Vivi Andrews - Serengeti Lightning

“I don’t—” Mara wasn’t sure what she was going to protest, but it didn’t matter because Zoe didn’t give her a chance to finish.

“I know, I know. You aren’t serious about Michael. A girl like you isn’t gonna be dumb enough to get serious about a guy like that. But what are you gonna do? It sucks, but there aren’t a lot of options. Sometimes you’re just stuck. Sorry ’bout that.”

“I’m not stuck,” Mara snapped. She wasn’t annoyed with Zoe so much as herself, but the frustration would take any outlet. And the idea that a woman would have to be stupid to want to be with Michael rankled on some level. He deserved a goddess. Just not her. “I’m not some pathetic little girl waiting for a man to sweep me off my feet.”

Zoe’s blonde eyebrows flew up. “Hey, chica , a dominant female is only pathetic when she lets herself be.” She glared back over her shoulder in the general direction of the garage.

“Well, I’m not. I’m doing something about it. I’m going to Florida.”

“I’ve been to Florida. The traffic sucks.”

Mara walked faster, fueled by irritation. “I’m taking my fate into my own hands. I’m going out, actively looking for a mate. I’m not running away from my problems. I’m facing them head-on.”

“Hey, no one said you were running away.”

“Well, I’m not. It takes a lot of courage to do what I’m doing.”

Zoe held out her hands in surrender. “No one’s arguing with you, chica .”

“I’m doing the right thing. I know it. There’s nothing for me here.”

“Uh-huh. You ever seen Hamlet ?”

Mara stopped in her tracks, turning to frown at Zoe. “ Hamlet ? What does Hamlet have to do with anything?”

“The lady protesteth too mucheth and all that. You sure you aren’t running away from someone?”

“I said I wasn’t—”

“Yeah, you said. You said nice and loud and emphatic, but the thing is, I never said anything about running. You came up with that one all on your own.”

Mara’s irritation spiked high, aimed straight at Zoe. “Are you always this annoying?”

“Mostly.” She shrugged, utterly unoffended. “I’ll leave you alone. I think I’m gonna go run off my troubles. Thanks for the chat though. A little girl talk is always good to take your mind off your own issues, yeah?”

Zoe gave a jaunty wave and took off at a lope, her long legs eating up the ground.

Mara stared after her, feeling like she’d just been run over by a steamroller. She’d never spent a huge amount of time with the Alpha’s sister. The woman was a force of nature.

But was she right? Was there something Mara was fighting not to see? Maybe she should delay her trip. Not forever, just long enough to make sure she was doing the right thing. She was so confused right now. She could take a few more weeks, maybe even a month or two, and make sure she was making the right choice. She could make a list, weigh the pros and cons, clarify her thinking.

Maybe Michael would help her make a list…

Low voices penetrated her preoccupation and Mara looked up, taking in her surroundings. She’d stopped in front of Ava and Landon’s bungalow. Conversation floated out the window, the low drawl of the Alpha, Ava’s distinctive, raspy alto… Then a third voice raised above the other two.

“Hell, Landon, why don’t you just give me permission to handcuff Mara to my bed until she sees reason.”

Michael.

He was in there. Talking to the Alpha. Behind her back. The betrayal stole her breath.

How dare he meddle in her life? Trying to convince her to change her mind was one thing. Going to the Alpha was something else entirely.

She had trusted him. She hadn’t realized how far she’d gone toward thinking of him as her partner, even possibly her future mate, until those arrogant words shattered everything. Handcuff her to the bed, would he? Mara ignored the flicker of interest that slithered beneath her anger. Instead, she nurtured the rage burning hot in her veins.

She stormed up the steps. Michael had no claim on her. She was her own woman, independent. She’d show him. She’d give him so much independence his head would spin.

Michael tipped back in his chair and studied the liquor in his glass. He wasn’t much of a drinker, and he hadn’t had much tonight, but commiserating with Landon, even with Ava there acting as referee and defender of the female gender, had loosened the tension in his shoulders considerably. He felt almost human again.

Until the door slammed open and Mara appeared on the threshold looking like the Queen of the Underworld ready to drag him back to Hell.

“How dare you,” she shouted, her eyes locked on him as if there was no one else in the world. “I can’t believe I was actually starting to trust you. Do you actually expect me to believe you would be a good mate, a partner, if you go behind my back to the Alpha at the first sign of dissent?”

Michael blinked at her, his ability to form words and arguments lost in the face of her stunning rage. He’d never seen Mara so out of control, outside of the bedroom. Part of him wondered if this was a good sign, even as the majority of him tried to play catch-up and figure out what the hell she was so angry about.

“How dare you presume you have some claim over me. I am not a possession . You don’t own me.”

“I never said I owned you.” He surged up out of his chair.

Ava and Landon stood by, watching the show in silence.

“No? Then what are you doing here? Why did you come running to the Alpha when I wouldn’t give you your way?”

Michael opened his mouth, but Mara didn’t give him a chance to speak.

“Don’t bother explaining. Just listen up. This is my life and you are never, never going to have any part of it, is that clear?” She didn’t wait to hear his answer, spinning on her heel and running out of the bungalow, the door slapping shut behind her.

Ava shifted from one foot to the other. “Michael, I’m so—”

“Don’t.” Whatever she had to say, he didn’t want to hear it. He’d heard more than enough for one night.

What the fuck was that? She stormed in here like a Valkyrie, out for blood, and then ran out. Always running. Always pushing him away with one hand and stringing him along with the other.

She didn’t get to do that anymore. He wasn’t going to let her. Michael was sick of being teased and toyed with. She wanted it to be over between them? Fine. It was going to be over.

But not until he’d said his piece. She didn’t get to blindside him and run away from him this time.

Michael roared, the shift taking his body to lion form with a sudden painful jerk. He lunged forward, his speed fueled by anger as he sprinted into the night. He caught the scent trail of the female and raced down the path after her. She was headed away from the residential compound, into the pasturelands beyond. He didn’t care. Wherever she went, he would catch her.

He knew the moment she realized he was following her. He felt the soft pop of pressure as she took her own feline form. He poured on the speed, knowing she would be faster and more evasive as a lioness. That knowledge only reinforced his determination to catch her.

She was fast, but he was faster. He could see her ahead of him now, her sleek, sandy form little more than a shadow streaking across the dusty plain. The heady satisfaction of a successful hunt began to pulse through his blood as, with each leaping stride, he grew closer to his prey.

He closed the distance, gauging her speed, and leapt. His paws struck her shoulders. Her feet flew out from under her and they rolled in a flurry of snapping teeth and swiping paws. She snarled and fought like a hellcat, but size and blind rage were both on his side.