Page 18 of Flight Risk

The man struggled, his feet kicking, his hands grappling for mine. I squeezed his throat. My friends surrounded me, ready to go to battle with this asshat. He was one of the men who worked as an accountant for the clan. His family had been with us for years. The fact that he held such prejudice against other species had me seeing red.

He choked out, “Tavian... I didn’t see you there.”

“Oh? Would your behavior have been different had I been here?”

“Of course—”

I squeezed harder. “Wrong answer. Regardless of who you are talking to and who was around to see it, your behavior is unacceptable. The fact that you spoke to my mate in such a way means that the consequences will be even larger.”

I dropped him, and he crumpled to the floor. “Get out.” My voice came out rough and gravelly as I barely contained control over my human form.

The lobby was silent, many people had stopped to gawk at us, others had come from their offices to see what was going on.

“This is... you can’t do this. Your father—”

“My father would not tolerate this level of disrespect to a member of the clan. Nor would he tolerate you treating my mate in such a manner. You will learn respect or you will find yourself out of this clan. Do you understand me?”

“Tav,” Kier said, stepping to my side and standing between me and the man. I gently pushed him behind me. Kier gripped my biceps. “Tav, don’t. It’s fine. He—”

“Are you all right, mate?” My gaze roved over him as if I would be able to see any emotional damage done by the fuckwad who dared disrespect my mate.

“I am not harmed. It’s fine—”

I growled. “It is not fine. Nobody speaks to you like that.”

“Kier, take him to the roof or someplace where he can shift,” Thorne said. “He’s going to need space.”

I breathed heavily, barely controlling my shift. The scales on my arms pulsed as if I was going to burst from my skin at any moment.

Kier tugged my arm. “Tav, come on. Come on.” My mate pulled at me again, putting more weight behind him.

Reluctantly, I went with him, if only to get him farther away from that piece of trash.

“We’ll take care of it,” Kenneth said. “Be with your mate.”

Chapter 11

Kier

The elevator ride to the top floor seemed to take forever. I kept arms wrapped tightly around his middle and his around me. His breath came in deep gulps, like he was desperately trying to maintain control. Heat radiated from his body, and I felt the ripple of his scales through his shirt. He held back his shift, but his grip was slipping.

“I’m here. I’m safe,” I whispered.

I’d known that a threat to one’s mate could cause an alpha to lose control. I just never expected that reaction to be about me. No one in my life had ever cared how I was treated. To see my mate nearly shift in a building all because someone was rude to me was jarring.

When we finally made it to the roof, Tav leapt away from me, and I thought for a moment he might shift and take off right then. Instead, he gripped the railing that went around the top of the building, taking deep breaths of the cool air.

“How often, Kier? How often does that sort of thing happen?”

I sucked in a breath. “Not that often.”

“How many times?” He gripped the railing until smoke curled from the metal.

“A few. It’s the same family. I just know that when they come to headquarters, it’s going to be a rough day. I’ve gotten used to it, Tav. I—”

His fists slammed down on the railing, and I jumped. He took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, Kier. I’m not angry with you. It’s the situation.”

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