Montana, who was sitting in the middle, looked across his shoulder at Lucian, his scent heavy with suspicion.It made Lucian want to roll the window down, but they were almost there.To his relief, he spied a car parked under a covered carport.
Before the truck stopped, Lucian jumped out.
“Hold up!”Tak called out.
Lucian clenched his fists as he marched through a light drizzle until he arrived on the wide doorstep.An ornate lion’s-head door knocker glowered at him while he rang the bell.
A ferocious bark greeted him from inside the house.Lucian listened to his packmates approach from behind, but he was too laser focused on the door.He didn’t care if his packmates witnessed what was about to happen.This was the moment he’d been fantasizing about for days.
When he rang the bell again, the barking grew louder and more frantic.
“All right!”a strident voice shouted before the light switched on.“Shut the hell up.”
The barking ceased, though Lucian could hear anxious whimpers.When the door opened, a large brown dog wearing a spiked collar lunged.
Lucian bent forward and glared at the Doberman pinscher.The dog abruptly yelped and jumped back ten feet.Even animals were intimidated by a Chitah’s gaze.The pinscher danced as if hot coals were beneath his paws, and after a final bark, he turned in a circle, his pointy ears standing to attention.
When Lucian straightened, he stared daggers at Henry until the Mage blinked.
“To what do I owe the honor at this godforsaken hour?”the blond-haired, pompous jackass said while adjusting the loop on his white bathrobe.“You’re that Chitah fellow who got arrested for murder, aren’t you?”He flicked his gaze behind Lucian.“Are you responsible for him?”
Lucian glared into the man’s sparkling blue eyes, which had probably ensnared many an unsuspecting woman.“If you want to know the answer, Hightower, ask me directly.I’m the only one you need to be addressing.”
“My bad.I thought you were a little, uh… slow in the head.I mean, you’d have to be to show up on my doorstep after murdering one of my employees.”
“I heard you’re courting Eden Thompson.”
“Oh shit,” Montana muttered.
A cocky smile played on Henry’s lips.“Courting?That’s my fiancée you’re talking about.Did you come to offer your congratulations, or do you want to pay me restitution for the loss of an employee?”He leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb, arms folded.Meanwhile, his dog sat down and watched, a quiet bark escaping every few seconds.
“I’m not paying you shit.”Lucian’s nostrils twitched as he tasted the air.“And you’re lying about something.Did Marcus even work for you in the end?”
Henry gripped the doorjamb on both sides and narrowed his eyes.“You’ve got some set of balls showing up at this hour with that smart mouth.I’m a busy man.”He directed his attention to Tak.“If you’re his Packmaster, you should cut this one loose.We don’t need a killer wandering the streets of our town.He’s a danger to us all.”
The scent of Tak’s irritation hit Lucian like a bullet train, and the alpha finally spoke.“When I want your advice, Mage, I’ll ask for it.But if you keep giving me unsolicited opinions on how to run my pack, I’ll give you something in return, and you’re not gonna like it.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Who said that?”Tak asked, his tone more amused.“Are those seats in your fancy car made from leather or cloth?I really need to take a piss.”
Lucian looked over his shoulder at Tak, silently asking for him to stay out of it.Tak read his expression but looked skeptical as to what was about to happen.
Hell, even Lucian wasn’t sure what was about to happen.
He faced Henry and lifted his chin.“The night of the murder, I asked Eden’s permission to court her.She didn’t give me her answer until tonight.You wanna know what she said?If she hadn’t already accepted your offer, she would have accepted mine.”
Henry stared, perplexed.“So what?”
“Will you relinquish her from her promise?”
“Hell no.”
Lucian delivered a cold stare.“Because Eden has another suitor who refuses to back off and I want her as my mate, I’m challenging you to the death.”
After a silent beat, Henry burst out in laughter.
In all of Lucian’s fantasies, he’d never anticipated laughter.It made his gums throb as his fangs wanted to punch out.
