MASON
He was coming right, so I shifted, blocked his punch, and rounded with my own. My fist hit the side of his eye, and he doubled over. There was a crowd around us, but I couldn’t hear them. They didn’t exist to me. It was this guy. This was Sebastian’s crowd. They wanted a fight. They got one, and this lackey would be the third guy I took down. It was a matter of moments before he gave in. He bent over, drawing in ragged breaths, and his hand raised to his head. He was checking out how much blood was there, and then the yells started to filter through my haze.
“Get up!”
“Let’s go!”
They’d been screaming like that for the last hour. It never mattered. Each one of Sebastian’s guys would get up, and I’d hit them back down. When one was knocked out, another would step in, and I’d fight him like the others—quick, painful, and without thought.
I hadn’t fought in so long, but this felt good, finally being able to release the demons. Sebastian wanted to destroy my friendship with Nate. That failed. Nate left their fraternity instead, and they went after me. Their hit-and-run got Marissa instead. She wasn’t innocent in some things, but she was an innocent of this war. And Sebastian won that battle.
He got to Marissa.
I didn’t know what was promised or what was threatened, but she testified that she didn’t remember anyone else being there. It was only me, her, and the speeding truck that came out of nowhere. The security cameras went missing. The only evidence I had on Sebastian was Nate’s recording where he admitted that they didn’t mean to hit the girl, but it wasn’t enough to condemn their futures. The university didn’t want a criminal case, so the fraternity was banned. Each individual member could attend Cain University, but not within their fraternity. That was it, though.
My revenge was simple. I burnt their house down.
They tried to get me expelled, but no evidence was found. They couldn’t pin that on me. Months passed in tension. I knew they were going to fight back, but I was given a break—until tonight.
They were waiting for me after my last training session.
A third one came from the left at me. I bent down, swept an arm out, hooking him around the legs. I tossed him over my back, flipping him in the air. His back hit the ground, and he stared up at me, blinking in shock. I didn’t give him time to think. My leg was up, and I brought it down. He twisted to the side, but I still clipped him in the head. It was enough to make him slow his attack. He rolled to the side and lay there, shaking his head clear.
A fourth was charging toward me.
I stood my gr