Page 116 of Pulse
“You’ve got this Ren,” he murmured so Fury couldn’t hear. “We’ve trained for this. You know the moves, you’ve got the strength. You can do this.”
“I hope so.”
“There’s no hoping Spitfire,” he said, standing so he could cup my face in his big paws. “There’s only knowing.” He pressed his lips against my forehead.
“I know,” I said, closing my eyes and relishing the feel of his lips against my skin. “I know I can do this. I can do this.”
Ash pulled back, his green eyes fixed on mine. “Now go get your Championship Ren.”
“I love you,” I whispered, my whole body beginning to hum.
“I love you forever.”
As I walked through the gauntlet of the crowd towards the cage, I felt like I was walking in someone else’s skin. It was surreal. I’d done this so many times that it shouldn’t feel any different, but it did. It felt like the rest of my life was riding on this one fight.
It didn’t matter if I won or not. Ash’s fight was the one we wanted in the bag. His was the one that counted.
I still wanted to win though. Was that so bad?
Ash left me to walk into the cage on my own, at my request. It only seemed fitting that I finish this part of my journey alone. It’d be that way once I was in the cage anyway.
Two years ago, I’d walked into Beat and gotten a taste for fighting, long before Ash had arrived, so maybe this fighting thing was just mine all along. It was something that we shared, but it was also a solitary thing. Who knew, right? It just felt like the thing to do.
I was about to step into the cage when I heard my name, and when I turned, my face split into a grin.
The Twins were pushing through the crowd and when the bouncers went to stop them, I raised my hand.
“They’re with me,” I said and they backed down, but watched the boys like a hawk.
“Ren,” Dean exclaimed. “We’re glad we caught you.”
“I didn’t think you’d be interested,” I said with a shrug.
“You fucking kidding?” Lincoln exclaimed. “You’re in a Championship.”
They caught me in their own separate bear hugs and kissed me on the cheek.
“We wanted to let you know that we were here before you went in,” Dean said, squeezing my arm.
“And we found this squirt on the way,” Lincoln said, shoving another familiar face forward.
“Seth?” I exclaimed.
“Hey,” he said, looking a little on edge. “I’d hug you but your boyfriend’s giving me the evil eye.”
“Oh, screw him,” I declared and threw my arms around his neck. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Go get her, Reign of Terror,” he said in a mock booming voice.
I laughed. “Oh, shut your face.” The referee called out for me and I began backing away. “I’ll see you guys on the other side.”
The cage door closed between us, the Twins gave me the thumbs up and I smirked as Seth began to pale. It was his first fight that wasn’t all rules and regulations and he’d sure picked a night to come watch. I hoped someone had given him a bucket because the poor guy looked like he was gunna puke.
Turning on my heel, I came face to face with Fury. She was hopping from foot to foot, shaking out her limbs and looked as high as I felt. When she saw me approaching the center of the cage, she held out her hand. Total class act.
“I’m glad I’m up against you, Reign,” she said as I shook her hand.
