Bought by the Beast King (Katerina and hunter) novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23

KAT

Lesson number one: bruising a man’s ego was never a good idea when their punches landed like an eighteen- wheeler.

I spat blood onto the mat and forced myself upright, swaying from his sneak attack. Because I’d never shifted, the bruise blooming on my cheek would take days to heal.

The suits chuckled around us, but Mal and his people didn’t even twitch when that punch sent me flying.

“Didn’t they tell you what sort of place this is before they offered you up?” I asked, circling him. “You’re nothing more than a sacrificial lamb.”

“Shut the fuck up and fight. I won’t go easy on you now.”

Dax lunged. I slipped beneath his swing and chopped the back of his neck. Krav Maga was beautiful like that. There was no fixed form, just brutal efficiency. Mal taught me more than that, though. He’d chosen me because I picked up everything.

Another lunge, a sloppy one this time. I spun and kicked the back of his knees, sending him staggering.

“Please, don’t hold back on my account,” I sneered. “We wouldn’t want your boss thinking you lost because you suddenly found a conscience.”

Dax turned to me, and I saw the moment his arrogance turned to anger. I had him. He raised his fists, his eyes darting over me, calculating his next moves. I watched those movements closely. Watched every twitch, every slight flex of his muscles. His thighs were thick, so he probably wasn’t just a boxer, but he had grappling in his arsenal, too. He hadn’t shown that off when he’d been faking it with his friend.

His punch cut the air by my ear as I turned sideways, and his leg swiped mine from under me. I hit the mat hard, rolled, and sprang up before he could pin me down. I leapt onto his back, my arm locking tight around his throat.

“You bitch,” he snarled, staggering under my weight. “Get the fuck off me.

Dax stumbled back, and I knew the next move would hurt, but I couldn’t let go of him yet. When he rammed me into the concrete wall, the impact tore the air from my lungs, loosening my hold. He took advantage and flung me across the mat again.

“Let’s not drag this out,” I said, spitting more blood as I stood and reset my stance. “Let me show you what it means to train under the best fighter in all the kingdom.”

Mal’s smirk flashed at the edge of my vision. Wiping the blood off my mouth, I crooked my finger at Dax, taunting him to come at me. He charged like a bull. A clumsy, angry bull. But I maintained my calm, ghosting away from each swing. He looked like a child snatching for sweets. Or a man fighting a ghost.

This time, the chuckles came from Mal’s people. The suits had gone very quiet.

The more I toyed with him, the sloppier he got. When the moment came, I sidekicked him in the perfect

spot and sent him sprawling to the ground. He scrambled up fast, and I guessed his adrenaline was pumping now, because a flicker of fear crossed his

eyes.

I lunged before he was steady, using the momentum to spin around his neck and slam him flat on his face. He rose more slowly that time, shaking his head, clearly dazed. I didn’t give him the chance to breathe. My fists hammered him. Mal had trained me by making me punch concrete posts instead of bags, and now I understood why. Dax was built like a solid wall.

But walls cracked. I hit all the spots that would weaken him, watching his blood spray with every punch, watching him stumble back. Watching the bruises form and his skin break open. When I smashed his nose, the bone gave way. Maybe this time, they would fix it properly.

I rammed my palm under his chin, snapping his head back, and then wrenched his arm as I rolled, locking his throat between my thigh and calf. His blood was all over me and on the mat, and pouring freely from the cuts on his face. Smirking, I twisted his arm as I rolled again until I heard his shoulder pop. Even when his screams tore from him, I held on. Even when he tapped, I held on.

My gaze met Nathan’s as he stood at the edge of the mat with his fists balled at his sides. Was he angry at me for winning or at Dax for being so useless? He’d been a lot easier to beat down than the last guy Mr Rivers had sent, and I hadn’t even pulled out my best moves.

“Enough.” Nathan roared, his gaze blazing at me.

So it was me, then.

I released my opponent and rose slowly, my breathing only slightly rough.

“I hope you’ll be a gentleman and keep your word,” I said, still looking this alpha dead in the eye. “Goodbye, Mr Rivers.”

His jaw ticked. His eyes glanced down at my body, his nose flaring briefly before he smirked.

“Interesting,” he said. Then he turned and strode out.

My chill rippled through me. I didn’t like the way he’d looked at me, or that smirk. What did he mean? Was the whole fight nothing but a test?

The other suits filed after him, while someone scraped Dax’s broken body off the ruined mat and dragged

him out.

“If he tries anything, report him to the Bureau. Let them handle their own kind,” Mal said, stepping beside me to watch them leave. “This isn’t over.”

So he’d noticed, too.

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