Twirling the pool stick with the blunt end up, he turned and stalked toward Noah.
“Is she here?” Noah asked, searching the busy room.
Archer swung his arm and cracked Noah’s skull with the stick. Noah bellowed in pain, blood spraying from his head wound as he hit the ground with a sickening thud.
“You fucking did it now, kid,” Calvin growled from behind the bar. “Mercy! Get over here!”
Archer had raised his arm to strike again when Noah morphed into a colossal tiger with dark eyes and long fangs.
A panicked crowd flipped their chairs over as they scrambled to safety.
“Nobody better shift!” Calvin shouted from behind the bar. “I will shoot every last one of you.”
Archer turned the pool stick so the narrower end faced the animal. If it so much as jumped in his direction, he would shove it down the animal’s gullet.
The tiger staggered to its feet and sniffed the air. His unsteady stance led Archer to believe Noah was heavily intoxicated.
Archer felt no fear. “You like hitting women?” He poked the animal in the face with the stick, and it roared.
Krys sidled close to the animal with a chair in hand like a circus trainer.
The tiger swiped his paw at Krys, making him step back from those razor-sharp claws.
“Careful, Archer,” Krys said calmly. “They go for the throat.”
A shriek sounded in the back.
The tiger reacted like a gunshot and charged past Archer, knocking him aside.
Archer pivoted and sprinted after the animal. Dropping the pool stick, he dove forward and gripped the tiger’s tail, making the animal jerk back for only a second before the tail slipped from Archer’s hand.
A scream pealed. Montana shouted, and chaos stirred all around them.
Archer jumped to his feet, but before he could advance, Lakota pushed him back.
“Hold up,” Lakota warned him. “Don’t go near them.”
Archer peered around the beta to see why. The tiger had pounced on top of Cecilia, guarding her as if she were prey. Her legs weren’t moving, so he couldn’t tell if she was even alive under all that weight.
Robyn and Montana stood like statues in the back hall. In a burst of motion, Montana shoved his mate into the bathroom.
Noah’s tiger roared at Montana, swiping his paw and threatening to pounce.
“We have to dosomething,” Archer bit out.
Lakota glanced over his shoulder. “He won’t kill her as long as she doesn’t fight him. He’s just claiming her.”
Claiming.That word made Archer surge forward.
Krys joined their huddle. “So, now what? Montana’s trapped and unarmed.”
“What are you going to do with that?” Mercy exclaimed.
Calvin walked into view and raised a shiny sword.
When the sharp blade pierced the air, Archer reeled back as the splintering fragments of a memory gripped his spine.
Krys looked over his shoulder and saw what had made Archer react. “Fuck no.” He blocked Calvin. “Put that damn thing away. There’s a girl underneath all that.”
