Page 28 of Lion's Little Scamp

Harrigan growled low as he looked to Kodiak to take over the questioning.

“And who are you?” Kodiak asked as Marshall stepped his way.

The tiger shifter eased closer, as if he could keep Harrigan from attacking this man. They were of similar builds, but he had the fervor of a mate on his side if they ended up fighting for dominance.

“I’m Sailor, her friend. I’ve come to get her.”

Harrigan roared as his lion pushed to be released so he could tear this interloper apart. He tried to take steps forward, but two men grabbed his arms from behind and held him still as Marshall got up in his face. “Pull it together, lion. You cannot shift and tear him apart. We need to know why he’s claiming Irish.”

Though he knew the chef was correct, he could not seem to find a shred of calm in his being. Instead, he jerked his arms from the shifters holding him and turned away from the man who called himself Sailor.

He needed to get to his mate. Though his lion was pushing for freedom, he managed to make it to the administration building without shifting. Lonergan had just stepped out the front door when he raced up the steps.

“Harrigan? What’s going on?”

Instead of letting him pass, Lonergan stepped in front of him and grabbed his shoulders. The dragon shifter was one of the few that he would not be able to throw off easily, so he forced himself to stop and just breathe.

“Harrigan?”

“A man just walked into the clearing claiming Irish was his woman,” he said once his breathing had evened out.

“Man? What man?”

“Called himself Sailor. Need to get to Irish before he tries to take her away. She’s my mate. Not his.”

“All right, Harrigan. But you need to settle yourself before you burst into the classroom and scare Irish and all the other trainees. Now breathe and relax.”

Lonergan held him for another two minutes while Harrigan worked to drag air in and out of his lungs and calm his lion. Finally, he took one last deep breath before nodding. “I’m better now. Thanks.”

By the time his lion had settled, the others had escorted the man called Sailor into the center of the institute. Instead of looking at them, Harrigan eased out of Lonergan’s hold and headed inside. He needed to see his mate and make sure she was okay. Once he was certain she was fine, he would join the others to find out why Sailor had come to Bratburg.

Because no matter what he might claim, Irish was his mate, and he was not going to give her up without a battle that would not end until Sailor lay dead at his feet.

Harrigan forced himself to stop outside the classroom door. Instead of bursting in and demanding Irish come with him, he looked through the window and studied his mate. She was taking notes in her workbook and seemed completely caught up in the class. Harrigan watched her for several minutes, thinking about what Irish had told him about Sailor. He had taken her under his wing and helped her survive at the camp, and had put himself between her and the authorities when they raided the camp. And he had found Bratburg when only a handful of humans knew where the institute was. Maybe he needed to get to know the man before he tore his head off. For now, he would wait to tell Irish about Sailor’s arrival. She had enough on her plate with her classwork and no doubt brooding about the upcoming punishment. He did not want to add anything further at this moment. Her reunion with her friend could wait until later. Much later.

Turning from the classroom door, he forced himself to walk away.

Leaving the administration building, he saw Sailor and his guards had made it to the main part of the institute. Though he wanted to punch him in the face, Harrigan took a breath and pushed his lion down.

Approaching the man, he looked him in the eye and said, “Let’s talk.”

Chapter Seventeen

The moment class ended for the morning Irish knew something was not right. Until that day, Harrigan had always been the first one in the room to claim her. Not only was he not the first one through the door he was not waiting in the hallway, either. Had he forgotten about her now that they were mates?

She helped Diego clean up the classroom, putting supplies away and straightening the chairs before leaving the classroom.

“Want me to walk you over to the dining hall?” Diego asked as he turned off the lights and closed the door.

Irish shrugged. “I don’t understand why Harrigan didn’t come get me. He’s always here to take me to lunch.”

“Something may have come up. Or he’s trusting that you can make it to the dining hall without him,” Diego offered.

“Maybe. Or maybe he’s regretting what we did,” Irish whispered to herself as she blinked back tears. She stiffened when Diego answered her.

“A shifter never regrets claiming his mate. It’s too special an event, and too few of us actually find our mates for us to give them up so easily.”

Irish did not respond. How could she? Other than the past few weeks with Harrigan, she had never been around shifters before. And until yesterday, Harrigan had never shown her his animal side. Which was a shame, because his lion was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as the man.

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