“I thank you for your time, Prince Christian. I will wait for your…” A flash of light green and the deep timbre of laughter down on the main floor caught Ahm’s attention. He almost stumbled when he realized that his mate was out on the dance floor, wrapped in the arms of another man.
Ahm felt a deep growl start to build in his throat. Bryce was his mate. No one should be touching him. His hands itched with the need to rip someone’s head off. He gripped the railing until he heard it crack.
All reason and logic fled as he watched the man who he should have claimed years ago with a pleased look on his face that should only be meant for Ahm. The anger boiled up and flowed over. He may not be able to claim Bryce until he found a solution to his tribe hating outsiders, but he wasn’t going to stand by and watch the man be pawed right in front of him.
Ahm shimmered from the balcony down to the dance floor right behind Bryce. The urge to eviscerate the stranger holding his mate was so strong that Ahm had to actually force himself to turn away from the guy. Instead, he grabbed Bryce’s arm, ripping his mate away from the man that held him.
“Mine!” Ahm snarled at the stranger.
“The fuck I am!” Bryce shouted as he yanked his arm out of Ahm’s grasp. “You didn’t want me, remember?”
“You have a mate,” Ahm reminded him in a low and deadly tone.
“You’re mated?”
Ahm growled at the man Bryce had been dancing with, the man’s words reminding Ahm that he was there. “Go away before I kill you where you stand.”
The man’s eyes widened for a moment before he took off like a bullet. Ahm returned his attention to his mate. He could see that Bryce’s eyes were slightly dazed and it angered him beyond reasoning that the bear would be in this club gyrating with another man. “It is not acceptable for you to conduct yourself in such a manner.”
Surprise stiffened Bryce’s features. “Excuse me?”
“You may not go out without a guard.” Ahm started flipping his fingers up as he listed off all of the reasons that Bryce’s behavior was not acceptable. “You may not dance with other men. You may not—”
Ahm reared back and blinked rapidly when Bryce snorted and held a hand up to his face, palm out. “Talk to the hand, dude, ’cause I’m not listening to your bullshit.”
“Bryce!”
Ahm’s eyes rounded when Bryce leaned in close and then burped right in his face. “Fuck. You. Ahm.”
Bryce spun away before Ahm could say more. Ahm reached out when Bryce staggered, but Abe was there to catch Bryce. He shot Ahm an evil glare then lifted Bryce’s arm over his shoulders and wrapped an arm around the man’s waist. Ahm could hear Abe whispering to Bryce as they walked away but damned if he could figure out what the Wood elf was saying.
“That seemed to go extremely well.”
Ahm snapped his head around and sent Christian what he hoped was a withering glare. The prince was happily mated to two men. He did not have the same problems that Ahm did. There was no way he could understand the strain that Ahm was under to not claim his mate.
“If you will excuse me, Prince.” Ahm’s eyes narrowed as he turned to look at the exit Bryce and Abe had just walked through. “I have to go speak to someone.”
“You do realize that Bryce is a Lakeland, don’t you?”
Ahm paused and glanced at the prince again. “Yes, I am fully aware of his family heritage.”
“Then you know what happens when you corner a bear.”
Ahm cocked his head to one side, confused by the prince’s words. Bryce was a warrior. Ahm had seen the man fight with his very own eyes. That did not mean that Bryce would attack him or worse. Ahm refused to believe that his mate had evil intentions.
The prince walked smoothly forward, his eyes on the door Bryce just exited. “Corner a wild animal and he will attack.”
“Bryce is not a wild animal,” Ahm snarled.
Christian smirked. “If you say so.”
Prince Christian was off his rocker. Ahm shook his head and dismissed the prince’s words as he followed his mate out the front door.
Chapter Three
Bryce was steaming mad. He was beyond mad. He wanted to go back into the club and tear Ahm apart. Who the fuck was he to demand anything from Bryce?
“Calm down, big bear,” Abe said as he ran around Bryce and pushed the palms of his hands into Bryce’s chest. “You don’t want to go back in there and start a fight.”
“Oh, yes I do.” Bryce tried to gently set Abe aside—considering Bryce was three times the man’s size—but Abe was a quick little fucker. He kept running back in front of Bryce, stopping his progress.