THE NORD BROTHERS

CHAPTER 9

"Competitors!" Caleb stepped into the center, huge smile on his lips. 

What a showman.  

"First, the rules." He stared, acting like a true MC of this grand event. "The fight will be held in human form. Shifting is strictly forbidden." The man glanced between her and his brother as if to make sure they understood. "No biting, clawing or use of weapons." Caleb raised his finger. "And the most important part, no blows to the crotch." 

Logan nodded once. She did the same. Though it was a shame she couldn't kick his nuts for all the things he said. Fair fight it was...

Caleb nodded, his gaze lingering on Mariana. "Good. Let the best one win!" He stepped off the matts and the real fight was on. 

This felt like a scene from a western movie. Two cowboys, locked in intense stare-down, ball of hay rolling somewhere in distance. Who will pull the gun first?

They circled, assessing each other for weaknesses. Intense focus reflected in his steely gaze. He wasn't playing around, intent seeped through every hardened feature - he was there to win. And so was she. 

After he first played out the 'rules', she was seconds away from ordering a Logan lookalike pinata and whacking the comfort candy out of it. Screw that. The real thing was far better. She had every intention of giving him a nice, black shiner to sport for a following week. 

As if his inner "mate is up to something" radar had caught a whiff of her thoughts, Logan's stare flicked to the side and then he pounced. 

The speed on the man caught her off guard. For someone his size, she hadn't imagined he could move this fast. Mariana just barely managed to duck under his arm and twist her body away from the angry white-knuckled first. 

His attacks were vicious. The crowd watched with bated breath. With corner of her eye, she caught Caleb stroking his jaw nervously, pacing back and forth, his eyes trained on the battling duo. The thought of the handsome ladies man being all skittish was excrilleating and distracting enough for her to majorly fuck up. 

Mariana gasped when a sudden blow knocked her off her feet. Her legs went up and her butt gravitated towards the ground in an alarming speed. With all the grace of herd of elephants, she whumped straight onto the blue mattress that wasn't nearly as soft as it looked. 

A couple woops came from the rowdy crowd. Almost all men wore nasty grins. They sneered and whispered among themselves like flock of high school Barbies. Very mature. But a couple overgrown boys was the least painful thorn in her side. 

Logan stood over her sprayed out self, his arms crossed over his heaving chest and haughty look in his laser-beam eyes. His expression particularly screamed "I told you so." And fuck, she would die before she heard him voice those words.

Mariana swung her leg directly for his ankles. She could've sworn they were made of steel. Having to bite back a howl of pain, the young woman watched the mass of the man wobble. His eyebrows shot up, eyes widened with open surprise and the muscular body gave an awkward jerk. 

The ground shook when his six-foot-five frame hit the matts. Collective 'uhh' echoed around them. She didn't pause to admire her handiwork, bounding forwards to tackle the man before he got on his feet. 

Logan grunted as she landed on top him, pinning his down underneath her. "Gotcha." Her hips settled on his, both her knees digging into his wrists. Sparks exploded across her skin like fireworks. His shocked expression melted away into something she hadn't expected to see. Pride? Why the fuck did he look so happy when she was the one towering over him? 

Then she felt it...something hard pressing against her inner thigh. Her libido woke and took notice instantly. Hello. 

Did I give him a stiffie? Holy-

Stupidly, she glanced down and the world went spinning. In a flash, her back was against the matts and dark-eyed man was looming over her, his forearm pressing against her throat. The wrong brain in her body hummed with the friction of having him settled between her legs. 

"You lost." He mouthed. 

The simple soundless words smacked her harder than any fist. 

Speak of a reality check, someone cleared their throat in distance. Both of them glanced to the side at frowning Caleb. If looks could kill....

Gwen by his side had turned beat red and other werewolves sported a mixture of funny grins and disappointed pouts. 

Logan shuffled to his feet, dragging the poor looser with him with easy motion. Mariana felt like a deflated balloon. If she hadn't tried to get a glimpse of his hard-on, she would've won. But nooo...seeing his dick had taken priority. She couldn't look anyone in the eye, studying the blue matts and having an inner cringe-fest instead. 

"You'll be training them." 

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt. "Come again?" Mariana deadpanned. 

"I said, you will be training the females." Logan said matter-of-factly. 

"But..." But he won! He fucking shoved it in her face! And now he was what...giving up his win?

The corners of his lips twitched as if he was resisting a smile. "Only two people have managed to tackle me, one of them is you." He admitted, his features hardly giving away any damage to his pride if there was any. 

Count me baffled...

She waited for him to continue like an eager puppy, but instead he walked away without a second glance at her. Everyone looked shocked. 

Mariana stared blankly at his back until Logan was out of sight, butterflies swirling out of control.