Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
They chanted his name and every chant echoed through my bones. “Reaper! Reaper! Reaper!”
He didn’t acknowledge anyone. Not the screaming fans and not even his opponent who was being announced. I swallowed hard, watching him as he circled the cage, stretching his neck from side to side.
Then Adrian stopped. Right in the middle of the cage.
His head turned slowly, deliberately… and his eyes, those stormy blue eyes locked directly onto mine, with unerring precision.
The world seemed to narrow to just that moment, one single second—an illicit, undeniable connection. The noise, the crowd, everyone and everything faded into insignificance.
For a single existing moment, it was just me and Adrian.
Thud.
His gaze held mine, intense and unwavering. There was something in his expression, something dark… something primitive. A brazen challenge or a menacing promise, I didn’t know.
I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to, even if I had been forced to.
And then…
The corner of his mouth lifted in that infuriating half-smirk that made my heart stutter and my stomach flutter.
Goddamn it.
It was Adrian that broke the spell, snatching his gaze from mine as another massive man joined him in the cage.
Stone, presumably.
He was enormous, taller and much bigger than Adrian. He was shirtless, his monstrous muscles bulging beneath his skin. It almost looked unreal. Not human. His face was a mask of rage and anticipation. He bounced on his toes, shaking out his massive arms like an untamed warrior.
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, uneasiness filling my veins.
How was Adrian going to fight a man like this and walk out alive?
I turned toward Matteo, an inexplicable fear slithering under my skin. But he didn’t seem the least bit concerned that his brother was about to fight such a man.
The bell rang.
My head snapped back to the cage as the fight began.
Stone charged forward with surprising speed for his size, but Adrian sidestepped with casual grace, as if he were simply moving out of someone’s way on a crowded street. He didn’t even raise his hands to defend himself.
The crowd went wild.
Holy shit.
Stone lunged again, throwing a wild punch that Adrian ducked under. In the same fluid motion, Adrian delivered a devastating blow to Stone’s kidney. The larger man grunted in pain but recovered quickly, turning with a snarl.
I didn’t understand how fast Adrian could move, almost like he could anticipate all of Stone’s movements before he could even make them.
I couldn’t breathe.
My chest felt tight as I watched Adrian dance around his opponent, landing precise, calculated strikes while barely seeming to exert himself. It was like watching a predator toying with its prey.
“Your brother is quite the fighter,” Damon commented.
“He is,” Matteo agreed, but his voice was tinged with something I couldn’t quite identify. It wasn’t pride. But it was almost a hint of resentment.
A gasp escaped past my lips when Stone landed a punch in Adrian’s face. Even though I knew nothing about fighting, it was so obvious that he could have avoided that, but he didn’t…
Why didn’t he?
Stone’s fist connected with Adrian’s jaw again. I didn’t hear it over the crowd’s roar, but I could feel the sickening crack. Blood sprayed from Adrian’s mouth. My stomach lurched.
“God,” I whispered, my fingers digging into my thighs.
Adrian stumbled back, but instead of countering, he simply stood there, his body absorbing another brutal punch to his ribs. I flinched as if I had been struck myself.
Watching such brutality made me sick.
“He’s letting him hit him,” I said, the realization dawning with horrifying clarity. “Why would he do that?”
Matteo’s expression remained impassive. “Adrian loves being dramatic.”
But this wasn’t a drama.
This was pain and barbarity.
Stone landed another blow, this time to Adrian’s temple. Adrian’s head snapped sideways, but when he turned back, his lips curved into a smile.
This man was insane. Truly, completely insane.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he was... laughing.
The sound was barely audible over the crowd’s intensifying roar, but I saw it—the way his shoulders shook, the flash of teeth-stained crimson.
God, he was enjoying this.
Nausea built in my throat and swallowed down bitter bile. My skin crawled with revulsion.
This was… sickening.
He was sickening.
What kind of person found manic pleasure in their own pain? In such brutality?
Adrian bent low and spat blood onto the floor of the cage.
And then it happened fast. Too fast that I didn’t know how…
Adrian’s posture shifted, his body coiling like a snake preparing to strike. The laughter died in his throat, replaced by something cold and lethal.
He moved with sudden, terrifying speed, delivering a blow to Stone’s ribs that made the larger man double over. It was the type of lethal precision that made you gasp both in horror and awe.
His eyes never left his opponent.
The crowd went wild, their bloodlust reaching a mad frenzy as Adrian’s movements became a brutal dance of controlled violence. Each hit was precise and devastating. Stone staggered backward, his earlier confidence crumbling as Adrian easily dismantled him.