“
Yes,
”
Tony
agreed
,
pulling his sweatshirt off over his head. Then I had an idea.
“
If just my hands shift, can you do the same?
”
I asked
.
“
I
t doesn
’
t seem fair if just my hands shift in the heat of the moment and you fully shift into a wolf or third form.
”
“
You can
’
t just shift your hands
.
”
Tony
sneered
at me.
“
That
’
s not possible.
”
“
Oh, but it is, Tony. Maybe you should be more careful who you challenge from now
on
.
”
I
gave him a smirk. Let him stew as to whether I really could or not.
“
Just answer the question.
”
“
No, if your hands shift and I cannot shift just my hands, I fight in human form until you change into a form I can as well.
”
“
Oh goodie, this is going to be fun then
,
”
I
goaded,
rolling my neck and loosening up.
Tony was about my size and build, but I
’
d had years upon years of martial arts and FBI training. I was pretty sure he was used to picking on people who didn
’
t have that or relying on his gained strength from being a
l
ycanthrope.
“
I
t
wouldn
’
t be fair if you
changed your hands when I can
’
t.
”
He started coming toward me, not strutting so confidently.
His voice was strong when he said it, but I saw the fear in his eyes.
“
Too bad, so sad
,
”
I
taunted
as we started to circle one another
, the rest of the pack backing away from us to give us enough room to fight
. I was intentionally trying to piss him off. People who f
ou
ght with anger were sloppy, making them much easier to take down.
“
Again, maybe you should have thought of that before you challenged me. You want to yield?
”
“
Never,
”
he growled
, his body
shaking with anger.
“
If he shifts while you
’
re in human form, he automatically forfeits,
”
I heard someone shout off from the side. I
’
d have to remember to thank them later for that.
“
I like how feisty you are,
”
Tony snarled
.
Then his tone softened and he wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“
M
akes it more fun in bed.
”
“
We just said there would be no more of that, dipshit,
”
I replied.
“
Only
if
the female is dumb enough to say they have a problem with it.
”
“
Hello! I
’
m the one who said she had a problem with it
.
Y
ou really aren
’
t that br
i
ght, are you, Tony?
”
That seemed to be what was needed to set him off. Tony lunged for me
.
E
ven with his
supernatural
sp
eed
,
I was able to sidestep him, rolling to the ground before coming back up on my feet. He threw a punch with his right hand that I easily blocked then swept his legs out from under him with my right leg.
Tony landed hard on his ass as I smiled down on him, dancing on the balls of my feet
just a few feet from where he sat
.
He sprang up at me
,
and I timed it out
to land a roundhouse
kick
hard on the side of his head. Going down like a rock, he shook his head before standing back up slowly.
I noticed he had a small cut on the side of his head where my foot had made contact, but it had already begun to heal.
He took a couple of shaky steps toward me
,
and I hit him with a
punch to the
left in the face and a right upper cut.
He was back on his ass after the second punch.
“
Stay down, Tony
,
”
I
warned him,
dancing back away from him.
“
Don
’
t make me have to really hurt you.
”
“
Never
!
”
h
e
exclaimed
, making me realize he wouldn
’
t quit unless I knocked him out.
Coming at me again, I landed a beautiful shot to his solar
plexus
with my left hand before giving him
my right hook. That time he went down and didn
’
t get back up. I bent over him and checked his pulse. It was strong and steady
.
H
e was just out for the count.
“
Are we done with the games now?
”
I asked
,
turning back to the
Alpha
.
“
I win. Where was Tony ranked in the pack?
”
“
Under me,
”
another man
informed me as he stepped forward
.
“
And I won
’
t have a woman dominate me.
”
“
I
’
m not trying to dominate anyone,
”
I screamed in frustration.
“
You guys are the ones making it all about dominance!
And you just said I was
under
you anyways. So I
’
d have to challenge
you
to show I wanted to be dominate. Which I
’
m not. So you
’
re an idiot.
”
Maybe not the best thing to say right then but fuck it, they were pissing me off. And while I
’
d said my piece
,
I knew I
’
d still end up fighting him anyway.
I really didn
’
t see the guy going,
okay, that
’
s logical
and backing down.
“
You questioned our
Alpha
and our ways of life,
”
he yelled at me.
“
Not as a now member of this pack,
”
I answered.
“
I wasn
’
t questioning the
Alpha
of the pack. I was trying to question Joseph Engle, a person of interest in my investigation. That
’
s my job.
”
“
I, Roe Smith, challenge you
,
”
h
e
stated
,
completely ignoring what I had just said. Didn
’
t any of these guys get it? Fine they had pack rules and laws,
but
they didn
’
t supersede
human law.
“
Don
’
t I at least get a break between fights or anything?
”
I asked
,
rolling my eyes.
“
Doesn
’
t really seem fair if I
’
m getting tired from fighting and have to keep fighting people who are
fresh and at full strength.
”
“
You can defer any challenges for a day after accepting one
,
”
t
he
Alpha
explained
,
looking me over
curiously
as if he just realized I wasn
’
t going to be some pushover. I swear the egos on some men. What
,
just because I had breasts meant that
I would just nod my head an
d smile with anything they said?
“
Let me ask this,
”
I said to Joseph.
“
Who
’
s next in li
n
e after Roe here?
”
“
I am,
”
yet another man
called out,
stepping forward.
“
My name is Riley Greyson.
”
“
Hi, Riley,
”
I replied
,
moving to shake his hand. Upon touching him, I was flo
o
ded
with images. Riley had been the one to warn me about if Tony shifted before I did, that it was a forfeit. It also seemed that Riley had been working his way up in the pack to fight exactly what I was against. When I realized that, I gave him a big smile.
“
Thanks for the help earlier.
”
“
No problem
.
”
He gave me a wink.
“
And to answer the question you are going to ask, no, I won
’
t be challenging you after Roe. I have no problem acknowledging your dominance over me if you win, since we seem to want the same things.
”
“
I appreciate that. We
’
ll have to talk later, Riley.
”
“
Looking forward to it
.
”
H
e smiled as he let go of my hand and moved away.
“
Fine, I accept your challenge, Roe
,
”
I
sighed
,
turning back to him.
When I had thought about all the worst case scenarios of coming here tonight, how things were turning out was worse.
“
But then I
’
m done for the night. The rest will have to wait until another time to play with me.
”
“
If you win that is,
”
he sneered
,
moving toward me.
“
Wait, one second
.
”
I seem
ed
to take everyone by surprise. I walked over to where my jacket and holster w
ere
on the ground. A young woman was standing by my stuff
.
I assumed
she was
watching it for me
, so I gave her a kind smile before
I took the other gun out of the back of my jeans and laid it down on my jacket. Then I took out my wallet and cell phone and handed it to her
asking
,
“
W
ould you mind holding these for me?
”
“
Not at all,
”
she answered
,
looking at me with eyes
whose prominent sadness made me want to help her in any way I could
. If I had to guess, she was one of the females that had been bested and forced to mate.
“
If
you put your number in my phone
,
”
I lean
ed
in and whisper
ed
as I pretended to play with my phone.
“
I can call you later and we can talk away from all of this.
”
She nodded but didn
’
t say anything since I had my back to the crowd so they couldn
’
t see my lips. But she was facing them, even if I blocked most of her. That was smart of her, no reason to take a chance.
I handed over my cell phone then turned back to Roe.