CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

She was going to end up punching the bitch. Seriously. There was no way this night wouldn’t end in a barfight. But Havana had never had an issue with those. She found them sort of cathartic.

She’d been at the Tavern for a few hours now. She, her girls, Elle, and Bree had claimed one of the burgundy leather cushioned booths. Throughout the evening, they’d drank shots and cocktails while also munching on the complimentary bowl of nuts that Elle had swiped from the long bar.

The scents of beer, leather, oiled wood, and hot and spicy foods were heavy in the air. Too heavy for her devil’s liking, but she was fussy that way.

The place was crowded, as usual. Filled with the sounds of laughter, chatter, glasses clinking, balls shuttling into pool table pockets, slot machines bleeping and pinging, and music blasting from the widescreen TVs that often featured sports games. Waiters and waitresses walked around delivering food platters, taking orders, and collecting empty glasses or bottles.

A comedian had recently finished his act, so the stage was now empty. The Tavern often provided entertainment, especially karaoke, live bands, or hypnotists.

The night had been great thus far. It hadn’t been possible for Havana to wind down, though. Not when she was acutely conscious that Tate was on the opposite side of the space playing pool. When their eyes first locked, a hollow ache began to build in her chest. At the same time, though, she’d felt a strange sense of … she couldn’t describe it. It wasn’t quite pleasure, but it was close. Like a small shot of adrenaline. Like when you tasted chocolate after having given it up for a long while. It was comforting and only made you want more.

She’d quickly looked away and had spent the rest of the evening trying her best to ignore his presence. But it was kind of impossible to ignore six-feet-plus of pure Alpha male hotness. She found her eyes occasionally straying his way. Every time they accidentally collided with his, it was like a jolt of electricity struck her body. Bleh.

He hadn’t approached her, hadn’t tried to speak to her, hadn’t even so much as tipped his chin her way. She didn’t get the sense that he was being rude. No, he was simply giving her what she asked for—space.

As she’d requested, he hadn’t texted or called her or sought her out since that day they spoke in the basement of her building. It relieved her.

It also devastated her. But it was for the best.

Moving on from Dieter hadn’t been anywhere near this hard. Given that all she and Tate had had was a fling, it shouldn’t have been this hard. And her hormones shouldn’t be doing the fandango just because he was in the same damn space.

Plus, it didn’t help that fucking Ashlynn sat at a table not far from him. The skank had no compunction about pinning Havana with hard, steady stares. That was when she wasn’t busy trying to make Tate notice her, flipping her hair and laughing overly loud with her friends, Eva and Aimee—two pallas cats who’d always been somewhat curt with Havana.

So far, she’d ignored the trio’s behavior. Purely because it was fun to silently communicate that Ashlynn’s attempt to intimidate her wasn’t successful. But there was really only so long Havana could tolerate this crap. Her inner bullshit meter went off because in truth, yeah, she could absolutely tolerate it—she was good at ignoring such pettiness. She simply didn’t want to keep ignoring it, and her animal certainly hoped she wouldn’t.

Elle set her half-empty glass on a coaster. “So, a devil, a bearcat, and a mamba formed a clan.”

“I feel a joke coming on,” said Havana.

“It’s just such an odd mix.”

Bree tipped her head to the side. “Your animals don’t struggle to get along or anything?”

“My bearcat has little patience for Bailey’s mamba,” said Aspen. “But that’s only because the snake deliberately pisses her off for shits and giggles. Bailey and her serpent do lots of things for shits and giggles.”

Elle looked at Bailey. “Your mamba doesn’t bother Havana’s devil?”

“No, she sees Havana as her Alpha,” replied Bailey. “My mamba challenged her in the beginning, but the devil whooped her ass. You should seriously never get in a devil’s face, no matter if they’re in their human form or animal form.”

Aspen nodded. “They’re freakishly strong, and their bones are super tough. That’s why Corbin won’t let her spar for fun at the center.”

Havana sniffed. “I still say it’s an unreasonable rule.”

“You broke one guy’s jaw with a bitch slap,” Aspen pointed out.

“He shouldn’t have laughed when I got in the ring … as if he was so sure he’d wipe the floor with me.” Cocky bastard. “He should have known better. It’s not like devils are mistaken for harmless. Which is why landlords are often rather disinclined to accept me as a tenant.”

“Did Tate seem put off by it?” asked Elle.

Havana licked her lower lip, her stomach hardening—something it did each time the redhead mentioned her brother, which was often. “No. He didn’t seem fazed at all.”

“Little fazes Tate,” said Elle. “He’s always been like that. I’m kind of bummed that you two broke up. I got a little excited when he didn’t seem interested in extracting himself from whatever you two had going on. I thought that just maybe Ashlynn’s betrayal hadn’t fucked him or his cat up too badly. And you seemed to make him happy. I want him to be happy.”

“I don’t think I necessarily made him happy, Elle. I just made him come really, really hard.”

A chuckle burst out of Elle. “God, Havana, I like you. I really do.” She sipped her drink. “You suit him so well. Ashlynn didn’t. Not really. There was just something missing from their relationship. I feel bad for her on one level, because it has to be hard to have your true mate reject you, and watching him imprint on another female had to be just as hard. But she hurt my brother, so for that alone I’d hate her even if she was an angel sent directly from heaven.”

“On the subject of Ashlynn,” began Aspen, “I might just explode if she doesn’t stop glaring at you, Vana. When she’s not trying to kill you with her eyes, she’s striving to get Tate’s attention. Which isn’t working. He’s too focused on you. That’s probably why you’re repeatedly finding yourself on the receiving end of her glare.”

Probably. Havana’s devil kept letting out eerie little growls, done with the skank.

“She’s going to pick a fight at some point—maybe tonight, maybe some other time,” Aspen predicted.

Bailey looked at Havana. “Want me to bite her?”

It was tempting, but Havana wanted to have some fun with her. It would be a good stress-reliever, if nothing else. “Not right now.”

“We can have her thrown out if you want,” Elle offered.

Bailey frowned. “You wouldn’t rather watch that bitch get her ass handed to her by Havana?”

Elle’s entire face lit up. “I’d totally be up for that. But I don’t want your night to end on a bad note.”

Aspen snickered. “For us, ending the evening with a barfight is a common and much-loved practice. Tradition, even.”

“I gotta warn you that Ashlynn won’t be easy to take on,” said Bree. “She’s a strong alpha, and she’s very well trained in combat.”

Pleased, Havana said, “Even better. It’s far less fun to beat someone who’s hopeless at defending themselves. As Aspen said, she may not issue the challenge tonight, but it’ll come at some point.”

If they were anywhere else, Havana might have struck first. But she had more respect for the pallas cats than to start shit in their hangout. She’d defend herself, but she wouldn’t pick a fight here. Which disappointed her devil, and since the animal’s mood was becoming a little too precarious, Havana decided to change the subject. “On a cheerier note … I’m jealous that you have Valentina Devereaux for a mother-in-law, Bree. I think she’s plain awesome.”

The pallas cat grinned. “I agree. You can’t not adore her. I love working with her and her mate, James. They argue over the craziest stuff.”

Bailey leaned toward Bree. “What’s it like being mated to a wolverine? I heard they don’t make easy mates.”

“Oh, they don’t,” Bree confirmed. “He hates being away from me. And I mean hates it. He’d be sitting right at this booth if I hadn’t made it clear that we wanted privacy for girl talk. So he settled over there with Tate, sulking. Wolverines are more protective and possessive than most shifters. It makes me crazy at times, but he’s worth every moment.”

Elle smiled. “It’s so cute how devoted Alex is to her. Especially because he pretty much despises a large percentage of the remaining population.”

“You imprinted on each other, right?” Havana asked Bree.

“We did, thank God.” Bree blew out a relieved breath. “I was worried it wouldn’t happen for us. The imprinting process is a powerful thing, even in its earliest stages. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for Tate when the threads of it snapped. I admire him for ploughing through that.”

Havana tilted her head. “Why do I feel like you guys keep purposefully going back to the subject of Tate?” Seriously, Elle and Bree had done it over a dozen times.

Elle gave a sheepish look. “Fine,” she said with a sigh. “Bree and I really want you and Tate to make another go of things. I know you want more than a fling—he told me. And I think he wants that too; he’s just holding back for what he believes is a good reason, but I don’t think he’ll manage that for much longer. I get that you want to move on, but I’m asking that you not write him off just yet.”

“You didn’t see what he was like this past week, Havana,” Bree cut in. “It was obvious that being away from you doesn’t work well for him. Like at all.”

Elle nodded. “I truly think he’ll make the jump at some point and offer you what you want, Havana. My big fear is that, by then, you’ll have decided it’s too little too late.”

“You can tell us that it’s not our business if you want,” said Bree. “You’d be right, it’s not. But we both worry about Tate. And we want what’s best for him—we think that’s you.”

Havana put down her glass. “I can’t fault you for caring enough about him to want to intervene. But I don’t believe he’ll offer me anything. Even if I had the slightest hope that he would, I wouldn’t be able to exist in a frame of mind where I was open to the idea, because it would only later eviscerate me if I had to watch him commit to someone else.”

“I get it,” said Elle, her smile weak. “I guess it wasn’t fair of us to ask that of you. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” said Havana. “I’m glad he has people looking out for him.”

“My Alex was hesitant to try a relationship with me,” said Bree. “He held back for years; look where we are now. I understand why you can’t let yourself hope that Tate will step up to the plate, but I’m not going to give up hope. Especially since he’s been eye-fucking you pretty much since the moment he walked through the door.”

Aspen looked at Havana. “I’m getting hot under the collar just watching him shoot you those darkly carnal looks, so I can’t imagine what they’re doing to you.”

Oh, they made Havana feel a lot of things. Hot. Nervous. Turned-on. Hunted. But also annoyed, because he didn’t have the right to eye-fuck her like that anymore.

Bailey shook her head in wonder. “Why do so many supremely hot guys seem to have weird-ass exes who’re set on being a pain in the ass?”

“You are one of those weird-ass exes,” said Havana.

Bailey raised her index finger. “Only if the guys have wronged me, so it doesn’t count. Tate has done shit to Ashlynn, but she’s clearly intent on being a problem.”

Aspen flicked a hand. “If Havana doesn’t take care of her, the zombies will.”

Havana sighed. “There is not going to be a zombie apocalypse.”

“I hear you say that, but I also once heard you say you’d never get involved with an Alpha,” said Aspen. “Look what happened there.”

“That’s vastly different from—” Cutting herself off, Havana gave her head a quick shake. “You know what, let’s just move on.”

They all chatted a little more about inconsequential stuff, laughing and joking and ordering more drinks.

“I need to use the bathroom,” Aspen announced at one point.

Not prepared to allow her friend to go alone, Havana stood. “I’ll come with you.” She looked down at Bailey, who seemed deep in thought. “You all right?” Havana asked, tapping the mamba’s shoulder.

Bailey blinked up at her. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I was just wondering if caterpillars actually know what’s gonna happen when they build a cocoon for themselves, or if they’re later like ‘whoa, what’s with the wings and shit?’”

Havana felt her brows inch up slightly. “Um, sorry, can’t help you with that. You coming to the restroom with us?”

“Sure,” said Bailey.

Ignoring the gazes of both Tate and Ashlynn, Havana went to the restroom with her girls. They quickly did their business and then headed back to their booth. Well, Bailey sort of danced her way there while Aspen followed, wolf-whistling. Havana was only a few feet away from the booth when an unwelcome figure slid in front of her. Her devil snarled and jumped to her feet.

“Nice top,” said Ashlynn, a brittle smile on her face.

Havana’s mouth curved. “Thanks.”

“It goes well with your heels.”

“I’d have to agree.” Noticing that her girls were on guard, Havana subtly signaled for them not to intervene. She could deal with this heifer just fine.

“I just wanted to say, well, I heard all about the auctions. God, it’s hard to believe that kind of thing goes on. There are some seriously messed-up people out there. It’s awful that they went after you, but at least it brought the terrible business to the attention of my pride. We Olympus cats won’t let this go, what with you being one of Tate’s tenants. If someone’s under his protection, he takes it very seriously.”

“Yes, I learned that fast,” said Havana, keenly aware that the level of chatter in the space had dramatically lowered. Only the blasting music kept her and Ashlynn’s words from being clear to all those trying to eavesdrop.

“I’m Ashlynn, by the way.” Her false smile shrunk. “But I’m guessing you already know that. Elle no doubt told you plenty about me. I’ll bet none of it was good.”

“I have to admit, no, it wasn’t good.”

“You probably don’t think much of me. You’ll have heard what went down between me and Tate. He thinks I lied to him, but I meant my promises when I made them. I just couldn’t keep them.”

“You could’ve. You chose not to.”

Ashlynn’s face hardened. “Have you found your true mate yet?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“The feeling you get when it hits you that they’re yours … it’s indescribable. There’s this compulsion to be around them. It’s so hard to fight. I managed it while Koby was mated to another. But knowing he was in such pain after her death … I couldn’t ignore that.”

“Again, you could’ve. You chose not to. No one put a gun to your head and forced you to leave Tate. You made the decision to do that, and you made it all on your own.”

Ashlynn’s eyes flared. “It’s easy for you to say that because you haven’t found your true mate. But I suppose you’re right. I owe you an apology really, don’t I?”

Havana frowned. “Do you?”

“A few of my pride mates are of the opinion that you care for Tate. If things had been different, he may have tried a relationship with you. But he didn’t, because what I did hurt him so much that he literally closed himself off. So it’s kind of my fault that you don’t have the man you care for. And for that, I’m sorry.” She gave Havana a sympathetic smile. “Don’t feel bad for falling for someone you can’t have. Women fall for Tate all the time, thinking he’ll grow to care for them. He’s easy to love, but his love isn’t easy to win. It never was.”

God, this woman sure was a rambler. “Good of you to own your shit, I guess.”

“I made mistakes, and I know what I lost. I intend to win him back.”

Havana lifted a brow, and her devil narrowed her eyes. “You think you have a shot?”

“Yes, I do. Once he’s got used to me being around again, he’ll settle. He’ll let me in when he’s ready. It gave me hope when I heard he broke things off with you. He might not have acknowledged it to himself yet, but he did that because I’m back and he knows it’s time to break any ties he has with other women.”

Havana held back a snort and gave her a bright smile. “Then it would seem that things will work out for you just fine.”

“I want your assurance that you’ll keep your distance from Tate. He and I need time to find our way back to each other. I don’t want you or anyone else getting in the way of that.”

Havana supposed she should be flattered that the woman felt so threatened by her. “Well, I can’t give you what you want, seeing as he and I are working alongside each other to tackle the auction situation.”

“But, other than that, you can keep your distance. So I’d like your assurance that you’ll do exactly that.”

Havana twisted her mouth. “Maybe if you hadn’t spent the night sending me death glares, I’d be inclined to give you what you want. In the name of sisterhood and all. Then again, maybe not, because I simply don’t like you. Personally, I think Tate had a lucky escape when you left him.”

Ashlynn’s face went hard as stone. “Careful how you speak to me. I am not someone you want to fuck with. Don’t make me embarrass you in front of all these people.”

“Embarrass me?”

“I have no issue with throwing down right here, right now.”

Havana smiled, and her devil would have grinned wickedly if she could’ve. “What a coincidence. Neither do I.”

Elle clamped her hand around Tate’s arm and said, “No, you have to stay out of it.”

Tate’s mouth tightened. Every cell of his body demanded he stop the brawl before it could start. He didn’t want Ashlynn even so much as breathing Havana’s air, let alone touching her. “I’m Ashlynn’s Alpha, this place belongs to our pride—”

“And a single word from you would make Ashlynn back off, yes, but you’ll make Havana look weak if you intervene.”

Yeah, so Elle kept saying each time he made a move to wade in. She wasn’t wrong. Although Tate didn’t want to undermine Havana’s strength, he also didn’t want to see her hurt. Ashlynn could be a vicious little scrapper, and she liked to sharpen her claws on people’s faces. He liked Havana’s face just as it was.

Deke and Isaiah, who were waiting for the slightest signal from Tate to leap into the fray, looked just as eager to do so.

“I have every right to intervene,” Tate persisted. “Havana’s under my protection, and the person confronting her is one of my cats.”

“Which doesn’t change that your interference would reflect badly on Havana.”

“Still, it might be best if he does step in, Elle,” Luke interjected. “Ashlynn’s a tough fighter, and she can be—”

Havana slammed her palm into Ashlynn’s chest so hard it sent her flying backwards. Ashlynn crashed into the brick wall, causing some of the sports paraphernalia to fall to the floor with her.

Everyone stilled, including Tate’s cat. Because Havana had done that with a single shove. And she hadn’t used herculean effort. She’d done it with a casual strength and such lightning-fast speed that all Tate could do was stare. It was one thing to know that devils were phenomenally strong. It was a whole other thing to see them demonstrate that power.

Ashlynn righted herself, her face a mask of sheer rage. “Bitch.”Throwing out alpha vibes in an effort to oppress Havana—which was fucking cheating, really—Ashlynn charged at her. Tate’s stomach went hard, and his inner cat let out an enraged growl.

Havana grabbed the nearest chair and held it with all four legs directly pointed at Ashlynn—who, in her fury, stupidly fucking crashed into it.

She stumbled back with a loud wince of pain that morphed into a long hiss. “Fucking fight me!” Ashlynn demanded, planting her feet.

Shrugging, Havana lay the chair down flat on the floor, the legs facing her this time.

Ashlynn lunged. She didn’t get far. Because Havana slammed her heel on one leg of the chair, making the top of it rear up and catch Ashlynn right on the chin.

Looking dazed, Ashlynn spat out blood. She glared at Havana, her nostrils flaring. “You’ll regret that.” She shifted. Her feline launched out of the puddle of clothes and hurled herself at Havana. Which might have been a good move … except that, in the meantime, Aspen had handed Havana a stool leg—he hadn’t even noticed the bearcat break a stool.

Havana swung the wooden leg and whacked the feline like she was no more than a fucking baseball—and she did it with such force that the cat flew backwards and smacked into the wall hard enough to make Tate wince. The cat landed limply on the floor, out cold. And Havana, well, she dipped her hand into the complimentary bowl of pretzels that sat on a nearby table and tossed one into her mouth, casual as you please.

Nobody moved, no doubt as shocked as Tate. It was not often you saw a pallas cat get their ass handed to them. He couldn’t even say that Havana had really fought Ashlynn. His little devil had done no more than toy with her, and she’d done it with no emotion. It was an insult. A message that Havana found her nothing more than a pest. Tate blew out a breath because, yeah, Havana’s mercilessness went right to his cock. His inner cat fucking loved it.

The fact that she’d done this right in front of Ashlynn’s pride mates, not giving a damn that they might retaliate, wouldn’t anger the Olympus cats. No, like Tate, they respected that level of strength and fearlessness. Well, except for maybe Ashlynn’s friends, who’d now recovered from their shock.

Gaping, Eva glared at Havana. “Fucking whore.” Eva made a move toward her, her claws out. But then a black mamba dropped from the ceiling and wrapped tight around Eva’s throat. Hissing, the mamba bit her face. Eva screamed and staggered.

A furious Aimee didn’t take more than one aggressive step in Havana’s direction before Aspen effortlessly tackled her to the floor and smacked a three-legged stool over her head, knocking the feline unconscious.

Havana crossed to Ashlynn’s cat and carefully lifted her. Tate thought she might throw her at the table or something, but she didn’t. She nodded at Aspen, who then grabbed a chair while Havana climbed the steps that led to the stage. Once the bearcat had positioned the chair in the center of the platform, Havana laid the pallas cat on the wooden seat. Bailey, who’d at some point shifted back to her human form and slipped on her dress, skipped over and tucked a colorful cocktail umbrella into the thick fur on the cat’s neck.

Havana nodded, seemingly pleased. The three females then strolled off the stage. And Tate got it. Havana wanted Ashlynn to wake and find herself right there like that where everyone—including many of her pride mates—could see her. The feline would never live it down. Especially since people quickly began snapping pictures with their cell phones.

“Now that is cold,” said Luke, his tone one of approval.

It was, and Tate couldn’t help the grin that curved his mouth. His cat was pretty much head over heels for the delightfully vicious devil at this moment.

The bartender, Gerard, plonked three shots of tequila on the bar. “Drink up, girls. They’re on the house.” Yeah, he wasn’t a fan of Ashlynn.

Tate made a beeline for Havana, who pinned him with a look that said he was supposed to be keeping his distance, but he ignored it. He wasn’t going to slink away. He needed to check that she was okay.

Resisting the urge to pull her close and kiss her, he asked, “You all right?”

She knocked back her shot, her eyes alight with energy. “Never better.”

“What did she say to you?”

“A few things, really. The gist of it? She’s going to win you back, and she wants my vow that I’ll stay out of the way. When I wasn’t so inclined to make any such vows, she threatened to ‘throw down.’ Personally, I think she wanted to embarrass me in front of you.”

“So you made a fool of her instead.”

“And it was fun,” Bailey cut in, smiling.

“It was just as entertaining to watch,” said Bree, who’d gathered around them with Elle, Luke, Deke, and Isaiah.

Elle frowned at the mamba. “I didn’t even notice you disappear, let alone shift forms.”

Bailey shrugged. “Serpents are sneaky that way.”

“Eva’s really suffering from that bite of yours,” said Bree.

“My mamba didn’t inject much venom in her. Just enough to put the bitch out of commission.” Bailey cast a brief look at Ashlynn’s unconscious cat. “Do you guys think that will be the end of it?”

“No,” Luke and Elle said at once.

The mamba grinned. “Awesome.”

When Havana and her girls announced that they were leaving, Tate insisted on escorting them to their building. His guards walked in front while Havana’s guards covered their rear.

Aspen and Bailey disappeared inside the complex, but Havana lingered near the main door; Tate could see the question in her eyes.

“No, I’m not pissed that you sort-of-fought with one of my cats,” he said. “Ashlynn started it.”

“I attacked first,” Havana pointed out.

“Because she provoked you into doing so. Don’t worry about her or her friends. I’ll make sure they don’t think to retaliate.”

“I’m not worried about them,” she said.

“I’m sorry that Ashlynn fucked with you tonight. I never wanted my past to touch you that way.”

“It wasn’t your fault, and it’s not for you to apologize. Look, I could have defused the situation—I’m pretty good at that. I’ve had to be, because Bailey stirs shit so damn easily. But I didn’t try to calm things down tonight. I wanted to take Ashlynn on. I wanted to send a message she couldn’t fail to understand. So I did. None of what happened is on you.”

“It still pisses me off that she put you in that position. There won’t be a repeat of it. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Okay,” she said, though she didn’t look so convinced that he could stop Ashlynn from … well, being Ashlynn.

“You’re sure you’re all right?” he asked and, yeah, okay he was just dragging things out now. He didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to leave her again.

“I’m certain. Night, Tate.”

He fisted his hand against the drive to reach out and touch her. She wouldn’t welcome his touch, and he had to get used to it. “Night, Havana.”

Once she was safely inside the building, Tate crossed to Luke, Farrell, and Havana’s guards. “I need to deal with Ashlynn, Eva, and Aimee. But I don’t think I could do it diplomatically right now.”

Luke nodded. “You’re too pissed on Havana’s behalf. You wouldn’t be able to speak to them as their Alpha. You’d be doing it as someone who cares for the person they targeted.”

“I recommend you give them tonight to sweat over it, Tate,” said Farrell. “Deal with them tomorrow when your head’s clearer and your cat’s calmer.”

Tate rolled back his shoulders. “I noticed Ashlynn glaring at Havana, but I didn’t call her on it because Havana didn’t seem to care, and I didn’t think that things would escalate.”

“Same here,” said Luke. “It never even occurred to me that Ashlynn would be stupid enough to confront someone who’s under your protection, let alone threaten to throw down. I think she did it in the hope that she could somehow diminish Havana in your eyes.”

Looking at Tate, Deke twisted his mouth. “Ashlynn has either underestimated Havana’s … value to you, or she’s overestimated her own value to you.”

Tate mulled over that for a moment. “It’s probably a little of both. So far, nothing I’ve said or done has convinced Ashlynn that I don’t want her back. I couldn’t have been clearer, but she’s not listening to me. She’s certain I’m just too angry to admit that I want her and that I just need time. Which makes me think she’s had it in her head for a while that she and I would reconcile eventually. Her belief is too set in stone.”

“I agree,” said Luke. “She didn’t cut contact with you when she left the pride. She tried sending you messages and letters. That tells us she never really let you go.”

“Maybe convincing herself you’d one day be hers again was the only way she could get through having been rejected by both Koby and you—two men she thought of as mates,” Farrell suggested. “You wouldn’t have rejected her if she hadn’t fucked up in the first place, I know, but it still must have been hard for her to take.”

“Whatever the case, I’m done dealing with her shit,” Tate declared. “I’ll summon her, Eva, and Aimee to my house tomorrow and speak to them individually. And I’ll do my best to drum into Ashlynn’s brain that there’ll never again be an ‘us,’ even if it means being cruel just to make her let it go.”

“She might hightail it out of the pride again,” said Isaiah.

“Can’t say I’d care much if she did, despite her being one of my cats,” said Tate. “She didn’t just fuck with Havana tonight, although that’s enough to make me furious. By disregarding that Havana is under my protection, Ashlynn disrespected me. And by pulling that shit in our pride’s hangout and metaphorically pissing all over their doorstep, she let down our entire pride. She’s either one of us, or she’s not. Tomorrow, she’ll have to decide how it’s going to be. If she has any sense in her head, she’ll come to my house with a sincere apology and a promise that there won’t be a repeat of what happened tonight.”

Luke pulled a face. “I’m not optimistic that she will.”

Tate sighed. “No, neither am I.”