There is no way I’m risking my boots and dress, not to mention leather-soled cowboy boots won’t do me much good on the grass and soil out here. I hand my boots to Sam. “I love these boots, Sam. Take care of them.” He nods and salutes.

She finally emerges looking like she’s ready for a photo shoot. I swear she put on more makeup. Quickly, I throw my long hair in a thick braid and wait. It’s not long before she saunters over in her five-inch spiked heels, giving her a huge height advantage. Oh well, with one good body shot, she’ll be bent over anyway. She purposely brushes past Masen, letting her body linger as she passes and looking up at him. I yell an, “Uh uh,” before shit gets real. I grab her by the back of her head and snatch her back enough she almost falls. My intention isn’t to pull her hair, it’s to get her moving. I let her recover before sneering, “Come get some.” That’s all it takes. She flies at me with her arms outstretched. I think she is trying to claw my face up. She’s fast, I’ll give her that, but she has no fighting experience. Standing still, I lift my arm and bring it down hard on the top of hers. Her momentum carries her forward, almost falling into me when she teeters on her heels. She’s going to break her ankle.

Now she’s pissed. She screeches loud enough I think a dog two counties over bays. She runs at me again, and I strike out with my out turned palm hard slamming in the middle of her chest just below her breast. Her arms are longer, so I get a slap or punch. I’m not sure, it might even be her nails to my cheek.

She pulls back, gasping like a fish out of water. A solid hit to the solar plexus will take the wind out of a grown man let alone a hundred and twenty-pound amazon. I stand ready and wait. I can hear people talking, no one person stands out, jeers and cheers surround us.

Smartening up, she goes on the defensive, this time waiting for me to attack. Her height advantage really limits my offensive tactics. She starts running her mouth trying to fluster me. “Did Masen ever tell you about the week he took me to aspen? He fucked me so much I couldn’t walk for a day. We never left the room, seven days of him fucking me,” she sneers. “How about when he tells you to swallow? That’s one of his favorites.” That one hits close to home. Deciding to end this quickly and knowing she’ll be able to shift to heal, I know my plan.

Lowering my center mass, I move closer, always looking at her face and letting her assume that’s where my attack will fall. When I’m close enough, I turn slightly and snap the side of my foot out and down on her knee. She howls and falls immediately, grabbing ahold of her now broken knee. I stand back and watch as a few shifters move to aide her. When her eyes find mine, I know she’ll never give up. I haven’t seen the last of Roxanne. I nod, acknowledging her threat.