It wasn't until she stepped outside the practice that she wondered how she was supposed to make her way back to Lakesides, remembering that Ian had driven her. He'd promised to watch the practice, but he'd said nothing of picking her up. To her relief, he was waiting outside his truck in the parking lot.

  She smiled, stepping toward him. Then Tania froze, her eyes rounding as they caught sight of the guys on the other side of the lot, watching her. She recognized at least five of them; they'd hung out at her dad's in the past. There were other men, and a couple of women, too, all intently staring at her. Shit. The Wyverns hadn't been joking. She hadn't believed they'd lied to her but somewhere at the back of her mind, she'd wondered if they were exaggerating the situation, until now. But she was really being watched. The only reason why the dozen people glaring at her were staying away was the presence of the six-foot-tall muscular shifter sipping a takeout coffee, ignoring them.

  Tania rushed to his side.

  "Have you seen them—"

  "Yep."

  "Are we worried?" she asked him.

  He smirked. "About a few regulars? No, we're not worried, Tania."

  He exuded so much confidence that, just with those few words, her shoulders relaxed.

  Suddenly, she blurted out, "What are you? I mean, what do you shift into? Wait, is it rude to ask?"

  Ian opened the passenger door for her and buckled her in like she was a two-year-old, unable to do so herself. For some reason, she let him.

  "Curious, aren't we?"

  "Wouldn't you be?" she challenged.

  He laughed on his way to the driver’s seat and replied once he had closed his own door. "I'm a tiger, like Coveney, Jas, and Rye. Well, not like Rye. He's more of a freak, really."

  "A freak?" she repeated.

  "Rye shifts into a sabertooth tiger. He's the son of the king of feline shifters; their line goes pretty far back to the very first families of shifters. So yeah, he's a bit of a freak. Large, strong."

  "What about Ace?" she asked, because if someone had asked her which Wyvern alpha was the scariest, she would definitely have named the female.

  Ian turned to her, one brow lifted. "Definitely curious. You're sure there isn't a bit of cat in you?"

  She apologized. "Let me know if I'm crossing a line. It's just that your life is so different from mine. It's fascinating."

  He got the car out of the clinic's parking lot, passing right in front of the anti-shifters and flipping them the bird through the window.

  Tania couldn't help herself from giggling. Their expressions, ranging from shock to horror and fear, were hilarious. When they'd passed them, Ian resumed their conversation. "Ace is more of a freak than Rye in her own way. She's part animal—actual animal, not just the shifter kind. Long story, but the extra injection of beast makes her a lot stronger and faster than any of us. She used to be a bounty hunter a few years ago. Killed every single one of her targets."

  Tania didn't doubt it.

  "Remind me to not lecture her again?" she asked.

  The truck got jerky as Ian pulled on the gearshift without meaning to. "You lectured her?"

  "Kinda? I just said something about her letting Niamh drink."

  To her relief, Ian seemed amused more than anything else.

  "She probably flipped. Don't sweat it, though. You're alive and unscratched. It means she didn't mind." He winked at her playfully, and she told herself that the unease in her chest was just a delayed reaction to the truck's swerving a minute ago. "Ace doesn't mind communication. She and Rye are true alphas. They welcome our input, and all of their decisions are made to protect the pride as a whole. Whatever you said to her, she thought about it, and only dismissed it if she had reason to believe it didn't apply to Niamh. For the record, it takes about twenty units of alcohol for a full-grown shifter to get drunk. Anything under five is negligible. Niamh is...something else. We're trying to determine her limits in various ways. How fast she can run, how long she can use her magic for, how far her power goes; and yes, how much alcohol affects her is one of these things. She needs to understand what she is a lot faster than humans."

  Tania felt even worse about the disagreement, now that he'd explained it.

  "Fair enough. I'm bound to say a bunch of stupid things, I guess. My mom's husband has satisfied some of my curiosity, but he doesn't live in a pack, and I'm not sure he knows much about witches and other sups, in any case."

  "Your mom's husband is a shifter?"

  Ian was flabbergasted.

  "Yep, so are my half-brothers. Foxes."

  He groaned. "I can't stand foxes. Cunning little shits."

  She had to laugh goodheartedly. "You have no idea. I babysat them a few times, when I was on vacation from college. They relish the tears of mere mortals."

  They'd already reached Lakesides. Tania was disappointed that he'd led them back to the empty lake house rather than the lively pride house.

  "I figured you'd want to feed Princess, maybe bring her with you when we head to the main house?" he asked. "Then we do have to go. Rye has called a meeting."

  Chapter 16

  Luke and Michelle had taken the kids to the cinema, Jas, Coveney, and Ava were patrolling today, and the rest of the pride was waiting for them in the lounge.

  Ari and Theo introduced themselves to Tania before Daunte took the floor, summarizing the situation.

  "All right, so it's a lot more complicated than we first thought. Good news for you, Tania, it wasn’t your dad who shared your info. One of his contacts saw it.”

  She looked visibly relieved.

  “Apparently, there's a whole bunch of anti-shifters on a private network. Their security was laughable. We got hold of Kaylie, in Knox's team, and she says even you would have been able to crack it yourself."

  Ian tried not to feel insulted.

  "But at this point, I'd say we're in a Hydra situation. Cut off one head, three appear. A few thousand people saw the posts and offered to drive or fly all the way to Cali to, and I quote, 'teach the bitch a lesson'."

  Ian tried to remain calm, knowing he was watched. God knew Tania was freaking out enough as it was.

  Fuck, his animal needed out; he wanted to tear into something and feel blood on his tongue. His hands were practically shaking.

  "I've looked into situations like this in the past. Long story short, the regulars either got a new identity or remained under the protection of the sups. Those who walked away were found in pieces."

  They'd always said it like it was, but Ian seriously wished Daunte had toned it down.

  "So, what, I'm stuck here for the rest of my life? No way."

  "Tania, we're talking about you being burned alive."

  "And I totally want to avoid that. But I also don't want to be forced to stay in an unfamiliar place forever. I only have my job at Valley Vets until my uncle is better, anyway. What then?"

  Damn her and her independent streak. Most men and women would just have accepted protection without making a fuss.

  "I agree; we need to find a solution that doesn't rely on you staying with us," said Rye.

  What the hell?

  "No offense, but I can't afford to have enforcers on you for a long time," the alpha added. "Anyone have an idea?"

  "We've wiped the info from the site, but it keeps popping back up," Daunte told them. "I say we intimidate whoever is putting her shit online and make an example out of them."

  Ace sighed. "We can't take public action without repercussions unless we're provoked. The PIA may be down, but the shifter council won't have it. The last thing we need is to give them another reason to hunt us down. We can't count on outside help this time."

  "So, we make them provoke you," Tania said.

  Rye's eyes were set on her.

  "You know what you're saying?"

  "They want me, don't they? Make them come at me, preferably publicly, and intervene after they've made the first move."

  Insane. The woman was insane, there was no other explanation.

  "That's the worst idea in the history of terrible ideas."

  Ian was thoroughly ignored.

  "Might work," said Ace. "We'll speak to Hsu after her movie."

  "No way. Guys, she's a regular. They're pretty damn fragile."

  Tania was offended, but it was Clari who snorted and replied, "As a former regular, I can attest that we aren't made of porcelain."

  "Sure thing, but you still wouldn't have been able to take on a bunch of humans if they came at you."

  "The idea is for us to help her before they hurt her," Rye said.

  "Sure. And what if they pull a knife and slice her throat in the minute it takes for us to get there? What then?"

  At least Tania seemed worried this time. After a second, she cleared her throat and said, "That's a risk. But so is doing nothing, anyway."

  Fucking hell.

  Ian didn't think he'd ever been this furious. He was pissed at Tania, his pride, his alphas, everything. She couldn't risk her skin like that. She just couldn't.

  Sometime in the next instants, he froze, realizing just how desperate he and his tiger felt about keeping her safe.

  Oh hell no. That wasn't possible. He looked at her, and the beast inside him stirred, thinking one word that was shocking and obvious all at once.

  Mate.

  It rang like a simple truth he wasn't even going to attempt to deny.

  Fuck. He couldn't stay here and listen to their plan about risking her now. He just couldn't. Ian rushed out the door, welcoming the cool air the moment he got outside, and he let his beast burst out of his skin, and ran, faster and faster, putting as much distance between him and the pride house as he could.

  Within an hour, his feet took him right back to where he belonged.

  Chapter 17

  All right, so the plan sucked.

  Ian had never in his life hated Rye; he'd considered him one of his best friends since childhood. Right now, though, he wanted to punch him in his perfect teeth. But Tania was all for it, Ace had agreed, the whole fucking pride thought it was a brilliant idea, and at the end of the day, they would have gone ahead and done it, so he had to go and make sure that nothing happened to his fucking mate.

  "I can't believe you're using her as bait."

  "It's the fastest way to send a message, and you know it."

  He wasn't going to bother arguing. At least Rye had given a call to his dad and asked to use the private plane when Ian had shared his idea.

  They waited for the plane to land in Hawthorne. Ian had considered going up to San Francisco, but the plane had been stationed there, so it made sense that help should come to them, instead.

  Right on time, the small jet landed and pulled into the private hangar, and a woman, a little taller than Ace, came out. She wore all black, with a dash of pink; a business suit that didn't quite fit her, paired with fluffy earmuffs.

  Ian grinned.

  "Roxie. Finally coming down to see me. Who knew all it would take was my begging non-stop for half an hour."

  Her every movement was ridiculously gracious, as always. She looked like an adorable teen, lithe, small, and cute, right now.

  Roxanne Thorne was twenty-seven, and she could tear a man's throat out before Ian blinked.

  "Some of us have demanding jobs and limited vacations," she replied, rolling her eyes behind dark-tinted glasses.

  He let her pretend that was the reason why she didn't visit.

  When she got to the bottom of the jet’s stairs, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her tight. "How are you doing? Really."

  "Great. I love San Fran. I adore my job. Life is good."

  She punctuated it with a gorgeous smile. The problem, of course, was that she was the best liar he'd ever met, and that she always smiled.

  "Did you bring it?"

  His cousin rolled her eyes again. "Right. I traveled four hundred miles just to let you know I wasn't bringing what you asked for."

  Roxie opened her handbag and pulled out a small plastic bag.

  "How much do I owe you?"

  She shrugged. "Don't sweat it, I got it for free. Asked my boss if I could get one of the older prototypes we made. It's not the latest stuff, but it'll work just fine. I have one myself. Very handy in a pinch."

  Rye was peeking curiously.

  Her head snapping to him, Roxie appreciated him from head to toe. "Rygan Wayland. Long time no see."

  "Roxanne. Still up to no good?"

  "Always."

  She handed him the carrier bag, and Rye pulled out the fabric packed inside of it.

  "It's incredibly light."

  "Don't let it deceive you. It's the very best armor money can buy right now. We mostly sold to the PIA, but some vamps are outfitting their staff with our exosuits, too. Your regular human will be as safe as can be. There're gloves, socks—the works. Just tell her not to get decapitated, and we're good."

  "How much do they go for?" Rye asked. "I'd sleep better if the kids had suits like that."

  "Half a mil onward. I'd wait until your kittens are done growing before throwing that kinda cash around, if I were you. We aren’t doing children’s sizes, anyway." She tilted her head. "But I wonder if the bosses might be interested in working on a cheaper range for kids. More affordable, more sales. They might like it. We lost a chunk of change since the PIA went boom."

  Sounded like a very lucrative idea for paranoid parents of every race.

  "You let me know when they're in the works."

  "Will do. Well, gotta get going."

  "Now?" Ian asked. "You really can't stay a few hours? Meet the kids, have dinner."

  She shook her head. "No can do. Meeting at seven-thirty. I need to get going or I'm gonna be late."

  It was Saturday; who had meetings at seven-thirty at night? Ian couldn't tell if she was making an excuse. Roxie had a high position in the research and development department of one of the biggest tech firms in the country; who knew how much she worked.

  She hugged him again, winked at Rye, and walked back up the stairs leading to the jet.

  "Hey, Puss?" Rye called, using the nickname she'd gone by in her teens.

  She turned with one eyebrow raised.

  "You're welcome anytime, you hear? You ever feel like you need a pride around you, you come to us."

  "Thank you, alpha."

  Ian doubted she would ever take him up on his offer. Roxanne was very different from every other shifter they knew. Even stranger than Ace, in her own way. And Ian was pretty certain that her nature meant that she didn't miss being part of a pride, unlike every other loner out there.

  "Be glad she won't come. Puss and Ace in the same room? That's how planets explode."

  Chapter 18

  Determined to be friendly and perfectly civilized, after rushing out the door like a heathen earlier, Ian walked in, said hello to the kids, who'd come back sometime during the last three hours. Then he planted himself in front of Tania.

  "Look what I got for you!" he said, triumphant, showing the suit off.

  Ace and Cali gasped. As for Tania, she grimaced and said, "I'm not wearing that. I'd look ridiculous in it."

  Ian sighed. Why had he assumed that she'd know what it was? Or that she'd be excited about it if she did. Maybe regular human women weren't into fighting gear. He literally was the equivalent of an eager cat showing off a dead mouse.

  "All right," he said, having found that agreeing with her was often the best way to go about it. "But if you were to wear it under your clothes, that suit would absorb blows, stop blades, and even gunshots."

  Now Tania gasped, suitably impressed. "Okay, that's pretty epic. Maybe open with that next time?"

  Not the worst idea. Christ, he really didn't know what he was doing.

  "That's the stuff PIA agents wear, right?" Niamh asked excitedly. "Tria has one. How did you get one?"

  "From Roxie."

  "Can I have one, too?"

  "And me!"

  All the kids chanted the same tune. "Maybe! They don't come in mini-people size yet, but Roxie said she might mention it to her boss, see if she can convince them to make kid ones."

  Niamh rolled her eyes. "I'm basically Aisling's size."

  "But you're not getting one if the others can't," said Rye. "Come on, guys. My turn to cook. You can help."

  Ian didn't mind Rye's basic cooking; he'd make mac and cheese or something equally unchallenging. But this was the second night his mate was spending on pride territory. They could do better than that.

  "I'm still on duty for two hours," Ian said. "I'll throw together a chili if you want me to."

  Everyone did want him to, unsurprisingly. Ian moved to the kitchen. He hadn't even been there for a couple of minutes when Tania joined him, followed by Clari.

  "Are those onions supposed to be diced or sliced?" the beta female asked.

  He hesitated.

  "Come on, control freak. It's not like I can mess up onions that badly."

  He nodded. "Diced, please. Thank you."

  Tania chopped peppers and then stirred the pan for him. Turned out, having some help was making things a lot faster, and considerably more companionable.

  "Hey, I could have heard wrong, but did you say you used to be regular before? I'm not sure I understand."

  Clari chuckled nervously. "I kinda hoped you'd missed that. We're moving into pride-secret territory. Rye?" She called out loud, turning her neck to look at the living room.

  "Tell her. Also tell her what happens if she betrays our confidence."

  "Right, so some shifters have the ability to turn regular humans into one of us. I was bitten by a turner a couple of years back. We keep that secret from the general population because they'd freak if they knew about the turners."

  No mention of Zack. That was smart of Clari, but Ian didn't like the semi-deception. His mate was trustworthy, he felt it.

  "And of course, if you speak of this outside the pack, we would have to kill you, and everyone you mention it to. Not even we, as in this pride. The entire shifter community comes together when it comes to hiding the turners."

 

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