The man was demanding Grady mark her in front of him to prove that she was his.

Mika wondered what marking entailed and prayed it wouldn’t mean he’d have to come on her thighs again, this time in the middle of the bar for all to see.

“Mark her or hand her over because I’m willing to fight you for her. I could use a good fight and a good f**k.” Vargas smiled coldly. “Of course, after the fight is over, I’m going to be in a mood by the time I bend that bitch over in front of me. She won’t enjoy that, will she?”

Grady growled. His hold on her eased as he gently set her back on her feet and broke the glaring contest between him and the other man to look down at her. His arm tightened again around her waist while his other hand gripped her shirt to yank it to the side to expose the top of her right shoulder.

Mika could only gasp as Grady’s face buried in the crook of her shoulder and neck and pain made her cry out. It hurt so much as his sharp teeth punctured her skin that her fingers clutched at his chest and gripped the material of his shirt, clawing at him.

Grady growled and then his teeth pulled back just enough to leave her skin but his mouth didn’t move away. He kept it open over his bite as his tongue licked across her skin while he lapped at the bite a few times. His head jerked up as he yanked her shirt back in place over the fresh wound he’d made.

Grady didn’t meet her eyes or even look down. He glared at Vargas Lorne instead.

“She’s marked by me. Now get the hell out of my bar.” Fury lit green eyes as Vargas jerked his head in a nod. “Fine. We’ll leave. She’s yours.” The man spun on his heel and waved his hand toward the door. He stormed for the exit with his three large companions on his heels. Grady watched them go. Long seconds ticked by.

“Shit.” Yon was close. “You had to mark her. He backed you into a corner until there was no other way out of it.”

Shock was rippling through Mika. Grady had bitten her. Her shoulder burned and throbbed from the injury. Grady growled.

“I’m taking her back to her house. It’s too dangerous to have her out.” She didn’t like the way Grady sounded. He slid his keys out of his pocket and tossed them at Yon.

“Park my Jeep in the lot when you leave. I don’t trust that bastard to not be waiting out there to snatch her. There were witnesses in here but there won’t be once we leave so I’m going to sneak her out the back before he can prepare to try to steal her from me.” Grady didn’t look down at her once as he practically dragged her toward the back.

The door he yanked her though was marked Employees Only. Mika had to run to follow the man who gripped her arm to drag her out of the bar. Keys hung on pegs next to another door. He snatched up a set and tugged her out into the cool night air behind the bar. There was a private parking lot there.

His hand on her arm loosened but he didn’t let her go. She could almost feel his rage as he led her to a motorcycle. He finally let her go. She watched him remove both helmets attached to the bike and shove one her way. Her shoulder throbbed where he’d bitten and marked her. Uncle Omar hadn’t gone over what happened when a werewolf bit a human so she wasn’t sure what the hell it meant.

“Grady…” Her voice was soft.

“Shut up,” he snarled. He climbed on the bike, shoving his helmet on, and jammed a key into the ignition. “Get on now before they show up. It doesn’t take long to move around the damn building.”

She put on the helmet and climbed on the big motorcycle behind him. She barely had her arms around his waist when he started the bike and took off. He let his anger guide his driving skills and Mika shut her eyes tightly, to avoid visual proof of how fast they were going and how he was taking turns. Feeling it was bad enough without having to see the danger.

He finally stopped the bike and Mika opened her eyes when he killed the engine.

Dread was immediate as she realized that Grady had pulled up in front of her Uncle Omar’s house. The lights were on inside and there were a few unknown cars in the driveway.

“Get off,” Grady snarled in his anger.

“Why are you so angry at me?” She climbed off the bike and removed the helmet. “I didn’t lead on that ass**le. He just stood up and grabbed me. I told him to let me go. It wasn’t my fault.”

Grady climbed off the bike, tore off the helmet, and slammed it on the seat. He reached over without meeting her gaze and snatched away the helmet she held. He slammed it on the seat too, not bothering to hook them to the bike. His large hand snaked out and gripped her arm under her elbow. He jerked her toward the house.

Mika had to practically run to keep up with Grady. He was majorly pissed off and he wouldn’t even look at her. When they reached the front door he didn’t bother to knock, just twisted the handle and jerked it open. He yanked her into the house and slammed the door behind them. In seconds Mika was staring at a group of six men sitting in the living room with her uncle. She recognized Alpha Elroy who sat in a LaZBoy with his feet up. Sitting on the couch near him was Uncle Omar. Every eye in the room was on them.

“What happened?” Uncle Omar frowned. His full focus raked over Mika and settled on Grady. “I assume something happened.”

Grady growled. “Your niece made me take her to my bar.” Anger clouded Uncle Omar’s face while he leveled Mika with a cold look. “I told you no bars and you…” That cold stare shifted to Grady. “How the hell did she make you take her?”

Grady took a deep breath. His voice was harsh and deep when he spoke. “She said I could take her out or take off my clothes. She was bored and she’s a pain in the ass who’s spent days teasing me. It’s mating season, damn it. If she’d stripped or come on to me the way she threatened to do then there was no way I could have controlled myself. She’s too damn attractive. That’s how she made me take her out of her home and to my bar. Jessup Lorne’s son is in town, he saw her and grabbed her. He had three enforcers with him to guard him and he had his damn hands on her, determined to take her with him. He refused to let her go because she wasn’t marked and didn’t carry my scent since I’m not f**king her. He demanded I mark her in front of him while he was watching or he was leaving with her. He was actually looking forward to a fight with me.”

“You killed Jessup’s son?” Elroy shoved the chair upright and got to his feet. He growled. “You should know better, damn it. The last damn thing we need right now is the Lorne Pack and our pack going to war.”

Grady shook his head. “I didn’t kill him or fight with him.” Grady glared at Omar.

“He told me to prove she was mine and left me no choice in the matter. He said to mark her while he watched or he was taking her.” Grady’s hands balled into fists at his side.

“He wanted her so bad that he wasn’t reasonable and didn’t care that she isn’t Other.”

Grady took a deep, shaky breath. “I had to bite her. I didn’t know what else to do other than let him take her or start a war by killing him.” Mika watched her uncle pale. He closed his eyes and his head lowered until his chin nearly rested on his chest, saying nothing. She knew it had to be a bad thing for her uncle to react that way. He stayed frozen, barely breathing.

“I had no choice,” Grady said softly. “It was start a war, kill him to stop him from taking her, or let him and his three enforcers walk out of there with her. We’ve all heard the rumors about what he does with his women. Omar, should I have allowed him take her instead? I made a decision to protect her since she’s human and wouldn’t have survived. If I’d let him take her it would have been a death sentence to her. I’m sorry.” Omar’s head slowly rose as his eyes opened to stare into Grady’s. “You made the right decision. We have all heard the rumors about how he passes his women to his enforcers when he’s done and how abusive they are. She definitely wouldn’t survive that kind of abuse as a fragile human.” Omar looked at Mika. “Look at the trouble you’ve caused.”

“I’m sorry.” Mika frowned. “I just wanted to go out. I’m going crazy at home because I’m not used to being locked up.” She jerked her thumb at Grady. “He stays a room away from me and I have no one to talk to.”

Grady growled softly, turning his head, glaring down at her. “I barely speak to you because you tease me and I stay a room away because it’s safer for both of us if I do.

Maybe no one explained mating season to you but keeping my damn hands off you has been the ultimate test of control. I’m a goddamn saint, Mika. Yesterday morning when you woke up you walked around your house in a half shirt with no bra and tiny shorts that didn’t cover the lower half of your ass. I have bruises on my knees from gripping them so damn tightly to inflict pain so I could concentrate on that instead of touching you.”

“Well, excuse me, Mr. Growly. I’m not used to having a man in my home. I wake up and go eat. I’m dead to the world without coffee and some food in the morning. Be happy I slept in that much, considering I usually sleep naked.”

“Mika!” Uncle Omar cleared his throat. “Look at me.” Mika jerked her gaze from Grady and met her uncle’s eyes. He looked grim. “He marked you as his. You don’t know what that means.” She frowned. “I will smell like him? That’s my educated guess.” She watched her uncle move toward her. “It takes a few hours but you will carry his scent.” He walked to her and halted. “Normally it would be fine. It will fade from you in a few weeks from just a quick bite.” His gaze flew to Grady. “How deeply did you mark her?”

Grady’s mouth tensed into a line. “I was angry.”

Uncle Omar growled and reached for Mika’s shoulders. She flinched when both of his hands came down. In seconds her uncle had bared her shoulder. He closed his eyes and then sighed. He released her after covering her injury again.

“He marked you well and you’ll carry his scent for months. It’s mating season so there’s no way he’ll be able to resist keeping his hands off you now. Even at this moment he has to control the urges that have to be hitting him hard—to tear your clothing from your body and take you. You have no idea how strong the compulsion is during our season to…” His lips sealed together.

“Have sex?” Mika said softly.

“Yes. For the next two weeks Grady will be sharing more than your house with you. I’d send you away but it would drive him crazy because it’s mating season. He’d hunt you down and it would incite his animal in the worst way. Females who’ve run from hunting males have ended up dead and it’s the worst tragedy since both usually die. The male never means to hurt the woman and when she ends up dying, the male can’t live with what he’s done.”

Grady growled next to her and Omar flinched as he shot Grady a sympathetic look.

“I know. It’s begun for you. I won’t send her away. I’m afraid you’ll hurt her or worse, lose control and mate her if you have to hunt her.” Grady shook his head. “Thank you. I’d never hurt her and I sure as hell won’t mate her. I want one of our own for a mate when I take one. My control is starting to slip. I’ve had sex with humans plenty of times so I know how to not hurt them since I’m aware of how fragile they are. I give you my word that no harm will come to her.” Omar nodded as his gaze slid to Mika. “I’m really sorry, Mika. You should have stayed at home like I warned you to do. I know that I threatened to spank your ass and I know you will think this is a much harsher punishment but he won’t hurt you.” He turned and gave a sharp nod at Grady. “Remember she’s my heart. She’s yours until mating season ends.”

Shock tore through Mika. “I’m not his.” Her gaze flew from her uncle to Grady, noticing her uncle looked teary-eyed while Grady’s eye color had gone pitch black. “I’m not yours. What the hell does that even mean?”