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 o
ver 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 sto
od 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.”
Trey shrugged carelessly. “We won’t know until we ask.” What worried Marcus was that Trey might be too livid to bother “asking” anyone and would simply attack. He knew how temperamental his Alpha could be. If it hadn’t been for Taryn’s ability to keep him calm, Trey would have already exploded by now. His wolf, who had a tendency to turn feral when enraged, had to be going insane.
“Have any of you ever had problems with jackals?” asked Jaime. “We know from Popeye’s experience that even a jilted girlfriend can bring problems.”
Dante frowned at his nickname, though it suited him due to his muscular frame. “Glory wasn’t my girlfriend; she was a one-night stand.”
“A one-night stand who tried to kill me, so I think we can agree that I have a point.”
Trey ran his gaze around the room, one brow raised questioningly. Everybody shook their heads.
Dominic spoke from where he was leaning against the wall. “All right, so what are the usual reasons for abducting someone?”
Dante puffed out a long breath. “Ransom, extortion, or blackmail. Other times, the reason is much darker, like traffick—” When Taryn held up her hand, he gently said, “We have to consider everything. The jackals had a motive, and we need to find it.”
Trey turned to Rhett, Grace’s mate and the resident computer geek. “I want you to find everything you can on the nearest jackal pack.”
Rhett nodded. “I’ll have the info by morning.”
Nick spoke to Trey. “I’ll be joining you on the hunt.”
“Me too.” Shaya shot Nick a cautioning glare that told him he wasn’t going to stop her.