I didn’t fight him. We had to present a strong united front against all those watching us. But what the actual heck was going on with Braxton? Sure, he was always protective and dominant, but that right then had been mate-like, the way he had declared me his territory. Okay, he hadn’t said those words exactly, but the gesture was clear. He was staking his claim on me.

Which was not awesome. I was seriously going to get zero action with his brand of ownership across my back.

My dragon and I were going to be having some words soon. That was for sure.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Our food took an exorbitantly long time to arrive. I started tapping my foot after five minutes, and by the ten minute mark Mischa was practically sitting on me to keep me in my seat.

“Come on, let me go in there, this is freaking ridiculous.”

Mischa was grinning. “Jess, it’s been like twelve minutes, that’s not a long time to wait.”

I was a growling, spitting, hissing mess. Okay, probably not that bad, but I was getting mighty pissed. It wasn’t the same for all the supernatural groups, but shifters were part animal, and if you let an animal get hungry … well, we were likely to rip your face off, or some other body part you were probably quite fond of.

I was exactly three minutes from the point of no return.

Thankfully, at that moment rabbit boy strolled out the front door holding two large plates, and moved toward the section of the patio we had commandeered. He carried pizza.

“Seriously,” I snarled at him, “what sort of Italian place doesn’t even have bread on the table.”

He didn’t blink twice. Clearly I wasn’t the first to snap at him. Instead he produced a basket of bread with a dish of garlic-infused oil balancing precariously on top – Where the hell had that been? – and placed it right in front of me.

Mischa held both hands in front of her as if appealing to someone with common sense. “Sorry about Jessa. She’s not herself when she’s hungry.”

My gaze snapped across to her. “Did you just quote a fucking Snickers advertisement at me?”

We had human television, I knew what she was doing. I opened my mouth to rage at her further, when Jacob leaned over and dunked a slice of bread and shoved it in my mouth.

“Run while you can,” Tyson side-whispered to rabbit boy, and sure enough, true to his breed he scampered away. I glared at the grinning mage, but truth be told I was already feeling better.

Damn, this bread was fragrant … and soft … and delicious. Maybe I wouldn’t have to kill myself a rabbit after all.