Heartless Angels

Chapter 65 – Oakley

Chapter 65 – Oakley

Cassie has some really busted up knuckles, a few looking broken. Her nose and cheek also look a little worse for wear. And

she was holding her side like it is painful. The medic is on her in a hot second and know that her wolf is healing her, but it’s hard to see my friend in pain.

I go to walk towards her, but Ray holds me back. “You’ve gotta let the medics tend to her. They know what they’re doing.” And he c ocks his jaw towards J erry. “And your other friend is watching you.”

He’s right. Je rry is checking to see who I’ll go to. If either of them. He’s been distant lately. From everyone. It’s all happened with Cassie and Mary’s mating and how rocky it’s been between the two. Mary is having a really hard time with the fact that Cassie hasn’t outright chosen her. And it’s causing issues between Je rry and Cassie

I mean, it’s understandable. I completely get it. But, I’m worried about the two of them. We have been a tight-knit group since we got here. And this is pulling us apart. Maybe letting them duke it out in the sparring ring will be good for them.

I just hate that this is pitting us against each other.

Walking over to Je rry, I take his hand in mine. Relief crosses his face and I know he thinks that by doing this, I’ve made some kind of choice. I have, but not the one that he thinks I’ve made. “J erry, I love you. It’s insane that we’ve only known each other for two weeks, but I feel like we’ve been friends for much longer. You are one of my best friends and you always take care of me. But you’ve got to understand that I won’t just be here for you. Cassie is one of my best friends, too. And just because I go to check on her after she’s been injured doesn’t mean that I don’t care for you just as much. OK?”

Jer ry just stares at me for a second, but then he nods. “Ok, Oakley. I’m- That was stu pid. I’m sorry I tried to get into a pis sing contest for your friendship”

I giggle and then wrap my arms around him, hugging him to me. “As long as you don’t try to mark your territory, we’re good. Golden, even”

He hugs me back, his entire b*dy shaking with his laughter. “Go check on her,” he says after he pulls back. “I’m worried about her ribs. And as I look into his eyes, I see concern in his gaze. It tells me that, even though he and Cas s are having problems, they’ll make it through it. Because our friendship is just that strong.

I jog over to Cassie, getting there just in time for the medic to pop one of her dislocated knuckles back into place. You would think that we would get used to that sound with constantly shifting, but it turns out when that is the only sound that you hear, it sends chills down your spine.

“How you doing, Cas s?” I ask her, plopping down on the grass beside her.

“Oh, you know. Peachy keen,” she says, wincing as the medic pro ds some of her other knuckles, which are obviously broken. That’s the worst part of werewolf healing. If you don’t get the bone set quickly and correctly, it will heal incorrectly and then you’ll have to have it rebroken. Worst. Pain. Ever. Two busted ribs. Fractured cheekbone. Several broken and dislocated knuckles. Par for the course.”

I c ock an eyebrow at her. “So you’re just bit ching for no reason?”

She gives me a sarcastic grin. “Absolutely none.”

“You need anything?” I ask her, gripping her hand in mine when I notice that the medic has to pop another knuckle in place

on the opposite hand.

my

The squeezes my hand hard until the knuckle is back in place and gives me a grateful smile. “No, I think I just close my

Chapter 65 – Oakley

eyes after this guy is done torturing me. She gives the medic the stink eye when he looks up, but he just smiles and goes back to work. “I’ve got to get myself in the right head space to fight Jer ry.” Her gaze turns sad. “Maybe I should let him have a few undefended hits.”

“You do that and I’ll jump in the ring and help him!” I say a fierce anger and protectiveness coming into my voice.

She looks at me, wide-eyed with surprise at first. Then a grin splits her face. “Yes, ma’am.”

I glare at her for a quick second and then squeeze her shoulder before walking back to Ray.

We take a 30-minute break for Cassie to completely heal. Both she and Jer ry had requested to be alone during that time, so Ray and I sit in the grass, just soaking up the sun and waiting for the last round. There is a heavy tension in the air. It’s no secret that Je rry, Mary, Cassie, and I have been best friends since we started here. After Mary left and with all the time that I’ve spent with Ray, Cassie and Jer ry had gotten really close. Everyone is interested in seeing what’s going to happen in this fight.

They both step into the sparring ring and Trainer Ethan reminds everyone of the rules. When he steps out of the ring and to the side, where he will be the head trainer in charge, there is a second of tensely charged waiting. Then Trainer Ethan blows the whistle and the fight begins.

Both Cassie and Jer ry run at each other, meeting in the center of the ring where a flurry of blows are thrown, hands and feet flying. Every hit lands with the loud thud of skin against skin. They each block and dodge quickly and it looks like a deadly choreographed dance as they move and respond to each other.

There is no way to tell who is doing better, their movements are a blur, hard to distinguish at even the short distance that we are from them. There are alternating grunts of effort and pain, but nothing that clearly indicates what is happening.

Suddenly, they break apart, jumping back to be about 10 feet from each other. Both are breathing heavily and sweat runs in rivulets down their faces. Je rry spits out a w ad of blood from his mouth and it looks like a tooth or at least part of one, comes with it. Cassie has a huge ga sh along her forehead. It’s bleeding heavily into her eyes and I know that it has to hurt like hell. She whips her shirt off her head, ripping it into a strip and tying it around her forehead. The material immediately soaks with blood, but at least it’s not dripping into her eyes.

Once she’s done, Cassie looks to Jer ry and nods. He nods back. And then they start circling each other.

The circle gets tighter and tighter as they slowly get closer to each other, trying to figure out how to take each other down. Suddenly, Cassie takes a flying leap at Jer ry. He wasn’t expecting it, especially from the distance that she did it. I think that’s the only reason that it lands.

Her foot hits him directly in the chest and sends him flying, making him fall to the ground. He tries to catch himself, tries to roll, but Cassie is on top of him like freaking white on rice. And then it plays out exactly as it did with me and Yvonne. The second that Cassie has him down, he’s done for. She did make sure that she was sitting up further on his chest so that she could pin down his upper arms and it was less likely him to buck her off.

Je rry does manage to fl*p her, but she has her legs wrapped around his upper b*dy and all he can do is try to dislodge her by slamming her into the ground. Doesn’t work and he eventually calls out, “Yield! I yield”

And that’s it. Cassie is in first place for the second week of training.

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