approach, greeting him with an arrogant smirk. I saw them exchange words, catching only the tail end of Julian’s angry, “None of your goddamn business.”
“Kylarai is like a sister to me,” I heard Shaz snarl. “If you don’t want to be with her, don’t. You will not treat her as if she's around for your convenience.”
“Fuck off, Shaz!”
Julian reacted first, shoving Shaz into me. I almost went down, catching myself on a nearby table. I almost regretted our choice to come here tonight. Ky deserved to know her man was scum but not like this. Shaz was easy going, but when something set him off, there was no stopping him.
He grabbed Julian by the collar of his jacket and literally dragged him toward the exit. Julian struggled to free himself but went along willingly, indicating to me he was ready to rumble with Shaz again. This crap had to stop.
The blonde appeared uncertain, playing with her long curls. I ignored her and chased after the two male wolves, hoping to stop the coming bloodshed. Men!
I lost them momentarily in the crowd. When I emerged into the parking lot, I followed their scent around the building to find them already engaged in blows. Each of them snarled with a mouthful of fangs and eyes that were pure wolf. I sighed in exasperation. These two had already faced off, more than once. If I had anything to say about it, this would be the last time.
I hated watching others fight. I preferred to be one of the participants. Watching was painful. They were going at each other with fists and more curses than I’d heard used at one time. I watched them carefully, and when I saw that neither of them seemed inclined to let their wolf loose, I let them go at it a bit longer.
It was stupid really. Yet I understood that there was something ingrained in men that made it natural for them to settle problems with their fists. Beating Julian bloody may make Shaz feel better, but I doubted it would do much to ease Kylarai’s pain. I felt horrid for her.
For the most part, they were each throwing and taking solid punches but nothing worth freaking out about. A nice right hook by Shaz caught Julian’s nose just right, and the blood poured forth. He growled and returned the blow. Shaz easily blocked it, but the next one caught him above the eye. His eyebrow split open fast, blood gushing.
“Alright,” I interrupted, throwing an energy wall between them. “You’re both bleeding, and I hope you both feel good about yourselves for acting like juvenile idiots.”
I paused, waiting until they both looked at me and away from each other. “This is the last time you will lay hands on each other. Got it? And Julian, you better tell Kylarai before I do. She deserves better than that, better than you. If you stay in this town, don’t expect us to have your back. You’re now on your own.”
I was so mad I couldn’t stand to look at either one of them a moment longer.
Spinning on my heel, I stormed away, dropping my energy wall as I went. Shaz was right behind me, grabbing for my arm. I didn’t slow down. I didn’t know if I was so pissed off because of his rash actions or if it was because he’d gotten to Julian first.
“Lex, wait up. What’s your problem? Don’t tell you me didn’t want to pound him yourself. Wait, did you want to pound him yourself?”
“That’s not the point, Shaz. I just feel bad for Ky. She doesn’t deserve this. And, I meant what I said. You and Julian, never again.”
“Fine,” he huffed, keeping pace beside me. “I can’t help it though. I just want to kill the guy. Nobody had made me feel the need for the kill the way he does.”
“Oh?” I managed a slight grin. “Not even Arys?”
“He runs a close second.”
I guess I had to be relieved that Shaz wasn’t always scrapping with Arys. The one time they’d fought it out had been more than enough for me. Part of me was insanely turned on by the way Shaz had rushed to protect Kylarai. He was fearless, and in his own way, he had done what an Alpha wolf was supposed to do. He’d defended one of his own.
Despite the male immaturity of the sudden way the two of them had gone at it, I had to be grateful they hadn’t been trying to tear each other’s throats out. Julian was a done deal as far as our pack was concerned. Unfortunately, Kylarai had become attached to the egotistical ass**le. I’d always known he was scum. She had given him the benefit of the doubt. Now, I couldn’t do anything but be there when her world fell.
Chapter Twenty-One
The scent of vanilla bubbles was soothing, and I savored the hot water with appreciation. I reclined against Shaz, reaching to sip from a glass of champagne. It wasn’t often that I took the time to enjoy such simple luxuries. I had to change that.