Page 19 of Psycho Shifters

It was time to fight.

Hours later, I rocked back and forth on the balls of my feet as vomit dribbled out of my mouth.

My knuckles were smashed and swollen, and I dragged my bloody hand across my mouth to clear the bile.

Sweat stuck to every inch of my skin, but I kept my sweatshirt on. Regular shirts didn’t cover all my scars. I preferred sweatshirts.

The beta fighting against me now spit blood out the side of his mouth, and I smiled with pride.

I’d lost track of how many men and women I’d fought. It seemed endless.

My sparring partner was a foot taller, muscular, and a couple of years older. He towered above me, and even though we were tied for hits, it wasn’t an even match.

His face was perfectly intact, except for a small amount of blood dribbling down the side of his mouth.

In contrast, my nose had been smashed so many times that it no longer filtered air.

Dried blood crusted on every inch of my face, which was starting to itch unbearably.

I’d held my own, but it had been a massacre.

There was only so much I could do with no muscles or training.

The bloodthirsty numb kept me in fights, but in the process, I was getting the complete shit beat out of me.

Good thing the numb didn’t give a single shit. So neither did I.

Sink left, dodge right, step back, and snap your foot against his shin. Slam the side of your hand into his neck. Jump back.

I followed the numb’s instructions.

Unfortunately, a fist hammered into my sternum because I was too slow to jump back.

Gasping, I hunched over at the waist and tried to ignore the way my lung pinched as I inhaled air through my gaping mouth.

Stand up straight. Lock your knees so you don’t collapse.

Straightening up to my unimpressive height, I willed myself not to fall over.

The numb kept most of my agony at bay, but the physical toll was starting to wear me down.

Before my opponent could absolutely obliterate me, the bell rang, signaling the end of the training.

We had been at it for hours.

If I weren’t numb, relief would have coursed through me and I probably would have collapsed to the ground, crying.

I didn’t shed a single tear.

The numb felt nothing except a small sliver of disappointment that I hadn’t gotten to draw more blood.

“We tied.” The beta I had been sparring with stared at me like I was some type of creature he had never seen before.

I nodded back at him and wiped away the blood pouring from my nose. It coated the blue mat, puddling beneath my feet.

Betas turned to stare at me with shock, which was weird because I hadn’t fought nearly as well as the other three alphas.

All three had beaten their partners and quickly advanced to the top of the sparring line.