Unleashed

Chapter Fourteen: Observant

Connor

In the middle of the amphitheater, I stood eye to eye with an eight-foot-tall angry-looking grizzly bear. The beast had just bitten into my thigh and scratched my forearm, and both wounds hurt like hell and stung like a bitch.

Animal fights were always harder: not because the bear was stronger than I was, but because the fights were unpredictable. If I fought against another Lycan, I knew what I could expect, but battling against a bear, lion, or tiger? That was unfamiliar territory for me. I didn't know their ways, didn't know what awaited me because I couldn't read their body language the way I could read another Lycan's.

The huge brown animal, fed up with playing for the crowd, rushed towards me, wanting to end it. White foam dripped out of its mouth. It roared and showed its huge yellow teeth, aiming to gore me with them. I was quicker this time, dodging it. I then grabbed its neck from behind and twisted the cervical spine. The crunch was loud and, when the heavy dead body fell to the sand, the thud was even louder.

The crowd was cheerful. They were satisfied with this share of violence.

My eyes immediately searched for a particular human and when I found the pair of dark blue eyes, there was an unbelievable feeling of satisfaction running through my body. It wasn't even the first time I saw her today. The match before this one, she had also sat there in that same spot. I wanted her to see my victory, so I roared loudly, trying to ignore that I did that all for her. I seriously didn't know what the fuck was wrong with me these last few weeks. My behavior and attitude made me sick, yet I couldn't help myself.

***

Backstage, when I was in my man form again, Ludovic, another one of Darius's Lycans, praised me before he looked at my leg. "Good match, man, but... wow, that looks like a nasty wound."

I softly licked against the red scratch on my arm. It wasn't too significant, but my leg had to be bandaged. There were multiple puncture wounds where his teeth had carved my flesh. Rhett could wrap it up when I was back later. There was only one more fight for today.

"Break him," I ordered Ludovic when it was his turn again. He was up against a Lycan from Vincent's house.

"Oh, I'll rip off his bottom jaw," my friend said before he grabbed a vial out of his pocket and inhaled deeply. He took a sip next, and I watched how he rolled his eyes back into his skull in pure ecstasy.

Every time I witnessed them in such a state, I was jealous. So fucking jealous, wanting the feeling I know it gave. But then I remembered how numb I actually felt as well. I mean, look at them. The others didn't even notice I wasn't taking any drugs anymore. They didn't even smell it wasn't in my system anymore. They were only busy sniffing that shit. Of course, they wanted to win matches as well, but even that was only to get more "stuff," as Darius always rewarded good fights with more little bottles than bad fights.

When Ludovic was back to the normal world again, he took off his pants, shifted, and left me to attend his fight. It was only me and him today; the others stayed back at the ludus to practice. There were six matches, so it was only a small tournament.

***

Like some pathetic being, I waited in front of the window, just like I had done these past few weeks. The sky had already turned dark.

I sniffed at the second drawing, even though there wasn't a trace of fragrance left on the paper.

Mila had never visited me again, but we kept up with these weird little staring meetings between us. Perhaps the drugs had infected my brain and had me yearning to look at that helpless human.