Chapter 8 Knockout came back the next morning . His shoulders were slouched , his face and body covered in large , greenish bruises . All he had on was a pair of basketball shorts , so when he turned to enter his cage silently , my eyes widened at the sight of a bruise the size of a basketball on his back . What had happened ? Was he working with the fighting club owners ? Were the bruises just for show ? Werewolves healed quickly thanks to the moon goddess's magic , but a bruise like that would still take a couple of hours to go away . Grunter , who had led Knockout back to his cage , announced , " First shower starts in ten minutes . " Then , he left . " What happened ? " I asked , standing . My muscles cried from lack of use and space , but I ignored them as I walked up to my door so I could try to see out . " Nothing . " Knockout's intense gaze met mine . His hair was wet, the ends hanging down nearly to his eyes . " BS . " I scoffed . " You say you're just as trapped here as the rest of us ; prove it . Where did they take you ? " " Nowhere . " His voice lowered . * Go to hell . " I stepped back and sat down . My wolf was still curled up and hiding out , pretty much unresponsive . But Carnage seemed to be warming up to me even more . He licked my arm every time he sensed I was upset - which was pretty frequently. There were a few minutes of intense quiet before the pervert came back in without his hook . " Shower time , " he barked . My stomach clenched . If he was in charge of showers ... Shit , I needed my wolf . " Hey , girl . You've got to get up , " I urged. " Leave me to my misery , " she snarled back . I groaned inwardly . She wasn't going to work with me , but maybe when it came time for us to shower , she would step in to keep us safe . I could hope , at least . The pervert opened a couple of cages at the far end of the aisle . I couldn't see down there well enough to know how many of the wolves had been let out . Snarling and snapping ensued , and I heard a thump . Someone had been tased , I assumed . " Damn crazy wolves , " the perv mumbled . Carnage gave a low growl . I rubbed his fur , whispering , " I know , buddy . " The perv and the wolves left the aisle . A metal door clanged shut behind them , and I flinched . It was hard to know how long they were gone . I grew tenser as time passed , letting out a breath of relief when the door opened and the wolves came back in . They smelled of soap , and the scent was out of place in the dirty cages . The wolves went into their cages with only a few growls , snarls , and grunts . And then the perv went to the next cages . His eyes caught mine as he opened a cage two doors down . " Soon , " he mouthed . My face drained of blood , my fingers clenching tightly in Carnage's fur . He didn't flinch , or growl . 00:23 Rejected Luna : Trapped with the Rabid Alpha 8.4 % Chapter 8 The Perv opened four cages and then left with those wolves . " I told you to stay away from the door , Ginger , " Knockout gave a low growl . " The more he sees you , the worse he'll get Bastards like him want what they can't have , up until they take it . By force . " " I'm not close to the door , ' I defended myself . " What am I supposed to do , hide by the crap bucket ? " " To protect yourself from being raped , I'd think you'd do pretty much anything . " Yeah , that was true . It just hadn't crossed my mind to move back further , considering the pervert was going to be back to take me to the showers next . Carnage growled at Knockout . " As soon as you can protect her , she's all yours , " Knockout growled back . 1 let go of Carnage's fur and started to pull my hand away from him . " Neither of you needs to protect me . I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my - oh , shit . " I jerked my hand away from a sharp bit of wire sticking out between the links in the cage . A long slice went up the side of my pinky , blood practically spewing from it as it bled . " Crap . ". I grabbed the yellow - gray blanket and pressed it to my wound . It wasn't sanitary , but luckily werewolves couldn't get infections . We were magically enhanced , in many ways that were mostly useless , but sometimes came in handy - like when I sliced through my finger . Perfectly capable , " Knockout grunted . " Shut up . " I scowled his way . Carnage licked my arm . was a sucker for the wolf and used my non - bleeding hand to pat him on the nose he'd stuck partially through the cage . So if we're showering today , does that mean we're fighting tonight ? " I checked . Yup . " Knockout left it at that . Cool . Informative . Is this like a fight to the death kind of thing, or ... " I trailed off . I hadn't considered that - yikes . I knew next to nothing about fighting , so my upcoming loss was ractically a given . No. Some werewolves have died in the ring , particularly at the teeth of that one you're petting , but the goal is to incapacitate . " ( 1 ) ( 0 ) Chapter 9 Chapter 9