Chapter 28
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
ETHAN
Unexplainable, yet pure, unadulterated rage pumped through my veins. Seeing Moira on top of the shifter had brought out all the violent tendencies I worked so hard every day to suppress.
Remembering I wasn’t in my own territory took great effort. I could not kill the shifter, no matter how much I wanted to. Seeing his enormous mitts wrapped around Moira’s slender waist made my vision haze red.
“Moira,” I said quietly. The familiar ring of blue and gold around my irises cast a watery shadow over her face.
She was disheveled, her silky dark hair tossed into a careless bun on top of her head.
She, like Evie and Hope, had lost their overshirts somewhere.
Seriously, what was with women losing articles of clothing after a few drinks?
She was still decent in a strappy tank, but gods above, the woman had foregone a bra today, and the creamy, pale skin displayed was driving me to distraction.
Her face turned to stone when she pulled away from the shifter, his skin still moist from her lips. My fists clenched at my sides.
“What are you doing here?”
“Business,” I said through clenched teeth. “Having fun?”
A wicked smile curved her lips up. “As a matter of fact, yes, I am. Mind if we talk later?”
The shifter’s hands slid up her waist, pushing up her tank to expose a flat abdomen. He hadn’t looked up yet.
“You heard the lady. Get lost.”
Moira’s eyes widened in alarm.
I smiled, enjoying Moira’s flinch as she sucked in a stunned breath. “Kelton.”
“We’re busy,” the shifter insisted. “Everyone else in here knows not to interrupt us.” He smiled at Moira, a smile tinged with an insinuation I didn’t care for. “What do you say we get out of here?”
Moira swallowed and glanced up at me. One of my eyebrows rose.
On a normal night, If she wanted to go, I wouldn’t like it, but I would acquiesce. Tonight, based on the amount of beer glasses scattered around the table, Moira was inebriated. Kelton would not be taking her home tonight, even if I had to piss Rowan off in the process of detaining him.
“Moira won’t be going anywhere with you tonight, I’m afraid.” The words sounded regretful, but there was only ill-concealed violence in my voice. Only Moira was intelligent enough to hear it, even through the haze of Cliona’s magical booze.
Kelton jerked his head around, teeth bared, only to halt. His eyes widened.
“Umm.”
His hands slid from Moira’s skin. My shoulders fell a hair.
“Leave,” I said, locking eyes with Kelton.
He couldn’t hold the look for more than a few seconds. Kelton dropped his gaze and removed Moira from his lap, depositing her on the seat beside him. He slid from the booth and ducked his head, not even bothering to say goodbye to the woman he’d been…molesting for the gods know how long.
I drew in a deep breath.
“How. Dare. You,” Moira hissed. Her black eyes flashed with something, a spark of light I’d never seen before. Magic rumbled through the area.
I took a step back. She was not what she said she was. Or, like Evie, she was far more than she pretended to be. I bent down, ensuring we were at eye level. “Whatever this is, button it up,” I growled. “We are in a bar full of people.”
“You had no right.” Her lips pulled away from her teeth, exposing elongating canines.
Vampire then, true to what she claimed. But that’s not all this woman was.
I let a little magic slip and curl around her skin. “Want to bite me, Moira?” I asked quietly. “Have you been thinking about what I taste like and forcing yourself to settle for a weak shifter to slake your hunger?”
Moira’s eyes narrowed, that strange power still leaking through her irises. “I hate you,” she hissed.
I barked a laugh. “The feeling is mutual, little witch. Now get up. We’re leaving.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” She picked up a half full glass of ale and tipped it up. I wrenched it from her hands and slammed it on the table, spilling ale on both of us.
“You’ve had enough.”
Claws slid from Moira’s fingertips, wicked lethal blades. “I take orders from no man.”
“You’re acting like a child and instead of engaging in innocent fun like your friend over there, you chose to drown your anger in a male who would give you nothing but boredom and conversation worthy of a high school lunch table.”
Her nostrils flared.
I grinned. “You know I’m right. Now get your damned shirt and let’s go. We’re leaving.”
Moira stared at me for a long moment, fury drowning me in the dark depths of her eyes. “I told you,” she said quietly. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
I leaned closer. “Last warning. Get your shit and let’s go.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.
This woman was going to be the death of me. “Alright then.”
I reached for her and hauled her over my shoulder, clamping her there with one arm. I turned to see Evie and Rowan watching me with wide eyes. Evie looked a little breathless.
Rowan seemed befuddled but shook the emotion off. He dug in his pocket and tossed me his keys. “We’ll get a ride,” he said quietly. “Be careful.”
I gave him a grateful nod.
Moira, her brain catching up to her body, let out a loud screech.
Evie pressed her lips together. “That is so hot,” she whispered to Rowan.
Rowan jerked his attention to his mate. “Evie!”
“What? Being dominated is fun sometimes.”
Rowan closed his eyes and his lips looked like they were moving in a prayer. I sailed past them both, and the shifters opened up a path, all silent and staring now.
Moira cursed me, my family line, my children, my children’s children, and pummeled my back with her small fists, but she was no match for Lord strength. When she scratched my back with those wicked claws, I raised my hand up and slapped her on the rear-end, the sound like a gunshot in the bar.
A collective gasp, then “Ooohhhhhhhh.”
“I. Will. Kill. You,” Moira snarled.
My hand stung, and I immediately regretted my decision. Moira was thin, almost too thin, but her ass was curvy and fit my hand perfectly, the memory of the shape burned forever into my brain.
“Get in line, darling,” I drawled and stalked out of the bar holding her tight.