Just the sound of her voice was enough to soothe him. They were going to have a nice, long talk about Gary tonight, after he fed her and fucked her senseless. She wouldn’t be able to hold anything back from him by the time he was done with her.

He went into the back of the shop and found his woman. She was finishing up a tattoo of an elaborate cross on a woman old enough to be his grandmother. “Hey, baby.”

Tabby grinned up at him. “Hey, Alex.”


Cyn popped her head into the cubicle. “Hi, Bunny.”

The woman in the chair looked him up and down and snorted. “Bunny?”

Tabby shook her head. “Long story, Mrs. H.”

“You a biker?”

“Yeah, but not in a gang. The nickname’s from my last name.” He held out his hand to the woman. “Alexander Bunsun.”

The woman shook his hand. “Evelyn Hagen. Nice ta meet’cha, Bunny.”

“You almost done, Tabby?” Cyn crossed her arms over her chest

“Yup. Just have to finish up the last initial.” She started the gun back up, waiting for her client to settle back down. “Here we go.”

He watched her draw the long line of an H in the center of the cross. It looked like a tribute tattoo, the initials MH inked in the center of the cross. “All right, done.”

She took the needles off the gun and disposed of them in the hazardous waste bin under the counter. “You know the drill. Don’t get it wet, use the creams we give you, yadda, yadda, blah, blah.”

Mrs. H watched as Tabby carefully slathered something over the tattoo and taped it up. “Good job.” She grinned over at Cyn. “This one’s a keeper.”

“I think so, even if she is a smart-ass.” Cyn stuck her tongue out at Tabby. “As soon as I find the ladder, that sign’s coming down.”

Mrs. H. cackled. “You’re going to have to explain that one to me.” As Cyn blushed, the cackle turned into a full-belly laugh. “Oh, with that look on your face you’re really gonna have to tell me.”

Tabby snapped off the rubber gloves and disposed of them. “Are you done with me for the night, your majesty?”

Cyn waved her away. “Get out of here, you pain in the ass.”

Tabby laughed and got out.

Bunny followed her to the front of the store. Behind him, he heard Mrs. H. begin to grill Cyn, but found himself too distracted to listen. Tabby was wearing another pair of those painted-on jeans and a black lacy top that exposed an inch of creamy skin just above the waistband of her pants. It had sleeves halfway down her arms ending in more black lace, and gleaming buttons he wanted to bite off.

Oh yeah, and those fucking boots. She looked like a kick-ass heroine out of one of his favorite comic books.

If he didn’t get her out of here, he was going to get arrested for indecent exposure.

He wanted to rip the lace off her body, strip those jeans up and fuck her up against the wall while she wore nothing but those boots, her nipple ring and a smile. Bunny’s cock twitched at the thought. If he could just hold on until he got her back to the hotel room, he’d see to it his fantasy came true.

Glory was trying to hide her smile behind her hand. “Hey, Bunny.”

“Hi, Glory.” He wondered what the half guilty, half amused look on her face was all about. “Hey, what happened here today? Julian told me he and Ryan were here this morning and for some reason when Ryan came back he smacked me.”

Tabby choked.


Glory’s face took on an innocent expression that didn’t fool him for a moment. “I have no idea. We were talking about the ocean and boats when he showed up.

Does he get seasick?”

Tabby snickered.

Okay, something’s going on here. Ryan had practically bitten his head off more than once today. “Please tell me you didn’t do something that’s going to make my cousin try to kick my ass.”

Glory shrugged. “I have no idea what has him upset. Did you say something to him, Tabby?”

Tabby shook her finger at Glory. “Keep me out of this, your pixieness.”

He growled down at Glory, careful to keep the sound human. “What happened? If I’m going to die, I deserve to know why.”

“Glory decided to, um… And Ryan walked in while she was…heh.” Was Tabby blushing? “You know what? You’re better off not knowing.”

Now he was intrigued. “Glory?”

She sighed. “Fine.” She tossed her head back. “Oh, Bunny,” she moaned. Tabby leapt toward the counter, but Glory evaded her easily. “Bunny, Bunny,” she chanted, each one becoming more breathless, until “Bunny! ”

Now it was Bunny’s turn to blush. “Yeah, that will do it.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to figure out how to explain to the little pixie that moaning another man’s name was a surefire way to get her mate to lose his damn mind.

“Do yourself a favor and don’t do that again, okay? Not unless you want to find out exactly what Ryan’s capable of where you’re concerned.” Knowing his cousin, Glory would find herself marked and claimed before she could blink. “You ready to go, baby?”

“Yup. Let me grab my purse and we’re out of here.” She glared at Glory. “Behave, your pixieness.”

Glory laughed. “Enjoy your boat ride, Tabs.”

Tabby’s blush deepened.

“Again, do I want to know?”

Tabby clamped her lips shut and practically ran out the front door. By this time, even the tips of her ears were red.

Bunny’s lips twitched. Hell, with these three around, at least his life would never be boring.


“Tabby,” a voice drawled out of the darkness. “Where are you off to, Outcast?”

She stepped back before she could stop herself. “Gary.” She let her eyes bleed into her Wolf’s, checking around the darkened street for Gary and his goons.

“I asked you a question, bitch.”

She turned so rapidly she almost lost her balance. There, just stepping out of the alleyway next to the store, were Gary and his buddies. “Leave me alone, asshole.”

She had to get away before these guys went after Alex or worse, Glory and Cyn.

Hell, Mrs. H. was still inside. She didn’t know if they’d go after a harmless old woman, but Mrs. H. wouldn’t stand by and let someone she liked get hurt. She’d try to save Tabby and wind up getting savaged.

An arm slipped around her waist, her mate’s scent filling her senses. “Is there a problem here?”

Oh fuck. Alex. She felt herself tense, ready to defend her mate. “No, no problem.”

Please go back inside. A Bear could hold off one Wolf, but a Wolf Pack? He’d be mangled. She wouldn’t allow Gary to lay a hand on Alex. She’d never forgive herself if anything happened to her mate.

“No, no problem,” Gary echoed. He smiled slowly. “Your voice sounds familiar.”

“So does yours.” Alex’s arm tightened around her waist. “You’re Gary, right?”

Alex’s voice sounded soft and menacing. Shit. He sounded just like he had at Noah’s that night. The muscles in his arm were tight with tension.

“That’s right. And you are?”

“Tabby’s mate.” She could feel his claws against her waist, but didn’t dare look down. She’d seen Julian’s nails turn black, the tips become deadly sharp. She didn’t need to see them to know Alex’s were the same way.

Gary did look. His eyes widened briefly. “Oh.”

One of Alex’s claws began rhythmically tapping against her stomach. She held perfectly still, knowing he would never intentionally hurt her. “That’s right. We’re not going to have any trouble, are we, boys?”

Gary’s eyes gleamed in the light of the streetlamp. “You’re not Wolf, so allow me to explain a few things to you.” Those tapping claws stopped, scraped across her skin. She twitched when one scratched her belly. “You’re right. I’m not Wolf. I’m Bear.”

Gary laughed. “Wait. You mated a Bear?” His three goons laughed along with him. “A fucking Bear? You’re kidding me, right?”

Tabby clamped her lips shut. Whatever the hell Alex was up to, there was no way she could stop it now.

“Listen, Bear. Tabby is Outcast. That makes her fair game to any Wolf who wants a piece, got it?”

For some strange reason, Alex relaxed behind her. “Is that so? Well, let me tell you something, Wolf. Tabby is no longer a Wolf problem. She’s mine.”

Gary laughed again. He wiped away an imaginary tear. “Oh, that’s good. A Bear.”

He shook his hand at Tabby and Alex. “Run along. I’ll deal with you both later.”

Gary turned his back on them and motioned for his Pack. They grinned at Tabby and Bunny before turning and following Gary down the street, the small Pack still laughing.

“What. The. Fuck?” Tabby turned in Alex’s arms, heedless of the claws scraping along her flesh. The scratches would heal quickly enough. “What the hell was that all about?” And why hadn’t Gary attacked them?

Alex shrugged, but his narrowed eyes were glued to Gary’s retreating form. “I have no idea.” His hands absently stroked her flesh, healing the scratches he’d made.


“I would guess that he didn’t want his ass in jail.”

They both turned to find Gabe standing behind them. “I thought maybe I should update you on the prints we found on the stink bomb.” He gestured toward the door of Living Art. “Mind if we go in, get it all over with at once?”

“Sure, no problem.” Alex steered her back inside. She was still a little dazed at how easily Gary had backed down. Then again a Puma, a Wolf and a Bear could easily defeat his small Pack. And when one of those shifters was not only a Marshall’s Second but a Hunter?

Yeah. One order of Gary’s ass on toast, coming up.

They went back into the store. “Cyn! Glory! I found a sheriff on the front step.

Can I keep him?” She winked at Glory, who giggled behind her hand. She ignored Alex’s low growl and Gabe’s chuckle.

Cyn stepped out of the back room. “Hey, Sheriff. Any news on the vandalism?”

“That’s why I’m here.” He took off his hat and ran his hands through his black hair. “The prints we lifted aren’t on file, either with us or with the national database.”

“Damn it.” Cyn collapsed into one of the chairs lining the walls. “That means we’ll never get him.”

“Not unless he gets arrested, no.” Gabe looked around. “Is anyone else in the store with you?”

“Nope. Mrs. H. left the back way. Said she’d left her Harley back there.”

“Fine.” Gabe eyed the two humans thoughtfully. “Know that the only reason I’m telling you this is because you know about and accepted Tabby.” Cyn frowned, Glory looked puzzled. “I’m running the prints through…other channels as well, just to make sure we’re not dealing with a shifter problem.”

“Shit.” Cyn tugged her hair. “Like Gary isn’t enough of a problem. Any way we can fingerprint him?” When Gabe shook his head, she took a deep breath and blew it out, straightened in her seat and did her best to stare a hole through Gabe. “You tell us what we need to do and we’ll do it.”

Gabe smiled. “Let us deal with it if it turns out to be shifters. I’ll let you know if anything shows up. At that point, it’s out of your hands and I’ll have to call in some backup.” He knelt down in front of Cyn. “I’m obligated to make this offer.”

She eyed him warily.

“I or one of my other Pride members could change you.” He turned his head to share a look with Glory. “Either of you, or both of you. You know about us already, so it wouldn’t be too much of a hardship for either of you.”

Tabby blinked, then bit back a possessive growl. If anyone was changing her girls, it was going to be her.

“What would I be if you did?”

“A Puma.”

“Really?” Glory stepped forward. “I’d be a shape-shifting kitty?”

Gabe dropped his head. “Ah. Not exactly.”

“That would be a really bad idea, Anderson.” Alex pointed with his chin. “At least for Glory.”

She put her hands on her hips. “And why is that?”

Tabby nodded. Alex was right. “Because Ryan would pitch a fit.”

“Who cares what Ryan thinks? I like kitties. What if I want to be a kitty?”

“Ryan Williams, as in Chloe’s brother?” Gabe stood up and studied Glory. “Right.

I’ll talk to him.” He turned back to Cyn, ignoring Glory’s gasp of outrage. “What about you?”

Tabby doubted she was the only one who heard Gabe’s unspoken question. Do you have a mate too?

Cyn smiled, her expression wicked. “I think I’d make a fine-looking cat.”

No. Bad idea. Very bad. “Uh, Gabe?” Tabby grinned weakly. “Not a good idea.”