Taking Down the Alpha

29 Good Fight

I watched as if in slow motion as Brent's fist made contact with my mate's jaw. The sound of the blow couldn't be heard over the fevered roaring of the crowd, but I could imagine the terrible reverberations.

For a split second it was almost like Al hung suspended, but then he dropped like a stone, crumbling to the mat. My hands flew over my mouth to hold in my whimper, and I had to fight my wolf who was trying to push out and rush forward towards him.

The ref got between the fighters and stopped Brent from continuing his attacks. The same ringside doctor who had helped us the night we were attack came rushing in and got down on the mat beside Al. At the same time, Al stirred and pushed himself up into a seated position. The doctor checked Al's eyes, and then Al got up to his feet, slightly unsteadily but without assistance.

Then the announcer shouted, "Brent Force Trauma wins by knockout!" The ref held up Brent's arm in triumph.

The crowd roared, but I was no longer interested in the outcome of the fight, my wolf crawling inside me frantically. I just wanted to get to Al and make sure that he was going to be alright. My mate seemed in no rush though, turning to Brent and exchanging a few words. He slapped him on the back, before exiting the ring and heading towards the exit, waving at a few screaming fans on his way out. Monroe walked beside him, saying something I couldn't make out across the clamour.

I unthinkingly stood up and followed in the direction they were walking. Annoyingly, without the magic of Denise's charm and Liana's vulnerability, people just kept getting in my way as I tried to work my way through the crowd. It wasn't personal, but the delay set me on edge, especially once I lost sight of Alard and Munroe as they left the arena.

I didn't want to make a huge detour, so I darted down the same direction they had gone, the same way we had tried to get back there before I had met Alard. I still didn't know if I was allowed to, but I cared even less about the rules this time since I probably had a right to be there. No one even seemed to notice my passage until the security guard who had stopped me the first time spotted me. But this time he only nodded as I strode forward. Seemed my identity in relation to Alard was known to the staff.

I caught up to the two of them as they walked down the hall towards his room. As the roar of the crowd faded and I neared the pair, I could hear their conversation and it all revolved around the fight my mate had just lost. I could also smell the lingering scent of his blood which stressed me out.

"I already knew it, but damn, Brent's a powerhouse," Alard said to Munroe. He didn't sound confused or disoriented, so hopefully the blow to his head hadn't done any serious damage. I still didn't like the blood though.

"It was a good fight, Alard. You looked great out there. Next year's going to be your year, I can sense it."

Then Alard noticed me coming up behind him and abruptly stopped and turned around. His smile made all my lingering anxiety fade away, even though the side of his face was still puffy, and there was drying blood on the other side. "Jess! I've missed you."

"Me too," I said and I jogged the rest of the distance between us. Ignoring the mess on his skin, I wrapped my arms around him. "You got hurt." It sounded more like an accusation than I meant it to, but I didn't like it.

He chuckled, apparently not bothered about my tone. "Not too bad."

"He knocked you out!"

He shrugged. "That is one of the risks."

Munroe scoffed. "Alard will need a while to recover, but he'll be fine."

"I've got a hard head," he agreed.

I frowned as I looked him over more critically. Besides his head, he was bleeding in more places than I cared to count. My poor mate.

"Don't worry so much. I don't look much worse than Brent did. He just got that one lucky shot."