Read Online The Change: Episode one by Angela White - Free Book Online Page A

on my opponent, my
goal.
    I gave a short nod, looking back at her with
hard eyes. “Take care of it the way we always do.”
    Angelica, along with her captor, would be
there somewhere in the throng of drunken, bitter women who had
bought passage to tonight’s match. My Mother would make sure the
trade-off was set there, and we would risk the Network’s wrath for
not telling them.
    My parents didn’t argue,
and I was glad of it. The reporters had given me a way out, a way
to have Angelica’s life and still leave with what I’d come for. My
parents would handle it from that side of the cage, and I would be
free to do what I did best. Kill .
     
    5
    “ Feature Cage
Match!”
    The scarlet-clad blonde
waited in patient stillness, and I could see no softening in her
golden gaze. Good .
Her actions hadn't earned it from me either, and I played on any
possible fears she might have. I grinned.
    Maybe she paled, but we were too far away to
be sure. We stood at the gated entrances to the cage, waiting to be
let in to spill each other’s blood.
    Outside the cage area, the crowd was roaring
in anticipation. Women were screaming, red-faced and drunken, some
being beaten on by guards for being too unruly, and I turned my
attention away from it. There were no bachelors again for this
match, and I shoved that image away as well.
    The blue lights flashed as the gate slid
down, and I strode confidently toward my life or death. I was as
ready as I could be, and I dropped my cloak to the floor as I
neared the cage, studying my opponent.
    The Bombshell had delicate cheek bones set
on a thin, hard face that had clearly seen a rough life. Platinum
hair hung to her hips in wild strands that I doubted drew any
reaction when pulled. I felt my need to see blood rise to another
level. I would draw a reaction from her.
    I moved forward. Before I could step into
the cage, the bars between us rose, stopping the match.
    “ Halt!”
    A piercing shout echoed,
and I looked up to see my parents in the center of the front row of
benches. The crowd parted to show them facing off with my Korean
opponent, who had Angelica wrapped up with a knife to her
throat. The foreigner had underestimated
us as well , I thought, a bit surprised to
find out how many people were in on the attempt to hurt me. There
was already a body on the floor that I identified as the bald
reporter.
    I watched my Mother deliver a death blow to
the Korean’s throat with her claws, as my Father jerked Angelica’s
unconscious body from her arms. The Korean wouldn’t get the chance
to make that mistake twice.
    "Halt there!"
    The guard's cry froze them this time, then
the gate was sliding back down and the Bombshell moved my way with
a snarl of hatred that surprised me.
    “ And that makes this the
final match, folks! Are ya ready?”
    I had time to realize I'd been wrong, that
she had been behind the abduction, in league with the others, and
then the rage was blasting through me. I met her attack with a
scream that was primal. No one double-crossed us. No one.
    I swung a hard fist to her jaw and was
immediately rocked back as she retaliated with a nasty kick that I
took in the gut, but managed to catch.
    Using the opportunity, I jerked her in a
wide arc and twisted her ankle like a lid. Around us, the crowd
roared again.
    Before it would break, she raked her nails
down my evading back, and I spun her against the cage, unwilling to
let go.
    She slammed her claws through my clothes and
into the skin of my shoulder, and I growled, slinging her into the
side of the cage.
    The Bombshell struck out, raking my neck,
and I delivered a vicious hit to her temple that sent her eyes into
full red as the Change swept through her. That red jumper ripped as
her muscles swelled, and her platinum hair shot out in wild growth.
Her claws became talons as she flipped, and I felt my own body
start to mirror hers.
    The hormones surged, sending teeth into
fangs and new strength into my hands, and this time, I