Across The Line. Amy Lee Burgess

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СКАЧАТЬ you feckin’ cunt. Fight me,” Alannah screamed. Every person in the room came to attention and a surge of bodies pressed together as they struggled for ringside positions to watch.

      From the corner of my eye I watched Ryan hold up a twenty beneath Sean’s nose. Sean fished out his money, and the bet was on.

      “You’d best be betting on me, Ryan Kelly, or I’ll kick your ass too,” Alannah shouted. Her eyes had a crazy glow and, for a short person she seemed very big.

      “If Stanzie loses, I’ll let you kick my ass, how’s that?” Ryan retorted. Laughter filled the room.

      “Better get ready to bend over.” Alannah’s grin was ferocious.

      “I’ll bend over for you, sweetheart,” someone said from the back of the room.

      “I’d rather bend her over,” called someone else to more laughter.

      “I’d rather bend the two of them over at the same time,” another witty bastard shouted. He meant me and Alannah. Next thing I knew someone would toss us into a kiddy pool of mud or Jell-o.

      “Eat shit,” I snarled. Colm snorted with laughter.

      “God, you’re classy. A fucking classy coward. Just what Mac Tire doesn’t need,” drawled Alannah as she slowly circled me. I moved with her, wishing like hell I was somewhere else. Why did I have to have such a big mouth?

      “Yeah, like we need a stupid, clueless bitch like you,” I muttered. Alannah hawked up a wad of spit and aimed it for my face.

      I dodged out of the way, grimacing with disgust.

      “You can’t fight for shit. Too scared,” jeered Alannah.

      Murphy looked like he wanted to reach out and yank her out of the room by her hair, but he couldn’t do that. Nobody fought anybody else’s battles in this pack. Except for me the night I leaped on Declan Byrne’s back when he’d fought dirty with a piece of glass against Paddy.

      Murphy faded back to give us room, his expression apologetic when he met my gaze.

      “I’ll be twice the Alpha you’d ever make.” Alannah lifted her bond pendant so we could all see the small Celtic knot next to the triad pendant on the chain. I had a knot pendant just like it on my chain. So did Murphy. Fee had given them to us when she backed us as her choice for the next Alpha duo.

      Colm winced. “I wish she’d let me announce that myself,” he muttered.

      So, it was official. Alannah, Petra and Dane were up for Alpha against me and Murphy. Great. So this fight would have double the meaning. If she wiped the floor with my face, I could pretty much kiss Alpha goodbye. No baby for Murphy and I knew how much he wanted one. Hell, I did too. Now that my wolf was normal.

      “You’re such an asshole.” Would she really throw away her shot on one stupid fight? She had just as much to lose as I did. More, because some people in the pack had not forgiven her for being bonded to Declan.

      Her new bond mates looked less than thrilled. They were in the front of the crowd. Petra’s face was thunderous with rage and betrayal. Dane glared at me.

      “Well, fight her, for Christ’s sweet sake,” he shouted at me.

      I calculated the odds. If Alannah won, was it really over? We still had nearly two years to election. A lot of things could shift in two years, including opinions. Especially opinions.

      On the other hand, if I lost, Alannah would never let anybody forget it. I was pretty much screwed. So was Murphy, which was worse.

      If Alannah were elected Alpha, she would never, ever agree to let me and Murphy run for the next Alpha pair so I’d have to wait ten years for another chance. I’d be forty-three by then, and I might still be fertile, but it was pushing it.

      Alannah was already nearly forty and if she didn’t make Alpha at the next election, she’d never have a baby. Babies. Why must so much hinge on them? Why could only the Alphas have them? It wasn’t fair.

      At that heretical thought, I froze. Alannah took advantage of my lapse of attention to dart in and land the first punch. A sucker punch right to my jaw.

      I saw stars and tasted blood. I’d bitten my tongue. Damn, that hurt. The pain snapped me back in focus. I ducked her next blow aimed at my nose.

      “Ah, my God, you don’t know how to fight, do you? You never fought in your frigging American pack, did you?” Alannah’s face crinkled in disgust.

      “Stupid us, we preferred to discuss our differences instead of beating each other like fucking barbarians.” I licked my lip. Was it bleeding too? Damn it.

      Alannah rolled her eyes. “I won’t hit you again, you poor thing. Just tell me I’ll make a better Alpha than you and we’ll shake hands and act all civilized as shit, how’s that?”

      “There’s only one problem with that,” I told her.

      “Oh, yeah? And what would that be?”

      “You’d make a terrible Alpha,” I said.

      “At least I don’t hide behind my wolf and let her fight my battles. What’s the matter, Stanzie? Scared? Why don’tcha let your wolf out to rip my throat open? That’s the only way you know how to fight, isn’t it? Not so fucking civilized when you’re furry, are you?” Alannah smirked.

      “I’m so sick of people talking about my wolf.” The red veil of rage descended until everything was tinged bloody.

      Front foot forward, I spun toward her and brought my other leg around in a perfect roundhouse kick. My self-defense teacher would’ve burst into excited cheers. I hadn’t spent all my damn time decorating after Murphy left me in Boston.

      I took Alannah out, my left foot planted smack into her stomach and she flew backward a gratifying five feet before she smashed, breathless to the floor.

      “You bitch,” she said when she got her breath back.

      Dead silence around the room for three beats as everyone waited for her to get up.

      I gestured for her to hurry up and come get me then as I swallowed a mouthful of blood. Tongue blood was sweet, but damn my jaw hurt.

      She lumbered to her feet, her gaze murderous. The room erupted in cheers and screams.

      Colm’s grin was incredulous and Murphy looked deliriously proud. Fee jumped around pumping her fist in the air like she was Rocky after the big fight. I would punch her next, I decided.

      “Lucky shot,” sneered Alannah and I rolled my eyes. My self-defense instructor would beg to differ. That move had taken me three weeks to even approximate.

      “Wanna try again and prove it?” I asked. The crowd went wild. Alannah scowled at them, her expression sour as curdled milk. Could I help it if they were on my side?

      “So what does it feel like to kill someone?” Alannah asked. “What did it feel like when you saw their dead bodies after the car crash and knew you’d been the one to smash them into bloody pieces?”

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