A Witch's Fury by Kim Schubert Read Free Book Online Page B

local joint owned by a shifter I
had met during my arbitrating with Logan.
    I needed to work off some steam on a punching
bag or a shifter. I wasn’t particular.
    As I entered the musty gym, the high ceiling
fans working overtime to spread the cool air around, heads turned.
I surveyed the place with my bag slung over my shoulder. I wasn’t
working out in my leathers.
    Alec, a powerful wolf shifter and Logan’s
right hand man, jogged over, sweat dripping from his auburn locks,
“You need me?”
    We had developed a friendship based on
beating the shit out people.
    “Only if you want your ass beat,” I advised,
smiling. “I need to work out some tension.”
    Alec smiled good-naturedly. “Let me show you
to the locker rooms.”
    “Thanks,” I answered, trying to ignore the
stares.
    “Don’t see many females in here,” he offered,
holding open the women’s locker room door for me.
    “That was apparent.”
    “I’m at the bags when you are ready.”
    I took my time, splashing cold water on my
face and re-wrapping my raw forearm. I frowned at the wound that my
natural healing would knit together faster if I rested and took
better care of myself. I didn’t. The pain was a sensation I
enjoyed.
    Dressed in a sports bra and yoga pants, I
went out in search of wraps and gloves.
    Sonny found his way over to me, puffing on a
cigar and holding out pink wraps and gloves while arguing with
someone on the phone. I took the offering, smiling my thanks, and
headed toward the bags and Alec.
    He stopped his assault on the bag, reaching a
hand out to steady its sway. “Fuck, Olivia, what happened to you?”
he asked, taking a once-over of my body.
    I shrugged. “Work.”
    “Then work is beating the shit out of you.”
His eyes roved over my wrapped forearm and bruised ribs.
    “I can put a shirt on if some combat wounds
bother you,” I snipped.
    Alec held his hands out for the wraps, his
face carefully neutral. “You do need to work out some tension.
What’s up?” He started wrapping the pink material on my left
hand.
    “Vamps are attacking the manor,” I
confessed.
    “Local?”
    “Don’t appear to be,” I answered, as he moved
to the other hand.
    “What are you going to do?” he asked, taking
a surreptitious glance at my clenched jaw.
    “Find the nest and deliver their heads on
spikes.”
    To Alec’s credit, he didn’t pause at my
gruesome description or correct me that vampire heads couldn’t be
put on spikes, since they turned to dust.
    Smart man.
    “You know what you are doing?” he asked.
    I rolled my eyes and attacked the bag with
all the anger and frustration that Blake’s wedding announcement had
instilled in me, not to mention the fight with Grams or the fucking
vampires attacking what I cherished most.
    Sweat dripped into my eyes and my raw forearm
burned with exhaustion from attacking the bag with more energy than
I had anticipated.
    When my arms shook from exertion I stopped,
leaning my forehead against the bag, feeling the stitching, sucking
down sweet air. “Thanks, Alec,” I said to his wide eyes. “I needed
that.”
    “I guess,” he said, releasing the bag to
crack his knuckles. “Tyler is looking for a partner in the ring if
you are up to it. He’s a mean son of a bitch, though.”
    I smiled as I headed to the drinking
fountain. “Sounds like fun.”
    Cheers went up from the ring—thanks to
shifter hearing, nothing was private. I splashed cool water on my
face and turned to walk over to the giant of a man. I ignored the
stares of those who had stopped their workouts to watch. He was
larger than Alec; where Alec had trained for lean muscle that made
him deadly quick, Tyler had stocky muscle upon muscle. Idly, I
wondered what animal he shifted into.
    I couldn’t help my smile. This was going to
be fun. I was still fucking irritated.
    Sonny came up from behind me, halting my
progress toward Tyler. He outfitted me with headgear and a
mouthpiece, the cigar still dangling from his lips. I