The Cage
Ravens POV
The air was thick with sweat, smoke, and blood. Underground fights always smelled the same, like sin bottled up and shaken until it spilled out on the concrete floor.
Raven Blackwood adjusted her gloves, rolling her shoulders as the cage door shut behind her. The crowd pressed in, faces blurred by the dim lights and haze, shouting for violence. They wanted a show. They always did.
Her opponent was bigger, heavier- tattoos snaked up his arms, his grin sharp with the promise of breaking her. Good. She needed that tonight. She needed to bleed.
The bell rang.
He came at her like a freight train, but Raven didn't flinch. She pivoted, letting his fist graze her cheek, the sting sharp enough to feed the fire under her skin. Her wolf stirred inside her at the impact, claws scraping inside her chest.
Not Now, she hissed inwardly, slamming her fist into the mans ribs. Bone cracked under her knuckles. The crowd roared.
Her wolf wanted out. Feeling the pain and the threat. But Raven didn't let her loose. If she exposed herself as a werewolf she would be hunted and killed for being something humans can't understand.
Her wolf always wanted out when Raven fought. The rhythm of fists, the scent of blood- it was too close to the hunt. Too close to losing control.
She ducked his swing, planted her boot and drove her glove into his jaw. His body hit the mat hard. The crowd surged forward, chanting her name "Raven, Raven, Raven!"- as aif they knew her, as if they had any idea what really moved under her skin.
The ref's hand shot up. The fight was over.
Raven ripped the gloves off, ignoring the sting of split knuckles. She didn't need the victory. She needed the release. And for a moment, with her chest heacing and her blood pounding, she felt almost human.
Almost.
She pushed through the bodies, grabbing her leather jacket from the hook by the door. The patched emblem of the biker crew she ran with- A blacked winged wolf wrapped in chains- caught the light as she slid it on.
"Good fight, Blackwood" one of the guys called, offering her a beer.
She shppl her head, brushing past. Alcohol wouldn't silence the wolf. Only speed would.
Minutes later, the Harley's engine roared beneath her, the vibrations thrumming through her bones like a second heartbeat. She tore through the streets, wind in her hair city lights streaking past. The wolf in her chest quieted, lulled by the freedom of the ride.
For now.
But deep down she knew it was temporary. The cage was cracking. The wolf was waiting. And fate was closer than she dared to admit.
Raven got to her small cabin, located deep in the woods, far enough that people don't come here. She doesn't fear her wolf, she loves her very much, but she knows what shes capable of.
Raven shifts into her wolf. Her name is Ash, a bigger than your average female wolf due to her alpha genes. Black as night with almost golden eyes. She is powerful and strong.
Raven gives control to Ash letting her run and hunt, enjoying the wind through her fur.
