Free Serengeti Lightning by Vivi Andrews Page A

irritation spiked high, aimed straight at Zoe. “Are you always this annoying?”
    “Mostly.” She shrugged, utterly unoffended. “I’ll leave you alone. I think I’m gonna go run off my troubles. Thanks for the chat though. A little girl talk is always good to take your mind off your own issues, yeah?”
    Zoe gave a jaunty wave and took off at a lope, her long legs eating up the ground.
    Mara stared after her, feeling like she’d just been run over by a steamroller. She’d never spent a huge amount of time with the Alpha’s sister. The woman was a force of nature.
    But was she right? Was there something Mara was fighting not to see? Maybe she should delay her trip. Not forever, just long enough to make sure she was doing the right thing. She was so confused right now. She could take a few more weeks, maybe even a month or two, and make sure she was making the right choice. She could make a list, weigh the pros and cons, clarify her thinking.
    Maybe Michael would help her make a list…
    Low voices penetrated her preoccupation and Mara looked up, taking in her surroundings. She’d stopped in front of Ava and Landon’s bungalow. Conversation floated out the window, the low drawl of the Alpha, Ava’s distinctive, raspy alto… Then a third voice raised above the other two.
    “Hell, Landon, why don’t you just give me permission to handcuff Mara to my bed until she sees reason.”
    Michael.
    He was in there. Talking to the Alpha. Behind her back. The betrayal stole her breath.
    How dare he meddle in her life? Trying to convince her to change her mind was one thing. Going to the Alpha was something else entirely.
    She had trusted him. She hadn’t realized how far she’d gone toward thinking of him as her partner, even possibly her future mate, until those arrogant words shattered everything. Handcuff her to the bed, would he? Mara ignored the flicker of interest that slithered beneath her anger. Instead, she nurtured the rage burning hot in her veins.
    She stormed up the steps. Michael had no claim on her. She was her own woman, independent. She’d show him. She’d give him so much independence his head would spin.

Chapter Ten

    Michael tipped back in his chair and studied the liquor in his glass. He wasn’t much of a drinker, and he hadn’t had much tonight, but commiserating with Landon, even with Ava there acting as referee and defender of the female gender, had loosened the tension in his shoulders considerably. He felt almost human again.
    Until the door slammed open and Mara appeared on the threshold looking like the Queen of the Underworld ready to drag him back to Hell.
    “How dare you,” she shouted, her eyes locked on him as if there was no one else in the world. “I can’t believe I was actually starting to trust you. Do you actually expect me to believe you would be a good mate, a partner, if you go behind my back to the Alpha at the first sign of dissent?”
    Michael blinked at her, his ability to form words and arguments lost in the face of her stunning rage. He’d never seen Mara so out of control, outside of the bedroom. Part of him wondered if this was a good sign, even as the majority of him tried to play catch-up and figure out what the hell she was so angry about.
    “How dare you presume you have some claim over me. I am not a possession . You don’t own me.”
    “I never said I owned you.” He surged up out of his chair.
    Ava and Landon stood by, watching the show in silence.
    “No? Then what are you doing here? Why did you come running to the Alpha when I wouldn’t give you your way?”
    Michael opened his mouth, but Mara didn’t give him a chance to speak.
    “Don’t bother explaining. Just listen up. This is my life and you are never, never going to have any part of it, is that clear?” She didn’t wait to hear his answer, spinning on her heel and running out of the bungalow, the door slapping shut behind her.
    Ava shifted from one foot to the other. “Michael, I’m