Page 30 of Chasing Savannah
He laughed and she winked and walked off. She was a beautiful woman, he could well imagine his mate at her age. He surveyed the grounds, satisfied with the progress. The two groups were so far getting along. He’d settled most of the incoming prowl in the buildings he’d bought. Some of the prowl members, though there were a small number of them, preferred the country and with the help of the old Fela, they were being settled into empty houses. He was satisfied, deeply, with the way things were going. After the tournaments tonight, once the hierarchy was settled, he could work on his mate. He looked forward to it.
***
Savannah wondered for about the tenth time, what she was doing in her grandmother’s kitchen, chopping up vegetables. She should’ve left. She could’ve easily made up a work excuse and left. It wasn’t as though she didn’t trust her family with her son. If her grandparents said Jamie wouldn’t see anything, then more than likely he wouldn’t.
Still.
She’d stayed, and now stood next to Charlotte chopping lettuce. Most of her cousins expressed shock at seeing her, some even gave her hostile looks. Though, ‘some’ was an exaggeration. One cousin was leading the pack, her disapproving gaze following Savannah across the kitchen as she went about her work.
Charlotte bumped her shoulder. “Ignore her.”
“What is her problem?” The knife bit through the lettuce, slamming with a thud into the cutting board. Savannah blew out a frustrated breath.
“She’s a bitch, duh.” Charlotte rolled her eyes.
Savannah peered over her shoulder. Lydia was still staring, whispering to her clique. She sighed and turned back to her task. The chatter throughout the house ebbed and flowed, the volume swinging from loud laughter, to whispers of gossip. She loved the sound, and focused on it instead of her cousin. The women from the new prowl intermingled with the old one, the women getting to know each other. Earlier, Laura had introduced her to her older sister Yasmeen as well as Carlos’ daughter Marcella. She was beautiful, and Jamie had talked about her all morning as though they were long lost brother and sister.
There were not a lot of ladies in the prowl that came with Carlos, according to the gossip she was gleaning, so her cousins were excited. The new prowl brought new blood in and a chance to mate closer to home.
The back of her neck tingled as though she could feel Lydia’s stare. She dismissed her cousin, she had every right to be there.
She tensed as Lydia sniffed behind her. She kept chopping, it was no use allowing Lydia to see her discomfort.
“You’ve been around here a lot, have you decided to come crawling back? We don’t need any more weak latents in the prowl,” Lydia sneered.
Savannah took her time turning. “That’s funny, because here you are, a whole panther and still weak as hell, yet they let you stay.”
“Just barely.” Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest next to her as she turned to face their cousin.
The kitchen quieted.
“She has a reason to worry, I guess,” Brielle chimed in from her position at the stove, “even without a panther Savi is likely to kick her ass.”
The women laughed and went back to work.
Lydia leaned over into Savannah’s space. “I’m willing to take that bet.”
“We can handle this right now, cuz. Just say the word.” Savannah stared Lydia down.
Her cousin sniffed and flipped her hair. “You’re not worth it.”
Charlotte snorted. “You don’t want your ass kicked in front of all these new people, you mean?”
Savannah laughed, rolled her eyes and turned her back on Lydia. She wasn’t afraid to fight. She’d been latent her whole life, fighting was a part of that. Panthers would go after anyone they perceived weaker. She’d made plenty examples of other prowl members growing up. Even after she’d stopped going to meetings, she would occasionally be challenged. She had no problems accepting the challenges.
If anything, saying no to a fight was her problem, as her grandfather not so subtly reminded her this morning.
She wanted her son to have his place in the prowl, and she’d fight anyone to make it happen. Lydia could kiss her ass. She growled and dropped the knife, her nerves jangled, though nothing physical had happened.
“I need a minute, Char.”
Charlotte’s gaze roved her face and she nodded. “I’ll handle this, take a break.”
She blew out a relieved breath and walked out into the heat of the day, nearly no different from the stifling heat in the kitchen. She pressed a hand to her wet brow and walked to the porch railing. Her skin heated, and goosebumps prickled along her arms.
She was being watched.
Nothing about the sensation was alarming, which meant it was one of two people. Derrick or Carlos. She didn’t know which, but she would not look around to see. She knew enough about predators to know that acknowledging him would make his panther excited. Still, her skin flushed and a restless feeling overtook her body. She paused at the rocking chair her grandmother kept outside and sat, her knees weakening. The weight of his stare was a physical caress. The bushes surrounding her grandparents’ house shuffled.
