A blue-kitted shifter’s head snapped back at Calladia’s hit. “Damn,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “A new player has joined the game.”
He picked up a chair and swung it at Calladia.
Astaroth was already halfway across the room, but he wouldn’t be fast enough. His heart hammered, and terror rose in his throat.
Calladia ducked and spun, jabbing her elbow into the shifter’s ribs. The chair went flying.
Then Astaroth was in the thick of it, dodging fists and elbows as he tried to make it to her side.
“Well, well.” Kai was abruptly in front of him, grinning with blood-slicked teeth. “The demon wants to play!”
Astaroth risked a glance at Calladia and was relieved to see her still on her feet. She cast him a feral grin before picking up a napkin holder and chucking it at someone’s head.
Apparently they were doing this.
Astaroth cracked his neck. His leg had been a bit sore earlier, but the adrenaline pumping through him was enough to make him feel invincible.
“Come on, pretty boy,” Kai taunted. “Show me what you’ve got.”
This werewolf wanted a fight?
He was going to get one.
SIXTEEN
Calladia laughed wildly as she dodged a punch, then hammered her opponent’s side. The wolf grunted. “Nice hook,” he said before surprising her with a front kick to the gut.
The air rushed out of her as she crashed into a table. Silverware and condiment bottles went flying, and Calladia grabbed a ketchup bottle from midair before winging it back at the wolf who’d kicked her. This one was named Avram, she remembered. With his thick brown hair and big nose, he reminded her of Ben, her friend and Mariel’s boss. She’d started targeting the blue-kitted shifters, but as all werewolf brawls went, it was a free-for-all now, with teammates fighting both their opponents and one another.
Avram caught the bottle and crowed in delight. “Kai, we have a new recruit!”
This was what she adored about werewolves and shifters. They were the only other people she’d met who seemed to understand fighting was fun.
A familiar shout caught her attention, and she whipped her head around to see Astaroth take a punch to the cheek from Kai’s massive fist. His head snapped to the side, but he embraced the momentum, completing an elegant spin that culminated in a roundhouse kick to Kai’s ribs.
Ooh, nice move. Maybe Astaroth could run her through it later.
The werewolf wheezed and clutched his ribs. “Damn, demon. Didn’t think you had it in you.”
“You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” Astaroth grabbed a chair and swung at Kai’s torso again. The wood exploded on impact, and one leg flew off and brained Ranulf, who had just been clambering to his feet from under the remnants of a table.
“Two for one!” Calladia hooted.
Astaroth looked at her and shook his head, grinning. “Witch, you’re a menace.”
She’d distracted him though, and Kai was already moving. “Watch out!” Calladia called. The werewolf was airborne and about to full-body tackle her demon.
Astaroth moved with liquid grace, dodging the tackle, and Kai crashed into the wall. Ranulf swung for Astaroth’s head, and Astaroth performed some complicated maneuver that resulted in him suplexing the bear into the ground. As more opponents converged on him, Astaroth snapped a leg off an overturned table and held it in front of him like a sword. “Come and get it,” he taunted. “Humiliation is free.”
Calladia gaped as Astaroth handily defeated wolf after wolf with his fists, feet, and makeshift sword. He was smaller than his opponents, but he made tossing them around look easy.
A pulse started between her thighs.
Then a saltshaker brained her, and she staggered.
“Sorry!” Avram popped up in front of her. “I threw it before realizing you weren’t looking.”
Calladia laughed. “I’m looking now,” she said, grabbing a floral centerpiece and flinging it at him. Avram grinned as he dodged. He reached for a decorative vase.
“Not that one!” A brown hand reached out from the wall. “It’s my favorite.”
Avram immediately set it down. “Sorry, Bronwyn. I’ll put it somewhere safe.”
The dryad’s face emerged from the wooden planks. She looked at the chaos, then sighed. “I should have remembered it was match day and put away the breakables.”
“You know we’re good for it,” Avram said. “Send the invoice to Kai.”
Bronwyn rolled her eyes. “You werewolves will be the death of me.” She winked before receding into the wall. “Give those blue shirts hell.”