“You’re drunk. Go home before you do something stupid,” I told him firmly.
He laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. “Zack’s mine. He’s always been mine. You think some random wolf from the sticks can replace me?” Theo demanded.
I clenched my jaw, feeling my wolf strain against the leash. The muscles in my arms burned from the effort it took not to move.
Theo wasn’t finished. He stepped closer, invading my space, eyes glowing faintly gold.
“He and I were a thing. We were going to have a future. He was supposed to leave this shit town with me after I won him over. But you had to show up,” Theo blurted out.
Around us, the tension was thick enough to choke on. Griffin set the two beers down with deliberate care, his expression dark.
“Mark,” Griffin said quietly, a warning in his tone. “Keep your cool.”
I nodded slightly, eyes locked on Theo. I wasn’t going to take the bait.
Not again. I’d promised myself and Cooper that I wouldn’t lose control. Not here, heck not ever again. Theo however, knew exactly where to press.
Theo leaned in, his voice dropping low and venomous. “You think he forgave you because he genuinely cares about you? Wake up. He’s just pitying you. You’re nothing to him, wolf.”
My grip on the bar tightened.
“Hey,” Griffin barked. “That’s enough.”
Theo ignored him. His pupils flared. “You don’t deserve him.”
Before I could react, Theo shifted. It happened in a blink.
Theo snarled, and there was a ripple of muscle and fur. One second, a man stood in front of me. The next, a massive golden lion crouched where he’d been, tail lashing, eyes burning.
Gasps rippled through the bar. Someone swore. Chairs scraped as people backed away.
“Shit,” Griffin hissed.
My wolf surged forward, adrenaline flooding my system. There was no time to think. If Theo attacked, he could hurt someone, human or supernatural.
In a packed place like this, that couldn’t happen.
I heard Griffin’s voice cut through the chaos like a bell. “Mark! Take this fight elsewhere!”
I moved before he finished the sentence. Without thinking, I sprinted, lungs burning, through the bar and into the kitchen.
A cook looked up in surprise as I shoved past, then the staff parted when I shoved the back door wide and spilled into the alley.
Theo was right behind me, stumbling but fast. Cold air hit my face, and for a second the world narrowed to the slam of my heart and my wolf struggling to surge out of my skin.
Words wouldn’t reach Theo in the state he was in. I had to end it fast. Knock him out and send him back to his motel before he hurt someone or ruined everything.
I let my control snap just enough to shift. Bones cracked and reshaped. The pain was a hot, anchoring thing I’d learned to expect.
When my paws met the alley stones, my wolf was fully in charge. Theo roared and lunged. We collided with a noise like broken timber.
His claws raked across my shoulder, and hot blood slicked my sleeve, but I barely felt it. I drove into him and pushed, teeth snapping inches from his throat.
He was bigger and heavier. He fought with that lion arrogance. Theo kept resorting to powerful swipes, with paws meant to maul. I was faster, though.
Theo snarled and twisted. His paw caught my side, and pain flared. I retaliated, slamming him into the brick. The impact rattled dust from the wall.
He tried to bite my neck. I ducked, barreled forward, and used my momentum to shove him so hard he hit the wall again. His roar came back, but it was thinner, the edge dulled.
