A few years younger than me, I never really got to know them, though they worshiped Bane. There's nothing kind about how they're staring us down now as we cross the distance to shake hands before the match begins. The one across from me looks particularly pissed off.
"Saw you get your ass kicked last time." Bastard tries crushing my hand in his grip during what should be a friendly handshake.
"Hope you enjoyed the show." That won't be happening again.
"It sucked," he spits out. "I put money on you, thought a Blackwood would know how to fight."
Okay then. We retreat to our separate sides, and it isn't long before the fight begins and the brother with a grudge against me gets back in my face.
"You cost me 200 bucks last time," he snarls, spittle flying from his lips. "Gonna make you pay."
"You’re forgetting something.” I grin. “I’m not alone this time."
When he feels a tap on his shoulder, he whirls around, fearing a sneak attack from behind. Instead of Marlow, a tiny gargoyle hovers above the fighter's head.
"What's up?" Iggy waves down cheerfully at the man.
His momentary distraction is all the opening I need. As he turns back, I'm already moving. My fist connects hard with his jaw, and he staggers while the crowd roars approval. He shakes his head, trying to clear the stars dancing in his vision.
The other Stanley brother barrels towards Marlow. But just as the burly wolf shifter reaches the demon, his body shifts, turning ethereal and incorporeal. The brother passes right through him.
“Hey, that worked,” Marlow calls to me with an excited thumbs up.
I pitched the idea of him changing his human body to spirit form, but he left something out. “You didn’t tell me there was a chance it wouldn’t work!”
"I was being positive and trusting. This was the first time I tried it."
"Oh my god, you—”
"No time to praise my amazing skills," Marlow says. "We’ve got a fight to win."
And no time to scold him for not practicing beforehand either.
The Stanley brothers regroup, coming together for strength in numbers. Marlow and I do the same. We circle each other, and I bounce on my feet, waiting for an opening.
It’s so different from the last time I was here. There's no pressure to win and impress someone this time. We decided to go after the prize money since it’ll be a while until I’m ready to start working cases. I’m not even nervous. My mate and I have faced tougher challenges than this. I’m actually enjoying myself and having fun.
“You all grew up in the same pack, right?” Marlow chats as he moves with me. “Are you guys all friends? Did you have puppy piles and run through fields of daisies together when you were growing up or whatever it is that little werewolves do?”
The Stanley brothers’ faces twist in annoyance. The taller one sneers, “Fuck no.”
“Wynn’s always been the runt of the Iron Pack litter,” the other adds.
I arch an eyebrow, not offended in the least. “They’re not my biggest fans, but they love Bane.”
“Bane? Oh, Bane and I are like this.” He crosses his fingers, enjoying ribbing them even more as he tells a shameless lie. Somewhere across town, Bane must be recoiling in disgust without knowing why.
"Hey, Bane says hi," Marlow calls out. "Just kidding. He actually doesn't remember you two at all."
The taller one takes the bait. "Screw you. We grew up in the same pack. Of course he remembers us."
Now that he's on my side, it's pretty entertaining to watch Marlow be himself at other people.
"Wait, now I recognize you. You’re the ones who Bane said were the sorriest excuses for wolves he’d ever seen. Werewolves? More like why-wolves—”
I see an opening. The chaos of the arena fades into the background as my focus narrows in on the smaller Stanley brother. He’s quick to notice me charging and scrambles to raise his arms defensively, but I’m not aiming to punch him. I drop low, sweeping my leg out in an arc that catches him cleanly at the ankles.
His feet leave the ground, and he goes down, crashing onto the hard-packed dirt of the arena. Bane's complained enough times about them never planting their feet. Guess that hasn’t changed.
