“Don’t touch me!” Anson kicked at Jax and screamed in agony when he connected.
“Big and dumb. Way to kill the panther stereotype, you pansy,” Jax said. Was that amusement in his voice? What the hell was happening?
“Why are you smiling like that?” Anson said, curling his fists against his chest and shrinking back into the mud as he looked up at Jax suspiciously.
“Oh, I don’t know.” Jax gripped Anson’s calf in both hands and twisted his shoulders sharply as he set the bone. Snap!
Anson screamed. And screamed.
Jax ignored it even though it must’ve hurt his ears to be that close to the sheer and monstrous volume of Anson’s pained yell. “You all talk about Gray Backs like they’re so different from you. False. You’re the Gray Backs of the panthers. Fuckin’ C-team.” Jax pointed toward where Barret was kicking the side of his cabin over and over. “You have Murder Kitty…” He jammed a finger at Anson. “Pussy Panther.” And where are your others, Alpha? Lynn could be a freaking figment of your imaginations for all I know, Jenny is standing on your front porch grinning like all this is funny—the bloodthirsty female—and where’s Greyson? Oh wait, there he is, sitting in that tree watching the fight. Smiling. Like a psychopath. And Ben, don’t tell me fighting like that didn’t feel good. I feel fucking great after that.” Jax pointed at all of them, his dark eyebrows arched up. “C-team.”
“Screw you, we’re A-team panthers,” Anson muttered in a hoarse voice as he felt over his calf with searching fingertips. “And good for you, Psycho Bear. You get your kicks from breaking bones.”
“I re-set it, didn’t I? That skill? It’s one all the Gray Backs have. You’re welcome.”
“How often do you break each other’s bones?” Ben asked an octave too high. His face was still the shade of a cherry.
Jax shrugged his shoulders and didn’t answer.
Anson rolled up to a sitting position. He was a butt-naked, muddy mess. “You didn’t make up a rude name for Princess Panther.”
As everyone’s gaze drifted to Annalise, she slowly covered up her lady bits as best she could. “Hi,” she said lamely.
“Stop calling her Princess Panther. She can go by Annalise. She’s perfect. A-team. The rest of you like to throw your judgement around, but what just happened here?” Jax said, leveling her with brownish green eyes. “Reminded me of home.” His nostrils flared slightly. “Except it smells like moonshine and cat piss, and you have cabins instead of trailers.”
“Speaking of, you destroyed Annalise’s house.” Ben did a Vanna White gesture toward the cabin Jax had barreled through. The entire front half of it was destroyed. Even the small loveseat was hanging off the porch. “We aren’t exactly rollin’ in the money, asshole.”
“I’ll fix it.”
“No, you won’t. You’re banned from my territory. I take my mission back. I’ll handle it. You just tried to kill Annalise—”
“Claim her, not kill her.
“Doesn’t fucking matter, Grizzly! I saw you going after her. Your bear is out of control, and you drew all our panthers out and into battle. Maybe that was fun for you, but it wasn’t fun for us!”
Anson raised his hand. “It was a little fun before he broke my leg.”
“Shut up, Anson!” Ben yelled.
Anson zipped his mouth and pretended to throw away the key. But the slight curve of his lips said he was amused. God, this crew was weird.
Annalise slowly picked up a shredded couch cushion that was sitting on the lawn beside her and put it in front of her naked body. “I vote he isn’t banned.”
“This ain’t up for votes!” Ben said, exasperated. “This is my call. I’m alpha, and all of your safety is my responsibility. There’s blood every time you come here,” Ben said, his pissed-off glare on Jax now. “No more. This is your warning. Next time you come up here, I’m listening to Barret.”
“Yes!” Barret hissed from near his cabin. “You should come back tomorrow, Grizzly!”
“Oh, my God,” Ben groaned, running his fingers down his face and looking exhausted. “Just leave. Go back to Damon’s Mountains. You aren’t welcome here.”
“You remember Beaston’s call?” Jax jerked his head toward Annalise once. “You’re supposed to let her go.”
“I don’t understand,” Annalise spoke up.
Ben shook his head for a long time, hands on his hips. The silence in the clearing was deafening. “Beaston has no place here, and neither do his visions. I could’ve done it if I hadn’t seen the look of determination in your eyes when you were going after her. I can’t let you take her. You aren’t safe, Jax. She isn’t safe with you. Surely, you can see that.”
There was a moment of surprise on Jax face, and then something awful happened. Annalise could practically see the realization wash through him as he dragged his attention to her. His eyes muddied to the soft brown of his human side, and his expression held ghosts. He glanced down at the long claw mark on his chest, kept his chin tucked, blinked slowly, and then looked at her again. “Anna…”
“Don’t.” She shook her head and approached him slowly. “Don’t go.”
“You need a crew—”
“But I need you, too.”