into an Open Ring and really fight for their lives. Never had to stand strong in a world determined to kill them.
Long ago, Talyn had learned to find pleasure in pain. And in true Andarion War Hauk fashion, fights invigorated him. Made him stronger. More determined. Nothing lit a fire in his ass quicker than someone trying to hold him back or beat him down.
Bring it with everything you have, bitch.
Nothing and no one would ever get the best of him.
As he went to dress out, his thoughts turned to Felicia and her gentle kindness during lunch.
She wanted to see him again. That thought warmed him in spite of his foul mood.
While he had a warrior’s heart, she did bring an unfathomable peace to his soul. If he had to get his ass kicked, he couldn’t think of a better reason than to protect her from bastards like his CO.
Best of all, she didn’t appear to look at him like other Andarions did. Sometimes, she even seemed to enjoy his company. That was all he wanted in this life. Someone who could be with him and not resent or hate him for a birth he couldn’t help.
But first he had to deal with Anatole and whatever Vested moron thought he could beat down the Iron Hammer.
Irritated by the bullshit, Talyn ground his teeth. Yes, he’d changed one thing in his life by bringing Felicia into it. But so far, everything else he’d tried had failed.
There has to be another way out of this.
Some way to get Anatole and the rest of them off his back. Yeah, kill the bastard.
Simple.
The trick was to get Anatole into that Ring and unleash all the hatred Talyn kept locked inside himself. Yet so far, Anatole had wisely refused.
One day, though…
He was going to find Anatole’s weakness, and when he did, he planned to hand-deliver Anatole’s soul to their gods.
Chapter 3
“Reporters aren’t allowed back here. You’ll have —”
“It’s okay, Erix. She’s with me.”
Felicia looked past the huge, fierce bald male in front of her to see Talyn sitting on a dilapidated bench in the run-down dressing room. This was so not what she’d envisioned for a champion’s prefight area.
Her smile faded as she realized the other male with him was in the process of covering horrible bruises on Talyn’s body. “Did I miss the fight? I thought it didn’t start for another half hour.”
A tic started in Erix’s jaw as he returned to Talyn’s side to wrap his hands so that Talyn couldn’t use his claws in the fight to scar his opponent. “It doesn’t. This is from his CO.”
Felicia scowled. “I don’t understand.”
Talyn laughed wryly. “Anatole bets against me.”
“And has his bastard goons beat the shit out of the boy whenever he has a fight coming, to handicap him.”
She felt sick over the news.
Talyn brushed his wrapped hand lightly against her cheek and offered her a bashful smile. “It’s all right. Pain’s my best friend. Just makes me that much more determined to watch him cry like a bitch when he loses his pay.” Dropping his hand, he sucked his breath in sharply as his manager touched a particularly nasty bruise on his back.
“Here,” she said, pushing the male aside. “Let me.”
Ferrick arched a brow.
She met his manager’s sneer without flinching. “I’m a licensed physical therapist and med student. I can help him.”
Talyn took her hand and placed it against his cheek. An Andarion gesture of extreme affection. “Ferrick and Erix, meet my Felicia.”
Ferrick moved away so that she could take over. “He has limited mobility on his right arm. If you could loosen the muscles there, we’d all be grateful.”
“Is there a table he can lie down on?”
Erix gestured past the lockers. “In back.”
She gently tugged for Talyn to follow her to it. “Can’t you delay the fight?”
He shook his head. “Only for death or military orders. Anything else is a forfeit.” He hesitated at the table. “Face down?”
“Yes.” She waited for him to lie down before she gently touched his back to evaluate what all had been done to him. It was even worse than it appeared. “Oh, Talyn.” She wanted to weep at how badly he’d been beaten already. And he hadn’t even stepped into the Ring yet.
“Really, it’s okay, Felicia. Believe me, this isn’t the worst ass-kicking I’ve had. And those were just from my mom for failure to put the toilet seat down at night.”
She rolled her eyes at his offbeat humor. Given his immense size and muscle tone,