Opening your eyes to find
that you’re upside down can’t
be good, can it?
Through the cobwebs
clouding her mind, Roni
Axton realized that it wasn’t
just she who was upside
down. The car had toppled
over.
Well, that sucked. Clearly the
Bleep-up fairy had made an
appearance.
Strangely, Roni felt no rush of panic, no fear. And despite
that she was pretty sure her head was bleeding, there was
no pain. There was only a feeling of weightlessness. Even
the fact that her wolf was frantic didn’t disturb Roni in this
dreamlike moment.
Her brain distantly registered that the car kept leaning
sideways, as if something was repeatedly pulling at it. But it
was the various sounds that penetrated her mental fog: low
moans, a phone ringing, a child crying, and strange voices
arguing.
Sensing that the ringtone and the moans were coming from
her left, Roni turned her head to find a male wolf shifter in
the driver’s seat, eyes closed. Tao. Huh. Odd that the
Phoenix Pack’s Head Enforcer was with her. She rarely hung
out with anyone outside her pack. In truth, Roni counted
very few people as friends.
Sadly, she was very like her brother, Alpha of their recently
formed Mercury Pack, in that she found social situations
uncomfortable. In Nick’s case, it was because he didn’t like
most people. In Roni’s case, it was because most people
didn’t like her. Even when she was a kid, she’d found
making friends difficult, especially at school. It was kind of
hard to fit in when you were a tomboy with a higher IQ than
that of your teachers.
It probably made things worse that she didn’t “get” her own
gender. But she just didn’t see the appeal behind constantly
gossiping, shopping endlessly, asking deep personal
questions, or having different lotions for different body
parts.
Roni was more comfortable around guys, particularly her
two brothers and her Beta male, Derren. Men didn’t care
that she wasn’t a people pleaser, or that she didn’t know
how to satisfy social niceties, or that she preferred
chocolate to living beings of any species. The only female
she thought of as a friend was her Alpha female, Shaya,
who—
A succession of memories suddenly hit Roni hard: Shaya
singing to a toddler in the backseat, Tao playfully grumbling
about the noise, the sound of tires screeching, an
unexpected impact to the side of the vehicle, a blow to her
head that made everything go black.
Grasping onto those threads of memory, Roni remembered
how she had escorted Shaya—who was two months
pregnant—on a daytrip to the zoo with Shaya’s godson, Kye,
and his bodyguard, Tao. The Alpha female had wanted a
break from Nick and his extreme overprotectiveness. It was
during the drive back to Phoenix Pack territory when a car
had slammed into theirs.
And then she’d gone and passed out like a girl. How
embarrassing.
Blinking rapidly, she swiveled her head as much as she
could. She might have winced at the sharp pain that lanced
through her neck if she hadn’t been distracted by the fact
that Shaya wasn’t in the backseat beside a still crying Kye.
That was when Roni noticed the female body sprawled like
a ragdoll on the grass a few feet away from the vehicle.
Bleep.
The dreamy quality of the moment disappeared as reality
crashed into Roni, and her wolf howled in fear and rage.
One word dominated Roni’s thoughts: out. She had to get
out.
Forcing a reassuring smile for Kye, who was squirming in
his safety seat and reaching for her, she crooned, “It’s okay,
little man. Give me a second and I’ll—”
The car wobbled sideways again. “This crowbar is a piece of
shit!” griped an unfamiliar voice.
“Hurry up!” ordered an equally unfamiliar voice. “We don’t
have much time before someone shows up. Coleman and
Axton will sense through their pack links that something’s
wrong with their wolves.”
The stranger was right about that: she could sense Nick’s
rage and anxiety. She could also sense Shaya through the
pack link; she was alive, but unconscious.
“I can’t open the door, it’s jammed.”
A growl. “Move. I’ll do it.” The car swayed again. That was
when Roni understood what was happening. Someone was
yanking at one of the rear door handles, trying desperately
to get inside . . . trying to get to . . . Kye. Oh, the Bleep no.
Roni awkwardly fought to unclip her seatbelt. It eventually
snapped open, and she cried out at the sensation of falling
onto a bed of glass. She shelved the pain as she righted
herself and began to slide toward the backseat on her
stomach. “Tao, wake up! Get to Shaya!” All she received was
another moan.
“Shit! One of them is awake!” Rather than flee, the strangers
redoubled their efforts to open the door.
Their efforts paid off.
Just as the top half of Roni’s body wriggled through the gap
between the seats, the door was yanked open, and a
tanned arm reached for Kye.
Roni unsheathed her claws and sliced at the limb, causing it
to flinch away. Her wolf growled her approval. “I swear to
God, if any part of your body tries to touch him again, you
won’t get it back intact!”
“You bitch!” Two arms reached inside this time, both
sporting claws of their own. One set of claws acted as a
barricade between her and Kye while the other set cut
through the belt that secured Kye’s safety seat to the car. In
a lightning fast motion, the arms caught him before he and
his seat could crash to the floor.
Roni stabbed her claws through one long, muscled arm,
past bone, and all the way into the rear seat, pinning the
arm in place. He howled in pain, hurling obscenities at her.
Well, she had warned him; he’d chosen to ignore her, so
there was really no need for that kind of language.
With her free hand, Roni worked Kye’s belt open. His little
body toppled out of the safety seat and onto her
outstretched arm. If her wolf could have sighed in relief,
she would have. Curling her arm around him, Roni pulled
him tight against her body. Only then did she release the
would-be-kidnapper from the grip of her claws.
She was feeling a hint of victory when someone grabbed a
fistful of her hair from behind. Turning her head as much
as the strong grip would allow, she realized that the second
male had come at her from the other side of the car. He
held her in place by her hair while the other shifter
frantically struggled to drag Kye from her grasp. The toddler
was wailing and clinging tightly to her, absolutely terrified.
When two large hands got a firm grip on his little waist,
panic bit into her. No, no, she wouldn’t let—
Her hair was suddenly released, and a scream mingled with
a familiar animal growl that meant Shaya had shifted into
her wolf form. While Roni was relieved that she was
conscious again, Roni did not want the pregnant female,
ruthless or not, fighting a male shifter.

“Don’t shift!” the other male yelled. “A car’s coming!” Footsteps thudded along the ground as the two males disappeared from view. Seconds later, there was the sound of a car speeding away, and a heavy sense of relief surged through Roni. Hearing Shaya’s wolf pawing at the vehicle, whining, Roni assured her, “We’re fine.” But, really, Roni wasn’t fine. Her head was now throbbing, her body ached in several places, and her vision was starting to blur and darken. If she passed out again, she would be seriously unhappy. Dominant females did not pass out, dammit. “Roni, how badly are you guys hurt?” Shaya asked, back in her human form. Roni wanted to answer her Alpha female; wanted to ask Shaya how injured she was and reassure her that everything would be fine. But Roni’s mouth suddenly felt stuffed with cotton, her chest felt tight, and black spots were dancing before her eyes. Worse, there was a horrible ringing sound that made her head pound even more. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her wolf began to panic once more as the ringing became deafening and a dark veil fell over Roni’s vision. Then there was only blackness.

CHAPTER TWO


Sitting on an infirmary bed at Phoenix Pack territory half an
hour later, Roni flinched as Grace used tweezers to pluck
yet another piece of glass from Roni’s palms. Silently, she
seethed, annoyed with herself. She—a dominant female
who could outrun both her brothers, who could defeat a
wolf while in her human form, and who had once almost
made an Alpha male sob when she beat him at an arm
wrestle—had passed out. Twice.

What was wrong with the world?
“Done,” announced Grace. “I have to thank you again for
what you did. I dread to think what could have happened to
Kye if you hadn’t kept him safe.”

Roni took her strawberry-flavored lollipop out of her mouth
only long enough to respond with: “It’s what anyone would
have done.”

“Don’t try to play it down. Protecting another with your life
is never a small thing.” The brunette squinted as she
studied the cut on Roni’s forehead. “That’s looking better.”

It
was the benefit of having a shifter’s accelerated healing
rate.

“What about the rest of you?”
“Healing.”

Shifters weren’t easy to hurt, which was largely
why Roni had escaped the incident with just cuts, bruising,
and a cracked rib. Thankfully, Tao and Kye had walked away
with only a few scrapes and bruises. As Roni was almost
fully healed, she’d turned down the Phoenix Alpha female’s
offer to heal her. Shaya, however, had needed Taryn’s
healing skills since she’d had a broken leg and a fractured
wrist. Shaya had been fine by the time Nick and Derren
arrived. Even so, Nick had freaked out—Roni had been able
to hear him from the infirmary yelling and growling in the
kitchen while Shaya desperately tried to calm him.
The sound of heavy footsteps striding through the network
of tunnels pulled Roni from her thoughts. Seconds later, a
tall, dark, broad-shouldered vow of sexual satisfaction
entered the room. Two pools of electric blue locked on
Roni, and the atmosphere snapped taut as awareness
throbbed between them—it was always the same.
Marcus Fuller exuded sex, confidence, and a raw
compelling charisma that commanded the attention of
those around him . . . which was why the Phoenix Pack
enforcer was the star of her every X-rated fantasy. He
deserved an Oscar for his performances.
Anger and concern radiating from him, he demanded, “How
badly are you hurt?”
As if he had every right, he ate up her personal space,
skimming his gaze over her body. His dark scent slammed
into her, and Roni once again found herself wishing she
could bottle it. Earthy, spicy, and with a hint of leather, it
never failed to tantalize both her and her wolf.
Determined not to let him see the effect he had on her,
Roni shrugged nonchalantly at the six feet of pure male
power staring down at her. “I’m fine.”
Clearly unconvinced, he turned to Grace for an answer. The
traitor sang like a canary before reassuring him, “She
should be fully healed within the hour. Now I have to get
back to my daughter. She’ll wake up any minute now.”
Once Grace was gone, Marcus’s gaze again locked on Roni.
Anger no longer spilled from him, but she knew it was still
there, simmering beneath the surface. Maybe everyone
else was fooled by his laid-back manner, but Roni knew this
wolf was as dark and dangerous as any predator.
The minute she’d met the enforcer, her wolf had sensed the
danger in him, the intensity, and the power . . . and then
she’d practically rolled over, panting, totally in lust. It was
just so . . . undignified.
“How are you feeling, gorgeous?”
Honestly? Like she wanted to gouge out those piercing eyes
that took in her every move and expression. It was the stare
of a hunter, and Roni very much felt like prey when he
focused his full attention on her. It was something he did a
lot, which only intensified the sexual tension that pulsed
between them—a tension that was unexpected considering
she was nothing like the foo-foo attention-whores he dated.

In the beginning, his flirtatious nature had irritated Roni, despite her powerful elemental attraction to him. Sublimely gorgeous people intimidated her, particularly the typical “smooth talkers”—guys who had mastered the art of making females part from their clothes using speech alone. Roni liked a male with substance, not a player who was incapable of loyalty and relied on his looks to get him what he wanted in life. However, her irritation had soon given way to curiosity, because the more time she’d spent around Marcus Fuller, the more she’d come to realize that the whole “smooth talker” act was nothing but that—an act. He hid behind the charm and the carefree attitude he projected to the world. This guy cared very deeply about something. There was so much anger there, packed in ice . . . yet no one seemed to see it. No one seemed to see that this was a wolf with secrets. He was also a wolf who was annoyingly impossible to dislike. She envied how he could so easily put people at ease. Envied his ability to mix well with others and be instantly accepted into any social circle. Roni, by contrast, had a tendency to make people feel uncomfortable with how out of tune she was with others’ feelings and their social expectations. At his impatient expression, she removed the lollipop from her mouth. “I told you, I’m fine.” She slid off the bed, and he cupped her elbow to support her as she stood upright. The simple skin-to-skin contact caused her nerve endings to spark to life. She pulled her arm free from his grasp. “I can walk perfectly fine without help.”
He flashed her that infamous smile designed to make any female blush and trip over herself to get to him. “You should know that prim, schoolteacher tone totally turns me on.” Roni would have been immune to that smile if it were sleazy. But no. It was a confident, mischievous, “I could make you come all night long” smile. She would bet that he damn well could. Not that she’d ever find out. Marcus flirted with her, sure, but only because he didn’t know any other form of communication. And besides, tomboys weren’t his type. Her wolf loved having all that raw sexuality and seductive charm directed at her, and she constantly pushed at Roni to act on her desire for him. It was taxing, since she and her wolf were so extremely close that the line that existed between her human side and animal side was blurred. It didn’t mean she didn’t have full control of her wolf, but it did mean that her wolf’s emotions could intrude on Roni’s human responses, and vice versa. As such, her wolf’s desire for him fed her own, making it even more difficult to resist him. Frustrated with him, herself, and her wolf, Roni stuffed her lollipop back into her mouth and offered him a blank look, refusing to let him see that she was no more resistant to his charm than every other female. Nothing. The female in front of him didn’t give him the slightest reaction, which only made Marcus smile wider. He had been on his way home from visiting his sister when he’d received a call from his Beta male, Dante, to let him know about the crash. He’d broken all kinds of laws as he drove like a maniac to get home and see for himself that everyone was fine, that Roni was fine. And now here she was, doing that aloof act again. And he was nothing short of amused.

Initially, Roni’s apparent indifference had galled him. He hadn’t liked that he seemed to be the only one feeling this intense attraction that bordered on magnetism. Every time they were in close proximity, the air crackled with sexual energy, and he hadn’t believed that could possibly be a one-way street. Yet, while the idea of skimming his hands over that seductively lithe body and having those supple legs wrapped around his waist often consumed his thoughts, Roni always appeared totally unmoved. It made no sense. Rather than push, Marcus had backed off. He’d watched her closely, studied her every reaction to him, and soon come to realize that she wasn’t so indifferent to him after all. Why she was fighting their attraction, he didn’t know. He wanted to find out, to figure her out, so he could find a chink in her armor. Roni was incredibly intelligent; in order to seduce her physically, he’d need to first seduce her mentally. The problem was that Roni was a difficult person to get to know. She held back from everyone outside her own tiny circle of people: her brothers, her Beta, and Shaya. But his old Alpha hadn’t labeled Marcus “that stubborn little shit” for nothing. When Marcus wanted something, he would hunt it down until it was his. And he wanted Roni Axton in his bed; he wanted to explore this thing between them until all that sexual tension had burned out, until she no longer dominated his thoughts and fantasies. There was just something about her . . . Maybe it was that she was so very different from the females he usually dated. Maybe it was that she didn’t stroke his ego, didn’t fawn all over him in that way he’d come to find distasteful. Or maybe it was just that she had the most luscious ass he’d ever seen. It was probably all three. Of course, it could also be that in addition to being truly delectable and exceptionally capable, Roni Axton was downright lethal. He’d seen her fight when a large number of prejudiced humans had invaded his territory; she’d been sharp, fast, and merciless. And it had been damn hot. His wolf liked Roni too—particularly her vicious streak. Just like Marcus, he craved this dominant female to the extent that she was quickly becoming an obsession. Her indifferent, elusive air was a challenge that drew both man and wolf. Ordinarily, Marcus would avoid pursuing a female so hard for fear that it would give them the impression he wanted more than casual sex. But he had no worry that Roni would become attached. She didn’t seem any better at emotional intimacy than he was. She wouldn’t be clingy or needy or play the kind of games he’d tired of long ago. Considering he didn’t have the best reputation, he’d expected her Alpha female to warn him away from Roni. Shaya had seen the way he looked at her mate’s sister, knew exactly how much he wanted her. Although Shaya was a close friend of his, she was also very protective of Roni. But surprisingly enough, Shaya appeared to be trying to set them up. And Taryn appeared to be helping. It was a good thing, really, since he doubted any warnings would have kept him away—particularly since an element of possessiveness had been there from the very beginning. The new feeling had come as a surprise, had even spooked Marcus slightly. But really, could he expect to be this determined to have someone and not be possessive on some level? Once the sexual tension was alleviated, he figured the possessiveness would surely fade. Ignoring Roni’s cautioning look, he placed his hand on her lower back and guided her forward. “Sweetheart, you heard Grace; there’s a chance you could have a concussion. There’s nothing wrong with taking it easy and accepting a little help.” She sniffed haughtily at him. Not that he’d expect anything different from a dominant female shifter. Their independent streak was a mile long. Still, he forced a put-upon sigh just to needle her. She dumped her lollipop stick in the trash can. “Did you know that a sigh actually acts as a physiological reset button?” Marcus had noticed that Roni did that a lot—abruptly blurted out a completely useless fact. At first, he’d thought she did it in an awkward effort to be friendly and make conversation. But he’d quickly come to realize that she did it to make people go away. It worked. They immediately pegged her as someone weird and boring, or they would feel as uncomfortable as she did. Marcus wasn’t going to fall for that. Besides, all that intelligence was kind of hot, especially when she slapped him down with it. “Really?” He fingered the ends of her long ash-blonde hair, admiring the natural, loose curls. “Your brain is like a sponge. I like that.” Roni cast him an odd look. Why was he looking at her like she was . . . interesting? Roni wasn’t interesting. And now he was smiling at her again. Her wolf wanted to lick every inch of him, which was just downright annoying and pathetic. Okay, Roni could agree with the animal that this male who had fought at her side was strong, solid, and deliciously dominant. But allow Marcus to sense that? Not a chance. She straightened her spine and gave him a dismissive wave of the hand. “Why don’t you go play with Betty Boop?” “Betty Boop?” he chuckled. “If you’re talking about Zara—” Oh, yeah, she was talking about Zara. Curvaceous, elegant, graceful, she was everything that Roni wasn’t. “—that’s very much over.” There was only one female he wanted. “Well, then . . . go play with the treat you’re presently sampling and—” “You have the cutest nose.” He lightly tapped it with his finger. Unbalanced by his unexpected compliment, Roni shrugged past him and marched off. And her nose was not cute. Marcus easily caught up to her and stayed at her side as they advanced through the network of tunnels that made up Phoenix Pack territory. The ancient cave dwelling had been modernized beautifully, and the Alpha female had long ago branded it “Bedrock.” For that reason, Taryn often referred to her mate as “Flintstone.” Roni had only taken a single step into the crowded living area when suddenly a dainty body wrapped itself around her. Roni puffed various streaks of blonde hair out of her mouth. “You stopped them from taking my son,” sniffled Taryn. “Thank you.” It was the third time she’d thanked her. Trey stood behind Taryn. His arctic-blue eyes were wild, manic, and his large form was fairly vibrating with anger. “If you ever need anything—anything—it’s yours.” The rest of the Phoenix Pack nodded their agreement. “We’re in your debt,” said Greta, though she didn’t look happy about it. In fact, her gaze narrowed dangerously as it took in how closely Marcus stood to Roni. Trey’s somewhat neurotic grandmother was very possessive of “her boys”—those being Trey, Tao, Dante, and the four enforcers, Marcus, Trick, Ryan, and Dominic. As she was convinced that every unmated female was determined to claim one of them, she made a distinct effort to frighten them away. Of course it hadn’t worked with Taryn or the Beta female, Jaime, but Greta persisted in trying to make their lives difficult. Not sure what to do with all the attention or the body still curled around her, Roni threw Marcus a pleading look. Smiling, Marcus took pity on Roni, satisfied that she had looked to him for help. “Taryn, why don’t you find Roni a place to sit? She could have a concussion.” “Of course.” Taryn led Roni over to the armchair on which Dominic sat. “Move it.” “I’m hurt too, remember,” he griped. “None of you even praised me for intervening between two fighting wolves.” Taryn rolled her eyes. “It’s not exactly uncommon for Trick and Ryan to get carried away when sparring. You only had a few bruises. Most of them had healed by the time you walked through the door.” “A few bruises?” Dominic rose from the chair. “My chest had so many black patches, I looked like a Holstein cow. And I don’t care what you say, I had internal bleeding.” Trick shook his head at Dominic. “Could you be any more dramatic?” When he noticed that Marcus had perched himself on the arm of Roni’s chair, Trick arched a brow. Then a taunting smirk surfaced, deepening the claw marks on Trick’s cheek. For as long as Marcus could remember, Trick’s favorite pastime was tormenting people. He thoroughly enjoyed teasing Marcus about Roni’s apparent indifference to him. Asshole. Roni stiffened as Shaya, Nick, and Derren entered the room. She suspected a lecture from her brother. Within seconds, Nick’s nostrils flared as he scented her. Then his eyes fixed on Roni and darkened. Yep, a lecture was coming. Nick strode toward Roni, his face like thunder. “I can’t believe you put Shaya in danger like that!” Rage seeped from him—a rage so acute that it seemed to thicken the air. It made Roni jump to her feet and put her wolf on high alert. The Phoenix wolves immediately gathered behind her, and Marcus pressed up against her side. What was that all about? Shaya, ever the peacemaker, smoothly slipped in front of her mate. “Now, Nick . . .” He glared at Roni over Shaya’s shoulder. “Do you think I give out orders purely for fun, is that it?” “No, I don’t,” replied Roni calmly. Her cool demeanor seemed to further anger him. “Shaya’s your Alpha female, she’s pregnant with your niece or nephew, and you put them in danger!” “That’s not fair, Nick,” reprimanded Shaya. “She had no way of knowing what would happen. I asked her to get me out of there; I needed to breathe. You’re so overprotective, it’s suffocating!” Roni knew exactly how that felt, as she dealt with it daily from her mother and Nick. She loved and respected her brother, trusted him more than anyone. But his level of overprotectiveness made her feel hurt, offended, and stifled. There was nothing more insulting or disrespectful to a dominant female than treating her like she couldn’t take care of herself. “I’m just trying to keep you and our baby safe. And you would have been safe if Roni hadn’t disobeyed me!” “And what makes your word have more weight than Shaya’s?” Roni felt compelled to ask. “Excuse me?” Nick’s voice was quiet, menacing. Derren winced. “You can’t call her Alpha female and then undermine her by dishing out orders to everyone that effectively give her no say in her own life.” “That isn’t what I’m doing!” “It is.” Shaya’s voice was gentle but firm. “I was ready to explode; that’s not good for either me or the baby.” “It’s better than you being in a car accident!” Roni barely refrained from growling in irritation. “You’re not listening to a word either me or Shaya is saying.” Nick advanced on her, teeth bared. Marcus blocked the Alpha’s path. “Don’t touch her.” Nick drew back, glowering. “What does this have to do with you? With any of you?” “Roni protected my son,” said Trey. “She now has the loyalty of everyone in this pack. They’ll protect her from anything, including you.” “I’d never hurt her! She’s my sister!” Roni sighed. Shifter male posturing was boring as shit. “I can speak for myself

Initially, Roni’s apparent indifference had galled him. He hadn’t liked that he seemed to be the only one feeling this intense attraction that bordered on magnetism. Every time they were in close proximity, the air crackled with sexual energy, and he hadn’t believed that could possibly be a one-way street. Yet, while the idea of skimming his hands over that seductively lithe body and having those supple legs wrapped around his waist often consumed his thoughts, Roni always appeared totally unmoved. It made no sense. Rather than push, Marcus had backed off. He’d watched her closely, studied her every reaction to him, and soon come to realize that she wasn’t so indifferent to him after all. Why she was fighting their attraction, he didn’t know. He wanted to find out, to figure her out, so he could find a chink in her armor. Roni was incredibly intelligent; in order to seduce her physically, he’d need to first seduce her mentally. The problem was that Roni was a difficult person to get to know. She held back from everyone outside her own tiny circle of people: her brothers, her Beta, and Shaya. But his old Alpha hadn’t labeled Marcus “that stubborn little shit” for nothing. When Marcus wanted something, he would hunt it down until it was his. And he wanted Roni Axton in his bed; he wanted to explore this thing between them until all that sexual tension had burned out, until she no longer dominated his thoughts and fantasies. There was just something about her . . . Maybe it was that she was so very different from the females he usually dated. Maybe it was that she didn’t stroke his ego, didn’t fawn all over him in that way he’d come to find distasteful. Or maybe it was just that she had the most luscious ass he’d ever seen. It was probably all three. Of course, it could also be that in addition to being truly delectable and exceptionally capable, Roni Axton was downright lethal. He’d seen her fight when a large number of prejudiced humans had invaded his territory; she’d been sharp, fast, and merciless. And it had been damn hot. His wolf liked Roni too—particularly her vicious streak. Just like Marcus, he craved this dominant female to the extent that she was quickly becoming an obsession. Her indifferent, elusive air was a challenge that drew both man and wolf. Ordinarily, Marcus would avoid pursuing a female so hard for fear that it would give them the impression he wanted more than casual sex. But he had no worry that Roni would become attached. She didn’t seem any better at emotional intimacy than he was. She wouldn’t be clingy or needy or play the kind of games he’d tired of long ago. Considering he didn’t have the best reputation, he’d expected her Alpha female to warn him away from Roni. Shaya had seen the way he looked at her mate’s sister, knew exactly how much he wanted her. Although Shaya was a close friend of his, she was also very protective of Roni. But surprisingly enough, Shaya appeared to be trying to set them up. And Taryn appeared to be helping. It was a good thing, really, since he doubted any warnings would have kept him away—particularly since an element of possessiveness had been there from the very beginning. The new feeling had come as a surprise, had even spooked Marcus slightly. But really, could he expect to be this determined to have someone and not be possessive on some level? Once the sexual tension was alleviated, he figured the possessiveness would surely fade. Ignoring Roni’s cautioning look, he placed his hand on her lower back and guided her forward. “Sweetheart, you heard Grace; there’s a chance you could have a concussion. There’s nothing wrong with taking it easy and accepting a little help.” She sniffed haughtily at him. Not that he’d expect anything different from a dominant female shifter. Their independent streak was a mile long. Still, he forced a put-upon sigh just to needle her. She dumped her lollipop stick in the trash can. “Did you know that a sigh actually acts as a physiological reset button?” Marcus had noticed that Roni did that a lot—abruptly blurted out a completely useless fact. At first, he’d thought she did it in an awkward effort to be friendly and make conversation. But he’d quickly come to realize that she did it to make people go away. It worked. They immediately pegged her as someone weird and boring, or they would feel as uncomfortable as she did. Marcus wasn’t going to fall for that. Besides, all that intelligence was kind of hot, especially when she slapped him down with it. “Really?” He fingered the ends of her long ash-blonde hair, admiring the natural, loose curls. “Your brain is like a sponge. I like that.” Roni cast him an odd look. Why was he looking at her like she was . . . interesting? Roni wasn’t interesting. And now he was smiling at her again. Her wolf wanted to lick every inch of him, which was just downright annoying and pathetic. Okay, Roni could agree with the animal that this male who had fought at her side was strong, solid, and deliciously dominant. But allow Marcus to sense that? Not a chance. She straightened her spine and gave him a dismissive wave of the hand. “Why don’t you go play with Betty Boop?” “Betty Boop?” he chuckled. “If you’re talking about Zara—” Oh, yeah, she was talking about Zara. Curvaceous, elegant, graceful, she was everything that Roni wasn’t. “—that’s very much over.” There was only one female he wanted. “Well, then . . . go play with the treat you’re presently sampling and—” “You have the cutest nose.” He lightly tapped it with his finger. Unbalanced by his unexpected compliment, Roni shrugged past him and marched off. And her nose was not cute. Marcus easily caught up to her and stayed at her side as they advanced through the network of tunnels that made up Phoenix Pack territory. The ancient cave dwelling had been modernized beautifully, and the Alpha female had long ago branded it “Bedrock.” For that reason, Taryn often referred to her mate as “Flintstone.” Roni had only taken a single step into the crowded living area when suddenly a dainty body wrapped itself around her. Roni puffed various streaks of blonde hair out of her mouth. “You stopped them from taking my son,” sniffled Taryn. “Thank you.” It was the third time she’d thanked her. Trey stood behind Taryn. His arctic-blue eyes were wild, manic, and his large form was fairly vibrating with anger. “If you ever need anything—anything—it’s yours.” The rest of the Phoenix Pack nodded their agreement. “We’re in your debt,” said Greta, though she didn’t look happy about it. In fact, her gaze narrowed dangerously as it took in how closely Marcus stood to Roni. Trey’s somewhat neurotic grandmother was very possessive of “her boys”—those being Trey, Tao, Dante, and the four enforcers, Marcus, Trick, Ryan, and Dominic. As she was convinced that every unmated female was determined to claim one of them, she made a distinct effort to frighten them away. Of course it hadn’t worked with Taryn or the Beta female, Jaime, but Greta persisted in trying to make their lives difficult. Not sure what to do with all the attention or the body still curled around her, Roni threw Marcus a pleading look. Smiling, Marcus took pity on Roni, satisfied that she had looked to him for help. “Taryn, why don’t you find Roni a place to sit? She could have a concussion.” “Of course.” Taryn led Roni over to the armchair on which Dominic sat. “Move it.” “I’m hurt too, remember,” he griped. “None of you even praised me for intervening between two fighting wolves.” Taryn rolled her eyes. “It’s not exactly uncommon for Trick and Ryan to get carried away when sparring. You only had a few bruises. Most of them had healed by the time you walked through the door.” “A few bruises?” Dominic rose from the chair. “My chest had so many black patches, I looked like a Holstein cow. And I don’t care what you say, I had internal bleeding.” Trick shook his head at Dominic. “Could you be any more dramatic?” When he noticed that Marcus had perched himself on the arm of Roni’s chair, Trick arched a brow. Then a taunting smirk surfaced, deepening the claw marks on Trick’s cheek. For as long as Marcus could remember, Trick’s favorite pastime was tormenting people. He thoroughly enjoyed teasing Marcus about Roni’s apparent indifference to him. Asshole. Roni stiffened as Shaya, Nick, and Derren entered the room. She suspected a lecture from her brother. Within seconds, Nick’s nostrils flared as he scented her. Then his eyes fixed on Roni and darkened. Yep, a lecture was coming. Nick strode toward Roni, his face like thunder. “I can’t believe you put Shaya in danger like that!” Rage seeped from him—a rage so acute that it seemed to thicken the air. It made Roni jump to her feet and put her wolf on high alert. The Phoenix wolves immediately gathered behind her, and Marcus pressed up against her side. What was that all about? Shaya, ever the peacemaker, smoothly slipped in front of her mate. “Now, Nick . . .” He glared at Roni over Shaya’s shoulder. “Do you think I give out orders purely for fun, is that it?” “No, I don’t,” replied Roni calmly. Her cool demeanor seemed to further anger him. “Shaya’s your Alpha female, she’s pregnant with your niece or nephew, and you put them in danger!” “That’s not fair, Nick,” reprimanded Shaya. “She had no way of knowing what would happen. I asked her to get me out of there; I needed to breathe. You’re so overprotective, it’s suffocating!” Roni knew exactly how that felt, as she dealt with it daily from her mother and Nick. She loved and respected her brother, trusted him more than anyone. But his level of overprotectiveness made her feel hurt, offended, and stifled. There was nothing more insulting or disrespectful to a dominant female than treating her like she couldn’t take care of herself. “I’m just trying to keep you and our baby safe. And you would have been safe if Roni hadn’t disobeyed me!” “And what makes your word have more weight than Shaya’s?” Roni felt compelled to ask. “Excuse me?” Nick’s voice was quiet, menacing. Derren winced. “You can’t call her Alpha female and then undermine her by dishing out orders to everyone that effectively give her no say in her own life.” “That isn’t what I’m doing!” “It is.” Shaya’s voice was gentle but firm. “I was ready to explode; that’s not good for either me or the baby.” “It’s better than you being in a car accident!” Roni barely refrained from growling in irritation. “You’re not listening to a word either me or Shaya is saying.” Nick advanced on her, teeth bared. Marcus blocked the Alpha’s path. “Don’t touch her.” Nick drew back, glowering. “What does this have to do with you? With any of you?” “Roni protected my son,” said Trey. “She now has the loyalty of everyone in this pack. They’ll protect her from anything, including you.” “I’d never hurt her! She’s my sister!” Roni sighed. Shifter male posturing was boring as shit. “I can speak for myself

Mouth curved into a small smile, Marcus very briefly glanced at Roni over his shoulder. “Yes you can, sweetheart, but your brother’s not interested in listening to you right now. Blaming Roni isn’t fair, Axton, and you know it.” Nick’s eyes flared with anger. “If she hadn’t—” “Do you really want to play the ‘if’ game?” Marcus tilted his head. “Okay, if you hadn’t ignored your mate’s anxiety—and don’t tell me you didn’t know exactly how she was feeling through your mating link—Shaya wouldn’t have needed a break. The shifters who crashed into her car are the ones who deserve your anger.” That seemed to take some of the hot air out of Nick. Shaya slipped her arms around him, whispering soothingly into his ear. When he focused on Roni again, his breathing had regulated and his rage was under control. But she knew that it was only the feel and scent of his mate that was keeping him composed. “Roni was hurt too,” Shaya gently pointed out. “What?” Nick studied Roni intently. When his eyes settled on the cut on her forehead, a low growl escaped him. Great, he was back to being overprotective. She preferred his anger. “But thankfully,” Taryn quickly injected, “everyone is fine. So how about we all sit?” It was as Roni returned to her seat and Marcus again settled on the arm of the chair that she noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Tao?” Marcus bent his head, putting his mouth to her ear, and almost groaned as her scent furled around him. God help him, she smelled like warm cinnamon rolls and pumpkin pie. “He’s off somewhere, feeling sorry for himself. It nicked his pride that he blacked out and couldn’t help.” Roni could understand that. “Why are you hovering over me?” And why, exactly, had he shielded her from Nick? Standing at her side or her back was one thing, but shielding her was a whole other thing. She shooed him away, but he simply smiled. “Do I make you nervous or something?” Yes. “Of course not.” “Then you won’t have a problem with me staying right here.” He smiled when she narrowed her eyes and shrugged. “Grace said you had some pretty bad cuts.” Derren came over and lifted Roni’s hands to examine them. Instinctively, Marcus draped his arm over the back of the chair and laid a possessive hand on her shoulder. Noting the move, the Beta smiled in amusement. Roni pulled free of Derren’s grip. “Really, I’m fine.” “You sure look fine.” Dominic smiled flirtatiously. “I swear, I could fall madly in bed with you.” Jaime laughed while everyone else groaned. The unfairly hot blond had a habit of dishing out cheesy chat-up lines that should act more as repellents than seductive techniques. Yet, they somehow worked for him. Roni believed in giving as good as she got, so she did what she always did: she hit him with another line. “Are you a water fountain, Dominic? Because you’re getting me wet.” He scowled petulantly. “Stop that! Saying cheesy lines is my thing!” Marcus sighed. “You have issues, Dom.” The jerk would also have a black eye if he kept that shit up with Roni. A cute giggle was followed by the entrance of Kye and Lydia, one of the mated females. “Ro!” Roni smiled as Kye dashed toward her, holding out a small truck. Kye Coleman was the cutest thing ever and, shockingly, seemed to like her. Ordinarily, Roni wasn’t good with anything that breathed. “Wow, is this yours?” He nodded proudly, but when she went to touch the toy, he frowned. “Mine.” He’d obviously inherited his dad’s possessive streak. With his other hand, he held out a second truck. But when she moved to grab it, he frowned again. “Mine.” Oooookay. “It’s his new favorite word,” said Jaime, stroking the chubby ginger cat that was batting at her long sable braid. “That and ‘no.’ Aren’t you going to share with Roni?” “No.” Jaime sighed. “See what I mean?” Marcus smiled as Kye babbled to Roni, who nodded along and babbled back. She always softened with Kye and gave him her full attention. Marcus had noticed her occasionally sneak him little treats when she thought no one was looking. Trey, a statue of barely contained rage, took position in the center of the room with Taryn at his side. She placed a comforting hand on his arm, and some of the tension left him. “I’d like to talk about what happened, Roni. We’ve already heard Shaya and Tao’s versions. We need to piece everything together.” Everyone turned to Roni expectantly, and the massive amount of attention made her tense. To her surprise, Marcus gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze. “The car seemed to come out of nowhere, but it was no accident. I blacked out”—she said through her teeth—“and when I woke up, two males were struggling to open the door to get to Kye. I didn’t get a good look at them.” “That’s okay,” Taryn assured her. “Shaya was able to give us detailed descriptions.” Dante leaned forward. “Did they say what they wanted with him?” Roni shook her head. “They didn’t use names or mention any packs. But I know they weren’t wolves.” “They were jackals.” It was always a jolt to hear the mostly mute and grumpy-looking Ryan speak. “I smelled their blood in the car.” “Jackals?” Greta sneered. “Sly little things.” “I’ve never met a jackal that I liked,” said Gabe, Jaime’s brother. His mate, Hope, made a sound of agreement. “They’re into just about every illegal activity there is and live by their own set of rules. Those rules are basically: One, don’t get caught. And two, if caught, deny everything.” Lydia’s baby-faced mate, Cam, spoke. “I think the nearest jackal pack is at least three hours away.” “Yes, and we need to talk to them.” Trey made “talk” sound more like “destroy.” Grace stood with baby Lilah in her arms. “How about I take the kids into the kitchen? I know they won’t understand what’s being said, but . . .” “I was just about to suggest that.” Taryn shot Grace a grateful smile. “I’ll come too.” Taking Kye’s hand, Lydia led him out of the room with promises of cookies. Once they were gone, Marcus looked at Trey. “We don’t know for sure that the jackals in question are from their pack.”