The scent of her hatred boiled up, and she spun toward me, as her eyes had
turned yellow and her fangs dropped. I could tell a full shift was coming, and
her cousin was standing two feet behind her.
Help me, her golden eyes begged.
I touched her arm and pushed a wave of power into her to stop the shift
dead in its tracks.
Her teeth retracted and eyes cleared, and I breathed a deep sigh of relief.
She had a bit of blood on her lips. I pointed to my own, and she wiped her
mouth with the back of her wrist.
Her anger wasn’t gone, just repressed. Like mine.
“Who are those assholes?” I snarled as two pricks approached. If they’d
done anything to Savannah, I’d break their backs over the bleachers.
“Two jerks I know from the Indies.” She spun on her cousin. “What the
hell are they doing here, Casey? I thought you weren’t trying to start a fight.”
He shrugged. “Penance. For insulting my cousin at the bonfire. They’ll
behave. Anyway, I needed help, and I wasn’t going to bring Mom.”
Bonfire? Had they triggered Savannah’s first shift? I’d hang their corpses
from the dockside cranes.
Savannah turned on me, her eyes wide and pleading. “I think I’ve got
this, Jaxson. Walk away.”
She knew. The scents of hatred and murder coiled around me, plain for
anyone to see. This was the curse of having a mate. I’d do anything to protect
her, even murder two sorcerers who were offering to help our pack.
The pack had to come first. Savannah couldn’t be my mate. We’d find a
way to fix this.
I cursed, reined in my wolf and emotions, and buried them deep. But I did
step up in Casey’s face. “Wolfsbane stays outside, or you all stay outside.
Not negotiable. You have my guarantee of protection.”
He grimaced, then unslung the bandolier and handed it to one of his
goons. “Put this in my ride.”