His Ruin, His possession

Chapter 5

Celyn

Something isn't right.

For one, Ivan is in here.

Since I started picking up fights in the underground boxing ring, I've never seen him here but he's here tonight.

And what's more, he's acting jumpy, constantly looking over his shoulder.

Still heavily bruised and on the mend, I didn't come here to fight but to escape the horror of the house for a couple of hours.

The oversized hoodie his my figure and face from view so it was easy for me to slip through the crowd, watching Ivar's every move.

We haven't really spoken as I've been avoiding him, trying to figure out the budding conflict that was growing in my heart.

Cheers of triumph pierced the air, the crowd going crazy over some guys in the boxing ring.

For a split second, I took my eyes off Ivar and the suspicious guys hanging around him to look at what was going on in the club.

A big, bulky man was beating the s**t out of a much slimmer guy.

I winced when a blow from the big guy knocked a few of his opponent's teeth out.

Growing bored, I turned my head to look and jolted in shock.

They're gone.

Both Ivar and those guys.

I reacted without thinking, cutting through the crowd as fast as I could.

Once I got to the entrance, I paused, weighing my options.

The underground ring isn't a particularly big place.

There were only three places to ‘meet’ someone.

The bathroom, the locker room, or the alley.

I immediately struck out the locker room as they would need access.

Aware that every second mattered, I followed my gut.

I could be overreacting. Maybe those men flanking Ivar just wanted to talk, but my instincts have never led me wrong, and I knew they wouldn't start now.

My feet best against the path as I hurried towards the dark alley by the side of the club.

As always, I was right.

I heard raised voices even before I went in, one of them Ivar's.

“You think we don't know what you did?” A man, his back to me, threatened Ivar while the other two men stood beside him as support. “We do and now, we're gonna make sure you pay for it.”

Even though my entire body was screaming in pain and I hadn't fully recovered from the beating the other day, I stepped forward, pushing off my hoodie. “Why don't you pick on someone your own size?”

Everyone froze including Ivar.

The man threatening Ivar, who's obviously the self-appointed leader of the group, turned to face me, a sneer on his face. “I would love to, but I'll just break you in half without breaking a sweat, so why don't you run along, little girl?”

Ivar pushed forward, as if to come to me but the other guys grabbed him, stopping him from taking a step further. “Celyn! Please go, don't do this. They'll hurt you!” His voice bled with desperation but I wasn't hearing him, entirely focused on the man in front of me.

As much as I wanted to defend him, this is for me too.

Bending my knees to take a fighting stance, I raised my fists, beckoning the leader with a cocky grin. “If you're so sure you'll beat me, why don't you prove it?”

Baiting a cocky asshole with losing is the equivalent of waving a red flag at a bull.

With a yell, he charged at me with his fists.

Rookie move.

I easily sidestep the punch heading my way, setting a leg to sweep him off the ground.

The minute he fell to the floor, I jumped him, easily straddling his torso in one smooth move and proceeded to beat the living daylight out of him.

My fists kept slamming into his face until blood spurted from his nose and mouth, but even then, I didn't stop.

Not until the two goons holding Ivar down tackled me off his chest.

The blows started to rain down on my face, and I raised my forearms to block their punches, but I was too weak to stop them or come up with a creative way to block their punches.

A groan burst out of my lips when one of the guys slammed down on my leg with a heavy steel-toed boot.

Distantly, I could hear Ivar screaming in the background. “Stop! Just stop it, okay? I'll give you whatever you want!”

And for a blissful moment, the blows stopped.

Sadly, I was too weak and hurt to do anything other than open my swollen eyes.

It wasn't Ivar's pleas that stopped the men from hurting me…but the leader.

He limped towards me, the smug smile long gone, his face a bruised and battered mess while one of his arms hung limply by his side. “You don't look so good.” He rasped, spitting out blood.

I managed a smile, blood also coating my lips. “I look better than you.”

He growled, tipping his chin to the two guys behind me.

I stiffened, not sure what they were about to do. The guy in front of me moved and the next thing I saw was a sharp glint of a knife.

Oh, f**k me.

“O-kay come on. Wh…what about i-if y…you strike a deal…” I grunt out as the guys pull me up to my feet, each man grabbing hold of my arms so I can't move. “You guys let us go and we'll never tell anyone about you?”

A maniacal glint shimmered in his eyes as he approached with the knife in his fist. “Oh, sweetheart…by the time I'm done, you won't be able to say anything either way.”

The asshole leaned in to lick the blood and sweat rolling down my neck, eliciting a struggle from me.

But it was no use.

I couldn't move.

All I could do was stand and watch in horror as his hand went up, the knife coming down to s***h my abdomen, cutting through the flesh like butter.

I threw my head back and screamed, the pain like nothing that I had ever experienced.

I don't know how much time passed or what happened next except for the fact that I was in a constant haze of pain.

Eventually, I remember falling to the floor, mocking laughter ringing in my ears while my eyes fluttered closed.

My last thought was,

Doesn't seem like such a bad way to die, after all…