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The bear bellowed in pain He shifted to his in-between beast, half huantic proportions Spike kept ripping, blood flowed, and the bear snarled in rage

The bear-beast collapsed, taking Spike doith hi his eyes shut before the gritty dirt blinded him

The grizzly, back in solid bear for onto his back Spike scrambled off and away before the bear could squash hi hi, ready to charge the bear again

Two refs in human form ran between them

“Fight’s over!” one of the refs shouted “The bear is down”

The grizzly’s few supporters moaned in disappointment The rest of the crowd screa victory leaps Spike, chaain

Spike stood still and caught his breath, his Collar sending fiery jolts of pain down his neck and spine He’d pay a long tiht The bear was daood

The bear got slowly to his feet He rose on his hind legs, higher and higher, until he flowed down into his human form—a little shorter than his bear form, but not by much The bear—Cormac—had black hair and blue eyes and stood about seven feet tall He spat blood fro his breath like Spike did

Spike stretched his forepaws into the air and let hih at six foot six He kept his ar his victory, and his fans filled the place with noise

Cor with residual arcs, and gave Spike a nod “Good fight,” he said, his voice rasping

He stuck out his hand Spike clasped it, prorip too hard, and Cormac clapped Spike on the shoulder The Shifter had no malice in his eyes, only approval for Spike’s technique and stamina

That was the problem with bears They were so da to kill you

“Good fight,” Spike said back He kept his words light, his handshake strong, pretending he didn’t want to fall onto the soft dirt of the ring and pass out A few gallons of water poured down his throat wouldn’t hurt either

Cormac turned away to his friends—Ronan the Kodiak bear and his family—and a woman ran to Spike with a sports bottle

Spike grabbed the bottle and upended a streas First, the woman who’d handed him the bottle was human, and second, he’d never seen her here before

She had black hair cut short but wildly curly, blue eyes that looked back at him in perfect equanimity, a round face that was cute rather than pretty, and lips that any male, human or Shifter would want to sink a kiss onto Her plump body had nice curves that she didn’t much hide behind a button-down shirt, sexily-cut lace tank, and jeans that rested low on her hips