God of Strength (Light of Obsession #1)

Chapter 15

Alicia

I look around, wondering why I let Ava ever drag me into these situations. Apparently Landon is fighting someone in that fight-club-thing-place the guys always go to.

Getting a kick out of it too much, Ava always goes to support them and since she's bored of going alone she's dragged us all with her.

I stay close to Cecy as we wait for the announcer-guy to start speaking. Listen, don't judge me, okay? I don't frequent these places, I don't know what that guy is called.

Right on queue, the man tap on his microphone and begins to speak. First, he calls out Landon. Calling him fearsome, a devil in the ring before Landon emerges, Remi by his side, and steps into the ring.

      As the man begins to announce the guy from the Kings-U side, I get chills. The way he describes him, monstrous, terrifying, a demon. It's chilling. I turn my head to see the person come out, I expect to see Nikolai or Killian.

     But neither of them come out, someone else does.

     Vaughn steps into the ring.

Vaughn

     I flex my arms, loosening whatever knots might be in them. I'm a great fighter, one of the best. But Landon King isn't an easy hit.

     As the ref begins to count down, my eyes flit towards the crowd to find My Alicia staring up at me. Eyes wide and mouth slightly agape with horror.

      I still, momentarily lost as I stare at her. She looks as ethereal as ever. What the fuck is she doing here? My Alicia doesn't come to these places, fuck, I didn't tell her I'd be fighting.

     We've been doing so well these past 3 days, ever since My Alicia told me her truth. Now, she's going to think I'm hiding things. Fuck.

     A punch to my jaw snaps me out of my thoughts and I'm brought back to reality, I'm in a ring. There's no time to think. Landon tackles me to the ground and I block a punch that almost lands on my face.

     "Why are you staring at my cousin, asshole?" Landon sneers at me.

Shit. He noticed. Of course he noticed, the guy makes my blood boil but he's perceptive, I'll give him that. I grin at him, deciding to taunt.

"Just wondering how I could put those lips to good use." His face darkens at my taunt. I have to hold myself back from slapping myself, as if I'd ever speak of My Alicia in such a manner.

"I'm going to fucking kill you for that, Morozov." He grins viciously, and I push him off me, landing a punch on his stomach as I get up.

"You can try, and fail. Then, after I beat you, I'll get that little cousin of yours; devour her and fu-" I'm cut off by him charging at me, I dodge and charge at him.

We spend at least an hour goin at each other. Punch after punch after punch. Landon is going feral at me, clearly protective over My Alicia.

His desire to protect her just fuels my anger towards him more. Alicia is fucking mine. Her family have no say here.

The fight ends in a tie, both of us are bloody, bruised and tired. He sneers at me before stepping off the ring and I grin at him.

Stepping out the boxing ring, I glance back at My Alicia, she's in a heated conversation with her brother. I bring my ear closer to, trying to hear in.

"Eli-" She begins.

"No. you shouldn't be here." He affirms. "It's dangerous, Little Angel."

"I didn't want to be here, Ava dragged me. But even so! I'm not a little kid, I can handle myself here." She argues back.

"Alicia. These people- they're not who you're used to. Druggies, chaos junkies, they're horrible. I... I don't want anyone to do anything." Eli says, voice softer.

She sighs. "Yeah, I know."

"Come on, I'll take you to your dorm." He says, placing his hand on her back and leading her outside.

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I pace the empty hallway outside the fight club, my fists clenched as I replay the events from last night. Every punch Landon threw at me, every taunt I spat out—it all feels like a blur now, entirely overshadowed by the look on Alicia's face as I fought. The horror, the concern—it twists something deep inside me, and I can't shake the feeling that I've let her down.

When I called her after the fight, my heart raced—not from the adrenaline of the match, but from the anxiety of explaining myself to her. Not just telling her about the fight, but the monster lurking inside me that she doesn't know about.

She answered on the second ring, her voice soft but hinting at that underlying tension. "Vaughn? What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you. Please."

"What's there to talk about?" she whispered. The hurt in her tone cut deeper than any punch Landon had thrown. "You didn't tell me you were fighting. You know I hate this kind of stuff. You put yourself in danger, Vaughn!"

"I know," I said, struggling to keep my voice even. "But it's not just about the fighting. Alicia—"

"Don't. Just don't." She interrupted me, making my stomach churn. "You hid this from me, I don't deserve that!"

My chest tightened at her words, each one a dagger, and I felt my control slipping. "You don't understand what this world is like! I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping you away from it. Trying to keep you safe!"

"By lying to me?" she shot back, her voice rising. "By making me feel like I can't trust you? Is that what you really think of me? That I'm too weak to handle the truth?"

"No! Alicia, it's not like that!" I take a deep breath. "I thought it would make you hate me if you knew what I was doing. You don't deserve this."

"I don't deserve your secrets! I don't deserve to be kept in the dark! You say you care about me, but do you even see how this hurts me?"

I clenched my jaw, struggling to hold onto the anger fueling me. "I'm trying to protect you, damn it! I never wanted you to see me like this. The fighting, the darkness—I thought it would scare you away."

"I'm not afraid of you, Vaughn! How can you not see that?" Her voice cracked, a broken cadence threatening to shatter my resolve.

"I'm sorry, Kukolka, I'm so fucking sorry. I'll never keep anything from you again, I swear it. I just... I didn't want you to see me like that." I breathe out.

"I understand... just- Vaughn, I've been treated in a fragile way by my family my whole life. With you... the protection didn't feel suffocating." She sighs, her voice shaking. "Is this because of what I told you...?"

"No! No, not at all. Please, don't think that." I say, careful not to hurt her.

"Yes, right. Just... don't turn that protectiveness I love from you into something smothering... please?" She says.

"Absolutely, I'm so fucking sorry, Kukolka." My voice turns softer. "Can I come over? I'll cuddle you 'till you forgive me."

She breaths out a laugh. "Yeah, that sounds nice.

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A/N:
Next chapter is gonna be more wholesome I promise 😭😭
The one after that will be veryyyy juicy!!
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