4. Chapter 3

"Aziel, My Junkyard Dog returns. My undefeated champ," says Scorder or "The Lucky" as others call him.

He's a dragon, so he loves to hoard his winnings from these fights. There aren't a lot of money-making opportunities here in Purgatory, as one can imagine, but when there is, everyone shows up.

For instance, the fights at The Graveyard. Everyone in Purgatory comes to them. Either for entertainment or in hopes that they can be a winner so they can earn a few eerie. At least, that's what everyone in this fucking place calls the black matte coins with an avisseus on one side.

And Death on the other.

I growl in warning, wrapping my humanoid hand around Scorder's throat, and for the hell of it, I give it a good squeeze. "Do not." I seethe through tight teeth. "Call me a dog."

He gasps, slapping at my hand. "It is a compliment."

"Find another compliment or I'll kill you too, Scorder."

"So mean to the one who gets you closer to freedom."

I snarl, smashing him against a tree, then lean down until our noses almost touch. "Freedom seems hard to come by. I'm starting to think you're leading all of us on, so your hoard gets larger."

Releasing him, I take a step back, allowing him the space he needs to catch his breath.

He coughs, rubbing his throat. With every huff, sparks and smoke fly from his mouth in annoyance.

"I'm doing everyone a favor by allowing these fights. Everyone—" he rethinks his words. "Ehh, okay, not everyone because let's be realistic, in order to win, everyone else has to die. It isn't easy earning freedom from here, Aziel. Either fight for it or watch, resigning yourself to be here forever. Those are your choices."

I really fucking hate him because he isn't wrong.

Grunting, I dig into my bag and grab my mask. It's a skull from one of my first kills at The Graveyard. I don't know what creature he was. I didn't care to ask. He came at me with red eyes, antlers to the sky, and charged me in hopes of sinking those sharp points through my chest.

Luckily, I was stronger, quicker, and had much more experience in fighting to kill. I ripped his antlers from his head, broke his back, and watched as he faded from existence. All that was left in his wake were his bones, additions to the many others that pad our feet as we fight.

I grabbed his skull and decided it would be my shield, a way for me to be the killer I was with the warlock who cursed me. The skull allows me to sink into that headspace again, watching everything happen in front of me from the inside of the mask.

Scorder cracks his neck and smiles, spreading out his arms as if he is a showman. "How many fights do you think you have in you, Junkyard?"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, retreating to the killer I have been for most of my life. "As many as needed," I reply, my voice deepening while I push my humanity a little bit further inside myself. "And don't call me Junkyard. You better find a different name when announcing me."

"I've been calling you that all day in my head! That only gives me two minutes, Aziel."

"Then you better think better than you fuck, Scorder." I check to make sure the skull is secure on my face before heading to the ring.

There's already a good crowd forming, leaning against the bones that make the ribcage arena. It's a good size, enough to run around, back away, or fuck with your opponent. Scorder loves a show, and he expects every fighter to put one on.

The bleachers are made of dirt, piled to create different levels. Watchers are already filling the seats. So many different creatures are waiting to see who dies from existence. I'm not sure if that's sick and fucked up, or sad.

There's nothing else to do here in Purgatory but survive. Entertainment is few and far between these days. You have to take it when you can get it. Even if it means watching someone fade away from the universe.

I stop in my tracks when Elouise's scent teases my heart. This fucking place using her against me has me murderous. I narrow my eyes, searching the shadows of the trees, and the movements of the branches because maybe she's here in the darkness Purgatory casts.

I don't want that for her. I don't want her here, trapped, fighting for her life, and miserable. I want her happy in the real world. Purgatory isn't a place for someone as beautiful as Elouise. Her soul is too bright to be tainted by the evil Purgatory brings and creates.

Selfishly, I'd spend eternity here if it meant getting to hold her. Selflessly, Elouise deserves to be alive, laughing, and living in a world surrounded by life, not death. I want her to be in love with a mate. I want her to have children like she always talked about having. I want the life she dreamed for herself.

Even if it means I'm not a part of it.

"Fuck you, dog! I hope he rips your tail from your ass and fucks you with it."

I'm just about to open the cage where I wait to be called into the ring when I hear the person disrespecting me. My entire body tenses and I turn to look over my shoulder, noticing a man staring at me with black eyes and a hateful expression.

"Dogs like you deserve to be put down," he continues with a hiss.

I sniff the air, still inhaling Elouise, and if anything, that only pisses me off more because her scent should never be tainted by creatures like this guy. Facing him has me grinning behind my mask. He is bald, a burned symbol on the top of his head to show how he was banned from his pack and disgraced.

No pack would take him in with a mark like that. He must have done something truly unforgivable.

Which makes what I'm about to do so much easier.

A low growl thunders in my chest. I squat, then launch myself in the air, and land directly in front of him. My fist barrels into his throat, I snag his cervical spine and rip it out.

"Dogs like me don't get put down." I spit on his corpse before it fades away, leaving nothing but his bones behind.

His spinal cord is in my hand, giving me a morbid idea to attach it to Uri somehow. Weapons aren't allowed in the arena. It's body against body and whoever has the strongest, wins.

The crowd murmurs before most of the spectators slide from the dirt bleachers to make their way to Scorder.

They are placing their bets.

Scorder looks up at me, sending me a wink as he smiles and takes money from his audience.

Cracking my neck, I sneer, stomping back over to the cage. Bones crack under my weight with every step, the sky darkening even more as the trees move closer together to create a canopy.

Opening the door to the cage, the hinges creak, and I step inside, knowing damn well this could be the last fight of mine if I lose. Part of me thinks it wouldn't be so bad being wiped from the memory of the dimension I'm from.

Then, I think of my brother, of our new pack, our new Alpha taking a chance on us, and I know I can't do that to Anwyll. Thinking of the ones I love forgetting me is a different type of pain. It creates a void in my chest, one that fear creates and hope tries to fill.

Hope tells me I'll win this fight and I'll be a step closer to going home.

Fear tells me there is a good chance I'll die.

Then, there is Elouise, and wherever she is, whatever she is doing, whoever she is with, I don't want her to forget me. I want her to remember me in every detail and every moment of her life.

When she kisses another— I growl at the thought of another man's lips on hers— does she think of me? When she's lying in bed, waiting for something amazing to start her day, is she waiting for me? When she's outside looking at the stars, does she remember when we used to stargaze for hours some nights? Flirting, stealing touches, wishing things could be different.

Does she miss me when she thinks of me?

My heart slams against my chest, and I catch myself on the fence made of bone, curling my fingers from the need exploding in my chest.

I can barely breathe and when I try to inhale a deep breath, all I taste is Elouise. Her aroma sinks its way into my lungs. My head becomes dizzy. My cock thickens and I don't even try to hide my want or need.

Fuck.

This place is really getting the best of me.

I lean against the cage, grip the wall with both of my hands, and hang my head. My shoulders rise and fall as I try to regain my composure. My growls become louder. Saliva drips from my fangs. The hunger for blood coats my tongue.

And the need to claim her sends me over the edge.

That's impossible.

She isn't my mate. I would have known before, wouldn't I? Maybe I love her like Severide loved his mate who passed away.

I toss my head back and roar, releasing the pent-up energy, hoping somewhere, Elouise hears me. The bones rattle together from the vibrations of my howl.

Every breath that escapes me is loud and filled with fury. My claws extend and my muscles bulge as I change into my werewolf form. My cock jerks, a bead of liquid dripping from the slit and lands in the middle of someone's skull.

I probably killed them too and now their bones will be haunted by me.

Something about that turns me on even more.

"Hey, are you ready to fight? I have a cobra shifter that's getting antsy."

Scorder slaps me on the shoulder, his touch sends a rage of poison through my muscles. I whip my head to the right to look at him, eyes blazing amber, and he takes a step back.

"Don't fucking touch me," I warn, holding myself back from attacking him, from slicing my claws into his skin and feeling his warm blood drench my hands.

"What's going on? I've never seen you like this before a fight. Are you good?"

"This place is fucking with me. I'm fine. I just need a minute—" I growl again when I get a stronger whiff of Elouise's scent. I tilt my head back and groan, my orgasm threatening to explode from me. It's as if her scent is being stroked over every inch of my body, licking and sucking me in all the right places.

"Fucking hell. You can kill the guy just by swinging that—," he mumbles, looking to and from my cock.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Stop looking at my dick," I bite.

He scoffs, throwing his arm out in the direction of my cock. "It's literally right there. Get yourself together. It would be a little weird to fight for your life with an erection."

"You don't think I know that? You're very close to being my next kill if you don't leave me the fuck alone, Scorder."

He raises his hands in surrender. "I have a lot of money on you. Don't fuck this up for me because your mind is somewhere else."

I growl, taking a step in his direction. "Don't threaten me. It won't end well for you."

He has to look up at me to meet my eyes, a bead of sweat threatening to fall from his temple. "Just win this fight, Ripper."

"I always win." The fog of needing Elouise fades with her scent. I'm able to take a deep breath to right my mind and body.

I unhook the straps that hold Uri and place it on the bench. "I'm ready," I tell Scorder, staring at my opponent across the ring.

The annoying menace slaps his hands together, rubbing them like an evil villain. His eyes morph into swirling rings of fire, smoke billowing from his nose like a chimney.

"You better fight for your existence." He opens the cage door, stepping into the ring, and raises his hands in the air to get the crowd going.

They scream in excitement, drumming the bones with sticks or stones, anything they have brought to sound the alarm.

When Scorder gets in the middle of the arena, he blows a ring of fire around himself. The flames are tall, nearly covering the betting man in the middle of The Graveyard.

The crowd chants his name, " Scor-der. Scor-der. Scor-der."

A microphone is lowered in the middle, the cord made from an elephant shifter's trunk, and the mic itself is made from a mocking horned goat. The horns naturally enhance voices.

Mocking horned goats mimic everything you do and say. I've killed a few for meat while being in Purgatory and that damn goat had me believing I was about to kill myself.

I hate the bastards.

"Welcome to The Graveyard!" Scorder announces, throwing a ball of fire into the air. The flames hit the edge of the ribcage, shocking the crowd from the fire getting so close to them, yet they cheer for more. "Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you all being here. When the fog comes, you all never disappoint to show up!"

The creatures shout victoriously as if they are doing Scorder a favor. He could sell fake gold to his own kind and live to tell the tale.

"To the left, we have a deadly opponent. He slithers when you aren't looking. He'll strike when you least expect it. He will crush your body with his form and swallow you whole. Make some noise for Crusher, our cobra shifter!"

The crowd goes wild, shaking the cage or drumming the bones. Roars echo, fueling my werewolf.

"And to the right, we have our champion. Ten times in a row he has fought for his existence and won!"

Instead of cheers, I get silence, and I tilt my head down, grabbing the fence made of vertebrae, and snarl.

"He's massive for a werewolf. Standing just above ten feet tall, weighing in at one thousand one hundred pounds, a beast no one would ever dare to go up against. A creature with fangs that would rip you in half before you had a moment to think. A monster so vicious, that not even I would risk my life. Please give a loud welcome for the one, the only… Ripper," Scorder bellows, throwing his arm out to my cage.

I roar, letting him know I'm ready.

He speaks into the horn one last time. "Opponents, you know the rule. Fight—"

The crowd finishes his slogan, shouting, "—For your existence!"

The microphone is reeled up and away from Scorder. The cages automatically swing open to reveal the arena and I take a step forward, standing tall on my hind legs.

"Good luck," he whispers to me like he always does as he runs by me.

I plant my feet in the pit of bones. Femurs, skulls, and ribs crunch under my weight. I spread my arms out, stare at my opponent, and roar so loud, that the dead under me rattle.

Crusher slithers out of his cage, hissing at me. The hood behind his head expands wide, giving the illusion that he is bigger. His forked tongue flicks out, his pupils turning to slits.

My humanity fades, ceasing to exist, and all that is left is rage.

Rage for losing my mind. Rage for what I've done to my brother. Rage for Elouise.

So much fury for a love that will never know how much it deserves to be had.

Nothing else matters but killing.

And if I'm not careful, I'll kill everyone at the arena. Without hesitation. Without regret.

I'll turn and walk away drenched in their blood.

Crusher slithers around me, his scales dry and cracked. A few spots are raw and bleeding causing me to wonder how long he has been in Purgatory fighting for his life.

I have no mercy or empathy for beings I do not love. I find they take too much out of the little I have left of my soul.

And I will protect the bit that is left because that is saved for Elouise. I refuse to let anyone take that from me.

If it's between me and him, it will be him who dies.

I look around, eyeing the crowd, letting the energy rush over me. Closing my eyes, I listen to the threat. He is fast but loud, and that's the only leverage I need to have.

He strikes again and I lean to the right, missing the heavy weight of his tail. Crusher slashes his arms out in front of him, hoping his claws scratch the expanse of my chest.

Two fingers manage to dig into my flesh, slicing me from my right shoulder to my left hip.

Roaring, I leap into the air and land on his back, dragging my claws down until five long grooves spill blood. The snake hisses in agony, his tail wrapping around my torso. He tightens the hold, constricting me until I can't breathe.

He grins thinking he has the upper hand.

Leaning down, I sink my teeth into his tail, biting down until I feel my bottom row of teeth clink against my top. I rip the chunk from his body and spit it out, allowing the blood to stain my fur and drip down my chin.

He screeches, tossing me through the air. I smack against the ribcage of the arena, and it knocks the breath out of me. I roll to my stomach, lifting myself on all fours, circling Crusher.

Blood pools under what is left of his tail. The color from his skin fades but the anger becomes brighter in his eyes, spilling onto me like molten lava. He can't flick his tail anymore so he has to count on his upper body.

Slashing his body through the air, his mouth opens to swallow me whole. Catching his jaws in time, my right hand grips the top while the left holds onto the bottom, spreading his jowls wide. My entire body shakes, every muscle working harder than they ever have to beat the snake's strength.

He inches closer, the stench of his breath swaying the fur on my cheek.

Then the scent of the one I love possesses my body when I inhale, fueling me to end this fight. The thought of her, her beauty, her soft fucking skin against mine, her smile, gives me everything I need.

I rip his head in two with a howl so loud, I wouldn't be surprised if my brother could hear me on the other side. I keep hold of the top half of his head while his body drops to the bed of my victories before him.

Blood drenches me and with shaky hands, I snap his fang from his mouth before Purgatory takes everything but his bones from him, wiping Crusher from existence.

I gasp for air, staring at what's left of my trophy. Raising the fang in the air, the crowd cheers for my win and Scorder runs to me with a big smile on his face.

The microphone lowers again for him. "Creatures and Creaturess', I give you your champion! He has earned fifty eeries and the last location of the avisseus."

I roll my eyes at the last part. Every time he gives me a clue, it leads me nowhere. I will take the eeries and go to Purgatory Pins to grab a beer though.

I allow the attention, slowly analyzing the crowd and waving every so often in appreciation.

Elouise's scent becomes overwhelming. Automatically, I search for her in the dirt bleachers, even though I know she isn't there. The uncontrollable need to have her debilitates me.

"Here." He hands me my winnings. "Meet me in my office in a few minutes for that location, Ripper." He winks, staring at the fang in my hand.

"I thought we had more fights after this one?"

"The others backed out," he grins, then shakes his finger at me. "And there will always be other fights."

I don't say anything as I walk away, my mind becoming a tangled mess. The crowd's murmurs blur together, my vision darkens around the edges, and her fucking scent becomes stronger.

It's as if she's right next to me, her cheek leaning against my shoulder, her giggles sounding in my ears, her breath tickling the fur on my arm, and her eyes peer up at me, golden as the sun.

With a frustrated grunt, I strap Uri onto my shoulder, wanting to get this blood off me and catch some sleep, maybe then Purgatory will give my heart a rest from playing tricks on me.

"Aw, we missed the fight!" a deep yet feminine voice pouts from the distance.

"It's okay, Iggy. There's always next time."

Elouise.

And that's what ruins any control I have on my beast. Hearing her voice so close sends me spiraling into the same madness that got me here in the first place.

I fall to all fours and run towards the sweet melody of the song I've only heard in my dreams for the last fifteen years.