As Darkness Falls by Riley Storm

Chapter Twenty

Look, I never said it was a smart plan.

In fact, it was an absolutely horrible plan. The instant Lars’s enforcers moved to intercept me, my grin disappeared from my face. These men were trained thugs and fighters. They regularly brawled with one another to improve their skills. This wasn’t anything like the boxing I’d done in the city.

That had been full of rules and a certain ethic, or code if you will. Don’t kick a person while they’re down. That school of thought didn’t exist here. There were no rules. It was simple: kill or be killed.

Oh, and there was one more difference. Back in Kellar, I’d been fighting humans. These men were all bound to be stronger than me. Maybe even faster. Aaron and his men might feel confident taking them on, one on one, but I should never have thought it a good idea.

Why did I not tell Aaron and his men to shoot them in the legs? Prevent pursuit without killing.

It was too late for that, though. There was no time to go back, no time to shout other orders. As I ducked the first fist that came flying at my head, there was only room for one thing.

To fight.

The hairy knuckle flashed by my face close enough that I could feel the rush of air as it passed. Angry at the intrusion into my personal space, I snuck past my attacker and donkey-kicked him in the knee. It wasn’t the most graceful of moves, but he grunted in pain and stumbled aside, which is what I wanted.

You’re mine, I mouthed to Lars, storming forward to get my hands on the Alpha, who so far hadn’t moved, a grin stretching his face as the battle occurred around us.

Something landed on my back, and I flung my hands forward as I was hauled to the ground. Instinctively, I started to roll, doing my best to prevent the attacker from getting a rear position on me. I’d learned early in my fighting career that unobstructed access to an opponent’s back is a great way to end—or lose if you were the victim—a fight quickly.

We hit the ground already spinning, and I crunched my stomach and sat up, jabbing two fingers into the enforcer’s eyes as hard as I could. He howled and yanked his head back, but not before my nails gouged him.

I dry-heaved at the feeling of eyeball slime on my fingers and flicked them at the next of Lars’s thugs to come toward me. The giant brute ignored the spray, reaching down to grasp me by the swimsuit and haul me up like I was a barbell, stretching the material enough that I thought it might be ripping between the legs.

“That fucking hurts, you asshole!” I shouted, awkwardly hauling back a fist and punching him in the face as hard as I could.

Both our faces went slack with shock, and a moment later, his eyes rolled back, and he started to fall backward.

My momentary glee at being free was interrupted as his fingers went limp.

“Crap,” I muttered as I was dropped from a height of five feet onto my back. I flailed like mad, trying to turn and land on my hands and knees.

Instead, I landed on my shoulder. My left arm immediately went numb, hanging limply at my side as I scrambled to my feet—

Just in time for my vision to explode with stars and pain as a fist clocked me square in the cheek. I didn’t know who it was that hit me, and it didn’t matter. It hurt. I reeled back and away, shaking my head to recover as everything swam in and out of focus for a few seconds before snapping back into place.

My first attacker was back on his feet, and he advanced on me. Behind him, I saw Aaron and his team throwing down. Vir, meanwhile, was holding Jo close to him with one hand while he fought off a pair of goons with the other, protecting my best friend while occupying some of the pack’s enforcers.

“Impressive, little one,” the shifter facing me said. “That was my hardest punch. You should be out cold.”

“Obviously, you’re not as strong as you think,” I growled, readying as he came at me.

“I am plenty strong. As you will find out,” he said, grinning wickedly.

“Why is it that you’re all creeps?” I complained, throwing an arm up in a block to direct the next punch away from my head instead of letting him hit me again. Getting my bell rung once was enough for me, thanks.

I ducked and avoided his blows until he got angry and hurled a haymaker of a right at me. The blow sailed past me harmlessly, far too slowly and telegraphed to be dangerous, and I went for his neck—

Only to jerk out of the way as his other arm swung around, an elbow flying through the space where my head would have been if I’d gone for the hold.

The haymaker had been a feint. I regarded him a little more warily now, trying my best to tune out the mayhem going on around us. One of the enforcers battling Vir was down, and Aaron was squaring off against a pair, but otherwise, the fight seemed even.

Except for Lars, who had yet to enter the dustup. He still stood at the foot of the stairs, watching everything happen with a smile on his face. A smile I desperately wanted to wipe off his ugly mug.

My glance at the fights had been brief, but it was enough for my opponent, and I saw my doom coming for me as I focused back on him. He gave me an uppercut that I had no chance of stopping.

The only thing I could do was attack. I threw myself forward, the blow losing momentum as it hit my stomach and ribcage. Pain blossomed from the impact, but I shrugged it off, knowing it was better than the alternative.

But my attack put me within his reach, and the enforcer took advantage of it. Giant arms wrapped around my midsection, and he hoisted me from the ground, squeezing tight. I gasped for breath as my ribcage creaked under the pressure.

“You’re mine now, little one.”

“That’s one thing you evil shits can’t seem to figure out,” I spat. “I belong to no one.”

Hauling my head back, I slammed it down into his face. His nose broke, and blood began to pour down his face.

“OW!” I howled. “That friggin hurt!”

Using that as a distraction, I reached down and managed to slip my arms between his. Then, I steadied and grunted, straining outward. At first, he just squeezed tighter, and I groaned in more pain.

“You lose,” he said, smirking.

Reaching into myself, I summoned every ounce of strength I could. Every bit of gusto and energy I could find in my body. I heaved and pushed my arms outward.

They moved.

I grinned as I felt myself begin to overpower him, his arms moving slightly away from me, releasing some of the pressure. The enforcer's eyebrows went up, and I set my face, staring directly into his plain brown eyes. I wanted him to watch. To know he was about to lose.

“Not possible,” he said a moment before I flung his arms out wide with a shriek, his grip failing.

“Believe it,” I snapped and, using that same burst of energy, drove my fist into his face.

The enforcer flew back five feet before his heels caught on the ground, and he slammed back onto the concrete patio. I stared at my fist. I should not have been able to do that. Where the hell had that strength come from?

Turning slowly, I found Lars staring at me with suspicion, forehead wrinkling between his brows. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one puzzled.

“How did you do that?” Lars hissed icily.

I shrugged, taking a step toward the Alpha. “Proper application of force, I guess.”

Lars didn’t think it was funny, but I was past caring. My body hummed with the adrenaline of the fight, and I was now almost face to face with the man who had sent a death squad after me, kidnapped my best friend, knocked me out twice, and still thought he was a good person.

It was time to show him otherwise.

“No matter,” Lars growled, reaching for his belt and pulling out an odd-looking dagger. “Time for you to die.”

I bared my teeth in a challenge and took a step toward him when Vir’s voice cracked out over the melee.

“Dani, watch out! He’s got the Blade!”