She closed her eyes and pictured them at Ridge’s and her cabin, needing to get her things and her goat Mr. Bixley.
The thought had no sooner entered her mind and then she and her savior were plopped out of thin air and landing in the yard next to her truck, which still sat near the back. Mr. Bixley gave a bleat that almost sounded like a ‘what the heck’, but since her lion savior also yelped, she couldn’t be sure.
“What the flying monkey’s ass is going on?” Thadd’s roar drowned out the rushing wind that should’ve scared her.
“Um, I wanted to get my things, and Mr. Bixley,” she answered lamely, releasing her hold on his sides. Geesh, the male had zero give to his body, not that she was complaining.
Before she could maneuver off his Harley, he did a twist and slide thing. Torrance wasn’t completely sure how he accomplished his task, only that one minute she was behind him one, the next, she was in front of him with his arms surrounding her. His bright blue eyes, which she was sure hadn’t been that color earlier, staring down at her. Oh, shit, he was in total alpha mode, and he was P.I.S.S.E.D. She ought to know when a male was pissed since Ridge tended to be in that mode often, just not at her.
“That does not explain how one minute the wind was blowing in my hair as I was in control of our ride, and all of a sudden, bam, we are swept up and away like Alan and Lucy in Wonderland.” Thadd leaned forward, nudging her chin to the side. “Who the heck is Mr. Bixley? And more importantly, are you hurt?”
Torrance was pretty sure she wasn’t but son-of-a-biscuit-eater, his touch was frying her brain. “Mr. Bixley is my goat.”
“Excuse me, are you two going to boinkety boink on that machine?”
Chapter Four
Thadd took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It wouldn’t do to maim a female who might be really powerful and possibly injure his mate. “Zelda, what the hell are you doing here, and where is your mate?”
“Ah, he’s on his way here. He had to check on the children first as you can imagine one must when having twins. Well, hello there, sir. How’re you?” Zelda walked toward an enclosure, squatting down to chat with a...a goat.
“Why is she talking to your pet?” he asked Torrance.
“He’s not my pet. He’s my familiar. Or he will be once he begins talking,” she muttered.
Zelda stood up, dusting her hands down the side of her expensive dress. “Hello, Torrance. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Zelda, the shifter whisperer extraordinaire.”
Torrance looked at Zelda then at Thadd. “Isn’t she your mate?”
Thadd laughed.
Zelda scoffed.
The goat, who if his memory served him correctly, had a strange name. All of that became inconsequential as his female narrowed her gorgeous eyes. Her flame red hair, which he loved and couldn’t wait to see spread out on his sheets, began to crackle like it was alive. “No, upendo, she is not my mate. We just met shortly before I rode into town. Zelda lives in Assjacket, I think.” His hands decided they had a mind of their own, lifting to touch the silken strands that looked as though they were flames. His lion wanted to roll over and be covered by this female.
“Listen, you two are letting off so much mating scent it’s making it almost impossible for me to breathe the same air. And poor Mr. Bixley here is too young to be put in this position so cut it out.” Zelda snapped her fingers, separating them by a couple of feet.
Thadd crouched down, staring at Torrance, making sure she was uninjured before he stood to his full height. His beast didn’t give him a chance to take control or prepare to push him down so that only the barest of the animal came forward. No, he was pissed and worried for their mate, which meant he was in control. Thadd had felt the beast rising when his mate had jumped from the speeding bullet of a bike she rode. Good Goddess, he didn’t think he could handle seeing that again, except she was sexy as fuck. Of course, then she put herself in front of him when there were several alpha males ready to rip him to shreds, sending his lion straight from kill to decimate, which was a bloody damn mess, but such was life with him. His beast didn’t have a chance to settle once he’d pushed him back, which really those males owed him a ‘thank you sir’, but nope, his beast came roaring forward, wanting to kill the males. Why did they feel the need to threaten him, making his sexy little mate feel the need to barter her life for his? Each time, his beast allowed him to take control. Now however, the beast sensed a danger that he wouldn’t allow to harm their mate, pushing forward with a speed that left Thadd the one who was a spectator.
“Female, I wish not to harm you, but make one wrong move, and I will have no recourse but to do so.” The deep guttural voice was more animal than man, something he’d wished to tell his mate about before she was shown in such a stark way.
Zelda tipped her head to the side. “I should stop my mate from coming any further. Yes, that is a good plan. Sassy, you should come on out and please don’t blow up this home or any...thing.”
“Thadd, what’s going on?” Torrance’s voice quivered.
“We will not hurt you, mate,” he vowed.
“We?”
He turned to look at Torrance, not liking the distance separating them. In a single leap, he was in front of her. “Me and my lion. We will never hurt you or ours. I have been with the Wilder Crew for years and have never hurt one of them. They are safe with me,
