To death or victory (which ever comes first)

Throw me to the Wolves

Carter's POV
Jay taught me tricks to end a fight quickly and efficiently. With a few flourishes here and there. Better fight, more entertaining to watch, no death required.
I've been in the gym training ever day. It gets a little awkward, since my fights and training times are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Men's fights and training times are all the others days of the week. My next fight is tomorrow, Wednesday, so today I'm surrounded by guys. Anyway.
I'm crazy ready for this. I'll show Marky.
*******************
It's Wednesday, and I'm ready. I can see Marky looking at me suspiciously, and I think he knows that I have some extra tricks up my sleeves.
Jay's trying to pep talk me, but it isn't working. I'm fucking nervous. How's this gonna go down?
I slowly enter the ring and face my opponent. As scared a I feel, she looks about twenty times worse. I just hope she doesn't hurl all over the mat.
We take our stances and get ready. I hear the whistle blow. And we start.
If I'm being honest, it wasn't much of a fight.
She went down fast and hard after I landed a hard blow to the side of her face with my foot.
She was done right about then, but I kept going with light punches meant more for show than anything else. They looked real, but I always stopped short and never hit her.
The ref pulls me away, and I'm declared victor. But there's no applause.
A man calls out from the crowd.
"Eh Marky! I thought ya said she'd finisher 'er! What the hell bitch! I paid for blood!!!" A few more stand up and start to chant, calling for blood.
Marky gets in the ring.
"Settle down folks. You'll all be reimbursed and get all your cash back. This fighter" he held up my arm. "Will be removed from our gym." I gasp. He can't do this. Not to me. His star fighter.
The crowd starts to disperse, probably to get back their money, and Marky turns to me.
"I lost two fighters tonight thanks to you, ya bitch. What the fuck! Why can't you just do what you're fucking told to do!" He practically screams at me. Jay's running towards us, probably to make sure I'm okay, but I barely notice.
"I told you, I'm not a fucking killer!! You have dirty fighters, and murderous fighters, and I'm neither of those." I shout back.
"I told you I'd just kick you out, but that was when you were still a somewhat respectful bitch. Now, you're not going anywhere else either. You're going to the Wolves." He finishes proudly.
Shit.
I guess I should explain the Wolves. They're a gang who's leader is an old associate of Marky's. Anytime a fighter messes up real bad, he hands them over to the vicious group and they kill them. Usually by ripping them apart. Hence 'the Wolves.'
"No! Please, Marky let her just leave! She didn't do anything!" Jay yells. Knowing him, Jay'll probably run at Marky and try to fight him, but Marky's a pretty big guy. And Jay's a pretty small guy. I can't let that happen.
"Bye Jay. Be good. Look after Axel and Night. I love you." I tell him.
His eyes water, and I know he knows that I don't want him to fight.
"I love you too Carter. Goodbye." His voice breaks at the end, but I still understand.
"Enough with all of this sentimental shit. Let's go Lightning." Marky growls.
"One more thing Marky." I say softly.
"What is it? The Wolves are waiting."
"If you throw me to the Wolves, just remember that someday I'll be back leading the pack." I say confidently.
He just laughed at me, and hit me hard on the back of the head.
Everything went black.
*****************
When I woke up, there was a woman with green-blue hair standing over me. Her skin was pale, her features small, and her eyes a soft brown, but she was wearing a leather jacket and badass black boots and jeans. And I knew what she was.
A Wolf.
"Eh Joke! She's up!!" The woman called out. She sent a jagger smile my way.
"How's your head Hun? Marky gave ya a pretty good hit." She asks.
"I'm Sky. Nice to meet you..."
"Carter." I say. I'm not sure why she's asking my name, or why I told her, since I'll probably be dead by her hands soon.
"Is that a birth name or fighter name?" Sky asks.
"Birth. My fighting name is...well, was Lightning." At that time, a short figure walks in.
They straighten up, and I see his face.
There's some stubble on his cheeks, which told me he was a man. Otherwise I might not have known. His face is small and feminine, and his frame is only a little bigger than mine. He's probably only 5'6. Not much bigger than me. His hair is jet black, like his eyes, and his skin is an average tone.
"Joke. This is Carter. Carter, this is Joke. Our 'Alpha' Wolf." Sky says sarcastically. Joke laughs humorously.
"Are you going to kill me? 'Cause if you are, I'd really rather just get on with it." I spit out.
Joke and Sky both look surprised.
"Kill you? Why would we...oh. Is this one of Marky's old fighters?" Joke asks Sky. She nods.
"Carter, we don't kill people. We help them. If they need a new identity, or a new home. Sure, we rob stores and have fights with other gangs sometimes, in which case yes, some people do occasionally die, but we don't straight up murder people. I told Marky that's what we do, so he'd send his 'misbehaving' fighters here and we could help them. He never a sees them again, so he believes me." Joke explains.
"No way. And you fooled Marky this whole time?" I ask.
"How smart do you think Marky is? I'll give you a hint. Not very." Says Sky. Joke laughs, and I join in, just a little.
"So, I can live?" I double check.
"Yes. The only fighters of Marky's we've ever killed were people who had killed in the ring and would kill us if they could. You aren't overly violent, for a fighter." Joke says softly.
"Now, you have two options. We can get you a new identity, change your appearance and check in on you occasionally. But you'll have to leave here, move cross-country and never contact family or friends ever again." All my hope disappears as Joke speaks. I was hoping to find Jay again.
"Option two. Stay with us. Become a Wolf, and make a new family."
It doesn't even take a second for me to decide.
"I'll join you." I answer.
Joke grins and Sky pumps her fist in the air.
"Sky," Joke says. "Ask Stitch to start making a jacket for our newest member."
"What's her Wolf name Joke? For the jacket and so I can introduce her to the others." Sky asked eagerly.
Joke studies me.
"Carter is no longer your name. We'll change your appearance tomorrow, but by then, you'll have forgotten Carter. You're now Zero."
**********
And here we have an example of a strange plot twist. I never planned for this to happen, but it seemed like a cool idea.
-Rhiannon