Scarred Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance #7) - Brenda Trim Page 0,93

business here, warrior?” he asked, glancing at the tattoo on Gerrick’s forearm that clearly marked him as a Dark Warrior.

“Santiago invited us,” Gerrick responded. “Is he here?”

The male nodded to the interior of the barn. “Yeah. He’s fighting in ring three.”

“Thanks.” Gerrick was shocked as he entered the infamous fight club. What the hell was Santi doing here, of all places? Gerrick pushed his way through the crowd and pulled Shae close to his side. He wasn’t letting her go far.

No one paid any attention as they made their way to the inner circle. The outside may have appeared rundown, but the inside was anything but. Where he expected a dirt floor he found it was concrete. In the center of the open space were four rings that you would typically see at a boxing match with the padded floor and ropes. And, there were fighters in each one.

The crowd roared as one of the males in the closest ring flew into the ropes. Blood flew from his mouth and he shifted into a leopard before he landed on the mat. The other male bared his fangs and crouched ready to catch the rapidly approaching animal.

Gerrick glanced at Shae and noticed that the sight of the leopard sinking its teeth into the vampire’s side transfixed her as it shook its huge head back and forth. He lifted his head and a chunk of flesh was dangling from its jaw. “I knew this place existed, but we didn’t know of its location. Zander is going to be pissed,” he observed absently.

The copper scent of blood overwhelmed the air, but the injury didn’t stop the vampire. Gerrick scanned the other rings for Santiago and tugged Shae with him when he found him a couple rings over.

The fervor of the crowd agitated Gerrick. These people were slavering for bloodshed. They were drinking and egging on the fights. He noticed several males walking around exchanging money with some of the spectators. They were betting on this shit, he thought, incredulous. And, the females were just as involved as the males.

He stopped a few feet away from where Santiago fought. Santi was vicious as he double-tapped his opponent’s face, making blood spurt from his nose. They danced around one another, landing blows every now and then. Santi looked like he was barely breaking a sweat as he danced around the ring. Where he had a small cut to his lower lip, the other male was beat to shit, wounded and bleeding.

Gerrick felt Shae lean forward and he glanced over. She was perched on her tiptoes, her eyes lit with excitement. She was glued to the sight. In fact, he sensed her anticipation through their bond, as well as, the relief. She believed this was the answer she was looking for. She wanted to beat the shit out of an innocent in hopes of ridding her demons. Over his dead fucking body was he going to allow that to happen. He knew her well enough to know that she may want that now, but she would never forgive herself if she hurt someone.

He glanced back to Santiago and watched as Santi half-shifted into his wolf, claws extended from his fingertips and sliced through the male’s stomach. He fell to his knees and a referee jumped into the middle of the ring, lifting Santi’s hand into the air and proclaiming him the winner. Gerrick wondered how far his friend would have gone if there hadn’t been a referee.

As a Dark Warrior, Gerrick was no stranger to fighting and violence. Hell, his life was filled with death and destruction. Difference was he didn’t go out and beat on someone for no reason. He eliminated evil in an attempt to protect humans and the realm. What he was witnessing bordered on slaughter. Being a Dark Warrior and human cop, Santi had an unfair advantage. This wasn’t what they were about. In fact, it went against the oath they had taken.

Gerrick didn’t see the appeal of any of it. It reminded him of human cock-fighting. The illegal activity pit animals against one another and what his fellow warrior was engaging in was no better. Worst of all, it was activities like this that placed the realm in the most danger of being discovered.

Gerrick turned and began walking to the exit, but Shae didn’t budge. Snarling, he had her arm in his grip a second later. “We’re leaving, now.”

“Go ahead. I’m not leaving. I need to talk to Santiago and ask