Nothing could actually do that right now. Nothing but the mysterious and sexy vampire back in her bakery. As she slid her key into the ignition her door was wrenched open. She turned, ready to tell Rex to back off when a female she didn’t recognize slammed something into Margery’s neck. She hadn’t even scented the female. Her adrenaline was pumping so hard that her senses were all jumbled up.
Cold agony slid through her veins, nearly immobilizing her. But she refused to go down without a fight. Punching out, she slammed her fist into the female’s nose, the hit almost as weak as a human.
The female laughed as she took the punch, the sound grating against Margery’s senses. Her vision blurred as another shot of pain battered against all her nerve endings. What the hell…
Silver.
The bitch had shot her up with silver. Calling on her only remaining strength, Margery let her wolf take over, knowing her animal side would protect her as best as she could. The woman cursed as she shifted, the last sound Margery heard before she succumbed to blackness.
“I’m going to smell like butter all night,” Davis muttered as he watched Margery go.
Rex kept his gaze pinned on the wolf, resisting the urge to go after Margery. He refused to make her feel cornered when it was clear she needed space.
Davis finally glanced back at him and held up his hands in mock surrender—though his body was tense and it was clear he was ready for another attack. Rex had lost complete control before, tackling the other male like a new vampire not in control of his baser needs. It was embarrassing, especially since he’d done it in front of the female he wanted more than he’d ever wanted any other.
“Feel free to let the pack know Margery’s off limits,” he finally managed to grit out.
Davis watched him warily. “You must have heard our conversation. You knew she wasn’t interested in me. Why’d you attack?”
Rex had heard it and it’d pissed him off beyond reason. He didn’t owe the wolf an explanation but if he was going to assimilate into a wolf pack he knew he needed to be somewhat diplomatic. “You offered her something casual. Margery deserves more than that.” If she ever allowed Rex to touch her there would be nothing remotely casual about it. “That was your first strike. Then you touched what’s mine.” The guttural words were out before he could stop himself. Even the image of Davis’s arms wrapped around Margery’s lithe form made him crazy. That primal thing built up inside him, pushing at all his rationalization, stripping him back to who he’d been when he’d just turned into a vampire.
And it scared the shit out of him.
Davis’s dark eyes flared pure wolf for a moment, likely from Rex’s threatening tone, but then his entire body relaxed. “Damn, vampire. Get that shit out of your hair then go after her.”
“Yeah, me and bozo here have this covered. Go see Margery. She deserves some happiness,” Sarah said, still lingering in the doorway.
“Bozo?” Davis asked mildly.
“Yeah. That’s what you are for poaching on another male’s territory. What the hell’s the matter with you?”
“It’s not like I knew…”
Rex tuned out their conversation as he stuck his head under the faucet of one of the industrial sized stainless steel sinks. After washing out what he could using the antibacterial soap he wiped the last remnants of butter from his face and neck. He didn’t give a shit about his clothes, he just wanted to find Margery and explain—and apologize for—his asinine behavior.
When he exited the kitchen, Davis was still cleaning up under another sink behind him. In the main store there were half a dozen people in line, some quietly murmuring to each other as Sarah rang them up. After a quick nod at her, he hurried out into the parking lot and immediately stilled as he rounded the side of the building.
Margery’s Jeep was there.
Heart beating an erratic tattoo, he raced to the driver’s door and realized it wasn’t quite closed, as if someone had shut it but not pushed hard enough. He pulled the door open and full-fledged fear erupted inside him, clawing away at his insides.
Her key was still in the ignition and remnants of Margery’s shredded clothes lined the front seat. There was no way in hell she’d have shifted in the middle of the parking lot unless she’d been under threat.
The thought of anything threatening her made him see red.
Forcing himself to remain calm, he looked around, focusing on any potential threats. Whatever had happened to Margery, he was going to find her. Because he refused to believe otherwise. As he scanned the perimeter of the parking lot he inhaled deeply, taking in all the scents. In a place this busy, it was damn near impossible to sift through everything. He’d learned long ago to consciously ignore the majority of scents and sounds around him except when he needed to home in on something.