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CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR

No one spoke much throughout the rest of the drive to the marina, where Ignacio had asked to meet. After Zander parked in a nearby lot, Eli slid out of the SUV and was greeted by the briny scent of sea water and the prickle of heat coming from the sun.

“A smart place to conduct a meeting,” said Shaya. “Relaxing. Pretty. Popular. Makes the whole thing less formal, which can make it easier to get people to lower their defenses.”

“It’s also crowded, so there’s a lesser chance that any fights will break out if things get heated,” said Bracken.

They all turned toward the pier and walked toward the long row of cafés, restaurants, and shops. The boardwalk creaked beneath their feet as they headed to their destination, passing families and couples.

White, gleaming boats of various sizes idled in the water near the pier while birds circled overhead, ready to swoop down. Some boaters were hauling fishing paraphernalia onto their boats; others were rinsing the decks with water hoses.

Flags snapped in the breeze. Water lapped the boat hulls. Nylon ropes creaked as they pulled taut. Music played low in the various eateries.

Finally, the wolves reached the café that Ignacio had chosen as a place to meet. The cougar in question sat at an outdoor table with one female and two males. All four stood when the Mercury wolves approached.

Ignacio saw Eli coming and curled his lips into a small smile. Recognizing the cat as the male who’d threatened his mate, Eli’s wolf lashed out with his claws, wanting to slice open the bastard’s throat. It took everything Eli had not to lunge at him.

Ignacio nodded at Nick. “We’ve never met officially. I’m Ignacio Rodriguez, this is my mate, Dahlia.” His gaze slid to the redhead at Nick’s side. “You must be Shaya.” After the Alphas exchanged greetings, Ignacio gestured at his other cats. “On Dahlia’s left is our Beta, Deon, and on my right is our Head Enforcer, Tyson.”

Nick inclined his head. “On Shaya’s right are two of my enforcers, Bracken and Zander. I believe you’ve already met my Head Enforcer, Eli.”

Most people eyed Bracken warily, considering the dark reputation he’d earned after hunting, torturing, and killing the anti-extremists responsible for his family’s death. No one blamed him. In fact, they respected him for it. Still, Bracken tended to make people nervous. And Eli could see that the enforcer had that effect on Dahlia, Deon, and Tyson.

Ignacio, however, was too busy staring at Eli to pay Bracken any notice. “Ah, Eli,” said Ignacio. “Glad you could make it.”

Eli did nothing more than incline his head, shifting his angle slightly so that the bastard would get a good look at Eli’s neck.

The moment Ignacio’s eyes dropped to the claiming mark, they hardened to stone. Pure stone. The cougar’s nostrils flared as he drew in a breath, and then those dark eyes slammed on Eli’s. “Casey.”

“Yes,” Eli confirmed, surprised by just how pissed the cougar appeared to be.

Ignacio’s smile was brittle. “You think lying that she’s yours will be a good way to keep her safe from me? How admirable of you.”

“Casey’s mine—don’t doubt that for a second.”

But it was clear that Ignacio did in fact doubt it.

“Why don’t we sit down,” proposed Shaya with a forced smile.

“Good idea,” said Dahlia. Tall and lithe, she looked like she’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Designer clothes. Shiny accessories. Expensive jewelry. Ridiculously high heels. Sunglasses perched on her head, pinning back her wavy blonde hair.

Before finding his mate, Eli might have given the Alpha female a second look. He was too full of Casey now, like she was inside him, filling him, leaving no room for anyone else.

“Dahlia’s father, Glenn, spoke very highly of you,” Ignacio said to Nick once they were all seated.

Splaying a possessive hand on his mate’s thigh, Nick sighed at the cougar. “You called for this meeting. What do you want?”

Ignacio pursed his lips. “I would imagine your brother told you what transpired last night between myself and Casey.”

“He did,” said Nick.

“That saves us some time.” Ignacio’s lips thinned as the waitress appeared. No one ordered anything, so she quickly left.

“I’m guessing you hoped to convince me to butt out of the situation,” said Eli. “As you can now see, that’s never going to happen.” He tossed a brown envelope on the table. “Your money. Now you stay away from Casey. She’s done paying her brother’s debts.”

Ignacio didn’t even look at the envelope. “Oh, I agree that she shouldn’t—she’s not really helping him, and it isn’t fair to her. But … I’m a businessman, Eli. If there is a debt to be paid, I will go where the money is. In this case, the money is rarely with Miles.”

“That’s not her problem,” said Eli.

“True, but it means I have no option other than to—”

Eli growled. “You stay. Away. From Casey.”

The other cats fidgeted, uneasy. Ignacio, however, sat utterly still.

Dahlia spoke, “Let’s all remain calm. Eli, it is understandable that you would insist that Ignacio keep his distance from your mate. And we appreciate that you’d pay this debt for her brother. But you must see that the situation isn’t quite as simple as we’d all like it to be. Casey put a knife to my mate’s throat. You really expect that to go unpunished?”

Oh, apparently Dahlia felt that she should avenge Ignacio for the sake of appearances. What a fucking joke. If she thought they were kidding anyone that their mating was anything other than a façade, they were wrong. “You want to take my mate on? By all means, challenge her to a duel. See how that works out for you.”

Dahlia gave him a somewhat condescending smile. “I’m an Alpha female, Eli.”

“But not a born alpha, and you’re nowhere near as strong as she is. You don’t believe me? Ask your mate. He knows the truth. He knows you wouldn’t stand a chance against her.” He looked at Ignacio, daring him to deny it. The cougar didn’t, which earned him a hiss from his mate.

Eli tipped his chin at the envelope. “Take it, Ignacio. I wasn’t kidding—that’s the last payment you’ll get. Casey’s done cleaning up Miles’ messes for him.”

Drumming his fingers on the circular, metal table, the cougar tilted his head. “Is that her decision … or yours? I’ve known Casey for a while now. I know how protective she is of her brother. I know there’s very little she wouldn’t do for him. If she wants to continue being Miles’ savior, there isn’t a single thing you will be able to do about it. That female is far too strong for anyone to ever govern her.” He sounded as though he respected that.

“She’s agreed with me that this is the best cause of action for all concerned.”

“Even knowing that if she doesn’t pay his debts in future, Miles will pay them in blood?”

“I’ve got an easy solution for you: Don’t give him any drugs.”

The cougar inclined his head slightly. “Yes, I suppose that is the simplest solution.”

“This isn’t just about her brother’s debt,” Dahlia cut in, a bite to her tone. “She has to answer for what she did.”

Eli glared at her. “Are you going to make her answer for it? Because I can tell you now that there’ll only be one outcome—she’ll take you down so effortlessly that she’ll weaken your stand with your pride. I can’t imagine why you’d want that.”

The female pressed her lips together, her cheeks flushing.

Eli sliced his gaze back to Ignacio. “We’re done here. You have your money—take it and go. Forget about Casey. I don’t think I have to tell you what I’ll do to you if you go after my mate. I have no limits when it comes to her. None. I don’t care who you are, how many people you have at your back, or how well protected you think you are. If you go near Casey again, I will find you, Ignacio, and I will kill you. Don’t doubt that.”

Ignacio’s mouth curved into a mocking smile. “How could I, when you’ve made yourself so perfectly clear?” He pushed away from the table, and his mate and cats followed suit. “Congratulations on your mating, Eli. Do be sure to tell Casey that I wish you both the best.”

Dahlia gave the Mercury Alphas a hard, insincere smile. “Thank you for meeting with us.”

Once the Rotunda cats were out of hearing range, Bracken spoke, “I wouldn’t say Ignacio fears you, Eli, but he knows you’d kick his ass. And he won’t be interested in letting that happen. Having said that, I can’t say for sure that he’ll keep his distance from Casey. He weirdly doesn’t seem to want to.”

Nick twisted his mouth. “He doesn’t believe that you and Casey are truly mated, so he won’t expect you to be as fiercely protective of her as you are. That means he might still go after her.”

Eli had had the same thought. “I don’t think I’ll have to kill him, though.”

“Why not?” asked Shaya.

“Because if he ever went at my mate, she’d kill him herself.”

Standing in her team’s locker room, Casey ground her teeth as she read the text message she’d received from Miles’ friend, Fjord: No idea where your bro is. Sorry Case x

The two males had been best friends since they were toddlers. Fjord stupidly felt guilty that he couldn’t “save” Miles from himself. But she understood … because that same senseless guilt nipped at her. Ugh.

She placed her phone in her locker, regretting that it didn’t have a door she could slam shut. The lockers ran along the perimeter of an oval space that gave the room a “huddle” feel. The team logo was dramatically displayed on the ceiling. There were also tribute lockers to honor past players.

Sitting on the integrated wooden bench, she pulled up her cleats, each movement sharp and stilted. She loved her brother. She really did but, God, he needed a good bitch slap.

Beside her, Emma eyed her curiously. “You look like you want to ram your foot into someone’s face. It would be best if you didn’t do that on the field again. Coach won’t buy it was an accident if you do it twice. What’s wrong? Is it Preston?” Emma asked, lowering her voice, referring to one of the assistant coaches. “He keeps shooting glares at you. I don’t think he’s happy that you’re mated. Did he say something? Send you a bitchy text that was overflowing with jealousy?”

“He has no reason to be jealous, he has a mate of his own.” A mate who happened to be Casey’s cousin.

Emma snorted. “You’re not dumb, Frost, you know he only started dating Mallory because you refused to give him more than a one-night stand. He wanted to hurt you and make you green with envy.”

“That was over a year ago. He cares for her.”

“He does now. But initially, he was just using her. I don’t think he expected anything to come of it. Nobody did. Mallory’s boyfriends were never in the picture long—she always got bored so quickly.”

Although Casey had been equally doubtful that the relationship would last, she had considered telling Mallory about her one-night stand with Preston. But how did you tell your cousin that, hey, the guy she really liked was only using her to hurt another female? She and Mallory didn’t get along, true, but Casey hadn’t wanted to upset her.

Emma had discouraged her from saying anything, pointing out that—being highly vain and so sure of her sexual appeal—Mallory wouldn’t have believed any male would pursue her just to hurt another woman. No, she’d have accused Casey of trying to stir shit out of bitterness that she’d lured away some of Casey’s boyfriends.

After far too many hours agonizing over it, Casey had eventually decided not to say anything. Keeping the one-night stand to herself had seemed harmless when she’d been so sure the relationship wouldn’t last. But it had lasted, and the longer she’d gone without telling Mallory, the harder it was to say anything. Then Preston and Mallory had imprinted on each other, and he’d begged Casey not to tell her.

The only person other than Emma who knew of the one-night stand was Sherryl, since she’d paid Preston a surprise visit just as Casey was leaving his house that night. Sherryl probably would have blabbed about it if she wasn’t good friends with Preston, considering how much she seemed to hate Casey.

“Although he’s happy with Mallory, he never likes hearing you have a guy in your life,” Emma added. “So, no, I don’t think he’s taking it well that you’re mated. Surely you can feel him glaring daggers at you. It’s starting to piss me off.”

Yeah, Casey could. “Ignore him. I do.”

“If it isn’t Preston that’s bothering you, what has you so wound up?”

“It’s Miles. He’s done a disappearing act again.”

“And he left you to clean up whatever mess he made.” Emma sighed. “I want to call him a selfish asshole and a bunch of other names, but he’s really not a bad person. He’s just …”

“Miles. He’s just Miles.” Lost. Aimless. Wounded. Far too sensitive for his own good.

“Well, maybe Eli can help you with this. I love that you’ve finally met your mate. Have you told Adrian yet?”

“Nope. I intend to do that after training.”

“Okay, everyone, listen up,” Coach Donahue called out. Clad in her red and blue jersey with matching track pants, she stood beside the team’s healer, Dennis.

A total softie, Dennis was always on standby during practices and games. But the rule was that healers could only help during games if the player left the field and sat out the rest of it. The rule made sense since, otherwise, the game would be repeatedly paused, and a lot of time would be taken up by players being healed.

“I don’t have to remind you that we have our first game next week,” Donahue went on, fists perched on her hips. “As Emma likes to say, shit just got serious. I’ve pushed you girls hard during practice, but now I’ll be pushing you harder—and I expect nothing but everything you’ve got and more. Before you all start whining at me to tell you who’s been picked as starters, we’ll get it out of the way.”

Mentally crossing her fingers and toes, Casey stayed very still as Donahue spoke one name after another. She knew the other forwards would want it just as much, but most were younger than her. She’d earned her spot; had worked harder and longer than they had. She deserved—

And then she heard her name. Doing a victory dance in her head, she exchanged a smile with Emma, whose name had also been called out.

Emma poked her arm. “I told you you’d be picked. You don’t listen to me, I’m not sure why that is.”

“Well, when you insist on doing weird shit like making ‘lost dog’ posters and putting a photo of a hotdog on it—”

“I did lose one once.”

“—you sort of make it hard for me to really heed you in anything. It’s truly a good thing that you now have a mate to keep you out of trouble. I got tired of that job.”

“You were shit at it.”

Casey frowned. “Hey, I saved you from getting arrested multiple times.”

“But not every time. Slacker.”

Smiling, Casey snorted. “Fuck you.”

Donahue gave a hard clap. “Okay, ladies, let’s get moving.”

Everyone filed outside onto the wide, rectangular field. Casey’s tension slipped away as the oh-so-familiar scents of freshly-cut grass and warm earth swirled around her. Even the muffled, distant sounds of busy traffic, car horns, and engines rumbling were so much the norm here that there was something comforting about them.

After years of playing on the pitch, Casey knew it as well as she knew the back of her hand. She didn’t even need to glance at the white lines that defined the boundaries of each area of the turf. No, they were imprinted on her brain.

Casey took a swig of water from her bottle and then, like the other girls, placed it near the sidelines. She rolled back her shoulders. God, it was hot. The sun pricked at her skin.

As a tall, wiry shadow fell over her, she looked to see their team captain, Kristin, throwing her dark curls into a messy knot. The mink was an excellent midfielder who always did them proud. Until she lost her shit and lunged at someone. For a skinny female, she had some serious power behind her punches. No one on the team had been given more red cards than Kristin. The midfielder found a strange kind of pride in that.

“We’re going to win this year, Frost,” said Kristin. “I can feel it.”

“Just try not to get red-carded at the games, yeah?”

Kristin grinned. “Can’t promise anything.”

As always, Donahue led practice, though her assistants chipped in here and there. She barked and yelled instructions, throwing out the occasional insult if someone wasn’t trying hard enough—the insults only ever spurred the team on.

They did jump squats, push-ups, dips, sit-ups, lunges, and ran sprints until Casey’s muscles burned and sweat beaded her skin. The baking heat didn’t help. Before long, her uniform was so damp with sweat it clung to her body.

Midway through practice, clouds passed over the sun, casting shadows across the field and giving the players a slight reprieve from the scorching rays. The reprieve was far too brief. The sun was soon beating down on them again as the team executed high intensity ball-touch drills. After that came a short five-on-five game—Casey’s mini team won.

Tired, hot, and sore, she was more than relieved when Donahue announced that it was time for their cool-down. That amounted to a light jog followed by some static stretching exercises that mostly concentrated on the calves, groin, hamstrings, quadriceps, and lower back. Only then did their coach blow the whistle, signaling that practice was over.

“Thank God,” muttered Emma.

“Yeah,” sighed Casey. All she wanted was to get clean, dry, and spray on some deodorant.

Breathing hard, she dabbed her face with the bottom of her jersey as they headed inside. Back in the locker room, Casey shucked her uniform, nose wrinkling at the grass and dirt stains, and quickly hit the showers. She winced as the hot water beat at her turf burns, but the spray felt good on her sore muscles.

No one ever bothered asking Dennis to heal the burns. As shifters, they healed quickly from minor injuries anyway. Plus, his gift could take a lot out of him if used too much. People preferred for him to deal purely with real injuries so that he didn’t later feel burned out.

Clean, she wrapped a towel around her and headed for her locker. She didn’t bother trying to shield her body as she dried off. Shifters were used to being nude in front of others, so they rarely suffered from body-consciousness. Plus, the team were so tired, sore, and hungry that they often really didn’t care about anything but getting clean and dressed so they could munch on some food.

She pulled on her clothes, surrounded by the hissing of deodorant cans, the whir of hairdryers, and the laughs of her teammates. When everyone was dressed, they sat on the benches while Donahue switched on the wall-mounted TV and spent the next fifteen minutes replaying clips of video footage from practice. She pointed out where players went wrong, where the team’s weaknesses were, and dished out lectures to those she felt had let themselves or the team down. Such fun.

Once Casey was ready to leave, she pulled a granola bar out of her duffel and slung the bag over her shoulder. “Bye guys,” she called out before biting into the bar.

She’d barely made it a few steps outside when Preston came prowling around the side of the building and stalked toward her, his eyes cold.

“You couldn’t have called Mallory about your news? You don’t think it’s shitty that your cousin is going to hear about your mating via gossip?”

Casey frowned. “You say that like she’ll care either way. It’s not like me and her are close or anything. If I recall correctly, I heard she’d imprinted on you through the grapevine.”

“You two might not be close, but she does care about you.”

“That’s unlikely, but whatever.”

“It’s true. And she’s going to be upset when she hears you’re leaving the pack.”

Casey’s frown deepened. “Who says I’m leaving?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Eli Axton is a wolf, Casey. He’ll want you to transfer to his pack—wolves don’t like living amongst other breeds of shifter. He didn’t warn you about that? I’ll bet there are a lot of things he hasn’t told you. I’ve heard plenty of rumors about Axton and his pack. Some are good, but a lot are bad. Letting someone you barely know claim you … Fuck, Casey, you’re smarter than that.”

Her mink hissed. “I don’t know at what point you reached the conclusion that this is your business, but it’s not, so back the fuck off.”

A muscle in his cheek ticked. “You can’t be pissed at me forever, Casey. I’m sorry if it feels weird for you that I’m mated to your cousin now, but you should have made your peace with it at this point.”

Casey could only stare at him. “You think I’m mad that you mated Mallory? Really?” He had to be kidding. Seriously. He had to be.

“You’ve been upset with me since the day I first started dating her.”

“No, I was upset about the reason you started dating her. Mallory didn’t deserve to have you use her like that.”

“And I regret it. Believe me. I hate that there’s this big secret between me and her. Honestly, it’s a wonder the imprint bond ever fully formed. It took a while. You’re going to have the same problem with your true-mate bond.”

“Say again?”

“It’s not such a bad thing to let people in, Casey. But you’re set on keeping everyone at a distance. Look, I get it—your family isn’t worth shit, and being disowned like that would give anyone trust issues. I can understand why you stuck to shallow relationships and ruined anything that even had the possibility to become more. But how can you ever expect your mating bond to fully snap into place if you’re set on leaving everyone before they can leave you?”

Okay, that made her spine snap straight. “I don’t abandon people. I’m loyal to the people in my life. I’m there for them whenever they need me. Playing amateur psychologist doesn’t suit you.” She was a private person and found it hard to trust, sure, but she didn’t keep people at a distance or fear being disowned again.

“You never let guys get close to you. You told them it was because you were waiting for your true mate, but that was just an excuse to hold them at bay. How you expect to fully bond with Axton when you’re scared to let people in, I have no idea.”

She could only gape at him. “You really don’t know me at all, do you?” She shook her head. “I have to go, I’m starting my enforcer shift soon.”

“Casey—”

She slammed up her palm. “We’re done.” She sharply skirted around him and walked en route to her Alpha’s house.

Preston was wrong about her in so many ways. She didn’t expect people to leave her just because her parents and sister had shunned her. No. The way Casey saw it was that if they could so easily toss her aside, they’d never loved her in the first place and weren’t the kind of people she needed in her life.

She’d never been good at relationships, no. But she was so used to people treating her like an outsider that she never really knew what to do with anyone who tried getting close. At the same time, though, she’d always craved a connection with someone. Had always wanted what her grandparents had—a bond true and deep. A partner whose love and acceptance wouldn’t be conditional.

She’d fallen short of every standard her father had. Even before he’d discovered she could shift, she’d never been “enough” for him. He’d nitpicked at her constantly. In his eyes, she’d always been too much of this or too little of that. To put it simply, Ira had never seen any real value in his youngest daughter.

That had stopped hurting her a long time ago, though, because she’d come to see something else. Ira had taken such a natural dislike to her merely because he couldn’t control or manipulate her the way he could her sister and mother. He resented Casey’s strength. Resented her. It was Sherryl who’d pointed that out.

Sherryl.

Ah, she’d been the typical frenemy—someone who pretended to be your friend but was more of a rival. Casey hadn’t associated with her until the female joined the Hounds, so she hadn’t known Sherryl well. Donahue had asked Casey to take the new player under her wing, so she had. Sherryl had climbed up Casey’s ass shockingly fast, lavishing her with praise and flattery. Casey had sensed it was fake, but she’d thought the other mink was simply trying to secure her friendship.

When Sherryl had asked for private soccer lessons from her, Casey had obliged. Then Sherryl had wanted Casey to “recommend” to Adrian that he give Sherryl an enforcer position. Adrian, however, didn’t believe the female had what it took. She’d then accused Casey of convincing him not to grant her the position; she’d maintained that Casey selfishly wanted to be the only female enforcer. Sherryl later apologized profusely, but that had only been for show.

Sherryl’s sickly-sweet act stopped then. Oh, she continued her “friendship” with Casey. But she also constantly made passive-aggressive jabs, tried treating Casey like her own ATM machine, and only came around when she wanted something. Oh, and Sherryl did like to make sarcastic, cutting remarks that were always immediately followed by, “What, I was just kidding! You take everything so seriously.”

No pushover, Casey always called her on her shit. The other mink would then apologize, and they’d move on, because Casey wanted peace and coherence within the team. Besides, Sherryl wasn’t a horrible person. She could be fun and encouraging, and she’d cut down anyone who talked smack about any of her teammates—even if that teammate was Casey.

Sherryl was also hugely protective of her family; never had a bad word to say about them. She simply did not make a good friend. Didn’t seem to know how to have a balanced friendship. And, well, Casey couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Sherryl’s true mate had died when he was a child, and Casey figured that would mess anyone up.

Still, she had not been a happy bunny when Sherryl later started dating Miles. She’d tried warning him that Sherryl could be quite the backstabber, but he liked to see the best in people—a trait that was admirable but often caused him pain.

Sherryl had seemed to care for him, though. She’d made him happy. And it had obviously been real, or they wouldn’t have almost imprinted on each other—the beginnings of the bond had been there. But then she’d dumped him, claiming she felt like bonding with him would be betraying her deceased true mate.

No matter how many times Casey had told her that she wasn’t to blame for Miles’ subsequent downward spiral, Sherryl couldn’t bring herself to believe it. Nor did she believe that Caseyand the packdidn’t blame her.

Basically, Sherryl had projected all her self-blame onto everyone else, and then she’d pushed them away and transferred to another pack.

Late one night a few months later, Sherryl had called and—drunk off her ass—given Casey an earful of shit. She’d spouted a lot of hurtful comments, laughed at how much of a joke Casey’s family was, even accused her of sucking Adrian’s dick just to get the position of enforcer, and proudly admitted that she’d slept with some of Casey’s exes before those relationships ended. How mature.

Even though the friendship hadn’t been real, Casey probably should have felt betrayed. But the one good thing about being riddled with trust issues was that you expected people to fuck you over, so it didn’t always hurt when they did.

Casey knew herself well enough to know that despite being sure she could trust Eli utterly and completely, it wouldn’t be so simple for her to believe it with every fiber of her being. She also knew her habit of getting touchy whenever anyone tried dismissing or crushing her strength could be an issue—he was an extremely dominant male, after all, and liked to have his own way. But they could find a balance, so Preston could just fuck right off with his dumbass presumptions.

Reaching the Alpha’s home, she knocked on the door. Like the other houses so deep into the estate, it was pretty as a picture, especially with the colorful garden and the flowerpots under the windows.

It was Adrian’s Beta, Clare, who answered the door—the female was often there, since she and Adrian had been dating for a short while.

Clare smiled. “Casey, it’s nice to see you. Come in.” The Beta stepped aside to let her pass. “Adrian’s in the yard putting the new barbecue together. He’s planning on inviting all the enforcers around here for burgers later. Will you be able to make it?”

Following Clare into the kitchen, Casey said, “Sorry, no, I’ll be busy. I just came by because I have some news.” She pulled her collar aside to bare her claiming brand.

Clare’s mouth fell open. “You found your true mate?” It was a shocked whisper.

“Yep.”

Clare’s face lit up. “This is amazing news!” She hauled Casey into a tight hug. “Oh honey, I’m so happy for you.” She pulled back, practically bubbling with excitement. “What, when, where, how? I want to know everything. Oh, we should throw a celebratory—”

“No,” Casey insisted. She liked parties well enough, she just didn’t like parties that included hundreds of drunken minks. They never ended well.

The kitchen door swung open, and Adrian strode inside. His lips curved as he spotted Casey. “Afternoon. How was soccer practice?”

“Good, thanks,” said Casey.

He grunted. “Now, what’s this I heard about you running with a wolf this morning?”

“Casey has the best news.” Clare elbowed her. “Go ahead, tell him.”

Casey bared her claiming bite again.

Adrian blinked. “Wow.” Shaking himself out of his stupor, he pulled her into a hug. “Congratulations. Who is the lucky bastard?”

“His name is Eli Axton, he’s—”

“The Mercury Pack Head Enforcer?”

“That’s the one.”

He let out a low whistle. “I’ve heard he’s … intense. That wolf has the kind of reputation that make grown men shiver.”

“He’s a wolf?” Clare’s face fell. “Does that mean you’ll be leaving us?”

“I don’t know what it means yet.” Casey shrugged. “We’ll have to see.”

“No matter what, this is great news.” Clare squeezed her hand. “I’m happy for you.”

“I look forward to meeting him,” said Adrian. “I’m assuming he’ll be at your game, so I’ll see him then, if not before.”

Casey nodded. “I have to go. You guys enjoy your burgers.”

Back at home, she did a few chores and then started her enforcer duties. Her shift was fairly uneventful, since she was patrolling the border as opposed to the busy estate. After it was over, she returned to her apartment and changed into a smart, casual get-up of white blouse and black pants. She figured dinner at Eli’s territory would be an informal affair, but she wanted to look like she’d made an effort.

She wanted Eli’s family and pack mates to like her or, at the very least, simply be happy for him. She’d seen how ugly it could get when families didn’t take well to someone’s mate. Gayle and Ira were a perfect example. Gayle’s parents despised him, but although she’d been close to her family, she’d chosen Ira over them when he gave her an ultimatum.

Casey was sitting on the sofa watching TV when there was a hard knock on the door. Standing, she sank her toes into the fluffy, white rug that was the same color as the cushions on her cream, upholstered sofa and then crossed to the front door. Opening it wide, she found herself staring at well over six feet of pure muscle, tanned flesh, and raw male power. And there went her ovaries. Poof.

Eli stood tall and proudly erect with his shoulders back, gut sucked in, and an assertive stance that made several words spring to the forefront of her mind. Dominant. Powerful. Self-assured. Dauntless.

His powerfully built body was utterly still as he watched her with that sharp, penetrating gaze—a gaze that was currently glittering with so much heat that her stomach clenched painfully. Sexual tension flickered to life, thick and hot. It made the air crackle and her hormones go a little haywire. Her mink let out a highly contented purr.

“Well, hello,” said Casey as he slowly walked inside with a predatory grace, sucking the air out of the apartment with just his very presence.

“Hello to you, too.” Unable to fight the soul-deep urge to touch her, Eli caught her face in his hands. It had been a long-ass day that had felt more like a fucking week. The hours had ticked by so damn slowly it was close to agonizing. She’d dominated his thoughts the entire time.

“Missed you,” he said softly. Missed her taste. Her scent. The feel of her skin. Missed those unusual eyes that were framed by thick lashes dark as soot. “Gonna need to feast on this mouth just a little.”

He didn’t kiss her, he devoured her. Held her close as he took and took, wishing he could crawl inside her. Loving that every cell, every bone, every hair on her head belonged to him. Was made for him.

He’d driven to her apartment with his cock hard and his blood hot with excitement, itching to get his hands on the thing he’d been craving since the second he left her. When she’d opened the door, his gut twisted with a ferocious, sexual need that made him want to slam her onto the nearest surface and fuck her raw. If they weren’t scheduled to have dinner with his pack, he’d have done exactly that.

Pulling back, he brushed his lips over hers, satisfied by the flush on her cheeks and the spice of need in her delectable scent. A scent that would be mixed with his own once the mating progressed—he couldn’t wait for that.

He also couldn’t wait to introduce her to his pack. He wanted to take her to his lodge, show her the kind of home they could have, let her fill the space with her scent. “What did you do today?”

“Soccer training. Patrol. Visited my Alpha to tell him about you. Adrian is pleased for me, as is his Beta female, Clare. And now you and I need to leave before I make us late by wrestling you to the floor and riding you like a pony.”

He groaned. “I love your honesty. I have no objections to you riding me.”

She stepped back. “Oh no, this is the first time I’ll meet your pack. I won’t make a very good impression if I don’t arrive on time. The riding you like a pony thing—we can put a pin in that, okay?”

“I’m holding you to it.” He gave her one last kiss, waited for her to slip on her shoes, and then led her outside with her hand in his. “Do you have a car?”

“Nope. I can drive. I just don’t own a car because it seems pointless. I rarely leave my territory, since everything I need is here and these stores sell just about everything.” Once inside his SUV, she clicked on her seatbelt and asked, “So, how did your pack react to the news of you being mated?”

“They’re happy for me.” He switched on the engine and pulled out onto the road. “All the adults are mated, so I think it was just as hard for them to see me alone as it was for me to see them moving forward with their lives. Now that I have you, they don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“So your mother’s okay with this?”

He hesitated. “Not exactly, but that’s nothing personal to you—she just has some shit to work through.” He squeezed her thigh. “I’m sorry, baby. She just needs time.”

“You don’t need to apologize for her. And don’t worry about it. Out of all your pack mates, only one disapproves. I’ll take that as a win.” Casey frowned. “I heard today that wolves don’t like living among other breeds of shifter. Is that true?”

Eli stroked her thigh, knowing the real question was … “Do I want to leave my pack? No, just as I’d imagine you don’t want to leave yours. It’s natural. But it’s more important to me that you’re happy. If you don’t feel you can be happy living on my territory, we won’t—it’s that simple. We don’t have to make any decisions now.”

She gave a slow nod. “Okay. So, what did you get up to today?”

“After I told my pack about you—and they’re really looking forward to meeting you, by the way—I accompanied Nick and Shaya to a meeting with Ignacio.”

“The fuck? Ignacio?”

He winced. “Yes.” Eli braced himself, anticipating a rant that would be totally justified. But she didn’t say another word. And when he flicked her a sideways glance, he saw her staring at him in a truly unnerving way that made him itch to cup his balls protectively.

Before he knew it, he found himself rambling. “He called Nick earlier today and asked us to meet with him. The only reason I didn’t tell you was that I knew you’d insist on coming along. I didn’t want to give Ignacio another chance to play mind games with you. I wanted him to get the message that I wouldn’t allow him to ever again go near you—he wouldn’t have heard that warning if you were sat within a few feet of him.

“Be mad if you want, baby, but you wouldn’t want me anywhere near a female who meant me any harm; you’d want to deal with that shit yourself. You’d need to do it, woman to woman. I didn’t do anything today that you wouldn’t have done in my position.”

Again, Eli braced himself for a verbal rollicking. It still didn’t come. And that made him far more nervous than he would have expected. Stopping at a red light, he looked at her. “Yell at me if you need to. But say something.”

She took in a long breath. “I get why you didn’t want me there,” she said, her voice pitched low, soft, menacing. “And I’ll let it slide this one time. But if you ever again make the decision for me of where I do or don’t go, we’re gonna have the kind of problems that result in you crying like a bitch while cradling your broken kneecaps. You got me?”

Eli swallowed. “It has to make me twisted that my cock just jerked.”

She snorted. “Light’s green.”

Feeling like he’d dodged a bullet, he shifted gears and drove on. Well, he’d learned one thing from this—his mate didn’t shout or lose her shit when she was angry, she went very quiet and still. He’d have to watch for that.

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