Chapter 310: The Fight

Rebecca’s POV

​The second the trainer shouted, "Begin," Kaden moved first. He crossed the space between them in less than a second and threw a hard punch straight toward Callum’s face. Callum reacted fast, lifting his arm to block the blow with his forearm, but the sheer force still pushed him back half a step. The heavy sound of skin and bone meeting echoed across the quiet field before the crowd exploded with cheers.

​Callum smiled, then came straight back at Kaden. His fist shot toward Kaden’s ribs, but Kaden twisted away just in time. Callum followed with another punch aimed higher, which Kaden blocked with both arms before driving his shoulder into Callum’s chest. Callum barely moved.

​My eyebrows lifted. Okay. Maybe this was actually going to be interesting.

​For the first few minutes, neither man had any real advantage in what was an incredible display of high-level fighting. These weren’t two regular fighters trying to impress a crowd; they were two rulers, two dangerous supernatural men who had spent years learning how to fight and survive.

​Kaden was fast—very fast. I had seen him fight before, but watching him like this was different. He moved almost as if his body already knew where the next attack was coming from—ducking, blocking, striking back, and changing direction before Callum could fully recover.

​But Callum wasn’t weak—not even close. He was the Lord of the Dragons for a reason, and every hit he landed looked heavy enough to break bones. Callum moved with smooth, deadly control, his dragon instincts giving him great balance and raw physical strength. Even without shifting into his dragon form, he was naturally stronger and tougher than an ordinary wolf. Once, his fist connected with Kaden’s shoulder and sent him sliding several feet across the dirt. The crowd went wild, screaming, cheering, and stomping their feet as the two kings traded blows.

​Kaden straightened slowly and rolled his shoulder as Callum smiled at him.

​"Two minutes gone," Callum said, rolling his shoulders as he caught his breath.

​Kaden wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb and glanced at the small trace of blood on it. "Unfortunately, this is a friendly match."

​Callum gave a low chuckle. "Unfortunately?"

​"If it weren’t, you wouldn’t still be smiling."

​Callum’s smile only widened. "Careful, Alpha King. You might actually make me stop holding back."

​Kaden’s eyes narrowed. "Please do."

​The two men slowly began circling each other again, their eyes locked as they searched for the smallest opening. The crowd grew louder, clearly loving every second of it.

​Then Callum suddenly moved.

​They went at each other again—hit, block, dodge, counter. Neither man shifted or used any supernatural abilities. It was strictly strength, speed, training, and pride. A ridiculous amount of pride.

​Mother sat beside me watching calmly, but I noticed even she had started leaning forward slightly. I sat on the edge of my seat, my heart beating fast against my ribs. They were both clearly holding back enough to follow the rules, but the anger between them was impossible to miss.

​Callum suddenly swung toward Kaden’s face. Kaden ducked and drove his fist into Callum’s stomach. Callum grunted and stumbled back, but before Kaden could follow through, Callum caught him by the back of the neck and drove his knee toward Kaden’s ribs. Kaden blocked most of it, but not all, and staggered away.

​Sweat covered both of them now as they stood several feet apart, breathing heavily.

​For a moment, they simply watched each other before moving again. Callum rushed forward and Kaden met him halfway, their arms locking together in a hard struggle. Both men pushed against each other, neither willing to give an inch, their muscles tightening beneath the firelight as the crowd shouted around them.

​Then Callum leaned closer. From where I sat, I couldn’t hear a word, but I saw his lips move as he whispered something directly into Kaden’s ear. I didn’t know what he said, but I saw the exact second Kaden heard it.

​His entire expression changed. The cold control on his face disappeared, his eyes darkened, and his jaw tightened as something dangerous flashed across his features so quickly that my stomach dropped.

​"Kaden..." I whispered.

​Then everything happened at once. Kaden ripped his arm free and drove his fist straight into Callum’s face. Crack! The sound echoed across the arena as Callum’s head snapped sideways, blood immediately appearing near his eye. The crowd gasped, but Kaden didn’t stop. He stepped forward and hit him again, hard.

​This wasn’t the same controlled fighting from before—this wasn’t part of the match anymore. He was angry. Really angry.

​"Kaden!" I shouted.

​Callum stumbled back, one hand flying toward his injured eye, but he recovered quickly and shoved Kaden away with enough force to send him several feet across the dirt. For one second, I thought that might stop him, but it didn’t. Kaden came straight back. Callum threw a punch toward his jaw, but Kaden ducked under it and drove his fist into Callum’s ribs. Callum grunted, bending slightly from the impact, and Kaden followed with another punch straight to his jaw. Callum dropped to one knee.

​The crowd had gone completely silent now—no cheering, no drums, nothing. This wasn’t entertaining anymore. Callum’s eye was already badly swollen, and blood was running down the side of his face. Still, he wasn’t helpless. The second Kaden moved toward him again, Callum surged back to his feet, caught him around the chest, and slammed him into the ground.

​The impact shook the dirt beneath them, drawing gasps from the onlookers. Callum tried to pin him, but Kaden twisted free, drove his elbow into Callum’s side, and rolled on top. His fist came down—once, twice.

​"Kaden, stop!" I shouted, jumping to my feet so quickly that my chair nearly tipped over. He hit him again. "KADEN, ENOUGH!"

​My scream echoed across the entire training ground, and Kaden’s fist stopped in the air. His chest was rising and falling violently. For several seconds, he remained there, his fist clenched inches away from Callum’s face, before he slowly turned his head toward me.

​Our eyes met, and something inside his expression shifted; the rage disappeared almost instantly. For the first time, he looked down at Callum like he had finally realized what he had done.

​Kaden slowly got to his feet while Callum rolled onto his side, holding his injured eye as blood slipped through his fingers.

​"Guards! Get the healers over here right now!" Mother ordered sharply, her voice snapping everyone out of their shock.

​Several guards immediately rushed forward. Kaden didn’t say a word, apologize, or look at my mother. He simply walked toward the edge of the ring, picked his shirt up from the dirt, and threw it over one shoulder. I glared at his retreating back as he walked away, his big tattooed back wet with sweat beneath the firelight. Unbelievable.

​Two healers ran into the ring and knelt beside Callum. "Lord Callum, please stay still," one of them said quickly. A soft green light began glowing from the healer’s hands as she placed them carefully over Callum’s injured face. The swelling slowly started going down, the cut near his eyebrow closed, and the blood dried against his skin before falling away.

​After a few moments, Callum opened his eye again. It was still slightly red, but at least he could see properly.

​"Lord Callum, are you okay?" Mother asked worriedly as we stepped down from the platform.

​Callum took a deep breath and wiped the remaining blood from his jaw with the back of the hand before he managed a smile. "I’m fine, Alpha Maria. I’ve survived worse."

​"That doesn’t make this okay," I said immediately.

​Callum looked at me, and I continued, my voice shaking with anger. "I am so sorry. That was completely wrong. He had no right to take things that far."

​Callum’s expression softened slightly. "Lady Rebecca, you don’t have to apologize for him."

​"I know, but still..."

​"I’m fine," he repeated. "It was a fight."

​"A friendly fight."

​Callum didn’t respond to that, and for some reason, his silence made me even angrier. It might have been fine for him, but it wasn’t fine with me. Kaden was the Alpha King, and hundreds of people had watched him lose control. Young warriors who probably respected him had just watched him beat another ruler because of a few whispered words.

​And maybe that was what bothered me most: it reminded me too much of the man I already knew—the man who reacted first and listened later, the man who had hurt me over and over again.

​"I’ll be back," I told Mother.

​"Rebecca..."

​But I was already walking away.