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Saylor was having fun. We ate some food, we drank, we laughed with the panthers as they came over periodically through the night.

It was entertaining to watch Blue and Jax herd a group of coyotes out the front door. I tried not to stare as James did, in fact, take Harmony to a dark corner. I was thinking about doing the same with Saylor.

She was more carefree than I had seen her yet. We kept the conversation simple, nothing intense. At one point, she stood up in front of me and rubbed her ass against me with the excuse that she was dancing and sick of sitting down.

I knew the truth, though.

So, as I said, it was going great. I was excited to find the perfect dark corner. Then I had to use the bathroom.

Fucking beer.

I couldn’t see any of the panthers. They probably all escaped to Jax’s office for some fun. I had no one to watch Saylor for me.

I shouldn’t have said the last part out loud.

I received a firm lecture from my mate.

So needless to say, I left her to use the bathroom.

As I walked back to her, the scene in front of me became clearer. The clearer it became, the redder my vision became, until I couldn’t get to her fast enough.

A man. A dead man was leaning into her, his hand on her waist, trying to pull her body into his. She was pushing against his chest, her face tilted to the side, her neck clearly visible. Obviously, the man was not a shifter or else he would be terrified when he saw the bite.

I didn’t care that he was human. I didn’t care we were in a room full of humans and shifters. I didn’t care that he knew nothing about the mark.

I cared that he dared touch what was mine.

Mine. Mine. Mine…was on repeat in my head.

It continued to repeat that as I pulled him away. And as I punched him in the face. And as he went down on the floor.

I followed him down and continued to hit him. I didn’t care about the blood that was flying. All I could see was the terrified expression that was on Saylor’s face when his hand was on her.

After his squeak of surprise, he fell silent.

Or it could have been the pounding in my ears drowning out his screams of agony.

“Fuck.” Arms surround me and I fight the pull. “Elijah, Jesus, you're going to kill him,” Jax says.

Should I care?

“Elijah,” Saylor says calmly.

That breaks through and I finally notice the silence in the room. The crowd moved away from us, watching in horrified fascination. I feel the blood on my face and hands.

I let Jax assist me off of the man on the floor. His eyes are wide, swelling fast. There is blood on the floor and trickling from his mouth, but he’s still alive.

“It’s alright, Elijah,” Saylor says, stepping close.

“Is it?” I didn’t scare her off yet.

“Sure…” James says. “It won't be the first time this month we had blood on the floor.” He rubs his head. “It won’t be the first time this week, actually.”

“He didn’t tell me she had a psycho boyfriend,” the man whispers, his split lip bleeding steadily.

“Excuse me,” I ask, narrowing my eyes. I crouch over his body, my hand firmly at his neck. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“Fucking Grant didn’t tell me about you.” His body starts to shake. “No amount of money or promises are worth this,” he slurs. “He can’t wait to taste her again.” His eyes flutter shut.