A quick glance around showed his crew had come to attention. While the humans were unaware of the danger lurking around them, the leopards were not, especially when his beast was damn near close to roaring. Yeah, that would be hard for another shifter to miss. “Fuck, I don’t know what’s wrong with my cat, brother.”
Miko nodded, keeping a good two feet between them. Not that Ridge couldn’t still reach him if he so chose. “Which one of them is making you crazy?”
He inhaled deeply, hoping to catch the white witch’s scent. As soon as his mind caught on the words, he instantly rejected them. No way in hell would Fate give him a mate who wasn’t like him. “The one standing off from the others,” he said.
“Ah, yeah. She’s fine as fuck.”
Ridge spun, lifting Miko against the wall with one arm. “You do not speak of her like that.” He gave Miko a slight shake, waiting for the male to agree.
“Yes, Alpha.” Miko choked out.
Ridge felt several bodies at his back but didn’t need to turn around to know his crew had surrounded them. More than likely they were creating a wall between him, Miko, and the humans. Hell, he’d have done the same and then kicked the offender’s ass for almost outing them.
“Yo, Ridge, you wanna chill on killing Miko the dumbass in front of the humans? We ain’t got that sexy dragon to clean up the mess, if you know what I’m talking about.”
Ridge slowly lowered Miko to the ground, glaring at the smiling fool. “You realize I could’ve killed you with one swipe of my claws or tightening of my hand?”
Miko lifted his hand to his throat, rubbing it over the already lightening area. “Nah, I got nine lives. Well, probably only like six left, so I’m good.” He punched Ridge on the arm as he walked around him.
“There’s something seriously wrong with that one,” Taytum said. His deep voice had made many women sigh, both human and shifter.
In the Mayhem Crew, he was one of Ridge’s top enforcers for a reason. Mainly because he was a big bastard who gave no quarter and had very little patience. As for a moral compass, the Mayhem Crew didn’t really have a huge list of rules, other than do no harm to innocents and watch each other’s back. There were a few more rules they lived by, but those were the main things. Tatum was good on those fronts.
“Ridge, if those humans are a problem, I can ask them to leave.”
He turned to the man who made the offer, meeting Glock’s dark-brown eyes so his friend could see his own death if he so much as touched one part of his—his what, he didn’t know. The woman with the white hair, purple eyes, and a body built for sin called to the most primal part of him. “Touch her and die. Talk to her and die. Go near her and die,” he said, his voice low and deadly.
Glock was his second in command, but even he had to see how close Ridge was to losing his shit.
“Got it. Lots of dying going on. Now you need to calm your shit, or I’m going to call Zelda and ask her to do some woo-woo shit on your furry ass.” Glock didn’t back down, but he also didn’t get in Ridge’s space. Smart leopard.
At the mention of the witch from the town that bordered theirs, Ridge took a deep breath. Zelda and Sassy were both batshit-crazy female witches with way too much power in their wiggling fingers. “You’re a dick.” He pointed a finger at Glock, but his words were said without heat.
“Yeah, but you love me. Now, everybody get your asses back to your posts. We got a lot of humans in here tonight. Hennessee, don’t, for the love of all, do your Magic Mike impersonation and hump every surface.” Glock shoved the younger leopard on the shoulder, making him grunt.
“He’s just jealous because I got moves that make all the ladies want to ride my pony.” Hennessee moved his body in a rolling motion, making Glock growl.
“Really, boy, you think that’s gonna get all the ladies in here panting after you? And FYI, you ain’t a pony, you’re a leopard, asshole.”
Ridge lifted a brow as another leopard stepped next to him holding two bottles of beer. He held one out to Ridge. “Thanks, Quincy.”
Before he could lift the bottle to his lips, the sound of shattering glass had him spinning toward the crowd, his gaze zeroing in on the group of bachelorettes. His little white witch was nowhere to be seen. He put the bottle on the nearest surface, uncaring if it actually landed and stayed or not. “Where is she?” he asked, prowling through the crowd.
“The blonde?” Glock kept pace with him, his large form making everyone move out of their way.
“Her hair is white not, blonde,” Ridge corrected him.
“Semantics, brother. I’ll take the back of the bar, you the front. She can’t have left without the others.”
“Who the fuck is alpha here? You or me?” Ridge didn’t wait around for the answer. He was alpha while Glock was his second for a reason.
Fucking humans and their love of perfumes had his sense of smell screwed up. He wondered why they thought spraying themselves down with hairspray and perfume made them more alluring. His mind stopped thinking as a tantalizingly sweet aroma of orange spice hit him. Instantly his dick, which had gone down from his earlier rock-hard state, sprang back to life. He shifted, lifting his nose, trying to zero in on the sweet smell again. Once he locked in on it, he followed the trail of his little female. Another scent overlaid hers, making his leopard rake at his insides. Mine. Kill.
A male was stalking his female. She may not know she was his yet, but she would soon. The male who was stupid enough to be following her, had better hope he had good
