The next few hours passed uneventfully. Reid drank and danced with his friends. He sang along with the music and threw his head back with laughter on more than one occasion. It settled something in me. God only knew what Reid had been through, but he was happy now.
He had a good life. I’d safeguard it for him or die trying.
Everything was going well right up until the end of the night.
Reid and his red-headed friend were still on the dance floor. A man sidled up behind Reid, sliding a big hand around his waist.
My wolf growled, but I didn’t move. Not yet. Reid wasn’t in danger. No, he was leaning back against the bloke and smirking.
He was totally on board with what was happening.
I rubbed at my chest, trying to soothe my wolf. He was protesting because he knew how fast these situations could go south. He didn’t like someone touching Reid without knowing their intentions. That was all.
I couldn’t intervene unless Reid was in danger. He’d made it pretty fucking clear that he didn’t want my company. I wasn’t about to force it on him again.
Not unless it was completely necessary, anyway.
My wolf continued to protest as the man’s hands tugged Reid closer. I took an involuntary step forward as the stranger pressed a kiss to Reid’s neck.
Reid’s red-headed friend said something to him andgestured towards the bar. Reid frowned before nodding. He smiled at the man dancing with him and shook his head. Then, he tried to step away.
And the man tightened his grip.
My hand clenched into a fist as a shadow crossed Reid’s face. He wasn’t smiling now, his brows rising as he spoke rapidly.
The bloke laughed, trying to pull Reid back against him.
Reid’s friends from by the bar straightened up, making a beeline for where he was now shoving against the stranger. The redhead was getting involved too, full-on yelling at the bloke.
Who still refused to let go of Reid.
He had a whole group willing to fight for him, but my wolf didn’t care. Not when we could see how Reid’s skin was turning white under the man’s grip.
I was shoving through the crowd before I even realised what I was doing. Reid’s friends were almost to him, but I was faster.
I didn’t bother to raise my fists, compelling the man to let go of Reid before I even reached them. Rage was thundering through me as I skidded to a stop beside them. I had just enough common sense to throw up a compulsion net before baring my teeth.
Reid gave an alarmed squeak at my appearance. “Evan, what the?—”
I was too far gone to respond. My bones cracked repeatedly as my wolf tried to force the shift. With most of my willpower being spent on containing him, there was little left to stop what happened next.
I lifted the stranger off the floor by his throat. Sick fury rolled through me at the terror in his eyes.
“What the fuck?” he wheezed, his nails scrabblinguselessly at the back of my hands. “Let me go. You’re fucking crazy.”
I lowered him, pushing my face into his so he wouldn’t miss a single one of my hissed words. “It’s not nice when someone touches you without your consent, is it?”
The man’s ruddy cheeks blanched. “I don’t know what you mean. He was up for it. Tell him, won’t ya?”
His plea to Reid went unanswered. He was speechless, his eyes darting between us in shock.
I choked the man harder, wondering how pissed Finn would be if he had to cover up a murder.
Fairly pissed,I had to imagine. Especially as I was violating his orders just by being here.
“You’ll never touch Reid again,” I ground out, letting compulsion reinforce my words. “You’ll forget what’s happened here and leave. You’re never to come back. And, in future, when someone tells you no, you’ll respect it.”
His eyes glazed as my powers went to work. Only then did I drop him, letting him fall to the ground in disgust. He lay there for a few seconds, rubbing his throat as his lungs worked overtime trying to fill.
