Scowling, he tried to concentrate on the bumpy, pot-holed road, instead of on the fact that he’d just called Savannah his mate – in his head, at least.
She wasn’t his mate. She couldn’t be his mate. He wouldn’t do that to her. For God’s sake, what if his madness was hereditary? What if he survived long enough to get her with kit, or with cub, and then he went crazy and left her to raise a cub that was cursed to go mad?
And when had his thinking progressed from “Damn, she is one fine piece of fox flesh, I’d like to lick her from head to toe” to thinking about putting his claiming mark on her?
He bumped over another pothole, and Anthony groaned and stirred in his seat.
“How’s he doing back there?” he called out to Savannah.
“Still sawing logs. Don’t worry, babe, I’m fine.” She paused. “I didn’t mean babe. I’m tired. I meant…buttface.”
Austin cheered up a little. “Yes, because babe sounds exactly like buttface. They practically rhyme.”
They’d only been driving for another half hour, crawling along the narrow potholed road at a frustratingly slow pace, when Savannah cursed. “Sonofabitch.”
“What?” Austin asked.
“He’s stirring. His eyes are fluttering.”
Alarm jolted through him.
“Damn it. I wish I could tell you how long it’s going to be until he’s fully awake and able to rip our throats out, but I can’t. Normally, we calculate this on shifter species, level of dominance, and body weight, and I have got a pretty close idea. But not with him.”
“How did you figure all this out?”
“Volunteers. We been testing this stuff out for ages. We started out testing it on each other, and then we got other species to let us test it out on them, to the point where we all have a pretty good idea of how much we need to use.”
“Wow,” he marveled. “I underestimated all of you.”
He heard the smile in her voice. “You wouldn’t be the first person to do that.”
* * *
They only made it about another fifteen minutes before Roy lunged at his chains with a howl of rage.
“Don’t tranq him yet! Pull over!” Austin yelled.
She pulled to the side of the road immediately, her heart pounding. She shouldn’t let Roy freak her out like that, but she couldn’t help it. The combination of complete psychosis, history of murder, and insane, off-the-charts strength was really freaking her out. He was the scariest shifter she’d ever met.
Austin hurried around to the back and yanked the door open.
“Quit it, or we’ll knock you out again!” he yelled at Roy. Roy’s response was a blood-curling howl of fury.
“Okay,” Austin said to Savannah. “You take over and start driving. I’m going to sit in the back right next to that motherfucker. I don’t want him close to you in case he breaks free.”
Savannah slid out and handed the rifle to Austin as Ray slammed against his chains, his eyes glowing with rage.
Austin quickly climbed into the back seat and slammed the door. “So chivalrous of you, my knight in shining armor.” Savannah smirked, pulling onto the road.
“Chivalrous? How dare you? Shut up and drive. How’s that for chivalrous?” Austin grinned. “Damn, I can’t believe I’m trusting my life to a woman driver. I’d almost rather have Roy driving. How am I doing now?”
“That remark will cost you,” Savannah said coolly.
“Is this how people flirt?” Anthony piped up, opening his eyes and sitting up.
“Why aren’t you asleep?” Austin snapped from the back seat, over Roy’s howls of rage.
“I am not flirting! I am threatening!” Savannah yelled over the din. Roy was clanking his chains and screaming wordlessly, his cries reaching ear-splitting heights. She raised her voice to be heard. “It’s important to know the difference!”
