Primal Law (Alpha Pack #1)(48)

"That's all I can ask."

As they ate, she mused over why he'd gotten so angry in his room. Why he seemed to care about her welfare more than a virtual stranger should. Because while there was a definite connection of some sort between them, and she liked his friends more and more with every minute, that's what they were-strangers.

Nobody's but mine.

His words returned with the force of a punch, and she choked on a sip of her soda. Waving away their concern, she grabbed a napkin and pressed it over her mouth as she coughed, eyes watering. Sariel patted her on the back, and nobody at the table missed the deep-throated growl of warning that rumbled in Jax's chest when he did.

The two males locked eyes and Sariel's hand froze. Kira's heart did a sharp jerk at the very real threat on Jax's face. One lip curled up to reveal a lengthening fang and his entire body was suddenly tense as a bowstring, ready to leap across the table and tear out the other male's throat. Anger smoldered, reached out like smoke to curl around them all, especially the Seelie.

She'd seen Jax cut through two human thugs like they were chew toys, but could he win a fight against a faery? Sariel's strong, firm voice broke the silence, and all eyes in the room riveted on the scene. Unknowingly, he answered her fearful question.

"Stand down, wolf. I have no designs upon your female, and trust me when I say that you have no wish to do battle with a nine-thousand-year-old Seelie."

Holy shit! At another table, a couple of the guys murmured to each other in surprise. Zander and Aric stood, ready to intervene if necessary.

Wait a minute-your female?

"Take your hand off her," Jax advised, each syllable enunciated with barely contained rage.

"I will, after you are calm." The prince's expression was now every bit as forbidding as the other man's. He might be pretty, but he was definitely no pushover.

"I'll rip off your f**king arm and beat you with it." Jax started to rise.

"Before you can, I'll turn you into a slug."

"Nice," said Aric with a chuckle.

Jax paused. "That's cheating."

The prince shrugged. "Whatever works. As you are the one threatening me, I reserve the right to end the conflict, preferably without bloodshed."

The Fae male was so self-assured, no one in the dining room appeared to doubt he could do exactly what he claimed. Kira's attention was fixed on her onetime lover, all the spit drying in her throat. Jax stilled, his expression cold as ice, the planes and angles of his face taking on sharper definition. Before her eyes, beast and man waged war over which would rule, neither of them wanting to avoid bloodshed at all, yet knowing they must back down.

How could this deadly predator be the same man who'd taken her to the heights of pleasure just hours ago? His struggle for control was scary as hell, but not nearly as frightening as what he said next, his throaty voice low and gravelly.

"Can you bend the very fabric of time, Prince?"

"Jax, don't." Zan quickly closed the distance between him and his friend and tugged his arm.

The prince frowned. "Such a thing is impossible, even for the Fae."

"Not for me." Ignoring Zan, he gave a humorless laugh. "I'm a Timebender, and my teeth would rip into your fine neck before you even realized I was no longer in the same place as before."

Sariel read the truth in the wolf's statement and his face paled, if that was even possible. "By the gods," he murmured, shaking his head. "Now, that's cheating, in its finest form."

"Whatever works."

For some reason, having his boastful words tossed back at him made Sariel laugh. A genuine hearty sound that shattered the dangerous tension in the room and had Jax's friends exhaling heartfelt sighs of relief. Including Kira, though she wasn't yet sure she counted as a friend.

"I like you, wolf." Pointedly, he removed his hand from Kira's back. "Perhaps one day you'll unleash that particular talent upon my sire."

The other man relaxed, his canines receding along with his anger. "Now, that's a war I'll look forward to winning."

For her part, she failed to find any part of the exchange the least bit humorous. Why did males of any species feel the frequent need to whip out their dicks and compare sizes?

She wasn't sure how she felt about being fought over like a steak bone, either. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so embarrassing minus the roomful of gawking people.

"Well, that was fun," she said stiffly, glaring at Jax. "Next time why don't you hike your leg on me like I'm a frigging tree?"

Pushing away from the table, she made herself scarce, dumping the remains of her lunch on the way out.

Behind her, Zan said, presumably to Jax, "Way to go, dumbass."

She couldn't agree more.

Chapter Nine

Morose, Jaxon stared out the window of the SUV and cursed himself for the zillionth time for how badly he'd handled the confrontation with Sariel. It was his own stupid fault. Now his team thought he was losing his damned mind, and worse, he'd pissed off Kira.

From the driver's seat, Ryon nudged him. "Dude, quit scratching."

"I'm trying," he hissed. "Melina gave me some medicine, but the crap's not helping."

"You got fleas?" Aric, the smartass.