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  He felt Sarah cuddle against him. “They meant quite a bit to you.”

  Josiah shrugged. “They were like uncles. I looked up to them.”

  She rubbed his arm. “They helped raise a good man.”

  He gave her a small smile. “I wouldn’t say that.”

  She grinned at him. “I would.”

  They drove the rest of the way to the camp in silence. His thoughts drifted to her, the feeling of her against his arm, the sound of her breath. She was beautiful and smart and brave. He was the luckiest son of a bitch alive. He planned to spend the rest of his life holding her tight.

  That was, if she won her fight.

  Once they arrived home, they changed and headed to the gym to practice. He hated pushing her so hard. She’d collapsed into bed exhausted last night and was asleep when her head hit the pillow. But she got the severity of the situation. The poor girl worked her ass off. Progress was slow, but he did see some in such a small amount of time.

  They didn’t even get their sandals toed off before Micah shot out of the office, breathless. “Joe, Sarah. Good. You’re back.”

  “What is it?” Josiah questioned.

  “We’ve got Sarah’s opponent. And a reason to call off the fight.”

  “What do you mean?” Sarah asked.

  Micah turned over the piece of paper dangling between his pinched fingers. There was a portrait of a woman in a sports tank top with long brown hair. “Amara Toth from Trenton, New Jersey.”

  Josiah took the paper from him and studied it. “Never heard of her. Why would this get Sarah out of the fight?”

  “Check her mouth, Joe. Chick is sporting fangs.”

  Josiah peered closer at it and then blew out a long, steady breath. He bit back the cuss word on his lips. “She’s a bloodsucker.”

  “A what?” Sarah asked as she took the picture from Josiah.

  “A vampire, beautiful. Immortal, which means unable to be beaten. She’s a sure win. Rock and Cort gave their word they wouldn’t have you fight one of their own. They lied. They broke the deal they made.”

  Sarah was quiet for a moment. “What happens if we back out? Will they let us be even though they were the ones who transgressed the deal?”

  Josiah and Micah stared at each other. They knew the answer. It felt like a knife in his gut. “No. They’ll come after us.”

  She handed the paper to Micah. “Then let me fight.”

  “Sarah, you’ll lose,” Micah warned.

  “I’d rather try to win if it’ll mean our family will be safe.”

  “You don’t understand. There’s no chance in hell you could pull it off.”

  Josiah rubbed his chin. “Maybe there is.”

  Micah’s brow furrowed. “Enlighten me. What do you know that you haven’t told me?”

  “That Atticus told me why the vamps want Henry and the amulet in the first place. It seems to have an enormous benefit for each type of non-mortal creature. For vampires, it gives the ability to walk during the day.”

  Micah and Sarah’s eyes grew wide. “It would be a twenty-four seven feeding frenzy on humans. There would be no escape. Thousands would die. No, wait. They would all die.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Did good old granddad say what the benefit was for werewolves?”

  Josiah was quiet for a moment. “To end the curse.”

  “You mean be human?”

  “Yes.”

  “Shit. No more change. No more pain. We wouldn’t have to leave our mates a week a month.”

  “We wouldn’t have mates. There would be no such thing as mating.”

  “Shit.”

  Sarah touched Josiah’s arm. “You said vampires could walk during the day if they had the amulet.”

  “I did. What are you getting at?”

  “That means they can’t now.”

  “True.”

  “They cheated. Why can’t we?”

  Josiah chuckled. “Aren’t you supposed to be my good church girl? Here you are, talking about cheating. What do you have in mind?”

  Sarah grinned. “Ultraviolet lamps.”

  “Babe, how could we possibly pass off lamps that big?”

  “What about micro flashlight size? There has to be something out there small enough to resemble a cell phone camera flash.”

  Micah nodded. “It’s not a bad idea. We can put some of Littlefoot’s family in the stands. They can flash the UV bulbs instead of the cell phones.”

  “Will it be enough though?” Josiah questioned.

  “We’ve got to try. Put them ringside. The closer, the better. I’ll have Eve research the best options, and when she finds it, I’ll order them.”

  “Wait, I didn’t…” Josiah objected.

  “I’m pretty sure I told you I’m in charge,” Micah interrupted. “Go train your girl. I’ll send Abe in to grapple with her.”

  Josiah chuckled. “Okay, boss.”

  “Dang straight.” Micah strode out into the summer afternoon sunshine.

  Josiah held the gym door open for Sarah and grinned at her. “His head’s so inflated with power I don’t get to choose what I’m training today.”

  Sarah laughed. “Seems that way, huh?”

  He let the door fall closed and pulled her into his arms. She sighed as he parted her mouth with his. The taste of her lips, the feel of her tongue caressing his drove him mad. He gripped her ass in his hands and pulled her tight against him. His cock pressed hard against her. He moaned. He was certain she did too.

  He forgot about Abe coming to grapple until the door hit him in the arm. “Shouldn’t you save that for your cabin?” the youngest Hallow remarked.

  Josiah huffed as he broke the kiss. “Are you ready, smart ass?”

  “Always. Hey, did you hear that The Luchador signed to fight in the same promotion as Sarah? Totally legit and everything.”

  “Why the hell is that talentless hack fighting MMA? He’s a pro wrestler, not a mixed martial artist.”

  Abraham scowled. “He’s not a talentless hack. I bet he’ll surprise you.”

  “You think that because you’re his biggest fan. Is he wearing that stupid mask?”

  “I assume so.”

  “Against the rules but it’s Cort and Rock, so it makes sense. Let’s get to work.” He pressed a kiss to Sarah’s lips and then swatted her ass. “Center of the mat. Let’s work takedowns.”

  Sarah winked at him. “Yes, sir.”

  Abraham rolled his eyes as he shuffled to the middle of the mat. Sarah squared off with him. In seconds Abraham had her off her feet and on her back. But after nearly a dozen tries she was resisting him. Josiah sighed. This whole fight was a long shot.

  But the odds were starting to swing in their favor.

  Chapter Twelve

  Six long weeks passed. Sarah wasn’t sure how she survived it. Every muscle ached. She nursed at least three black eyes. She still had a yellow-green half-moon beneath her left eyelid from the last one. It had been sunup to sundown training to get her to this night. She accepted the hand her husband offered as she slid out of the passenger side of the truck. It was time to weigh in.

  She glanced at Littlefoot and his nephews waiting for them at the door of the club where the weigh-ins were held. She didn’t even get a reprieve while Josiah was beasting out with his brothers. Littlefoot coached her as she fought the younger members of his family. The older gentleman was a much gentler instructor than her mate. And he taught her a couple of tricks she could use.

  Littlefoot nodded as they and the other six brothers got closer. “We’ll surround you to keep you safe. Josh, Zeke, and Abe can bring up the rear.”

  “Have them up front, Littlefoot,” Josiah countered. “If the same thing is going down like it did during the last weigh-in, I want to keep my eye on them. You know, to stop them from succumbing to temptation and getting massively screwed over.”

  “We’re big boys, Joe,” Joshua protested. “We can handle ourselves.”

&nb
sp; “You maybe.” Josiah pointed at Abraham. “Jack off there will jump on the first pretty girl to give him the ‘come hither’ look.” Then he thumbed to Ezekiel. “And he has yet to take any of this seriously. Just stay ahead of us. It makes it easier to get to the stage too.”

  Joshua nodded then motioned the youngest two Hallows to follow him into the club. Littlefoot and his family surrounded Josiah, Sarah, Micah, Samuel, and Caleb as they entered.

  Sarah leaned toward Josiah to talk in his ear over the noise of the crowd. “We left the other mates alone without protection.”

  “Not so,” he shouted. “We’re going to find out how the UV light really works. Today, while we were working in the gym, the other boys installed some UV spotlights. If we’re right, it’ll nuke a bloodsucker on contact. Makes our camp almost daylight when they’re on. Besides they’ll only find half of what they’re looking for.” He reached in his pocket. Sarah could barely make out the chain and the red stones in the strobe lights.

  “Why exactly are we s…?” Sarah’s words were cut off by a hand on her ass. By the angle, it wasn’t her husband’s. Her stomach lurched. She swallowed hard to contain the bile.

  “Why are we surrounded?” Josiah replied. “By that lovely shade of green you just turned, you just figured out why.”

  Sarah nodded without a word. She remembered her last weigh in and her meeting with Mr. Rothsberg. She recalled Josiah’s words. If someone other than her mate touched her, someone who desired her, it made her physically ill. And at the moment, she felt like hurling.

  She heard someone behind her suck in a sharp breath. She looked over her shoulder at Caleb. He looked about as sick as she felt. He held out a roll of antacids to her.

  “It helps a little,” he offered.

  She smiled as she said thanks and took one. She popped it in her mouth. It didn’t taste great, but it did take the sting in her belly away.

  She glanced at the mob past the wall of men that protected her. She turned her gaze away. What the revelers were doing was far from appropriate for a dance floor. Almost everyone was naked. Most of them were having sex. Right there in the club. She nearly choked on her antacid.

  “I see things haven’t changed,” Micah commented in disgust.

  “Stay together. We get in. We get out.” Josiah looked around. Sarah felt him tense up beside her. “Where the fuck did Abe go? Son of a bitch.”

  “I’ll find him,” Noah volunteered. He nodded to them all before he pushed his way through the crowd.

  They all turned as the announcer addressed the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. Let’s weigh in our fighters.”

  Each set of opponents took to the stage to be weighed and to face off. The first set included The Luchador, the wrestler Abraham had been so excited about. The youngest Hallow couldn’t stop talking about him even though the masked man had only debuted six months earlier.

  “Explains where Abe took off to,” Samuel remarked. “He probably ran off to kiss this idiot’s ass.”

  The rest of the brothers laughed as they watched the masked wrestler weigh in and face off with his opponent. Once they had cleared, each pair of fighters followed them. Halfway through the weigh-in, Noah returned to the group with a firm grip on the back of Abraham’s shirt. He huffed as he nudged him to the group. “I didn’t get fondled that much the last time I had sex.”

  “Do I need to get a toddler leash for you?” Josiah asked him.

  “Fuck you,” Abraham shot back with a snarl.

  Micah turned back to the rest of them. “Sarah, you’re up.”

  Sarah ascended the short staircase to the stage. She could feel Josiah’s fingertips on the small of her back as he followed her. They waited together as they watched Amara stepped on the scale and stood still. The doctor muttered to the announcer.

  “One hundred and thirty-five point five. And her opponent, from Bemidji, Minnesota, Sarah M…wait. Hallow?”

  Sarah glanced at Josiah. He was sporting a huge grin. He nudged her toward the scale. “Go get them, darling.”

  “Of course, dear.” She strode across the stage to the scale and stepped on it. She held her breath. Weight wasn’t something she had been concentrating on. Being prepared to fight Amara was the top priority. She couldn’t remember the last time she stepped on a scale. Her new sisters-in-law had been great to her. They prepared the healthy meals every day. They were so good she didn’t crave junk food at all. That didn’t mean all the muscle wouldn’t tip her over the edge.

  The doctor murmured to the announcer. Her heart seized in her chest as he put the microphone to his lips. “One hundred and thirty-four pounds. Let’s face off, ladies.”

  Sarah breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped backward and squared off with Amara. Her opponent smiled at her, revealing a pair of pearly white fangs.

  “Ready for me?” Amara asked with a laugh.

  “Oh, my.” Sarah fanned herself in fake distress. “Aren’t those frightening? Not nearly as frightening as when my dearest husband beasts out. I guess you can’t win them all. And that includes tomorrow night.”

  Amara ran the tip of her tongue across her canines. “Do you realize who you’re dealing with? I’m going to win. It’ll be a literal bloodbath.”

  Sarah stepped up until she was nose to nose with Amara. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with. I’m a Hallow. And we don’t lose.”

  The security guards pulled the women apart before either could attack. They each dropped into stance for pictures and then were ushered off the stage. Sarah caught sight of Rock and Cort standing at the back of the stage, each with a smug grin plastered on his pale face. It made her want to do something against her nature, something very un-Christian. Like flip both her middle fingers at them.

  Josiah was rubbing off on her. For some reason, at the moment she didn’t mind.

  He wrapped a protective arm around her as they hopped down the steps. The others followed on their heels. “Let’s just get outside.”

  She nodded. “Sure.”

  The Hallows and their entourage were a force to be reckoned with as they shoved their path through the raucous crowd to the door. Sarah took a deep breath of warm air as they crossed the threshold of the door.

  Once they were across the street and standing next to the vehicles, Josiah turned to Noah and his cousins and brothers. “You have your tickets, correct? And the flashlights?”

  Noah shrugged. “Tickets, yes. But not the flashlights.”

  Josiah looked at Micah. “What the hell happened?”

  “The mates happened,” Micah answered. “Eve. Meg, Delilah, and Henry insist they’re going. And they are going to work the flashlights. Noah and the others will take what’s left.”

  “It’s too dangerous for them to be here, especially with the three women being pregnant.”

  “Are you going to tell my wife ‘no’?”

  “Or my wife?” Caleb added.

  “Or my wife?” Samuel remarked. “Or my husband? Good luck with either.”

  “Having Henry here with all the vampires is a bad idea,” Josiah reminded.

  “He’ll have a UV flashlight. As much as he’s terrified of them after he watched Rock and Cort kill his assistant, we’ll be fucking lucky if he doesn’t blast every one he sees with light. Besides, Littlefoot is taking my place in Sarah’s corner. I’ll be with them, and I’ll protect them.”

  Micah smirked at Josiah. “See, big brother? Everything is handled. Let’s just hope Grandpop was right about what he said about the bloodsuckers and daylight.”

  Josiah smiled. “All right. Let’s head home.”

  Everyone dispersed to the vehicle they rode in. Josiah helped Sarah in then climbed in himself. Before he could start the truck, she pressed a kiss to his lips.

  “What was that for?” he asked.

  “I don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” she answered. “I wanted you to know how much I love you, Josiah Hallow.”

&n
bsp; He kissed her, this time harder and deeper. “I know what’s going to happen. You’re going to kick ass, and this will all be over. Now, let’s go home and get some rest.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He turned the key in the ignition and shifted into gear. She cuddled against him as he followed his brothers out of Duluth onto the dark Minnesota highway.

  »»•««

  The arena was dark except for the blinding spotlights that shone down on the cage in the center of the floor. The mat inside was already smeared with blood. Josiah shook his head. He had already seen a handful of pointed, toothy smiles. He was surprised with the number of vampires in the building they weren’t going crazy by now.

  He glanced down the corridor toward the locker rooms. For about to have the literal fight of her life, Sarah was calm. She was even joking with Littlefoot as he wrapped her hands. Josiah had to step outside and get away from the merriment. He was glad she wasn’t panicking. It didn’t take away from the fact he was. She was his world, his breath, his soul. Once that cage door was locked, there was nothing he could do to protect her but yell instructions through the fence. He’d have to sit there and watch as she died at the hands of a vampire.

  Was that Rock and Cort’s plan the whole time? Here was that nervous breakdown again.

  Abraham threw a wave toward him as he strode past. The youngest Hallow was damp with sweat. How, Josiah had no idea.

  “Where the fuck have you been?” Josiah demanded.

  “Language,” Abraham taunted with a smirk.

  “Sarah’s not around, dumbass. So don’t push me. Where the fuck have you been?”

  “Watching. Geez. For the love of fuck, calm down.”

  “Abraham Tiberius Hallow, when will you get it through your thick skull? We are all in danger. There are things out there that want to kill us and the people we love. Someday you’ll get that there’s more to this world than yourself. And you’re out running around chasing some poser who wouldn’t give you the time of day.”