Shadow Mate - Jen L. Grey Page 0,3

was glad Max had made me come.

That was until a loud, dark, menacing voice filled the air. "Bree, where the fuck are you?"

She had been smiling and laughing a second before, but her face morphed into an expression of pure terror. "Shit, I need to hide."

"What's wrong?" Nate turned so he was looking in the direction of the voice. "Who the hell is talking to you that way? That's not cool." He took a step toward four huge-ass guys who had come up behind a group standing outside.

"No, stop." Bree snagged his arm and pulled him back. "That's my brother and his goons."

It was as if the tallest, broodiest, and sexiest of them all heard her words. His eyes locked on hers, and he marched all the way over. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Liam, stop. You're making a scene." Bree pulled Nate behind her and stood protectively in front of him. "Please, calm down."

The muscle in Liam's neck tensed, and he clenched his hands into fists. I should've been petrified of the guy standing in front of me. Instead, I was more awestruck. His dark hair was the same shade as his sister’s, and his blue eyes were icy. He had to be six inches taller than me, which would make him about six-foot-four inches, and his polo shirt conformed to his muscles in a way that should be illegal. He was hot, sexy, and dangerous.

"Don't tell me what to do." His eyes glowed, and his breathing became hard as the alpha will seeped from him. His three buddies moved into position, flanking him.

The most muscular of the four stepped in my direction. He towered over me, and even though his hands were relaxed at his sides, the muscles still bulged. His short auburn hair was spiked in the front, and his gray eyes reflected white. His skin seemed translucent under the moon, making him appear even scarier.

Then, the other two stepped to the other side of Liam. They were about the same height, but that was where their similarities ended. One had dark olive skin and could pass as a freaking model. His dark eyes looked golden, and his build was more on the athletic side. He was just slightly taller than his friend standing beside him.

“Just come on, Bree.” The third friend's skin was a lighter shade of olive, and he arched an ash blond eyebrow. His amber eyes twinkled with amusement. “Don’t make us force you out.”

Yeah, right. That was exactly what all four of them wanted. Pushing back against the alpha call, I stood slightly in front of Bree. “You do realize if you did, you might wrinkle your button-down shirt and get mud on your designer pants.” Their outfits alone probably cost more than Max’s car.

"Just stop, okay?" Bree glanced around, obviously uncomfortable. "I was just having some fun."

"Yeah, she wasn't doing anything wrong." Max lifted both hands in the air and smiled. “I mean…”

“Are you seriously trying to talk to me?” Liam’s face wrinkled in disgust as he stared down his nose at my brother. “You don’t even deserve to breathe the same air as me.” His blue eyes were faded to white with his wolf surging forward.

Oh, hell no! “Who the hell do you think you are?” I growled as I met his gaze head-on. They couldn’t come to someone’s house and act like that. Didn’t his parents teach him manners?

He took a step toward me, staring at me hard, trying to make me look away—to submit. “You better learn your place, or I’ll have to teach you.”

If he thought he could intimidate me, he was going to learn how wrong he was. “Why don’t you …”

“No, it’s okay.” Bree sighed as she reached over and grabbed my arm. “Thank you, but it’s better if I just go.”

“But…”

“You heard her.” Liam’s voice was hard, unyielding. “So now you can shut the hell up and go back to chatting up some guy for a good lay.” His hand grasped his sister’s and yanked her toward the car.

“You must be overcompensating for something to be such an asshole.” He couldn’t talk to me like that or handle her that way. I took a menacing step in their direction before my brother grabbed me around the waist.

“Don’t. All it’ll do is cause problems.”

I wanted to argue, but he was right. The backyard had a view of the road, so Bree was already halfway to their high-end Escalade that screamed money.

I had to let it