Wildfire Griffin (Fire & Rescue Shifters: Wildfire Crew #1)(48)

Memory returned.

He surged upward, his griffin’s anger transmuting into his own. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Sit on him again, Joe!” Blaise yelled.

Joe’s tail slammed across him, knocking him flat once more. Wystan and Callum pinned his arms. Fenrir hurled his full weight across his head.

“Rory, of course you’re upset,” Blaise said, speaking so fast her words blurred together. “You’ve got every right to be. But you have to calm down. You can’t just slaughter Seth in front of a dozen witnesses.”

He couldn’t breathe. Blackness swirled at the edges of his vision, replacing the red mist of rage.

She was right. He needed to get a grip. He had to be perfectly rational and civilized and draw Seth aside for a private, man-to-man discussion.

Then he could slaughter him.

Let me go, he said telepathically, since his mouth was full of dog fur.

This time, he had the control to make it an alpha command. They all fell off him. Rory got to his feet, brushing himself down.

He frowned as he looked around the group. “Wait. If you’re all here, who’s with Edith?”

A guilty flicker crossed Blaise’s face. “If I’d stayed with her, I would have done something we’d all regret. You weren’t the only one who needed to cool off.”

“You left her alone?” His heart lurched. “With Seth?”

“Now, Rory.” Wystan’s tone dropped into his most soothing, trust-me-I’m-a-doctor bedside manner. “I’m sure she was just flirting a little. I don’t think anything will have actually happened. Certainly not in the last half hour.“

“Edith? Flirting?” It was such a nonsensical statement, he thought for a moment Wystan was joking. “Seriously, that’s what you thought was going on?”

“Uh, yes?” said Blaise. “I mean, you did go utterly berserk the instant you saw the two of them.”

Rory pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, fighting down an urge to throttle them all. “Are you people blind? Edith wasn’t flirting.”

“Bro.” Joe had shifted back to human form. He spread his hands, looking uncomfortable. “Don’t want to set you off again, but take it from an expert. When a woman does that thing with her hair, she’s definitely flirting.”

“Not Edith. Couldn’t you see how stiff she was? She was trying to hide from Seth. He was the one leering and pawing at her. She just wanted to get away.” Rory dropped his hands, raking them all with his glare. “And you left her with him.”

“Oh,” Blaise said, in a very small voice.

“‘Oh’ is right. You are all going to owe her a huge apology.”

As was he. If he’d had more control over his own animal, he could have helped her like a man rather than succumbing to feral instincts. By his own nature, he’d failed his mate.

He wouldn’t do so again.

He turned to Callum. “Where is she now?”

Callum’s eyes unfocussed for a moment. He hesitated.

“Callum,” Rory growled. “Spill it.”

“Heading into town,” the pegasus shifter said reluctantly. “And she’s not alone.”





Chapter 23





In her numb shock, she’d only cared about getting away. She didn’t actually register where Seth had guided her until the tooth-itching snarl of the truck engine cut through her misery.

“W-wait,” she protested, as the door locks clicked down, trapping her. “I didn’t mean—I can’t-“

“Sure you can, princess.” Seth floored the accelerator, making her lurch back in her seat. “Come on, it’s our last chance for a little fun. Fire season opens tomorrow, and the chief never lets us leave base while we’re on the books. Forget your troubles for an evening.”

“Th-that’s very kind of you.” The lights of the base had already disappeared behind them. She swallowed an irrational surge of panic. “But I have to get back to my squad.”

“Those dorks?” Seth caught her eye in the rear view mirror. “The ones that told you to piss off? Didn’t sound like they wanted to be with you.”

She could still feel Blaise’s shove, as though it was branded on her skin. Confusion closed her throat.

“Don’t worry, princess. I’ll take care of you. I’ll be a perfect gentleman, I promise.” Seth was taking the hairpin bends at a horrifying speed. “Look, after that little scene, you definitely need a drink. Just one drink, then I’ll bring you straight back. Okay?”

She didn’t have any choice. She could hardly fling herself out of the vehicle.

She twisted her hair again, trying to stay calm. “Okay. But just one drink. Promise?”

Seth held up a hand as though swearing an oath. “Scout’s honor.”

In short order, they pulled into Antler, the tiny cluster of houses that was the nearest thing to a town within twenty miles. She’d never been here before, though Joe had often tried to persuade her to join him on one of his regular visits to the place. Thanks to the local logging industry and the nearby hotshot base, the town boasted no fewer than five bars.

Seth pulled up in front of what Edith was pretty sure had to be the dirtiest and seediest of them.