Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 286

Chapter 286

“I accept,” I said, stepping fully into the circle.

The Gamma’s smile widened. She cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders, clearly relishing this.

“Wait.” David appeared out of nowhere, still wearing his leathers and with a fine sheen of sweat across his brow from his recent patrol in the Thornwood this morning. He grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.

“Natalia, that’s Greta. She’s known for being a harsh fighter. And she’s one of Celeste’s biggest supporters.” He glanced at Karl, then said in a lower voice, “Celeste might have sent her to teach you a lesson. Word got out

about Karl and her.”

“I figured.” I shrugged. “But I can’t back down now. Everyone’s watching.”

“She’s going to try to hurt you.”

“Then I’ll make sure she doesn’t.” I pulled my arm free gently. “I’ll be fine, David. I promise.”

David’s jaw clenched, but he nodded and stepped back. “Be careful.”

I returned to the circle. Greta was waiting, bouncing on the balls of her feet. The crowd of warriors had grown larger. I looked up and spotted Helena watching from one of the balconies above with a bored expression, but Celeste was nowhere to be found.

The spar began, and we circled each other slowly. I kept my guard up, watching for any tells in her movement. Greta was bigger than me, probably stronger too. But I had speed and training from David on my side.

Greta struck first. Her fist came at my face fast, and I barely managed to block it. The impact sent a shock up my arm. Damn, she was strong.

I countered with a low kick, but she sidestepped easily. We exchanged a combination of strikes, neither of us landing anything solid. The crowd around us was growing louder, shouts and cheers mingling into a din.

Finally, after several long seconds of this, Greta managed to catch me with an elbow to the shoulder that made my arm go numb for a few seconds. I stumbled back, and she pressed her advantage, coming at me with a series of quick blows to the head. I couldn’t block all of them, and found myself pressing back against the ropes, doing everything in my power to protect my skull.

My lungs burned. My arms ached. She was relentless, never giving me a chance to catch my breath or reset. I was starting to realize that David had been right to worry. Greta really was trying to hurt me.

Suddenly, a swift uppercut made it through my guard and caught me in the ribs–right where the rogue had clawed me. Pain exploded through my side and I gasped, dropping to one knee.

The crowd went quiet.

Greta stood over me, grinning wildly. “Give up yet, outsider?”

Logically, I probably should have accepted defeat and tapped out. But when I looked up and saw Helena’s face sneering down at me from above, it finally hit me–Celeste might not have been the one to send Greta to “teach me a lesson“.

Chapter 286

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It might have been mommy dearest.

And if I failed now, it would just open me up to more trouble.

So, with a grunt, I forced myself to my feet.

“No,” I said.

Greta’s eyes narrowed. She came at me again, and I blocked her first strike. Then her second. The third one I dodged entirely, spinning to the side and landing a kick to her knee that made her stumble.

Something was happening. I could feel it building in my chest like a ball of warmth. Energy was flooding through my body, chasing away the pain and exhaustion. My vision sharpened. Everything seemed to move slower. I swore I could hear every breath of my opponent despite the crowd’s shouting.

Greta swung at me again, but this time I saw it coming from a mile away, like I was watching a movie.

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