“I—we—own this territory,” he corrected.
“We’re talking about properties within the human community,” Shaya pointed out.
Nick waved a dismissive hand. “There are too many responsibilities roped up in that.”
“Hmm,” said Shaya, pursing her lips.
He narrowed his eyes. “Hmm? What does ‘hmm’ mean?”
Harley had to smile. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who found that irritating.
“Just that, you know, some people see it as a challenge,” replied Shaya. “It’s okay that challenges aren’t your thing.”
His spine snapped straight. “Hey, I like a challenge as much as the next Alpha.”
“But not enough to listen to my business idea,” said Shaya.
He tensed. “Business idea?”
“After we’ve dealt with Hector, we can buy the land neighboring ours. That’s a lot of space to—”
“And it will remain just space,” Nick insisted.
“Wait, hear me out. We could open a salon there, a little motel exclusive to shifters, a bakery—”
“Ooh yeah,” said Ally. “I’m getting tingles here. Actual tingles.”
Nick slashed a hand through the air. “No. No. No. No. No.”
Shaya sighed, impatient, and put her hands on her hips. “Look, this Hector crap has taught us one thing: a plot of land like that will attract buyers. We need to ensure we’re the buyers.”
“And we will,” said Nick. “That doesn’t mean we need to do anything with the land.”
Roni shook her head. “That’s not good business sense.”
He arched a brow at his sister. “It’s not?”
“I agree with Roni,” said Shaya. “All that land could pay for itself if there were businesses there providing us with income.”
Nick scowled. “It would be too complicated, too many businesses, too much to think about. We don’t know anything about running businesses anyway.”
Kent shyly raised a hand. “I do. I mean, I owned a salon in Arizona. I’d just love to open another one.”
Nick spluttered. “Well, the rest of us haven’t. We haven’t even worked among humans.”
“I have. I worked in Kent’s salon,” Shaya reminded him.
“Not for long,” Nick ground out. “The only real person here who has worked among humans is Harley. She worked at clubs. Anyway, owning lots of businesses . . . it would be too much hassle.”
Ally tapped her fingers on the table. “What you’re saying is that it would be simpler to just run one business.”
“Yes,” replied Nick. “If we branch out, it would be best to start with one business. Something that wouldn’t need my supervision. Something small.”
“Like a salon,” suggested Kent.
Ally shook her head. “It would take time to build a client base. And you would have to hire people outside the pack, since you and Shaya are the only ones here who are qualified to work at a salon.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” said Shaya. “I’d love to be out in public—”
“No,” stated Nick, clearly panicked about the latter, being so overprotective.
Shaya huffed at her mate. “You said it yourself: it would have to be something that wouldn’t require your direct supervision. A salon wouldn’t create any hassle for you.”
“A club would be less hassle, though,” said Roni. “That wouldn’t require his supervision either.”
Nick latched onto that like it was a lifeline. “Yeah, a club would be simpler. It wouldn’t be something that requires Shaya to be out in public.” He turned to Harley. “You’d know how to run it, right?”
Harley shrugged. “Sure.” God, these females were good. They had Nick thinking the whole thing was his idea.
Nick nodded, satisfied, clearly feeling like he was back in control of the matter. “There. Simple. If we branch out, we start with a club.”
Shaya frowned. “But my idea—”
“No.”
“But—”
“No.”
Her shoulders fell. “There’s no way at all I can change your mind?”
“Not on this.”
Shaya released a long, suffering sigh. “I guess we could look into local clubs, see if any are for sale.”
Roni nodded, patting Shaya’s back soothingly. “Yeah. A salon could come later.”
When Nick bristled, Ally raised a hand at Roni. “Let’s not push Nick any further.” He grunted in approval.
“Shaya, look!” called out Cassidy. “Watch me skip!”
“I’m coming!” Shaya walked out, followed by Ally and Roni.
“I want to see the pups skipping,” Harley told Jesse.
His arm flexed around her. “You promise you won’t disappear up a tree?”
Harley rolled her eyes. “Promise.” She accepted his kiss and then slid out the patio door. The three adult females were on the porch, watching the pups attempt to skip and fail. “You girls are sheer goddesses.”
Shaya grinned. “Ain’t we, though?”
“Can I just say I’m so glad you returned Jesse’s claim,” Ally said to Harley. “You and Jesse might not be true mates, but you were meant for each other.”
Harley’s nose wrinkled. “That makes no sense.”
Ally elaborated. “The Jesse he was as a child—he was meant for the little girl who died. The Jesse he is now—he was meant for you.”
Her cat liked that idea, and Harley would like to think it was true.
“Dude, you’re not watching,” Cassidy complained to Shaya.
Blinking in surprise, Shaya chuckled. “Little girls don’t say ‘dude.’ I’m glad Willow didn’t hear you say it; she’d repeat it constantly.”
Cassidy waved a hand. “Nah, she’s too busy singing while she tries to skip.”
Harley frowned. “That sounds more like chanting than singing.” They all quieted and strove to listen to the pup . . . and Harley had to bite back a smile when she realized Willow was chanting “redrum” over and over.
Shaya gasped, wide-eyed. “Who let her watch The Shining?”
Eli looked at Jesse in mock disgust, but he was wearing a ghost of a smile. “You’re sickeningly happy right now, aren’t you?”
“Of course,” replied Jesse.
“It’s making me nauseous.”
“We’re all falling, one by one.” Bracken sighed. “First Nick. Then Derren. Now Jesse.”
Nick folded his arms. “Let’s just hope the next one who finds their mate doesn’t do it for a while. I don’t think I can cope with any more new members in one year.” His mouth twisted, and he was silent for a moment. “I was totally manipulated by my mate just now, wasn’t I?”
Derren’s mouth kicked up into a smile. “Yeah. The others were obviously in on it, but Shaya was clearly the ringleader.”
It had been fucking hilarious and had taken everything Jesse had not to laugh. Shaya was damn sneaky. But Jesse supposed that a submissive female mated to an Alpha would have to find alternative ways of getting what she wanted or she’d feel constantly oppressed.
Nick’s jaw tightened, and he glared at an unsuspecting Shaya through the window. “I’ll kill her.”
“For what it’s worth,” began Zander, “she is right about branching out.”
Nick snorted. “Whatever.”
After everyone left, Jesse and Harley spent the rest of the day alone. It was a day lazily spent lounging, snuggling, bathing, eating, and fucking. Later, they gave their animals freedom and let them run and play together. When it turned dark, the wolf padded back to the lodge with the cat clinging to his back and playfully biting at his ears. Happy.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The sound of a twig snapping brought Harley out of her book. Sitting comfortably on a tree branch, she listened harder . . . and heard light footsteps. Someone was coming. Someone who didn’t want to be sensed.
Jesse was currently guarding the perimeter of the territory and nowhere near
their lodge. And since she’d left her cell on the kitchen counter, there was no way she could call for backup. So she remained absolutely still, straining each of her senses. She scented the prowler before they came into her line of vision. Motherfucker.
Harley watched as they halted a few feet away from the building and stood on their tiptoes, trying to peek through the windows without coming close. Then they started to creep toward the patio doors. She waited until just the right moment before she—in a short series of quick, fluid, silent movements—descended from the branch and landed directly in front of the prowler, who jerked back in surprise. Harley gave a mock smile. “Howdy.”
Licking her lips, Kim glanced around. “Where’s Jesse?”
“You’re not supposed to be here.” Her cat took a swipe at the she-wolf.
“My mom and I are leaving in half an hour.”
Good fucking riddance.
“I came to say good-bye to Jesse.”
“Well, he’s not here.” Harley cocked her head. “But you already knew that. You didn’t really come here to see him. You have something you need to say to me? Let me guess . . . you’re here to tell me how happy you are that I claimed Jesse. I appreciate the sentiment.”
Reeking of envy, Kim glared at Harley. Her expression was so sour it was a wonder she had a grip on her temper. “It doesn’t matter that you claimed him. He’s still not yours.”
“He’s not?” Harley sensed the weird bitch genuinely believed that.
“There’s no mating bond. Imprinting has started, but your scents haven’t mixed.”
“Should I thank you for bringing what I already knew to my attention?”
“If you know that, then you know he won’t fully imprint on you. He can’t,” Kim added with a smugness that made Harley’s cat spit.
“You do realize that if envy was a fatal disease, you’d be on life support right now, don’t you? In your position, that would disturb me.”
“I’m only speaking the truth: you’re not officially mates until you have a mating bond.” And this clearly comforted Kim while she was dealing with the unique situation of not getting what she wanted and having to leave without Jesse.
“Want to know why you and Jesse would never have worked? You want to change him. You think he’s broken and needs fixing. We’re all a little broken. There’s helping someone, and there’s trying to shape them into someone else. The latter just breeds resentment.”
“You need him to change if you have any chance of developing a mating bond. He’s completely closed off.”
“Yeah, to you. And to most of the population.”
Kim arched a brow. “If he’s so open to you, where’s the mating bond?”
“The potential of it is close. I feel it. Like electricity in the air.” It was almost as if it was waiting for something. Harley simply wasn’t sure what. “Very close.”
“But that’s probably all it will ever be: close. That will never be enough for your animals. His wolf and your cat will withdraw from the relationship. His scent will leave your skin; your scent will leave his. At least you get to keep the mark. Although I’m not sure I’d want to forever wear the mark of a guy who left me.”
“I’d ask how long you’ve had it in your head that Jesse could be yours, but I can’t find it in me to care. If you really do feel the need to continue this pointless conversation, just call me later at 1-800-kiss-my-fat-ass.” Harley turned her back on Kim, dismissing her. The she-wolf simply wasn’t worth—
A hand knotted in her hair and dragged her back. Little bitch.
Jesse pulled his cell out of his pocket and saw “Zander” flashing on the screen. He tensed, remembering that the enforcer was guarding the road leading to the main lodge. “Tell me Hector isn’t back again.”
“It’s not Hector, but I don’t think you’re going to be any happier about who it is,” warned Zander. “Harley’s mother and uncle have showed up. They want to see her.”
Jesse swore. “Have you told Harley yet?”
“I tried to call her, but she’s not answering her cell.”
“I’ll go home and ask her if she wants to see them. In the meantime, don’t let them in the main lodge.” He didn’t trust them not to steal anything, and he didn’t want any drama Lily caused to touch the pups.
“I haven’t even let them pass the border. I’m keeping them where they are.” Zander hung up.
Jesse jogged to his lodge, not looking forward to ruining his mate’s morning by giving her this news. He’d been extremely tempted to tell Zander to turn the useless fuckers away, but Harley would hate him making any decisions for her, so he—
Kim’s scent.
For fuck’s sake, was the female suicidal or something? He followed the scent to the rear of the lodge . . . and came to an abrupt halt. A growl rattled his chest as rage surged through him in a hot rush. His mate’s hair was a mess, her lip was split, and blood was seeping through the claw marks on her chest onto the torn T-shirt she wore. Kim . . . well, she was unconscious and both gagged and bound by what looked like strips of her own sweater. She also had claws marks on her face and neck like she’d been attacked by a feral alley cat.
Jesse clenched his fists against the urge to rant and rave at what had been done to his mate; he sensed that her cat was very close to the surface and not at all happy. If he released his own anger, it would feed hers. He took slow steps toward his mate. “Baby,” he began softly, “why is she trussed up like a Christmas turkey? Not that I’m complaining.”
“She came at me from behind,” Harley replied simply.
“Ah.” He knew his mate well enough to understand that she therefore wouldn’t have viewed Kim as worthy of a true duel. Harley could really have hurt her if she’d wanted to, but she’d settled for humiliating and mauling Kim instead. That humiliation would run deep for a female as dominant as Kim.
“You should probably call someone to come and fetch her.”
Up close, Jesse stroked Harley’s back, petting the tension out of her. His wolf snarled at the scent of her blood, pushing at Jesse’s skin so he could reach his mate and comfort her. Both he and Jesse silently seethed at the sight of her injuries. They weren’t bad enough to need Ally’s help and, in fact, would probably heal just fine within the next thirty minutes. That didn’t make him feel any better.
He made a quick call to Derren and explained the matter. The Beta assured Jesse that he would get there fast, which was a good thing because Kim then regained consciousness. Realizing her predicament, she muttered something around her gag. With the strength of their kind, she tore her bonds and struggled to her feet, cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” he growled at Kim, reminding himself how wrong it would be to strike a female. “You had no fucking right to touch her! I wish right now I was a lesser guy so I could rip your damn throat out!”
Breathing hard, Kim touched one of the scratches on her face. “She drew blood first.”
He jabbed a finger at the she-wolf. “You were warned not to come back here. You knew exactly what could happen if you did. Or maybe that’s why you came here. Maybe you wanted a fight.”
“You made a mistake choosing her, Jesse. I could have helped you open up.”
Harley tilted her head. “Persistent little bitch, aren’t you? And so very, very bitter.” Harley didn’t know if that bitterness was so intense because Kim had feelings for Jesse or because she simply couldn’t cope with being denied what she wanted. Harley also didn’t care.
“Three years,” Kim said to him. “It’s been three years of nothing from her, and then you claim her. You don’t even know her. Not really. I was there for you at the memorial, but you went to her.”
“You followed me after the memorial,” Jesse realized. He did remember Kim hovering around him, trying to comfort him. He hadn’t thought she’d followed him, though.
“Hoping to wear him down?” asked Harley. “Oh, now that’s just sad and desperate.”
Her flush deepened. “Says the woman who took advantage of a grieving male!”
“Harley didn’t take advantage,” said Jesse. “She took what was hers.”
Kim flinched. “Your true mate died—”
“I never said Harley was my true mate. I claimed her because she’s my choice. I’m hers just as she’s mine.”
“Even though she introduced your sister to drugs? Isn’t that the ultimate insult to Mia’s memory?”
Frowning at her shrill outburst, Harley mused, “You’re a lot angrier about all this than I’d first thought.” This was teeth-gnashing anger that would eat at a person’s soul. “Fascinating.”
“Fascinating?” Kim echoed.
“Well, not really,” said Harley. “It’s actually quite sad that a grown woman would carry this much bitterness over . . . well, anything.” Her cat raked her claws against Harley’s stomach, wanting the freedom to avenge herself.
“I never once misled you into thinking there would be anything between us,” Jesse told Kim. “If you thought differently, that’s on you.”
Kim planted her hands on her hips. “So you’ll fuck my sister but not me?”
Jesse grimaced. “I never touched your sister. It’s all in your messed-up head.”
Derren and Bracken came charging out of the trees. Both skidded to a halt, taking in the sight before them.
Closing his eyes, Bracken said, “I’m not even going to ask what happened, Kim. I don’t want to know. Go. Mom’s waiting for you.”
Kim warily approached him. “Bracken—”
His eyes snapped open. “Don’t. You bloodied one of my pack mates!”
“She bloodied me first!”
“That’s actually true,” said Harley. “Of course, if she hadn’t come at me from behind and took a fistful of my hair, I wouldn’t have whirled on her and slashed at her face.”
Derren growled at Kim. “You’re lucky you’re Bracken’s sister. Anyone else would have paid deeply for that. Now get the fuck out of here.”
As his sister walked off, Bracken looked at Harley. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think she was truly this stupid.”
“No need to apologize,” said Harley. “That was on her, not you.”