The first Lupine swung to meet her, and the two went down in an explosion of fur and snarls. Jace sat back to catch his breath, surprised. The two wolves were evenly matched, the male a bit larger than the female, but the female was plenty strong and agile. Probably dominant to the male too.
Jace let the female get her first anger out of her system, then he waded back in to rescue his rescuer.
The male Lupine had the she-wolf on the ground by now. He pinned the female with one big paw, snarling as he turned to Jace.
Jace gave him a warning growl. The growl said that, up until now, Jace had been holding back; that Jace was dominant in his pride, his clan, and his Shiftertown; and the wolf might want to think about it before continuing the fight.
The Lupine ignored the warning and went for the kill. Jace met him head-on, his lithe body and fast paws taking the wolf down to the ground before the Lupine could use his superior weight to his advantage.
The she-wolf rose behind the male, landed on the wolf’s back, and sank her teeth into his neck. Her Collar was sparking frantically, and she got hit by the arcs from the other wolf’s Collar, but she kept biting.
Jace drew back his paw and whacked the male wolf across the throat. The wolf spun with the blow, knocking the female loose. The male Lupine rolled across the dust and dying grass a long way before he was able to stop. He righted himself but stayed down on his belly, panting hard, conceding the fight.
Jace walked to him with a stiff-legged Feline stalk. When he reached the Lupine, he lowered his head to the wolf’s eye level and growled again. Stay the f**k down.
Whether or not the Lupine understood Feline rumbles and body language, Jace’s glare must have gotten the message across. The wolf snarled, teeth bared, but he plastered his ears flat on his head and didn’t move.
Jace turned back to the she-wolf. She lay limply on the grass, and Jace went to her, giving her a cat’s lick across her face. She growled softly, and Jace licked her again, feeling a need to thank and reassure her.
The need didn’t leave him when he shifted back to human. He stroked her head, liking the wiry fur of her wolf.
The female wolf looked up at him in a wash of confusion. She was a gray wolf, with gray eyes. She breathed in Jace’s scent, wrinkling her nose, clearly wondering who he was.
Jace gave her head another stroke, wishing she’d turn back to human so he could talk to her. She’d run to his rescue, a Lupine taking the side of a Feline, and Jace wanted to know why.
The she-wolf remained wolf, still growling softly. Jace touched her head one last time and walked back to the male wolf. “New way of greeting guests in Shiftertown?” he asked. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Jace Warden. A guest of Dylan’s.”
Jace knew he didn’t need to explain that his own father was leader of another Shiftertown. The fact that Dylan sanctioned Jace’s visit should be enough for this wolf.The wolf morphed into his human form, a man with short black hair and light gray eyes. “Hey, I saw a strange Feline trying to sneak into the fight club when he wasn’t invited, and when no one but regulars are supposed to know about the new place. What did you expect?”
“So you were defending all the Shifters here?” Jace asked with evident skepticism. “Commendable.”
“Ask that crazy bitch what she was doing,” the Lupine said, scowling at the she-wolf. “Nurturing females, my ass. She’s all spit and vinegar.”
“Let me guess.” Jace felt mirth. “She turned down your mate-claim.”
The Lupine gave Jace an incredulous look. “I wouldn’t mate-claim her. Not if she were the last female in Shiftertown. She’s out of her mind. You can never tell what she’s going to do.” The man made a broad gesture in her direction. “You saw her.”
“I thought it was nice of her to help me out.”
“Nah, she saw a fight, it sparked her loony side, and she dove in. Look at her. She’s not even sure what happened.”
Jace turned his gaze to the she-wolf again and saw that the man was right. She watched Jace and the Lupine, trembling but trying to hide it with a growl and a glare. Jace saw fear in her eyes along with deep anger—a woman hurting from something and not wanting anyone else to know it.
“I keep trying to tell Liam she should be put down,” the Lupine said. “She’s a danger to the rest of us.”
The she-wolf snarled again. Scent and body language told Jace what he needed to know—the female was dominant but of a different clan than the male wolf; the male was aggressive, cocky, and hated to be bested. The male wolf would be dominant in his clan as well. Jace outranked both of them, though.
Jace looked into the other man’s eyes. “Why don’t you shut your hole, get dressed, and go the hell home? You’re too unstable to be here tonight.”
The man tried to meet Jace’s gaze. He did pretty well, but in the end had to slide his eyes sideways. “What, you want some privacy with her? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Just go,” Jace said.
The wolf snorted. “Whatever.” He climbed to his feet and strolled away, not worried that he was naked.
The fight hadn’t attracted any attention. A sudden roar of voices within the arena told Jace why—there must be an intense match going down. The human voices were accompanied by roars and growls, since half the watchers would be in animal form.
Jace retrieved his torn clothing, grunting in irritation. He’d only brought two changes of clothes, thinking he wouldn’t be in Austin that long.