Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 216

Chapter 216: Chapter 216

Elara’s POV

Jessica didn’t hesitate.

She rolled her shoulders and stepped onto the mat like she was doing me a favor. The other knights shifted closer. A loose ring formed around us. Eager. Hungry. Waiting for the mortal to fall.

"Rules," I said. "No shifting. No claws. Bare hands only. First to submit or hit the mat three times loses."

Jessica smirked. "Fine by me."

She came in fast.

A straight jab aimed at my jaw. Textbook. Predictable. Her right shoulder had dipped a fraction before she threw it—telegraphing the strike like she was reading from a manual.

I slipped left. Her fist cut through empty air. I drove my elbow into the soft spot just below her shoulder blade. Not hard enough to break anything. Hard enough to send a message.

She staggered forward. Her knee hit the mat.

One.

The murmur that rippled through the crowd was immediate. Confused. Jessica’s face flushed red as she scrambled up. Her eyes had changed. The mockery was gone. Something sharper lived there now.

Good.

She reset. Wider stance this time. More cautious. She circled left, testing the distance between us. Then lunged—a low hook aimed at my ribs.

I didn’t block it. I stepped into her momentum, letting her weight carry her forward past me. My heel hooked behind her ankle. One sharp pull.

She went down hard. The mat shuddered.

Two.

Silence now. Not the uncertain kind from before. This silence was thick with something else. Realization, maybe. Or the beginning of it.

Jessica pushed herself up slower this time. Her breathing had changed. Heavier. Not from exhaustion—from adrenaline. From the dawning understanding that she’d miscalculated. Badly.

She didn’t rush in again. She waited. Watched. Trying to read me the way I’d been reading her since the first second.

But reading takes practice. And I’d had years of it.

She threw a straight punch. Full commitment. Aimed dead center at my sternum. Powerful. Fast. The kind of hit that would crack ribs if it landed.

I caught her fist.

Both hands wrapped around it. Redirected her momentum downward and sideways. My leg swept behind both of hers in the same motion—one clean arc that took her feet out from under her entirely.

Her back slammed into the mat. The air punched out of her lungs in a sharp gasp.

Three.

I released her fist. Stepped back. Offered my hand.

The hall was dead quiet.

Jessica stared up at me. Her chest heaving. Sweat glistening at her temples. Something had broken behind those amber eyes—not her spirit. Her assumption. The wall she’d built between what a mortal was and what a mortal could do.

She took my hand. I pulled her up.

"How—" She swallowed. Reset. "How did you know what I was going to do?"

"Your shoulder drops before every strike. Your weight shifts to your lead foot when you commit. And you favor your right side." I released her hand. "You’re strong. Fast. But strength and speed mean nothing if your opponent knows what’s coming before you do."

Jessica held my gaze. Then she stepped back off the mat and dipped her chin. A small bow. Barely perceptible.

But every wolf in that room saw it.

"Who’s next?"

The silence shifted. Not hostile anymore. Curious. The kind of quiet that fills a room when people are reconsidering everything they thought they knew.

A figure stepped forward from the back. Dark-haired. Lean but densely muscled. She moved with the coiled economy of someone who knew exactly how dangerous she was. Her expression wasn’t mocking. It was serious. Calculating.

"My name is Riley." Her voice was steady. Low. Then she added, with deliberate emphasis: "Not Riley Blackwood."

The distinction landed. I noted it. Filed it away.

"The rules were fair for Jessica," Riley continued. "But you said you fought wolves. Real ones. Not just wolves in human skin." She tilted her head. "I want to shift. Full form. You stay as you are. Same rules—three takedowns. No biting." A pause. "Unless you’d rather not."

A challenge wrapped in courtesy. Clever.

I heard Marcus take a step forward behind me. "Now hold on—"

"Done." I cut him off without turning around.

Riley lay there for a moment. Panting. Then she shifted back. Human again. Dark hair wild around her face. She was staring at the ceiling like it held answers. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

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