Tameka’s Smile by Zena Wynn

“I am her mate,” he snarled.

“That’s true but…” Alex was interrupted by a scream of pure rage, followed by the slamming of a door.

Tameka stormed outside, murder in her eyes. Alex quickly got out of her way. “What the hell have you been telling these people?” She walked up and jabbed Chad in the shoulder with her index finger.

“I am NOT your woman, or ‘mate,’” she made quotation marks with her fingers, “as she,” Tameka jabbed a thumb over her shoulder in Kiesha’s direction, “calls it. I belong to me. That’s it. No one else.”

She paced back and forth in front of him, hands gesturing. “Damn it, I moved here for peace and quiet, not to get mixed up with a bunch of crazy mountain folks, and believe me, I know crazy. I have a PhD in it.”

“She doesn’t believe me,” Kiesha murmured in an aside to Lulu.

“Her grandmother said she wouldn’t,” Lulu commented.

Tameka spun around and pinned them with a glare. “All of you, get this through your head. Keep your little delusions about being werewolves, shifters, etc. Hell, you can be leprechauns for all I care and have tea daily with imaginary friends while wearing tinfoil helmets that let you communicate with the little green men orbiting the planet. Just leave me out of it.” She surveyed them all with her hands on her hips, then shook her head and threw up her hands in disgust. “I’ve got work to do.

She stalked toward the shop.

“Uh, Tameka?” Kiesha said as she drew even with her, casting worried glances in his direction. “Challenging werewolves…not smart.”

Tameka rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Whatever.”

He’d heard enough. She was his and it was high time she realized it. With one leap, he was instantly behind her. He had her hands handcuffed behind her back in the blink of an eye.

“What…oomph!”

He flipped her over his shoulder and carried her to the back of his squad car.

“She tried to warn you,” Lulu said with a laugh.

Opening the door, he tossed her gently inside and shut the door.

“Alex, can he do that?” Kiesha asked.

“Apparently so,” Alex replied with an amused look on his face.

From the back of the car, Tameka hollered, “Let me out of here, Chad. Swear to God, I’m reporting you this time.”

“This time?” Lulu asked, eyebrow arched.

“Long story,” he muttered as he walked around to the driver’s side.

“Bet it’s a good one, too.” Lulu chuckled. “You tell Tameka not to worry about the shop. Tomorrow’s soon enough to start. You go handle business.”

Another muffled shriek sounded from the car, then thumps as she kicked the door.

Chad slid his mirrored shades onto his grim looking face, opened the door and got inside.

As he back out of the parking space, Lulu remarked, “It’s a good thing that cage is between them. Meka would tear him apart if she could reach him.”

Kiesha crossed her arms over her chest and nibbled her lip. “Are you sure she’ll be okay? Maybe we should stop him. He’s such a loner. What do we really know about him?”

“Kiesha, you know we can’t interfere with the bonding process. Besides, Chad Wilson is a good man who’s been alone for far too long. That woman is the best thing that could have happened to him. She’s his One. He’d die before letting anyone, including himself, hurt her.”