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Shut up and shift.
Out of instinct, Garth shrank back into his human form. Lucas had such a tight grip on Garth’s windpipe that he was losing oxygen, so the man’s body really had no other choice but to obey the more powerful one.
Lucas shifted also. His paws morphed into two strong hands, wrapped around Garth’s pitiful pencil neck, thumbs pressing hard in the center of his throat. The breathing was still strained, which was what Lucas wanted.
They were in the sand trap, both men naked, one on top of the other. Garth clung to Lucas, not with fear or desperation, but with madness. A psychosis that didn’t care whether he died. Lucas had not encountered this in his life, but he smelled it on Garth. He reeked of it.
Lucas lowered his head, speaking through gritted teeth as he spat his orders at the restrained shifter. “You are to get off his island,now. You are not welcome here. Do you hear me?”
Garth sounded like he was breathing through a straw. He held onto Lucas’s wrists, the color draining from his face. He gave Lucas a smug smile, which enraged Lucas even more.
“I said, do you hear me?” Lucas squeezed ever so slightly harder, cutting off Garth’s air completely. His legs shook under Lucas as he struggled and nodded frantically, the madness departing for a moment.
“I will. I will,” Garth said, the words barely audible.
Lucas rolled the words through his mind as he felt the disappointed energy of Eliana. They didn’t have enough evidence to go to the police with the letters. Hell, the felon could have some of the police force in his pocket.
He thought that threatening him right then and there would be enough for the time being. Eliana’s energy ravaged him, her thirst for violence vibrating under his skin.
“I am going to let you go now,” Lucas whispered, still squeezing with firm strength. “When I do, I want you to gather your minions, pack your things, and find somewhere else to stay. You must own many resorts; choose a different one.”
Garth was suddenly compliant, tugging at Lucas’s immovable hands. Lucas gazed up at Tao and Eliana, and despite not having the telepathic connection in his human form, he could feel Eliana’s thoughts.
She didn’t agree with what he was doing, but it didn’t matter. He had to let Garth go, for now.
Lucas released Garth, and the fool coughed dramatically. Slowly and cautiously, Lucas stood back, naked and triumphant.
“Go now. Let your bodyguards get you some clothes. Make sure you are gone by sundown.”
Garth wrapped his hands around his throat, struggling to get out of the sand trap to the green like the lame piece of garbage he was. But the shit-eating grin returned to his face, making Lucas clench his fists with anger he could barely control.
“Go!”
Lucas let out a roar so deafening that it shook the earth below them. It wiped away the smile from Garth, albeit briefly, replacing it was a fearful scurry. His bodyguards came to him with a towel, throwing it over him, and they retreated across the golf course.
Golfers gawked at Lucas with concern and intrigue. It didn’t bother him one bit that he was naked; it was a hazard of a shifter’s life. But he suddenly became aware of when Tao and Eliana scampered toward him, holding towels of their own and tossing one to him.
Lucas looked away when Eliana shifted back, her energy chaotic and furious.
“Why did you do that?” she implored him. “Tell me, why did you let him go?”
She had tied the towel around her body, sweat glistening off her supple skin as if she had just climbed out of the shower. Lucas wrapped the towel around his waist, unable to meet her eyes for multiple reasons.
“It had to be done this way, Eliana. If we killed him, we could have a lawsuit on our hands. And we wouldn’t be anywhere closer to finding our alpha.”
Tao nodded in agreement.
“I wanted to snap his neck, too, Eliana,” he said, touching her arm. “But we won’t get the full story if he’s dead. It’ll just be the same old lies being told about Phil. We have to play the long game.”
Eliana wasn’t a stupid person. She understood them both. Her grief was getting the best of her, which was the most human reaction on the planet.
She grunted and stomped away. Even in her aggravation, Lucas longed for her. He wanted to comfort her and ease her pain. But he stood there looking at Tao, two reasonable men who had chosen rationale over violence.
“You can wash up at my place,” Tao said. “It’s always damn hot shifting under this sun, isn’t it?”
Tao was right. His skin had a thick sheen of sweat that felt permanent. He was also far more exhausted than when he usually shifted, which meant he wasn’t entirely adjusted to the climate yet.
It also meant that Eliana was affecting him. He felt her anger as much as the prickling sensation of the grass under his bare feet.
