Mates: Melanie's Warrior

Chapter 8

~Jax~

I run after Melanie, calling her name as I go. She doesn’t turn around, nor does she stop. She keeps making her way to the fighting rings that were set up for the competition. I know she has her first battle coming up, and she’s probably going to use that opportunity to blow off some steam.

I watch Melanie storm off and contemplate whether I should continue after her. Sparks on my arm jolt me out of my thoughts. “Is everything okay?” I turn to Shanice and see Brooklyn right next to her. I don’t think it would be wise to say anything out loud. I have no idea how Brooklyn would take the news of Melanie finding her mate.

I guess there was trouble with some guy she came across yesterday.

Is she okay?

Yeah, baby, she’s fine. But……

But?!

But she said she found her mate and isn’t happy about it.

She found her mate? That’s wonderful! I’m so happy for- wait, why isn’t she happy about it? Is it because of what happened before? That wasn’t her true mate, so this is different.

I know, babe, trust me. I’ve had this discussion with her a few times, but Melanie is adamant about how she feels. She feels the bond can’t be trusted. Let’s just go sit down. I cut the link and look down at Shanice. I can see the concern and question in her eyes. I don’t know where we will go from here, but I have to hope we can convince Melanie to give her mate a shot.

I know everything that happened with Daniel left a lasting scar on her, mentally and emotionally, but a fated mate is a sacred thing. I don’t want her ever to regret not giving this a chance. A fated mate is such a wonderful thing, something that completely changes your life. Melanie is such a great person and deserves all the joys of a mate bond and more. “Where’s Melanie?” I look down at Brooklyn.

“She went to get ready for her first battle. Let’s go get settled so we can watch.” Tell Brooklyn nothing. Shanice squeezes my arm in response, and we head down to the spectator area. We are among the first ones there, even though the match is about to start. I look around and wonder if it’s the fact that it’s a woman fighting. Some attitudes still haven’t changed over all of these years.

“Where is everyone?” We sit down in front and watch Melanie warm up. She has a murderous look, and I feel sorry for anyone who’s going to go against her. I know for a fact that she is going to use her anger as fuel against whoever she goes against. They don’t really have a chance to survive this.

“Some people still have an issue with female warriors, believe it or not. Melanie is going to have to show them what she’s about to gain any interest.” Melanie looks over to the crown, and her scowl deepens. We catch eyes, and I give her a little nod. I know she’s going to be great.

A man comes out and states the rules. He introduces the warriors and steps back. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You want me to go against this little woman?! Is this what we do now?” He walks around the ring and shakes his head. “How about you go home and bake something?” This causes the few watching to laugh, and I get angry. I want to shut them up, but I know Melanie’s got this. If I were to interfere, it would only make Melanie angry at me, and I don’t want to be on the receiving end of that.

“Are we going to fight, or are you going to keep running your mouth?” That pushed the warrior the wrong way.

“Fine! If you want to feel this wrath, who am I to deny you?!” The warrior tears his shirt off and gets into a fighter’s stance. They circle each other, looking each other up and down. The warrior moves toward Melanie, causing her to flinch, but quickly pulls back. He has a smirk on his face. He moves toward Melanie again, but this time Melanie doesn’t flinch. They continue to circle each other, and I know Melanie is waiting for him to move first.

“Oh, come on!”

“End the b***h already!

“Let’s get to the real battles!” Shanice turns as if she plans to say something, but I stop her. We don’t need to get involved. As soon as Melanie gets started, she will show them all.

The warrior nods to the crowd and gets in a fighting stance. Melanie stays standing tall, and that makes the warrior smirk even more. Without warning, the warrior advances toward Melanie. She doesn’t move until the last possible moment. She steps to the side and smashes an elbow into the warrior’s back. He stumbles forward, dropping to a knee. He gets to his feet and looks at Melanie with the fire from hell in his eyes. Melanie is still standing tall with no expression on her face.

The warrior advances toward her, and his hand lands on her neck. He pulls her into him so their faces are inches apart. Melanie pulls her head back and smashes it into his face. His hand drops to his side. Melanie sweeps her leg, and the man lands on his back. She straddles him and sends her fist swiftly to his chest. Melanie jumps off of him, back flipping away. The audience is stunned into silence. The referee comes and checks on the warrior. He lifts his hand, but it falls back down. He walks to Melanie and raises her hand in victory. The three of us jump up and start to cheer.

I turn and notice that, at some point, the stands filled up with more people. They all look shocked that she won at all and especially so quickly. “And that’s why you don’t doubt anyone simply because they are a woman.” I look at Shanice and laugh. I knew she’d end up having something to say, but I’m not mad at her. I love how supportive she is of anyone in this pack. Melanie grabs her towel and water, making her way out of the ring. This is going to be a great competition.