Huntress and The Alpha

5. The Three Bears

Irina

The long hot shower and food went a long way to helping me recover. It put me in the mood for some bear-baiting, so I was pleased when it was confirmed that the triplets were back from their latest mission. The triplets were bear-witch hybrids, they were all skilled hunters but arrogant as hell. They kept to themselves as if training with other hunters was beneath them.

I sent a text to Rurik, the eldest. “Goldilocks is back, and she’s after some porridge. Meet me in the arena.”

The nicknames Alec had given us many years ago still pissed them off. They didn’t joke around much and didn’t like Alec asking which one was the mama and the baby bear. Although I think the worst insult was that I always beat them. It was a blow to their alpha male pride.

They had a crazy backstory involving scorned witches and performing circus bears that ended in them being given to the Hunter Council to train as supernatural killers. All the hunters here had terrible childhoods, but the brothers retained more personality than most. I suspect it was because they had each other, much like I had Alec and Erik.

What was even more remarkable than their backstory was their ability to shift. Most hybrids could only achieve a partial shift, despite having the consciousness of one or more beasts.

Hybrids had genetically mixed cells. For example, the triplets’ cells would be a mix of bear shifter and witch cells. Hybrids didn’t have enough cells of one type to transform. The triplets came from a single egg that split three times, and as adults, they could merge into one bear.

One reason I loved to spar with them was to practice coordinated attacks. These were common in packs of shifters like wolves connected via a mental mind link. Despite being an assassin who preferred to kill with minimal contact, like a ghost, I still needed to fight my way in or out sometimes.

I knew it wasn’t a good idea to metaphorically poke the bear, but I couldn’t help myself. Just because I wasn’t fond of killing didn’t mean I didn’t like a good fight. I shot a text off to Alec saying I would be in the arena fighting bears.

“Those who are about to die, we salute you! Save me a seat at the Colosseum!” Alec texted back.

Alec was a geek and a film buff, and we spent much of our downtime watching movies. He had a thing for Russell Crowe; we must have watched Gladiator a million times. Going to the arena to fight bears must have put him in that headspace.

Our vast training center looked just as it always did. It was more homicidal than the average gym due to the armory at the back and a gun range off to the side. If you wanted to practice with throwing-stars, swords, and maces. Maybe guns and crossbows. Then this was the place to go. It was way more than a gym, hence we dubbed it The Arena.

I spotted the triplets working through some push-ups on the mats, all three were shirtless, and their skin glistened with sweat. They’d been warming up hard. Two hunters were fighting in one ring to the left and were trading bare-knuckle blows. Another pushed through sets on the machines along the right-hand wall; his grunts filled the surrounding air.

Boryu, a hybrid bear-wolf, languished by the water cooler, his phone in hand and sporting a healing cut on his lip. It looked like he had finished his workout.

The triplets sensed my arrival, and they jumped to their feet. The three were almost indistinguishable with their huge 6-foot 4-inch frames, a dusting of dark curly hair on their chest and thick necks swathed in muscle. Each had Jet black hair and caramel eyes framed by thick, dark brows.

Rurik was the eldest. He always wore a thin mustache, an earring in his left ear, and his hair cut short. He was expressionless, frank, and straight to the point. Roman, the middle triplet, also had short hair too but was missing a chunk from his left ear, a souvenir from a fight long ago. While he sported more expressions than his elder counterpart, he rarely, if ever, spoke.

Romeo was the youngest, and he wore a permanent smirk. His look was completed with a gold tooth that stood out against his bright white teeth. He believed he was the goddess’s gift to women, and unlike his brothers, his banter and smooth-talking knew no end.

They formed a loose semi-circle in the central matted area, which was used for large group sparring. They spread out around me as they attempted to look casual.

Nice try boys.

“You want to spar, Pulchra?” asked Rurik on my left.

My eyes were on Romeo’s smirking face. He’d be smack-talking soon. I kept the others in my peripheral vision.

“I came to fight.”

There was little point in engaging Rurik in conversation. I cracked my neck from side to side. It would be the most stretching I’d get. My muscles creaked like old leather, but it’s not like I could warm up for every fight, so I’d have to suck it up. If I asked to warm up, I’d have Romeo’s bullshit in my ear for ten minutes anyway.

I kept my eyes on Romeo as he opened his mouth to let off some hot air, my fist connected with Roman’s jaw.

“Blya!” Roman staggered. b***h.

Romeo grinned and lunged forward at the same time Rurik did. I stepped into the gap Roman had staggered back from, and they collided. I swung my foot up and kicked Rurik in the back, which sent him sprawling onto the mat, taking Romeo with him.

Two down.

I jumped backward as they sprang up together and surged forward, with Roman joining them. My left fist connected with Romeo's jaw, creating a sickening crack. Just as Rurik swung, I ducked, and Roman lunged forward for my waist. I felt the air whoosh out of my lungs as we crashed back against the mat. Roman’s enormous frame pinned me down. Adrenaline coursed through me.

Rurik attempted to kick my face but I lifted Roman’s arm, and he took the kick instead. Roman roared in pain. I used his distraction and twisted my lower half out from under him. Rurik’s foot moved again as he made his second attempt to kick me. This time, I grabbed it and yanked his weight out from under him. He crashed back down beside us. I regained a squatting position just as Romeo’s fist met my jaw.

Pain reverberated inside my skull. s**t, that hurt. But I felt alive and more awake than ever.

I parried the blows that he rained down on me. So focused on attacking me he’d left himself wide open; I caught him with an uppercut, which made him stagger back into Rurik. I realized at the last second that Roman had regained his feet and came behind me once as he lunged for my waist. Using his momentum, I tucked into a forward roll and dragged him with me. I ended up on top of him with my elbow planted in his gut. Laughing as he groaned in pain, I used his gut to lever myself up from the floor. Romeo punched me in the kidney. The pain that radiated up my side took me to the mat again.

My lower ribs were cracked as I landed at Rurik's feet, and he rained blows down from above. Not all of them connected, but I felt blood bloom across my face from my lip and nose. I gripped his ankles and pulled his legs out. This sent him crashing backward. I flipped back to regain my feet.

Blood ran from my face as I watched them regroup. Romeo’s nose bled like a tap, but he did nothing to stem it. A snarl replaced his usual smirk as he observed me while he attempted to regain his breathing. Roman was back on his feet, sporting a purple bruise that had bloomed across his jaw. That also seemed set at a funny angle. He never spoke, so I guessed he didn’t need it that much. Rurik was breathing just as heavily as the rest.

We traded blows for another ten minutes, and all three tried to pin me for an extended time. I received further blows to my hip and ribs. A few more had cracked. I used the pain to fuel me and hone my focus.

The triplets resembled a scene from a bar fight at a Chippendales convention. Rurik now sported a gash above his eyebrow, which flooded his left eye with blood, blinding it. I had taken to reopening it at every chance I got. Romeo had more broken ribs than me and a broken nose. Roman’s jaw was fracture-dislocated, and he had reset it with a sickening crunch and pop. He looked beyond angry. Whenever we fought, and they weren’t able to pin me, it angered them.

I knew they would do it before it happened. The air shimmered around them as they moved closer together; they morphed and grew. Bones snapped, and fur erupted as they shot taller. The next minute, an eight-foot-tall black bear stood where they once had. Opening its enormous jaws, it roared.

“Cheating fuckers.” I shook my head.

The giant black bear lunged at me and snapped its massive jaws. I dodged back. What I lacked in strength and stature against it, I made up for in speed.

They must be pissed, as Demetri forbids full or partial shifting inside. He made us train our beasts outside because there was nothing he hated more than blood and fur in his precious arena. Too f*****g late. I wasn’t about to get mauled by this giant bear.

“Time to have some fun!” said my dragon.

I allowed my dragon to come forward and felt the rush of primal power. My mouth elongated as my jawbone snapped, making room for four sets of needle-like teeth. A livid, red-forked tongue snaked forward, tasting the blood and anger that hung in the air. My hand bones snapped; eight-inch, razor-sharp, curved claws erupted from the tips of my fingers, and my skin grew shiny white scales. The vision through my dragon’s blue eyes was crystal clear. I could see every one of the bear’s coarse hairs in the harsh arena lighting.

The anger that rolled off the bear tasted bitter. It charged at me with the force of a truck. I jumped in the air and slid across its broad, furry back, drawing my claws with me. The bear reared up, roaring in pain, and lunged back at me with its own huge, clawed paws.

“What is going on in here?” said a loud, cold voice.

The bear and I swiveled our heads around. Demetri stood in the doorway, his magic emitting yellow sparks into the surrounding air.

“Shift,” he commanded.

I felt my jaw and teeth recede along with my claws. In my peripheral vision, the gigantic bear receded into itself as skin replaced fur. It blurred and simmered until one became three again. They all leaned over and heaved for breath because of the forced shift.

Fur, blood, and saliva decorated the fighting mats and the surrounding equipment.

“What the hell are you doing, shifting in here?” Demetri’s voice was icy calm, but his anger rolled around us. “You know the rules.” Yellow sparks flew higher into the room as he advanced on us. “Irina, why are they still bleeding all over the mats? Did you claw them with your dragon’s talons?”

“Maybe.” I kicked the mat and stared down at some brown fur. “They started it by shifting.”

Demetri always sided with those damn triplets so I knew it was pointless trying to blame them. One time, we got caught sparring in the corridor to the administration offices, I may not have started, but I finished it. Yet I got punished and not them.

“Seal their wounds,” said Demetri.

Fuck! I’m not doing that! Sealing their wounds meant licking their backs with my dragon’s tongue. My dragon’s tongue had healing properties as my claws held a poison that slowed wound healing.

“They can go to the clinic,” I replied.

Demetri knew it would be degrading to lick their wounds closed.

“Do it now. Then get cleaned up. I need to brief you all. You need to work together on your next mission. Twenty minutes, my office. Find someone to clean up in here.” He stalked off.

Oh hell, no! Now I had to heal and work with those three pricks. Could this day get any worse?

I shifted again and moved towards the triplets, working hard to keep the glare off my face. My tongue darted out to heal my busted lip. I stood behind Rurik and smirked at my handy work. They each had identical triple gashes across their upper backs from shoulder blade to shoulder blade. The flesh was torn so deep it revealed the pearly fat layer, exposing the musculature of their upper backs as it bled.

I licked a long line across the first s***h on Rurik, and he hissed from the pain. I licked the other two gashes and moved on to Roman. Each time, I spat the blood onto the mat. Why not? It was already a mess. Roman grunted at my ministrations. The healing stung like a b***h, and my wounded pride took satisfaction in their collective pain. Finally, I moved on to Romeo, and, not to be outdone, he turned his head to smirk at me. He seemed to enjoy the stinging, the masochist.

“I’ve got something else you can lick if you like, Dorogaya,” he said.

Ugh! They may have women falling at their feet, but I certainly wasn’t one of them. They were a set of pains in the butt, only suitable for sparring practice. A disgusted snort left me as I attempted not to gag. Instead, I spat blood at his feet.

“More like, bite it off!” I stalked off to the gym door just as Alec appeared.

“Oh-weeeee! I left you alone for half an hour, and you painted the gym red!” Alec grinned. “Did you get your porridge, Goldie?” His voice carried over to the triplets, who were wiping the remaining blood and sweat off their bodies.

“Oh yes, I even licked the bowls!” I smirked as Russian curses fell from Rurik’s mouth.

I might as well own it. Alec laughed at the triplet’s ire as we left the gym.

Irina: 1, triplets: 0.