Free Reina's Mate by Dawn Wilder

him to come at me and he didn't
disappoint.
    I dodged, not wanting to block unless I
absolutely had to. His blows would be as massive as he was.
    After a few more tries and misses, he moved
back and circled again.
    Alright, speed was on my side. I figured my
best bet was to tire him out before I went in for the kill.
    And I had no illusions about the fact that I
would be going in to kill. We couldn't afford to leave him
alive.
    I waited and eventually he got tired of
waiting for me to make a move.
    And again, I wasn't where he needed me to be
for the blows to land.
    I could see the frustrated impatience in his
face and in the way he was moving.
    Good. That could only work in my favor.
    We went through a few more rounds, me
conserving my energy and him getting more and more frustrated.
    It would be time to make my move soon.
    But I made the mistake of thinking this
would be an honorable fight.
    I didn't think about the zealots Bar had
mentioned.
    Something hit me hard in the back of my
right knee and I turned instinctively, off-balance.
    It was a large rock. The guard that Manny
had just been dangling by the neck a few minutes ago
straightened.
    That was all the distraction Manny
needed.
    The blow hit me in the back of the head,
turning my whole body and leaving me too dazed to do anything as I
felt him pick me up.
    The night air whizzed passed me and I hit a
tree with a meaty crunch that had me wincing before I even felt the
pain.
    Fuck.
    I looked up to see Manny casually walking
toward me, a smirk on his face that could only mean bad things for
me.
     
    Chapter 7
     
    Reina
     
    I watched as Griff hurtled through the air,
his flight stopped by a sturdy tree that shook under the impact of
his body.
    Oh, God.
    I moved through the crowd toward him.
    Fuck this. That was a clear cheat.
    There was no way I had it in me to stand by
and watch him be taken apart.
    I reached the sniveling brown-noser that had
thrown the rock.
    He was smallish.
    Tapping him on the shoulder, I waited for
him to turn around with a questioning look on his face.
    “ Mind if I borrow
you?”
    His eyes widened in recognition right before
I sunk my whole weight into the right hook.
    Dazed, he was easy enough to pick up
now.
    Just looking to even the odds.
    Picking him up over my head, I strained as I
aimed.
    And flung him hard right at Manny's
head.
    I watched as he went flying in a tumble of
arms and legs.
    Manny went down with a surprised yell.
     
    Griffith
     
    I blinked as I watched a body hurtle into
Manny.
    Following the man's trajectory backwards, I
locked eyes with Reina. She shrugged.
    That startled a chuckle out of me.
    Which immediately made me wince as my ribs
protested.
    I used the tree to force myself to my feet.
Lying there was a death sentence. Though at least Manny looked a
little worse for wear due to the human torpedo that had been
launched at him.
    I knew I'd be replaying that moment over and
over again in my head.
    But I'd have to make sure I survived this so
I could kiss Reina silly.
    Taking shallow breaths, I put the pain aside
and focused on Manny.
    Thanks to Reina, I was on my feet and moving
by the time Manny had thrown the guy off and gotten to his
feet.
    If I was that idiot, I'd run for cover.
Tonight was definitely not his night.
    Alright, new plan. Go in hard. I didn't have
it left in me to wait while Manny got tired out.
    Claws out, I attacked.
    He blocked my first few blows, but he
couldn't quite keep up with my speed and I was able to get a solid
blow in.
    But I didn't stop there.
    I needed to capitalize, not give him a
chance to recover.
    I ignored the flashing pain in my ribs as I
aimed for his throat and groin, but took shots in between where
ever I could.
    He caught my wrist in a vise-like grip and
hammered a blow into my already aching ribs.
    The pain was white hot, rolling through me
in a nauseating wave.
    Fighting through it, I went for the family
jewels, which he'd left wide open.
    With a pained exhalation, he let go