CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Slapping her hands to her head, Casey gritted her teeth as the Seals went wild. Like seriously wild. Honestly, you’d have thought they’d won the game, not merely scored a goal. But then, they probably believed it wouldn’t be so hard at this moment to—at the very least—equalize.

Casey glanced at her teammates, all of whom seemed varying degrees of anxious. Yeah, they knew the Seals could still win this game if they really threw themselves into it. As such, she’d expected the goal to fuck with her team’s positivity. It didn’t. In fact, they played even more aggressively than before.

As time ticked by and the Seals didn’t score again, the bitches began to get desperate. Careless. Reckless. They again committed fouls left, right, and center. And they weren’t even being subtle about it. The ref dished out more than five yellow cards.

During the final minute of the game, Casey swiftly dribbled the ball downfield, ready to pass it to her teammate … when Sherryl careened into her out of fucking nowhere. Casey landed hard on her arm, felt as something broke. Pain radiated up her limb, and her stomach curdled so badly she thought she’d vomit.

Cradling her arm, Casey sat upright and kept her head bowed as she breathed through the pain. Just as when she’d broken her ankle, her teammates crowded her while also yelling at Sherryl and demanding that the ref act.

Boos and outraged yells came from the bleachers. Casey just knew one of the people raging would be Eli. She could feel his fury.

Just as furious, her mink was going insane. It didn’t care for rules; couldn’t give a sliver of a fuck that it would affect the team if Casey retaliated. The mink wanted Sherryl to suffer, bleed, and cry out in pain.

Later, Casey promised her mink. They’d get to that later.

Dennis hunkered down beside her. “That’s it, breathe nice and slow.” He checked out her arm. “Broken,” he told Donahue and the ref.

“I gotta sit on the bench, I know,” said Casey. “But something better be done about what just happened, because that was personal, and we all know it.”

The ref didn’t comment. Just spun and disappeared into the crowd.

As Dennis touched her shoulder, his healing energy flowed through her, fixing the break and tackling the other wounds and turf burns. Her arm continued to throb with pain, but she still pushed to her feet … just in time to see the ref thrust a red card into the air. She smiled.

Sherry lost her shit in a spectacular fashion—screeching, swearing, and raving at the ref. Casey’s teammates saluted or grinned at her as she walked off the field with Dennis. The injury had hurt like a motherfucker, but the pain was worth it if it meant Sherryl got sent off the field. She just hadn’t been able to resist fouling Casey, had she?

Casey smiled as she saw Eli waiting for her on the sidelines—hell, he’d moved fast. Every muscle in her body sore and tight with exhaustion, she melted against him and gratefully took the bottle of water he held out.

“You okay? I wanted to kill that fucking bitch,” he hissed, easing her onto the bench as if she were fragile.

“Dennis healed me, I’m fine.” She guzzled down water, her throat unbelievably raw. “Look, they’ve added four minutes of extra time. Damn.”

Anything could happen in four minutes. Hell, she’d seen teams win during extra time. As such, she was a nervous wreck as she watched the two teams play. Aside from the player who’d substituted Casey, the Hounds were tired. They were also on their guard, though.

The Seals … it was like they’d just given up. Like every one of them mentally checked out. None tried to even create an opportunity to score, and they made little effort to intercept the ball.

Still, it wasn’t until the whistle sounded, signaling the end of the game, that Casey stopped chewing on her finger. “Fuck me, we won,” she whispered, so stunned that it took a moment for elation to settle in.

Eli hugged her tight. “Congrats, baby, you and your team fucking did it. Get out there, celebrate with them.”

So she did. There were hugs, high fives, and butt pats. Some of the Seals shook hands with them, but most shot glares at any Hound that came too close.

Laughing with Emma, Casey headed back to the benches where Eli waited for her. She was sore. Tired. Sweaty. Hungry. Just wanted to get washed and dressed so she could go home and let him cook her a meal and fuss over her the way he liked. But that wouldn’t happen yet because—

Her instincts screamed at her. Casey sharply moved sideways, evading Sherryl as the bitch leaped at her. “The fuck?”

Planting her feet, Sherryl pointed at the ground, her eyes blazing. “You. Me. Right now.”

Emma gaped at Sherryl. “You’re really gonna throw down here? Seriously?”

“Hmm, someone’s a little bitter that they lost, huh?” muttered Kristin.

Sherryl ignored them; her attention was firmly on Casey. “Well, Frost?”

“Not here,” Casey told her. “Outside the headquarters.”

“Here,” Sherryl hissed.

“You really want the entire stadium to watch me smack the shit out of you?” It was an appealing thought, but the turf was sacred to her team; Casey wouldn’t sully it with this shit.

“No. I want them to watch while I rip you apart.” Sherryl stepped forward, her fists clenched. Her eyes slid to something over Casey’s shoulder, and her mouth set into a bitter twist. “Oh, look, your wolf is here. Touching. Just make sure his wolf-friends don’t get any ideas like jumping in to save you.”

One of the Seals reached out to touch her arm. “Sherryl, you—”

“Back off!” Sherryl snarled at the female. Her gaze sliced back to Casey. “Do you accept the challenge?”

“Oh, it’s accepted,” said Casey, conscious that Eli now stood behind her. “But I won’t do this on the field.”

Sherryl’s upper lip curled back. “Bitch—”

“Outside,” declared Adrian, entering the circle. “You’ll do it outside the headquarters.”

Sherryl whirled on him. “I want—”

“Outside,” the Alpha growled, baring his teeth at the female.“Don’t expect me to care what the fuck you want.”

Eyes flickering, Sherryl turned away from him. “Let’s do this, Casey.” She pivoted on her heel and then stormed off the field and into the building with her teammates hot on her heels.

Casey walked at a slower pace with Eli at her side, wanting to give the pain from her healed injuries a chance to fade away. Certain spots on her body still burned and throbbed, and pain streaked up the back of her leg each time she put weight on it. Worse, her arm still ached as if it were broken, but she’d fought in the past while inworse agony than this.

No one spoke as she and Eli stalked through the headquarters with Adrian, Clare, Donahue, and the Hounds close behind them. Stepping outside, Casey saw that the Seals had formed a circle around Sherryl. Eli’s pack mates and allies were also there, and they all looked ready to commit murder.

As Casey and Eli reached the edge of the circle, he turned to her and said, “You’re not going to take her down fast, are you?”

Hell, no. “I warned her that I’d shit fury all over her ass.”

Approval flashed in his eyes. “Then go do exactly that.”

Madisyn sidled up to her. “Don’t worry about the Seals jumping to her defense—we’ll make sure they stay out of it.”

“If they don’t, my teammates will jump in, so you’ll have company.”

“Hey, Frost, we gonna do this or what?” Sherryl called out, cocky and eager.

“Wow,” said Madisyn. “The bitch really thinks she stands a chance of winning, doesn’t she?”

“Sherryl hasn’t been thinking clearly for a while.” Casey gave Eli a too-quick smile. “See you soon.” She strode into the circle, adrenaline pulsing through her body, and met Sherryl’s glare head-on.

Sherryl stood tall with her chest thrust out, clenching and unclenching her hands, looking mighty confident. “About time you joined me. I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind.”

Casey didn’t respond. She just stood solidly with her shoulders back and her expression neutral. Her sore muscles threatened to tighten from the tension, but she kept them loose and relaxed, even as her very spirit seemed coiled to strike.

Her mink stood very still, bracing herself to shift and pounce if needed. The animal didn’t like being surrounded by so many, but she wasn’t worried. No, she was confident that Casey could take their opponent down.

Sherryl grinned. “Shame Miles couldn’t be here for this.”

Oh, Casey was so gonna enjoy smacking the shit out of this heifer. It wasn’t just about the injury Sherryl had caused her on the field. This bitch had stabbed her in the back countless times. She’d tried to kiss Eli and play dumb games with him, hoping to drive a wedge between him and Casey. She’d hurt Casey’s cousin and, in doing so, almost wrecked Mallory’s relationship with Preston just because she could. Worse, she’d hurt Miles so badly he’d literally unraveled.

Was Sherryl to blame for his drug addiction? No. But she’d convinced him that he could trust, confide in, and count on her. And then she’d shit all over him.

“Speaking of your brother … I always intended to dump him, you know,” said Sherryl. “The plan was to hurt you through him. And it worked.”

Fury blazed through Casey. Sherryl had faked caring for him just as surely as she’d faked being a friend to Casey. “You didn’t expect to really grow to care for him, though, did you?” Just as Preston hadn’t expected to care for Mallory. The difference was that Preston had stayed with Mallory and built something with her. Sherryl had walked away from Miles.

“Your brother’s a nice guy and a sweet fuck, but he’s not ‘mate’ material. I told him that right before I tossed his latent ass out of my home. Hey, it’s not nice to snarl. Save that for the duel. I suppose we should begin that now.”

“Works for me.”

“I can see that you think you have this in the bag,” said Sherryl, a smirk playing around the edges of her mouth. “But since joining my new pack, I’ve been put through enforcer training. I’m faster and stronger than I used to be.”

“How awesome for you.”

Sherryl twisted her mouth. “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you … do you have to work hard at being a hoe, or does it just come naturally to you?”

Oh, she thought she could get Casey to rush at her in anger? How dumb. “I’d probably find that insulting if I cared about your opinion but, yeah, I just don’t.”

“Your problem is that you think you’re—”

Casey snapped out her fist and punched the bitch hard in the jaw, making Sherryl’s head snap to the side. “Yep, that felt as good as I thought it would.” Casey exploded into action. She went at Sherryl from each angle with her fists, knees, feet, and elbows. She fought with everything in her—always did. It was just her way.

She put raw power behind every strike and mercilessly targeted every weak spot. She didn’t want to fight Sherryl, didn’t want to merely neutralize her. She wanted to make her hurt. Badly.

Having sparred with her in the past, Casey had gotten a good sense of her strength. Sherryl hadn’t been lying when she said that she was stronger and faster now. Hell, yeah, she’d learned some good moves. She’d also learned some dirty moves, and she didn’t hesitate to use them.

Fists flew at Casey’s temples, jaw, and nose. Feet kicked out at her knees, thighs, and sides. But Casey was always in motion, making herself a difficult target.

Casey sharply weaved and ducked, but she didn’t evade every blow. Some connected, and there was some serious power behind them. Worse, the bitch repeatedly targeted Casey’s recently healed arm—punched, kicked, and yanked at it, making it throb like a motherfucker.

The spectators were loud as they cheered, booed, and egged on whoever they were supporting, overriding Sherryl’s curses and snarls.

A palm strike to the solar plexus sent Casey’s breath whooshing out of her lungs. Growling, she thrust her claws into Sherryl’s breast, smiling grimly as the female hissed through her teeth.

Casey didn’t give her a chance to retaliate; she went in hard and fast, inflicting maximum pain and damage. Sherryl was careful to defend her vulnerable areas—particularly her head, neck, and face. But she wasn’t careful enough. Bruises and scratches soon marred her gaunt face, which delighted Casey’s mink.

Pain rippled through her body as a fist crashed into her ribs almost hard enough to break bone. She might have doubled over if that reflex hadn’t long ago been trained out of her. Instead, she swiped out her claws, carving into Sherryl’s chest, tearing open her jersey.

“Bitch,” hissed Sherryl.

“You think? Your dad used to call me ‘sweet’ when dry humping my leg.”

Sherryl’s eyes narrowed into slits of fury. She charged and tried grappling Casey to take her to the ground. That move failed, so the bitch lashed out with her claws, and a burning heat blazed along the side of Casey’s face.

Sherryl inhaled sharply and gave her a smile of mock sympathy. “Ooh, sweetie, that looks sore. We can stop if you need your mate to kiss it better.”

Ignoring the blood trickling down her face, Casey smiled. “Bless your little gangrene heart.” She went at Sherryl again. Fought hard, fast, and smart, making each strike count.

A hard jab of an elbow to Casey’s throat sent pain slicing through her and stole her breath. But she didn’t ease up. She swung her hips and snapped out her leg, ramming the heel of her shoe into Sherryl’s thigh, who spat a harsh curse.

Sherryl went to grab her ankle but failed—Casey had predicted the move and was able to pull her leg back in time. Snarling in fury, Sherryl lunged again, slashing and striking. Casey dodged, ducked, and jerked backwards to evade each move, but claws stabbed deep into her side and twisted. Son of a bitch. Then Sherryl punched her in the tit and, fuck, that hurt so much it almost brought tears to her eyes.

Okay, enough was enough.

Casey whipped up her arm to block a punch—the same arm that was pulsing with pain after Sherryl went at it so aggressively. The lingering pain from the soccer injury would have faded by now if it hadn’t been for that. “I’m done going easy on you.”

Sherryl snorted. “Easy?”

“Yeah. I won’t lie, this is gonna hurt really bad.”

Eli smiled as his mate ceased holding back and finally engaged in her own brutal art of kicking ass. She was fluid, efficient, and smooth as she punched, blocked, parried, deflected, and kicked, incorporating her whole body into the brawl. Every strike was powerful and perfectly timed. Her footwork was faultless, and her speed was blinding.

Like his pack mates, he cheered her on and yelled encouragements. Shaya occasionally slung curses at Sherryl even as she gave Harley a move-by-move commentary of the fight via her cell phone.

“How the fuck can anyone move that fast?” asked Nick. “I mean, I thought Ally was fast. This … this is something else.”

“Casey goes from move to move without pausing,” said Dante, his voice filled with respect. “And yet, every strike is incredibly precise.”

Pride snaked through Eli. He loved the savage, gritty, hardcore way with which his mate fought. Loved that she could tear a person to shreds with little effort. But a part of him still hated to see her partaking in a real duel. He enjoyed watching her fight at The Den, but that was different—her opponents weren’t trying to fatally wound her. Sherryl, however, would do her best to kill Casey. She’d also fail.

Sherryl was fast—he’d give her that much. But she was nowhere near as fast, strong, or skilled as Casey, and it was clear that she’d now come to that realization. Fear flickered in her eyes as she tried fending Casey off with little success.

Nonetheless, his wolf paced up and down, peeling back his upper lip. He felt his mate’s pain as clearly as Eli did, and he did not like seeing her bruised and bleeding. The scents of blood, pain, anger, and fear were prodding at his composure, making him want to shift and attack.

“Yeah, fuck that bitch up, Casey!” Mila shouted. She put a hand on her mate’s arm. “God, if Sherryl hasn’t yet realized she’s outmatched, I can’t fathom why and—oh my God, she just kicked Casey right between her legs! Oh, now that’s low.”

“Literally,” said Taryn.

Eli flinched as Sherryl’s teeth sank into Casey’s upper arm. Worse, the little bitch sharply twisted her head, trying to bite a chunk out of Casey. With a feral grin, his mate dealt Sherryl a solid punch to the windpipe that sent her staggering backwards, gasping for breath. She topped it off by swiftly carving a perfect ‘C’ into Sherryl’s cheek.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be making Casey my sparring partner,” said Roni.

Eli would have laughed if a fist hadn’t then clipped his mate’s jaw. “Come on, Casey, be done playing with her!”

Eyes swollen and tearing from Casey’s bone-crunching strike to the nose, Sherryl angled her hips and whipped out her leg, landing a kick on Casey’s side. His mate only smiled. It was a satisfied, cocky, you’re-so-dead smile. Then she sent her fist smashing into Sherryl’s jaw and, yep, down the bitch went.

Dazed, Sherryl curled up on the blood-spattered ground, her face a mask of pain.

“Yield, Sherryl, or she’ll kill you!” one of the Seals yelled. “For God’s sake, yield!”

But Sherryl did something else instead.

Perched on the edge of the armchair, Harley gaped at the cell she’d put on speakerphone. “She shifted?”

“Yes,” replied Shaya on the other end of the line. “And now Casey has too! Oh God, this could be bad.”

Bad, but no doubt entertaining, which was why Harley was mega bummed that she was unable to watch Sherryl get her ass handed to her.

“Next year, I am so going to these games,” declared Ally, leaning forward on the sofa.

“Me, too,” insisted Makenna. She and her mate, Ryan, had come to visit, along with another mated couple from the Phoenix Pack, Riley and Tao. Everyone other than the pups—who were both playing upstairs—had gathered in the living area of the main lodge to listen to Shaya’s live commentary.

“So what’s happening now, Shaya?” asked Harley.

The Alpha female blew out a breath. “Well, the minks have jumped out of their clothes and they’re … oh God, this is getting weird. They’re doing that war dance thing that weasels do.”

“I’ve heard of that,” said Riley. “What’s it like?”

“Um, well, they’re sort of glaring at each other while twisting, hopping, rolling, and darting from left to right,” replied Shaya. “Ooh, Casey’s mink just pounced on Sherryl’s!”

Makenna’s eyes lit up. “Awesome!”

They all jerked back at the sounds of screeching, hissing, and growling.

Riley grimaced. “That’s a whole lot of noise they’re making.”

“Tell me about it,” said Shaya. “They sound like Tasmanian devils or something. I can’t even give you a good description of the fight, they’re moving too fast. There’s a lot of pouncing, rolling, and each trying to wrap their body around the other. Basically, they’re going crazy on each other’s ass.”

“Ask Madisyn to take some photos,” urged Harley.

“She’s doing one better—she’s recording the fight with her cell phone.”

And that was why Madisyn was Harley’s favorite pallas cat ever.

Harley looked up as the pups hurried into the room. She stiffened from head to toe as she took in Cassidy’s pale face.

Cain pushed out of his chair. “Cassidy, what’s wrong?”

The little girl blinked up at him, her eyes wide as saucers. “Cats are coming,” she whispered. “Lots of cats. Big ones. I think they’re already here.”

Everyone jumped to their feet, and the air snapped taut with tension.

“Shit!” Harley hissed.

“What’s going on? What’s the matter?” demanded Shaya.

“Cassidy says cats are coming,” Harley told her.

“What?” the Alpha female fairly shrieked.

People instantly sprung to action—Tao called his Alphas to request backup, Jesse pulled up the CCTV footage on his laptop, Caleb and Kent tried leading the pups out of the room to the basement. Cassidy reached back for Cain, but he insisted she leave and then joined Derren in coaxing Ally into following Caleb, Kent, and the pups into the basement.

“Do not get hurt, Derren Hudson!” Ally shouted as she left the room.

“What’s going on?” asked Nick, who’d obviously taken the phone from Shaya. “My phone alarms haven’t gone off, which means no one has crossed the border.”

“They’re trying, though,” announced Jesse, his eyes on the screen of his laptop. “They’re near the border of the land behind the motel, running right for the electric fence in their cougar form. There’s a lot of them, so I think Ignacio brought some of his allies along for the ride.”

“Fuck,” spat Nick. “The pups—”

“Are heading to the basement with Ally, Kent, and Caleb,” Derren assured him. “We’ve activated the traps and landmines around our territory, before you ask.”

“Good,” said Nick. “We’re leaving now. Well, everyone except for Casey and Eli.” With that, Nick rung off, so Harley pocketed her phone.

“That fence near the motel is a good twenty-minute run from here, right?” asked Cain, to which Jesse nodded. “And even if they pass this fence, they’ll also have to pass the electric fence that stands between that land and this land, correct?”

“Yes,” said Jesse. “But the fences won’t keep them out for long. Not when there are so many of them. The voltages are strong enough to daze someone or even put them into shock, but not enough to kill.”

Tao pointed at the laptop screen. “Look, some are actually trying to use the fallen bodies of the dazed cougars as stepping stones to hop the fucking fence.”

“Not that it’ll do the cats much good—most will fall straight into the hidden ditch behind it that’s embedded with wooden spikes,” said Harley, her stomach in knots. “But others will learn from their mistakes, and they’ll soon pass.”

“Thanks to the landmines and traps, Ignacio’s number will have taken a hit by the time they get here, but they will get here,” said Jesse. “And not before the rest of our pack mates arrive.”

“Ours will make it here before them, though,” said Riley. “Ignacio has probably come for Eli.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Cain rubbed at his jaw. “Ignacio keeps track of Casey. He’ll know about her game, and he’ll know that Eli will be there to support her. My guess is that he’s using the game as a distraction; he came to attack the people that Eli cares for.”

And then the alarms sounded.