too fast for the alpha to catch and pin him.
Ron was enraged now, looking furious as he paced out of Lucas’s reach. Lucas studied him with cool indifference. Lily felt like her heart was trying to beat out of her chest.
Ron charged at Lucas again, hoping to grapple him to the floor. Lucas hit his face with a vicious open palm and sent him flying back across the ring, where Ron rolled to the ground.
After a short pause, Ron gave out an angry, frustrated shout and punched directly into the ground.
But instead of the sound of fist connecting with padded floor, there was a crack as Ron’s fist seemed to crack the very concrete beneath the ring. A small depression was left in the ground, and Ron stood up to face his competitor.
The entire crowd gasped at the sight. It wasn’t every day you saw someone punch the ground and leave a tiny crater. But looking at Lucas, Lily saw he didn’t move an inch. Didn’t flinch at all. Almost as if he’d expected it. She saw a small smile hiding in the corner of his mouth, cocky and self-assured.
“Holy shit, did you see that?” Tom asked Tim.
“Yeah. I can see why he didn’t try to fight Ron on the ground,” Tim replied.
“Why? I don’t really follow,” Lily asked, still watching the two men in the ring facing off.
“This guy has alpha strength. And pretty potent alpha strength from the looks of it,” Tim answered.
“The last thing you want to do with a raging bull is sit on it. Ground fighting would put him within reach of Ron’s strikes. Just imagine if that floor had been his face,” Tom agreed.
Lily cringed to think of that and silently prayed Lucas’s self-assurance wasn’t unfounded.
The two men watched each other a moment longer. Lucas had his arms up and readied for the next move, Ron panting and red with anger. For a split second, Lucas’s eyes raised to Lily. A flash of heat went through her that felt almost tangible. For a second, they were the only two people in the room.
But then he broke his gaze and raised a hand to Ron, motioning him forward. Time to end this.
Ron’s fuse went off. He rushed at Lucas, swinging wildly. Lucas sidestepped with almost supernatural speed and swung his fist into Ron’s face. Ron swung again, and once again, Lucas dodged and then punched him in the face. This went on for minutes, and it all seemed too good to be true.
Lucas was untouched, and his opponent was clearly starting to wear down from the continuous stream of punches.
Then Ron jumped ferociously at Lucas, and Lucas whirled with a spinning roundhouse kick that cracked across Ron’s jaw, sending him to the ground with a loud thud.
The crowd held its breath, waiting to see if Ron would get up. Lucas waited, not moving, still at the ready. Ron was still, then moved as the referee started his count. Ron shook his head, regained his composure, and stood again.
“Tough nut to crack,” Tim said under his breath.
Lily just wanted it to be over.
Both men were perspiring heavily, Ron much more so than Lucas. Ron was also covered in red marks and scattered cuts from Lucas’s skilled hits.
However, in an instant, the advantage shifted. Ron lunged at Lucas and Lucas dodged left. Normally, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but Lily watched as Lucas’s foot tripped on the uneven surface left by Ron’s earlier tantrum.
Though Lucas didn’t fall, he lost his balance and composure for a fraction of a second. In that second, Ron pressed his advantage. He struck Lucas hard, right in the ribs, and an awful cracking sound echoed throughout the arena.
Lily gasped, her heart dropping into her stomach as she watched Lucas knocked back into the fence around the ring.
Lucas pushed himself up and back onto his feet, but Lily could see his face wincing in pain and his left arm pressed to his side.
“Ouch, looks like Ron got lucky and broke a few ribs on that one,” Tim commented.
“Yeah, but Asher has some distance now, though. So it’s pretty even,” Tom