Haven

Humbled

"I guess I should be flattered," Kaden drawled. "You going to all this trouble for little old me."

They were circling each other. Each giving the other a wide birth, stalking around the outside edges of the ring Thrane's men had formed around them.

"Oh, but you're very special, aren't you? The heir to the Griffith pack. The de facto heir to the Lemaistre pack. The son of Christopher Griffith and Heather Lemaistre, the grandson of the great Geraud Lemaitre."

"You did your reading. Now I feel bad, never having heard of you before."

"I suppose we're not as much for showmanship, out east. More substance than style."

"Says the guy who's dressed like he's going to prom."

"Point taken. But of course, we're getting away from the point of exercise. Aren't we? So, unless you'd like for me to go another round with your friends..." Thrane trailed off, and cocked his head toward Shilah and Mutt.

"Don't waste your time." Kaden unsheathed his claws. His eyes flashed red, and he dug his feet into the ground. "You want me? You've got me."

And then he pounced, blowing up a cloud of dust behind him. He lashed out with his claws, cast a wide arc around. Thrane swept under it, and caught him by the front of the shirt. He dragged Kaden down, drove his knee into his face, then brought his fists up over his head and clubbed him in the back of the neck.

Kaden dropped to his hands and his knees. About half a second to catch his breath, and he was back on his face, launching at him again with a flurry of strikes. Each one, Thrane deftly avoided or swatted off, until he caught Kaden by the cheek and bashed him headlong into the car door-- Hard enough that the car shook all the way down to its' foundations.

Thrane's hand slid up into his hair, he drew his head back, and slammed it into the car door again. And again. And again. Kaden gritted his teeth and braced for each impact, even as his vision swam.

"You fight like a wild animal," Thrane taunted. "No plan, no skill. Just pure-" Again, he hammered his head into the car door. Kaden could taste blood. "Brute-" Again. "Force."

When he let go of his hair, Kaden wound his arm through the driver's side window to help keep himself standing. His breathing was ragged, and his legs shook.

"Is this really all you've got?" Thrane continued. "This was the wunderkind Ronan was so worried about?"

Kaden gripped down on the door handle. He looked up. "H-Hey... Thrane..."

Thrane looked back at him, his lips curled into an unpleasant smile. "Oh, you're not done yet?"

In response, Kaden surged forward. He ripped the door clean off its' hinges, swung it around like an axe, and clocked Thrane hard enough to launch him fifteen feet backwards into the garage door. His goons practically dove out of the way when he went flying by. 

"Let's see you... plan for that... Asshole..."

Again, Kaden charged. Lifted the car door up over his head, and brought it down like a hammer on Thrane's prone body. But the blonde caught it about halfway down, blocking it with his forearms and deflecting it back up.

Thrane's eyes lowed icy blue, and his snarling grin threatened to split his face in half. His muscles strained beneath his clothes, fur sprouting out from his cheeks like mutton chop sideburns.

Thrane lunged forward, and Kaden used the car door to block him off, slamming him back against the garage door. Through the window, Kaden hammered him in the stomach twice with his knee. When he went in for a third knee, Thrane used the opportunity to catch him off balance and rip the car door away. He dug it into the garage door. Kaden sprang back to his feet, and lunged again.

Thrane caught him by the outstretched arm, jerked him around, and flung him into a pair of his buddies.  Each one grabbed him by the arm, and forced him down to his knees, even as he jerked around and fought to try and get free.  Thrane pressed his foot down onto Kaden's shoulder, until there was a sickening crack.

Kaden felt a dizzying white-hot surge of pain shoot through his shoulder, and down his arm. He slumped forward, but Thrane's goons kept him hoisted up by the arms. 

"Like I said: A wild beast." Thrane ground the heel of his boot into Kaden's shoulder, and he bit down on his tongue to stop himself screaming out in pain. "One who just needed to be broken in."

"Fuck you," Kaden snarled.

Thrane gestured at his cronies, and they threw Kaden forward. He tried to throw his arms out to catch himself, but one of them wasn't working. Instead, he tumbled sideways to the asphalt. Thrane caught him by the wrist on his bad arm, and jerked him back up.

Kaden didn't scream.

Even as his head pulsed, and his vision swam, and his body screamed in protest every time he was made to move, Kaden refused to scream out. He wouldn't give Thrane the satisfaction.

Thrane jerked up on his arm hard, and Kaden felt a scream trembling up through him, but he bit down harder than ever. It came out as a low groan. "Ready to call it a match yet, boy?"

Kaden looked up at the older wolf's blurred outline. He grinned a bloody glasgow smile, and shook his head. Thrane taunted him again, "What, you still want more?"

Kaden spat out some blood at him. With a disgusted snort, Thrane finally dropped him. "You aren't even worth that much effort."

As his face collided with the pavement again, Kaden let his mouth fall open and his his eyes close. His shoulder throbbed. His brain screamed at him to do something. To get up. To move. To fight. But his body wouldn't respond.

"What happens to him next is up to you," He heard Thrane say to his cronies.

Then footsteps approaching. And the last thing he felt before he blacked out was a steeltoe boot to the side of his face.