CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next morning, Luke woke to the feel of warm air feathering over his claiming mark. He quickly became aware that a very naked Blair was half sprawled over him, her face tucked into the crook of his neck. His still-sensitive brand tingled at the feel of her hot breath.

His brand,he thought with a curl of his lips.

They were mated now. Irreversibly bound to each other. Something he’d occasionally worried her mother would find a way to prevent, despite the fact that—even in the beginning, when Luke had been a relative stranger to Blair—his mate hadn’t experienced torn loyalties where Noelle was concerned. Blair had always been steadfastly in his corner, her loyalty to him absolute.

It was almost a little surreal to be finally bound to her. For years she had felt just out of his reach. So close yet so far.

Not anymore.

She lived inside him now, exactly where she was supposed to be. The knowledge planted itself deep in his system, anchoring him, flowing into his blood, slithering around his bones, smoothing over each and every jagged edge inside him.

The sensation of her soul knitted to his didn’t feel whatsoever strange. He’d always had that sense of her being a basic part of him … as if she was engraved into his very being and imprinted on every cell of his body. Blair belonged to him on a level that nothing else ever could or would.

Their bond burned bright, stronger than any steel. He’d psychically touched the knot of emotions that resided at the other end of it. What she felt for him wasn’t sweet and tender. It was as fiery and fierce as her personality. She loved him with a ferocity that humbled him—one he returned tenfold.

His sleepy cat did a languid stretch. For the first time in what felt like too long, the feline wasn’t restless and moody. He was relaxed. Content. Secure in his hold on Blair.

As memories of their mating flitted through Luke’s mind, his cock twitched. She’d so easily rolled with his demands, accepting it was part of who he was; pleasing his cat that she didn’t resent that forceful streak both man and animal shared. The way she’d pointblank refused to let Luke get away with holding anything back, trusting he wouldn’t take that too far and hurt her … that had touched him.

In general, there’d be very little that she’d let him get away with. Not that she’d fight him on petty shit or put up a protest for the mere sake of it—Blair was too mature for that. But she wouldn’t pander to his overprotective nature, fail to call him on his crap, or ever struggle to tangle with him. That thought made him smile.

She stirred, shifting position slightly.

Sensing through their bond that she’d woken, he danced his fingers along the arm that she’d tossed over him. “Morning, baby.”

She mumbled a non-intelligible sound.

He felt one corner of his mouth cant up. “Sleep well?”

“Trying to sleep now,” she said, a slight slur to her voice. “Woke up ’cause pulses of male smugness are drifting down our bond.”

“It’d be impossible for me to not be smug right now.” Luke swept his hand down her back and possessively palmed her ass. “I finally have you here, all marked and claimed. Not to mention naked.”

“And tired.”

“Fucking beautiful, too.”

Unable to maintain “cranky” when he said stuff like that and she could feel his total sincerity through their bond, Blair smiled against his neck. “And my tits are awesome. Admit it.”

He chuckled. “Absolutely awesome. Much like this ass.” He gave it a gentle squeeze.

Blair snuggled into him a little more, breathing in their combined scent. He now wore her on his skin just as plainly as he wore the imprint of her teeth. It pleased the possessive heart of her.

That same territorialism had risen inside her like a tidal wave when he took her last night. She understood now why he’d been so sure he’d never manage to have sex with her without also claiming her. The urge to mate that had taunted them for months had intensified by a thousand when he had finally slid inside her. She could no more have stopped herself from branding him than she could have stopped herself from breathing. It had been too necessary, too instinctual, too primal.

She wasn’t sure how it was for other women after their virginal status altered, but Blair personally felt neither here nor there about no longer having a hymen. Then again, it hadn’t been an awkward or incredibly painful experience for her. If so, she might have otherwise felt differently.

“On another note, how is your female this morning?” he asked.

In a word … “Hyper.”

“Hyper?”

“She finally has what she wants, so it’s put her in a rather excitable mood.” Which was massively annoying Blair at the moment, since the little female felt it necessary to yip and bark and butt her head at Blair in an effort to make her wake and go “play.” It was like having a small child harass you until you got out of bed in resignation. “How’s your cat?”

“More content than he’s ever been. And crowing like a rooster.”

Her snicker got caught in her throat as a yawn cracked her jaw.

“He’s also desperate for some time with both you and your female. We need to let our animals run together at some point today.”

“I’m up for it, so long as your cat doesn’t try eating my hair again.”

“He doesn’t try to eat it. Per se. He likes to play with it—”

“Well, it ain’t a ball of yarn.”

“—and then he gets carried away and ends up nibbling on the strands.” Luke doodled circles on her butt with his fingertip. “At least he doesn’t nibble on your pinkie.”

“Once. My female did that to you once.”

“It hurt like a mother. Her teeth are like goddamn miniature scalpels.”

Dominant males could be such whiners at times. “She only did it because you tried rubbing her belly—she doesn’t like that.”

“She showed me her belly. She rolled right onto her back, her tongue lolling out, looking all playful.”

“Well, it’s not her fault you fell for the puppy dog act. Some alpha you are.” She flinched as the tips of his claws pricked the flesh of her ass. “Ow! That hurts.” She bit his neck.

Luke let out a low chuckle, withdrawing his claws. “That bite wasn’t much of a punishment, baby.” He loved it when his mate marked him—even needed it. “Just to be clear, I’ll be doing a lot of things to your ass so it better get used to a little discomfort. I’ll be using and ruling every part of you.” He had all sorts of fantasies boxed up in his mind. Now that they were mated, he could open that box. “But right now, I have a question.”

“Hit me with it.”

He rolled onto his side and gently cupped her pussy. “You sore?”

Her pupils dilated. “A little bit.”

Luke hummed, urging her to lie flat on her back. “I guess I should kiss it better, then.” He did exactly that, not stopping until she came all over his mouth. He then pumped his aching cock and exploded all over her pussy. “I like seeing your skin covered in my come.” It was yet another way to mark her as his.

Her face all languid and flushed, she blew out a breath. “I’m kind of sensing that, since this is the second time you’ve blown your load all over me.”

“It won’t be the last.” He gently tapped her hip. “Shower.”

Just as they had last night, they showered together. Luke again washed her hair for her, loving that she let him minister to and pamper her that way. It wasn’t always easy for dominant females to shove aside their inborn self-reliance in even the smallest of ways. But Blair didn’t bristle or object; she gave him this without hesitation.

Had she not been sore, he would have taken her right then. Later. He’d have her again later.

Washed and dressed, he checked his phone. One particular text made him frown.

“What’s wrong?” asked Blair, retrieving her own cell from the nightstand.

“I got a message from Tate. It seems that Chester still hasn’t returned home.” Once Farrell had scoped the place out the previous night and ascertained that only a woman and two teenagers were inside, he’d called Tate, who’d sent a couple of enforcers to watch the place.

Blair’s lips pursed. “It’s looking like Davis was telling the truth about Chester feigning that he’s on a business trip, then. Do you think it’s possible that he and his friends will try to get to Camden again?”

“I do. And I think they’ll do it soon. They’ve only given themselves a week to get the job done, if what Davis said is true.”

“Hopefully we’ll manage to get our hands on at least one of the poachers when they next strike. If not, we can nab Chester when he returns home. Which he will. He has no reason to go into hiding. It’s unlikely that he’d think we’d question Davis or learn Chester’s ID some other—Ugh.”

He felt his brows snap together. “What?”

Glaring at the screen of her cell, she said, “My mother has decided to break her silence.”

“And?”

“And I wish she hadn’t. The text message is one long-ass lecture. In sum, she’s mad that I didn’t mention the email to her, she can’t understand why I’d suspect one of the pack was behind it, she’s hurt that I’d ever think she doesn’t want what’s best for me, and she maintains that I’ll regret mating you so soon and she wants me to know that I can return to pack territory for a ‘break’ any time I want.”

“A break from me?”

Blair shrugged. “You. Mated life. The pride. Who knows? I don’t always understand where my mother’s trains of thought lead her.”

A knock came at the front door.

“I’ll get it.” Luke wasn’t surprised to find that their visitors were his aunt and grandmother. He’d known it was only a matter of time before they turned up to see Blair. Both women had a fondness for her. Ingrid had always been the grandmother that his mate never had. His aunt Valentina had taken Blair under her wing long ago and treated her as a surrogate daughter.

Ingrid smiled. “Morning, darlin’. We thought we’d drop in and see how you and Blair are doing.”

Moving aside to let them pass, he said, “She’ll be happy to see you.”

Valentina’s gaze immediately landed on Luke’s brand. “Ah, you have mated,” she said in her thick Russian accent. “Good. It should have been done months ago,” she added with a haughty huff. “You dragged your heels like immature boy who fears commitment.”

He frowned, affronted. “It wasn’t like that at all. I made a deal with Blair’s parents, which you’re well aware of.”

Valentina flicked her hand. “Bah. There are always loopholes. This you know. Do not give me boring speech about honor. There is no room for integrity in some situations.”

That was just the kind of comment he’d expect to hear from a wolverine. They weren’t big on ethics. Like at all. Particularly Ivanov wolverines. Valentina might have taken her mate’s surname of Devereaux, but she was an Ivanov down to the bone.

“Now, where is my Blair?” demanded Valentina.

“I think you’ll find she’s my Blair,” he said, but his aunt had already walked off in search of his mate.

Ingrid gave him a tight hug. “Congratulations on your mating, darlin’. Your scent has mixed with Blair’s already. That’s good. I sense the bond. It’s strong. Not yet complete, though.”

Something that didn’t please his cat. “It soon will be.”

“Well, of course it will. You’d stand for nothing else.” Ingrid lightly patted his cheek. “I love seeing my favorite grandson so settled and happy.”

He snorted. “You call us all your favorite.”

“But I’m only truthful when I say it to you.”

“Yeah, sure.” He followed the sounds of voices into the kitchen, where his mate and aunt were chatting while Valentina switched the kettle on to boil. Watching as Blair embraced Ingrid with a huge smile, Luke felt his chest go warm and tight.

He loved that Blair was so comfortable with his family; that she thought of them as her family. That was exactly what they were, but not all people got along well with the relatives of their mate.

He was a perfect example of that.

Luke had tried hard to build some sort of rapport with her family. Only Mitch had been receptive. Les hadn’t been rude or difficult like Noelle, but he’d also been nothing more than icily civil.

In general, Luke wasn’t a person who needed the acceptance of others. It didn’t bother him if someone disapproved of him. It didn’t even particularly bother him that his mate’s parents had no time for him. But, for her sake, he wished things were different.

Watching her putter around the kitchen—grabbing this, repositioning that—satisfaction filled him. She didn’t move around the place like a guest; she moved with the ease of someone who was home. Which she was.

Blair was already stamped all over the apartment. She’d long ago marked it with her scent, her style, her touch, and the brands her animal left here and there.

“You must come for dinner one evening,” Valentina announced, her gaze dancing from him to Blair. “I insist. My brothers will come also. It will be nice family meal.”

Luke ran his tongue along the inside of his lower lip. “Nice? Really?”

His aunt’s eyes widened. “Why would it not be?”

“Because your brothers like to torment and argue with your mate, and they have not one problem with doing it at a dinner table.” It made for an uncomfortable situation.

“There is love behind their words.”

Luke’s brows shot together. “Love?”

“They are not type to say such things. But they do care for my James.”

“They’ve tried to kill him. Several times.”

“Well, I do not talk about that.”

Luke shook his head with a sigh. “I don’t want Blair exposed to their dysfunctional bullshit.”

“It’s too late for that,” his mate cut in, her mouth curved, “I’ve met them on a number of occasions.”

“Yeah, and those occasions were one too many,” Luke told her.

Valentina sniffed. “They will seek her out if you keep her from them. They adore Blair.”

“We’d be happy to come for dinner, Valentina,” Blair interjected. “Thank you for the invitation.”

“You are most welcome.” Valentina cut her gaze to him. “See how easy that was? Always drama with Devereaux males. Even my James. It is in blood, I am sure of it.”

Luke snorted. “Ivanov wolverines are the dramatic ones. Jesus, your mother has knocked your father out with chloroform more times than I can count—”

“She had her reasons,” Valentina insisted.

“But were they sane reasons?”

Another sniff. “It is not our place to judge what goes on between mates.”

Well, Luke totally judged them.

“Moving swiftly on,” began Ingrid, turning to Blair, “I heard that your mom isn’t so pleased that you left with Luke. I don’t suppose she’s given you two her blessing yet, has she?”

Blair’s nose wrinkled. “Noelle thinks I’m too young to mate,” she prevaricated.

Valentina sniffed. “Bah. Such foolishness.”

Blair felt her mouth quirk. The whole “bah” thing never failed to tickle her. Valentina was regally imperious and blunt as a knife—qualities Blair admired.

“It is never too early for adult shifters to find their mate.” Valentina began handing out cups of tea. “Most spend years searching for them. They worry they will not find them. You have been spared those headaches. She should be glad of it. But no. She is selfish woman, wants only to keep you close.”

Ingrid sighed. “Maybe things would be different if Noelle hadn’t latched onto you to get her through the pain of losing your sister.”

Her heart heavy, Blair sipped her tea. “Maybe.” Her mother had been different before Marianna’s death. Softer. More patient. Less strict. Not full of an overprotectiveness that held a panicked edge and birthed an uber controlling streak. “I doubt she’d have ever been okay with me leaving the pack, but she probably wouldn’t have been so set against it or created so many issues.”

Blair leaned into Luke as he curled a comforting arm around her shoulders. Sometimes, she felt that it would be easier if Noelle was a self-centered bitch who cared nothing for her—Blair could then easily cut her mother out of her life. But there was so much more to Noelle. She might not be cuddly and warm, but she didn’t hide that she loved her children. She spoiled both Blair and Mitch. Babied them when they were down or tired. Took care of them in what ways she could without encroaching on their independence.

Although Noelle would rather Luke wasn’t in the picture, she’d still invited him to any parties she threw for Blair over the years. She’d never complained about, or tried to make Blair feel guilty for, spending time with him. And when the mating urge kicked in and Blair had been a sexual wreck, it was Noelle who’d been at her side—not cursing Luke, not making snarky comments, just comforting her.

“On a whole other note, my Vinnie told me about your stalker,” said Ingrid, pulling Blair out of her ruminations. “The entire pride has been made aware of it. They’ll be on alert for anyone acting suspicious. You’re officially our Beta female now. We’ll all watch out for you, just as you’ll watch out for us. That’s how it goes.”

Blair blinked. It hadn’t occurred to her until that moment that she now shared Luke’s status. She wasn’t nervous about it. She’d prepared herself for it on every level.

She’d tailed Donal for years, learning what it meant to be a Beta. Settling disputes, reporting pride issues to the Alphas, being an ear for those who had problems, breaking up brawls where necessary, and even dealing with indiscretions on behalf of the Alphas would be part and parcel of the position. She was ready to pick up the mantel. She just wasn’t sure how hard her pride mates would make it for her to fulfil the role.

“You will get chance to properly meet everyone at your welcome party,” said Valentina.

Ingrid nodded. “Bree and the other omegas set the date. It will be in two days’ time. Feel free to invite your brother and his mate. Mitch will likely be worrying over whether or not you’re happy here. It may put his mind at ease to see that you’ve been welcomed by the pride with open arms.”

Blair’s brows flitted upward. “I might just do that. It would go a long way to easing his concerns.” As much as she doubted that they’d all emotionally welcome her, none were likely to voice or show their displeasure at the party for fear of the repercussions. And if they did … well, playing with them would be fun. “Now can we have something to eat? I’m starving.”

All four of them ate breakfast together. Valentina and Ingrid left shortly after that. Once Luke and Blair had taken care of the dirty dishware, he suggested that they go let their animals run together. They made their way down to the complex’s outdoor communal backyard.

There, she was immediately assaulted by the smells of wildflowers, damp earth, stagnant water, and tree bark. Sweeping her gaze over the overgrown grass, thick shrubs, mossy trees, ill-maintained pond, and nonsensical rockeries, she couldn’t deny that the large yard looked as neglected as it did chaotic. In reality, though, the small-scale jungle was perfect for pallas cats to play in.

Her female pushed against Blair’s skin with an excited yip. The animal had spent lots of time here over the past six years, running and wrestling with Luke’s feline. She liked the space a lot and, knowing it was now her territory, she wanted to mark it as hers.

“Don’t shift yet,” said Luke.

Blair felt her brows dip. “Why not?”

“My cat wants to rub himself all over you—he’s not going to settle until he does,” said Luke, whipping off his tee. “I want a little time with your female, so I’m going to shift back once you let her out. Then I’ll give my cat supremacy and they can play together after that.”

More interested in the sleek skin and hard muscle he was revealing than what he was saying, Blair only nodded, drinking in the sight of him as he continued to strip. He was just so damn gorgeous and sexy and lickable. And all hers.

He shifted shape, morphing into a furry creature that, like all his kind, was downright adorable even with his splash of weird. The pupils of his large amber eyes were round rather than vertical. Taller than full-blooded pallas cats—more commonly called Pallas’ cats by humans—his body looked less stocky regardless of all that excessively long, thick gray fur. Nonetheless, there was no escaping that he resembled an overfilled plush toy.

She sat back on her haunches. “I’ve missed you.”

He came toward her, looking as fluid and graceful as any feline despite his generous coat. Having a somewhat cranky disposition, he wasn’t always in the mood to be petted. That clearly wasn’t the case today, because he leapt onto her lap.

“Well, hello.” She sank her fingers into his rich, soft fur, admiring the dark snow-leopard-like spots on his forehead and the little black lines across his cheeks that made her think of war paint stripes. “Such a pretty kitty.”

He bared a fang even as he rubbed against her chest to mark her with his scent. He might not understand the words, but he wouldn’t like the tone in which she’d delivered them.

“Sorry.” Knowing his weak spot, she scratched at the creamy white patch of fur on his chin that could also be seen on his throat and inner ears.

His eyes falling half-closed, he purred, all but melting against her.

Blair’s female yipped impatiently, wanting to surface and tussle with her mate. Soon, Blair promised as she continued to pet and scratch. His small tufty ears pricked up as she whispered compliments to him that Luke no doubt translated.

Finally, the cat climbed off her lap and stretched, gently batting her with his bushy black-tipped tail that was marked by dark rings. Bones then once more snapped and popped, and soon a very naked Luke was squatted in front of her.

He pressed a kiss to her mouth. “If my cat wasn’t so determined to have time with your animal, he’d have fallen asleep right there on your lap.”

“He was in a very snuggly mood.”

“Only because you were the one petting him. He takes a swipe at everyone else.” Luke’s cock stirred as she began to strip. There was nothing seductive about how she quickly and efficiently took off her clothes, but there was no way for him to remain unaffected by the vision of his mate naked.

She shifted impressively fast, and her female shook her reddish-brown fur as if to settle it. Eerily black eyes studied him for a long moment. She let out a low-pitched bark that was all demand.

“All right, all right,” he said, stroking a hand over her short fur.

She leaned against his thigh, going pliant with pleasure as he petted her. Unlike his cat, the female liked being stroked. She simply didn’t tolerate it from many people.

She was a cute little thing. Like Blair herself, she looked the opposite of fierce and dangerous. Everything about the bush dog was small—her ears, her legs, her tail, her webbed feet. Even her teeth and claws were short, though they were also razor sharp. A small nip or shallow scratch could bring tears to your eyes.

She flopped onto her back, hinting for a belly rub.

He snorted. “Do I look slow to you?”

She wrinkled her little black nose and barked.

“No, I’m not doing it. I like my fingers where they are.”

She let out another bark.

“No, I’m not falling for your little trick again.” The female was honestly a handful.In terms of behavior, bush dogs were like toddlers. They were mischievous, defiant, curious, playful, failed to think before they acted, and tried to eat anything they could put in their mouths—including poisonous snakes—yet they somehow lived to tell the tale.

Weirdly, they often did handstands and could even run backwards. Normal they were not. And there was really no “managing” them. But they were happy for you to try, because then they could play with your sanity by being a pain in your ass.

She finally jumped to her feet, apparently admitting defeat, and then butted his thigh with her head.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” He gave supremacy to his inner animal.

Not much taller than the bush dog, the cat butted his nose against that of the female. She licked at his face in greeting and yipped, wanting to play. But the cat was not done marking her yet.

He rubbed his body along the side of hers, flinching when she bit at his tail. He bared a fang. She gave him a doggy grin. Then she ran.

They spent hours digging, burrowing, wrestling, and chasing each other. When his human began pushing for control, the cat tried nudging the bush dog toward the piles of clothes. She barked and then jumped in the pond.

The cat tapped his tail hard on the ground, growling. She ignored him. He growled louder. She continued to ignore him. He let out a bark-like hiss. She swam further away.

The cat circled the pond, growling and hissing until his mate eventually climbed out. She shook her body hard, soaking his fur with water. He bared his teeth, unimpressed. Another doggy grin.

He herded her over to the pile of clothes and then withdrew, giving his human supremacy.

Smiling down at the bush dog, Luke shook his head. “You are just pure trouble.” He pulled on his jeans, watching as she did a handstand while scent marking a tree.

Hinges creaked as the door to the complex swung open. Finley stepped out into the yard. Hell.

The bush dog instantly went down to all fours, her ears pricking up. Her mood didn’t sour, though. No. She started wagging that little tail, and he knew then that she planned to toy with the enforcer if this conversation didn’t go well. Which it might not, given the woman’s general habit of being somewhat dismissive toward his mate.

His protective instincts rose, urging him to warn the female enforcer to watch her step. But he wouldn’t be doing his mate any favors if he did. In fact, Blair would be pissed at him for acting on her behalf.

Whenever Finley had dismissed her in the past, Blair had rolled her eyes. Or snorted. Or snickered. Or otherwise dismissed the woman right back. But being Beta female now, she wouldn’t do that any longer. She’d want to establish where she stood in the hierarchy.

Finley strolled toward them, all assertiveness. “Hey, you two.” She smiled at the bush dog the way you would a harmless bunny rabbit. It was an insult, pure and simple. Because everybody knew bush dogs were far from harmless.

Knowing the condescending edge to that smile would rankle on his mate, Luke expected the little female to growl or peel back her upper lip. She didn’t. She cocked her head, lolling out her tongue, and kept on wagging her small tail.

Finley let out a low snicker, though her features softened in the face of all that puppy-like adorableness. It truly was impossible not to respond to it.

Finley turned to Luke. “I’m sorry about yesterday morning. If I’d known your mate was with you, I wouldn’t have disturbed you.”

He inclined his head, accepting her apology.

“We really do need to talk. I want to run a few things by you.”

He frowned. “You didn’t take the matter to Farrell yesterday, since I was occupied?” It would have been the obvious thing to do, given the guy was Head Enforcer.

She blinked. “Well, no.”

And he could see that it hadn’t even occurred to her to do so. Luke could sense that, for her, it would have felt no different from consulting someone of equal rank. Because Finley’s problem was that, in her attempts to act as far more than an enforcer, she tended to forget that she was an enforcer.

“You should have,” Luke told her. “It is not necessary for you to report specifically to me. Farrell should be more of a go-to person for you than I am. But it often slips your mind that his authority exceeds yours, doesn’t it?”

Finley’s face flushed, and her mouth firmed.

Eager to return to having quality time with his mate, he asked, “Are any of your concerns urgent?”

“No,” she replied, her voice a little brittle.

“Then either take them to Farrell or, if you really feel that the situation warrants the involvement of a Beta, find Blair at some point tomorrow.”

Finley’s lips parted in surprise. “But she’s only …”

“She’s only, what?” he prodded, a dangerous note in his tone.

The enforcer peeked down at the bush dog, whose black gaze was pinned on her with such intensity that Finley averted her eyes. “New to her position.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything,” he said, his tone cool. “And I don’t think it’s what you intended to say. Be very careful, Finley. You’d be a fool to underestimate her.”

The enforcer glanced down at the bush dog, who was still firmly in the role of man’s best friend, and then raised a “I’m seriously supposed to feel threatened?” brow at Luke.

That was when his mate lurched forward.

Finley sucked in a breath, her mouth falling open, her face creasing in pain as the bush dog clamped her jaws around the woman’s ankle. “Ow, fuck, get her off, get her off!”

Try to come between a bush dog and their prey? Not likely. And he felt no need to intervene on Finley’s behalf anyway. His mate needed to make her point.

Cursing like crazy, Finley shook her foot, trying to dislodge the little female. Yeah, it wouldn’t be that easy. But the enforcer kept trying, still swearing like a sailor.

Her eyes welled up, but she’d get no judgment from him. It was never a case of a “mere ankle bite” when it came to Blair’s kind. They went for the most sensitive spot, they dug their teeth deep, and they didn’t simply bite down. Nope. They chomped and chewed, making it feel like you were being attacked by a living, breathing meat grinder. And it hurt. Like. Hell.

Now babbling curses in a whiny voice, Finley reached down as if to whack his mate.

“I wouldn’t do that,” warned Luke. “For one thing, you’d then have to deal with me—which you really don’t want. For another, she’ll just transfer her teeth to your hand and mangle the fuck out of it.”

“She’s mauling my ankle!”

“So she is. And you know why. What you don’t seem to know is that bush dog shifters have lockjaw. Like a pit bull. If she doesn’t want to let you go, she isn’t going to let you go. Shaking your foot won’t dislodge her.”

Finley clenched her fists. “Then order her to let me go!”

“I don’t think anyone could make Blair or her female do anything. In any case, I’d never bark orders at her—she’s my mate, my equal. But you’re well aware of that, just as you’re well aware of what you have to do if you want her to release your ankle. So do it. Or don’t. Your choice.”

Annoyance flared in Finley’s gaze.

The bush dog started chomping on her foot with renewed vigor.

Finley’s eyes bugged, and a high-pitched cry burst out of her. “Ow, ow, ow!Shit, okay, okay!” She took a deep breath, relaxed her shoulders, and bowed her head in begrudging submission.

The bush dog released her with a low growl. Then, after an alarmingly quick shift, Blair was up in the enforcer’s face, her expression hard and cold. “You’re lucky my female is in a good mood, or she wouldn’t have stopped at just mauling your foot. And I can promise you right now that if you dismiss me or her ever again, we’ll both fuck you up in the worst way. And we’ll enjoy it. So take that on board, Finley. This will be your only warning.”

Blair hadn’t yelled, she’d pitched her voice low. But it rang with so much rancor and dominance that it made even Luke’s blood run cold.

It also made his dick thicken.

Finley backed away, her eyes on the ground. She then turned and hobbled into the building with as much dignity as she could muster.

Luke drank up his mate’s personal space. There were many things he wanted to say to her, including that he was proud of her for not losing her cool, but what came out was … “I am going to fuck the holy hell out of you when we get upstairs.”

Blair’s eyes blazed, and one corner of her mouth kicked up. “I look forward to it.”

Once they were both fully dressed, they returned to the building, sexual tension turning the air between them static. It was as they waited for the elevator that her cell rang.

Still feeling a little worked up after her mini confrontation with Finley, Blair none too gently fished her phone out of her pocket. Kiesha. She swiped her thumb over the screen and answered, “Hello?”

“You weren’t supposed to leave.”

Blair went utterly still as that deep, rough, almost mechanical voice slithered down her spine.

“You’re not supposed to be with him.”

The fuck? She stared up at Luke, who was glaring at the phone so could presumably hear the words.

“This isn’t acceptable, Blair,” the deep voice went on. “I know you won’t sleep with him, but it isn’t the point. You’re not where you belong.”

She broke out in goosebumps. There was something so goddamn creepy about not only how intimately he spoke to her but how confident he was that Luke was no threat to his hold on her.

“I know you only wanted to piss off your mother, but … just come home, okay? You’re only leading the cat on by staying. He might have convinced himself that you’re his mate, but you and me … we know the truth. We know that you’re mine. We—”

She hung up fast, sensing how close Luke was to snatching the cell from her hand and roaring at her caller.

His nostrils flared. “That son of a bitch. His? You’re not fucking his, you’re—shit, give me a minute.” He took a calming breath, one hand flying to the back of his head.

She half-expected the phone to ring again, but it didn’t. “That voice wasn’t natural. He had to have used a voice changer of some kind.” Which made her stomach roll, because … “He would only have done that if he knew I’d otherwise recognize his voice. That means I know him. And going by his ‘just come home’ comment, he really is a part of the pack.”

Luke drew her to him, curled his arms tight around her, and nuzzled the top of her head. “Don’t let him taint what the pack means to you. He’s just a piece of shit whose life has reached its expiry date—something he’ll soon learn.”

“I thought he’d be crazy mad at me for being with you; that he’d assume you and I would finally claim each other. But he apparently has it in his head that you’re not really anyone of consequence.”

Luke nodded. “In his mind, only he matters to you.”

When the bastard realized just how wrong he was about that, she suspected he truly would go crazy mad. She couldn’t say she was looking forward to it.