He sensed Amy’s change of body tension, but kept himself out of the fight. Just stood like a wall as she wordlessly went into action.
She jumped upward. Caught hold of Evan’s shoulders over her head at the same moment she kicked out her feet and made contact with Lance’s chest. He flew backwards into the men behind him, knocking them over like a set of bowling pins. Before they had finished bouncing, Amy was back on the floor and moving toward Toby. She leapt forward at high speed, hooking an arm around his neck and using momentum to pivot onto his back.
Toby grabbed for the arm that was cutting off his air supply. Evan clenched his teeth to stop from calling a warning that Lance was back on his feet.
He shouldn’t have worried. Amy maintained her chokehold while using her other hand in Toby’s hair like reins to turn the man to face his buddies. Her timing was so perfect the blow Lance swung struck his friend instead of Amy, the sound of fist meeting face making a sickening crack against the lighthearted music playing in the background.
This wasn’t Evan’s fight, but it was.
He folded his arms and shifted his feet to draw attention to himself. “Not that I want to interfere in your entertainment, but just a heads up. Amy has full authority. If you want to beg for mercy, she’s the one you kneel to.”
Then he did the hardest thing he’d ever done. Evan turned and walked away.
He headed to the bar. Slipped behind the counter and poured himself a double shot of whiskey. The burn of the alcohol going down calmed his human side who hated having control out of his hands.
His wolf side wanted to watch his mate rip the disrespectful bastards apart.
But Amy had insisted, and she was right. This was the proper way. So, whistling lightly, Evan grabbed a cloth and wiped down the countertop.
The pack members seated on the barstools glanced back and forth a couple of times between him and the ongoing fight, their momentary panic fading as Evan’s confidence screamed out.
Evan smiled at one of them. “She’s okay.”
The older wolf smiled back. “She’s your mate, right? Of course she’s okay.”
The sound of wood splintering nearly made him look, but he resisted temptation and focused on the pack member before him. “She is, and she’s not only beautiful and smart, she knows exactly how to take care of herself. And how to take care of me.”
Heads nodded, one of the old-timers gesturing with his chin to the side. “You know it’s okay for you to help,” he whispered. “We don’t mind.”
Evan shook his head. “Waste of time. Some things she needs me to do, but fight her battles isn’t one of them.”
Someone shouted, and the noise faded to nothing but the pulsing beat of the music from the sound system.
“It’s safe to look,” the old-timer told him. The man grinned approvingly. “She’s a feisty one. Reminds me of my mate.”
Evan turned, leaning both hands on the counter as he hungrily took in the damage from the battle. For the first moment he couldn’t see Amy, not by the broken chairs or near any of the bodies on the floor.
“Looking for me, sailor?”
She stood beside him, a thin ribbon of blood trickling from a cut on her forehead. Scratches and bruises marred her arms, but she showed a whole lot less damage than the pack boys pulling themselves to vertical.
“Do I need to call an ambulance?” Evan pulled her to his side and lifted her onto the counter.
Amy glanced over her shoulder. “I think Toby will be okay. Let me check about the other fellow.” She raised her voice. “Hey, Lance. You want an ambulance, or are you going to shuffle home without a Band-Aid on your boo-boos?”
“Fuck off,” Lance snapped, his lippy words sliding into a sharp scream of pain.
Evan and Amy watched Gem step daintily over the wolf she’d kicked. “If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times. I will not accept that kind of language around here.”
She sniffed then approached the bar. “May I have another glass of white wine, please?”
Off in the background, the youth with the attitudes were helping Toby and Lance from the bar. Evan pulled Gem’s favourite wine from the cooler, pausing to rub his cheek against Amy’s.
Slowly the noise of conversation slipped back to normal.
“What would you like?” Evan asked his mate.
“Some of your moonshine. I hear it’s pretty good.”
He nodded, grabbing the slim blue bottle and gesturing into the bar. “Let’s go sit. I have a feeling there will be a few people coming to chat.”
Evan settled in his usual seat, Amy perched beside him like the queen of the wolves she was. Gem and Shaun joined them, the leadership sitting in state before pack who entered and left, checking out this new thing.
He tipped a little liquid into her glass, then his own. He raised the teeny tumbler in the air. “Whitehorse forever. To becoming one strong, united pack.”
“Whitehorse forever.” The toast was echoed by their Betas, and taken up by the pack. All around the room, glasses were raised and voices rang out.
Amy leaned against him, the warmth of her body against his so right and perfect. “That’s not the last of it, but thank you for letting me take care of them on my own.”
He looked into her eyes and smiled, glad to have put his fears behind him, although he still didn’t like the idea of her being hurt. “Hey, you just about took my head off when we fought. I had no doubt about your physical prowess. I have even less doubts about your smarts.”
Evan took a shot of his moonshine, cupped his hand around the back of her neck, and slipped her a kiss that was two hundred proof, and none of it from the liquor.
If the kiss went on a little longer then normal, he didn’t give a damn. Tongues tangling, breaths mingling. She bit his lip, and Evan growled, hungry for more.
A cheer went up from one corner of the room, and he pulled back far enough to see glasses raised in their direction.
“People like to see their Alpha content.” Amy caught him by the cheeks and smiled at him, bright satisfaction pouring from her in spite of the bruises and cuts.
“Their Alphas, you mean. Because we’re doing this together, baby.”
Evan tugged Amy into his lap, curling his arm around her waist and enjoying the sensation of being with her.
She nuzzled against his neck, the connection between them strengthening. “That was exciting,” she confessed in a low whisper.
Evan laughed, his amusement rising. “Bloodthirsty little thing.”
She shrugged, her smile twisting into something a touch more evil. “As much fun as it is to torment people via computer, there’s something satisfying about beating the crap out of a person, isn’t there?”
How had he missed seeing this? The perfect way they fit. Evan stared into her eyes, his attention focused on her. “I can hardly wait to see what comes next.”
Amy put the rest of her extra sheets into a box, closed the lid and taped it shut. She glanced around the house, searching for more things she could get rid of before Evan brought his stuff over.
In the past week, her world had changed so immensely. It seemed impossible, and yet she was a shifter. She knew impossible happened all the time.
This was her experiencing true happiness for the first time in her life, and that’s what made it so unusual.
Her phone rang and she answered it cheerfully. “Hey, lover. What’s happening?”
A low rumble sounded in her ear, raising goose bumps all over. “I’ve got everything in the truck, and Shaun tells me I’m allowed to take the rest of the afternoon off.”
“How generous of him.” Amy pulled open another drawer and dumped everything into a box. “I’d take him up on the offer if I were you. He needs the exercise in looking after things, anyway.”