“Get in line.” Julian stepped into the chaos. Silver still peppered his hair, and his dark eyes sparkled with gray lights. “Where’s Cyn?”

Glory inched away from Ryan and earned herself a low growl. “She said she was going out for a bite.”

The three men froze. “She wouldn’t.” Bunny stared at the curtained-off area, wondering if she’d really be that stupid.

“She would.” Julian walked around him, his gait still unsteady. “Where’s Tabby?”

“She left. She said she had to make sure Cyn didn’t do anything stupid.” Glory frowned, staring at the three groaning men. “What?”

“Did you think she was going out for lunch?”

“Well, yeah.” She blinked up at Ryan. “Wasn’t she?”

“Shit. You think she went to Aunt Laura?”

Ryan shrugged. “She did before. Mom told her no, that it was up to Julian to do the honors.”

Julian groaned. “Crap.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “This keeps getting better and better.”

“We’ll find her, Julian.”

“And then I’m going to tie her fine ass down and mark her.” Julian stomped out of the store.

“I thought you said it wasn’t time?” Bunny shouted after him.

“Yeah, well, the timetable just got screwed all to hell and back.”

Bunny chuckled. Tabby would try to keep Cyn from doing anything stupid, but still. Maybe Glory knew something about what was going on. “Do you know where the two of them went?”

“I think Cyn said something about talking to Emma.”

The two Bears exchanged another glance. “You think Emma would do it?” Ryan shifted next to Glory, boxing her in. She glowered up at him.

“I don’t know her well enough to say.” They’d only met the petite Curana the other day, but her power was undeniable. Bunny didn’t think Emma would do something she’d been specifically asked not to, but with an Alpha female, you could never tell.

“Maybe you’d better follow him, then.”

“Yeah. Ryan, stay here, help Glory clean up. I’ll get Cyn and Tabby back here in one piece.” He held up his finger, stopping Glory’s automatic protest. “Do this, please. It will ease Tabby’s mind to know that someone is watching over you.”

She snapped her mouth closed. Her sigh sounded so put-upon, he almost laughed. “Fine. The furball can stay.”

“Gee, thanks.” Ryan rolled his eyes. “Take care of them. I’ll call Mom and Dad and let them know what’s going on.”

Bunny waved and headed out, leaving the cooling pizzas on a stool. He hoped Glory was hungry. He had the feeling he wouldn’t be back before they’d turned stone-cold.


“C’mon, Cyn. You know Julian is going to turn you. Can’t you just wait?”

Cyn turned on her. They were only half a block from Wallflowers, the curio shop Emma co-owned with her Beta, Becky. It was the closest she’d been able to park.

“Do you know why I’m not sitting around waiting for him?”

Tabby bit her lip. No, she didn’t, but now that Cyn was talking, she wasn’t going to interrupt her and risk her shutting up. Cyn rarely talked about why she did things, she just did them.

“My mom always waited for my dad. Always. To the point where she didn’t fucking sneeze without his say-so. She let him make all the decisions, run her life for her. And after he died, she was fucking lost. She could barely function without him there.”

“Cyn. How do you think I’d feel if I lost Alex?”

Cyn blinked. “That’s different.”

“Maybe. I’d be able to function if I survived. I know I can take care of myself. I’ve proven that.”

“What do you mean, if you survived it?”

Tabby winced. “Most mates don’t survive the death of their partner.”

Cyn’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? Your lives are tied together?”

“Duh. That’s what mates are, Cyn. We’re two halves of a whole. If half your body died, if half your heart stopped beating, what would happen to you?”

Cyn’s jaw snapped shut. She looked freaked out. “Huh. Maybe this whole mating thing isn’t such a hot idea.”

“And maybe this is exactly why Julian chose to wait. You need to be certain it’s what you want before you tie your life force to him.”

Cyn stepped closer, lowering her voice. “You wanted this? You wanted your life tied to someone else’s?”

Tabby nodded. “It’s the most incredible feeling I’ve ever had. I’d gladly do it all over again if it meant I get to keep Alex.” She put her hand on Cyn’s arm. “He’s my home, Cyn.”

“Whoa.” Cyn’s shocked expression faded. She knew exactly how much home meant to Tabby. “So if he left Halle?”

“I’d be on the back of his bike, after I got a very good reason for the move out of him.” Tabby grinned. “Mate doesn’t mean doormat, Cyn.”

She nodded slowly. “I’ll have to think about this.” She took a step back and turned on her heel. “But I’m still talking to Emma.”

Tabby groaned. “C’mon, Cyn. Alex was bringing pizza, damn it!” Her stomach rumbled. She was starving.

Cyn laughed and opened the door to Wallflowers.

“Good afternoon, ladies. How can I help you?” Becky Holt rose from the Victorian, cream-colored sofa with a smile. This was the first time Tabby had been in Wallflowers and she looked around with interest.

Wallflowers was a business that catered to people who enjoyed hand-crafted, artisan-made pieces. The eccentric store carried hand-carved cuckoo clocks, paintings, old-fashioned mirrors, masks, plaques…anything that could be used to decorate a wall. An antique rug covered the distressed hardwood floors. A small Victorian sofa covered in soft cream brocade graced the center of the floor. A Queen Anne coffee table in rich cherry wood sat before it, bearing a silver tea service. Two matching chairs in that same cream fabric faced the sofa, creating an inviting little conversation group. Against one wall was a gas fireplace with an ornately carved mantelpiece, where black-and-white and sepia photos were displayed in silver frames. A cherry and glass counter, as Victorian as they could make it and still have it be functional, graced one wall, with an antique cash register.

Emma and Becky had created an atmosphere of a bygone era, and the shop was warm and inviting. A fire crackled merrily in the fireplace on this cool September afternoon, the light glinting off lovely cherry-wood wainscoting. Rich rose floral wallpaper warmed the walls above it. It was very feminine, and both women obviously loved it. Tabby could see herself spending time here, enveloped in the welcome Emma and Becky exuded to everyone who entered.

“I’m here to talk to Emma. Is she here?” Cyn cocked her hip and flipped her dark hair behind her. To anyone who didn’t know her, she looked singularly unimpressed, but Tabby had seen the way her dark eyes gleamed at the sight of that beautiful cherry-wood counter.

Becky’s smile wavered as she stared at Cyn’s battered face. Her eyes narrowed.

“What happened?”

“Nothing. I just want to talk to her about a bite. I’m Cyn Reyes. I own Living Art Tattoos.”

The two women stared at one another for a moment before Becky sighed. “Is this about the problems with Gary or the fact that you’re mated to one of the Bears?”

She turned to Tabby when Cyn’s jaw dropped. “What’s his name?”

“Julian,” Tabby supplied. She ignored Cyn’s glare, smiling at the Beta. Her Beta, now that Max had accepted her into the Pride.

“Huh. Simon mentioned something about that.” Becky tapped her teeth with her nail. “And I think Emma said something about leaving that up to your mate.”

Cyn shifted and her lips tightened. That Latina temper was getting the better of her again.

Becky laughed. “Hey, if it were up to me, you’d have the right to choose. I didn’t get that right and neither did Emma.”

“So you didn’t want to be changed or mated?” Cyn pounced on the Beta’s words with childish glee.

Becky laughed. “Oh, hell yes, I wanted it. I just wanted to choose when.”

Tabby laughed. “See? I told you it’s not that bad.”

Becky’s slow smile was wicked. “Nope. Not bad at all. And having your mate change you makes it even more special. Emma and I were both human when Max and Simon marked us. They’d been changed by the old Alpha, Jonathon Friedelinde, and from what Simon said, he wishes it had been a little bit different.”

“Why?”

Cyn had a good question. Tabby hadn’t met a made shifter before. Her old Alpha wouldn’t allow it, except between mates.

“The mating bite masks the pain of the shifting bite. The only other human I know of who was changed by a non-mate is Sheri Giordano, and she had been beaten nearly to death. She still bears the scars of the fight she had with a rogue Wolf.” Becky’s hand drifted up to her neck. Tabby knew she had a set of scars there from her own run-in with a rogue. “It can be done, and has been done, but I for one would rather have pleasure than pain. I don’t like pain. It hurts me.”

“Becks? Who are you talking to?” Emma walked in from the back room, her brown eyes twinkling merrily until she caught sight of Cyn’s face. “Cyn! Tabby!

How are you? Oh, your poor face!”

Tabby bowed her head in respect to her Curana. “Emma.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “It’s true. Max accepted you into the Pride.” She laughed, the sound loud and merry. “Rick is going to shit a brick.”

“Emma! ” Becky rolled her eyes. “Ugh. Ignore her. Listen, Cyn? I’m going to get you some ice for that cheek, okay? Have a seat, I’ll be right back.”

Cyn sat. “Thanks.”

“Rick should be here in a day or two.” Emma smiled gently at Tabby. “Did you think I was going to leave you an Outcast?”

Tabby shuddered. She did not want to meet the Poconos Alpha or his Luna!

Becky returned with the ice pack and handed it to Cyn. “Put that on your face.

Do you need some ibuprofen?”

Cyn shook her head no, her eyes darting around the shop.

Tabby leaned closer to Becky and whispered, “How the heck do I get out of meeting Rick Lowell?”

Emma snorted and handed a glass and two pills to Cyn. “Take that, no arguments. You need to go to the hospital?” Cyn shook her head again and swallowed the pills, looking stunned. “And you!” She pointed to Tabby. “Rick isn’t that bad. And Belle is going to love you.”

Tabby was horrified. “That’s what I’m afraid of. Would she prefer my ass with A-1

or Heinz 57?”

“Wuss,” Emma coughed into her fist. She laughed when Tabby blew her a raspberry. “I mean it. Rick really isn’t as bad as he’s made out to be. He just looks scary.”

“I’m a Pride member though, right? He can’t make me go away?”

Emma’s expression softened. “No, Tabby. No one can make you go away now except you.”

“Okay. Wow.” Tabby blinked away the tears that sprung up out of nowhere. God, she was turning into such an idiot. “Thank you.”

“The worst Rick could do is decide he wants nothing to do with you, and knowing him, that won’t happen. Be honest with him, about everything. He’ll treat you fairly, I swear.”

Tabby bowed her head again. “Yes, Curana.”

“Cyn?”

Tabby flinched. Julian had found them.

“What?”

Cyn’s belligerent tone wasn’t a surprise to Tabby, but from the shocked looks on Emma and Becky’s faces, it was to them.

His eyes flashed at the sight of her bruised face. “Do you want to talk about this?”

“What’s to discuss? You made a decision about my life without bothering to…

What’s wrong with your hair?”

Tabby turned. Fully half of Julian’s hair was still white. Gray lights danced in his eyes. Whatever he’d done to help Chloe, he wasn’t fully back from it. He looked exhausted, otherworldly. “The healing was more difficult than I anticipated. She was farther into the dreamscape than I’d originally thought.”

Huh? “What the hell does that mean?”

Julian smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it.” He turned his attention back to Cyn.

“Let me heal that. Please?”

Tabby grabbed hold of Cyn’s arm. “Please let him, Cyn.”

“All right.” She handed the ice pack to Becky and moved toward Julian.

The man was shaking, whether with exhaustion or rage, Tabby couldn’t quite tell.

His eyes were still deep, dark brown, but those silver flecks were throwing her off.

His fingers drifted across Cyn’s face. The white in his hair deepened, the bruise disappearing under his hand. The swelling went down, the black and blue turning a healthy pink.