Hard and Easy [High-Country Shifters 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read Online Free Page B

noise. Skelak . A blond man had hold of Madra’s arm and a second giant of a man was in her face. Both he and Larek jumped up at the same time, and they bumped shoulders trying to get to her.
    Move out of my fucking way .
    While Larek was the taller of the two, Brin had more muscles and was able to bulldoze his way past him. Madra was trying to pry the man’s fingers off her arm, but the guy seemed intent on keeping her still while the other ass yelled in her face. The bar got quiet, but no one moved to help her. Stupid gawkers .
    Both he and Larek arrived within seconds of each other.
    “Let go of her.” Brin had to look up at the man, whose shoulders were wider than the bar.
    “I’m talking to the lady. She happens to be my son’s teacher, so get lost.” The giant ass stepped close and jerked his shoulder toward him. “I don’t like my kid learning lies about the culture I love.” He tapped Brin’s chest. “When I was doing a perimeter search for those fucking wolves, my own son, Clarin, refused to come with me. The insolent brat told me the wolves were victims! It’s all because of Ms. Madra here that my son has turned into a coward.”
    No amount of debate was going to convince this guy that shouting at a woman wasn’t right. In that second, Brin made the decision. He shifted and pounced, but the man was able to shift just as quickly. Brin tried to go for the man’s jugular, but the giant was too fast and dodged the attack before Brin could sink his teeth into him.
    “Madra, run!” Larek pulled her away from the second man’s grasp.
    People screamed. Chairs scraped. Half a dozen men must have decided they had nothing better to do than get in a good fight and charged the four of them. Soon the place was swarming with salivating lions, most likely looking for a rush. The smart bar patrons hightailed it out of there.
    The blond guy’s friend joined in the fray and managed to gouge his claw down Brin’s side. It stung like a bitch, but the ache only caused him to pause for a moment. Larek attacked the blond man and they scuffled three feet away. They smashed against a table, sending plates and glassware all over the floor. Chairs broke, and someone yelled for them to stop, but once a fray started, nothing but defeat would make anyone halt the fight.
    An unidentified lion landed on Brin’s back and took a chunk out of his neck. Blood spurted everywhere, and he feared the assailant might have sliced through an artery. His energy waned. Desperate, he swiped his paw at the one who’d been holding Madra captive and managed to do some serious damage to the lion’s face. Sending out a loud cry of pain, the lion edged backward, shifted, and slammed against the bar.
    One down, and who knows how many more to go . When two more animals pounced on Brin, his legs gave way. Skelak . This wasn’t how he’d thought his life would end. Dying at the hands of wolves would at least have been noble.
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man who’d taken hold of Madra push away from the bar and stagger out. That left the shouting blond giant to deal with. While Larek had moved on to a few of the other guys, Brin got to his feet and, using his remaining energy, attacked the lion, who was nursing a ripped chest. Brin went for the man’s hindquarter. He bit hard, and the snap of bone crackled in the air. Finally . That should put the guy out of commission for a while.
    Brin backpedaled and sank to the ground, knowing he and Larek had defeated the two men after Madra.
    Shouts sounded from the entrance, and out of nowhere, people from the mall hurried in. He turned to see if they were the type to add to the chaos or help calm things down, but from his position on the floor, he couldn’t tell.
    One of the men directed the people to get out of the way, and Brin recognized Taryn’s voice and relaxed. Larek had defeated his two unknown foes and had shifted back to human form. Brin would have shifted, but he stayed on the