C3 CHAPTER TWO: FIRST FIGHT

Ma’Heron ended his thoughts with a short, irritated sigh. “Damn, those warriors are no gossip at all. I’ve been here for an hour already and haven’t gotten anything. Is it possible that it’s just a thing that Van der Meer is planning without anyone knowing?” he muttered even lower than a whisper.

“Oh, by the way, did you hear about the wedding?” one of the warriors casually said.

Wedding? It would make sense. Finally, some pointers! Yes! Keep talking and tell me all about it!

But that was the last thing he heard.

Out of nowhere, a strong sweeping kick threw him, butt first, to the ground with his chest painfully throbbing where his attacker had connected solidly.

Fuck! How come I didn’t even smell that coming!?

His enemy wasn’t talking. Wearing a camouflage bodysuit like his, her slim, curvaceous, tempting figure distracted him for a moment.

Oh wow! I want to play with her! Look how beautiful she is, M!

Lyon was once again talking to him.

“Damn it, this is not the right moment for you to appreciate how seductive she is. She’s attacking us, and we need to fight!”

Seductive, huh? Oh, and there’s no way in hell that I’ll fight her. You’re on your own, Bro!

“What the hell!? Lyon, are you resentful because of what we talked about before?” But the answer was silence.

She was charging at him once again, and he only had time for a couple of quick dodges before quickly getting up to start fighting her off. Her face was covered, and she even wore a hoodie hiding even a glimpse of her hair. Meanwhile, he still couldn’t understand why he couldn’t smell her, even if she was right in front of him.

“Lyon! Why can’t I smell her? Are you playing tricks on me? Damn it wolf, you’re gonna get us killed!”

She managed to connect three continuous hits on him - a solid punch to his throat, a strong double kick to his eight pack - adding to his disoriented state due to what was happening.

Why is my body responding to her in this weird way? I can even feel… Seriously? A hard-on? Right now?!

He finally connected one punch to her abdomen. She visibly flinched, but that didn’t slow her down much. He had to do better, and his body kept resisting to fight her. But it was not just that…

She was a skilled fighter and a more than worthy opponent. And she being lighter and faster than him was getting him beaten badly. If this was a training gig, even a damned sparring session, which was the typical routine at the packhouse, he would have challenged her then.

Even admired her…

But the way his body was reacting, and how his wolf had seemingly abandoned him?

He knew he was in trouble.

She threw a punch to his face, and he finally managed to catch her fist with both hands and perform a Ushiro-Goshi hold on her, slamming her hard against the ground and taking the air out of her lungs.

While she remained motionless, recovering from his attack, he grabbed all his belongings and sprinted away as fast as he could from the area. He would have chosen to turn, but his wolf was still unreachable.

Meanwhile, the unknown woman finally managed to sit on the ground, still hardly breathing while taking her mask off. The warriors came running after hearing the end of the commotion and helped her up.

“Are you ok, Miss Alexia?” one of the warriors asked.

“Yes Hans, don’t worry, I am. Whoever he was, he didn’t harm me.”

“Did you recognize him?”

“No, it could have been a curious, lost human, but I’m sure he won’t come back.”

It doesn’t matter if you run, she thought. I saw your face. I know who you are, and I will find you… Mate.

* * *

M was in the shower, removing all the dirt, sweat, and blood he got from the fight, and was getting ready to be laughed at as he presented his report. He was still yelling at Lyon, who still refused to talk.

Why wasn’t my body responding, Lyon? Tell me what the hell did you do to me? Since when do we have a problem defending ourselves from a battle? Even if she is a freaking skilled warrior, what the hell just happened?

His muscled body was bruised and the cuts he got were quickly healing, but they were all still burning as the steamy water from the shower hit them. He found himself hissing in pain, but his wounded pride was smarting even more than his physical wounds. And he was unloading his fury on his still-silent wolf.

And can you tell me why the fuck did we get a hard-on in the middle of a fight!? I DEMAND THAT YOU ANSWER ME LYON!

OK, you wanna know? Good, then. Let me show you what your own senses refused to recognize.

Suddenly a sweet fragrance, like honeydew and lemongrass, came to him.

What the hell?

Memories of her invaded his thoughts. He allowed himself to be immersed in his internal visions, more attentive to her moves and reactions this time.

She wasn’t a warrior, or she would have alerted the others, even if she could single-handedly take us down. She belonged to that pack, M. There was no other reason for her to attack.

At some point, especially after her first kick, she could have easily taken control of the situation, even knocked me out, taken me in for interrogation, since I didn’t even notice she was there… and this… Lyon, are you telling me that this is her smell?

Damn, Ma’Heron, I’m seriously surprised. You’re deductive and smart in any situation but with this one… tsk, tsk, tsk. Remember what I said when we were arguing? The last thing I said?

Yes, you said you wouldn’t let me know when we found our… Slow, man… too slow.

Oh damn, Lyon… that’s why you refused to fight her!

And your own body and senses reacted to her, but your brain couldn’t process it. Funny how your brain is stupid, but your heart isn’t.

“Holy fuck! I found my mate…”

It took him about half of an hour to realize that he was still in the shower. And still thinking of her…