the hulking cat advancing on the wolf, regardless of the horn. “Felix, my Raj. I will make him suffer for insulting our name. Let me do my job, brother.”

His feline eyes dart to me and I shift quickly, revealing my white tiger form before nuzzling against him. Our cats stare at one another for a moment and I think he knows why I’m interrupting. Silence hangs in the air for another moment, then he shifts to human, looking down at me with a hidden, but grateful expression. All the people behind him see is a terse nod as he stalks out of the ring.

Now it’s my turn and I never play fair.

Huge paws slap the ground as I circle my prey, looking at it through my cat’s eyes this time. Every sense is heightened in this form and I can smell and hear things I couldn’t before. Gregor’s wolf backs away, and he ripples to a stupid looking half-shift that makes me think he’s not a full-blooded alpha. Information for later, but it highlights his weakness in other ways as well. He won’t be able to use ‘alpha push’ on me—or try to, at least.

“Awww. Did I scare your brother? He sent the psycho to play instead of fighting his own battles?”

Giving him the tiger version of a snort, I keep watching him as he dances around the circle. I could shift to answer, but I’m not wasting energy. This fool will talk himself into a pine box soon enough.

My hackles raise when he stops, looking at me with a smug grin full of fangs. “Maybe he couldn’t take hearing your little pet will be pinned under me as I fuck the shit of her pert ass after I tear her throat out. Do you think that upset him, Fitzy?”

Rage. Red, hot fury.

That’s all that goes through my mind before I shoot across the ring and knock the ugly son of a bitch to the ground. My tiger takes up where Felix left off, tearing and shredding at him like he’s dinner. Whistles sound and the bell clangs, but it’s all in the distance as I pound the living fuck out of this asshole who not only insulted my Raj, but threatened my baby girl with rape.

It would have to be—Delores Drew belongs to my ambush, even if she doesn’t know it yet, and she’s not letting anyone outside of my family touch her. My animal lifts its head and roars into the night in pure domination as Gregor wriggles out of my grasp after taking a dirty swipe at my cock. That’s a banned area and if he’d connected, I would have torn his off. As it is, I might do it anyway.

Rules be damned.

“Finish it, Fitz.”

Felix’s voice rings in the air and I feel the atmosphere shift as he stalks off—likely to sulk. My anger at Gregor for baiting him, for the threat, and for using my fucking nickname flows through me like lava. If my Raj wants me to finish this asshole, I will.

With another roar, my blood-stained body darts through the air like a white flash and I knock the wolf into the ground so hard he chokes on his own spit. Opening my giant maw, I look directly at Chess and my baby girl, wanting them both to see what I’m about to do. My fangs clamp down on his head, making him scream bloody murder right before I rip it clean off of his body. Tossing my head as blood drips from my mouth, I rear up on my back paws and my tiger declares its own victory.

The applause is deafening, and I sniff as I walk over, lifting my leg to piss on the severed head as one final ‘fuck you’.

I feel lighter than I have in forever when Chess helps our girl stand and make her way through the raucous spectators as they freak the hell out. When she approaches, I consider shifting back, but then Delores Drew drops her hand to ruffle the fur of my gory head. Her lips are quirked in a mischievous grin and I see the heat in her gaze, despite touching my bloody face.

“Here, kitty, kitty. Let’s go get you some cream to celebrate.”

Chess pales and fidgets, acting like he’s going to pass out on the spot. “I, uh, I’m going to check on Felix.”

He takes off like a hellhound is after him and I let out a big ass tiger huff.

“Yeah, I don’t get it, either,” Delores says. “But that’s okay. He’ll come around. You’re all mine tonight, warrior kitty.”

How the fuck am I supposed to argue with that?!