A large hand clamped down on her waist and pulled her down into a hard lap. She blinked, too shocked to speak.
“Hey, sweetheart, you looking for a good time?” A burly biker with eyes so dark they appeared black held her down with his massive arm around her waist. He reeked of body odor, cigarettes, and bad breath. Kate tried to pull away, but his hold was like steel.
“No. But, you need to be looking for a breath mint,” Kate said as her anger slowly built up within her. She knew she should be afraid, but for some reason her anger overrode every other emotion at the moment.
A vicious growl shook the room. Braxton filled her line of vision as he yanked her free and crushed her against his chest. The biker’s protest muted in her ears as Braxton’s murderous growl seemed to vibrate the entire room.
He turned and shoved her at Jayden. “Get her out of here.”
Jayden hurried toward the writers with Kate tucked protectively against his side. “Party’s over, ladies. It’s time to go home.” He opened the door and began herding the women out.
Kate turned, frantically trying to find Braxton. She froze.
Braxton had his hand wrapped around the biker’s thick neck, holding him off the floor. “Do not touch what belongs to me,” Braxton growled.
Kate’s heart leaped into her throat. The dynamic of the bar had shifted and all the men were shoving chairs back and circling Braxton, like animals ready to attack.
Kate started forward. She needed to help Braxton.
Damon grabbed her arm. “Don’t. Go with the others. We got this.” Damon looked past her as Felicity was the last one out the door. Damon grinned, his eyes changing colors to an odd yellow. He dropped to the floor and shifted into a wolf right before her eyes.
Hell erupted.
Braxton punched the biker who’d grabbed her. The biker landed with a thud on the scarred wood floor. The man looked up, growled, and shifted into a large wolf.
Terror paralyzed Kate to where she stood, unable to run from what she was actually witnessing. Braxton howled as his muscled body shifted into the massive grey wolf she’d found on her front steps.
Braxton lunged, his teeth bared, pinning the wolf to the floor.
“Go!” Ava grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her through the door.
Kate stood on the steps, unable to move as chaos erupted behind the closed door. She knew what Braxton was. But seeing him shift from a man into an animal was something her brain couldn’t comprehend. It made what he was, a werewolf, frighteningly real.
“Kate, are you okay? Are you hurt?” Jayden grabbed her by the elbows and studied her face.
She swallowed and nodded slightly. “I’m fine.”
“We have to go. If those writers find out what we are, then we will no longer be safe.” Jayden narrowed his eyes. “Braxton said you knew what we are, but they don’t.”
Kate frowned. “You don’t think they’d tell, do you?”
Jayden gave her a droll look. “Are you kidding? They’re writers. They put all kinds of shit in those books. I’m sure a book about Werewolves that ride Harleys would hit the New York Times best sellers’ list in a heartbeat.”
Kate felt the blood drain from her face.
“Come on.” Jayden pulled her down the steps and helped her into the van before sliding into the driver’s seat. The women were all accounted for. Even Granny was there.
Kate turned around in her seat and met the old woman’s gaze. “Granny, where have you been? I haven’t seen you for the past thirty minutes.”
Granny waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I was in the bathroom talking to one of those Wer...ah one of those girls. She was asking me about my sex toys. She said she’d been having some trouble out of her boyfriend who had a wandering eye. I told her she needed my edible panties with matching bra in beef jerky flavor.”
“Dammit, Granny. I told you not to talk about your sex stuff in front of me.” Jayden grimaced as he started the vehicle.
“Jayden. It’s not sex stuff, it’s my business.” Granny glared.
Kate had a feeling Granny’s “business” was a topic of contention between the two.
“Well, don’t talk about your little business in front of me. I’m about to lose my dinner over here.” He threw the van in reverse, backed out, and sped out of the parking lot.
Granny stuck her chin in the air. “My ‘little business’ made me over a hundred and fifty thousand last year, just so you know.”
“A hundred and fifty thousand?” Myrtis poked her head up. “Damn. Maybe I need to peddle that instead of writing.”
“It’s a money-maker, that’s for sure.” Granny looked at the lady. “If you’re interested, you could sign up under me, and I could help get you started.”
“Enough talking about that kind of stuff.” Jayden took a sharp turn onto a winding street and the ladies slid to one side of the van.
“Yeah, let’s talk about how Felicity almost got her ass beat.” Myrtis glared at Felicity. “I think you owe Ava a big thank you for helping you out.”