Free For Bear Or For Worse (Pure Blood 1) by Meredith Clarke Page A

skin.
                  “Man, are you okay?” he asked.
                  I nodded quickly, unable to respond. I needed to focus on anyone or anything else other than Avery. If I didn't I knew I would lose all sense of control and then things would get really ugly. I looked down at my beer and tried to focus on the conversation that Michael was having without me. I could barely even focus on the words coming out of his mouth. It sounded like babble to me and I almost told him so.
                  I looked up at Avery again and felt my blood boiling. No matter how hard I tried to distract myself, I found myself looking back at her every few minutes and wishing that I was the guy standing behind her. I was losing it for sure, that much was evident.
                  Her laughter rang out into the room and I couldn't help but look over at her. Avery was touching the guy’s arm and laughing at something he said. Watching them was sheer torture. I had no idea I would feel this way when I saw her again. It was like sleeping with her had made her mine and now she wasn't. I was falling apart inside fighting the urge not to kill that guy. I was holding the beer in my hand and I realized that I was holding it so tightly that I could feel the bottle starting to crack in my bare hands. I released my grip on my beer and took a few deep breaths. I slowly took a swig, willing myself not to look at her. I couldn't help myself though, and I looked up once again. To my surprise Avery looked over at me, made eye contact and smirked. I felt my alpha instincts take over and I slammed down my bottle, shattering it on the bar, and turned to walk away. I needed to take a breather in the bathroom away from Avery. I needed to get a handle on myself before I did much worse than break a glass. I heard Michael calling after me but I just ignored him.
    As I started to walk away I couldn’t help myself and I zeroed in on the conversation between Avery and the guy. I had incredible hearing for a bear and if I focused on someone I could hear them from quite a distance.
                  I heard Avery chuckle and turn away from the man after I had stormed off. Was it a game she was playing? Had she gotten the reaction from me that she wanted?
                  I stopped and turned around to look at her. She hadn't noticed I had stopped, and I saw her turn away from the guy and dismiss him. He didn't seem to take the hint that she was no longer interested in him, however. He grabbed her arm roughly and she half turned and told him to let go of her arm. She tried to shake his arm off her but he won't budge. He looked angry and he gripped her arm tighter. Anger welled up inside of me as I heard her tell him that his grip was hurting her. When I heard the guy respond with, “Oh, now when I'm forceful you decide to pay attention to me,” it was enough for me to make my way over to them. I walked by Michael, who was gaping at me in confusion. Avery continued to pull her hand away from him when suddenly he was yanked away from her.
                  I grabbed a hold of the guy by his neck and pushed him away from her. “I think the lady told you to let her go, didn't she?”
                  “What the hell is your problem man?” There was still anger in the guy’s face and he obviously had no idea who he was dealing with.
                  “My problem man , is assholes like you. You think you can just take what you want and treat a lady so disrespectfully like that?”
                  The guy tried swinging a punch at me and I grabbed it mid-punch and threw the guy down on the ground. There was a gasp from behind me but I ignored it. My temper was hitting ultimate highs and I knew I was close to shifting. My eyes turned bright amber as my anger got the best of me.
                  “Holy shit man, what the fuck is wrong with your