Page 49 of The Night Movers: Season One

Ridley snorted at Sugar’s use of the word nay. He was such a diva. It was clear he lived for this shit. How did someone who seemed to be drawn to the arts end up…there? How could someone so talented go so off-course?

“This man has no shame, no respect for our code. No honor!” Sugar shouted, drawing Ridley from his thoughts. “Tonight, he fights not just to defend his name, but to defend his life! Make some noise for Rurik of the Moldovan Maulers!”

The crowd erupted, not in applause but in another round of booing and hissing, calling Rurik every name in the book.

He appeared almost as if from thin air, running straight to the cage and hopping onto the outside, shaking the enclosure, not at all concerned with the barbed wire digging into his palms. The crowd grew louder, but it only seemed to spur the man on.

“He’s awfully chipper for a guy who’s about to die,” Ryker commented conversationally.

Rurik was running to each side of the pentagon, sticking his tongue out and making faces at the crowd, winding them up even more. He appeared to be having the time of his life.

Finally, Sugar gestured for them to settle.

Titus was suddenly on his knees in front of Ridley, who blinked at him stupidly.

Absently, Ridley heard Sugar say, “Now, you all know our second fighter…”

But his attention was now on his alpha, his emotions a sudden storm inside him. He couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward, pressing their foreheads together. “Don’t turn your back on him,” he begged in a frantic whisper.

“Our reigning terror…the alpha of alphas..the man who has never, ever , left an opponent breathing… “ Sugar shouted.

Titus smiled, kissing him softly. “Don’t worry, Strawberry. I got this.”

“The biggest, the baddest, the most feared alpha alive. Our very own ruthless king of the ring…Titus!” Sugar called out, dragging out the alpha’s name while the crowd lost their minds.

Titus pulled back, a grin spreading across his face.

He gave Ridley a cocky little wink before all but dancing his way towards the ring.

Ridley’s ovaries felt like they’d been sucker-punched.

Who was this Titus? This cocky, carefree alpha?

He reminded Ridley of the Titus he’d met the night they bought him from the New Guard.

Titus the criminal, not Titus the martyr.

Ridley’s mouth fell open as Titus stopped, then peeled his shirt off, tossing it to him. His body responded instantly, his belly tightening, his skin growing warm.

Diesel was suddenly in his ear. “Easy, princess. You already smell like sex and slick. If you get worked up right now, they might literally tear this place down to get to you.”

“So, you guys won’t be fucking me in the middle of the cage next to his dead body?” he murmured, bringing Titus’s shirt to his nose .

The series of snarls that came from the men surrounding him left him feeling not just desired but powerful .

He smirked as he sat back, watching his mate stock to the far corner, standing strong and silent in the corner of the cage, a cruel smirk on his face.

Ridley shivered at the predatory look on the alpha’s face as he tracked Rurik’s movements, watching the other alpha make a fool of himself.

Sugar cleared his throat into the mic, once more bringing the crowd under his spell.

“There’s much at stake here, tonight, folks.

If Rurik somehow manages to win, he’ll be granted his life.

” More jeering. “But if Titus takes him down, then our strawberry queen gets to keep Rurik’s omega, Rain, as his very own pet! ”

Ridley could feel the omegas’ hatred. They thought Ridley was the real traitor, worse than even Rurik.

He’d sided with the alphas. He’d sided with their oppressors.

Something withered within him. He wanted to jump up and proclaim his innocence, to swear he was nothing like those alphas.

But who was he kidding? He was exactly like them.

He’d give anything to make sure Ren was safe. No matter what it cost him personally.

Ridley jumped at the feel of Steele’s lips on his ear. “You’re a monster now, but when it’s all said and done, you’ll be remembered as a hero. You can only beat the system from the inside.”

“But I’m on the wrong side,” Ridley muttered.

“No, you’re not,” Steele said, pressing a kiss behind his ear, making goosebumps erupt on Ridley’s skin.

“High stakes, high risk—and oh…absolutely no mercy!” Sugar raised his hands, getting the crowd back to their feverish pitch.

“So, prepare yourselves, because tonight’s fight isn’t about strength, it’s not about pride, it’s about respect .

It’s about vengeance . It’s about knowing your fucking place. ”

The betas were lapping up every word from Sugar, but the alphas were restless, their sour stench nauseating, like burnt orange peels.

“For Rurik, I have no doubt his place will be a shallow grave. And for his omega, Rain, his place will be curled up, safe and warm, in the arms of our queen. A spoiled pet for our spoiled omega.”

Ridley gasped, looking to where Rain still lay sound asleep sitting up, his head on Jensen’s thigh. Why was Sugar antagonizing all of them? Weren’t they taking this too far?

Ridley’s chest was painfully tight. Was this what it felt like to have a heart attack? He felt like he was having a heart attack. Or maybe a panic attack. This was really happening. He was about to sit on the sidelines and watch Titus kill a man for kicking Ridley in the face.

“Now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for!” Sugar hollered. “Let’s fight!”

An airhorn type buzzer sounded overhead just as Sugar exited the ring. Titus and Rurik began to circle each other.

Ridley made a low keening sound that he tried to stifle. “Is he really gonna kill him?”

Steele nodded. “Yeah, he really is.”

Ridley’s gaze was glued to his mate. “He’s so…calm.”

Steele was once more in Ridley’s personal space, his voice low as he explained, “We think of these alphas the same way they think of omegas. They’re not human. They’re a disease. We’re not killing people, we’re cutting out cancer before it spreads.”

Ridley’s lashes fluttered, as much from his words as his delivery.

Steele was such a mystery to him. The antithesis of easy, affable Diesel.

Diesel made sex dirty but fun. There was nothing off-limits, and Diesel would never judge him, no matter what he asked for.

He considered him a friend. What would Steele be like?

Would he be all quiet and intense? Would he boss Ridley around? Make him beg?

Sugar strode towards them, dropping the now off mic into Steele’s outstretched hand. Ridley yelped as Sugar suddenly scooped him up into his arms before sitting in his vacated seat, settling Ridley on his knees .

Ridley could have protested, but as soon as Sugar’s arms were around him, he didn’t want to.

He melted into the heat of the alpha, letting his spun sugar scent wash over him.

Fuck, the things he wanted this man to do to him.

Sugar had this…sensuality about him, like he wanted to savor everything in life.

Food…wine…Ridley. He liked doing, creating, using his hands.

They were practically strangers, but Ridley knew they would—eventually—be more.

The roaring of the crowd brought Ridley back to the fight at hand.

It was like they were high on excitement and bloodlust. Rurik wasted no time, charging at Titus with a snarl.

He swung a wild punch aimed at his jaw, but the alpha dodged effortlessly, stepping to the side with a calm precision that made Rurik’s aggression look almost comical.

Ridley squirmed in Sugar’s arms, his breath caught in his throat. “Come on, baby,” he whispered under his breath.

His brain ground to a halt. Had he just called Titus baby?

Oh, God.

Ridley turned his attention outward once more.

Titus’s expression remained unreadable, his stance loose, almost lazy, as if the other alpha wasn’t worth his effort.

Rurik snarled again, his frustration evident as he swung another wild punch—this time lower, aiming for Titus’s ribs.

But once more, Titus danced away, his footwork as precise and practiced as any professional dancer.

“Is Titus even trying?” Ridley hissed, his fingers digging into Sugar’s arms where they encircled his waist.

“He doesn’t need to,” Ryker murmured.

The crowd’s cheers began to shift, some booing Rurik for his obvious lack of skill, others calling out for blood.

Titus chose that moment to strike. With a single, calculated motion, he caught Rurik’s wrist mid-swing, twisting it behind his back.

The collective gasp from the crowd wasn’t enough to cover the sickening crunch of Rurik’s bones.

The other alpha’s howl echoed through the arena, but Titus didn’t let up.

He shoved Rurik face-first into the cage, the barbed wire biting into Rurik’s skin, tearing up his face.

Titus was saying something, but there was no way to hear over the crowd.

They were like sharks, smelling blood in the water.

“What is he doing?” Ridley asked. “Why doesn’t he just finish him off?”

“Gotta give ‘em a show, honey,” Sugar said. “That’s why they came. Rurik isn’t usually such a shit fighter, but he’s scared. Titus can smell it on him. He should have thrown some kind of scent blocker on. Rookie mistake on Rurik’s part. Or he’s just that cocky.”

“Hardly seems fair,” Ridley heard himself mutter.

“There’s nothing fair about these fights. If you’re stupid enough to provoke the alpha, you deserve whatever you get,” Ryker said.

Ridley swallowed hard as Titus grabbed the man by his now useless arm, dragging him to the entrance that was just before their seats, kicking the other alpha behind the knee to force him to kneel. “Beg for forgiveness and maybe the queen will let you live.”