Thane turns his attention to the crowd of onlookers. “Spread word of what happened here today. I want everyone in the Northern Territories to know what fate will come to them should they choose to make a move onmyhuman.”
“Yes, Alpha,” they all say at once, bowing slightly.
He reaches for my hand and pulls me off the stool. When my feet hit the ground, my legs shake from the shock of it all. Thane must notice, because he tightens his grip on me and waits a moment for me to steady myself before leading us back through the crowd.
Silence rings out around us as we sit in the car. His eyes glaze over while he stares out the windshield, gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turn white. His chest begins to rise and fall at a slower pace, but the tension throughout him remains. I open my mouth to say something, but snap it shut when words fail to form.
After several long minutes, Thane starts the car and speeds off down the road like a bat out of hell. I scramble to put on my seatbelt, having to adjust the lower strap around the rubber udders that have become the bane of my existence. Just as it clicks, Thane slams on the brake. The seatbelt keeps my body from flying into the dash, but my head ricochets off the headrest.
“Next time, maybe slow down first,” I grunt, rubbing the back of my head.
“Take it off,” he snarls, still not bothering to look at me.
“With the way you drive, I’d rather keep it on.” I turn to him, trying to figure out what the hell his problem is.
“Not the seatbelt!” His head snaps to me, and there’s a wild look in his eyes that makes my heart skitter. “The costume!”
His gaze drops to the onesie, and his brows pinch with irritation.
“I can’t.” I try to keep my voice steady, but there’s a slight edge to my tone.
“Then I’ll do it for you!”
He reaches for me, but I jerk away, clenching my hands around the zipper.
“I’m not wearing anything underneath!” I shriek when his hands wrap around mine.
His entire body stills as his wild eyes meet mine. I know better than to make a move, so I wait for him to. Seconds pass by as the warmth of his hands seep into mine. His eyes fall to them, and his jaw ticks, but he doesn’t let go. When he looks back up, his eyes are dilated. The golden-white irises are now only a thin ring. All of a sudden, Thane darts out of the car, and I quickly unbuckle my seatbelt, following him out into the middle of the road.
“You’re freaking me out,” I admit to him, approaching with a bit of caution. “Can you at least tell me what’s happening?”
In a breath, he pins me against the side of the car, both of his arms boxing me in. He dips his head, nuzzling his face into my hair as he breathes in deeply, making my heart hammer in my chest.
“You’re happening,” he finally says in a strained whisper. He pulls his head back just enough to see the mark on the other side of my neck as he runs his thumb along the part of my skin he’s claimed. “Your pulse is racing. Are you scared?”
“No,” I say with zero hesitation.
His fingers trace my jaw before landing on my chin and lifting it up. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I answer honestly. For whatever reason, in this moment, I’m not scared. I’msomething. But not scared.
His eyes bounce back and forth between mine like he’s trying to work something out. After a moment, my hair whips back from the force of his vampire speed, and I spin around to find him standing on the other side of the car, holding the passenger door open.
“Where are we going now?” I ask in an attempt to ease the tension between us.
“Wearen’t going anywhere. I’m taking you back home, and Kole can be in charge of you until the party.”
There’s an edge to his voice that I don’t miss. Like I did something to piss him off, but he’s the one who insisted on parading me around a diner full of animals. I mean, what did he expect? Most of them probably haven’t seen a human in years, and suddenly, there’s one running around with their Alpha? No way was that going to go smoothly.
Thane doesn’t say a word the whole car ride, and I’m grateful for it. Whatever’s got his panties in a bunch is his problem to deal with. Any more of his mood swings, and I’ll get whiplash from themandhis driving.
“Back so soon?” Kole asks, lifting his gaze from all of the papers he has sprawled out on the dining room table.
“She’s your problem now,” Thane says with a grunt before turning around to leave again.
“Jeez, what did you do now?” Kole questions with a teasing smile. He shuffles the papers into a stack and shoves them back into a manila folder.
“I didn’t do anything. We went to a diner, and when some werewolf made a few comments to me, he just freaked out. He ripped the guy’s throat out in front of everyone, and then when we got in the car, his eyes got all dilated. He was acting crazy!”
