He glanced over my shoulder, and his eyes went wild. I pivoted around and saw the drunk had crept up behind Ivy and gripped her shoulders, giving them a squeeze and taunting the alpha with mischievous eyes.
Ivy was no fighter. She glanced over her shoulder at the man. “Please let me go, or you will be hurt.”
Too late. The alpha clamped his left hand around the man’s throat and walked him backward.
The drunk wasn’t a Mage, or he would have attacked. I’d be willing to bet he was a Relic or Sensor, because his eyes were wide with fear.
“Let him go,” Ivy said in a commanding voice. “He’s not thinking clearly with all the spirits in him, but you have no excuse. Consider what your violent reaction will instigate in this public place. Eyes are already on you. Will you choose to be a man of control or a man without?”
The alpha’s long black hair swished around as he looked between the man he was close to choking and Ivy.
“What’s your name?” she asked him.
The alpha blinked. “Church. Lorenzo Church.”
“Mr. Church, will you let him go? A child may be bigger and stronger than an ant, but he is weak when he presses his thumb on the little creature to show off his power.”
Ivy had no plans to watch this altercation. She spun around so fast her long braid snapped behind her. She hurried past me and vanished in a crowd of spectators.
I smiled and looked up at Lorenzo, curious as to whether he would succumb to his alpha instincts and give the man a lashing or allow a woman’s words to nestle in his head like a seed of conscience.
Lorenzo shoved the man backward until he stumbled and fell on his ass. “You’re fortunate this evening. If I see you again, you won’t be so lucky.”
He turned around and bowed his head curtly to me before walking off. I was impressed with the level of control he showed, but it also told me how dangerous he was. Lorenzo Church wasn’t a man who suffered fools, and I’d seen his kind before.
I strolled through the crowd and noticed a few verbal arguments as alcohol and testosterone began to affect some like a poison. Ivy was smart for breaking up the fight. Humans might have cheered them on, but in this environment, some spectators were eager to become participants. Breeds were divided because of a history that couldn’t be erased as long as the ancients were still around to remember it. The younger generations merely sought opportunities to fight, perhaps trying to prove they were a superior Breed.
What surprised me was how a woman with such strong words could be so physically passive. She looked like a trembling flower, and I wondered if her wolf was the same. If so, it would be hard for her to find a mate.
Shifters revered strong women, not demure wallflowers.
Chapter 16
“Izzy! Izzy!”
I spun around and scanned the crowd. This place was bazonkers! It was nothing like the human concerts I’d been to. There were activities going on that were specific to Breed. Sensors were selling their wares, Vampires were showing off their strength, but sadly, Shifters weren’t allowed to roam around in animal form.
“Izzy!”
“Who’s calling me?” I yelled out with a laugh.
I kept looking around and suddenly got the chills. No one approached me, and the voice quit calling. It was a voice I didn’t recognize—a man’s voice. I swallowed hard and pushed my way forward as Jericho wrapped up a song by Pearl Jam. I cupped my elbows and made it to the end of the stage, scoping out every face around me.
Strangers.
It just felt off. Maybe there was another Izzy. Then I laughed and shook my head. Of course. They were yelling for Jericho’s band.
He pressed his lips against the microphone and made every woman within proximity wish that his mic was her breast. At the end of the song, cheers erupted and Trevor strutted to the front of the stage and took a bow.
Jericho smiled against the mic. “Trevor, ladies and gentlemen. Give a hand for the newest member of Izzy Monroe.”
Trevor looked stunned as Jericho patted him on the shoulder. “You did good,” he said, away from the mic. “If you want in, you’re in.”
Jericho peeled off his blazer, and his chest glistened with sweat. Two girls pushed by me toward the side steps. They quickly glossed up their lips and pulled their skirts higher. One of them was a knockout with never-ending legs and blond tresses that cascaded down her back to her tailbone. I glanced down at my knees that still had faded marks and frowned.
Naturally, the one with the big breasts wanted Jericho to sign her chest. Jericho held the pen cap between his teeth and signed where she asked. The blonde turned around and bent over, pointing at her ass. I focused on his crotch, searching for an erection. Shifter men could hardly control their animal instincts when a woman turned her back like that. He scribbled his name, and to my relief—and confusion—he wasn’t aroused. Then she stood on her tiptoes and whispered something in his ear, tucking a slip of paper in his hand.
As they walked away, the blonde pointed to the left, signaling where to go. He looked at the paper and wadded it up, flicking it onto the grass.