“You’ll soon see why,” Raph added, and a curl of dread snaked up Ian’s spine.
Watts raised his hand again, letting it drop as he yelled, “Fight!” and the room erupted with noise.
The word had barely left Watts’s lips before Jesse shot across the mat, slamming into Peter as they met in the middle. They moved so quickly—each trying to get the upper hand—Ian struggled to keep up. He could only imagine what it looked like to human eyes. Blood tainted the air as they bit and scratched at any part they could reach. It didn’t have the same pull that spilt human blood did, but Ian still felt an ache inside and he clung onto to the bench for all he was worth.
With a roar, Peter reared back, blood streaming from a gash to his neck. Jesse sprung at him, teeth bared, but Peter darted forward, grabbing Jesse’s arm and throwing him against the glass with so much force, Ian expected it to shatter on impact.
It held firm, smeared with Jesse’s blood, and Ian understood why they needed the cage.
Jesse fell to the floor, and Peter was on him before he had chance to get back on his feet.
Ian swore under his breath, but Jesse whipped Peter’s feet out from under him, his head hitting the floor with a loud crack. It only stunned him for a second or two, but it gave Jesse enough time to get up. Blood covered the lower half of Jesse’s jaw, staining the neck of his T-shirt, but Ian didn’t know if it was his or Peter’s.
He tried to check for other injuries, but Peter barrelled into him again, sending them both tumbling into the far wall. A loud crack filled the room—loud to Ian’s ears anyway—and Jesse’s anguished cry followed it.
Ian was on the edge of his seat trying to see what had happened, but Peter had him pinned the floor.
“He broke his leg,” Raph hissed, and Ian felt the world slow around him.
Come on, Jesse.
Peter couldn’t fucking win.
As if hearing his thoughts, Jesse’s yell filled the room and Peter flew backwards into the far corner.
Yes.
Jesse shot to his feet, but Ian noticed only a slight limp as he raced over to Peter. Jesus they healed quickly. The wound on Peter’s neck had closed too. Leaning into Raph, he whispered, “How the fuck is Jesse supposed to kill him if they heal so fast?”
“He needs to go for the throat,” Raph said, not taking his eyes of the fight. “Or rip his head off. Either will do it.”
Ian turned and stared at him, but Raph didn’t say anything else. Fuck, he wasn’t kidding.
They fought non-stop, wounds healing almost as soon as they were inflicted.
“Fuck this.” Watts stood and approached the glass.
Ian watched, slightly horrified, as he threw two six-inch daggers over the top. “Can he do that?” he hissed, not daring to look away as Jesse and Peter split apart to dive at the daggers.
Ralph frowned. “It’s not the old way, but like he said, there are no rules.”
Peter reached his first, but Jesse was only moments behind him. They circled each other, both looking for a way in. Ian wanted to hold his breath, wanted to feel his heart pound, and the fact that he couldn’t unnerved him even more. His fangs had dropped down at the first drop of blood, but he ignored them, focusing solely and Jesse, wishing he could make him win by will alone.
“Come on,” Raph breathed, the first outward sign that he was worried. Raising his voice, he whispered, “He killed Callum, Jesse. And Ian. Finish him.”
Like a switch had been flipped, Jesse’s face hardened into such a look of pure hatred it made Ian flinch back.
Peter saw it, and his answering smirk made Jesse growl. “You think you can kill me, Jesse?”
Jesse shot forward, knife slicing at Peter’s throat, but he danced out of the way, the blade barely grazing the skin.
“You’ll need to do better than that.” Peter lunged at him, catching Jesse across the shoulder, but Jesse barely reacted, shrugging it off as though swatting a fly.
“So will you.”
And so it went on.
Blood filled the air with each cut and slash, until Ian’s head began to swim with it. He caught himself licking his lips every few minutes and had never been so thankful for the iron and silver keeping him in check. Not to mention Raph and Liam sandwiching him in place.
