Next Strike Novels & Stories

I stood still as I replied sarcastically, "Oh? Too bad you'll always be the shameful third party as long as I don't get divorced." "You!" Johnny was enraged, and he punched me right in the face. "I'll kill you!" That was when Mindy suddenly appeared and saw everything that happened.

“There is no center anymore.” I did not respond immediately. Because I could feel it. Something about him was wrong in a way that went beyond the corruption we understood His presence was heavier, more structured, as if whatever had taken hold of the others had not broken him but rebuilt him into something sharper. He moved first. The strike came fast, but not recklessly. It was precise enough that I barely managed to block it in time, the impact traveling through my arm with enough force to make me step back involuntarily.

"The next strike will not be a quiet probe. I am done testing the fences and playing cat-and-mouse. It is going to be a total, coordinated tactical assault. We bring everyone we have." He picked up the dropped rifle from the pavement and shoved it hard into the bounty hunter's chest. "We finish this job right now. If we fail, Alpha Magnus will lose his patience entirely. He will not pay us the money. He will execute us instead to clean up his mess. Get the men ready to move.”

"Do you really think you can get into the same college as me with your grades? Dream on! Don't think I don't know how those two buttons ended up on my school uniform!" As soon as I finished speaking, Marianne, who was slumped on the floor, got up suddenly and slapped him across the face. "Now that everything has been exposed, you're pushing all the blame onto me? You're the one who came up with this idea in the first place!" Lance kicked her down. "Nonsense! When did I ever say that? You're the one who told me to sew the buttons on her school uniform. You're the mastermind here!" "I'll kill you, Lance!" Marianne screamed.

Small but solid. “Ten strikes,” he tells me. “You’re going to count them. Thank me for each one. And when we’re done, you’ll have bruises that last for days. Every time you sit down, every time you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, you’ll remember that you belong to me.” I bend over the table without being told. The first strike lands with a crack that echoes through the room. "One!" I gasp. “Thank you, sir!” He waits. Lets the sting build. Then –

"I can't believe you're still being so delusional even when you're barely alive, Suzanna—just focus on staying alive instead! "Let me teach you a lesson on behalf of your lousy parents—I'll show you what it's like to be respectful of others!" One of them started breaking the tendons in my arm, while the other continued to kick at me. Pain shot through my entire body, and I struggled to back off. However, Larry pinned me down with a vicious stare before slapping me. He spat, "How dare you try to run! I'll make sure you pay for the wounds your men inflicted on Ms. Cindy! You'd better stay here and endure the beating!"

After being fooled by him for so long, I finally got to trick him back right to his face once. "Terence, are you satisfied with the 50th revenge?" The wind swallowed most of my voice, but I knew he heard me. He stood frozen in place. As he stood there, stunned, a powerful blast ripped through the air. Flames erupted skyward, lighting up everything around. "Goodbye, Terence."

I knew he was trying to distract me in hopes of causing me to strike out, but I refused to let him get the better of me. I intentionally took the first strike as I wanted to see what the pitcher could do. I slowed my breathing, widened my stance, and adjusted my grip on the bat. The next pitch was going to be mine. CRACK!!!! Elizabeth’s POV: I stood watching with bated breath as Ashton swung. His bat connected with the ball, and in an instant, I knew that it was going to be a home run. The ball flew high into the air and soared past the infield and deep into the outfield. For a brief moment, I thought it might actually just drop at the wall, but it landed in the upper decks.

To leave marks that fade just in time to avoid questions. The second strike followed before I could recover, and by the third strike, my legs were trembling. Madam Istrell’s voice is calm as she recites, I am guessing that’s the protocol. “This is for forgetting your station.” Another strike. “For allowing attention you did not earn.” Strike. “For threatening palace stability and challenging hierarchy.” Strike. My vision blurs. I grit my teeth, refusing to scream. I will not give them that. By the sixth strike, something inside me cracks, not my bone or muscle; something deeper in me, and the room tilts as if I were being turned upside down.

“What happened? “There’s movement. Phillipe have been meeting late nights at their estate. Same cars, different faces. One of our guys on the inside heard something about a strike soon.” “How soon?” “Couldn't say. But they're gearing up for something big. Maybe retaliation.” Retaliation. I breathed in deeply, forcing my pulse to steady. "Keep eyes on them. No one moves unless I say so. If anything changes, I want to know before they take their first step." “Yes, boss.” The line clicked off. I slid the phone into my pocket, gaze fixed on nothing. Phillipe was coming. That much was clear. While part of me had expected as much, another part-some foolish, exhausted part-had hoped they'd be too b