Olivia’s gaze burned into the side of his face.
Males flicked glances at her as they passed, running daring eyes down the length of her body and lingering in places they shouldn’t.
He clenched his fists, his fingers becoming claws again, and gave up trying to keep himself in check. These males needed to learn whose female they dared to look at. They would learn not to gaze upon his ki’ara.
His eyes changed, his ears altered to their normal appearance, and his fangs lengthened. He shirked the mortal clothing Bleu had given him, revealing his armour beneath. The males looked at him then rather than Olivia, their gazes losing the dark taint of desire and picking up one of aggression.
Whispers went through the club and before long, almost everyone had glanced at him at least once.
“What are you doing?” Olivia whispered and tugged on his arm.
He didn’t look at her.
He grabbed her around the waist as he mentally commanded his armour to complete itself, forming his helm that swept back into jagged spikes on top of his head, dragged her against his body, and kissed her.
She wriggled against him at first, her hands pushing at his chest, and then she yielded, going soft in his arms and lifting her hands to grasp his shoulders, clutching him so hard that he felt it through the black scales of his armour. The murmurs running through the crowd grew in volume.
Mad elf prince.
That one had him growling against his female’s lips.
Others hit the right mark.
Not the mad elf prince.
The sane one.
Someone dared to grab his shoulder and he turned on them with a vicious snarl, and then froze when he saw it was Bleu who gripped him. His second in command scowled at him.
“And you had the audacity to warn me not to go too far?” he said in their language.
Loren looked down at Olivia as she panted in his arms, and then beyond her to Sable who stood in a puddle of glass and liquid with a shocked look on her face and her empty hands held in front of her, and then around him.
Bleu was right, and he had gone too far, and it hadn’t stopped the males from staring at his sweet Olivia.
Darkness curled through him, rage burning up his blood like an inferno, and he unleashed a roar in their direction.
“Newly mated?” A male voice came from behind him, calm and cool, not a trace of fear coming from his scent.
Loren scowled over at the owner of the voice.
The male jaguar shifter set a shot glass down on the black bar top and grinned to reveal short fangs. “On the house. You need it.”
Loren drew in a deep breath to stop himself from killing the male and sent his helmet away, keeping the rest of his armour in place. He released Olivia and lifted the proffered drink to his nose, and sniffed. It burned all the way down to his lungs.
“What is this?” he said with a frown and the male scrubbed a hand over dirty blond tousled hair, his bright golden eyes filled with amusement. The colourful club lights flashed over him, changing his white shirt to match each hue.
“Hellfire,” the male said with another grin and winked at him. “The only known cure for the bitch of a bond.”
This male didn’t seem to place much importance on a sacred bond and it irked Loren. An eternal mate was something to seek out and cherish.
“I am expected to drink this?” Loren raised an eyebrow at the black liquid in the small glass.
“It would be rude not to drink it and it will stop you from scaring customers away from my club.” The jaguar’s expression turned serious.
Bleu’s black blade was against his throat a heartbeat later and Bleu was growling at the male. “You seek to poison my prince?”
Several males of different species melted out of the crowd behind Loren, triggering his senses to high alert. They formed a loose crescent around Bleu and Loren. Come to protect their boss, presumably. The jaguar wielded more power than Loren had given him credit for. Loren calmly placed the glass down on the bar and pushed it across to the jaguar male.
“So you are an elf prince then?” The jaguar casually placed two fingers against the razor-sharp edge of Bleu’s sword and eased it away from his throat. The heavy scent of his blood filled the air around them and he placed his fingers into his mouth and sucked thoughtfully. He pulled them out with a pop and quirked both sandy eyebrows. “Not the crazy one, I hope.”
Loren lost his patience again. “I remind you that is my brother you speak of in such a foul, disrespectful way. I am in no mood for this. Tell me what you know of Vail, or you will have no customers in need of service. I will kill them all.”
Olivia tensed and he thought she would say something, but she remained mute beside him.
The jaguar waved around him and Loren sensed the gathered males backing away and blending into the crowd. He pushed the shot glass back across the tacky bar top to Loren. “You really need to drink this. It will take the edge off your temper if nothing else. Drink enough and you won’t even remember that collar around your neck.”