POV: Alternating - Callum Brennan, then Cormac Brennan
Location: Rookeries Battlefield
Time: During Battle
CALLUM
Cormac attacks first. He's faster than I expected. Stronger. Alpha power flowing through him. Well-fed. Well-trained. Everything I'm not.
His claws rake across my chest. Open deep wounds. I stumble back.
"You were always weaker," Cormac says. "Second-born. Seven minutes behind. Never quite enough."
I don't respond. Prison taught me not to waste breath on words during combat.
I counter-attack. Go low. Target his legs. He blocks but I'm faster than he expects. Eighteen months of fighting pits taught me speed over power.
My claws catch his thigh. Tear muscle. He grunts but doesn't slow.
We're circling each other. The battle rages around us but we're in our own world.
