His brows rose. “Both of them?”

She nodded.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Why the fuck are they unclaimed?”

“Uh, ex cuse me? Unclaimed? Like my ass is in some ratty lost-and-found bin?”

“Glory,” Tabby groaned.

“I have a mate?” Cyn stood, her entire body quivering. “He’s going to fucking claim me?”

Oh hell. “Cyn, calm down.”

“Fuck no! Who is it?”

Tabby pinched her lips together. No way was she getting in the middle of this.

Cyn’s eyes narrowed. “I know where you hide your shoes.”

Tabby’s shoulders shrugged. “So not fair, Cyn.”

“Including your favorite fuck-me pumps. They’re history.”

“Oh, hell, not my black patent leather pumps. You bitch!”

“Hello, Wolfgirl, that’s kind of the pot calling the kettle black. Like those pumps

—”

“Okay, okay, it’s Julian.”

Glory growled. “No need to ask who thinks he owns my ass.” She began pacing, her skirts swirling in a crazy Technicolor display.

That was way better than the controlled ice Cyn was showing. “Julian thinks he can just claim me whether I like it or not?”

“No! Why do you think he’s waited, Cyn? He knows you’re not ready yet!”

Cyn’s glare turned deadly. “Does he, now?” She smiled at Gabe. “Turn me.”

“Uh… Yeah. Maybe not.” Gabe backed off, holding his hands up.

“If Julian thinks he’s going to wait to claim me until he decides I’m ready, I’ll be fucking old and gray. Put me on equal footing. Let me decide.”

Gabe’s jaw clenched. “You know this is irreversible, right? If I do this, you’ll be answerable to Max Cannon, our Alpha, and his Curana, Emma. You’ll bow before them whether you want to or not. Can you handle that?”

Cyn frowned. Some of the ice surrounding her thawed. “Emma’s cool. I’ve met her once or twice at the coffee shop. I don’t know Max.”

“There’s more than one type of shifter, Cyn.” Tabby took hold of her arm. “If you really want to do this, I could make you Wolf. Hell, I’d love to make you Wolf.”

She’d have the Pack she’d always wanted, one that loved her.

“Or I could make you Bear.” Alex shrugged when Tabby turned and growled at him. “It’s an option, but I think she needs to know exactly who and what Julian is before she makes that decision. Being the mate of a Kermode is considered an honor among my people.”

Cyn blinked. “The mate of a what?”

Alex sighed. “The Kermode Bears are also known as Spirit Bears. They live exclusively in Canada, somewhere near British Columbia. They have powers beyond what a normal Bear has, but there are so few of them, it’s rare to meet one. It’s unheard of to find one outside of Canada.

“I don’t know much about them other than they’re so reclusive my grandfather thought they were a myth until Jamie Howard came home from Canada. He told us some stories about the ones he’d met.” Gabe sighed. “If your mate is Kermode, he’s the closest thing we shifters have to a mystical priest.”

“So you’re telling me he has magic powers?” Cyn’s expression turned cynical.

“Not quite. Hell, I’d try to explain it, but I don’t understand it myself. Bunny?”

Alex shook his head. “Sorry, we know a little more, but not much. The Kermode are…” He got a far-away look in his eyes. “They’re treasured. Respected. They have powers other Bears only dream of. It’s said Bear Himself walks with them and guides their dreams.”

“Then why is he here?” They all turned to Glory, who shrugged. “Seriously? Why is he here if they never leave Canada?”

Gabe looked thoughtfully at Cyn. “Good question. Has anyone ever asked him?”

“We’re getting off topic.” Tabby sat in Cyn’s abandoned seat. Her feet were killing her. “I’d really suggest letting your mates claim you. If they scent another man on you, they’ll freak the fuck out.”

“Maybe that would be a good thing.” Cyn began to pace around the room.

“Besides, I’d like the ability to protect myself from Gary and the Gutless Wonders.”

Glory giggled. “I agree. And don’t try to tell me I need some big strapping man to do it, either.”

Alex closed his mouth. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

The three women stared at him until his cheeks began to turn red.

“So now it’s a matter of deciding what we’d like to be.” Cyn locked eyes with Glory. The mischief in them was daunting.

“It’s like picking out a new dress that will never go out of style.”

“Oh lord.” Tabby put her head in her hands. It was going to be a long night.


Alex took the keys to Tabby’s Jeep out of her hands. “Your friends are insane.”

“Yup. Total Queens of Denial.”

Alex shook his head. At least the sign over the curtained-off area now made sense. He opened the passenger door and waited for Tabby to climb in. “What do you think they’ll decide?”

“Knowing them both?” She scooted in without protest and waited until he was settled behind the wheel before continuing. “Glory will jump the first shifter she sees and beg for a bite. Cyn will think about it and eventually go with her first instinct. I expect she’ll call Gabe before the end of the week.”

“I’m not sure that’s fair to either Ryan or Julian.” He started the Jeep and took off, leaving the Harley behind. It had begun to rain while they were in the shop and he had no desire to get soaked on the way back to the hotel. “They should be the ones to change their mates.”

Tabby shrugged. “Here.” She reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “Call Ryan. Tell him what Glory’s pondering and see what happens.”

He stared at her. She grinned back. “That’s evil.”

She nodded once. “Yup.”

“You have Julian’s number?”

Her grin turned into a snarl. “I did until someone crunched my phone.”

He began dialing his cousin’s number. “Right. First stop, the Sprint store.”

“Damn skippy.”

“Hey, Ryan. There’s something you need to know.”

“Shoot.” His cousin sounded like absolute shit.

“Is Chloe okay?” He could be at the hospital in fifteen minutes if he needed to.

“No change. Mom’s…yeah.”

Bunny sighed. “Shit.”

“Yeah.” Ryan sighed. “So what’s up?”

“Anderson came by Living Art and filled the girls in on some stuff he’s checking out. He offered to change both Cyn and Glory so they can protect themselves if Tabby’s attacker turns out to be a shifter.”

“Son of a bitch.” Ryan’s inhuman growl filled his ear. “Where is Glory?”

“We just left her at Living Art.”

The phone clicked when Ryan hung up on him.

Tabby took the phone he handed over and dialed, then put it back in his hands.

He frowned but put it back up to his ear.

“’Lo?”

Julian didn’t sound any better than he had an hour ago. “Julian, you sound like shit.”

He could hear the rustling of cloth, possibly sheets. “Yeah, well I feel like shit.


What’s up?”

“Anderson came by Living Art. He offered to change both Cyn and Glory so they can take care of themselves if Tabby’s attacker turns out to be a shifter and goes after either of them.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. “And this concerns me how?”

Bunny pulled the phone away from his ear. “Cyn. Not a Bear.” Still nothing.

“Someone else’s mark on her body.”

That got a reaction. “Shit.” The man sounded more awake now. “What did Tabby tell her?”

Bunny frowned. Wasn’t Cyn’s reaction more important? “She said it was a bad idea, but she gave Cyn the impression that the reason you hadn’t changed her was because you were waiting for something. Cyn didn’t handle that too well.”

“Goddamn mother fucking son of a bitch.” Julian sighed. “Let me see which way the woman’s planning on jumping and if I need to stop her.”

“Aren’t you going to claim her?”

“It’s not time yet! ”

Bunny winced and pulled the phone away from his ear. Damn, Julian could yell.

He checked the driver’s side window to see if his brains were currently sliding down the glass. “Dude, I hate to say it, but your time might be up.”

“Shit. Fuck!” He could hear more rustling cloth. “Who the hell told Tabby she could say anything?”

“I think my mate was trying to prevent your mate from making a mistake.”

There was the sound of a huge crash. “Any idea who she was thinking of asking to change her?”

“I think she was leaning toward a Puma.”

“That won’t do. Tell Tabby that if she can’t talk Cyn out of it, she has to get your Aunt Laura to change her into a Fox. That’s the only other option.”

“Oookay. Do I want to know, or should I flail around blindly?”

Julian snorted. “Welcome to my world.”

Huh?

“Trust me, Bunny. If I could have, I would have already taken Cyn. Nothing would have stopped me.”

Bunny sat up straighter. Something in the other man’s voice called to everything in him that was Bear.

“But the time isn’t right. And until it is, I’ll do everything I can to see that she remains safe. And that means she can’t become either Wolf or Puma, understand?”

“What about Bear?”

“No. Not unless it’s by my hand.”

“Julian—”


“I forbid it.”

“Understood.” Bunny’s foot hit the brake. He blinked. Since when did he take orders from anyone other than his father? “Julian?”

“Just…trust me. Please.”

Bunny looked over at Tabby. The clueless, worried frown on her face told him she had no idea what was going on. But she trusted Julian with her life.

And Julian had almost given his saving Chloe.

“I do.” He hoped the conviction he felt was obvious in his voice. If it wasn’t, he’d reassure the man next time he saw him.

“Thank you.” He barely heard the whispered words before Julian cut the connection.

“I’m going to say it again,” Bunny muttered. He pulled back into traffic. “You have some freaky-ass friends.”

Tabby shook her head. “What the hell was that all about?”

“Not a clue.” And something tells me Julian isn’t much better off. If the Kermode didn’t know the answers, who the fuck did?


They couldn’t reach Cyn before they hit the Sprint store, and by the time they were done, it was late. They stopped for some fast food and ate in the car before heading back to Alex’s hotel room.

“Are you planning on living here?” She winced. She hadn’t meant to ask that question yet. They were newly mated, still learning each other. She had no idea whether or not he’d meant what he’d said in Noah’s that night, about possibly starting up a small business here in Halle.

He frowned. “You’re here.” They got out of the Jeep and headed for the front door of the hotel. “By the way, seen any houses you like?”

She stumbled. Real estate? That sounded permanent. “Um. Not recently.”

Okay. That was a total lie. There was this adorable little red brick house not far from Simon and Becky Holt’s that she’d totally fallen in love with, and it was for sale. The cottage-style house had both whimsy and dignity, with a black front door and shutters, but a garden with stone fairies in it. She was sure that the garden would be full of flowers come spring, hiding the fairies behind colorful blooms.

He nodded. “We’ll need to make an appointment, see what we can find.” He led her inside, his hand drifting down to her ass. “In the meantime, have I mentioned I love those fucking boots?”

Tabby grinned up at him. “Do you?” She put a little extra sway into her hips, his low growl music to her ears. After the night they’d had, they both deserved a little something special. After only two times with Alex, she already knew he’d make tonight memorable.

They entered his hotel room. She stepped inside, a wicked smile crossing her face at the sight of the bed.


She heard the door shut. “Tabby?”

“Hmm?” His voice had deepened, sending a quiver of anticipation down her spine.

“Strip.”

She shivered at the note of command in his voice. She looked back over her shoulder. Her man stood there, his arms crossed over his chest, his legs spread wide. The bulge of his erection pulsed behind the zipper of his jeans. He looked dangerous.

She had two choices. Defy him and see what happened. Or strip and see what he had in mind.