Gravity (Dark Anomaly #1) - Marina Simcoe Page 0,72

over his chest.

“Yes.”

“Well, you’re too late, I’m already the captain.”

It surprised me that Crux wouldn’t jump at the chance to fight. He seemed to be the one who would welcome any opportunity for aggression. I wondered if he felt intimidated by Vrateus, despite the errock’s obvious size advantage.

“You’re not.” Vrateus shook his head. “I’m still here. And I challenge you to fight for the title if you want to keep it.” He spread his arms wide, slowly turning around the room. “What say you, the dwellers of the Dark Anomaly? Do you want to watch me fight Crux for the chance to be your leader once again?”

Crux twitched uneasily.

“He’d force you to work again!” he yelled quickly. “He’d lock up the wine and make you fight under his rules. He’d forbid you to eat whatever and whoever you want!”

He said all of that as if those were all bad things. How could forbidding them from eating each other be viewed as a negative?

It boggled my mind.

“I will bring order and discipline back,” Vrateus said, loud enough for his voice to carry across the entire room. “With me, you will never have to worry about running out of food or wine. We’ll always have lights on and enough oxygen to breathe. If you follow my rules, you will not have to fear for your life or your safety.”

Now, these promises sounded appealing to me. The males, however, didn’t jump at his words. They weren’t rallying behind Crux either, which was better than nothing.

“Do you want to see a fight?” Vrateus knew his people better than I did, for they all perked up at that opportunity. Even some of those who had appeared to be corpses piled up by the walls stirred, coming to life. “No rules. The winner becomes the one true captain, with no further challenges from the loser.”

This sounded really good if Vrateus won. It he lost however...I dreaded to think what it would mean for him. For us.

A swell of approving screams and roars rolled from wall to wall. Everyone seemed to be eager to watch a brutal battle with no rules.

I kept my guard up, making sure no one would jump in, in their excitement. Everyone seemed impatient for the fight to start—many might want to join in themselves.

“No weapons.” Crux moved into the center of the room, finally accepting the challenge. “I’ll rip you to pieces with my bare hands.”

I stepped closer to a wall.

“No weapons.” Vrateus nodded, backing up to me. Tearing his shirt off over his head, he unbuckled the gun holsters from his thighs and forearms then the dagger’s sheath from his chest, tossing them all on the floor at my feet.

With a brief encouraging smile for me, he walked to the center of the room.

Broad-shouldered and bronze-skinned, he moved with grace and efficiency.

This was the first time I’d seen Vrateus without his shirt, I realized.

The wide strip of white fur peppered with gray and black on his head and nape continued down between his shoulder blades, thinning into a narrow trail along his spine that disappeared into his pants. The fur on his forearms tapered at his elbows, leaving his upper arms and shoulders bare from it.

Three long, rugged scars ran across his left side, parallel to each other. They must have been left by a set of claws some time ago. A crescent of small round scars on his right shoulder could have been from fangs and teeth.

Strangely, seeing the scars on his body gave me some encouragement. They were a reminder that Vrateus was a survivor. He had fought for his life ever since he was a little boy. I had to trust his skills and his abilities.

Still, my heart ached at the sight of him next to the massive form of Crux when they stood facing each other. Whereas Vrateus looked strong and tall, wired with thick ropes of well-defined muscles, Crux was a mountain of hard flesh, capable of crushing a person to death under one of his enormous fists.

“You’re dead, captain.” Crux smirked. “As will be the female when I’m done with her.”

“We’ll see—”

Crux didn’t let him finish, rushing him without waiting for the signal to start.

No rules.

I tightened my grip on the gun, my hands slick with sweat.

Leaping aside, Vrateus narrowly escaped being knocked off his feet by Crux. Leaner than the errock, Vrateus was faster on his feet, too. Though Crux still showed some unexpected agility for his size. He landed a blow on Vrateus’s