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.To avoid just that, he walked in front of Ashland, leading the way.Now that theywere inside, he let the werewolf pace him, all the way to the cage where Murphy waitedfor them. Dan! Murphy called out, waving him over.Stoltz sauntered over, acting as if hedidn t even care if the big werewolf followed him.He greeted a few of the regulars,who stared at Ashland. Get that big-ass werewolf over here and let s see what he cando.Stoltz grinned.Leave it to Murphy to be sure to garner everyone s attention.WEREWOLF FIGHT LEAGUE: ASHLAND | 57Ashland wore only his sandals and a small towel wrapped around his waist, andit barely covered his ass, cock, and balls.Stoltz looked around.All eyes were on hisman.Thank God, Ashland knew how to make an entrance.Murphy called over his werewolf, standing nearby. Leif, this is Ashland.You twowill spar today.Go easy on him, Leif; don t hurt him.Leif, a large Swede, grinned and held out his hand. Nice to meet you, Ashland.Let s go.Show me what you ve got.Ashland nodded as they shook. You too, Leif. He made no excuses, and Stoltzwas proud of him for that.Both men stripped and tossed their towels onto the chairs.ASH FOLLOWED AS Leif led the way to the cage, up the short steps to the raisedoctagon, and through the door.He pointed to the other side of the cage. That s yourcorner.Stoltz came to the side and stood next to Murphy. Let s let them fool around a bit,get used to each other.He nodded. Leif! No shifting yet.The big blond nodded back to him as Ashland took his place.Ash raised his handto show he d heard and understood.Murphy rang the bell, and both men startedtoward the center of the cage.Eyeing each other, they moved around, circling, arms up and ready for contact,their feet cautiously stepping to avoid getting tangled up.Leif made the first move, charging across the space toward Ashland.Ashlandleaped to the side, holding out his arm, and clotheslined Leif.The big man fellbackward and hit the floor.Stoltz cheered.Murphy groaned. Come on, Leif!Leif got to his feet, rubbing his ass. Okay, wolf.No more nice guy.58 | LYNN LORENZAshland grinned. Bring it on.Fuck easy. No easy here in this cage. Leif kicked out, landing a blow on Ashland s thigh.He stumbled but stayed upright and spun away, out of reach.Ashland danced a bit, then came in with a series of rapid punches to Leif s middle,and ended it with an uppercut that rocked Leif backward.His hand hurt like hell, butthe feel of bare knuckles on jaw thrilled him.This was what he d been bred for, and thejoy of fighting sang in his blood.Leif regained his balance, but Ashland came in low, scooping him up andthrowing him flat on his back.Leaping on top, he grabbed one leg and twisted Leif sarm backward.His opponent fought back and, with a hard shove off the floor, smacked Ash inthe head as he flipped over, and landed on top of Ash. Pin him! Murphy shouted. Come on, Ash! Buck him off! Stoltz added.Ash struggled to obey, grunting asLeif rained hard blows to his kidneys.Blood from the gash he d bitten in his lip floodedinto his mouth, and he spit to clear it before it choked him.Leif lifted Ash up, slipped his arm around Ash s neck, and leaned back.Ash sspine bent, shooting pain down his legs, but the hurt fled as his opponent cut off hisbreathing.Leif was the superior fighter due to his experience and conditioning.Ash knew it,but he refused to believe it or give up.He gasped, sucking in what little air he could,but his vision blurred, and he knew he d pass out in a few moments.He was beaten.A roar welled up in his chest but found no air to ride, and it diedwhere it started.Blood pounded in his head, his ears burning, face on fire, as Leifsqueezed even tighter.Stoltz s face faded, sharpened, faded again&WEREWOLF FIGHT LEAGUE: ASHLAND | 59STOLTZ KNEW THAT was it.Ashland couldn t break the hold, and if he didn ttap out, Leif would only tighten even more until Ashland passed out.Stubborn damnedwolf. Tap out, Ash! he ordered.Ashland grunted, his eyes wild, and Stoltz wondered if the man could hear him.He d seen werewolves go deep inside themselves, and for a moment, he felt Ashland onthe verge of shifting.How could he know that? They d only been master and slave for a short time,nowhere near long enough to form any bond, much less one where he knew when hiswerewolf would change.Mates knew that, not owners.Especially not new owners.Leif wouldn t expect the shift, and without some control over Ashland, once he dshifted, Stoltz was afraid he d do damage to the other man.They hadn t tried shiftingbefore, hadn t even talked about it, but both fighters had to be controlled once theyshifted.Otherwise, it was a fucking dogfight.Werewolves couldn t talk once shifted, and they often couldn t understand ordersin the heat of the fight.Only mates spoke to them in shifted form.It was what madegood mates great fighters, that mental communication.Sparring partners usually didn t shift unless someone nearby controlled them.Sometimes it was another werewolf, but rarely the owner.Stoltz knew Murphy did itwith some of his, like Leif, but only years after they d formed a strong bond of trust.Ash vibrated with the need to shift.Now or never.Stoltz wrapped his fingers in the steel mesh of the cage, closed his eyes, andreached out to Ashland in his mind [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]