After that Valentine didn't try to talk to Zac again. He didn't want his help, so that was that. He would have to find his way out of his contact he now had with Shaw. Steering clear of both of them for his remaining days wasn't going to be fun for him, but he would try his best. 

The mark on the back of Valentine's neck was pretty much healed, by the time the next alpha fight night rolled around. He stayed in his room till well after Zac's fight started. Valentine didn't want Shaw pulling him to the box with him again, nor did he want Zac to see he was watching. 

Right off the bat, he could see Zac was hurting. His limp was more noticeable. He couldn't be the only one that saw it now either. Valentine became more anxious the longer he stood there and watched. Again the two of them were neck and neck. He shifted around the ring, so Zac stood right in front of him. Valentine hid by the structure of the bar. The two of them locked eyes. 

Their gaze broken as the other male came in hot and swooped Zac's legs from under him. He landed on his back. The male quickly started laying punches. Zac took a moment to throw him off and regain his footing. The sweep had hurt him, favoring his left leg even more now. The other fighter picked up on it too, but not till after Zac was able to land the final punch that would call the fight. Zac declared the winner. 

The fighter laid out on the mat long enough for Zac to turn his back on him, which gave him the time he needed to land one final illegal blow to Zac's bad knee. The male kicked him just right so that he instantly dropped. A hush fell over the entire crowd. They could all see that was the blow that would end his career in fighting. 

Three quick taps on the window above came from Shaw, signaling enough goons to pick Zac up. They carried him out of the ring and down the hall to the Doc to get looked over. Another two taps for two goons to deal with the other fighter. 

Out of his better judgment, Valentine took off down the hall to the Doc's room. He could hear Zac groaning in pain. Valentine peeked in the open doorway and watched as the Doctor quickly ran his hand over Zac's knee. Valentine wasn't sure what he was doing, but he pressed down along the front of his leg to his ankle then back up to the middle of his thigh. 

"Pain meds. Wraps. Ice. Rest. And surgery." 

"No surgery." Barked Zac as he forced himself to sit upright on the table. "Just fix it up enough so I can fight." 

"Fix this." Laughed the Doctor, then pointed at his knee. "Not going to happen. Maybe heal enough to live a normal pain-filled life. But if you are looking for a better life, pain-free with the chance or some roughhousing. Surgery." 

Zac was doing his best to keep himself together. His blood was pumping from the fight, and now it was racing from the pain. 

"You should have listened to me." Called Valentine from the door, "Now we're both fucked." 

"You fucked yourself." Stated Zac. 

"Fuck you." 

"Fuck you." Shouted Zac so Valentine could hear him down the hall after he walked off. 

"You two have an interesting way of showing y'all like each other." Commented the Doctor as he handed Zac a couple of oxy's to take. 

"I don't like him, and he certainly doesn't like me."

Zac crunched the pills with his back teeth. Not waiting for the water the doctor was about to pass to him.

"Just rewrap me so I can go." Zac laid back down on the table. He ran his hands over his face in frustration. 

"He doesn't like me, right?" 

"I mean, he's done nothing but try to help you since he's been here." 

"He's only tried helping me because that's what he told Shaw he would do." Mocked Zac.

"Then maybe I'm wrong. But Valentine did come to me asking for ways to help with your knee. Wanting to make sure what he wanted to do was going to help over harm you. If you ask me he was asking solely for you and not for whatever he promised Shaw." 

"Fuck him." Growled Zac as the Doc pressed on his knees again. 

He wrapped it tight to keep the swelling down. 

"Ice it. And stay off of it." 

"Yeah. Yeah." Huffed Zac as he limped out. 

Valentine stopped halfway down the hall and leaned against the wall as he tried to collect himself some before he went back to his room. If he didn't share a room with three other people, he wouldn't have any issue going in, but he didn't want anyone to see him like this. 

"You ask for me or him?" Asked Zac once he stopped in his tracks.

"Doesn't matter now." 

Valentine pushed himself off the wall, wiped his stained cheeks. He had never been this emotional in his life. This place was breaking him, and he needed to get out before it fully broke him. 

"It does matter." Zac reached out and stopped him from walking off, "It matters to me?" 

Valentine shook his hand off, "Just leave me alone." 

"Will you stop for a fucking second, please." 

"No." 

Zac hissed as he walked up behind Valentine. This time he grabbed him with more force so he couldn't brush him off again. 

"I asked for you, okay. I asked because I know that shit hurts, and I wanted to help." 

Valentine could care less if it bettered him in the fight or not. He just wanted to help him. He didn't know why he felt the need to, just that he wanted to. 

"You're an asshole, and I still wanted to help you." Valentine laughed.

"Hey, don't laugh at me." Laughed, Zac. 

"I'll laugh at you if I want to." 

"Fine. Laugh then but . . . " Zac smiled, leaning him close to him, "do it more often." 

Valentine had started to push out his sweet scent for the first time in days. 

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, you're cute when you laugh." 

"Am I? I thought I was cute all the time." He teased. Valentine wouldn't say he thought highly of himself, but he knew most found him to be attractive. 

"Well, you are," Zac smirked, catching a whiff of Valentine's sweet scent. 

Valentine felt the heat come off of Zac as he lingered over him for the first time in a nonthreatening way. His golden eyes shifted to his lips, wondering what an alpha like him might taste like. What he could only assume to be the feeling of butterflies started up in the pit of his stomach. Valentine was flustered, by the vibe he was getting from Zac. The mood has shifted so quickly between them from fuck yous to flirtation. 

Time around them seemed to freeze in those few seconds before the trance had been broken.

"Shaw wants you in his office, Zac." 

The two of them turned to look at the goon waiting at the end of the hall. 

"I'll be there in a minute." He replied and turned to look back at Valentine. So much of him wanted to hold onto that moment with Valentine. 

It was the first time he felt that things finally shifted into place for them. 

"Now. Not in a minute. You're on his time, or have you forgotten that."

"Go." Whispered Valentine. He nodded his head for him to go.

The moment had passed. No need to make whatever encounter was waiting for Zac to be worse.