lynched as Grace used tweezers to pluck yet another piece of glass from Roni's palms. Silently, she seethed, annoyed with herself. She—a dominant female who could outrun both her brothers, who could defeat a wolf while in her human form, and who had once almost made an Alpha male sob when she beat him at an arm wrestle—had passed out. Twice.
What was wrong with the world?
"Done," announced Grace. "I have to thank you again for what you did. I dread to think what could have happened to Kye if you hadn't kept him safe."
Roni took her strawberry-flavored lollipop out of her mouth only long enough to respond with: "It's what anyone would have done."
"Don't try to play it down. Protecting another with your life is never a small thing." The brunette squinted as she studied the cut on Roni's forehead. "That's looking better." It was the benefit of having a shifter's accelerated healing rate. "What about the rest of you?"
"Healing." Shifters weren't easy to hurt, which was largely why Roni had escaped the incident with just cuts, bruising, and a cracked rib. Thankfully, Tao and Kye had walked away with only a few scrapes and bruises. As Roni was almost fully healed, she'd turned down the Phoenix Alpha female's offer to heal her. Shaya, however, had needed Taryn's healing skills since she'd had a broken leg and a fractured wrist. Shaya had been fine by the time Nick and Derren arrived. Even so, Nick had freaked out—Roni had been able to hear him from the infirmary yelling and growling in the kitchen while Shaya desperately tried to calm him.
The sound of heavy footsteps striding through the network of tunnels pulled Roni from her thoughts. Seconds later, a tall, dark, broad-shouldered vow of sexual satisfaction entered the room. Two pools of electric blue locked on Roni, and the atmosphere snapped taut as awareness throbbed between them—it was always the same.
Marcus Fuller exuded sex, confidence, and a raw compelling charisma that commanded the attention of those around him . . . which was why the Phoenix Pack enforcer was the star of her every X-rated fantasy. He deserved an Oscar for his performances.
Anger and concern radiating from him, he demanded, "How badly are you hurt?"
As if he had every right, he ate up her personal space, skimming his gaze over her body. His dark scent slammed into her, and Roni once again found herself wishing she could bottle it. Earthy, spicy, and with a hint of leather, it never failed to tantalize both her and her wolf.
Determined not to let him see the effect he had on her, Roni shrugged nonchalantly at the six feet of pure male power staring down at her. "I'm fine."
Clearly unconvinced, he turned to Grace for an answer. The traitor sang like a canary before reassuring him, "She should be fully healed within the hour. Now I have to get back to my daughter. She'll wake up any minute now."
Once Grace was gone, Marcus's gaze again locked on Roni. Anger no longer spilled from him, but she knew it was still there, simmering beneath the surface. Maybe everyone else was fooled by his laid-back manner, but Roni knew this wolf was as dark and dangerous as any predator.
The minute she'd met the enforcer, her wolf had sensed the danger in him, the intensity, and the power . . . and then she'd practically rolled over, panting, totally in lust. It was just so . . . undignified.
"How are you feeling, gorgeous?"
Honestly? Like she wanted to gouge out those piercing eyes that took in her every move and expression. It was the stare of a hunter, and Roni very much felt like prey when he focused his full attention on her. It was something he did a lot, which only intensified the sexual tension that pulsed between them—a tension that was unexpected considering she was nothing like the foo-foo attention-whores he dated.
In the beginning, his flirtatious nature had irritated Roni, despite her powerful elemental attraction to him. Sublimely gorgeous people intimidated her, particularly the typical "smooth talkers"—guys who had mastered the art of making females part from their clothes using speech alone.
Roni liked a male with substance, not a player who was incapable of loyalty and relied on his looks to get him what he wanted in life. However, her irritation had soon given way to curiosity, because the more time she'd spent around Marcus Fuller, the more she'd come to realize that the whole "smooth talker" act was nothing but that—an act.
He hid behind the charm and the carefree attitude he projected to the world. This guy cared very deeply about something . There was so much anger there, packed in ice . . . yet no one seemed to see it. No one seemed to see that this was a wolf with secrets. He was also a wolf who was annoyingly impossible to dislike. She envied how he could so easily put people at ease.
Envied his ability to mix well with others and be instantly accepted into any social circle. Roni, by contrast, had a tendency to make people feel uncomfortable with how out of tune she was with others' feelings and their social expectations.
At his impatient expression, she removed the lollipop from her mouth. "I told you, I'm fine." She slid off the bed, and he cupped her elbow to support her as she stood upright. The simple skin-to-skin contact caused her nerve endings to spark to life. She pulled her arm free from his grasp. "I can walk perfectly fine without help."
He flashed her that infamous smile designed to make any female blush and trip over herself to get to him. "You should know that prim, schoolteacher tone totally turns me on."
Roni would have been immune to that smile if it were sleazy. But no. It was a confident, mischievous, "I could make you come all night long" smile.
She would bet that he damn well could. Not that she'd ever find out. Marcus flirted with her, sure, but only because he didn't know any other form of communication. And besides, tomboys weren't his type. Her wolf loved having all that raw sexuality and seductive charm directed at her, and she constantly pushed at Roni to act on her desire for him.
It was taxing, since she and her wolf were so extremely close that the line that existed between her human side and animal side was blurred. It didn't mean she didn't have full control of her wolf, but it did mean that her wolf's emotions could intrude on Roni's human responses, and vice versa. As such, her wolf's desire for him fed her own, making it even more difficult to resist him.
Frustrated with him, herself, and her wolf, Roni stuffed her lollipop back into her mouth and offered him a blank look, refusing to let him see that she was no more resistant to his charm than every other female. Nothing. The female in front of him didn't give him the slightest reaction, which only made Marcus smile wider.
He had been on his way home from visiting his sister when he'd received a call from his Beta male, Dante, to let him know about the crash. He'd broken all kinds of laws as he drove like a maniac to get home and see for himself that everyone was fine, that Roni was fine.
And now here she was, doing that aloof act again. And he was nothing short of amused. Initially, Roni's apparent indifference had galled him. He hadn't liked that he seemed to be the only one feeling this intense attraction that bordered on magnetism.
Every time they were in close proximity, the air crackled with sexual energy, and he hadn't believed that could possibly be a one-way street. Yet, while the idea of skimming his hands over that seductively lithe body and having those supple legs wrapped around his waist often consumed his thoughts, Roni always appeared totally unmoved.
It made no sense. Rather than push, Marcus had backed off. He'd watched her closely, studied her every reaction to him, and soon come to realize that she wasn't so indifferent to him after all.
Why she was fighting their attraction, he didn't know. He wanted to find out, to figure her out, so he could find a chink in her armor. Roni was incredibly intelligent; in order to seduce her physically, he'd need to first seduce her mentally.
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"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—"