by Jodi Vaugn
Braxton frowned. “We’re not mated.”
“Yet. You two are not mated yet. But you might as well be.” Jayden rubbed the side of his head. “You’re just as pussy-whipped as Damon.”
“What are you two bitching about now?” Damon asked as he parked his Harley beside them. Ava hopped off.
“I told Braxton I’m never mating.”
“That’s good. ’Cause no female will ever want you.” Damon smirked.
Jayden flipped Damon the bird.
“Cut it out.” Ava stepped in between the two males. “Braxton’s going to need some backup. So get your heads right.”
Braxton didn’t have time for their bullshit. He bounded up the steps to the bar, taking them two at a time, with his friends right behind him. He opened the door and stepped in. Music, smoke, and whiskey hit him square in the face.
Through the haze of smoke the bar was full, every table and booth occupied with Weres. He scanned the room until his gaze landed on Kate. And his stomach bottomed out.
***
“I think we might need to be getting back to the Bella Luna.” Kate worried her lips with her teeth as her gaze darted across the crowded room.The longer she was here, the more she became uneasy.
“We’ve only been here an hour,” Felicity whined through her drunken stupor.
It was an hour longer than Kate wanted to stay.
“Granny just ordered another round of shots.” Felicity’s slurred words made Kate’s stomach knot. Felicity was a handful sober. Kate had a feeling that Felicity was a whole lot of trouble once you gave the girl alcohol. All the more reason they needed to leave.
Another round of shots were placed on the bar in front of the women. More alcohol was the last thing these women needed. Since they’d arrived at the bar, they had been throwing back drinks like sailors. Kate couldn’t quote the legal limit of intoxication, but she was sure these ladies had exceeded it.
“If you want to drink, I’m sure Braxton will be more than happy to serve you guys at the house.” Kate smiled, hoping they’d agree.
“Braxton’s eye candy. That’s for sure.” Felicity slurred her words as she grabbed onto Kate’s arm for balance. “But he’s yours. And I need to get some inspiration from a single hottie. You know, to get my creative juices flowing.” Felicity gave her a wink.
“Hmph. I think the juices you want flowing are your lady juices.” Myrtis sneered. “Not your creative juices.”
Kate cringed.
“How about that one?” Barbara pointed to the back of the room where a dark-haired male sat at a table, eyeing their group with either curiosity or interest. Kate wasn’t sure which it was, but he made her skin crawl.
“He’s been sitting there all by himself since we got here. I don’t see a ring, so I’m guessing he’s single.” Felicity narrowed her eyes at the guy.
Kate shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” Felicity set her empty shot glass down on the table. “He looks dark, dangerous, and hot.”
“He looks like he just got out of prison.” Kate opened her purse and began to search for her cell phone. There was no way she was going to get these women out of here on her own. She needed backup in the form of her werewolf houseguests.
“Prison?” Barbara cocked her head. “Yeah, I could see that. Although, I was going to say he looked like a pirate.”
“What is it with you and pirates? You don’t even write that kind of book. You write Highlander.” Myrtis grinned.
Barbara shrugged. “I might want to branch out. Test the waters. Pirates are very hot right now.”
“You mean test your inner erotica.” Myrtis laughed.
“I’m going to talk to him.” Felicity pushed away from the bar.
Kate grabbed her arm. “No, Felicity, please don’t do that.”
Felicity twisted out of her grip and smiled. “Don’t worry, Kate. I’ll be fine.” She turned and walked toward the mysterious man.
Damn, this wasn’t good. Her gut clenched. She needed help. Throwing up her hands, she hurried after Felicity.
Felicity stopped in front of the biker and rested a slim hip on the table.
“I notice you’re not wearing a wedding ring,” Felicity purred.
“No, I’m not.” The stranger cocked his head as a smirk played on his lips.
Kate looked around nervously. A lot of the men in the bar had turned around in their seats as a hush stole across the noisy bar. The tension in the room seemed to increase tenfold.
“Felicity, we’ve really got to be going.” Kate gritted her teeth and grabbed Felicity’s arm, but Felicity shook off her grip.
“I don’t want to go. I’m making a new friend.” Felicity leaned over and ran her finger down the tight T-shirt-clad chest of the stranger.
A deep growl erupted from behind them. Kate turned.
Standing two feet away, a brunette wearing black leather pants and vest and a scowl so intense it made Kate shiver, eyed them both with contempt. She was one of the women Kate had noticed when they first entered the bar.
The woman grabbed Felicity by her hair and held her off the ground, her feet dangling in the air. “That’s my mate. No one touches my mate.”
Mate? Kate’s stomach turned. Holy shit. Her intuition had been trying to alert her to the danger. They were in the middle of a werewolf bar.
***
Braxton watched in horror as a female Were lifted Felicity off the ground by her hair. If he made a move to interfere, the entire bar would erupt in a fight, putting all the women in danger. More importantly, it would put Kate in danger.
“I can’t fucking believe I’m about to do this.” Ava shoved past Braxton and tapped the female Were on the shoulder.
The female turned. Ava reared back and slammed her fist into the female’s face. The female let go of Felicity and slid to the floor in a heap.
Ava grabbed Felicity by the throat. “You, little girl, better learn to keep yourself in check. Next time there’s not going to be someone around to save your skinny little ass, and you will get more than you bargained for. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Felicity looked at Ava with wide eyes and nodded fervently. “I understand.” She held up her arms in front of her face and grimaced. “Are you going to hit me too, Ava?”
“I ought to. For coming in here and trying to start trouble.” Ava released her hold and glanced at Kate. “Kate’s too nice to say it, but you are nothing but trouble. If I were her, I’d kick your ass out before you do something that hurts her business.”
Felicity swallowed and slowly lowered her arms. “I’m sorry, Kate, I didn’t mean to endanger your business.”
***
Kate wanted to kiss Ava for saving their ass, but that was going to have to wait. Right now she needed to get everyone out.
She fell into step behind Ava, who was marching Felicity to the front door.
A large hand clamped down on her waist and pulled her down into a hard lap. She blinked, too shocked to speak.
“Hey, sweetheart, you looking for a good time?” A burly biker with eyes so dark they appeared black held her down with his massive arm around her waist. He reeked of body odor, cigarettes, and bad breath. Kate tried to pull away, but his hold was like steel.
“No. But, you need to be looking for a breath mint,” Kate said as her anger slowly built up within her. She knew she should be afraid, but for some reason her anger overrode every other emotion at the moment.
A vicious growl shook the room. Braxton filled her line of vision as he yanked her free and crushed her against his chest. The biker’s protest muted in her ears as Braxton’s murderous growl seemed to vibrate the entire room.
He turned and shoved her at Jayden. “Get her out of here.”
Jayden hurried toward the writers with Kate tucked protectively against his side. “Party’s over, ladies. It’s time to go home.” He opened the door and began herding the women out.
Kate turned, frantic
ally trying to find Braxton. She froze.
Braxton had his hand wrapped around the biker’s thick neck, holding him off the floor. “Do not touch what belongs to me,” Braxton growled.
Kate’s heart leaped into her throat. The dynamic of the bar had shifted and all the men were shoving chairs back and circling Braxton, like animals ready to attack.
Kate started forward. She needed to help Braxton.
Damon grabbed her arm. “Don’t. Go with the others. We got this.” Damon looked past her as Felicity was the last one out the door. Damon grinned, his eyes changing colors to an odd yellow. He dropped to the floor and shifted into a wolf right before her eyes.
Hell erupted.
Braxton punched the biker who’d grabbed her. The biker landed with a thud on the scarred wood floor. The man looked up, growled, and shifted into a large wolf.
Terror paralyzed Kate to where she stood, unable to run from what she was actually witnessing. Braxton howled as his muscled body shifted into the massive grey wolf she’d found on her front steps.
Braxton lunged, his teeth bared, pinning the wolf to the floor.
“Go!” Ava grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her through the door.
Kate stood on the steps, unable to move as chaos erupted behind the closed door. She knew what Braxton was. But seeing him shift from a man into an animal was something her brain couldn’t comprehend. It made what he was, a werewolf, frighteningly real.
“Kate, are you okay? Are you hurt?” Jayden grabbed her by the elbows and studied her face.
She swallowed and nodded slightly. “I’m fine.”
“We have to go. If those writers find out what we are, then we will no longer be safe.” Jayden narrowed his eyes. “Braxton said you knew what we are, but they don’t.”
Kate frowned. “You don’t think they’d tell, do you?”
Jayden gave her a droll look. “Are you kidding? They’re writers. They put all kinds of shit in those books. I’m sure a book about Werewolves that ride Harleys would hit the New York Times best sellers’ list in a heartbeat.”
Kate felt the blood drain from her face.
“Come on.” Jayden pulled her down the steps and helped her into the van before sliding into the driver’s seat. The women were all accounted for. Even Granny was there.
Kate turned around in her seat and met the old woman’s gaze. “Granny, where have you been? I haven’t seen you for the past thirty minutes.”
Granny waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I was in the bathroom talking to one of those Wer...ah one of those girls. She was asking me about my sex toys. She said she’d been having some trouble out of her boyfriend who had a wandering eye. I told her she needed my edible panties with matching bra in beef jerky flavor.”
“Dammit, Granny. I told you not to talk about your sex stuff in front of me.” Jayden grimaced as he started the vehicle.
“Jayden. It’s not sex stuff, it’s my business.” Granny glared.
Kate had a feeling Granny’s “business” was a topic of contention between the two.
“Well, don’t talk about your little business in front of me. I’m about to lose my dinner over here.” He threw the van in reverse, backed out, and sped out of the parking lot.
Granny stuck her chin in the air. “My ‘little business’ made me over a hundred and fifty thousand last year, just so you know.”
“A hundred and fifty thousand?” Myrtis poked her head up. “Damn. Maybe I need to peddle that instead of writing.”
“It’s a money-maker, that’s for sure.” Granny looked at the lady. “If you’re interested, you could sign up under me, and I could help get you started.”
“Enough talking about that kind of stuff.” Jayden took a sharp turn onto a winding street and the ladies slid to one side of the van.
“Yeah, let’s talk about how Felicity almost got her ass beat.” Myrtis glared at Felicity. “I think you owe Ava a big thank you for helping you out.”
Granny perked up. “Wait, what happened? What did I miss?”
Kate shook her head. “Felicity flirted with the wrong guy and the girlfriend walked up. Ava ended up knocking the girl out before she could hit Felicity.”
“Hey, how was I supposed to know he had a woman?” Felicity sunk lower into the seat, looking embarrassed.
Granny eyed Felicity. “Was she wearing all leather?”
“How’d you know?”
“Because she was the one I was talking to in the bathroom about her man being a dick.”
“Granny, language, please,” Jayden called out over his shoulder as he took another intense curve. Tires squealed as the ladies slid to the other side of the van.
“I don’t feel so good.” Felicity bolted up in her seat and covered her mouth with her hand.
“I think you need to pull over.” Kate unsnapped her seat belt and frantically began to search through the armrest for some kind of container.
“I think I need to get out.” Felicity reached for the door handle. Kate leaped over the seat and grabbed Felicity around the waist before the girl could tumble out down the side of the mountain. Jayden cursed and slammed on the brakes just as Felicity lost her dinner, wine, and shots.
When Felicity was done, Kate pulled her back in the car and shut the door.
“It stinks in here,” Danielle called out from the backseat, waving her hand in front of her nose.
“That’s because Felicity hit the side of the door. We’ll wash it off and leave the windows open so it can air out tonight.” Kate climbed back in her seat and gave Jayden an eye roll. He grimaced as the scent hit him and he pushed the “down” button for his window. Cold air blew inside the vehicle. Kate snuggled down into her coat.
It was going to be a long drive home.
***
Damon lunged at the nearest werewolf. They went skidding across the barroom floor. He jumped to his feet and snapped his teeth at the enemy. The Were whimpered and lowered his head as he backed away. That’s right, fucker. Back the fuck up.
Damon looked for the next target. Instead of another male wolf, he saw Ava in wolf form being trounced by a female. Damon shifted back to his human form, but before he could reach Ava, she had managed to shift her weight and pin the female underneath her. The female wolf whimpered until Ava released her hold.
Damon grinned and rested his hand on the back of her head. Ava growled and snapped until she realized it was him. She gave him a wolf lick with her tongue. The rest of the bar was empty. Everyone had quickly fled after the fighting had started up.
Ava shifted in to her human form and slowly stood. Damon pulled her close, their naked bodies rubbing together in a slow delicious burn.
She pulled away and grinned. “We’re going to need some clothes.”
A growl and whimper pulled his attention away from her. Damon froze at what he saw.
***
Braxton’s mouth clamped down on the Were’s throat, every urge and instinct inside him wanting to bite down and feel the crush of bone and ligaments under his teeth. Bloodlust swirled in his head, drowning out any words of common sense or reality of the situation. He wanted vengeance. He wanted blood.
“Stop, Braxton. You got to let him go.” Ava touched his back gently.
It registered that Ava was talking to him, but he didn’t release the wolf.
“Braxton. Kate’s waiting for you back home,” Damon growled, urgency in his voice. “Besides, I think some humans heard us from that club next door. They probably called the cops. You don’t need to be here.”
Braxton slowly released his grip around the Were’s throat. He backed away as he panted out each breath, adrenaline flooding his veins. Cops showing up was the last thing he needed.
Braxton closed his eyes, shifting from wolf to human. Standing up, he glared at the Were who was now tucked in the corner with his tail between his legs.
“We’ve got to go,” Damon hissed.
His chest ached with the need to be with Kat
e.
“Here, put these on. I brought extra clothes in my saddlebags.” Damon shoved some clothes at him. “You go into that B&B with your naked ass, there will be no stopping those crazy ladies.”
“Thanks.” That was the one hazard about shifting into wolf when you least expected it. You tore out of the clothes you had on. Braxton dressed quickly and glanced around. “Where’s Ava? She okay?”
Damon grinned. “She’s in the bathroom dressing. Can’t have you looking at my female, can I?”
“You boys ready?” Ava stepped out of the bathroom in jeans, black T-shirt, and a snug leather jacket. She bent over to secure the leather boots.
“Where the fuck did you get that?” Damon’s voice echoed in the empty room.
Ava lifted her chin in the direction of the female Were. “I got it out of her bag. Thank God she removed the jacket before she shifted or I’d freeze my ass off on the ride back.”
Damon pushed her back against the counter of the bar and kissed her.
Braxton averted his eyes. His cock tightened, and the only thought that stuck in his brain was Kate. He needed to find Kate.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Sweet Jesus. What’s with these women?” Jayden’s wide-eyed gaze bore into Kate as he hid in the shelter of the kitchen. “You would think they would have passed out by now with as much alcohol as they’ve consumed. I mean, even the old ladies are still going. They’re like the fucking Energizer bunny.”
Someone in the living room turned on the stereo. The sounds of Britney Spears blared through the house, rattling the windows. Kate peeked around the corner just as Lynn stood up on the couch and started singing into a vase. The other writers waved their cell phones in the air with their lighter apps turned on in tune to the music.
“Sing it, girlfriend!” Barbara yelled.
Kate ducked back in the kitchen. She was exhausted and irritated and over the whole damn thing. She glared at Jayden. “At least you didn’t have to clean the puke out of the van.”
“At least you didn’t get molested,” he shot back.
Kate snorted. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about how Myrtis grabbed my balls as I was helping her inside.” Jayden shivered, cupped himself, and looked away. “Shit, I’m going to have nightmares about this for years.”
