“Hey, what the fuck!” the slimy regular from before sputters. I whip around, my eyes all but bulging out at the sight of Darren leaning over their table. All the drinks lay knocked on their side, the liquid spilling over onto the table and their laps.

Shit. I hop up, scrambling over the bar just as the idiot human stands and squares up to Darren.

Darren laughs, his confidence is obvious as the human swings a fist at him. Darren catches it with ease and twists, pulling it behind the man’s back. The human cries out in pain.

“Darren!” I yell.What the hell is he thinking beating up the customers?Even if they are skeezballs.

He turns to look at me, and I instantly grow cold. There’s a reflective look in his eyes that isn’t quite human. I need to get him out of here, now. He slams the human’s head down onto the table, and the other men sitting around it jump up. Shock and horror paint their faces as blood mixes with the booze spreading across the table’s surface. I place a cautious hand on Darren’s back, trying to get his attention back on me and away from the human.

“Darren, you should leave now,” I assert as calmly as I can, not wanting to intensify this rage he is in. His only response is to grunt and slam the idiot human’s head down again. “Darren!” I screech this time. Slapping my hand on his back repeatedly, I risk drawing his rage to me, but I need to get him to stop for a second. He freezes, and then drops his hold on the human, letting him slide to the floor.

I try to skirt around Darren, so I can make sure the human is okay—well, alive anyway. However, Darren promptly yanks me back, away from the unconscious man with a possessive arm curved around my waist as he drags me.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demand, trying to wriggle free. Once we stand on the far side of the room, he releases me. I attempt to step forward so I can head back over to check on the customer, but he grabs me once more, pushing me against the wall. He releases me again, but this time he plants his feet and crosses his arms, determined not to let me pass. He acts as if I’m the one who needs to be held back. He’s acting irrational and a little insane.

“Get out of the way,” I hiss, struggling to step past him.

“You’re not going over there,” he declares through clenched teeth and with a decisive nod, continuing to prevent me from moving.

“Why not? You can’t do this! Not where I work. Have you lost your mind?” I implore him to see reason, annoyance beginning to morph into concern. His eyes have returned to normal, but a slight tremor racks his body and a sheen of sweat covers his brow. I bite my lip and my heart pounds in an erratic tempo.What if he turns here?Over the past few weeks I’ve done some research to brush up on my shifter knowledge, and I remember reading that they can lose control and turn if pushed far enough.But what drove him to attack?“It’s not like you to act like this, so why did you do that?” I ask again, softer this time.

He reaches out, brushing some hair from my face. “Kayla, I—”

“What’s going on out here?” a voice booms from the staff only door, cutting off whatever Darren was about to say.

“You need to go, now,” I tell him with a light shove, my eyes darting around the bar. I try to move away from Darren, but he sticks close, as if worried I’ll walk back over there.

The men across the room point over at Darren. I notice the one Darren punched has regained consciousness, and his friends have helped him lean up against a wall. With a nervous gulp, I watch as my manager’s eyes follow the direction of their gesture towards Darren and then find me standing next to him.Shit.I can see it written on his face. My time as an employee in this shithole has come to an end.Great.

“Come on, it looks like we both need to go now,” I groan, grabbing Darren’s hand and practically dragging him out of the bar. We trudge in silence to where is car is parked. I try to let go of his hand, but he keeps hold of me until we reach the vehicle.

“Get in.” He holds the passenger door open for me.

“Not until you tell me what the hell just happened there? I’m out of a job because of you!” I snap, crossing my arms.

“Good. You shouldn’t be working there anyway,” he mutters. “You can get into the car of your own volition, or I can throw you in, Kayla. It’s your choice. What’s it going to be?” He looks me in the eyes, and I can see that he’s dead serious.

“Only if you promise to explain,” I grumble.

“I’ll explain in the damn car. Now hurry up, I can hear them leaving out the front now. They’re looking for us,” he replies calmly. I glance around, not seeing anything, but I trust that Darren wouldn’t lie to me. I sigh and slump into the car, slamming my door after me.

In mere seconds Darren slides into the driver’s side, starting the car and bringing it roaring to life. He drives a nice car, but not in your face nice. Smooth, heated leather seats and stylish interior, but nothing too flashy or eye catching on the outside. It blended in, something we all need to do around humans. Something Darren clearly didn’t think of tonight.

He drives as fast as he can get away with, and I’m thankful we’re in a less crowded burrow. I soon notice that instead of heading in the direction of my place, it seems we’re driving out of London. I can only assume our destination is Darren’s house.

“I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry,” he says finally, breaking the tense silence.

“Then why did you?” I pry, my inquisitiveness not allowing me to let this go.

“He said things. Bad things,” he answers evasively.

“What? He said something bad about me?” I ask, rolling my eyes. “You can’t beat the crap out of someone just for saying something bad about me.”

“He claimed he planned to follow you when you finished work,” Darren growls, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. I realise exactly what pushed him now, the ice-cold wave of reality crashing into me.

“Well, it would have been fine,” I try to rationalise. “Because I planned to leave with you, remember? Instead of protecting me then, you decided to attack him in the bar and made me lose my damn job. Plus, I’m a witch, Darren. I can fight off a puny human,” I try to reassure him.

“What about if he tried again one night when you left the bar by yourself?” he questions, his face serious.