It was bad enough being a female amongst these monsters, but being a human on top of that, so much weaker than their kind, had her powerless. But what she didn’t have in physical strength she made up for in the mental kind. One day she would escape, and when she did she would never look back.
Chapter Two
Jagger made his way through the abandoned warehouse. The further they descended the more strongly the scent of decay and age permeated the air. Diesel, Brick, Stinger, Court, and Dallas all followed behind him. They were meeting with Sticks, an underground human fighter that they had made connections with years ago. They had never done business with Sticks, but he had inside details when it came to bare knuckle fighting, and now ran his own circle. Jagger knew that today was a meeting with the Lions President, Jace, and Sticks. They were going to hear Sticks out on the benefits of getting in with him on the underground fighting circuit. Although this wasn’t legal in any sense, it was less high profile than running drugs for a third party. The money might be steady, but it wouldn’t be the heavy cash flow that dealing with drugs brought in. The club would see a hit at first, but getting out of the spotlight of local authorities, and beef with rival clubs would be better for the Grizzly MC in the long run.
The sound of shouting grew louder the further they descended. The decrepit hallway they were moving down opened up to a large basement in the warehouse. The voices were earsplitting now as the sound echoed off the walls. Human and shifter males stood in a semi-formed circle. Their arms were raised, and money was gripped tightly in their hands as they shouted for more blood and violence. Jagger and the other members of his crew split up to walk around the circle. Through the parts in the crowd as the males pushed at each other to get a better look, Jagger could see a panther and wolf going at it. Blood was splattered along the floor, and gaping holes covered the animals’ bodies. But they were fierce motherfuckers, attacking each other with a rage that impressed him. He pushed through the crowd, but no one gave him shit, not when they saw his cut, read his club name, and knew the Grizzly MC reputation. Jagger stood at the front of the circle, close enough to the fight that he could practically taste the sweat, blood, and adrenalin that came from these two males. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked up to see the rest of his club at the front of the circle, too. Brick had a sadistic smile on his face as the wolf shifter snapped his jaw, bared his teeth, and tried to block an attack from the other animal. But the panther was stronger and went in for the kill. He latched his jaw around the wolf’s neck, and with one loud, sickening crunch tore the wolf’s throat clean out. A spray of blood splashed along the already red stained cement ground. The wolf collapsed, a bright red pool of blood starting to form. But the male wouldn’t shift back to his human side, which was better since getting rid of an animal corpse was a hell of a lot easier than doing that with a human body.
There were a few curses, money being exchanged, and then the audience was moving back, waiting for the next competitors. Jagger stared at the panther that looked ready to go another round. He paced back and forth, had saliva and blood dripping from his jaw, and had his black eyes trained on seemingly everything at once. Jagger sensed Sticks moving to his right and then Jace to his left.
“That’s Ty.”
Jagger looked at Sticks after the human spoke.
“He’s the best fighter we got. A mean fucker that is undefeated.” Sticks turned and grabbed a towel from one of his men. “Yo.” He lifted his chin toward Ty, and there was the popping sound of bones realigning. Seconds later a naked panther shifter stood in his human form. His arms were tatted up, and his black hair was soaking wet with blood and sweat. There were also massive wounds covering his body. Sticks tossed him the towel. Ty looked at Jagger for a second, but he didn’t give anything away. He turned and pushed his way through the loitering crowds, and went into one of the back rooms.
“What’s his story?” Jagger stared at the closed door for a second before moving so he could see both Sticks and Jace.
“Not sure. All I know is he has one fucked up past.” Jace’s deep voice rumbled out. The Lion MC President had a day’s worth of beard growth, and although it was clear he hadn’t been sleeping, he was still one fierce motherfucker and head of one of the MCs that was in alliance with Jagger’s club. Colorado had many shifter and human MCs. Occasionally there were fights breaking out, shit getting started, and retaliation being dealt for those fuck-ups. That was all part of the life they led, but Jagger preferred to stay on good terms with others, because having beef with other MCs was a pain in the ass, and people always ended up getting hurt. Jagger tried to form alliances with other shifter clubs, and was on good terms with the majority, the Lion MC being his main allies. He and Jace went back for fifteen years, and Jagger knew he could always count on the lion shifter to be there for him. But the same went for Jagger and his club where Jace was concerned.