Chapter Nine

Kate led Laurie towards a booth, hand resting on her lower back as she eyed the bar's occupants. 

Out of all the places they had passed, she hadn't been expecting Laurie to choose this particular establishment.

It wasn't that it was bad. It was nice. Great actually. The drinks were amazing and they served decent food. Kate had been here countless times with her friends.

That was the problem.

The people who frequented this bar weren't exactly the most human. It wasn't glaringly obvious if you weren't looking but she knew that staying here with Laurie probably wasn't a good idea.

She had tried to steer Laurie away but her mate was set on going to this particular bar and Kate couldn't refuse her without looking suspicious.

"What do you want? I can go get it." Kate says as Laurie settles herself on one side of the booth. Kate had picked the one in the bar's line of sight, wanting to be able to see Laurie even when she left to get them their drinks.

"You're pretty popular around here huh," Laurie says, nodding towards the people on the other side of the space. They were looking at Kate intensely and talking amongst themselves.

Kate looks in towards them, visibly stiffening when she sees who it was that caught her mate's attention. 

It was just her luck really. Having what she can only describe as the most infuriating person she had ever had the displeasure of meeting be here at the one time she was here with Laurie.

On a table at the other side of the bar sat a visiting pack. Kate was used to their presence as they would often have to pass through her territory for one form of business or another. They were delightful people. 

Their alpha was a gentleman who often shied away from conflict. It was for that reason that they sought allegiance with Kate's pack. They weren't very handy in a fight.

It was just the one beta, Darren, that got on Kate's nerves. He had little to no respect for her authority and seemed to enjoy getting a rise out of anyone he met. 

Kate had never been driven to assert her dominance, thinking herself above his childishness. Nate, however, had nearly killed the man after he tried something with Iris, going a bit too far.

"Yeah, they're just people I know in passing." It wasn't technically a lie. She didn't talk to them much.

Laurie nods in understanding.

"So what do you want?" Kate asks again, nodding towards the direction of the bar.

"Just a beer please."

Kate nods, turning around and heading towards the bar and giving the bartender her order. 

"That the girl that's got everyone talking?" The bartender, Megan, asks. Nodding towards Laurie who seemed to be playing some game on her phone.

Kate nods. 

"She's pretty."

Megan wasn't a werewolf but she was one of the people who knew of their existence. She owned the bar and had lived here all her life.

"She is." Kate smiles.

"Does she know?" Megan asks, reaching for some glasses behind her.

"Not yet," Kate says.

Megan glances behind Kate, a small frown making its way onto her face at the sight she's presented with. A man seemed to be talking to an uncomfortable-looking Laurie who had now pocketed her phone and was nervously glancing at Kate who was not aware of what was happening.

Megan had lived here long enough to develop a certain understanding of how the people worked. Laurie was Kate's mate and there was another werewolf making a move on her. If that wasn't bad enough, Kate was the alpha of the pack who had a claim on this territory. She knew this wouldn't end well.

She watched as the man put his hands on the table, leaning closer to the blonde who scooted away.

"Please don't break my tables," Megan sighs. She knew Kate had more control than most of her kind, there was still a chance that she could calm her down before she saw and things escalated.

"What?" Kate asks, confused.

"They're new."

Laurie was standing now, trying to walk away only to be stopped as the man grabbed her arm. At that point, Megan knew there would be no calming Kate down.

She was about to bring the situation to Kate's attention when Laurie beat her to the punch.

"I said let me go!" 

Kate's head turns towards her mate as she hears the alarm in her voice. Her vision goes red, blood rushing to her ears as she's filled with a hot rage at seeing Darren who had Laurie pinned to the wall beside the booth they previously occupied. Laurie was struggling against him and a growl escaped Kate's lips.

In almost no time at all, she's got a grip on Darren's wrist, putting enough pressure to cause him pain and release his hold on her mate. She throws him against the wall to her right away from Laurie, advancing on him and pinning him to the wall immediately after.

Laurie lets out a shocked gasp as she sees Kate quite literally throw six feet into the other wall, her eyes flashing a different color as she did. The entire bar was deathly silent now. Everyone turned their attention to the scene.

She had been convinced that the situation was handled until she was all but pinned to the wall. Laurie had been in that situation before but there was something different about how the man, Darren, had been talking to her. It was like he was taunting her and the look he gave her was almost predatory.

Kate had her forearm pressed against the man's throat, watching in satisfaction as he tried and failed to get out of her hold. She knew he had been trying to get a rise out of her by messing with Laurie. Her scent was all over her and only an idiot wouldn't notice. 

He played on her possessiveness and protective nature towards her mate to piss her off and as Kate pins him to the wall, snarling menacingly, he was living to regret his decision.

"Fuck! I'm sorry! I didn't know she was yours! I didn't know!" He groans, still struggling against the hold Kate had on him.

That only makes Kate even angrier, growling and pressing her forearm harder against his throat. Darren looked towards his friends but they remained hovering a few feet away from the scene. They had tried to warn their friend but were clearly unsuccessful.

Kate knew they wouldn't interfere for fear of incurring her anger. She knew that they were all aware that if it came down to it, she could take them all down without much effort. That and their pack depended on hers for protection. 

"You knew. You knew who she was and you still did it." Kate snarls. It was the first time she had seen the man with real fear in his eyes and it gave her a sick feeling of satisfaction.

Laurie who was listening behind them shook away her shock when she noticed how Darren was now struggling to breathe as Kate didn't let up. She ran forward, taking a hold of Kate from behind. She wrapped one arm around her waist and grabbed at Kate's arm with her free hand.

"Kate. That's enough. Let go." She could feel how tense Kate was and pushed down her shock as she heard Kate growl at the man when he let his eyes fall on her. She watched as Kate pulled him back, only to slam him back into the wall. Laurie was certain she heard a crack when she did. She wasn't sure if it came from Darren or the wall.

"Kate! Kate c'mon, stop. Stop." She tried to pull Kate away but was unable to move her. It was like trying to move a boulder.

Darren was starting to turn a different shade and Laurie quickly switched strategies, moving the hand she had on Kate's arm and wrapping it around her shoulder instead, making it so that she was completely pressed up against Kate's back.

"Hey, c'mon Kate, ease up. Everything's fine now. You can let him go." Laurie whispers soothingly against Kate's ear. She rested her chin on Kate's shoulder, tightening her hold on her waist.

That seemed to work as she can feel Kate start to relax against her, the tight grip she had on Darren loosening until she eventually let him go. 

Darren slides down the wall, his breathing heavy.

Laurie sighs in relief, loosening her grip on Kate but not fully letting go for fear that Kate might actually kill the man.

Darren attempts to stand only to drop back down when Kate lets out a low growl, glaring. 

Laurie urges Kate to turn around, again finding it in herself to keep a calm facade at the sight of the brunette's eyes. She would process the bright red orbs staring at her later. Right now her only priority was to get Kate as far away from Darren as she could.

One of Darren's friends attempts to step forward, presumably to apologize but stops when Kate directs a glare his way, dropping her hands to Laurie's waist.

"You should take her home." A voice from behind Laurie speaks. She turns her head and recognizes the bartender. 

"I'll take care of this. Connor and Iris should be here in a bit." She says. 

Laurie fails to see how Iris could help but finds herself nodding anyway.

"C'mon." She says, tugging at Kate's arm lightly. She was still glaring at the man on the floor but another hard tug from Laurie got her attention.

Kate gives her a look. Something mixed with shock, fear, and realization, looking as if she had broken out of whatever had come over her and was now aware of exactly what it is she had done. She opens her mouth to say something but Laurie shakes her head. This was not the time.

"Let's just, Let's just go," Laurie says, stepping back from Kate and walking towards the bar's exit. 

Kate stays on her heels, already filled with fear and dread at the conversation that now had to happen.