170 Chapter 170

Seraphina’s POV

The roar of the crowd hit me like a physical wave before I even stepped through the curtain.

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I clenched them into fists, tried to steady my breathing, tried to remember everything Rico had drilled into me over the past three weeks.

*Keep your guard up. Move your feet. Don’t let him corner you.*

“You ready?” Rico appeared beside me, his face all hard angles in the harsh backstage lighting.

“No.” My voice came out smaller than I wanted.

“Good. Nerves keep you sharp.” He grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. “Listen to me. Kade–that’s your opponent tonight- he’s big. He’s strong. He’s going to try to intimidate you.”

“He already is intimidating me,” I admitted.

“But he’s slow. And he underestimates women.” Rico’s grip tightened. “Use that. Be faster. Be smarter. And for God’s sake, don’t let him

pin you against the ropes.”

The announcer’s voice boomed through the warehouse: “Ladies and gentlemen! Our next fight features a newcomer to the circuit!”

This was it. This was really happening.

“You got this,” Rico said, but his eyes said something different. Something that looked uncomfortably like doubt. 1

I stepped through the curtain.

The noise tripled instantly. But it wasn’t cheering. It was laughing. Jeering. The kind of cruel mockery that made my skin crawl.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” someone shouted from the crowd.

“She looks like she weighs ninety pounds!”

“This is gonna be a massacre!”

“I’ll take bets on which bone he breaks first!”

My legs felt like jelly as I climbed the steps. The canvas was stained with old blood. Some of it might be mine soon.

The overhead lights were blinding, making the crowd beyond them look like shadows. Faceless. Hungry. Waiting for me to fail.

the announcer bellowed, “making

and catcalls so loud it felt like the walls

“Go home, little girl!”

child protective

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fifty bucks says

it twenty! She won’t

face. My hands trembled as I gripped the ropes. The rough material bit into my palms. This was a mistake. This

huge, terrible mistake.

door opened, and Kade

Oh God.

He was a monster.

mountain. Dark skin stretched over muscles that looked

shoulders were

Chanting his name like he was some kind of

“KADE! KADE! KADE!”

through my bones. Dozens of voices merged into one

of a predator entering familiar hunting grounds. Someone who

would end..

to his corner. His voice was deep, amused,

made it worse.

a beer can that clattered across the

the ring. Up close, Kade was even more terrifying. His fists

the

my entire arm go numb. His grin widened, showing perfect white

softly. Just for me

corners. Rico was

he said, fitting my mouthguard. His hands were steady, but I could see the tension

down–get back up. No matter what.

nodded, not trusting

The bell rang.

cut through the

came at me

His first punch caught my forearms with enough force to send shockwaves up to my shoulders.

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170 Chapter 170

punch–Jesus Christ, his second punch–slammed into my ribs like

his next swing and circled away, my feet remembering the footwork Flint had drilled into me until I could do

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