CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR

It was the smell of coffee that penetrated her delightfully deep sleep, but it was the sensation of a thumb breezing along her jaw that made Harley snap fully awake. And there was Jesse, staring down at her. His expression would have been as blank as always if it weren’t for the way his eyes glittered with a heat that made her breath catch.

“Morning,” he said simply.

She swallowed. “I take it that’s for me,” she said, referring to the cup he was holding. Then she caught sight of a very noticeable bulge in his jeans. Warmth flooded her cheeks as she realized her words could be taken to mean something else. One corner of his mouth tipped up in amusement.

“It is,” said Jesse.

She sat upright. “Thanks.” Taking the mug, she blew over the rim before taking a sip. He watched her, completely still. She felt awkward and vulnerable having him there while she wasn’t fully alert, especially considering the things he’d said the previous night.

“Sleep well?”

Harley nodded. She would have thought that having him spoon her all night would have kept her awake; it hadn’t. If anything, she’d settled easier having him there. Maybe because, for the first time in months, she’d felt safe. And maybe because his bed was the shit. Seriously, the sleigh bed was huge and had the comfiest mattress in the history of . . . ever. Like the rest of the lodge, his wooden paneled bedroom was very masculine and earthy.

Harley had suspected it would take a while before she finally drifted off, considering her thoughts were jumbled and her body was humming with arousal. But minutes after she’d closed her eyes, sleep had taken her. She’d stirred briefly when she felt a solid body wrap around her from behind, but, being a heavy sleeper, she’d fallen right back asleep. “What time is it?”

“Eleven thirty. I tried to wake you earlier, but it would have been easier trying to wake the dead. You haven’t been sleeping well, have you?”

“Not really.” Receiving e-mails from people threatening to break into her bedroom and rape her had a way of keeping a girl awake. Her cat too, had been on edge every night.

“We missed breakfast at the main lodge. But that doesn’t matter because you and I need to talk in private anyway.” Unease flashed across her face, which hardly surprised Jesse. “Come downstairs when you’re ready and I’ll fix you something to eat.”

“All right.”

Leaning down, Jesse slipped a hand around her nape and indulged in a long, thorough taste of her. Breaking the kiss, he swept his thumb over her plush lower lip. “Belonging to me won’t be so awful, Harley.”

Watching that epic ass disappear out of the room, Harley took another swig of her coffee. Not that she was drowsy any longer. Hell, that kiss had woken her right up. It had also rekindled the low hum of her arousal that had simmered beneath her skin last night. Shit.

Unzipping the suitcase that she’d collected from the hotel on the way to Mercury territory, she grabbed her toothbrush, hairbrush, and some clothes. Once she was ready, she descended the creaky wooden stairs and found Jesse in the kitchen, cooking breakfast while talking on his cell phone. The smells of egg, sausage, and toast made her stomach rumble.

“Zander agreed to take over my shift today,” he told whoever was on the other end of the call. “I’m taking the day off.”

Oh, was he now? At that moment, he turned. She fought a blush as his dark eyes swept over every inch of her with a proprietary glint. It made her nervous, but her cat kind of liked the bold move. He gestured for her to sit at the oak table, where a glass and a carton of her favorite orange juice waited. She took a seat and poured herself a glass, watching him move around the kitchen as he continued his conversation.

As he opened one of the cupboards, she glimpsed a box of Twinkies. And frowned. Jesse didn’t like Twinkies, so who the hell were they for? And was that peanut butter? He hated that, whereas Harley loved making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She glanced around the kitchen, noticing that the brand of coffee she used sat on the counter . . . right next to a box of the peppermint tea bags she liked.

He couldn’t have bought these things for her, since he hadn’t had a chance to go shopping. Either they were for his pack mates or he had a bed buddy with tastes similar to hers. Her stomach sank at the thought. Then she inwardly shook her head. No, it couldn’t be a bed buddy. Jesse was loyal to the bone. He wouldn’t bring Harley here and say the things he’d said last night if he was involved with someone.

Jesse slid two plates onto the table and took the seat opposite her. “Dig in.”

Glad to be distracted from thoughts of him with another female, Harley dived into her meal. Silence fell, which wouldn’t have been awkward for Harley if it wasn’t for the fact that . . . “You’re staring.”

“I like looking at you.”

She spluttered. “Well . . . don’t.”

Amused, he said, “You can’t be shy. You perform on stage all the time. Who taught you how to play the violin?”

“My aunt.” Her maternal family placed a lot of importance on the ability to play an instrument.

“You’re very talented.”

“Um, thanks.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m stating a fact.”

She forked some egg as she asked, “So . . . what are you doing today?”

His eyes bore into hers. “First, reading your hate mail.”

Her nose wrinkled. “I could just tell you the gist of it.”

“Did you get another e-mail from them this morning?”

“I don’t know.”

“You should check. Their intention was for you to die. They’ll know by now that you didn’t. They’ll either have driven by the club this morning, expecting to see a crime scene, or they’ll have stuck around the club last night, hoping to watch the car explode, and they’ll know that the bomb was dismantled. Either way, they should be aware by now that their plan failed, and they won’t be happy.”

Deciding to change the subject, since the e-mails could easily turn her stomach, she asked, “What did you say that made your Alphas agree for me to come here?”

“The truth: that you’re mine and I’m keeping you.”

He’d said it so simply, like this was a done deal. She shot him a sardonic smile. “Such a wishful thinker.” His mouth twitched. “You know, even if I was prepared to stay, they would never accept me as a permanent member of the pack. How has that not occurred to you?”

“It doesn’t bother them that you’re half human. So is Shaya.”

Okay, that threw her, since she was usually good at sensing a fellow half shifter. “If the local extremists somehow track me here, they could try to bomb your territory. I’m not good with you or your pack being in danger, and I seriously doubt they like this much either . . . unless you’ve downplayed the situation?”

“They know everything.”

“Yet your Alphas are okay with me staying here? Are they crazy?”

“Depends on who you ask.” Most would say yes. “I’m one of their wolves. They’ll protect what’s mine.” He threaded his fingers through hers, tightening his grip when she tried to tug her hand away. “They’re good people, Harley. Give them a chance. I know you’re worried that you’ll never feel settled here, but you don’t need to be.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You’ve lived in the human world for a long time now. Were you happy there, Harley? I don’t think you were or you wouldn’t have drifted from place to place, like you were searching for something but you didn’t even know what.”

Tess had once said something similar. She’d been right too.

“Even for half shifters it’s difficult to be without others of our kind. Humans don’t understand that we need touch—social and sexual. Our animals need it. You had a good life with your human family. Tess gave you the best of everything, took you on expensive holidays, and sent you to a good school. You graduated at the top of your class and then went off to college—”

“Wait,” she said, face slack. “How do you know all that?”

“I watched over you. Even went to your graduation ceremony. The point I’m making is that, even with that good life, you never felt fulfilled. You didn’t really want it. So why not try this life?”

Recovering from the startling knowledge that he’d been keeping tabs on her, she folded her arms. Part of her was rightfully pissed, but part of her liked that he’d been so interested in her life all these years. “Speaking of families, yours won’t ever accept me, and I doubt my human relatives will accept you.” Except for maybe Tess.

“I know that, sweetheart. I just refuse to let it matter.” A knock at the door interrupted what he would have said next. “That’s probably Nick and Shaya. They’ll want to know more about the hate mail.” He headed to the front door and swung it open. And double-blinked at the female now smiling at him.

“Jesse, hi,” said Kim, eyes bright.

Both bemused and annoyed, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

Her smile didn’t falter at his arctic tone. “You weren’t at the training session today. Ally said you wouldn’t be training me anymore, and I just wanted to check that you were okay. I was worried that you might be sick or injured or something. It was no fun without you there. I get the feeling Ally and Eli don’t like me. I don’t feel comfortable with them like I do with you,” she added shyly.

Jesse ground his teeth. He didn’t have the time or patience for this shit. His priority was Harley, who was probably going to be pissed that he’d walked away from a very important conversation to deal with . . . whatever this was. And he seriously doubted that either her or her cat would be happy about another female turning up at his home, because, whether Harley was prepared to admit it or not, she was exactly where she wanted to be.

“How about a drink? I’ll tell you all about the talk I just had with Ally.” Kim snickered. “I tell ya, she was in a bad mood this morning and I had to bear the brunt of it; she even gave me an ultimatum.”

Clearly she was referring to the formal warning that she completely deserved.

“Well, are you going to let me in?”

“Let me be very clear with you, Kim,” he rumbled, his tone stone cold. “Being a guest on our territory does not give you the right to appear at a person’s home uninvited.”

She lowered her eyes submissively, which was an odd thing for a dominant female to do. But, confusingly, she often downplayed her dominance around him. “I didn’t think you would mind.”

“This is my personal space. You have no business at all being here.”

Her eyes snapped back to his. “We’re friends.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Is this you feeling awkward about spending time with your friend’s baby sister? Like you think it would upset Bracken?”

“No, this is me being offended that you turned up at my home uninvited.” Irritated that he was wasting time out of his life with this conversation, he declared, “We’re done here.”

“It’s not good for you to keep everyone at arm’s length.” She took a brave step toward him. “I miss Torrie too, you know. It’s okay to let some people in and—” Her nostrils flared, and her smile fell. She leaned in and took another sniff. “Is that . . . ?” Ducking under his arm, she charged into his lodge.

He was reaching for her when she came to an abrupt halt, gaping at the feline sitting at his table. Another female might have shot to her feet and growled a warning at Kim. Harley did something far more insulting: she glanced at Kim, gave her a quick head-to-toe inspection, and went right back to her meal. Dismissed.

Jesse planted himself between the two females and bared his teeth at Kim. “If you ever, ever enter my home again without an invitation, I will have you removed from this territory—I don’t give a fuck whose sister you are.”

Kim asked shakily, “Why is she here?” There was an element of panic in her scent.

He growled. “Are you not hearing me?”

“I want to know why she’s here. Let me guess, she brought drugs.”

Harley said, “Jesse, introduce me to your . . . your . . . I’d say ‘friend,’ but you made it clear she’s not one.” Harley actually didn’t sound all that interested.

Kim balled her hands up into little fists. “You know who I am.”

Harley’s brow creased. “Nope.”

“You do, you remember me.”

Shaking her head, Harley pursed her lips. “I really don’t.”

Jesse sensed that she wasn’t lying. But, see, that was another thing about Harley. Unless you made an impression, it was very unlikely that she’d remember you. Not because she was forgetful, but because it meant you just hadn’t registered on her radar. “This is Bracken’s sister.”

Harley cocked her head, still frowning. “Really?”

And that just pissed Kim off even more. “Stop playing with me!”

“Did you do something to your hair? I remember it being long and curly.”

Jesse’s mouth twitched. “That’s Bracken’s other sister, Ashley.”

“Oh, right. Well, I remember her.” Harley then went back to her meal.

Before Kim could stupidly lunge at her, Jesse snapped, “Out.”

Kim backed up as he moved forward, all the while scowling. “You can’t seriously have her on your territory! After what she did to Mia—”

“Out.”

“You didn’t tell me why she’s here!”

“I don’t fucking have to!” He moved faster, making her stumble out of the doorway and onto the porch. “Never again come back here, Kim. Never. Again.” Slamming the door shut, Jesse took a deep breath and then returned to the table. Harley was looking at her plate, cutting into her sausage, and her shoulders were shaking. Sitting, he frowned. “What’s funny?”

Harley looked up, lips curved. “It’s just that I know how frustrated you get by people who think they can manipulate you.” He’d been that way even as a teenager. She pointed at the door. “And that girl is trying her best to do so. Is she part of the pack now?”

“No, she’s visiting with Bracken’s mom.”

“And she homed in on you, didn’t she? I’m not surprised.” But Harley didn’t like it. Her cat wanted to carve up her face.

“Why?”

“I think she might be what I’d call a fixer. A female who goes for guys who seem broken and then tries to patch them up.”

Whatever the case . . . “I don’t want her.”

“Yeah, I sensed that.”

“Why won’t she?” He had been perfectly direct with her since minute one.

“You heard her—she thinks you keep people at arm’s length. As such, she’s not taking your rejection personally. She doesn’t believe it’s about her at all.”

“Why aren’t you upset? If a guy showed up at your door, I’d be pissed as all hell.”

Harley sobered. “I don’t like that she turned up here—I’ll admit that.” For a moment, she’d thought she’d been wrong about him not having a bed buddy. “But I don’t see a reason to take that out on you. It’s not like she’s your girlfriend or even your ex. You didn’t give her any encouragement. You didn’t invite her here and you made it clear that she wasn’t welcome. You haven’t done anything wrong.” She frowned when he just stared at her. “What?”

He took Harley’s hand. “You know one thing I’ve always liked about you? There’s a practicality to your unpredictability. It means that although I don’t always know how you’ll respond to something, I know you won’t make a big deal out of utter bullshit. There’s no drama with you.”

Yeah, well, Harley was determined to be nothing like her mother. “That doesn’t mean I don’t have my moments.”

“Oh, you bristle and snarl, and you can be snippy and short with me—all of which I perversely enjoy. But you don’t lose your shit in a spectacular fashion unless there’s a very good reason.” He needed that in a mate, because he didn’t have the time or tolerance for drama. A knock at the door made him grit his teeth. He pushed to his feet. “That better not be her again.”

Harley clamped her lips together in an effort to hide her amusement. She had a feeling it didn’t work, because he growled as he left the table.

Opening the front door, Jesse found a number of his pack mates. As they entered, Jesse didn’t fail to notice Harley tense, but she didn’t lower her eyes. Good girl. In fact, she slowly straightened and lifted her mug, gaze locked on the visitors. She looked both casual and ready to pounce at the same time. Her dominance was totally evident in that moment.

“Harley, you’ve already met my Alphas, my Betas, and Eli,” said Jesse as he returned to the table. “Over there is Roni and Marcus, a mated pair who are also enforcers. Roni also happens to be Nick and Eli’s sister.”

Harley exchanged a respectful nod with the tall, ash-blonde female. Just one look into those green eyes was enough to tell Harley that she was facing someone who was absolutely lethal. Roni’s dark and seriously hot mate was even taller than she was. Going by the laugh lines on his face, she figured he was the kind of guy who smiled a lot. Right then, as his electric-blue eyes regarded Harley with both wariness and curiosity, he wasn’t smiling.

Jesse said to Nick, “I take it you’ve come about the hate mail.”

“We want to hear about it,” replied Nick. He turned to Harley. “But we’ve actually come because there are some females here to see you. They say they’re cousins of yours. Margays. The female who did the talking said her name is Indie.”

Smiling at the thought of her cousins, Harley said, “I’d like to talk to them.”

Nick gave a short nod. “I’ll have Zander escort them here.”

As the Alpha spoke to the enforcer on his cell phone, Jesse turned to Harley and said, “I thought you weren’t in contact with your paternal family.” His sources had assured him that she wasn’t.

“They belong to a different pride,” explained Harley. “They’re Clive’s nieces, but they don’t particularly like him or the rest of their family. Still, their pride looked out for me.”

“They didn’t offer to take you in?” asked Shaya.

They had, and Harley had appreciated the offer, but . . . “I wanted to be with Tess. They supported my decision, but they still came to see me every so often to check on me. They also taught me and my cat how to fight. Tess didn’t mind their visits because she thought it was good that my cat had ‘social interaction’ with her own kind.”

“Maybe they hoped you’d one day join their pride,” said Jesse.

Harley shrugged. “Maybe.”

A few minutes later, there was a short whistle in the near distance.

“They’re here,” announced Nick.

Following Jesse to the porch, Harley smiled at the four margays standing at the bottom of the stone steps. It had been at least six months since she’d last seen any of them. Only two of them were sisters—in fact, Jazz and Shiloh were twins who looked nothing at all alike.

By way of appearance, none of the four females seemed at all threatening, especially the tiny and innocent-looking Jazz. As Piper always managed to look like she’d just stepped off a catwalk, she could easily be dismissed as a woman whose only interest in life was that of her own appearance. Indie had a megawatt smile that could brighten a room and charm just about anyone. And the introverted Shiloh, who was forever playing games on her phone, was often mistaken for timid and meek.

The truth of the matter? Every single one of them was lethal and not to be fucked with.

“I didn’t expect you guys to come,” said Harley, feeling the Mercury wolves gather behind her. Like Harley, her cousins weren’t very tactile, so she didn’t try to hug them.

“We heard from your father’s people what happened,” said Indie. The tall blonde was such a true mastermind with her intellect, insightfulness, and strategic streak that Harley always joked that she could take over the world if she wanted to.

“He’s sending you after the extremists?” Harley said. It was rare that Clive asked anyone for anything, but he wouldn’t have reacted well to Harley in danger.

“Yes. But we’d have hunted them in any case; they tried to hurt one of ours.”

“You can’t join the hunt,” stated Piper, her willowy figure showcased in a floral pencil dress. “When we have annihilated the extremists who targeted you, you are free to join our pride if you—”

“She’s safe here; it’s where she belongs,” growled Jesse, his tone nonnegotiable.

Twirling a lock of her cherry-red hair around her finger, Jazz studied him for a moment before turning to Harley. “He’s a bossy one.”

Shiloh finally looked up from her phone and, flicking her coppery-blonde bangs out of her eyes, asked Harley, “Are you sure he can deal with you?”

Harley smiled at the curvy feline. “No, but he’s delusional enough to believe he can.” Each of the margays looked at him with mock pity, but Jesse just snorted.

Indie said to Nick, “Will you keep her location quiet?”

Nick gave a curt nod. “She’ll be safe here.”

Piper twisted her lips. “I think it will also be best to keep your . . . connection to this male quiet from Clive.”

Harley agreed with that. “Has he told Lily about the bomb?”

“No,” replied Indie. “She would come here and create a scene, which would risk exposing your location.” Indie sighed. “I’m reluctant to leave you here.”

Jesse bristled. “She’s safe with me.”

“I hope that’s true,” said Jazz. “I don’t think Harley would enjoy killing you, so it would be a shame if she had to.”

“Take care, Harley,” said Indie. “Call us if you need us. We’ll come.” As one, they turned and retraced their steps. Zander kept pace with them.

Shaya sidled up to Harley. “They were . . . interesting.”

“So,” began Eli, “that group of females will hunt the extremists?”

Harley wasn’t sure why he sounded so surprised. “Female margays are good hunters.”

“They don’t look like hunters,” said Eli.

“Do you think they’ll find the extremists?” Jesse asked her.

“If anyone can, it’s them,” said Harley.

There was a moment of silence, and then Ally announced, “I liked them.” Her mate sighed at her, a sound that said he’d never understand her. She seemed to find that amusing.

“Well,” said Derren as they all returned inside the lodge. “Shall we talk about the hate mail now? It would be best to have a conversation about the extremists away from the pups. But if you’re still eating . . .”

Harley gave a brief shake of the head. “I’m done.”

Jesse frowned at the half-full plate. She hadn’t eaten enough, but he could hardly blame her for losing her appetite at the mention of the extremists. “Harley was just about to show me the hate mail.”

“It’s all online,” she said.

Grabbing his laptop from the coffee table, Jesse pushed aside their plates and placed it on the dining table.

She slowly raised a brow at Jesse as she returned to her seat. “You sure you want to read it after you’ve just eaten? Some of it is pretty graphic.”

“I’m sure.” Jesse sat down, switched on the laptop, and then turned it to face her. “Log into your e-mail account, show me what they’ve been sending you.”

As her fingers flew over the keyboard, Shaya and Ally took the two empty seats at the table. The other wolves remained standing.

“I have a new e-mail,” said Harley. Her stomach sank as she read it.

“Is it them?” rumbled Jesse.

“Yep. They know I’m alive but they don’t know where I am.” And he wanted to teach her what happened to sluts by fucking her in every orifice she had while covering her face with a pillow. It wasn’t a threat he hadn’t made before. She was more disturbed by the line, “You might look innocent while you sleep, but I know the truth and nothing will save your soul.” Creepy.

After punching in a few keys, Harley slid the laptop back to Jesse. “This e-mail is the first one they sent.”

As Jesse read each e-mail aloud, he called on every ounce of his hard-won control to conceal the dark rage building inside him and his wolf. It was bad enough that the bastards called her a slut and a whore. One of them also talked of sneaking into her hotel room and slitting her throat while he raped her—that watching the life leave her eyes would make him come harder than he ever had before . . . and that was the tamest sexual threat he’d made.

Only once Jesse was done did he realize his hands were clenched so tight that his knuckles were white. He shoved the laptop aside, a growl rattling in his chest. His wolf was raking Jesse’s insides with his claws, wanting to surface and wreak vengeance on the people who had dared target and threaten Harley.

A long moment of silence passed before a very pale Shaya said, “I don’t have words.”

Ally rubbed her stomach. “I genuinely feel ill. Harley, how have you not gone insane receiving these, week after week?”

“I consider myself to be a tough bitch, but even I’d be a wreck if I was being harassed this way,” admitted Roni.

Harley shrugged. “Words are just words. At first I worried, but when time went by and they didn’t do anything, I figured they were all talk.” But she had still been scared, she just hadn’t wanted to face it, as it would have given the bastards power over her.

“Did you know your father monitors your movements?” Nick asked Harley.

She nodded. “He’ll know I’m here. That a problem?”

Eli pursed his lips. “Well—”

“No,” said Shaya, casting Eli a warning glare.

They chatted a little more about the extremists before Jesse walked his pack mates out of the lodge. Ally, however, hung back and then turned to Harley.

“I know what it’s like to come here, feeling unwanted and with no chance of fitting in,” Ally said to her. “If you ever need to vent about it or anything, you come to me.”

Surprised, Harley blinked. “Um, okay, thanks.”

With that, the Beta female was gone.

“She’s uncomfortable here,” Marcus said to Jesse.

He gave a curt nod, fists clenched. “The shifter world was never good to Harley. And she doesn’t trust easy.”

“Did you tell her I was half human?” Shaya asked.

“Yeah. I think it relieved her to know that being half human wouldn’t be an issue.” He was pretty sure it also annoyed her that he’d weakened her “I can’t stay” argument.

“It takes time to settle into a new place, especially if that place is filled with strong personalities,” Ally pointed out as she joined them. “You’re not exactly a relaxing person to be around, are you, Jesse?”

“Harley deals with me just fine.” Which wasn’t an easy feat.

“She won’t find it easy to fit in here,” Derren warned him. “I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m just being straight. Her upbringing was no walk in the park, but she survived it. That tells me she’s strong. And I can see she’s highly dominant. Prides and packs have a similar structure, but she wasn’t part of a real pride. This will all be very new to her.”

“I know,” he said.

“She’s also spent a lot of years around humans,” continued Derren. “For her, moving to a pack will be the equivalent of a city girl moving to a small town. She’s used to noise, bustle, and privacy. We’re in each other’s business and have no real privacy and are out in the middle of nowhere. It might not bug her, but she might grow to feel bored, overwhelmed, and disconnected. She’s used to having a paying job and a purpose; she might not find a role or purpose here.”

Jesse sighed. “I know all this, Derren.”

“You need to also consider that she’s been living the high life for a while now.”

“She also spent a lot of her years living the total opposite of that.”

Derren tilted his head, conceding that. “So maybe she won’t find this so hard. But maybe she will. You need to be prepared for all of this so that you can help her adjust. If you’re blind to it, she’ll struggle.”

“You’re really not telling me anything I don’t already know, but I appreciate your concern.” Jesse turned to Ally. “There’s a rumor that Clive is the founder of The Movement. Is that true?” Ally’s foster brother, Cain Holt, was part of the group and posed as one of the leaders to give the true leaders more freedom and privacy.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t ask Cain for details and he doesn’t volunteer them—it’s better for both of us that way.”

“Do you think he is?” Derren asked Jesse, putting an arm around his mate.

“I wouldn’t put anything past Clive Vincent,” said Jesse.

Marcus kept his voice low as he spoke. “I heard about what he did to the humans who killed his son. It was pretty gruesome. Even worse than what the humans did. But I don’t blame Clive one little bit.”

Neither did Jesse. The group of human men had attacked thirteen-year-old Michael with a baseball bat, a lead pipe, and glass bottles. After beating him almost to death, they’d poured gasoline over him and then set him alight. He’d died before the paramedics arrived. Clive had visited the exact same injuries on the humans when he killed them one at a time, calling it karma. But he also used a knife to carve “For Michael” into their chests before castrating them—this was while they were still alive.

Clive told the court that he did the latter because “they weren’t men” and they needed to die with the same indignity his son had suffered when they attacked him as a group, making him feel powerless and unmanned. It was definitely a cold method of retaliation, but Jesse had sought vengeance for his own sister’s excruciating death, so he was in no position to judge.

Hearing humming, Jesse turned to see Cassidy skipping toward them with Kathy, who was carrying Willow. “Hey,” he greeted. “How are you pups doing?”

Willow pulled her thumb out of her mouth. “They’re here,” she sang in a perfect imitation of Carol Anne from the original Poltergeist movie.

Shaya gasped. “Who let her watch that?”

Willow regularly spouted creepy lines from horror movies. Jesse was pretty sure Bracken was teaching them to the pup so she could spook people—he was odd like that, and Willow seemed to enjoy doing it. Eli, Marcus, and Zander shuddered every time.

Cassidy cocked her head. “Did you bring the pretty lady here?” she asked Jesse, biting on her lower lip, but it was clear she already knew the answer.

“I did, yes. You saved her. Thank you.”

Ally crouched down to her level of height. “And you did very well explaining the vision to us, Cassidy. We’re all proud of you for that.”

The little girl scrutinized Jesse closely. “You would have been very sad if the lady was hurt.”

He swallowed. “I would have been.”

“Are you so mad because someone wants to hurt her?”

Jesse nodded. Her Seer senses no doubt picked up on his emotions. “Would you like to meet her?”

Kathy narrowed her eyes. “I’ll go with Cassidy.” She went to hand Willow to Ally, but the Beta female shook her head.

“You’re not going in there, Kathy,” said Ally. “You were a total witch to me when I first came here. I won’t sit back and watch you do the same to Harley. She has enough shit going on.”

“Which is a good reason for her not to be here,” Kathy hissed. “We have our own problems.”

“And yet, I’m not feeling a need to back down on this one.”

Leaving the two females to quibble, Jesse led Cassidy into the lodge. He found Harley in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher. It was such a simple and domestic sight, yet also satisfying. He liked that she touched his things, leaving her scent everywhere. It soothed him and his wolf slightly.

Sensing she wasn’t alone, Harley turned. The lines of stress in her face softened as she noticed Cassidy. “Well, hello there.”

Cassidy peered up at Jesse. “See, I told you she was pretty.” Then she skipped over to Harley. “I’m Cassidy. You don’t have to tell me your name. I heard everyone talking about you. Kathy wants to know what kind of mother would name her daughter after a bike. Kent likes it, though. He’s mated to Caleb, and they have the prettiest lodge. Nick says I can have my own lodge when I’m bigger. Are you really a margay? There was a margay shifter in the shelter, and she was double . . . double . . .”

“Double jointed?” supplied Harley.

“Yes. Are you?”

“I am.”

“So your cat can twist her ankles all weird?”

“You mean can she twist them a hundred-eighty degrees, yes.” Her cat preened.

“Can you show me sometime?”

“Sure.” Harley smiled. “It’s the least I can do for you. Thank you for telling Jesse about your vision. You’re now officially my favorite person for life.”

Giggling, Cassidy gave her a simple “that’s okay” shrug—as if it was every day that she stopped people from exploding into tiny pieces. Harley’s cat liked the little pup.

Cassidy, who was clearly a chatty child, then went on to tell Harley dozens of stories about things that had happened on Mercury Pack territory. Eventually Shaya came for the pup, rolling her eyes as Cassidy continued to chat until the very moment she left the lodge.

Harley looked at Jesse. “She’s . . . friendly.”

“She is,” he agreed.

“What’s her story?”

“Her entire pack died when she was just a baby. They made a suicide pact, but we’re not sure why. At least her mom gave her up to Social Services before killing herself. It would have been better if she’d made it clear that Cassidy was a shifter. Then she wouldn’t have been adopted by a human family. An overly religious family that gave her up, afraid of her visions.”

Harley’s heart hurt for the kid. “That’s pretty sad.”

“Yeah.” He slowly moved to Harley’s side and leaned against the counter, watching her resume loading the dishwater. “You were frowning when I walked in. What were you thinking about?”

“I was just thinking I need to call Tess at some point. I haven’t spoken to her in a while. She worries.”

“Does she know about the hate mail?”

“No. Tess would have freaked. I didn’t want to scare her.”

And Harley hadn’t been taking the whole thing seriously enough. Jesse cupped one globe of her ass. “You need to start taking better care of this; it’s mine and I want it safe.” He lightly tapped her ass to punctuate his point, and her eyes flared.

“You have no ‘caution’ lights in your head at all, do you?”

He smiled, perversely liking her exasperation. That was nothing new.

“You know what your problem is, Dalton?” She slammed the dishwasher door so hard the plates rattled. “You’re not equipped to deal with dominant females.”

She was right, actually. As fate had paired Jesse with a submissive wolf, being in a relationship with someone like Harley wouldn’t come naturally to him, but she was who he wanted.

“You go on and on about how I’m yours and you’re keeping me blah, blah, motherfucking blah. How can you possibly be so certain that you want me to be yours?”

“How could I not want a girl who’s weirdly freaked out by the sight of wax statues and is absolutely convinced that The Matrix could be real?” he quipped.

“It could be; the signs are there.” She narrowed her eyes. “How did you know about my aversion to wax statues?”

“Because I know you, Harley. And you know me.” He pushed away from the counter. “Come on.”

“What? Why? Where are we going?”

“Exploring.”