Chapter Ten
The asshole was easyto find, thanks to the stink of his cliché Old Spice cologne.
Anger brewed so deep and hot inside Dax, he couldn’t let it go. He wasn’t done letting the asshole know how he felt about his treatment of Allie. Dax never really appreciated how he could go into stealth mode, even while in his human form, until now. His footfalls made barely any sound and his body moved effortlessly through the blend of shadows and light. The sun was rising over the mountains, casting threads of orange and red all around as Blake reached to open his car door, seemingly unaware of Dax coming up behind him.
The bastard actually had the confidence to talk to Allie like that and think he’d walk away unscathed. He was seething inside, and his bear was burning to sink its claws into Blake’s pompous face.
Dax grabbed Blake’s suitcoat with one hand and pulled him backwards. The man grunted, his arms flailing as Dax spun him and slammed him against the car door. He took deep enjoyment at the fear on the smaller man’s face. Dax put a hand to the base of the man’s throat and squeezed.
“Some shifter you are.” Dax smiled as a surge of predatory joy pumped through him.
Blake sputtered as he closed his hands over Dax’s wrist and tried to pull him off. Flesh and tendon were slowly caving in beneath his hand as he applied more pressure. A purple hue took over Blake’s face. Dax sighed. Smaller bears were so fragile.
Relaxing his grip, Dax leaned down close to Blake’s face. “You’re going to slink away and never bother Allie again, understand?”
Blake was clawing at Dax’s wrists, his lips seeming to swell as his face changed colors.
Ooops. Dax slid his hand to grab the asshole’s shirt, glaring at him in demand for a response.
“Yes,” he coughed out. “Okay.”
“Whatever the fuck money you think she owes you is paid in full. If I find out you’ve been within a hundred miles of her again, you’ll fucking oweme. Got it?”
He didn’t wait for Blake’s response. Releasing him with a shove, Dax strode away before his temper got the best of him. Sometimes the bear was hard to control and when his human side got pissed, it made it even more difficult. The animal stirred inside, making his skin itch and burn. More than anything, he wanted to go to Allie, gather her up and kiss her until she forgot all about Blake. But he was too agitated and close to losing his temper.
Something was majorly off with Blake’s response to their confrontation. He’d been too complacent, too willing to let Dax dominate him. The man was a puss and he wondered what the hell Allie had ever seen in him? A shifter that would go belly up that easily wasn’t worthy of any woman.
Dax cranked his neck to the side. When the need to shift took over, nothing would ease him until he let it out. He drove the curved road deep into the Rocky Mountains, stopping at the very tip of his father’s land. Morning was in full swing by the time he got out and took breath of heady, pine-filled air. Dax stripped off his shirt and kicked out of his pants. Naked, he stepped into a ray of sunlight and closed his eyes as warmth permeated every inch of his body.
With a cry, he threw his head back and let the shift consume him. His flesh gave way to a coat of thick, red-brown fur, his bones and tendons and muscles thickening into new architecture. Lobbing onto all fours, Dax gave a huge shake, the mass of his new body shifting side to side as sun warmed his coat.
Eagerly, he ran into the forest. With a roar, he tackled the base of a wind-damaged tree and wrestled it until it cracked. With his front paws, Dax pounced on the weakened trunk until it snapped with a resounding crack and fell. He turned to another for more of the same, and then another. Panting, he shook bark from his fur and realized he didn’t feel any better. He was still edgy and irritable.
Allie.
He needed her. Now that he’d been deep inside her body, holding her against him while she writhed in pleasure, he needed more of her like he needed to breathe. He needed her in his bed every night, waking up to him each morning, sharing his home and his life. She’d obviously not been treated right by Blake. No wonder she was gun-shy about giving him a try, and her heart. Blake had dealt her a heavy hand in the confidence department.
He should have strangled the life out of that fucker.
Racing back to his truck, Dax burst up onto his hind legs and shook hard enough to shake the ground. His body popped and crunched as the massive animal sunk down into the body of a man. With a groan, Dax dropped onto his hands and knees and hung his head. The transition always stunned him for a moment as his brain and body caught up to the enormity of change. Struggling to catch his breath, Dax was about to flop over and lie on his back when his cell phone rang.
Remembering it was in his jeans’ pocket, he rummaged around in the pile of clothes he’d dropped on the ground until he found it. Jett’s number flashed on the screen.
“Yeah.” Dax barked between breaths.
“Something’s wrong with dad. Get your ass home. Now.”
Dax didn’t wait for his brother to say more. Slamming into his jeans and stuffing his feet into his boots, he jumped in the truck and took off, leaving his shirt lying in the grass. The road looped back down the mountainside, only a few miles from their father’s.
