But then one of the gorillas took on two of the Enforcers at once, and the other gorilla and the grizzly were heading straight toward Luke. And they were far too close. She didn’t think the other Enforcers could get there in time. Tarun’s heart leapt into her throat, and with a curse, her tiger exploded out of her.
It was a relief to shift. The moment the outsiders burst in, she’d been fighting to keep her human skin, her cat desperate to get out, and despite the worry and panic nearly crippling her, it felt amazing to let her out.
Her bones broke and reformed with a blinding flash of pain, and then she was charging toward the shifters after her mate. Her gaze switched rapidly between the two, trying to decide which one to take on. She’d watched the War Cat warriors train nearly every day her whole life, and her brother was head trainer. He’d taught her a few things since she’d grown up.
But Luke was right. Watching people train wasn’t the same as physically training. Sh
e should take on the one she had the best bet of beating.
The grizzly was far larger than her tiger, but the gorilla was probably more powerful.
Shit. They seemed like an equal level of dangerous for her. But no way in hell was she leaving Luke to fend for himself.
Her thoughts had sped rapid fire through her mind as she crossed the room, and then she was upon them. In the end, her decision ended up being the one closest to her—the grizzly.
With a snarl, she launched herself through the air, latching her teeth into the hump on his back. With an anguished roar, he twisted, bucking her off. She slid, slamming into the corner of the bar with a thud, but she didn’t let it slow her down.
The grizzly was already turning back for Luke when she attacked again, dodging a deadly swipe of his razor-sharp claws. She got in a hit of her own and then hissed, pain exploding through her as his next attack hit home, his claws slicing into her shoulder.
It was agony, and she stumbled, desperately trying to clear her mind as he came at her again.
She would not let him win. If he defeated her, he’d go after Luke next, and that was not happening.
With a roar, she got up, looked him right in his cold, beady eyes and went on the attack.
Luke paced through the wreckage of the bar, anger and agony warring for domination within him. Anger because those fuckers had dared to come into his house and attack. Anguish because Tarun… she…
A pained inhalation came from his left and he stopped pacing long enough to glare at his mate. Catching his look, she rolled her eyes. “I’m fine and you need to get over it.”
“You’re clearly not fine,” he bit out between clenched teeth. “If you were fine, Damara wouldn’t be cleaning the claw marks slashed into your shoulder. Your fucking bone was exposed, Tarun.”
Noah slapped him on the shoulder as he moved past him. “You need to chill, man. She did what she thought she had to do.”
He glared at his friend as he limped by. “Let me hear you say something like that when it’s your mate who’s been hurt.”
“You don’t need to take your bad mood out on everyone,” Tarun muttered.
“My bad mood? Seriously?”
“You had two freakin’ shifters coming at you at once, and no one was available to help. So I stepped in. I had to.”
“You didn’t have to. I would have been fine, and the moment they came in, I ordered you to go upstairs. You willingly defied me.”
“Ordered?” she said, her voice several octaves higher with disbelief and ire.
Damara looked up from where she was smoothing the bandage over Tarun’s shoulder. “All right, you two. Enough. Tarun, it probably wasn’t a good idea to ignore your mate and rush headlong into battle, especially since you’ve never been in one before. And Luke, don’t look so smug. She did amazingly well for a newbie, and she saved your ass. Show some gratitude. And if you value your balls, not to mention your life, you might want to rethink trying to order her around ever again.”
Luke blew out a breath, moving to take a seat next to Tarun. Picking up her hand, he held it tightly as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. “I won’t say I’m sorry for being mad, but I’m sorry for losing my cool and taking it out on you. I just hate to see you in danger, especially to help me.”
Her hazel eyes softened as she squeezed his hand. “I get it. But don’t try to tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing. You would, and you know it. And don’t try to say it’s different because you’re a man. That’s a surefire way to make Damara’s prediction of you losing your balls come true.”
He smiled, but before he could reply, Blake walked into the room, running a weary hand over his face. Luke straightened in his seat, staring at him intently. “So what’d they say?”
“Not a fucking thing.”
“What?” he asked with disbelief. “Did you use your gift?”
Blake shot him a disgusted look. “Of course I did. The only thing I got out of them was they were hired. They’re not the ones behind this.”