Page 44 of Untamed Instincts

Noah had raged out, and they’d never picked on Harris again. It had cost him a week’s suspension but was well worth it.

“I was wondering how long you were going to keep me waiting,” Harris snapped as soon as Noah was close enough.

Just as he feared. He was going to have to deal with whoever this was playing marionette with Harris’s body.

Noah had stupidly hoped he would walk into the diner and his cheery best friend would greet him.

“So, explain to me what in the hell that was at my place yesterday.”

Had it only been yesterday? Noah wondered if he could do this. Harris wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot, but he’d been there for Noah his entire life. They’d cried, laughed, bitched and moaned together.

Noah had paced with him when his best friend had had that pregnancy scare. Harris had been there for him when Noah had fallen apart after his father died. They’d gone through their ugly acne years together, poking fun of each other so it would hurt less when others were cruel.

They had even gone to prom together, just as bros, because neither had a date but they hadn’t wanted to miss out on the fun.

“The dangerous man’s name is Toro.” Noah crossed his hands on the table and watched for Harris’s reaction.

The corner of his friend’s mouth twitched just the slightest with a microscopic smirk.

The small giveaway told Noah that Harris was indeed being controlled by the vampire. “He’s a piece-of-shit wannabe who has to resort to scare tactics because he has to compensate for his micro-phallic issues,” he said flippantly.

Rage simmered in Harris’s eyes. “That still doesn’t tell me how this person is dangerous.”

A slow realization dawned on Noah, only coming to mind just now.

It wasn’t Harris staring at him through those eyes, but Toro.

How was that even possible? Quinton had said vampires could bedazzle someone. He never mentioned them having the ability to see through their victim’s eyes.

Noah wanted to ask his mate, but he couldn’t. He sat there frozen, staring into those evil eyes as he tried to come up with a way to leave the table without rousing suspicion.

And if Toro could see Noah, that meant he would know who Quinton and the members of his family were. When Noah noticed a server hadn’t approached their table, he stood. “I’m going to put my order in. I assume you already told them what you wanted?”

Harris stared at him, a little cock to his head. Noah had to be careful. It might be Toro looking at him, but the evil son of a bitch was using Harris’s mind. If that was the case—Noah wasn’t sure—he couldn’t take any chances the vampire would irrevocably damage Harris.

“Yeah, I already ordered,” Harris finally said.

With a tight smile, Noah turned and headed toward the counter, forcing himself to walk at a normal pace. None of the normal servers were in the diner, and Noah didn’t recognize the one who stood at the table talking with identical men. He recalled seeing one of them yesterday at Harris’s, but he wasn’t sure which twin had been there.

The one on the right flicked his gaze at Noah, gave a slight nod, then glanced away. All the tension Quinton had massaged out of Noah’s shoulders had returned. His body felt sluggish as he approached the counter.

So far, Quinton and his sons were still outside watching the building, but at any second, Noah’s mate would walk through those doors. What would Toro do when he spotted the bear shifter?

Noah’s main concern was stopping the vampire from causing catastrophic damage to Harris’s psyche. Noah could only rely on information he’d seen in movies because he had no other references.

When he didn’t see anyone approach to take his order, he walked behind the counter and rapped his knuckles on the cut-out window Roman used to set the dishes on.

The owner strode over, and that was when Noah saw Quinton and his sons inside the kitchen standing off to the side. His mate locked gazes with him, and he could see how badly Quinton wanted to pull him out of there.

“Morning.” Noah smiled. “I hope you don’t mind me coming behind the counter.”

Roman waved him off as he joined Noah, standing on the other side of the window. “It’s all good. What can I get you?”

The vampire was using Harris’s eyes, and now Noah wondered if the bastard might have access to superior hearing as well. He prayed Toro didn’t.

Turning slightly so Harris couldn’t see his lips moving, Noah said, “Just keep smiling so it looks like we’re simply talking.”

Roman chuckled. “Sure.”

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