Heroes and Wolves [book 1]

Chapter forty

Layla

Maylock takes his shoes and black jacket off. Abbey does the same on the other side, she's now left with a black vest top but my eyes quickly divert to Maylock who is left with a white t-shirt tight to his body. It defines the outlines of his abdominal muscles which are packed into six or is it eight? Whatever the number it looks mighty impressive. Holy wow. I can't seem to tear my eyes away from him as his muscular stature continues to his arms which tells me that he looks after himself and must come in here very often.

I pull my gaze away from Maylock but my will to leave his sight falters because as they both walk into the circle and start to warm up, Maylock swivels his arms, which bulges his biceps and then clicks his knuckles. I force myself to look away and notice that Abbey only does a light wriggle of her arms and legs.

     "In Guardian of the ring, the first thing you do is bow. Just don't do that to the Mavlins or any Fighters you come across as they won't welcome the gesture" Maylock glances over at Zack who shrugs.

     "I honestly don't know what you mean" he grins and holds his hands up in a mock defence.

Zack sits next to me as Maylock and Abbey bow to each other and the fight begins. To start with, they just circle each other but then Maylock suddenly attacks first with a quick fist which hits Abbey and takes her by surprise as she steps out of the ring.

     "Strike one Abbey!" Zack shouts and she rolls her eyes and steps back into the ring.

They bow again and resume their monotonous circling tactic. Maylock looks quite composed with his fists up high to protect his head whereas Abbey's stance is a bit weak if I do say so myself but my judgement is put through scrutiny when Maylock punches towards her and she dodges his attempt effortlessly. Her supposed weak stance gives her fluidity in her movements and reactions. She impacts Maylock's shoulder with a punch but Maylock quickly recovers and reciprocates an attack but again, Abbey dodges it and the momentum behind it causes him to stumble out of the ring

     "Strike one Maylock! You are now equal"

They bow again, circle but not to the same duration as before since Maylock lashes out, making contact with Abbey and she's getting pushed back with his advances. Just when I think he is going to win this round, she elbows him in the ribs making me and Zack both react to it.

Maylock keels over, holding his side and waves his hand in surrender. 

     "Bloody hell Abbey. Cheap shot" Maylock coughs. 

     "That's strike two" I announce. I'm getting the hang of this.

Maylock swivels his arms and stretches his side twice before entering the ring once more. They do their usual introduction and start to fight. 

Maylock goes in for a swift attack first to try to equal the score but gets put on the defensive just as fast. Being defensive sometimes means you have lost control in a fight, yet Maylock is thriving.

Even while being winded, he's constantly on the move. His eyes are locked on Abbey. He dodges every one of her attacks and parries her punches to the side. He's bouncy on his feet and reacts to anything Abbey does. This is infuriating her considering she had the upper hand for two rounds but fights can be unpredictable. 

Maylock being on defence tended to Abbey's ego and allowed her to use most of her energy to try and achieve the win. She's tired. Maylock knows this and switches his tactic. 

After he ducks to avoid her swinging leg, he manages to hit her and she steps back from the blow, placing her feet on the chalk line but she recovers. Her raspy breathing splutters as she circles him just as Maylock does her. 

Abbey is still near the edge of the circle while Maylock has more ground to his advantage. He seems to notice this as he deflects two weak punches she does in desperation as he closes in on the small amount of space between them. Her attempts to thwart Maylock are pitiful and it only takes one push with both of his arms to cause Abbey to land on the mat with a hard thud outside of the circle. Another strike has been made.

     "You are both on two strikes. The winner becomes the hero." Zack informs as Maylock pulls Abbey up for their final round.

     "Had enough?" Maylock smirks as Abbey flicks her hair away from her eyes. She's flustered and is still breathing heavily but enters the circle for one final round.

Maylock walks into the circle. Glory is pasted on both their faces. They don't even take the time to bow, nor circle each other as they go full out to get one more strike over their opposition. 

Maylock lands a few punches on Abbey but she dodges the next couple he gives. When he brings his fist close for another attack, Abbey manages to lift her foot at the same time and slam it into his stomach making him lurch forward and hold his side - the same side she hit earlier. Abbey, sensing this advantage, pushes Maylock to the floor but more like shoves him as she isn't holding back her need to win. The power behind it makes Maylock skid across the chalk line leaving a white smudge mark on his behind.

Abbey won.

     "That was easy" she comments arrogant and I roll my eyes "Zack? Do you dare challenge me?" her voice is full of ego and it annoys me.

     "Oh, I do dare" he stands up and quickly takes his shoes off.

Maylock comes to sit next to me with his jacket, shoes and a towel in hand.

     "This should be interesting." He pats the towel over his forehead. "They spar together quite a lot" he places his hands out wide to stable himself on the floor as we both look on.

Abbey and Zack bow to each other and the fight begins.