Rejected by My Alpha Now He Replaced Me with a Copycat Luna novel Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Raven’s POV

The first guy-beefy, red-faced, with the kind of grin that made me want to rearrange his teeth-leered up at me.

“Aw, c’mon, darlin’. We’re just havin’ fun.”

“Yeah,” I said, leaning in just enough to let the dim light catch the scars. “Funny thing about fun-it stops being fun when the other person ain’t laughing.”

His buddy opened his mouth-probably to say something real stupid-but Joe cut in.

“Boys,” he drawled, tipping his glass their way. “I’d quit if I were you. Raven here’s got a temper, and you’re lookin’ real flammable.”

The clock hit 2 AM. The last of the drunks stumbled out into the Duston night, leaving behind sticky floors, half-empty glasses with cigarette butts floating in them, and the smell of bad decisions.

I was wiping down the counter when Joe lumbered out from the back, his frame casting a shadow that could block the sun.

“Another shift survived, kid,” he rumbled, voice like gravel. He tossed me my pay envelope-thicker than usual. “You look like hell.”

“Thanks, Joe,” I said, wiping down the last glass. “Real charmer.”

He chuckled. “Gonna punish yourself at the gym again or actually sleep?”

I shrugged, sliding the glass onto the rack. “Gotta stay sharp. Never know when some drunk’s gonna test me.”

“True. I’d pay to see you put Grady’s nephew through a wall.”

I snorted. “Tempting. But I like my job. And my freedom.”

Joe waved a hand. “I’d bail you out. Long as you didn’t break anything expensive.”

That was Joe. All bark, no bite unless you earned it. The kind of guy who’d toss a troublemaker out on his ass one minute, then slip him coffee and a twenty for a cab the next.

I grabbed my jacket from the hook behind the bar, the leather creaking as I shrugged it on.

“Don’t work too hard, boss,” I said over my shoulder.

Joe’s laugh followed me out. “Says the kid liftin’ cars for fun. Youth’s wasted on the young.”

The night air was cool. I took a deep breath and headed down the main street.

The gym was my cover story-plenty of folks lifted after work to blow off steam. But the real workout waited at Off the Rail, a dimly lit fight club tucked bel

d rail yard.

thick with sweat, leather, and the sharp tang of liniment. The ring was nothing fancy-ropes, mats, and enough bloodstains to A few regulars nodded as I ducked through the crowd.

pernaturals. No magic. Just humans who liked to hit things.

Perfect.

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Rejected by My Alpha, Now He Replaced Me with a Copycat Luna?

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“Hey, girl. Late tonight.”

Dante, a grumpy ex-trucker, leaned against the ropes.

“Had to sweet-talk my boss into letting me leave.” I rolled my shoulders, feeling the familiar itch under my skin-the need to move, to fight.

Dante chuckled. “Joe? Dude’s a teddy bear.”

“Yeah, a teddy bear the size of a grizzly,” I shot back.

He laughed. For a second, it was easy to forget what I was. Just another fighter. Just another body in the ring.

“Yo, Raven,” Marty called from the front desk. “You here to work out or scare the newbies again?”

I smirked. “Depends. Any fresh meat dumb enough tonight?”

Marty snorted. “Nah, they wised up after last time. But Rod’s around. Said something about you owing him a rematch.”

Rod. Now that was a fight worth sticking around for.

I jerked my chin and headed toward the lockers.

-green

I shoved my olive-green duffel inside. Looked like regular gym gear. But this wasn’t just a gym bag. It was my getaway bag.

I unzipped it just enough to check the contents:

A fake ID-Raven Reyes.

$3,200 in mixed bills, rubber-banded inside a rolled-up pair of socks.

A burner phone, charged but off.

A change of clothes-black jeans, gray hoodie, sturdy boots.

A switchblade I’d lifted off a drunk in Wyoming.

All of it ready in under five seconds.

I exhaled.

“You gonna stare at your bag all night,” a voice grated behind me, “or you gonna fight?”

Rod leaned against the lockers, knuckles taped and torn.

“Just admiring my packing skills,” I said, shutting the locker. “You here to lose again?”

He eyed me, still in my jacket. “Warm up first. I’ll clear the ring.”

Worried I’ll cold-cock you?”

in’t smile. “Nah. Just want you ready when I win.”

Something in his tone didn’t sit right. Too confident. Like he knew something I didn’t.

Maybe I was on edge today.

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Rejected by My Alpha. Now He Replaced Me with a Copycat Luna?

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But I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling building in my stomach.

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Rejected by My Alpha, Now He Replaced Me with a Copycat Luna?

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