Scum (Book 2)

114. Done

Chey’s POV

Eli’s fight was so good that I almost forgot I was fighting too, and I ended up gushing over the man’s techniques instead of listening to the rules.

“Why do you look so mad at me? I’m simply congratulating you on a good fight.”

“Are you even taking this seriously?” The man points to where paramedics are setting up what looks like an impromptu triage station, which actually works to wipe the smile off my face.

“I don’t plan on dying here.”

“Good, because if you do…” The man rubs his temples and groans, making me feel terrible for springing this on him. “I shouldn’t have invited you here,” he whispers. “Just make sure that I don’t regret it.”

“I’ll try.” I’ve seen videos.

Martha is a great fighter; someone I wouldn’t mind learning from, but I don’t plan on losing to her.

Elijah’s POV

Cheyenne is beautiful, fun to bully, and a pretty decent alpha, so I now understand why my little brother is prepared to drop everything for her.

The sad part is, I don’t think she’s even remotely aware of how much he likes her, and truthfully, I only just realized that I’ve grown a soft spot for the woman myself.

I know that I’m not the most pleasant person, but I inherited a lot of responsibility at far too young.

Yes, having my uncle around helped, but he had his own family, so my little brother and I were often neglected.

Because of that, I’ve poured all of myself into my brother, but he’s such an i***t that it’s a never-ending job, and sometimes, I tend to overreact.

Now though, I feel like the worst sibling in the world, specifically because if Cheyenne is seriously injured in this fight, Noah may never forgive me, but he probably won’t forgive me anyway.

I seriously like Cheyenne, and at nearly twenty-three, I’m fairly confident that I don’t have a fated partner.

Fortunately, I’ve always wanted to choose who I gave my mark to, so I’m not broken up about it, but I am afraid of the potential fallout that could come from what I plan to do.

Noah and I already have a past that already includes bad blood over a woman, not that we both liked her, but she first made passes at me before she turned her attention to my brother, and had I known what was happening, I would have told him sooner, and he wouldn’t have believed that I was ‘jealous’ of him.

“Don’t look so sad. I’m a lot tougher than I look.” I didn’t even realize that I was staring at Cheyenne, but I am, and despite having a splitting headache, I force myself to smile.

“After this… I’m taking you somewhere that fighting isn't allowed.” I roll my eyes at the mouthguard smile Chey flashed back at me, and then, I pray…

Chey’s POV

I may have bit off more than I could chew, but I’ve been in this situation before, so I know I haven’t quite reached my limit.

Martha is really talented, but she too underestimated me, which is why she’s become frustrated to the point that it’s negatively impacting her decisions.

When we first started, I was barely able to land a blow, but since then, I hit her five times, two of which made her stumble.

That’s not to say that I haven’t had my fair share of licks, because I’m definitely bleeding from somewhere on my face, and my head is killing me.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had to fully apply myself to any fight I’ve had, so instead of being angry like Martha is, I’m excited.

The woman and I are now going blow for blow, but I put too much power into my last punch, and she used my momentum to push my arm away and get behind me.

Immediately, her arm is wrapped around my neck, but I have an older brother who made sure that I knew how to get out of a chokehold.

Using all the strength I can muster, I draw back my leg, and use it to hook Martha’s, simultaneously pushing backward so that she can fall on her back.

Because of my weight, I know the wind was knocked out of the woman, but she’s a true fighter, so she hasn’t let go. However, she’s so focused on trying to hold me and breathe that she hasn’t realized that her ribs are now open for exploitation.

Quickly and harshly, I bring my elbow into the woman’s side, but it’s not until the third strike that she lets go, and by that time, I’m so disoriented that I almost can’t move.

It kind of feels like the symptoms of blood loss, and out of pure instinct, I swing at the blur stirring beside me.

My punch connects with Martha’s shoulder on the same side of the ribs I hope I broke, causing her to recoil, which accidentally leaves the side of her face wide open.

Again, I swing, connecting with her eye socket, then I climb over the woman, who wasn’t expecting to be hit as hard as she was.

I’ve done this before, raining blows down on an opponent who was too busy trying to protect their face, but Martha is a professional fighter, so she’s moving with the punches; only she’s having trouble on her left side, which I exploit by ramming my knee into the area.

It’s pain that makes her drop her hands just enough for me to punch her directly in the center of the face, but at the same time, her right hand darts up and catches me on the side of the neck.

She and I are both in bad shape, but I’m not about to let her get up before me, so I wrap my legs around hers and lean back, hoping that I can force her to tap out with a kneebar.

Martha needs her body to be in prime condition to fight because it’s her job, so if she can’t break free, she’s risking permanent damage to the ligaments.

I don’t know how much time passed, but eventually people rushed into the ring, trying to signal to me that the fight’s over.

I’ve got blood in my eyes, so I couldn’t see, and my ears are clogged, but once I see Elijah and Noah, I let go.

The two men hoist me up, smiling like idiots as they say whatever it is that they’re saying, but for me…

“I’m going to pass out…”

“Not here…” Elijah warns, grabbing my arm and lifting it high in the air.

It’s now that I realize that my ears aren’t clogged, but the crowd is roaring so loud that it’s drowning out all the other sounds around me.

“You f*cking did it, Cheyenne. You did it!” Noah’s face is inches away from mine, so when my eyes rolled back, he saw it.

“I need water…” The man must have linked Elijah because a bottle is being brought to me, and throwing all caution to the wind, I gulp down as much as possible before throwing it right back up.

“F*ck…” Eli says, pulling me to the side of the ring where ‘my crew’ should be waiting, but there's no one because, just like I was at Alpine, I’m still alone. “Chey, look at me.” My guess is that my eyes aren’t doing what I’m asking them to do because Eli curses again. “Get my car. We have to get her to a hosp-”

“No… I can’t afford it right now.”

“Sh*t…” I stand, forcing myself toward where I can exit the ring, but someone grabs my hand and starts tugging me in the opposite direction.

“What do you want?” I’m planting my feet, but I’m fully aware that it’s Noah and Eli keeping me in place.

“We have a contract for you.”

“What the hell are you talking about? She’s not about to go through a whole contract signing process right now. She’s not even interested.” I’m glad Elijah is speaking for me because I’m really done with fighting.

This match showed me that I’m not the best, and the last thing I want is to damage my brain.

“I think I have a concussion.”

“We need to get her seen by paramedics,” Noah adds, pulling me toward the station set up for me, but there’s no treatment for a concussion, I just need to go home.

At a certain point, I’ve lost track of where I am, but I know who’s with me, and they’re basically carrying me.

Fortunately, I’m aware enough to mind-link, but the reaction I got from my very worried pack members made my head start throbbing again.

“What did you do to her?” Jett yells, pulling me away from the men as someone else pushes into the apartment from behind us.

“We didn’t do anything. She had a fight.”

“Against?” Miguel is here now, but I can’t open my eyes because the light hurts.

“Did she lose?” That sounds like Bruno, but I’m not entirely sure because the voice is raspy, almost as if the person had been sleeping.

“It was a fair fight, and she won.”

“This is what winning looks like?”

“Well, Martha McGregory has a broken jaw, eye socket, and I’m pretty sure her ribs are fractured.”

“She didn’t fight that monster, did she?” That’s exactly what it feels like; I’ve fought a monster. “She isn’t right in the head.”

“Please lower your voices…” My brain feels like it’s throbbing, but I know better than to fall asleep right now.

“Can you walk us through treating you?”

“Do we have ice packs?” I can’t remember if we have any, but if we don’t, we need to buy some.

Something cold touches my forehead, but it’s giving me little relief.

“Cheyenne… I don’t think you should fall asleep right now.” There are a lot of whisper arguments happening around me, mostly between Dyson and Elijah, but Noah isn’t making things better by assessing my injuries aloud.

Nothing feels broken, but skull fractures take some time to show symptoms, and he seems to be worried that I have one.

“Can my mate help?” Bruno asks, sparking a conversation about the Wiccan in our pack.

“Only if she feels comfortable with it.”

“What do you mean if she’s comfortable? Aren’t you her alpha?” I can’t see Eli, but I can sense his irritation.

Thankfully, Maya comes primed to assist, and once again, that familiar burning of a healing potion engulfs my body.

I’m not sure, but I think it’s safe to sleep now, but…

“Call Alpha Franchelle. Tell her what’s happening. I think I may have made another enemy today.”