I sat at our usual table at The Cave after a long day and watched Kyle Barns across the dance floor. How he had the nerve to come back into a shifter owned bar after the things he’d said about shifters during a fight with Sterling was beyond me. That wasn’t even my biggest issue with the asshole, anymore. I’d found out from Allie that Presley Gray was Kyle’s ex-fiancée.
My mate had been engaged to the shithead standing across the bar with his pool stick, looking smug about getting a ball in the corner pocket. The fact that that creep had touched her, made me want to snap his weak little backbone in half.
“What’s going on with you? You look like you want to snap Kyle Barnes in half like a twig. Not that I don’t agree, but brother, you’re putting some extra heat in that glare.” Hutch looked at me and then over at Kyle. “On second thought, maybe you should just break the asshole.”
I growled. “He was engaged to Presley.”
“Presley? Matt’s girlfriend?”
I growled louder, drawing eyes to our table but not giving a fuck. “My mate.”
Hutch froze for several seconds before emitting a low whistle and sitting back in his chair. “Son of a bitch.”
Sterling joined us, spinning the chair next to me, and straddling it backwards. He raised his eyebrows when I turned a glare at him. “What?”
“I would like nothing more than to put you and Kyle in a room and beat the living shit out of you both right now.”
Hutch whistled again. “This just keeps getting better.”
“What the hell did I do?”
“Presley Gray, that’s what you did. She’s my mate.”
His face paled, “What?”
Thorn dropped into his chair and looked around. “Say again.”
“She’s mine and you touched her.” Thinking about it was eating me alive. I felt like killing someone.
“Wait, you found your mate? What the… When the… I really missed something. Can we back up here?”
Sterling’s face burned and he slowly folded his hands together on the tabletop and met my eyes. “Dude, I didn’t know she was your mate. That was a lifetime ago. I promise.”
“Who’s your mate?”
I ignored Thorn. “You don’t understand the fury coursing through me right now.”
“Presley Gray. Matt’s girlfriend. Kyle Barns’ ex-fiancée. Sam’s mate.”
I tossed a glare at Hutch. “Thanks.”
Thorn joined Hutch in the whistling game. “Shit, man. She’s the girl that made Ophelia hate on you for a while, right, Sterling?”
I swiped my arm across the table, knocking everything to the floor. I stood up and planted my hands on the table top while leaning over it, getting closer to Sterling. “She’s my mate. The rest of it doesn’t matter. Don’t talk about her. Don’t look at her. Don’t fucking think about her.”
Sterling gritted his teeth. “I’m not! I don’t! You know I’m mated, right, Sam? I’m not a threat.”
“That’s not what my bear says.”
“Come on, Sam, calm down.”
“Fuck you. Would you be calm if one of us had fucked your mate?”
Thorn growled. “Don’t even fucking say that.”
I straightened and shook my head. “I don’t want to look at you right now.”
Sterling stood up and grabbed my arm. “You need to realize that I’m a brother. I didn’t intend to hurt you. It was an accident.”
“Stop touching me, Sterling. I’m not in the mood.”
“No. This isn’t happening. Fight it out with me.”
I shoved him away from me. “I don’t think that’s safe for you right now.”
Thorn stood up and caught Sterling before he could shove me back. “I don’t think this is the time, Sterling. He’s not ready.”
“No, it’s perfect. If he wants to fight me over a woman that is dating his cousin, fine. We can do that.”
I growled and lunged for him. “My fucking mate. Don’t disrespect that.”
Thorn yelled for everyone to get out of the bar and got out of the way himself as I knocked Sterling in the jaw. My bear had other interests, though. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Kyle slowly strolling towards the door, not a care in the world. Even as Sterling landed a punch to my face, I spun and charged Kyle.
Thorn grabbed me before I could reach the asshole and held me back while yelling at Kyle. “You want to live, I suggest you get the hell out of here.”
Kyle glared at me. “What’s your fucking problem? You boning my sister, too?”
Sterling growled and came after Kyle, too, barely held back by Hutch. “Watch your fucking mouth!”
“Presley is mine!” I’d completely lost control. My voice was more bear than human at that point and the effect seemed to scare Kyle into moving.
He fled from the bar and left us growling and brawling with each other.
I couldn’t calm down and I felt panic blossom in my chest. I didn’t know if I’d ever find peace again. Throwing my head back, I shifted and roared at the top of my lungs. Looking around the bar, I watched Thorn approach me with his hands out.
“You’re okay, buddy. You want to go splash in the creek and drink some whiskey?”
I growled at him and lumbered towards the door. I knew I couldn’t make it through the doors as a bear, so I shifted back to human, but just as my hand touched the door handle, the sweetest scent washed over me.
“Incoming.” Thorn yelled and tossed one of the servers’ aprons at me.