Her Hidden Beast

SCARLET

“Scar! SCAR, wake the fuck up! Coffee’s ready.”

Toni.

He was my watchdog while I slept, easily waking up to a pin drop, while I stayed dead to the world.

I pulled him out of a street fight when he was thirteen. Vicious little shit. Knocked out two kids bigger than him before I stepped in.

I took an immediate liking to him because I saw a lot of myself in him. Orphaned, stubborn, and unpledged to a Family.

He was alone in this world and wouldn’t last long without protection, and the other kids that ran around like feral dogs knew it.

That was almost a year ago, and we’d stuck together ever since. I liked having him around. He kept me company, and I found his other skills very…helpful.

“I’m awake, I’m awake,” I said, slowly rolling over.

“You were mumbling in your sleep again,” Toni said, handing me the coffee he just poured. “Yeah, same fucking dream,” I responded, taking the steaming cup from his hand and rolling up to a sitting position on the edge of the mattress.

A mattress sitting on the floor, but a luxury no less.

Ice-blue eyes were all I could ever remember from the dreams. I could only guess that they started around the time I turned twenty.

Not every night, but often enough to keep poor Toni awake most nights. According to him, I always had a lot to say, only he had no idea what because everything came out a garbled mess.

Rose tried to help me remember more of them, but she said they were too deep within my mind for her power to reach.

She even tried to block them, but nothing worked. One of her concoctions kept me awake for days.

By the fifth day, things got a bit…ugly.

I was so exhausted, the wolf part of me was out of control.

I sipped the bitter brew and set the mug on the floor next to me.

What I would give for just a little sugar, or even a drop of honey to sweeten the coffee. Maybe even some milk.

I had both at the same time once.

Heaven.

Or what I imagined heaven would be like if there was one.

Then again, we wouldn’t have the coffee if it weren’t for Toni’s sticky little fingers. My clever little thief.

I almost lost my shit when he came home with two live chickens. They were even laying eggs. We decided that as long as they kept giving us eggs, we wouldn’t eat them.

Between my training and wolf metabolism, I needed to eat more than a regular human. The eggs weren’t much but helped supplement our food ration.

Stretching my legs out in front of me and my arms out over my head, I lay back over the mess of sheets and blankets.

Toni and I shared the mattress for now, but there was no way I was sharing a blanket with him. I had my little thief on the lookout for another mattress.

It’s not like I was rubbing one out until my fingers pruned on the regular, but a little more quality alone time wouldn’t hurt.

I’m a grown-ass woman, don’t judge.

I was lost in my self-pleasuring thoughts when Toni landed hard on the mattress next to me.

“George was just here. Says sorry for the short notice, but he has you booked in two nights.

“Something about some top wolf coming and they want all the best fighters out. I told him it shouldn’t be a problem, you’ve been training hard, but you’d let him know when we get downstairs.”

“Bout’ fucking time. I haven’t had a fight in over a month.”

The Pits. Fighting is what I was good at, and I felt like I could be myself in the Pits.

George ran the training facility for fighters and manages the Pits for the Ocean Runners Family. One of the largest of the Families in what used to be Eastern Europe.

There were not many, but we controlled the few human ports we were allowed to have. The Family negotiates for the lumber to build ships that are used to fish the oceans and rivers. Also, to transport people and resources all over other parts of what is left of the world.

The world was very different now than it was a hundred years ago.

Disgusted by humans in general, the Covenant issued a laundry list of forbidden commodities and activities. Getting caught with anything banned would get you killed, no questions asked.

They also ended any money system because of the corruption it created, leaving us to learn how to live off the land again. Everything is gathered, crafted, or traded.

With the exception of solar power to run a few lights, we went back to the dark ages.

Toni and I lived on part of the second floor of the training facility for the fighters. Once a large warehouse, it was repurposed into a gym complete with a few apartments on the second floor.

My fight record earned me one of the secured living spaces and a generous food ration that I shared with Toni. It even had running water.

The solar batteries held enough charge to run a few lights, heat the water for the shower, use the cooktop, and keep the food cooler running.

When I was younger, George found me fighting off some other kids. He got me off the street, pledged with a Family, and eventually, I became their best female fighter.

Only problem is, other females didn’t want to fight someone who had knocked out every opponent and stayed undefeated for three years.

I didn’t blame them. If only they knew…

“Ugh, but the fucking wolves? Really? Seems like we just put on a little show for them.” I sat back up and grabbed my mug of coffee, cradling it in both hands.

The wolves liked violence. Liked it more watching humans inflict it on each other.

The Pits were originally set up to punish those found guilty of breaking rules, but the Families also like to have bragging rights on who had the best fighters. So fight nights became a regular thing.

The rules in the Pit were simple—there are no rules.

The wolves caught wind of our activities and soon became regular spectators. Just to sweeten the pot, they brought resources to reward Families with winning fighters.

Almost as if they were trying to pit the humans against each other.

Toni sat up next to me. He didn’t understand my anxiety about the wolves being around because he had no idea what I was.

“Yeah, but they were over in the Sunbacks Pit. I heard they gave them a ship full of food and medicines for their hospitality.”

A ship full of food and medicine for the Sunbacks was a big deal. They made the solar cells and ran the solar farms that powered our grids.

They didn’t produce food, so such a windfall was a great incentive to keep kissing the wolves’ asses.

“I know, Toni,” I said with a sigh. “They are trying to make themselves look good, but there’s some truth to an old saying…something about not trusting a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Also, it takes one to know one.

“Come on, bud, I’m gonna finish this coffee, get changed, and we’ll go down for a workout. Can you fill up a couple bottles with water for us?”

Toni nodded his head and ran off, leaving me to sip on the rest of my coffee.

I started training him a few months ago, thinking that he might as well learn how to put those fighting skills to use.

“Toni, feed the chickens too!” I called out.

“We have fucking chickens,” I chuckled to myself.

I pulled myself up and gathered some fresh workout clothes. I was due back in the Pit in two days.

Good thing I’d been training hard the last few weeks. I planned to take it easy for the next two days to avoid injury. It’s not like any female human could possibly even give me a challenge.

I thought about asking George to fight some men, but I was worried about drawing too much attention. How would a human female ever explain soundly kicking a human male’s ass?

Sure, it could happen once or twice, but after that…well, you get the idea.

After freshening up and only slightly more awake, I made my way down the stairs to the main floor of the gym.

The room was quiet, and I counted three other fighters warming up on some mats on the far side of the room.

I only took a few steps before hearing George’s voice.

“Hey, there’s my girl!”

I rolled my eyes slightly, but he was kinda like my dad, after all.

“So, did Toni tell you? I’ve got you penned in as the main ladies’ event.”

“Of course, I’m the fucking main ladies’ event. I’m the only girl, George,” I teased.

“Listen, kiddo, I’m nervous as fuck about this going off smooth. Wolves are at the Pit today to secure the place and they are locking it down tight until the event.

“Nobody gets in or out without going through them. Someone really high up in the food chain is coming.”

I could feel the nerves rolling off of him in waves. Goddamn wolf senses.

The wolves had only taken over the Pit one other time. I wasn’t a fighter then, but I heard the beta showed up.

The beta was the second most important wolf in their hierarchy. There was still a lot we didn’t know about wolf society. They were rather secretive, but they were quick to teach us whom to get on our knees for.

I kissed him on the cheek, making him turn cherry red and temporarily turning nervous George into a blushing George.

Worked every time.

“No problem, Georgie. I’ll put on a good show for ’em. Only question is, how long do you want me to punish this poor girl for and how much blood do you need sprayed on the crowd?”

George knew I was serious. I could end any fight at any time with a few well-placed punches and I had a knack for making them bleed.

A lot.

Problem was, there was no entertainment in ending them too early.

George closed his eyes, hung his head, and rubbed his temples with his fingers. “Christ, Scarlet, you’re so…”

“Badass?” I finished for him with a giggle. “Savage?” I tried again.

“Tell you what, I need to work out details for the lower-level fights. I want to try to find out who this top dog is that is showing up. I’ll get back to you on how long...and how much...blood,” he finished.

“Oh Georgie, you really know how to make a girl happy!”

George turned and walked away, shaking his head.

He didn’t like it when I talked that way. We’d been accused of rigging fights before, but how could I rig a fight to win?

That would take cooperation from my opponent, and we didn’t get to decide who it was, the other Family did.

Sometimes we didn’t even know who it would be until hours before the fight.

If the wolves are handling security at the Pit, whoever this wolf is, he’s important.

The wolf hierarchy was fairly basic. The alpha was like the captain, the beta his right hand. The rest were called omegas, the soldiers.

The omegas were the only ones that have ever come into the Trench, besides the one beta’s special visit many years ago.

I was warming up on the punching bag as Toni loafed over with the punching pads and my sparring gloves. He was trying very hard to hide his emotions, but I could smell his extreme unease.

“What’s up, Toni?” I asked nonchalantly.

I was hoping he’d just offer it up without me threatening to beat the snot out of him.

“Dammit, Scar. How do you do that?” he said with a sigh, turning white as a ghost and making me sorry I asked.

“Guess I should just say it before you threaten to end me.” He looked away and spat on the floor.

“It’s fucking Arran. He’s in the locker room tellin’ all the guys about how he’s going to have you on your back, screaming his name, and that wasn’t all he had to say. He…”

Fucking gross. I held up my hand to signal I didn’t need to hear the rest.

“So, I got up in his fucking face and told him he wouldn’t be touching you.”

Toni standing up to Arran was like one of those tiny dogs barking at a really big dog. One bite and that little dog is dead. While I loved that fight in him, sometimes I worried that it would get him killed.

Arran was the current, undefeated Pit champion.

He was called the Executioner because few of his opponents left the ring breathing. He also carried out the punishments of those found guilty of crimes.

Also, he was an absolute psycho.

He’d been pursuing me for a few years, but I couldn’t be more uninterested. Plus, he smelled all wrong to me.

Sure, I’d fucked around with a few guys, nothing serious, but as far as...feeling something for someone else, I just...didn’t think I could.

They never felt...right.

I never felt right.

I’d talked with Rose about my inability to feel things for someone else. She thought it was because my wolf side wouldn’t accept a human partner.

Something about wolves partnering for life and not accepting someone not meant for them. It still didn’t explain much about my existence.

I’d never really met a wolf to test the theory on because I was too scared shitless that I’d be found out.

“Toni, you know I’m not going to let anything happen to you, but you shouldn’t have confronted him like that. Besides, I don’t know why he’s so fixated on me. He has every girl in the Trench moist in her panties, just for him.”

Toni let out a laugh, and his mood lightened. Being a teenage boy, he always found it funny when I was talking dirty.

“But I don’t want just any girl,” growled a deep voice behind me. “A king needs his queen, Scarlet. When are you going to let me treat you like the queen you are?”

Arran was behind me, breathing down my neck. His scent was already filling my space, and I felt my skin trying to creep away from my body.

This fucking guy.

“Arran. What have I told you about invading my space?” I said, taking a few steps away and turning to face him.

“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not interested! I’m never going to fuck you! Leave. Me. Alone.”

My finger was in his chest. The stupid smirk on his face was pissing me off even more.

“So damn sexy when you’re mad. C’mon, Scar. Just give us a ch—”

“THERE IS NO US!” I yelled, cutting him off.

His eyebrows shot up as if he was really surprised I wasn’t just giving in and spreading my legs for him like every other one of his little groupies.

If we didn’t have this big fight coming up, I would have popped him in the face by now. I’d tried words. Maybe violence would get my point across.

I wouldn’t do that to Georgie, though. He had enough to worry about, and we wouldn’t want pretty boy’s face all broken when he was going to be the main event.

“Okay, beautiful,” Arran said, putting up his hands as if suddenly calling a truce. “Think about it, sweetheart. Think about what kind of life I could offer you. We would make damn beautiful babies.”

Yuck. I’m gonna puke.

With that, Arran walked away. I glanced over to see George had been watching the whole thing.

He probably made a signal to golden boy to cut the shit and walk away. No wonder he surrendered so easily this time.

The arrogant prick wasn’t wrong, though.

As one of the most prized fighters ever, and a walking fucking Adonis, he’d settled into some nice digs, with a steady supply of resources at his disposal. The guy would never go without.

Any woman lucky enough to capture his affection would never want for anything. But that woman would never be me.

I’m doing just fine on my own.

I don’t need anyone.