Latin Moon, Book 3: A New Moon

Praise for the writing of Jeigh Lynn

Latin Moon

Jeigh Lynn’s Latin Moon is a book that you should not miss! Alex and Jessica are unforgettable characters that you will instantly fall in love with. The physical and emotional connection between the two will amaze you. -- Tewanda, Fallen Angel Reviews I absolutely loved Latin Moon. Ms. Lynn has written a novel that flows so well that I found myself at the last page before I knew what happened. -- Francesca Hayne, Just Erotic Romance Reviews

A Lover’s Moon

Ms. Lynn has written another must read and I look forward to reading more of her sexy werewolves and their mates. -- Ann, Romance Junkies Another brilliant story from Ms. Lynn! This is the second in the Moon series, with several more planned to follow – and I can’t wait, because I have enjoyed both of these so much! -- Elizabeth, Fallen Angel Reviews Emotions run high in A Lover’s Moon. Lynn does a wonderful job of portraying both characters’ fears and the depth of emotion they have for each other... Loose Id has found a gem in Jeigh Lynn and her Moon series. This reader can’t wait for the next tale in this series. -- Tammy, Love Romances

Latin Moon and A Lover’s Moon are now available from Loose Id.

A NEW MOON

Jeigh Lynn

www.loose-id.com

Warning This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

***** This book contains explicit sexual content and graphic language.

A New Moon Jeigh Lynn This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Published by Loose Id LLC 1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-29 Carson City NV 89701-1215 www.loose-id.com

Copyright © May 2006 by Jeigh Lynn All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC.

ISBN 978-1-59632-266-0 Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader

Printed in the United States of America

Editor: Olivia Wong Cover Artist: Christine M. Griffin

Dedication To Lesley Musser, JBuL’s steam meter. Keep writing, Les! You’ve come a long way from when we first met. You’re up next! Special thanks to: Andre, who helped me tremendously with tricky plot points, and the ladies of JBuL for putting up with my “arteest” temperament. ;o)

Prologue

“Brent, we’re going to get in trouble if they find out.” He glanced at her across the dark interior of the car. Her head was bowed and she was wringing her hands, something she frequently did when she was nervous. He looked back at the road. What was he supposed to say? She was right: if their parents found out, they would both be in for it. He could just hear his father now: “Brent, what were you thinking? She’s only fifteen!” “They aren’t going to find out, Rhett.” He turned into the drive in front of his pack’s cabin and cut the engine. “We’ve seen each other every day since you were six. Besides, they can’t, and won’t, keep us away from each other. We’re mates, and they know it.” She released her grip on her hands, unfastened her seat belt and slid over next to him. Wrapping his arm around her, Brent pulled her head down on his shoulder. She sighed and snuggled into him. “Where did you tell them you were going?” He brushed a kiss across her forehead, then pressed his cheek against it. “To Jeremy’s to spend the night.” Rhett lifted her head and looked up at him, her eyes wide. “What if they drive by and don’t see your car there?” “I told them Jeremy and I were going out. They’ll assume I drove.” Rhett seemed to relax, then smiled up at him. “Good idea. You think of everything.” She laid her head back down and pressed closer into his side. “I gave Christine the number here. She said if Dad calls, she’ll tell him I’m in the bathroom, then she’ll call us here so I can call him back.” He smiled into her dark hair. “Smart.”

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Brent rubbed his hand up and down her arm, just glad to hold her. She was everything to him -- his best friend, his love, his entire world. Even if she hadn’t been his mate, he was convinced he’d still love her. He sighed; he had to make sure that she really wanted this. Turning her face to his, he kissed her nose. “Are you sure?” Rhett looked surprised; then she reached down and undid his seat belt. Sliding between him and the steering wheel, she threw her leg over his, straddling him. Then, taking his face in her palms, she stared into his eyes. “Of course, I’m sure. I love you more than anything. This is all I have been able to think about for the past six months. I’m just a little nervous, is all.” She swallowed audibly and took a deep breath. “I don’t like lying to our parents, but I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be than here with you ... alone.” He pulled her hands away from his face and rearranged them around his neck. Leaning forward, he slanted his mouth across hers. When she parted her lips for him and allowed his tongue to slip inside, everything else seemed to disappear. Now, without a doubt, he knew that they were making the right decision. Without breaking their kiss, he groped for the door handle with one hand and pulled the keys out of the ignition with the other. As he pushed the car door open and slid his legs out to stand up, Rhett tightened her arms around him and wrapped her legs around his waist. While he fumbled with the front door of the deserted cabin, Rhett pulled her lips away from his and began nibbling on his neck. Pushing the door open, he slid her down his body, a groan escaping when she slithered over his painfully erect cock. Her feet hit the floor and she quickly darted behind him. He heard the door shut and lock before her arms surrounded him again and her body pressed against his back. One dainty hand cautiously touched his denim-clad groin, and he hissed. Oh, good Lord, she was going to kill him; he was sure of it. “Rhett, if you do this here, we’ll never make it to the bed.” He fumbled his way up the stairs with her arms still around his waist, her hand fondling him every few steps. Brent chuckled. “You know, Hellion, if you let go of me, we’ll get there a lot faster.” “Yes, but what’s the fun in that?” That was his girl; she had to do everything the hard way. He shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. Just as they reached the top landing, her arms disappeared. He shoved open the bedroom door. Rhett lay on the bed covered in blood. Only it wasn’t his room, and there was something else different about her. She was the same ... but somehow older. He started to run to her but was stopped by a growl. He turned and stared into a pair of green eyes ... his eyes. But it wasn’t him.

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Chapter One Brent sat straight up in bed, covered in a fine layer of sweat, and desperately gasped for air. He blinked several times, ran his fingers through his hair, then gradually slowed his breathing. Just a dream. It was just a dream. Good Lord, where had that come from? Brent dragged his hands down his face and flopped back on the mattress. His dreams always comprised memories, but he hadn’t dreamed about Rhett since her last birthday, and certainly never like that. It had started out fine, a small portion of the night he and Rhett had first made love. But that last scene ...? The room behind the door in the dream had not been his. It had been plain, almost sterile, like a hotel room. And Rhett, even aside from the blood, had changed from an excited adolescent girl just moments before to a more mature one. An adult. He knew he’d definitely never seen her covered in blood. Bloody yes, but not covered in the stuff. He shook off his confusion and suddenly focused on another memory. It had been twenty years ago today ... the Hellion’s eleventh birthday. She’d come over to his home to play, and they’d been in the tree house, where she had rarely gotten to go because Dash insisted she was a stinking girl and had no business there. Brent and Rhett had been climbing down to go get some lemonade when he’d looked up and seen blood on her pink shorts. He’d freaked big time. In fact, he had grabbed her off the ladder, crying and yelling for help, and hauled her toward his home. His mother had met him at the back door, taken in the situation in one quick glance, then pulled Rhett out of his arms, sending him to his father and Michael, both of whom were tinkering in the garage. After he’d given a short recounting to his dad and Michael of what had happened, both men had sat him down and gave him a comprehensive lecture on the female reproductive system. He remembered saying “Ewww” a lot and being really

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embarrassed, but he also recalled feeling overwhelming relief that Rhett wasn’t bleeding to death. About a half hour later -- after his father and Michael had finally gone back to fixing whatever it was they’d been working on in the garage -- Rhett had come out and found him sitting on the porch drinking lemonade. They’d sat there in silence for several minutes and shared his drink. Finally she’d said, “What a lousy birthday present. And if you tell the guys, I’ll kill you, then when we get to the party I’ll tell them you actually cried ’cause you thought I was dying.” They’d both laughed, then leaned toward each other and kissed. It hadn’t been anything spectacular, just a chaste little peck on the lips, but it had been their first. If he remembered correctly, he’d even punched her in the arm after that. The phone rang pulling Brent out of his reverie. He glanced at the clock: 6:14 a.m. Who would be calling him this early? “Hello?” “Hey, son, it’s Michael.” Brent chuckled. “Why in the world would you tell me it’s you? Like I wouldn’t know as soon as I heard your voice.” “Well, it’s early. I figured I woke you up and you’d be groggy.” He grinned. “I’d still know your voice. What’s up, goofball?” Michael’s rich laughter poured over the phone. “Hey, watch it, kiddo. I was just calling to remind you that Marisa’s birthday party is tonight, Diego and Claire’s house at six-thirty.” “I’ll be there.” Brent paused. “I ... she’d be thirty-two today.” “Yeah, I know, son, I know. It’s been a rough morning over here, too. I hate going through this every year. Your mom has been crying all morning; then your dad got up in a pissy mood, and we argued. After which he got dressed and stormed out of the house. Your mom and I haven’t seen him since.” Michael sighed. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Marisa’s birthday wasn’t the same day, you know? I mean, seeing Reese all happy and alive and vibrant just seems to drive it home even harder that Rhett’s not here anymore. And Marisa reminds me of Rhett in so many ways. Not as much as Jessica does, but ... How are you holding up?” “Had a nightmare about her.” “Yeah? Anything you want to talk about?” Brent shook his head, then cleared his throat. He had always talked his problems over with Michael. In some ways, he was closer to the man than to his own father. Well, that wasn’t exactly true; he was as close to Dad as he was Michael, but he could talk to Michael about things he couldn’t talk to his dad about. Maybe discussing the dream with him would

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create some sort of sense out of it. Certainly, he could never tell his parents because they’d both get too upset, but Michael was different. He could handle it. “It started out all right. Just a memory, but then I saw her lying on a bed covered in blood. And she looked maybe about what she’d be now.” Michael gasped. “You all right?” “Yeah, it just rattled me a bit, but I’m over it. It was just a dream. You know I always have dreams about her close to her birthday.” “When you and Rhett were young, you used to have similar dreams where you sensed she might be hurt. You think maybe ... never mind. If you need me, kiddo, I’ll be here most of the day. I’m going to go with your mom later to get Reese’s present, but I’ll have my cell on. Speaking of presents, you want us to pick up something for you?” “Nah. I’m going to give her money.” “She’ll like that, I’m sure.” There was a pause, then Brent continued softly. “You really think this might be like that? You think maybe those dreams I had about her after she left were true, too, and she’s somehow still alive?” “Son, I think she’d be here with us if she were still alive. Let it go, Brent. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. I’m sorry. Listen, I better let you go so you can get ready for work. You haven’t been at this job long enough to be going in late.” Michael was right on both accounts. He knew Rhett would be here if she were alive and, no, he hadn’t been at his new job long. Brent sure didn’t want to screw things up with his dream job. After all, not just anyone made it into the Texas Rangers. “Yeah, I guess I’d better get up. I’m not willing to turn in my silver star yet. It’s a good thing I only work till noon on Saturdays, so I’ll be at the party as soon as I’m done.” Michael chuckled. “Have I told you how proud I am of you?” “Only about five hundred times since I was accepted and got my star.” “Yeah, well, I am. We all are. Have fun at work, kiddo. And Brent ... I love you.” Brent blinked back tears and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Love you, too, Michael. See you tonight.” He hung up and got out of bed. It was time to stop with the pity party and get with the program. There’d be time to be depressed tonight, after Marisa’s party. When he was alone ... again.

***** “Come on boys! Up and at ’em!” Rhett McCoy clapped her hands as she walked through the motel door that adjoined her room to her sons’. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight that greeted her.

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Clayton’s green eyes opened, then narrowed on her, seconds before he pulled the covers over his head with a groan and burrowed back down in them. Clay had never liked mornings. Tate, on the other hand, had always been a morning person, the opposite of his twin. He sat up in bed a huge smile on his handsome face. “Morning, Mom. Happy birthday!” “Thank you, Tate.” “What’s on the agenda? Are we gonna go right to Da--” Good gosh, the boy was like a dog with a bone. “Lunch first!” Rhett walked further into the room and perched herself on the side of the bed of her other sixteen-year-old and stroked Clay’s head. Tate threw his legs over the edge of his own bed and stood, stifling a yawn with one hand and threading the other through his tousled black hair. His gray eyes blinked several times before focusing on her again. “Okay, fine. Lunch first. Hamburgers?” he added hopefully. Rhett grinned at him, glad he hadn’t pushed the issue about his father. Lord knew her nerves were frazzled enough without arguing with Tate today. Not that she could really blame him. He’d had a one-track mind since she’d told the boys they were finally going to meet Brent. Tate especially had always wanted to meet his father and, now with the recent upheaval in their lives, he needed answers that only Brent could supply. Answers that, despite Rhett’s upbringing around wolves for half her life, she couldn’t answer. “Sure, go get a shower, while I try to get your brother up.” Clay groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers tighter into his body. Rhett leaned over and tickled him. He thrashed out of her reach several times, before finally throwing the covers off his head and glaring up at her, clearly disgruntled. “All right already! I’m up! What time is it anyway?” Rhett watched in amusement as he flung himself out of bed, grumbling about being “woken up at the crack of dawn.” “It’s noon, hardly sunrise.” Clay stared down at her, his eyebrows arched. “You let me sleep till noon?” She got up, rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “I figured since we got into town so late, it was the least I could do. Now, Grumpy Butt, get moving! We have a big day ahead of us.” She swatted him on the behind as he walked past her. “Happy birthday, Mom.” Rhett turned slowly at the sound of his voice; it was so much like his father’s. “Thank you, Clay.” She smiled as he walked off into her room and headed for the bathroom. Rhett followed after she heard Clay shut the door and start the shower. She sat down on the end of her bed and sighed. Even aside from the fact that her boys were a constant

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reminder of him, not a day went by that she hadn’t thought of Brent. God, she’d missed him so much! Clay was a carbon copy of his father the last time she’d seen Brent. From the boy’s thick black hair to his bright green eyes to the swagger in his step -- the resemblance was a constant source of heartache. And Tate. Well, he was all McCoy in the looks department, resembling her, her younger brothers, Rome and Rand, and her father. But between the twins, Tate was more like Brent in personality, easygoing and a people person. He was fun and charismatic, a charmer; people liked him immediately, and he hated anyone to be upset. Rhett lay back on the bed. God, what am I doing? Ever since the moment she’d decided to come back, she’d been both anxious to see Brent and dreading it. She’d often thought about calling him over the years, but the very thought of Brent being used as a lab rat and tortured all the ways she’d witnessed had been enough to squelch that notion. After all, she’d left for his and the rest of her family’s protection. She’d been positive she could live without him, knowing that he was safe, than live with him, fearing for his life -- and that hadn’t changed. She knew she’d been on the paranoid side, but if that kept her family safe, then so be it. But now, not only was she putting Brent in danger, she was endangering her boys as well. She’d sacrificed her own happiness all those years ago, and it had been for nothing. She was back to where she’d started, but worse -- she had become a hazard to her boys, too. Well, to Tate at least. And Clay, he had fallen into the same category as she did, a danger and liability to those they loved most. At least she’d had the good sense to get herself and the boys the best training in self-defense she could find; that had to have helped, but it still did not give her and Clay the advantage a wolf would have. They would never have the quick reflexes and the heightened senses, but it had to be worth something. She had to believe that it did. Rhett reached up and dabbed at her tears, she didn’t want the boys to finish their showers and find her crying. She’d made her choices and had to live with them ... all of them, past and present. Returning was the right choice, but still she couldn’t help that little niggling in the back of her head. What if ...? There were no two ways about it, being back in town was making her jumpy. Rhett finally gave up and let the tears fall as she thought back to the past full moon -when she’d found out that all her heartache had been in vain. Three weeks ago, she and Uncle Morgan had been in the kitchen going over bills when a gut wrenching cry came from the living room, followed by Clay’s “Omigod! Mom! Uncle Morgan!” The panic in his voice had sent her and Uncle Morgan racing to him.

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The first thing they’d seen was Clay. He was standing in the middle of the living room, video game controller still in one hand, staring at his brother in shock. Tate had his knees under him, his forehead pressed to the floor ... obviously in the middle of changing. His hands were already claws, and his face was starting to change, elongating into a muzzle. He was making desperate little whimpering noises, sounding so terrified. He had no idea what was going on; how could he? She’d never told him or Clay about their heritage. They didn’t even know werewolves existed. “Shit!” Rhett didn’t hesitate. This was the moment she’d hoped to avoid for the past sixteen years. As much as the realization that Tate hadn’t escaped his genetics pained her, the fact that her son was so clearly in distress wounded her more. Her boys came first. Tate was apparently trying to resist the change, and it always hurt worse to resist. That much she remembered. She rushed forward and dropped beside him. “Don’t fight it, Tate. Just calm down. I know you’re scared, honey, but trust me. I’ll explain it all, I promise, only right now you have to relax and let it happen.” He peered up at her, sweat running down his face in rivulets, pleading with his eyes. “Mom?” Rhett nodded quickly as she felt tears well up in her own eyes. She ran a hand through his hair. “I know, baby, I know. Mommy’s right here. Just let go and it will stop hurting, I promise.” She could hear Clay’s panicked voice and Uncle Morgan’s soothing tones in the background, but her focus remained on Tate. Tears streaked down her face as she continued to stroke his head and shoulders, willing him to loosen up. Finally, the strain of holding back exhausted him. He looked up at her, those pretty gray eyes wet, and finished shifting ... into a black wolf. Rhett tried to pull the shirt off him but couldn’t see through her own anguish. She was peripherally aware of Clay’s scream, his erratic breathing and his repetition of “Holy shit!” Then he was on the floor next to her, reaching out a cautious, shaking hand toward his twin. Gray wolf eyes wide, Tate just stood there, trembling violently, tangled in the pile of clothes that still clung to him. Clay touched one of his brother’s ears, then jerked his hand back, clasping it over his mouth. Uncle Morgan knelt on Tate’s other side and pulled the shredded remains of the shirt off the wolf’s neck. He reached out and patted his head. “It’s all right, young’un. We should have told you, prepared you. I’m sorry.” Tate’s head swung toward her, meeting her gaze, hurt and accusation shining in his eyes. Clay jumped up and glared down at her. “What the hell is this? This isn’t real.” He shook his head and started backing away, “It can’t be.”

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“It is,” she whispered. Clay stopped, outrage clear on his face. “You knew about this? You knew, and you didn’t tell us?” Rhett sighed and turned to lay on her side. She’d explained about their family and werewolves in general, while Uncle Morgan had added bits and pieces here and there. The whole time Clay had stared daggers at her, staying right by his twin’s side, one hand in Tate’s ruff. When she’d finished with her explanations, Clay had yelled and shouted all sorts of accusations at her until Uncle Morgan had threatened to whoop the daylights out of him for “talking to your mama that way.” She’d been too upset to care. She’d felt guilty about not telling the boys about their heritage and was terrified about what Tate’s change meant. He was in danger now: not only was he unaware of how to be a wolf, but those maniacs were still out there. The ones she’d run from in the first place. Rhett had pulled them both out of school immediately; she couldn’t risk Tate changing again or drawing attention to his wolf side. Clay could have stayed, but she didn’t want to raise any suspicions. At least this way it looked as if she were considering taking care of their education herself. Once she was sure Tate could control his instincts and urges, the boys were going back to school just as soon as could be. Her sons had refused to speak to her for two days. On the third day, they had come to her with more questions. Questions she couldn’t always address, questions that her sons should already have known the answers to -- and would have if they’d rightfully grown up surrounded by their pack. A knock sounded at the door, pulling Rhett out of her thoughts. She sat up on the bed, instantly alert, and automatically looked over at the nightstand where her knife and gun lay. No one but Uncle Morgan knew she and the boys were here. “Hello? Housekeeping.” She relaxed marginally. “What can I do for you?” They didn’t need anything; they were about to leave. “Housekeeping, ma’am,” the woman repeated. A key jingled in the lock and Rhett instantly jumped up, grabbing her gun and knife, then lifted the pillow and tossed her gun under it. “Just a moment!” She started to hide the knife, too, but thought better of it. Instead, she held it behind her back and ran toward the entrance to ward off the maid. She got to the door just as it cracked open. Rhett shoved her foot in front of it, stopping its progress, and caught the top with her free hand. A woman stood there with a cartful of towels, soaps, and assorted other motel items behind her.

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“Can you come back? We’re about to check out and don’t need --” The woman pushed through the door, knocking her off balance, and was followed immediately by two men. Where in the hell had they come from? All three strangers held guns with suppressors on them. Before Rhett regained her balance, one of the men grabbed her wrist and pointed his gun in her face. “Where is Roman McCoy?” Rhett froze, her gaze taking in the entire scene; she knew better than to panic. She still had her knife though they each had guns. “I said, where is Roman McCoy. We know he’s here.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about! There is no one here by that name.” Think

Rhett, think! After glancing over the room, the woman looked at the man holding her. “He’s in the shower. I just heard it shut off.”

Shit, shit, shit! Clay was about to walk right into this mess. She had to get loose, protect her kids. There would only be a few seconds to get away and take control of the situation. Whatever she did, it had to be good, and it had to be a surprise, because she was only going to have the one chance. Rhett ducked away from the gun as she swung her knife, stabbing the man in the belly and snatching his gun. He doubled over with a howl. The other man turned from the bathroom door and trained his gun on Rhett. “You bitch!” Rhett fired off a shot from the gun she’d seized, hitting him in the shoulder. Then everything happened at once. Tate stepped through the connecting door, drawing on the hand-to-hand combat skills he’d been taught. Catching the woman/maid by surprise, he instantly disarmed her and shoved her to the floor. At the same moment, Clay opened the bathroom door. In the blink of an eye, the man Rhett had stabbed recovered, charging Tate. Tate shot him in the leg, dropping him, then instantly re-aimed at the woman, who got to her feet, holding up her hands. Clay stepped into the bedroom, and the man Rhett had shot lifted his gun. “No!” Rhett ran toward a very stunned Clay and jumped in front of him, firing the pistol at the same time the man did. She watched a crimson stain spread across the stranger’s chest even as she felt a stabbing pain in her own. Her body flew back into Clay, propelling them both into a wall. The man’s eyes widened with shock, then he fell onto the carpet with a muffled thud. Rhett swayed, but Clayton’s arms wrapped around her, steadying her. “Mom!”

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The last thing she saw before she passed out was Tate rushing toward her and the wounded man and woman grabbing their fallen comrade and hightailing it.

Thank God my babies are safe.

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Chapter Two Brent opened his car door and pulled off his boots and socks, set them in the passenger floorboard and grabbed the flip-flops off the seat. Damn boots! They killed his feet. Actually, it wasn’t just the boots. All shoes bothered him; he hated them. He’d always thought that if God had meant for people to wear shoes, they’d have been born with the damned things. Tossing the flip-flops on the ground, he slid his feet into them and placed his cowboy hat upside down on the seat. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving his gun inside, so he kept it on his hip momentarily, and grabbed his swimsuit, then locked the car. Going around to the trunk, he opened it up, pulled the gun belt off his waist and laid it inside next to the assault rifle and Kevlar vest. After he secured everything, he headed up the walk, but didn’t bother knocking on the door; everyone would be out at the pool. Besides, it was his aunt and uncle’s home. When he opened the door, the sound of teenage laughter assailed him, followed by a squeal and a big splash. He kicked his flip-flops off and pushed them with his foot to the side of the door. He could see his family gathered around outside, and was on his way toward the sliding glass door when a baby’s cry stopped him. Aunt Claire looked up and started into the house, but he waved her off and changed direction, following the cry to his aunt and uncle’s bedroom. In a playpen by the bed were both his baby cousins. Brandon was sound asleep, still sucking on his pacifier, but Kitty had pushed herself up on her arms and was screaming at the top of her lungs. Brent flipped the light on and immediately the caterwauling stopped. Kitty’s big brown eyes met his, and she started babbling her usual baby talk.

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Katrina -- or Kitty, as Jess had nicknamed her -- was ten months old and quite a charmer. All the men in the family were firmly wrapped around her little finger. He grinned. “Hello, angel. You sure do make a lot of noise, you know that?” She babbled some more and raised her arms, clearly wanting out. Brent laughed and pulled her from the playpen. She was sopping wet. “Well, no wonder you were screaming. I’d be screaming, too, if I had pee stuck to my bottom. Let’s see if we can find a new diaper and some clean clothes.” He bent down and felt the lining of the playpen, then the blanket. Thankfully, they weren’t damp so he didn’t worry about removing Brandon and getting fresh linen and blankets. Tossing his swimsuit on the bed, he went about locating her changing bag. Once he found it, he pulled out wipes, a diaper and a little dress. He laid her on the bed, then sat down and cleaned and changed her. The whole time the little imp giggled and squirmed, obviously having a great time. Brent played with her, blowing on her belly and tickling her. Brent loved babies; always had. After he was done, he picked her up in one arm and grabbed the wet diaper and the pajamas with his free hand, then walked to the bathroom. As soon as Kitty was close to his face again, she placed her little hands on each of his cheeks, leaned forward with her mouth wide open and gave him a kiss. Brent felt ten feet tall. “Oh, thank you! That was the best sugars ever!” He threw away the diaper, put the pajamas in a bag, sealed it, then tossed it on the counter and washed his hands. Then he ruffled the wispy dark hair on her head and turned out the light. “Let’s go see what everyone is doing. I think I heard Tia Marisa getting thrown in the pool when I came in.” He and a smiling, laughing Kitty went out into the backyard to join the party. Rome and their cousins Alex, Adrian, and Dash were sitting around the picnic table drinking beer. Jess was on a lounger next to Alex, lying on her stomach, evidently trying to acquire a tan despite her pale skin. Kat was right beside her, nose buried in a book. Meanwhile, Michael, his uncles Diego and Kyle were at the grill talking and flipping burgers. That was odd; Rand usually took over the cooking at family events. His aunts Claire and Rita and were in the hot tub, and the rest of his family -- parents, cousins Marisa and Julian, Rand, and Marisa’s friend, Kacy, if memory served -- were in the pool. Marisa was practically standing on Rand’s shoulders in an effort to dunk him. No wonder Rand wasn’t cooking, flirting with the girls was apparently more important than perfectly grilled hamburgers. Brent grinned and looked at Kitty. “Well, it looks like they started without us.” Kitty squealed. Everyone looked over at them, calling out hellos. “Hi. Sorry, I’m late. I had to change my date’s diaper.” He glanced at Kitty. “Right, sweetheart?” His family laughed as he made his way to the picnic table.

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Alex reached down between him and Adrian and pulled a beer out of the cooler. He dripped the water across Jess’s back, then held the bottle toward Brent. Jess squeaked, then looked up at Alex and glared. He ignored her and smiled at Brent. “You want me to take her?” Brent took the offered beer and shrugged, “If you want her. She’s got fresh nappies on.” He tried to give the baby to her father, but she shook her head and clung to his neck, so he sat down with her in his lap. He didn’t mind; in fact, it was something he did quite often whenever he was around her. Everyone knew he was one of Kitty’s favorite people, but that she wouldn’t go to her father made him smile widely. Alex snorted. “Gee, I see where I rate.” Brent blew on Kitty’s cheek and was rewarded with a giggle. “Yeah, right behind adoring Uncle Brent.” The baby tried to reciprocate by blowing on his cheek, covering him in drool. Brent cringed, then wiped at the slobber running down his face. Adrian tossed his beer bottle into the trash can about five feet away and elbowed Alex. “Get me another one.” He eyed Brent. “Is Brandon still asleep?” “Yup, sound asleep. Didn’t even hear this young lady demanding a fresh wardrobe.” Alex chuckled as he watched Brent clean himself. Kitty immediately looked up at her father and waved. “Da da da da da.” Alex smiled and waved back. Not to be outdone by his brother, Dash stood up and leaned across the table puckering his lips at his niece. When she kissed him back he sat down and beamed at Alex. “You rate behind Uncle Dash, too. She gives me kisses.” Brent opened his mouth to tell Dash that she kissed everyone when Kitty was plucked out of his arms. Brent looked over his shoulder to find Jess shrugging Kitty onto her hip. Kitty whined and reached for him. He squelched the urge to snatch her back. “Oh, you even changed her clothes. Brent, you freaking rock.” Jess bent and kissed his cheek. Brent smiled up at Dash. “She kisses me, too ... and so does her mother.” Dash stuck his tongue out at him. Adrian grinned even wider. “Yeah, you better wipe that. Your cheek is liable to rot off.” Jess aimed a swat at him, missed and hit Alex. “Hey!” “Oh, hush, you deserve it for dripping that cold water on me.” Jess turned around and left. Brent, Dash, Adrian, and Rome laughed. Alex smacked Adrian.

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Adrian glared in return. “What was that for?” “For getting me hit.” Brent chuckled, took a swig of beer, and looked over at Rome. “Hey.” “Hey, big brother.” Rome dipped his head. “How was work?” “It was fine. How ’bout you? You liking homicide?” “Yeah. I’m glad I chose it over S.W.A.T. I got my first case day before yesterday, and I actually got to work with Emilio. He did the autopsy.” “Yup, sure did.” Emilio stepped up behind them, drying off. “So, do you have any good leads?” Rome nodded. “A few.” Brent only half listened as he looked around at his family. “Where’s Jill?” “She had to work.” Dash looked at his watch. “She should be waddling in here any time now. And I’ll bet you twenty bucks the first thing she does is head straight for the food.” Brent spotted Jill coming up behind Dash and hid a grin. “I’m not taking that bet on account of Jill would likely kill me if she found out.” Brent smiled as -- right on cue -- Jill walked up behind Dash and gently shoved the back of his head. “I heard that. Brent should have taken the bet, ’cause you’re wrong. I came right over here, to sit down.” She leaned slightly and kissed her husband. “Now get up, give me your chair, and go fix me a hamburger.” Dash groaned but did as he was told, vacating his seat so his pregnant wife could sit down. Brent leaned back. He had a great family, and it was entertaining seeing his cousins with their wives. He tried not to let it get to him, but at times it did, like now, when it was clear what he was missing out on. Kitty, for example. She really brought home the fact that he’d never have kids of his own. When Rhett had disappeared, she’d taken his future with him in so many ways. He didn’t begrudge his cousins their happiness; rather, he was thankful for the fact that they had mates and children. He wouldn’t wish his loneliness on anyone, and his family seemed to include him in gatherings more often than not, so in a way he hadn’t completely missed out. He sighed; he was here to have fun, not sit around and be pitiful. Putting thought to action, he decided get his swimsuit on and take a dip. Not to mention that helping Marisa in her campaign to dunk Rand held a certain appeal “Uncle Diego?” Diego turned away from the grill. “Yeah?” “I’m going to change into my swim trunks. Be back in a minute.” “Okay. Bring me another plate on your way out.”

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“Will do.” Brent stood up and headed into the house. Time in the pool would do him good; maybe a soak in the hot tub as well. Even though the strain of knowing it was Rhett’s birthday, too, pressed on him, being with family seemed to make it more bearable.

***** Michael shook his head and continued to fiddle with the computer in Brent’s car. “This is so cool, I want a computer in my truck. Maybe a radio like yours, too.” “What in the world would you do with a police radio in your truck?” “Play with it.” Brent laughed. The thought of Michael having a radio in his car was one thing, but the computer? That was downright scary. The man would be causing traffic accidents left and right because he was too busy fiddling with the thing. “You know you didn’t have to come with me, I could have just gotten the bottle of Jack Daniel’s and come right back.” “Nah, I needed to get away for a bit. Shit, how long have we been there?” Brent checked his watch, then pulled into his driveway. “Since noon or thereabouts, so around three hours.” Brent cut the engine. “You coming in or you wanna wait here?” Michael opened the passenger door, “I’ll come in.” Brent got out and stopped dead in his tracks. He smelled blood, but it wasn’t just blood, there was something else about it ... Need slammed into him, hardening his cock and blurring his vision, threatening to make his eyes shift. He blinked, shaking his head. What

the fuck?! Michael stopped, too. “Do you smell that?” He nodded and looked around quickly. “Yeah.” Michael lifted his face in the air sniffing. “I smell wolf, too.” So did Brent. And fear; it saturated the air and was coming from the area around his front door. There were bushes right near his entrance. Someone could very well be hiding in them. He reached for his gun. Damn! It was in the trunk. He glanced at Michael, holding up a finger. Michael nodded and started across the yard to check out the shrubs from the opposite side as Brent. He stopped and waited about four yards from the greenery. Brent went back to his car and got his pistol, then shut the driver’s side door, creeping closer to the bushes, and damn if his gums didn’t start itching again. What the hell? Michael didn’t seem to be having the same difficulties. Michael rounded the side of the plants. A growl sounded and he jumped back, holding his arms up in an I’m-no-threat gesture, then flicked a shocked glance at Brent.

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Puzzled, Brent got close to the front door and saw a gun muzzle sticking out of the bushes before he stared into a pair of green eyes that were very familiar. He examined the face quickly, taking in the features. Young, maybe sixteen or seventeen, black hair. “Brent Hernandez?” the teenager asked. Brent held his gun trained on the boy, who reeked of fear. He also noticed the youth was trembling. In normal circumstances, he would have never admitted who he was on the possibility someone he’d arrested was looking for revenge, but combining the scent of blood, the boy’s obvious fright and Michael’s clear surprise at whatever he’d seen, he found himself answering. “Yes, I’m Brent.” Michael gasped as the low growling was repeated. “What is it, Michael?” Brent didn’t take his gaze off the kid. From the corner of his eye, he saw the other man moving closer to the bushes again. The growl got louder. “Kid, you gotta call the wolf off so we can help you. I’m Michael McCoy, and she’s my daughter.” What the fuck was Michael talking about?! Brent moved closer, still holding his gun at the ready. The weapon that was sticking out of the bushes lowered. “Tate! Come here! They’re going to help us.” He bent down and moved aside the branches that were obscuring his vision -- and came face to face with a gray-eyed black wolf. The wolf licked his face, whimpered, and quickly got out of the way. The teen was cradling a bloody and unconscious woman, his free hand pressed hard against some injury. Rhett.

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Chapter Three Green eyes glared at Brent, boring into him as he shoved forward through the plants. The boy leaned over Rhett, instinctively shielding her from him, then reluctantly let Brent pull her into his arms. Brent couldn’t control the trembling in his hands or when his eyes shifted to its lupine counterpart as he lifted her out of the bushes. Michael rushed to the main entrance, taking the gun and keys from Brent and unlocking it. He held the door open as Brent carried Rhett inside, then urged the boy and the wolf inside as well. Michael started to demand answers from the teen, but Brent barely heard them or the responses. He laid Rhett on the couch, quickly examining her. Her pulse was weak, and her breathing very shallow. There was blood all over her shirt, and smeared across her cheek. He ripped her shirt in half, exposing her wound, immediately realizing it was from a gunshot. “Shit! We have to get her to a hospital!” “No!” the boy shouted. “She said no hospital!” Brent looked at him, startled. “Michael! Call Alex! I have to stop this bleeding!” Fortunately, Michael already had the phone out and was speaking rapidly into it while Brent concentrated on Rhett, carefully prodding the injury, then pressing on it, and quickly assessing the rest of her. She had on a tan bra that barely held her full breasts. Her lower half was covered in snug-fitting jeans. Almost every bit of the exposed pale skin was smeared with red. The wolf rushed over, rested his head next to Rhett’s, and whined. For several seconds Brent stared into eyes identical to Michael, Rome, and Rand’s when they were in wolf form. Then he looked back at Rhett.

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Rhett was as small and feminine as she always had been, but she had more muscle tone now. Her inky-black hair was shorter, no longer to her hips, maybe just below shoulder length. The cherubic face that he remembered was slimmer, more mature, but she was still as beautiful as she’d ever been ... more beautiful, actually. She was alive ... really alive. No way was he going to let her die. Brent racked his brain. What could he do? He’d spent way too much time around Alex and Adrian to not have learned something, then there was the first aid training he’d received as a cop. He kept pressure on Rhett’s injury and looked up, catching the boy’s attention. “You! Go down the hall to the left. Get me pillows and blanket from my bed! Hurry!” The boy took off in a run and was back seconds later, looking at Brent expectantly. “Pull her boots off and put the pillows under her feet, then cover her with the blanket.” The kid nodded, doing as he was told. When he was done, he knelt down beside the wolf, watching as Brent ran a hand through Rhett’s hair. Brent took the time to really study the kid and almost swallowed his tongue. It was like looking into a mirror. How was that poss…? He had a son? Jesus Christ! He had a son! He looked back at Rhett, then at the kid. He and Rhett had a son. “What’s your name, pup?” The boy never took his attention off his mother. “Clay. Clayton Hernandez.” The wolf -- what had Clay called him earlier? Tate? -- whimpered, nuzzling Clay’s arm. Who was he? Could he be ...? No. Brent shook his head. Yeah. Okay. Wow! He’d never fainted in his life, and he damned sure wasn’t going to start now. Pull yourself together Brent! “Are you brothers?” Clay nodded. “Twins. Can Alex save her? Alex is your cousin, right?” “Yeah. Alex is my cousin.” Green eyes bore into his. “He needs to hurry.” Brent felt like someone had punched him and that he was in the freaking Twilight Zone. “Yes, he does. He’ll be here soon.” It seemed like eons later, but Brent knew it had to be a bit shorter than that, before Alex was pushing him out of the way. “Move, Brent!” “She’s got a gunshot wound.” Brent moved only enough to let Alex get to her. His cousin was already demanding items from his bag and cutting off Rhett’s bra when a scream sounded. Brent turned in time to see Michael catch his mother as she fainted. They didn’t have time for this. Where the hell was his dad? Michael had laid Sarah down on the floor gently and gone to help Alex. Clay was already grabbing things out of the bag as Alex directed and assisting. “Holy, shit!” Emilio closed the front door behind him and rushed forward.

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“Godammit! “ Alex shouted, but continued to work frantically. Brent could tell by the set of his cousin’s jaw that she was dying. He couldn’t -wouldn’t -- let that happen. He thought hard for a second and pulled up a childhood memory from the recesses of his mind. His uncle, Alex’s father, had mixed his blood with their cousin Julian’s to save the child after Julian had been hit by a car. He’d never heard of something like that working on females other than mates and close family members, not to mention Julian had become a wolf after he’d healed, but he was willing at this moment to give anything a try. And she was his mate, so his blood should do something, heal her to some degree at least. Brent dug through Alex’s bag until he found the spare case of scalpels. He pulled one out and slashed at his wrist. As blood dripped down, he bent over Rhett, knocking Alex’s hands out of the way, letting his life force drain into the hole the bullet had made. Alex looked up at him, his face white. “What are you doing?” “Trying to save her.” “She’s a woman. Women can’t change.” “Maybe she can, since she has the recessive wolf gene. Has it ever been tried?” “No.” Rhett’s blood rolled down her sides along with his. The persistent bleeding was enough that he didn’t think any of his blood was being absorbed. Apparently Alex came to the same conclusion because he used his own scalpel to enlarge the wound, then pressed his fingers in to slow her blood flow. Moments later, Alex had Clay use gauze to soak up some of the leakage, which allowed Brent to get more of his blood into her. They continued this for a few minutes, then his cousin felt Rhett’s neck for a pulse with one hand, while still holding pressure with the other. “Still too thready, but there nonetheless. If this works like it did with Julian, she should heal very quickly.” Alex’s gaze met Brent’s and again he read his cousin’s thoughts: If this doesn’t work, then it’s not going to matter anyway. “Michael, hand me some forceps. I think I can feel the bullet so I’m going to go for it.”

Please, God, let it work! Brent looked back at his mate, still letting his blood flow into the wound. The bright red streaks that covered parts of her ashen skin looked garish, but she was still the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. No way was he going to let this be the end. Alex slowly and gently pulled out a piece of lead with the forceps. He wiped his hands and felt her neck again. “Her pulse is definitely stronger. And the bleeding has slowed.” He grinned up at Brent. “It’s working.” Her chest was moving more deeply. Before, Brent had barely been able to see any motion. He leaned closer, brushing his lips across her parted lips, her breath tickling his cheek. She’s really here. After all this time, she’s finally back here where she belongs.

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Brent stared at her, vaguely conscious of the boys and his parents behind him. Man, it’s

warm in here. A hand gripped his arm. “Brent! I don’t need you passing out on me.” Alex yanked him to his feet. “She’s stabilizing. Shift now and take care of your laceration. I’m going to close her wound, even though your blood seems to be healing her.” “But Julian healed almost immediately.” “She started healing immediately, too, but her injury is different from what his was. This is new territory for me, Brent. I don’t remember much about my dad giving Julian blood. I’ve never seen anyone heal this quickly aside from shifting. I never even considered that a woman might possibly be changed if she had the wolf gene.” He looked down at her and shook his head. “She was hardly breathing when I got here, and her pulse was almost nonexistent. She was damned near dead. I could not have saved her. But now, her respiration is almost normal, she has a strong pulse, and her bleeding has stopped entirely.” Alex blinked away tears. “Go ahead and shift while I suture her up. Although at this rate, I’m not even sure I need to.” Brent nodded. Keeping his gaze on his mate, he kicked off his flip flops, pulled his tshirt over his head and shucked his swimsuit. When he was naked, he changed into wolf form, then immediately shifted back. He heard a gasp as he came back to his feet. Changing so quickly was an impressive feat, but he knew that his father and Michael could both do it as well. He was still a little light-headed and unsteady, but managed to get his trunks back on, briefly releasing his focus from Rhett. His father, mother, Michael, and the teens, one still in wolf form, were staring at him. He wobbled again. Alex put a steadying in the middle of his back. “Don’t fall on Hellion. If you are going to faint, kindly do it elsewhere and try not to get injured in the process.” “No, I’m good, just a bit dizzy. Give me a sec.” Alex nodded, gripping his shoulder for support. He glanced down at Rhett again, then himself, and grimaced. They were both a mess, but that wasn’t his priority. Right now, he really had to know what had happened. He needed to be certain that there was no chance someone was going to finish the job they’d done, or that the authorities would show up demanding answers. First and foremost, he had to protect his mate and ... pups. “Alex, we need to get her cleaned up. Can she be moved yet?” “She’s stable, but I’d rather you wait a bit longer.” He nodded and turned to face the others. He pointed to Clay. “Are we in any immediate danger?” The boy shook his head. “I don’t think so. We’d been here for about an hour or so and no one came.”

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Brent nodded. “Okay. Go to my bathroom and get cleaned up, Clay. There are clothes in my closet. They’ll be a bit big, but they’ll do for now.” Clay frowned. “I have my own clothes.” “Where?” “In the truck.” Brent didn’t remember seeing a truck. “What truck?” “It’s a Cadillac Escalade actually. I dropped them off here, then parked behind a house two streets away. I didn’t want to chance someone recognizing it.” Brent looked at Michael and his parents. “Let’s get him freshened up and go check out the SUV. If everything looks okay, we’ll bring it back here and park it in the garage.” He looked down at the wolf, his son Tate. “Can you change back?” The pup cocked his head to the side, his eyes wide. Brent took that to mean he wasn’t sure. “Go ahead to the main bathroom down the hall and try. I’ll have someone bring you some clothes.” Clay, who was glaring dangerously at him, started to say something, but Brent held up a hand. “Not now, pup. Go shower, then we can talk.” Clay turned and left. Smart boy. Sarah smiled at him. She was a little on the pale side, but otherwise she looked in control of herself. “I’ll go find him something to wear and take -- do we know what his name is yet?” “Tate.” Brent grinned. “His name is Tate.” She nodded. “Tate. I’ll go get Tate and Clay some clothes.” Michael touched his shoulder. “I’ve got the keys to their car. I’m going to go ask Clay what color it is, then your dad and I are going to go take a look.” “Take my gun with you. And be careful.” “We will.” Emilio stepped toward him, pulling him into a hug. “Are you okay, son?” “Yeah, I’ll be all right.” After his dad and Michael left, it got really quiet. It was just him, Rhett, and Alex, who thrust a glass of orange juice at him. Brent sat down a little heavier than he’d intended on the floor by the couch. “Whoa!” “No shit.” Alex shook his head and grinned. “Nerves of fucking steel! You are the only person I know that gets so calm they seem to slow down in a crisis. You realize that Dash and I used to joke around and say that in case of an emergency, call 911 first, then shake Brent to make sure he’s awake.” He snorted, gulped down the juice, then clasped Rhett’s small hand in his. Tears stung his eyes as he brought it to his lips. He couldn’t believe that after all this time she was really

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here. Where had she been? Why the hell hadn’t she contacted him to tell him she was okay? Who had shot her? And why? He blinked back his emotions. This was not the time for him to have a breakdown. Alex leaned forward, reaching for Rhett. Brent growled and bared his teeth, surprising not only Alex, but himself as well. Alex eased back. “Easy. I was just checking on her.” “Yeah, okay. Sorry.” Alex reached for her again, very slowly this time monitoring Brent’s reactions as he did, and checked her vital signs again. He lifted his stethoscope and bent to listen to her chest, keeping Brent firmly in his sights. “I totally understand. Been there, done that, as the saying goes. I’m impressed as hell that your eyes and teeth have gone back to normal and remain that way despite her blood being all over the place the way it is.” Brent watched his cousin carefully, but kept himself in check. “There’s too much other stuff to worry about. My eyes changed, but I managed to hold my teeth back.” “I’m impressed.” Alex stood up, pulled off his stethoscope, and tossed it into his medical bag. Sarah came in with a large bowl and some clothes over her arm. “I got some warm soapy water and fresh clothes. I thought we’d get her cleaned up while everyone is elsewhere.” She set the bowl down next to Rhett. Brent’s upper lip snarled, but he caught himself before he growled. “Good thinking, Mom.” Alex took the clothes out of her arms and laid them over the coffee table. Brent got to his knees, then reached under to get rid of the remains of Rhett’s bra as gently as he could while his mom slid his mate’s panties off. As soon as she was completely uncovered, Brent cupped her breasts, hiding them from his cousin’s view. Oh, damn! It had been so long since he’d touched breasts. Rhett’s breasts. His cock hardened almost instantly. Her nipples did likewise. She might be out of it, but apparently her body wasn’t. Brent closed his eyes and dropped his head to rest on the couch, biting his lower lip. He could hear water slosh, and then a damp cloth tickled the back of his hand. Opening his eyes, he looked up, his vision monochrome. Elongated canines pinched his lower lip. Alex grinned. “Getting to you now, huh? Take a deep breath.” He said nothing. His mom patted his shoulder and held out a washcloth. “Try to relax and concentrate on cleaning her. I’ll go turn down your bed, and we’ll put her there when you’ve finished.”

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He took the wet cloth and began washing Rhett’s front. Even though she was injured, it was harder than hell for him to remain unaffected. His cock jerked. Great, his parents, sons, and cousin were wandering around the house, and he was half naked with a boner. Peripherally, he was aware of Alex washing her feet and legs. He needed to turn her to wash her back but he couldn’t do it without jostling her around. He looked up at Alex. Alex grinned, eyes shimmering. “Ready for me to help lift her up?” Brent nodded. “Alex?” Alex slid his hand under her head and shoulders and raised her up, looking at Brent the whole time. “Yeah?” “You okay?” “I’m all right. I just ... now that I have Jess, I realize what you must have gone through all those years ago. How hard it must have been.” Brent looked up at the ceiling to keep his tears from falling. “You deal with what you have to in order to get you through. You, Adrian and Dash ... Hell, the whole family, you guys were always there for me. That helped.” Alex shook his head. “I don’t see how. I can’t even imagine ...” He laid Rhett back down, jostling her and making her breasts jiggle. Brent’s erection got even harder. He shifted, adjusting himself, hoping Alex wouldn’t notice. Alex chuckled. “What?” “You. Damn, I haven’t seen you move that fast in ... well, I don’t know how long, but ... chill out. It’s perfectly understandable, nothing to be embarrassed about.” Brent reached for his shirt and pulled it on as well. With a sniff and a dab at his eyes, Alex grabbed the clothes off the table and tossed them at him. Brent raised up his mate, then tugged a t-shirt down over her head. Alex handed him a pair of boxers. Brent held them up and frowned; they were his. Alex chuckled. “Yeah, at the risk of sounding like I’m telling you that you have a big butt ... there is no way those are going to stay on her.” He shrugged and slid them up her legs. “Well, as long as she doesn’t stand they will. When do you think she’ll wake up?” “I don’t know. Seems like it took Julian a while. We are going to have to dedicate more research to this. I’m baffled. I don’t understand how this process works, but it obviously does. I’ve never even heard of a female wolf. I would have never even considered it a possibility, but since she did heal so quickly with your blood ... maybe it’s because she has

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the gene or because her bond with you is so strong.” Alex shrugged. “That was quick thinking, cuz; you saved her.” “Yeah, let’s just hope she doesn’t have issues with possibly becoming one of us.” “I can’t imagine that she would. Her whole family is wolf.” He bent and kissed Brent on the forehead. “I’ll go make sure Aunt Sarah has everything ready.” He rolled his eyes and swatted at Alex. Even in the midst of an enormous life-changing emergency, the absurdity of it hit him. “Oh, for crying out loud! Get out! I’m sitting here with a boner, and you’re kissing me. Good Lord!” Alex chuckled and left, but he was back within seconds, Sarah in tow. She bent and ran her hand down Rhett’s cheek, smiling fondly. Brent tensed. He was still having a hard time not reacting every time someone touched Rhett. Only sheer will kept him from snapping at his mother. Logically, he knew she was excited at having Rhett back, but his instincts were to protect his mate, even from his parent. And despite that there was no threat whatsoever, it was damnably hard to override that response. He gave up trying to control his body and focused on his instincts instead. There was no hope the others wouldn’t see his eyes and teeth, but with any luck they’d miss his erection. His dad came through the front door and headed straight for the garage, gaining everyone’s full attention. His mom stood up. “I guess they brought Rhett’s car back.” “It would appear that way,” Alex agreed. Clay returned to the living room, dressed in a pair of Brent’s sweatpants and a t-shirt. He stopped in the doorway. His bottom lip trembled slightly as he stared at Rhett. Quickly, he looked up. “She’s going to be okay?” Alex walked over to the pup, patting his shoulder. “Yeah, kid, she’s gonna make it.” Clay gave Alex a weak smile. “Thank you.” Brent admired the kid’s strength. He couldn’t imagine watching his mother almost die, then having to entrust her care and his and his brother’s own to a group of strangers. Hell, not to mention coming face to face with your grandparents and father for the first time. The pup was strong ... they both were. Pride swelled in his chest as he looked past Clay. Tate, dressed similarly to Clay, was coming down the hall. Brent got his first good look at his other son as he stepped into the light. Sarah gasped. Alex whispered, “Whoa.” Brent blinked. As he’d thought earlier when he’d stared into the wolf’s eyes, Tate was a near exact replica of Michael, Rome, and Rand. He was not as filled out yet, but that would obviously come in time. His face though ... it was uncanny.

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“We got the SUV -- holy shit!” Michael stopped right inside the doorway. Emilio immediately ran into him. “Oof!” “Jesus Christ!” Tate gave them all a lopsided grin and shrugged. He looked at his twin. “Is Mom gonna be all right?” Clay nodded, then surveyed all of them. “I should have been the one that was shot, not Mom. She was hurt from jumping in front of me, to protect me. She told me and Tate that we were in danger, but I didn’t believe her. I thought ...” Michael walked forward and squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. Just be glad that your mom loves you enough to take a bullet for you and that she’s going to be fine.” Tate walked toward Brent, his beautiful gray eyes wide and watchful as he reached out a hand to touch his mother. Brent bit his lip. He would not growl at the pup or pull her away, but he wanted to. Tate pushed a stand of hair off her face, leaned forward and kissed her pale cheek. “Our mom is the best.” Brent closed his eyes, struggling to keep his emotions at bay. God, what she must have gone through and sacrificed, raising them on her own. He opened his eyes and looked at both his sons. One looked like him, the other looked like Rhett, how cool was that? He smiled. “Yeah, I bet she’s a great mom. She was always good with the twins.” Tate’s brow scrunched up and his head cocked sideways. “Huh?” Clay walked closer, his gaze daring Brent to stop him, and kissed Rhett’s other cheek. “He means her brothers. Not us.” “Oh! I forgot that we have uncles ... besides Morgan.” Tate’s face paled. “Oh, no! We have to call Uncle Morgan.” Michael looked stricken. “My brother Morgan?” Tate nodded. “We live with Uncle Morgan on the Bar Mc.” Everyone started babbling at once. This was going nowhere fast, Brent thought. They needed answers, and they weren’t going to get them with everyone trying to talk over each other. He moved back down beside his mate and grabbed her hand. “Everyone sit!” The room fell silent. They all looked at him, then took a seat. Brent cleared his throat and looked at the twins. “All right, what’s going on? Start from the beginning. Obviously you know more than we do, because y’all at least knew of our existence, which is a whole hell of a lot more than I can say about the rest of us knowing about any of you. We thought your mother was dead.”

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Clay told them about their childhood and upbringing, seeming to emphasize how happy they’d all been, then Tate took over, explaining how he’d changed for the first time recently but hadn’t even known about werewolves. Aside from not mentioning the pack or their wolf heritage, Rhett apparently hadn’t told the boys other things, too, because neither knew exactly how or why they’d ended up with Michael’s brother, Morgan. In addition, whenever the boys had asked about their father, Rhett had always told the pups that they couldn’t be with him because it wasn’t safe, but she’d never said why it wasn’t safe. Surprisingly, however, the one thing the boys actually did know quite a bit about was Brent. Practically everything about him, in fact, except that he was a wolf. After the boys finished talking, the room fell silent again. Everyone turned to Brent. He kissed Rhett’s hand. “Okay, so what happened this afternoon? You already said she was bringing you here. How did she get shot?” Tate shrugged. “I don’t really know. Mom’s been so worried about protecting all of us lately, but she never said why. I guess it has to do with that.” “Shut up, Tate! If it weren’t for you --” Clay then pointed at Brent. “-- and him, we wouldn’t need protecting in the first place.” Tate jumped to his feet. “Screw you, Clay! It’s not like I can help it.” Alex, who was sitting next to Tate, grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his seat. Brent’s narrowed his eyes as he glanced at Tate, then at Clay. “Whoa, boys, chill out! What’s this about?” “Nothing.” Clay grumbled. Emilio shook his head. “Yeah? Doesn’t sound like nothing. Especially the bit about needing protection. Your mother was hurt, so someone better spill the beans, right now. “ Tate sighed. “It’s because we’re wolves. Mom thinks her being a human puts us in danger.” Brent’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. Has your mother had problems? Did she mention someone being after her?” “I don’t get it either,” Alex added. “Unless she’s had a run in with TWiTs, too.” Tate lifted his shoulders. “The last full moon when I changed for the first time, she said that now I was in danger and she and Clay were a burden to me. She pulled us out of school and made plans to come here. That’s all I know about it.” Brent bit his lip. What in the hell did that mean? He had so much crap he needed to mull over. Rhett certainly had a lot of explaining to do.

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Chapter Four Several hours later, after Michael, Alex and his parents had left, Brent moved Rhett into his room. No one had wanted to leave until she woke up, but it was getting late. His parents and Michael had finally relented after he pointed out there weren’t enough beds, agreeing to go get some sleep and come back in the morning. Only the boys couldn’t sleep, so they’d decided to stay up until she woke, or they could no longer keep their eyes open. And Brent was pretty certain that sleep wouldn’t come to him either, even with her lying on the bed beside him. There was just too much going through his head. Who’d shot Rhett and would they be looking for her? Why had she left? What was she so afraid of? Did this have anything to do with the attacks on his family in the past year? That TWiTs group? He grabbed a shower and came back to find the boys quietly sitting on the couch. He took a seat on the coffee table in front of them. What better way to kill time until Rhett regained consciousness than to get to know his pups? Brent got a knot in his stomach every time he thought about leaving Rhett pregnant and him not even knowing about it. He could work himself into a fine fury over it if he let himself, but since he’d just gotten his body back under control, he let it go for now and concentrated on his sons. “So, when is your birthday?” “October fifth. Clay was born first. I popped out ten minutes after.” Brent looked at Clay. The pup hadn’t said two words to him since he’d accused him and Tate of being the reason Rhett had been shot. Clearly, the kid was going to be difficult to win over. Tate, on the other hand, seemed very eager and inquisitive about his -- their -- family. “What is your full name, Tate?” “Tate Edward Hernandez.”

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He gaped. He’d always like the name Edward. When he and Rhett were teenagers he’d told her that he was going to name their son that. She’d always argued with him because she didn’t like the name. The fact that she had given it to one of their sons as a middle name ... it said a lot. So why, then, had she left? “Clay’s is Clayton Benjamin Hernandez. What’s yours? Weren’t you named after Mom’s dad? Uh, Michael? Wow, that’s weird, we always called him our grandfather, but now that I’ve met him ... what should I call him? Both of them? ’Cause Emilio is my grandfather, too, huh?” “Yeah, Emilio is your grandfather, too. And, yes, I’m named after your granddad, Michael. He’s Michael Brent; I’m Brent Michael. Your mother was named after my dad. He’s Emilio Rhett --” “And she’s Rhett Emily.” Brent nodded. “What do I call you?” He sucked in a deep breath. The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind yet. Hell, he was still digesting the surprising fact that he not only had children, but they were practically grown. Was it only this morning that he’d been depressed over his lonely state? Now, he not only had his mate back, but a couple of pups, too. It wasn’t an unpleasant discovery, of course -- the opposite, actually -- but he was a little disoriented. Rhett had a lot to answer for when she woke up. “His name is Brent,” Clay gritted out. Brent sighed. He wasn’t going to contradict him, not yet, anyway. The kid had had a really rough day. He wasn’t going to pressure the boy at this time, but they weren’t going anywhere, and he had every intention of acting as their father, so Clay was going to have to come to terms with it sooner or later. “You can call me whatever you are comfortable with for now. Brent’s fine until we get to know each other better.” Tate sat quietly for several seconds. He looked around the room, seeming to contemplate something, then back to Brent. “So does that mean I can call you Dad if I want?”

Damn! Brent blinked several times and took a deep breath. “Yeah, Tate. I’d like that.” He smiled at his son. Tate smiled back, but sobered quickly. He started wringing his hands. Brent’s heart ached at the familiar gesture; Rhett had always wrung her hands, too, when she was troubled. “What’s on your mind, Tate?” “So ... this means we can stay? I mean you aren’t going to make us leave now that we’re here? And you’ll teach me how to be a wolf? How to not shift when I don’t want to? And how to use my senses to my advantage?”

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“Hell, no, you’re not leaving me!” He flinched. He hadn’t meant to yell. It was just that the thought of losing Rhett again -- and the boys, for that matter -- was a terrible one. He’d given up hope of having his own family, but now that they were actually here ... “Yes, I’ll teach you all that and more. Stuff you would have already learned by now if you’d been raised pack.” “So, I guess now you’ll have to teach Mom how to be a wolf, too.” Tate shrugged. “Maybe all of us can hunt together ...” “Not all of us,” Clay mumbled under his breath. Brent glanced at him. “Why not all of us?” Clay groaned. “Because not all of us are wolves.” “You both smell like wolves to me. As for your mother, we don’t know yet what will happen with her. Being a wolf is a recessive male gene and our pack has never heard of a female werewolf.” “Really?” Tate glanced at his brother, then Brent. “Well, Clay’s not a wolf.” “So, what, you a cop or something?” Clay pointed at the star on Brent’s shirt. He sounded surly and not really interested, but it was obvious he wanted to change the conversation from wolves, so Brent let him ... for now. “I’m a Ranger.” Clay scoffed. “You help free little animals from traps?” Brent laughed. “No, I don’t free little animals from traps. Well, I guess I would if I ever came across one. But I’m not a park ranger. I’m a Texas Ranger, so I have legal jurisdiction all over the state of Texas.” Tate practically bounced in his seat. “Holy shit! That’s so freakin’ cool! Like the Lone Ranger! Or ... or like Walker, Texas Ranger!” Brent hid a smile. It wasn’t an easy thing to do given Tate’s exuberance. He cleared his throat and cocked a brow. “Are you supposed to be saying ‘holy shit’? I somehow doubt that’s appropriate language in front of your parents, even if you are sixteen.” Tate flushed. “Uh, sorry. That’s just, well, pretty neat. Mom’s been so worried about protecting all of us, so that will make her feel better.” Clay growled. Brent looked from one to the other. He was sure that whatever it was their mom was afraid of could be dealt with. Clay on the other hand, was looking to be a problem. He was somehow blaming Brent for Rhett getting shot. Brent wasn’t quite sure how it was his fault, but he didn’t argue with the boy. He really needed to hear what Rhett had to say about all this.

*****

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NO! She didn’t want to wake up. Brent was holding her, talking to her, bathing her. Telling her he loved her. It was one of the most lucid dreams she’d had in a long while. Tears leaked from eyes as she blinked them open. Why was it so dark? She wiped her eyes and sat up, finally able to focus in the dark. Where the hell am I? Her hands and her gaze flew to her chest and torso as she remembered the shooting. Her wound was gone! There was no blood or anything. Had she dreamed it? A moment of panic seized her. She wasn’t in the motel room, and it was nighttime. She could see the moon through the window, even with the blinds closed. The last thing she remembered was feeling a burning pain and Clay holding her tightly ... Omigod! Where are

the boys?! Rhett looked around and spotted a lamp next to the bed. She wasn’t sure whether to turn it on or not. It might be better if no one knew she was awake. What if she had to rescue the boys? She took in her surroundings, or at least what she could make out. The place didn’t look familiar. The room’s furnishings were a dark mahogany, heavy and masculine, and the bed itself was huge. How had she gotten here? Slowly, cautiously, she got out of bed to investigate and smoothed her hand down the footboard. There was a picture on the dresser across from the bed. She picked it up and almost dropped it in her surprise. It was a one of her, about age fifteen. She set it down. Where were Clay and Tate? Rhett blinked away tears. She had to find her children, make sure they were safe. She took a closer look at herself and realized she wore a pair of men’s shorts, so big that they were barely clinging to her hips, and a men’s t-shirt. She’d been in jeans and another t-shirt. Had the shooting really happened? She lifted her top and checked again. There was no sign of any wound, much less a gunshot wound, but she was certain she’d been shot. She’d felt it, the pain, the panic that her boys would be killed as well. She should be dead, had been dead or very near it. She could still hear Clay’s frantic voice calling out to her, begging her not to die. But then she’d dreamed about Brent, had felt him, heard him. Was she in his home finally? It felt like it, felt like him. He must have brought her here, it was the only explanation she could think of. She’d meant to find him, but somehow he’d found her instead. But how? Rhett shook her head to clear it and went to the door. She needed to see her boys. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the knob. It turned easily; she opened the door and stepped out and down a short hallway. The first thing she noticed at the end were Tate and Clay on a couch, watching TV. A huge wave of relief washed through her and the tightness in her chest since she’d woken up in a darkened room loosened a bit. Thank God they’re

okay. She rushed toward them. “Boys.” It came out as a whisper, but they heard her. Both of them turned. Their faces lit up in happiness as they stood. Clay leaped over the couch to meet her. “Mom?”

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“Rhett?” She froze. The voice was softer and deeper than she remembered, but there was no mistaking to whom it belonged. Tate and Clay looked behind her. She swallowed the lump in her throat; she wasn’t ready to see him. What would she say? Rhett closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pivoted slowly. His watery green eyes met her gaze. Rhett let out a soft moan and bit her bottom lip. He looked ... older, more masculine, but ... beautiful. She wrung her hands together as tears streaked down her face, blurring her vision. She was dimly aware when he stopped about two feet from her, reached out and ran his hand down her cheek. Rhett leaned into his touch, staring at his beloved face, then threw herself into his arms, sobbing loudly. Brent’s arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tight as he buried his face in her hair, shaking, too. She nuzzled her face into his chest. He felt so good, so right. “Love you! Missed you so much!” She clutched at him, trying to drag him even closer. Brent’s face slid over hers, his lips pressing against her forehead over and over, before trailing down her temple to her cheek and finally to her mouth. His lips were soft, warm, dearly familiar. Rhett brought her own hands up to tangle in his thick black hair. She opened her mouth, eagerly thrusting her tongue into his, and ravaged his. She could taste his tears ... taste her own. She wanted to crawl inside him and never come out. He moaned and kissed her back, more than matching her ardor. Almost immediately her body responded. She couldn’t think past the pleasure. It’d been too long, much too long. She’d never thought she would be able to feel this way again. She needed him, had to claim him now that they were together again. He belonged to her. How had she ever let go? His hands cupped her bottom, dragging her up his body until her head was above his, their lips still connected. God, she’d ached for this. Somehow, during all those lonely years, she’d forgotten how big and strong he was, how good it had felt to be in his arms. Her whole body was on fire, begging for him. His erection pressing into her thighs proved he wanted her as desperately. She wrapped her legs around his waist -“Ahem!” Brent immediately set her on her feet, dabbed at his eyes, then glanced over her shoulder, coloring slightly. She was suddenly turned and wrapped in two sets of arms, both mashing the breath out of her. The boys started talking at once.

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“I thought you were going to die, Mom.” “You scared us.” “There was so much blood.” “Dad saved you.” Rhett pulled back, peering into two pairs of bright eyes, one gray, the other green. She smiled, trying to reassure them and wiped at Clay’s eyes, then Tate’s. “Don’t cry, boys. I’m alive. Not sure how, but I’m here, and I’m all right. Are you both okay? Did they hurt you?” She started to look them over, trying to assess possible damage. There didn’t appear to be any, thank goodness. She rose up on tiptoe and kissed both of them before turning back to Brent. He cupped her cheek with one hand and brushed the tears from her face with the other, then kissed her again. Rhett sighed, trying to gather her thoughts. They were all here. The three people she loved most in the world. Finally together. There was so much to ask, so much they needed to talk about, but she didn’t know where to start. “How did you find us?” “The boys brought you to me.” She glanced at the twins in wonder, then back at Brent. “Then you’ve already met?” Almost before the words had left her mouth she wished she could take them back. It was a stupid thing to say really, but apparently her brain had decided to take a hike. Even under normal circumstances, the whole situation would be overwhelming, but this was far from normal. “What happened?” “It was fuckin’ awesome, Mom. Dad slit his --” Brent glared over her shoulder. “Uh, sorry.” Tate sounded contrite. Suddenly her son’s words hit her, and the mother in her swam back to the surface. Her head snapped around to face him. “Tate Edward Hernandez! Watch your mouth!” Brent grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the couch. “Come sit down, and we’ll fill you in. Then you can explain to me why the hell you just up and disappeared.” The censure was clear in his voice. She nodded, clinging tightly to Brent’s hand and touching Clay’s back as he walked in front of her. She didn’t want to let go of any of them. On the couch, Clay sat on one side of her, Brent, the other. Tate took over the coffee table in front of her. “Dad saved you.” “My dad was here? He saved me? How?” “Not your dad. My ...” He glanced at Clay. “Our dad. Brent. But your dad was here, too, and so was --”

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Wait! Tate kept talking, but she didn’t hear him. She faced Brent and couldn’t quite keep from touching him, reassuring herself that she was really here, that he was. She trailed her hand down his smooth jaw, marveling at its handsome lines. How could he be even more gorgeous than he’d been when she’d last seen him? Brent smiled at her and brushed his lips across hers. “You have a lot to answer for, Hellion. I’m not in the least bit happy with you right this minute -- but our sons are amazing. You’ve done a hell of a fine job raising them.” His eyes shone. “Mom? Are you listening to me?” Tate waved a hand in her face. “What? Sorry. Why don’t you boys give me a minute with Brent.” Clay frowned and looked suspicious. “Why?” “Because, I need to talk to your ... uh, my ... um, Brent.” Brent stood up, wrapping her hand in his. “Boys there are all sorts of video games and movies in the cabinet. Help yourselves. We’ll be right back.” He tugged on her arm and pulled her down the hall into the room she’d woken up in. Once he closed the door, he went to the bed and sat down, staring at her expectantly. “What?” “You tell me what, Hellion. You’re the one who wanted to talk when I was willing to spare you for a few hours.” What did that mean? “Spare me?” She raised a brow. Brent raised a brow right back. “Trust me, you really do not want to start with that attitude right now.” Rhett blinked. How had they already gotten to this point? From passion to flinging accusations and anger? She didn’t want to do this. “Where in the hell have you been?” He wasn’t yelling yet, but used the same quiet, overly enunciated tone he’d always used when he was upset. It was flat, unemotional, and condescending all at once. His holier-than-thou voice, as she used to think of it. It had never failed to piss her off when she was younger, and it had the exact same effect now. Still, the low voice was a good sign. Once Brent started shouting, slamming doors and sulking weren’t far behind. She had to grit her teeth to keep from raising her voice. Okay, deep breath. You aren’t going to get upset, Rhett. You expected this. He had a right to be mad; she knew he did, so it was pointless to get pissed. After all, there was no way he could have known that she’d done everything to protect him. Rhett inhaled sharply, trying to calm herself. “It’s a long story --” “More importantly, it had better be a really good long story, because I can’t think of a single good reason for you to have disappeared like you did.” He leaned back on his hands, patiently waiting.

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Argh! That tone! “I was --” “Pregnant.” He sat back up, his forehead creasing slightly. “You were pregnant, with my children.”

Crap! His voice was getting louder. She was not going to get mad. She wasn’t. In his situation, she’d be pissed, too. But he had no idea what she’d been through. “I found out I was pregnant the day I left. I was --” Brent shot to his feet, glaring down at her. “And you didn’t even bother to tell me?! What the fuck, Rhett!” She twisted her hands together and looked up at him, her expression hopefully calmer than she felt. “I’m trying to tell you. If you will just stop interrupting.” Brent clamped his mouth shut and sat back down. He ran his hands through his hair and blew out a gusty breath. “Okay, I’m sorry. Talk.” “Thank you.” “Don’t get smart!”

That’s it! She’d tried, she really had, but he was obviously not ready to listen. “Godammit, Brent! When you decide you can quit yelling --” He shot to his feet again. “Do you have any fucking idea what I went through? Do you even give a shit?” “No, I don’t have any idea! And you don’t have any idea what I went through, either, so stop shouting at me!” Great, now she was doing it, too. So much for keeping her cool. Screaming wasn’t going to help; it certainly wasn’t going to change a thing. What she needed was space -- time alone, time to think. So did he, for that matter. Rhett turned and stomped toward the door. She threw it open, marched out, and slammed it shut. Seconds later the door crashed against the wall. “If you so much as take one step out of the front door, you won’t be able to sit down for a week!” The door slammed once more. Rhett sat down on the couch beside the boys with a sigh. The twins were studiously pretending they hadn’t just heard their parents arguing loud enough to send dogs howling.

Damn! That hadn’t gone well at all. But to be perfectly honest, she’d never thought it would. She knew him well enough to know he was going to have to get some of the anger and hurt out before he’d listen. At least she hoped that was the case. She needed his help, and she needed him to listen to her. Surely, he hadn’t changed that much. Then a sudden realization struck her as funny, and she giggled. They were acting as if nothing had happened, as if there hadn’t been a separation of well over a decade between them. Was she still the only person in the entire world who could make him lose his temper? It was a little demented, she knew, but that had to be a positive thing. It felt darned good to be home at last.

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Chapter Five While Brent was in his room stewing, the boys had filled her in on what had occurred while she’d been unconscious. Rhett had known she’d been close to death, of course, but hearing the details from her sons’ viewpoints had been terrifying. She’d found herself thinking what-if a few dozen times, but never got much farther than that, because the answers were much too disturbing to contemplate. One thing was certain, though, none of them were safe. By coming back home, she’d inadvertently done the one thing she’d tried all these years to avoid and put her children in danger. Brent and the rest of her family and friends, too, were at risk. She had to talk to Brent. The strangers at the motel had asked for her brother, and she was pretty sure who they were or, more to the point, who they worked for. What she couldn’t figure out was what they wanted with Roman and why they thought he’d been there in her room. It was two in the morning now. The boys had gone to bed in the rooms Brent had given them earlier. They had been exhausted but hadn’t wanted to leave her. It had taken some doing, but she’d finally convinced them that she was fine and that they needed their rest. Rhett glanced down at the water, sandwich and chips that Tate had placed in front of her before he’d retired. She should eat, but she didn’t feel up to it. Questions kept filling her mind. How had they found her so fast? Why had she been shot? What did all this mean for her family? How and what did they know about Rome?

Wait, Rome and Rand should be all grown now. They were ... what? Twenty-four? She needed to get ahold of her baby brothers and warn them, make sure they were safe, but it was the early hours of the morning. What if she’d misheard what the man had said? And Brent wasn’t speaking to her.

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She pushed her chair back away from the kitchen table and got up, wandering around the house, trying not to disturb the boys or Brent. The house seemed perfectly suited to her mate. The décor was easy and laidback, with a rustic, western feel to it. There were hardwood floors, burgundy leather furniture, and the earth tone walls, all of which were very much in accord with Brent’s personality. She sighed and stepped up on the hearth of the huge rock fireplace that dominated the main room to get a closer look at several pictures on the mantle. The first picture was a wedding picture ... Alex’s. Wow! Alex was married now. And Brent was barefooted, despite being outfitted in a tux! Rhett grinned so big her cheeks hurt. Brent had always hated shoes; she wondered if they’d let him lose the shoes for the entire wedding or just the reception and pictures. The next photo comprised Brent, Adrian, and a gorgeous redhead. The woman stood between the men, her arms around both their waists. Who was she? And was she there with Brent or Adrian? A surge of possessiveness shot through her. Rhett glanced back at the wedding picture. The redhead was beside the bride. Hmm ... Rhett moved on to the next frame. The same woman was there, too, smiling at Alex’s wife and a beautiful teenage girl. The pretty brunette was obviously Alex’s wife, but who were these other two? “That’s Jessica, Marisa, and Katherine.” She jumped at Brent’s voice, which came close behind her. Turning slowly, she looked at him. “Who?” He pointed, and she pivoted back toward the pictures. “That’s Jess.” He indicated the brunette, Alex’s wife. “She’s Alex’s mate. That ...” He touched the glass over the teenager. “... is our little cousin Marisa. Aunt Claire was pregnant with her when you left. And this ...” He pointed to the redhead. “... is Kat. She’s Adrian’s mate.” God! She’d missed so much. She faced Brent again, needing to ask about her brothers. He tipped her chin up with his finger until she was looking into his eyes. “I’m sorry I overreacted. I’ve been through hell without you, and I just can’t imagine why you’d leave. I ...” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now. We’ll work the rest out later. You said you loved me. Do you?” Rhett wrapped her arms around him, fighting tears, and nodded against his chest. “Oh, yeah. I never stopped loving you. I had to leave ... had to protect the boys. I had to protect you.” Brent pulled her back, cupping her face. “God, I missed you every single day. I thought you were dead.” She sniffled. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to leave.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Why did you?” “I had to. You sure you’re ready to hear it now?”

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“Yeah.” He looked around the room. “Where are the boys?” “They went to bed. Listen, before we start talking, I need to know about Rome and Rand. Are they safe? I think they’re in danger, too.” “They’re fine. Dad called and told them about you. They’re on guard, nothing will happen to them tonight.” “You’re sure?” “Positive. Come on.” He pulled her with him to turn out all the lights, then they checked the front door, before he led her back into his bedroom. He sat on the bed, pulling her down beside him, then intertwined her fingers with his. “All right. Start from the day you disappeared.” Rhett stiffened, then forced herself to relax. He needed to know. “After you drove us home from school and went to work, I was cleaning my room and glanced at my calendar. I had to check again when I realized I hadn’t had my period in nearly two months.” “Holy shit!” He shook his head, clearly astonished that neither of them had picked up on it before then. “Okay, so you figured you were pregnant, then what?” “I wasn’t actually sure. You know how irregular I was.” She blew out a deep breath. “You remember my friend Christine?” “Yeah, she’s married and has three kids now. Why?” “Really? Who’d she marry? Anyone we know?” Brent leveled a stare at her, his I’m-becoming-impatient stare. “Okay, okay. Well, Christine had had a scare, too. She took one of those home test kit thingies, and it was positive. So, she went to this free clinic to find out for sure, and it turned out that she wasn’t really pregnant; somehow the home test had got it wrong. Well, I didn’t really want to waste money on something that might not be accurate, so I decided to go ahead and visit the clinic. Luckily, Dad wasn’t home, and my mom ... Well, you know my mom; she nev--” Brent frowned. “What? What was that look for?” “Nothing. Finish your story. I’ll tell you later.” She narrowed her eyes at him, but decided it must not be that big a deal if he thought it could wait. “So no one was home. I put on the blond wig I’d used for Halloween when I went as Marilyn Monroe, grabbed a pair of sunglasses, and called a cab to take me t--” “Why in the world did you wear that wig?” “So our parents wouldn’t find out.” “Did you think they wouldn’t find out eventually?” “You’re missing the point. I was holding out hope that I wasn’t pregnant.”

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“Yeah, okay. Go on.” “It took an hour to get to the clinic. They gave me a blood test, which was positive ... obviously. I was kind of in a daze when I went outside, so I forgot to call for a cab. Believe me, it’s pretty life-altering to find out you’re pregnant, not married, and still in school. Anyway, there were some pay phones in the alley by a grocery store across the street. I was still pretty shocked and wasn’t really paying attention to where I was when a man and woman grabbed me by the arms.” Brent had a fierce scowl on his face as he squeezed her hand. “And?” “I struggled, of course, but the woman put something over my face. When I woke up, I was in a cage --” “What?!” Brent pulled her sideways into his lap, holding her close, but with enough room to see her face. “Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but that is the honest-to-God truth. I couldn’t make this up if I tried; it’s just too bizarre.” She cupped his cheek in her hand and nuzzled her forehead against his face, needing the contact. “I’d never willingly leave you. You know that, don’t you?” He nodded and turned his lips toward her palm, kissing it. “Yeah, I guess if I’d thought about that earlier, we could have dispensed with my fit and gotten right to what happened. I’m sorry. What happened next?” She bobbed her head a little, acknowledging his apology. “The cage was in some sort of laboratory or something. I mean, there were all sorts of beakers and science equipment.” Rhett felt the familiar sorrow when she remembered. She thought about Clayton and closed her eyes. God, she wished she could have saved him and his mate. Brent wiped tears from her cheek. “They were testing wolves. Like lab rats or something. Clayton said they were trying to find the most effective ways to destroy wolves. They’d torture them to see how much they could take, how much their bodies would actually heal.” She swallowed hard, trying to keep her gorge down, and concentrated on getting through the story. “I never found out how they knew I was pregnant. But they knew, just as they somehow knew it would be a wolf. I bet the clinic was involved and something must have shown up in my blood test.” She shivered, remembering the fear. The sudden protectiveness when she’d thought of her baby. She recalled thinking that Brent would never get to see it, that he’d never even know. “They kept me there for four months or thereabouts. I don’t know exactly. But I was just over twenty-five weeks pregnant when I got out.” “It’s okay, sweetheart, I’m right here. Who is Clayton? I know you don’t mean our son. For one thing, you were pregnant with him; for another, that Clayton was mated.” He kissed her forehead again and pulled her closer, hugging her tightly. “Try to tell me the rest of it.”

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She nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. I just remembered thinking that I was going to die and never see you or our family again, and that neither of us would even get to see our baby.” His lips caressed her cheek. “Babies, and they are here ... safe.” “But at the time, I didn’t know there were two of them. I think that the people at the lab knew there were two, but I didn’t know until later.” “No, you wouldn’t have.” “Clayton was one of the wolves they’d captured and about my dad’s age. His cage was next to mine, and he’d been there a few days before me. He ... he ... he was my friend, the only thing that kept me sane. I named our son after him. They used to ... Oh, God!” She could see everything so clearly, like it was right in front of her. She could still smell the blood, hear his screams, suffer the utter feeling of helplessness -- know she couldn’t stop the torture. And that those monsters would likely soon start doing the same things to her. The scenes were etched in her brain, abominations she couldn’t get out, no matter how hard she tried. Her breath was a shuddering sob. Brent squeezed her tighter to him. “Clayton helped me escape.” “Where is he now?” She shook her head. “He died to get me free. They shot him with a silver bullet.” “Honey, we aren’t allergic to silver. That’s just a myth. The bullet alone would likely have killed him.” “No. No, it’s not. You have to trust me. Actual skin contact won’t affect you, but open wounds ... That’s what these people did to Clayton and the others -- inflicted wounds on them, then tested the effects of silver. They were trying to find ways to kill werewolves, wanted to wipe wolves off the face of the earth.” Rhett clutched at Brent’s arms. “They did so many things, so many experiments ... they knew a wolf can’t heal a wound made by silver. They hurt him in all sorts of horrible ways, yet he healed. But when they cut Clayton with silver, he scarred. Even shifting didn’t help.” Brent roared. “TWiTs!” “What?” She saw him struggle to remain in control. “I’ll tell you when you’re finished, but the group you’re describing is called The Werewolf Termination Squad. Michael, er, your dad and mine nicknamed them TWiTs.” Rhett’s hand flew to her mouth. Brent knew about them? How? Did this mean their pack had encountered those beasts, too? Brent pulled her hand down. “Finish your story. I’ll tell you all I know afterward.” “Clayton waited months for the right opportunity, which finally came when one of the scientists showed up without a guard. As soon as the man opened the cage, Clayton jumped him, got the keys and released me. We snuck out through a window. I thought we’d made it, that we were in the clear, but the guards saw us as we were making our final break for the

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fencing. He shoved me forward, shouting at me to get away. I tried to stop him. I did, but he stalled them while I ran and was shot. I hid and he found me later, after he’d killed the guards. But he’d already lost too much blood from his injuries, and he made me go on without him.” She shook her head helplessly. “Honey, why didn’t you come home? I could have protected you and the boys.” “I thought maybe I’d get lucky and the gene would pass over the boys. I thought I could hide them, keep them, you, our families safe. Because I’d used a fake name and address at the clinic, I knew they wouldn’t be able to find you. And I couldn’t take a chance of them hunting me down or stealing the babies. So, I started thinking, really thinking about where I could go. I remembered your dad talking about my uncle Morgan at the Bar Mc, and I headed out to West Texas. I couldn’t believe it when he knew who I was as soon as he opened the door, then took me in.” “Okay, I get all that, honey, but why didn’t you come back later? Or call or something?” “I was scared. I almost picked up the phone several times, but I couldn’t let what had happened to Clayton happen to anyone I loved. I kept remembering how they’d caught Clayton through his mate, Marcie. By that time, I’d had the boys, and I couldn’t put them in that sort of danger, either.” More tears poured from her. She couldn’t help the pain she’d felt then and now; she’d wanted to come home so badly, but she couldn’t risk it. “I thought the boys would be safer away from the pack. I suppose I fooled myself into thinking they wouldn’t shift. It doesn’t matter now. When Tate changed last month, I realized we were in danger, anyway. He needs someone to teach him how to be a wolf, how to control himself, protect himself --” Brent closed his eyes and shook his head wearily. “What?” “I still can’t believe you actually think I was better off without you.” Rhett stood up and paced, needing him to somehow understand. “You weren’t there. You don’t know how Clayton suffered ...” She squeezed her hands into fists, the memories making her heart hurt. Brent reached out and caressed her arm softly. “You are my mate. Don’t you know what that means? Hell, Rhett, forget that ... you know how much I loved ... love you.” Emotion gathered in her chest again. “I love you, too. That’s why I had to go. Do you think I wanted to leave? That I enjoyed being away from my family? That I wanted to tell my kids about their father rather than us being together? Do you have any idea how hard it was to live without you?!” She sank down to the floor and buried her face in her hands and sobbed. She hated being so weak, but she couldn’t help it. Her whole life was one giant screwup! Everything she’d done had been in vain, and she’d ended up hurting everyone she loved.

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Brent picked her up, cradling her in his arms, and allowed her to cry out all the regrets and pains of the last sixteen years. “Shh, it’s all right. You’re here now, that’s all that matters. Shh ...”

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Chapter Six Brent laid her in the middle of the bed and followed her down, spreading her legs and settling between them. He cupped her face in his hands, making her look up into his beloved green eyes. He wiped away her tears and stared at her for the longest time. “Look at me and listen, honey. I love you. We’ll handle whatever comes together, as a team. Okay?” “Okay.” His weight felt so good, so familiar on top of her. She had thought of this often, ached for him. She reached up, threading her hand through his thick black hair. So much hair and so soft. He hadn’t changed much. His face was a bit slimmer, the angles slightly more pronounced, but he was still as handsome as he’d always been. He moaned and leaned his head into her caress, making her smile. He’d always been extremely sensual, loved to be petted and caressed. She’d thought his preference more feline than canine. She was sure if he could purr, he would. She ran her fingers down his jaw, across his chin to trace his lips, beautiful, full and sexy. He closed his eyes and nipped at her fingers, then sucked them into his mouth. Her body began to wake up and pay attention. His hips pressed down, making his cock rub against her. She squirmed, arching into him. She’d dreamed of this so often, dreamed of him, had pleasured herself many times over the years thinking about him, and now it was once again him doing the touching. She could hardly believe this was real, that she was back in his arms after all this time. Brent, her lover, her mate. Her pussy throbbed, begging for attention, letting her know that it was no illusion. Drawing her legs around him, she pulled him tight, thrusting slowly. Ooh, his dick was in just the right spot and so hard. Even through their clothing -- his jeans and her shorts -- it felt so good. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing her breasts against him. He was

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warm, solid, and her nipples were so hard they ached for attention. Even the sensation of pressure against them was welcome. Brent reached under her hip, pulling her snug and thrust back. “Oh, damn!” His head dropped forward to rest on hers and stayed that way a while. “Can’t believe you’re real. God, I’ve wanted you.” She nodded. “Me, too.” He pushed up her shirt with his free hand, pinching her nipple, twisting lightly, before he leaned down and took it in his mouth. It felt better than any imagining she’d had of him in the last sixteen years. Rhett’s whole body tingled. God, when was the last time she’d felt this good? This alive? She pushed her pussy against the thick rod nestled against it, moved faster. She desperately wanted him inside her, but this felt so good she didn’t want to stop. “Brent! Yes, harder.” She was so wet the boxers were sticking to her. She knew he would be able to slide right in. Brent pulled back, sat on his heels and flipped his shirt over his head, revealing a breathtaking view of muscled tan chest. Rhett groaned. She wanted to sink her teeth into those chiseled pecs, run her tongue over those tight abs. Moistening her mouth, she stroked him from neck to navel, watching his muscles jump at her touch. When she got to the little trail of hair that went beneath his waistband, she started tugging at his pants. “Get them off! Now!” His green eyes sparkled with amusement, and a grin played at his lips. “Patience. I’m not going anywhere. We have lots of time.” He lifted her into a sitting position and removed her t-shirt. Rhett resisted the urge to grumble, but only because he quickly slid down her body and slipped her shorts off, tossing them onto the floor with their shirts. He was right, they did have all night. He sat between her thighs, staring at her for a long moment before he ran a hand down her body. Watching him watching her aroused her even more. He ran his fingers across her tummy, his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he studied her. He glanced up, catching her gaze, and she noticed his eyes had changed. Without breaking eye contact, he scooted down until his nose was buried in the curls above her pussy. Her vagina clenched tight, tingling with anticipation. She loved his mouth on her. He’d always been so good at oral sex, had always enjoyed it almost as much as she did. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, then let it out with a sigh. “God, you’re so beautiful, Hellion.” Oh, damn! She whimpered a needy little sound and spread her legs wider, drawing her knees up and pumping her hips just a little, begging for him.

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He closed his eyes, rubbed his cheek against one thigh, then the other, and finally breathed softly across her clit. The man was a tease, and she was seriously contemplating strangling him if he didn’t hurry. Rhett squeezed her eyes shut, praying for mercy. She’d always thought he got some perverse satisfaction from tormenting her. Now she was sure of it. His tongue traced up one side of her slit, then down the other, leaving a trail of moisture that he blew on to torture her further. She moaned. “Brent ...” “Fuck this! I can’t ... I tried, but ... Not now.” He covered her with his mouth, flicking his tongue into her opening, lapping and sucking deeply. A groan of pure unadulterated pleasure poured from him into her cunt. Rhett’s eyes snapped open to watch. His beautiful green orbs held her gaze as he fucked her with his tongue. Her inner muscles clenched, and she felt her orgasm building, tingling up her spine. Her toes curled into the sheet, her back arched. It felt so incredible, she couldn’t decide whether to move into it or squirm away. It didn’t matter as she wasn’t going anywhere. Brent grabbed her hips, pulling her back into his relentless assault. The wet slurping sounds registered as her body hurled into climax. She came harder than she remembered doing in a long, long time, her pussy spasmed tight at the sensation, her brain drifting off into la-la land. Brent got off the bed and shucked his clothes in record time. He crawled back onto the bed sitting on his knees between her legs. She was so beautiful spread out before him; her breathing labored, a fine sheen of sweat covering her skin, her pussy red and swollen. He took a deep breath and positioned his aching prick at her entrance. Oh, God, her scent alone was enough to make his balls draw taut. He pushed steadily inside her. Heat surrounded his cock; her muscles squeezed him tight, contracting. He still wasn’t fully seated in her when Rhett’s back arched up off the mattress, and she came again. He thrust into her several times, hard and fast, then moved back to watch his prick slide in and out of her. Oh, fuck, that was hot! His cock glistened with her juices. She was so wet. Gripping her hips, he tugged them back and forth, moving her on him as he stared at the place they were joined. His canine teeth dug into his lips. She ran a finger down one fang, then cupped his cheek, still trying to catch her breath. “Love you.” He nodded, his arms sliding up and around her torso to hug her, then let her lie back. “Love you, too.” His voice was low, rumbling a bit and muffled from the elongated teeth.

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Rhett shivered, rocking her hips. As his cock slid back and forth inside her, she pushed herself up looping her arms around his neck. Her breast felt so good pressed up against his chest. She ran her fingernails up his back. He trembled in her arms and moaned, then bit down on her shoulder where it met her neck and shifted so that he lay down on top of her. Rhett gasped. He knew he hadn’t bitten hard enough to hurt, but that it gave her goosebumps, making her quiver and tighten her inner muscles. He groaned and bathed the area he’d just nipped with his tongue. Then he raised up, smiling down at her, and rolled over, pulling her on top of him so that she straddled him. He pushed her torso up until she was sitting on him and clasped her hips. “Move, honey. Oh, God, you feel so delicious. Move for me.” And she did. Within seconds, she had him quivering beneath her. A tingly sensation raced up his spine, and his back arched up off the bed as he came. It took him several seconds to come back down from the rush, but when he did, he realized she was really close to another orgasm. She kept moving, her eyes boring into his. He tightened his hands on her waist and helped her approach her peak. “That’s it, honey, come on. Come for me.” Rhett’s body responded to the husky command. She gasped for air and let out a ragged moan. Her pussy squeezed him tight as her orgasm washed over her. It felt so good he considered continuing. He was still hard. Maybe he could come again? Then suddenly her whole body refused to cooperate, went limp, and she collapsed on Brent, dashing that idea. They lay there silently, clinging to each other, caressing and enjoying each other, reluctant to let go. His cock was finally starting to soften, and his eyes and teeth had gone back to normal. Sweat trickled down her temple onto Brent’s chest and it suddenly occurred to him. She hadn’t changed at all. He chuckled, feeling better than he had in years. She pushed up and looked down at him And grinned. “Why are you laughing?” “Because nothing has changed.” “What do you mean?” “I mean it’s impossible to go slow. You’re just too damned demanding.” She snorted. “Is that a complaint?” “Not at all. I feel like a teenager again.”

***** She sat on the counter watching Brent cook breakfast. The kitchen had a rustic feel to it, all dark wood cabinetry and granite countertops, but it also had nice, new, shiny,

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stainless-steel appliances. If she enjoyed cooking, she would have been in awe over all the gadgets. As it was, she just appreciated the aesthetics of the cooking area. Their boys were blowing things up on a video game they’d found. It appeared that Clay and Tate had come by their video game addiction honestly. Their father had -- in Tate’s words -- “a very kick-ass collection.” Which led to Brent promptly correcting his speech, which led to Brent actually having “a kick-butt video game collection.” In fact, Brent’s entertainment system had the boys practically drooling over it. There was a forty-two inch, a flat-screen TV, several game consoles, a DVD player, the whole works. The thing Rhett like most about it, however, was that it was all set in a beautiful dark wood armoire and could be hidden away when it wasn’t in use. Of course, the armoire was kind of a waste with her boys around -- the entertainment system would always be in use. Rhett grinned. “I like your home.” Brent smiled, looking quite at ease in the kitchen. “Yeah? I bought it with you in mind.” “Really?” He shrugged and started digging through the refrigerator. “Yeah. Couldn’t help myself. I just always asked myself, ‘What would Rhett think of this?’ or ‘Would Rhett like this?’” “Me, too. Especially with the boys. You sure you don’t want help?” “You still cook like you used to?” Rhett chuckled. She’d never been accused of being the world’s greatest chef. She still wasn’t very good actually. Uncle Morgan and the boys had taken care of meals at the Bar Mc. “Pretty much.” He pulled some sausages and bacon out of the fridge then faced her. “You had to have gotten some practice.” “No, not really. If anything, I can manage others in the kitchen like nobody’s business. I was really good at buying cookbooks for the boys and Uncle Morgan. I even read them out loud to them on occasion.” He laughed and shook his head, then dug through the lower counter and came up with a skillet. “Still bossy, I see.” Rhett smiled. “I’ve had lots of years to hone my skills. I’m really bossy now.” He threw his hands in the air and looked up at the ceiling rather dramatically. “God help me.” He glanced back at her, his lips twitching. “Don’t suppose you’ve learned to listen and do what you’re told?” She shook her head. “Don’t suppose I have. Nowadays, I’m the one who gives orders and expects them to be followed.” Brent walked over to her, resting his hands on her hips and kissed her nose. “Honey, you’ve always given orders and expected them to be followed. Like I said, you’re bossy!”

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“Since you said that with a smile on your face, I won’t punish you.” He chuckled. “Gee, that’s big of you.” He kissed her lips just as the oven beeped, signaling it was heated to the right temperature for the biscuits. She nipped his bottom lip and wrapped her arms and legs around him, deepening the kiss. Brent melted into her, his tongue exploring her mouth before plunging in between. His hands slid under her bottom, pulling her pelvis tight against him. God, the man had hard abs. Talk about sexy. And oh ... oh! That was rubbing her clit just right -A loud clanking sound startled them, making them jump apart. Brent dropped his forehead to hers, breathing heavily. After a few seconds, and seemingly in more control than she was, he pulled away slightly and looked at Tate, who was peeling bacon strips apart and putting the slices in the skillet. “I’ll do that, Tate.” Brent voice sounded hoarse, raspy. Tate raised a brow, smirked. “That’s okay, Dad, I kinda want to eat sometime today.” Brent’s mouth dropped open, then he faced Rhett, a flush on his face. She shrugged. Heck, she was still trying to dampen down the ache of arousal. She could care less about food or who was cooking it. “It’s no big deal. I’m sort of used to taking care of breakfast.” Tate winked at them, then turned a piece of bacon over. Brent chuckled and gave her a quick peck on her mouth. “That’s just sad, honey. I think this state of affairs may just border on child abuse.” Tate laughed and nodded his agreement with Brent, the fiend. “I don’t see how. It’s not like I threaten to beat him if he didn’t cook, or I’d refuse to go to Mickey D’s if he didn’t want to cook.” “No, watching the two of you make out in the kitchen is child abuse. That’s just gross!” Clay muttered from the couch, on the other side of the open kitchen. As if he didn’t know what it was like to have hormones raging out of control. Rhett snorted. Brent smiled at her, but directed his comment to Clay. “Well, why were you watching, then?” “I wasn’t!” Tate added sausages to the skillet, then washed his hands at the sink. “I think it’s sweet. Y’all go right ahead. Maybe I can learn some tips. Just don’t get too freaky, or I’ll have to get the hose.” He had a huge grin on his face. If Rhett had been less befuddled by his father, she might have realized what he had in mind. The kid turned the water to cold, picked up the sprayer and squirted them. Rhett squealed, throwing her hands up to block the water. “You brat!” Brent sputtered, blinking water from his eyes.

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Tate then took off like a rocket, laughing his fool head off. He made it all the way around the partition to the living room before Brent tackled him. By the time Rhett got there, they were rolling around on the floor, laughing, tickling each other. She glanced at Clay and raised an eyebrow, asking silently if he wanted to help her attack the other two. He huffed out a breath, then got up and went into the kitchen, probably to snatch some food before the rest of them remembered there was hot food to be had. She looked after him, then shrugged and pounced on Tate’s back, helping Brent to tickle him. Over breakfast, Brent told her and the boys that her parents had divorced. He also detailed all that happened with the pack, including Jessica and Rome being abducted by TWiTs and how that group had tried to destroy Kat and Adrian’s baby. The pack’s problems with TWiTs made her feel guilty. If she’d contacted her family, maybe she could have warned them, prevented some of these things from happening. Rhett looked at them, all of them at the table like a real family, and had to smile. It warmed her deep inside to see Brent and the twins together. But then she remembered her brothers. “We need to get ahold of Rome and make sure he’s safe. Those men who came to the motel door asked for him, but I don’t know how they linked me to him.” Brent swallowed the food in his mouth and looked at Tate, then back at her. “How long have you been in this area?” “Just since yesterday evening.” “I bet they saw Tate out somewhere and thought he was Rome. He does resemble the twins ... maybe a little younger and less built, but he could be their triplet.” “Yeah, he looks like pictures of my daddy as a teenager, too. It was weird at first, but at the ranch there are pictures with our dads together around age sixteen. And they look enough like Tate and Clay that you have to really look to be sure who are in the pictures. Pretty much the only way to tell is by your dad, because Clay really favors you -- and you have enough of your mom’s genes that you look different.” Brent grinned. “Rome and Rand look just like your dad now. Well, except they are a little taller and Michael is starting to go gray -- don’t tell him I said that.” “What are they like now, Rome and Rand? They were so young when I left.” “They’re good men. Rand is a chef; he works for Uncle Diego and Aunt Claire at their restaurant. And Rome is a homicide detective. They just bought a house together a few blocks over. Julian is living with them now, too. He was staying with me.” “So they’re still close to Julian?” He nodded. “Yeah. Julian is saving up to buy a house, too, but when the twins moved into their own home, he abandoned me for them.”

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“What about my dad? Where is he?” “He moved back in with my parents two years ago after he divorced Lindsay. He pretty much lived there, anyway; his clothes and stuff were over there ever since Rome and Rand moved out. Mom and Dad converted one of the guest bedrooms into an office for him. He also just bought a hot tub and is building a gazebo for it in the backyard.” She hadn’t been surprised to hear about her parents’ divorce, but what had surprised her was that it had taken her father as long as it did to get rid of the witch who was her mother. “So, he’s happy.” It was more a statement but Brent answered anyway. “Oh, yeah, more than I’ve seen him be in years.” Brent reached for the phone clipped on his belt. “I’d better call Alex, then check on Rome. Obviously TWiTs is still looking for him. They are probably after Jess and Kat, too.” A car pulled up outside just as Brent finished dialing. Two doors slammed shut. Instantly alert, Brent turned off his phone, took a whiff of the air and relaxed. The front doorknob jiggled, the lock turned, then the front door was flung open. Sarah stepped through the door, her dark auburn ponytail swinging from side to side as she glanced about. Her green gaze finally settled on Rhett, and she began to tear up. Rhett stood, dampness gathering in her own eyes at the sight of her mother ... well, the woman who had always been her surrogate mother. She fought the tears back. She was tired of crying -- she’d cried enough last night to last a lifetime. Sarah bit her bottom lip, then ran across the room, enfolding Rhett in her arms. “Mom.” Rhett pulled back slightly, studying the older woman’s face up close. She had not changed much, a little older maybe, but she still looked the same. Sarah dabbed at her eyes. “Oh, sweetie, I missed you so much.” She reached out and touched Rhett’s cheek. “You’re even prettier now. Oh ...” Sarah hugged her again, and her face got even wetter. “I’ve missed you, too, Mama.” Two arms wrapped around Rhett from behind, then another set wrapped around her side. She looked up into Emilio’s moist brown eyes and smiled. “Hi, Dad.” “Hi, baby.” She twisted around to face her father, who stood behind her. “Daddy.” Michael kissed her nose. “Hi, sweetheart.” Her battle with her emotions didn’t last long. She finally gave in to her tears, but at least these were happy tears. Her three parents -- they were her parents; all three had raised her -- with her, hugged her, and kissed her for a good ten minutes. Then they turned toward the twins like a flock of hens. They’d always been doting parents; God only knew how much smothering they were going to do as grandparents. Poor boys! Brent slipped up behind her, sweeping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her head as they watched Tate and Clay with their grandparents. The bewildered kids

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didn’t quite seem to know what to think about all the attention, but they appeared genuinely pleased to see the adults again. Finally, everyone made it into the main room where Rhett explained where she’d been and how the man who had shot her had asked for Rome. After a few phone calls, one to each of her brothers, as well as the one Brent made to Alex, Rhett was assured that Rome and Rand were fine, and on guard against trouble from the TWiTs, as were Alex, Adrian, and the rest of the family. She leaned back against Brent. It was a comforting position, and she didn’t want to give it up, so she snuggled deeper into his warmth. “Did anyone think to call Uncle Morgan?” Emilio sat forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “I called him when we got back to Diego’s --” He glanced down at his wrist. When he realized he didn’t have his watch on, he grabbed Michael’s arm beside him. “-- and Michael called him about three hours ago.” Michael jerked his arm back. “You could have just asked, instead of jerking my arm out of the socket.” “Don’t be a puss!” Emilio turned and stuck his tongue out at him. Rhett bit her lip to keep from laughing, then whispered to Brent. “I see they haven’t changed.” “Not a bit. I suspect any minute now that they will be rolling around wrestling on the floor. Michael has even taken to calling Dad his Mexican houseboy.” Rhett giggled. “Oh, I bet that goes over we--” “Puss! I’ll show you who’s a--!” Michael tackled Emilio. They scrambled to grab ahold of each other’s arms, both trying to gain the upper hand while laughing. They were practically in Sarah’s lap. “Emilio! Michael! Knock it off!” Sarah sighed, then threw her hands in the air, but she had a fond smile on her face. She glanced over at Rhett and Brent and shook her head. “I swear to you, one of these days, they are going to grow up!” “Are you sure about that, Mom? They haven’t managed to do so in the last fiftysomething years.” Michael stopped long enough to glare at Brent. “I’m not fifty yet!” “Close enough.” Brent grinned. Rhett smiled. God she’d missed this -- the easy banter and playfulness among all of them, the joy and lightheartedness her family brought to her even in the most difficult situations. Uncle Morgan was great, but he’d been no substitute for the people she’d lived with as a child. This was what her boys should have had growing up. She squelched down the regrets. At least they had it now. Things were going to be okay.

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Chapter Seven Brent stretched out on the bed, his eyes closed, listening to Rhett in his shower. Their parents had finally left, and the boys seemed more at ease after spending the majority of the evening talking to their grandparents. With all the upheaval the night before, they hadn’t really gotten to talk, but they’d made up for it tonight. Brent wasn’t sure who’d been happier to meet whom, whether it was the grandparents or the grandkids. He smiled on remembering his father telling the boys they could call Michael “Grandpa,” but he was “Uncle Emilio” on account of the fact that he was too young to be a grandfather. His mom had promptly reminded his dad that she and Michael were both younger than him. Brent smiled. Family. You had to love them, not that they didn’t drive you crazy, but ... he just hoped he could be as good a father to his sons as his dad and Michael were to him. It was weird thinking of himself as a father. And to have Rhett and the boys ... he was almost afraid to let go of her, of them, for fear they would disappear. It was all he could do to let Rhett out of his sight long enough to wash up. He’d wanted to shower with her, but he’d refrained. He figured she needed some time to herself, especially after all she’d been through the last two days. Hell, they all had suffered. If he were completely honest, he needed the time alone, too. He was not entirely happy with her yet. She’d robbed him of a lot of years, but he knew she honestly believed that she’d done the right thing, which helped temper his anger somewhat. There were so many things that needed to be discussed, questions that needed to be answered. Would Rhett move back here, stay with him? Were the boys going to adjust well to having him as a father? Tate seemed okay so far; Brent had had a blast roughhousing with the pup this morning. But something told him Clayton was every bit as stubborn as he was.

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Why did things have to be so complicated? Hell, he still had to figure out what was going on with those damned werewolf hunters. Were they ever going to be rid of them? Every time the pack thought they’d gotten rid of them, TWiTs popped up again. The water shut off. Brent glanced around the room. It looked clean enough, but he felt like he should do something special. Yesterday was her birthday. And with everything else on his mind, he’d forgotten that. Brent got off the bed and dashed into the living room. He turned on the light and looked around quickly. Jackpot! There was a candle on the end table and one on the bookshelf. He snagged a lighter out of the junk drawer in the kitchen and rushed back to his room. Rhett was still in the bathroom, so he placed the candles on the nightstand and one on the dresser, lit them and ran back to the kitchen. He grabbed some cookies out of the pantry. Not exactly what he wanted, but they’d have to do. He hurried back to his room and shut and locked the door just as she came out of the bathroom. She stopped, clearly stunned. “Wow! When did you do this?” “Just now.” She giggled, clutching the towel to her chest. Brent couldn’t help but stare. If possible, she was even more alluring than she had been at sixteen. Her body certainly seemed more curvy, more ... womanly, and her hair was wet and falling down around her shoulders. It was still kind of strange to see her with short hair when as a kid she’d always worn it to her waist. She was still a tiny little thing though. “Brent?” He snapped out of his enchantment over her form. “Yeah?” “Thank you.” “For what?” “Trying to make the boys feel at home. For ...” She shrugged. “... still loving me.” “Ah, honey. You don’t have to thank me for that; they’re mine, too. I want them to be happy. And how could you even doubt I still love you? I’m not exactly happy with the choices you made, Hellion, but I’ll always love you.” “I’m glad.” She paused. “You know, I hadn’t had sex in almost sixteen years. Except for last night.” He felt a wave of relief wash over him, making him immensely happier. He chuckled and held his arms out to her. She stepped into them, wrapping her arms around his waist. “If it makes you feel better, it’s been that long for me, too.” Rhett gasped and pulled back looking at him. “Really?” “Yes, really. Why would you think otherwise?”

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Her forehead crinkled up. “Because you thought I was dead.” “It didn’t change the fact that you were my mate.” “Yeah, but --” He cupped her face, making sure their eyes met. “Listen to me, because apparently you don’t get it. I know you know we’re mates; you lived with this knowledge since we were children. Wolves mate for life. There is only one. Ever.” “Yeah, but if I were dead ...” “I didn’t want anyone else.” And he didn’t. Oh, sure, he’d had urges, but he’d been satisfied to use his hands. He had never wanted another like he did her, because he knew there was no replacing Rhett, and he’d never wanted to give another woman false hope. He knew he could never give all of himself to another, heart and soul, the way he’d given them to her. He kissed her lips in a chaste peck, then rested his forehead against hers. How could she not understand? “Okay, let me put it another way. Why didn’t you move on?” Rhett gasped and pulled back, looking into his eyes. “I couldn’t! You were still alive. I knew that. I couldn’t cheat, I ... I ...” She blinked, then grinned at him. “I didn’t want anyone else, either. He would have been a poor substitute for you.” Brent grabbed her and kissed her, almost roughly, pressing his cock against her belly. She’d seen that he had been half erect as soon as she’d stepped out of the bathroom, but now he was harder than a steel pipe. She moaned; her hands slid down and grabbed his butt and squeezed. He chuckled into her mouth and pulled her back toward the bed. He sat on the edge, then tugged her towel loose, letting it drop. He looked at her for several seconds, almost making her self-conscious. “Honey, you’re absolutely gorgeous.” He pulled her forward, his hand coming up to offer himself one dusky nipple. It was a contest as to who moaned louder when he took the small peak between his lips and tugged. He suckled for several minutes before moving on to the other. Rhett’s hands came up to tangle in his hair, and her head dropped back in complete abandon. God, her nipples were still so responsive to him. She had always loved for Brent to suck on them. He pulled her with him as he fell back onto the bed, straddling him as he kissed her. She opened for him, kissing back. Her tongue explored his mouth even as he explored hers. She nipped at his bottom lip, then laved it with her tongue. Her mouth slid down his jaw nibbling and licking. Brent petted and stroked her back, letting her have her turn. “I want you so bad.”

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She took her time, learning him all over again, driving him insane. She kissed her way down his bare chest to his belly, and ended up on the floor kneeling in front of him. His cock was so hard. His prick jerked visibly in anticipation. She’d always loved to play with his cock, loved to touch it, lick it. He brushed the damp hair out of her face, pushing it past her ear. She peered at him as she licked a line up his abdomen as he caressed her cheek. His green eyes were heavy lidded with lust. His dark lashes fanned across his cheek. He was so sexy. She nuzzled her nose against his belly, taking in his scent, his warmth. It was a dream come true, being here with him like this again. She hooked her fingers in the waistband of his pajama bottoms and started tugging. “Off.” She needed that thick cock. She wanted to taste him, feel him in her mouth. He complied, eagerly lifting up so she could pull them off his hips. His cock sprang free and she let out a small whimpering sound, before she grasped him and angled him into her mouth. “Jeez ...” Brent hissed out a breath, apparently he hadn’t expected her to just swallow him whole without a preamble. She slid all the way down, then back up, squeezing the base with her hand. He was smooth and hot against her tongue. She was good at this, had always enjoyed watching him squirm. The caress of his prick against her lips almost made them tingle. Her eyes peered up at him from above his cock, knowing he’d be watching very intently. He always loved to watch. “Ummm ...” she pulled back and smiled at him when she met his green gaze. Brent squeezed his fists together and took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he let it out. The urge to draw her back to him was strong, but he resisted it. His canines stung his gums as they lengthened. He ached to be inside her. She dipped her head sideways as she licked him, running her mouth along his length, then swiping her tongue across his balls. “Jesus, Rhett!” His eyes flew open. His color vision was gone. The little hellion chuckled and let go of him. Carefully keeping her hands from touching him anywhere, she covered his balls with her mouth and sucked lightly. That was it, he had to have her. Had to fuck her. He grabbed her under the arms and pulled her upright, so that she was sitting on the bed. “On your hands and knees, now!” he all but growled. Rhett gasped at his words, her eyes going wide, but she hurried to comply. He could smell her arousal increase. “Oh, fuck!” That pretty little ass was just perfect there. And he could see how wet she was, the moisture glistening off her plump pink lips. He bent forward and sank his teeth into

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the soft flesh, exerting just enough pressure to sting, but not enough to draw blood. Rhett squealed and dropped her head down on the mattress, raising her butt higher. He let go and climbed onto the bed behind her. She shimmied insistently toward him. “Now.” He clasped her hips, then noticed his hands had shifted to claws. “Oh, shit.” “Now, Brent ... please.” He shook his head and closed his eyes, took some deep breaths, desperately trying to get his instincts under control. As usual, Hellion was having none of it. She reached back, took hold of his prick and positioned him at her entrance, then thrust against him, impaling herself. “Ahhh ...” She bit her bottom lip. She was so wet and hot around him that he slid right in. She began moving immediately. He gripped her hips to still them, trying to gain back control. She shook her head and tried to move, growling at him when she couldn’t. His claws flexed on her hip. He gulped for air. “Be still.” This woman was going to be the death of him. As a teenager he’d finally learned to control his nature, but damned if he was going to have to learn all over again. He couldn’t shift, wouldn’t allow himself to, but it was going to take some effort to hold back. Finally, he regained enough balance to make his hands change back. Rhett must have felt it, because she thrashed restless again. Her inner muscles tightened on him. “Please ... oh, please ... move.” Brent grasped her waist and thrust into her. She moaned and pushed back harder. He set up a fast, steady rhythm, and she met him the whole way. Within minutes she was spasming around him, her body stiffening in ecstasy. “Oh, God, yes! There!” He bit his inside cheek to keep from yelling out and pushed into her one last time. His entire body went taut as he came, then relaxed on top of hers. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” She giggled and collapsed forward onto the bed. He got off her, grabbed her towel from the floor and cleaned them both up, then pulled the covers back. Rhett stayed where she was, sprawled diagonally across the bed on her stomach. She shook her head. “Too hot.” He grinned and pushed her feet. “Get in the bed right. I won’t cover you up.” “’Kay.” She shuffled around without ever actually getting up and managed to position her head on a pillow.

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Brent chuckled and slid in next to her on his back and ran his hand idly over her spine and butt. After a few minutes, she brushed her hair back off her face and finally crawled, or rather squirmed, on top of him. “Brent?” “Huh?” “What are the Oreos on the nightstand for?” He grinned. Damn, he’d forgotten all about them. “Well, they were my improvisation for the lack of a belated birthday cake. But I sort of got distracted by a certain demanding hellion. Want one?” He felt her head shake against his chest. “No, not really. I was just curious why they were in here.” “Unh. Happy birthday, Hellion. I’ll get you something when I have a chance. Any requests?” She raised her head and kissed his chin. “Nope. You’re all the birthday present I need. I think I’m covered for the rest of my birthdays for as long as I live.” Brent sighed, happier than he’d been in years. He squeezed her tight and pushed her head back down to his chest. “Love you, Rhett.” She snuggled in. “Love you, too.” He was almost asleep when her head popped up again. “Brent?” “Huh?” “You know my parents weren’t mates, right? Despite that, I have to admit there is definitely something in me that, well, that makes me yours. I know it, and I feel it, too. But my parents didn’t have that.” He grinned, but didn’t open his eyes. He supposed her parents’ relationship was the reason she’d convinced herself that he had moved on. With them as an example it would have been easy to draw the conclusion that the bond between mates wasn’t that strong. “No, they weren’t mates. Michael and I talked about it once. That’s another reason I’d never be with someone that wasn’t my mate.” Obviously, he was going to have to prove some things to her, but not tonight. He lifted his head just enough to kiss her forehead, then dropped it back down. “He told you that? That they weren’t mates? What all did he say?” “Just that. That Lindsay wasn’t really his mate.” “Oh.” She laid her head back down finally. “Why?” “No reason. Just wondering if he told you the whole story.” “The whole story?” “Yeah. Why he married a woman that wasn’t his mate.”

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“No, he didn’t say, and knowing what a sore subject your mother always is, I didn’t want to pry.” “Uh.” He was just about on the edge of sleep, awake enough to be aware, but relaxed and very near to dreaming, when her head came up again. “Brent?” He became fully awake, trying to figure what had actually woke him. Oh, yeah, Rhett. “What, honey?” “Am I going to change the next full moon? Tate said you gave me blood. I didn’t think women could be changed.” He blinked his eyes open. Damn! Was she upset about it? “Actually, we don’t know either. It was a long shot, but you healed, so you might be a wolf. I couldn’t lose you again. I --” “Wow, and it worked, huh?” She patted his chest. “It’s okay, I’m not mad. To be honest I’ve always kind of envied you guys for getting to change. I was just wondering.” Good, he really didn’t want a pissed off mate right now. He was too damned tired to argue. “Oh. Well, yeah, then. You’ll probably get to be a wolf, too.” He kissed her head again. “Night, Hellion.” “Night.” She snuggled into him, pressing a kiss to his chest before she turned her head and relaxed. “Brent?” “What?!” He winced; he hadn’t meant to snap at her. “Uh, what?” he said more gently. Her fingers started tracing patterns on his chest. “You remember the first time we made love?” How could he forget? He’d climaxed and then collapsed. She’d tapped him on the shoulder, bringing him out of his post-orgasmic daze and informed him that, “We need to work on your stamina, because I didn’t come.” Brent smiled sleepily. God, she was one of a kind. He’d made it up to her, of course, and they’d both gone to sleep quite satisfied, but her comment had made the event special like nothing else would have done. It had really driven home the comfort and ease they’d shared with each other. The love. It was a good thing she hadn’t moved on, she’d have been hell on any other man’s ego. “Yeah, honey, I remember. Now, go to sleep.” He kissed her head again, then rolled her off of him and onto her side, spooning her. After she snuggled in and got comfortable, he covered her mouth with his hand. She giggled and bit his hand. “Okay, I can take a hint. Good night.” He grinned, dropping his hand back to her waist. “Good night, Hellion.”

*****

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Brent was jolted awake. He heard the soft choking sounds and came to immediate attention. Rhett was sitting up in the middle of the bed, her hands clutching her chest, out of breath. Concern slammed into him. He sat up quickly, wrapping his arms around her. “Honey, what is it?” Rhett struggled for a few seconds, then relaxed, leaning heavily on him. Her hands gripping his arms, holding them tightly to her. Her breathing was ragged, but at least she wasn’t fighting for air any longer. “Nothing, nothing. Just a dream. I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” “Yeah, but that’s okay.” Brent glanced at the clock beside the bed. 4 a.m. “That must have been some dream. Wanna talk about it?” She shook her head, but she started telling him about it anyhow. “It was the night Clayton and I escaped. I don’t think he really wanted to live without Marcie. He shifted and went after the guards, giving me enough time to get away. He died to save me and the boys.” Brent stroked her back, soothing. “Tell me about Marcie, honey.” “Marcie was his mate, she was a human. They tried to do tests on her, too, only she couldn’t heal. I was lucky. The only reason they didn’t do anything to me was because they wanted the babies. Clayton is the one who told me there were two of them. He could hear both their heartbeats. “That’s why he lasted as long as he did, I think. To help me get out, I mean. He told me to stay hidden. To be the mom mine never was and to stay away from wolves. I couldn’t endanger you the way Marcie had Clayton. That’s how they caught him, you know. They caught Marcie, and he went back for her. I didn’t want to put you in that sort of situation.” Rhett turned to him, cradling his face in her hands, tears dripping down her face. “Don’t you see? You’d try to save me just like Clayton did Marcie. I couldn’t let you be taken and tortured because of me.” Brent pulled her to him, positioning her so she could wrap her legs around his waist, and tugged her closer. Her tears ran down his back as he stroked her hair and rocked her back and forth. His chest hurt. She had honestly thought she was protecting him, had loved him so much that she’d left. Irrational as he thought it was, in her mind it was the only way to save him. He lay his head on her shoulder, blinking away his own tears. “Shh, honey, it’s all right. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. Shh ...” She shook her head. “No. No.” She leaned back, looked at him. “Promise me if they ever capture me again, you’ll take the boys and run. You can’t come after me. You can’t --” “Shh ...” Brent clasped her to him, squeezing her so tightly he knew it couldn’t be comfortable, but he couldn’t help it. Tears streaked down his own face, running in salty rivulets. “No. Never. I won’t promise you that, Rhett. I can’t. I would never leave you in a place like that.” He realized he was shaking his head and stopped. “I’ll do everything in my power to protect you, but I can’t promise you that.” He moved her legs from behind him and

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laid down, clutching her to his chest. He held her for the longest time, letting her cry, letting them both cry. “Brent?” “What is it, honey?” “I wanna go back to the ranch. I don’t feel safe here.” “We’ll leave tomorrow afternoon.”

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Chapter Eight After packing everything the next morning, they went to lunch at Brent’s uncle’s restaurant. Sarah had planned a big get-together to reunite Rhett with family and introduce her to the newer members. Rhett was a little nervous, not just from going out in public knowing that there were people stalking them, but about being accepted by Alex, Adrian, and Dash’s wives. After last night, Brent seemed a little more nervous, too. And clingy. She couldn’t turn around without bumping into him. Not that she was complaining, but he kept scaring the crap out of her. This morning, when she’d thought he was still asleep, he’d snuck up and hugged her from behind as she was looking out the window. She’d screamed a split second before she stepped to the side and aimed her elbow at his stomach. Almost immediately after, she’d realized who held her. Fortunately for him, he had quick reflexes. He’d caught her elbow and took her to the floor, gently, but still, it hadn’t looked so great. The boys had come running in and found Brent sitting on her, naked, in the middle of the bedroom. By then they were both laughing, but neither Tate nor Clay had found it as humorous as they’d had. To save the twins’ sanity, not to mention hers, she was going to have to get accustomed to Brent being around again, touching her all the time. She loved the sensation of him, loved touching in return, but she was going to have to get used to it after so many years without. They reached the restaurant, then sat in front of it for a few minutes before Brent cut the engine. He turned back to face the twins. “Boys, do not leave the restaurant for any reason. We have a private room in the back and there shouldn’t be anyone in there but family. So, don’t leave that area, okay?” Tate smiled. “Sure, Dad.”

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Clay frowned, but at least he didn’t argue the point. “Okay.” Brent turned back to her. “You ready?”

No! What if the other wives didn’t like her? As she’d always been way too much of a tomboy, she’d never gotten along well with other females. Her only friend growing up had been Christine, and look where that had gotten her. Rhett rolled her eyes at herself, then nodded at Brent. She was being ridiculous. Who cared if they didn’t like her? None of them really had a choice; they were family, like it or not, so they’d have to endure her presence from time to time. “Brent, can I have my gun?” “You don’t need it, honey.” He tapped the one on his hip. “I have mine. We’ll be fine. It’s just family. They aren’t stupid enough to attack us in the midst of a whole pack of wolves.” Yeah, okay, that made sense, but she really didn’t like going anywhere unarmed. Even on the ranch she usually had at least a knife with her. Thanks to one of the ranch hands who was ex-special forces, her hand-to-hand combat skills were pretty good, but she really didn’t like getting close enough to people to use them. She’d much rather shoot or throw a knife from a distance. Brent must have seen the reluctance on her face because he reached down and pulled his ankle holster out from under his pants leg and handed it and the small .380 in it to her. “Here, it’s got velcro and elastic, so it should fit you.” She smiled and took the gun. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” She strapped it on and pulled the leg of her jeans back in place as he and the boys got out of the car. Brent came around to her side and opened the door for her. He bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips, then took her hand and escorted her inside. As they entered, the hostess smiled at Brent and told him everyone was already there. Brent squeezed her hand and led her and the boys back to a private dining room. They walked into absolute chaos. Everyone was gathered in small groups and talking at once. Rhett glanced around the room and recognized everyone. Well, almost everyone. She’d seen pictures of Marisa, Jessica, and Katherine, but Adrian was carrying two babies around. He had aged well and was still handsome. She wondered if he was still so ... so anal retentive. “Adrian has kids?” “Just one. Brandon is his. The other is Kitty. She belongs to --” Adrian walked over to them, and the little girl he was carrying immediately lunged forward and reached out to Brent. “Well, hello, sweetheart.” Brent took the baby, and she grabbed his face in her two chubby little hands and planted a big, open-mouthed, slobbery kiss on his lips. Adrian turned to Rhett and smiled. “Hey, Hellion.”

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She smiled back, ignoring Brent, who was talking to Kitty and tickling her. “Hey, yourself.” Adrian reached out with his free arm and hugged her. “Glad you’re back. We missed you.” “I’m glad I’m back, too.” The little boy, Brandon, smiled at her and waved shyly. She smiled and waved back. “Hi there, handsome.” “Ah, shucks. Really, Hellion, you don’t have to call me that. Dash will be just fine.” Two arms encircled her from behind, startling her. She turned to find Dash smiling down at her. She laughed and hugged him. It seemed he hadn’t changed a bit personality wise. In appearance, though, he was handsome, more than he’d been the last time she’d seen him. Then, he’d been tall and skinny, all knees and elbows. He’d since filled out, rather nicely. “I was talking to the baby. Why would I ever call you handsome, you rat.” “Well, because I am, of course.” “Oh, Lord!” A very pregnant, very pretty brunette, walked up beside him, swatting him on the shoulder. She smiled at Rhett. “Hi, Rhett.” She held out her hand and Rhett shook it. “I’m Jill, Dash’s wife. It’s really good to finally meet you. Welcome home. And feel free to smack Dash around. I promise I won’t take offense. In fact, the help would be appreciated.” Dash chuckled and kissed his wife’s cheek. Rhett got caught up with them and was vaguely aware of the twins being dragged off by Sarah. She learned that Jill was a doctor and worked in the emergency department with Alex, which was how she’d met Dash -- through Alex. Jill appeared to be a great match for the sometimes obnoxious Dash. She obviously kept him in line and the love between the two was apparent. Rhett liked her instantly. She continued to talk to them and Adrian for several minutes before Alex showed up, followed by his parents, Claire and Diego, and Adrian’s parents, Kyle and Rita. Marisa soon followed. Marisa was a sweet kid and Rhett could see why her own father was so taken with the young woman. She had the feeling that Marisa had been a bit of a substitute for her, which was okay. She was just glad her dad and Emilio had had someone to tease. Just as Claire was leaving to go check on the food preparations, Alex and Adrian’s mates showed up. They both greeted their men, then quickly welcomed Rhett. “I’m Jessica.” The petite brunette held out her hand to Rhett, a huge grin on her pretty face, then dropped her hand before Rhett could take it. Instead, she pulled Rhett into a huge hug. “I’m so happy to meet you!” The redhead she recognized as Katherine giggled. “Yes, we are.” She shook Rhett’s hand. “We’re glad you’re back.” She tipped her head, indicating something behind Rhett. “For a change, it’s nice to see Brent smiling when he looks at someone besides Kitty.”

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Rhett glanced over her shoulder. Brent still had the little girl in his arms and was talking to Alex, Dash, and Adrian. Rhett felt a stab of guilt at seeing him so comfortable with the baby in his arms. How would he have been with his own? He obviously loved Kitty very much and the feeling was apparently mutual, because when Alex reached out to take his daughter, she refused to let go of Brent, clinging tightly to his neck. How sweet was that? Jessica brought Rhett’s attention back to her and Katherine. “I feel like I know you already. We’ve heard all sorts of stories about you.” Oh, Lord! Rhett could only imagine what they’d heard. She had definitely earned her nickname ... and then some. “Brent speaks rather highly of the two of you, too.” Jess grinned, her eyes twinkling. “You know he’s told me once or twice that I remind him of you.” Rhett’s eyebrows shot up. She didn’t know these two women well, but she just couldn’t help liking them. Their obvious niceness and good humor were contagious. “Well, I beg your pardon, then. Apparently you irritate the crap out of him.” The three of them laughed. Rhett talked to the two of them for several more minutes, feeling more and more at ease. She could already tell that, given half a chance, the three of them would become fast friends. It was also quite apparent that Jess had a bit of a mischievous streak in her. Rhett felt an immediate kinship with her, as she’d always had a bit of a rebellious streak in her, too. Finally, Brent got Kitty to go with her parents. He kissed Rhett’s cheek as Kat and Jess took their babies for diaper changes. “Having fun?” “Yeah, I guess I am. I like Jess and Kat.” “I knew you would. Jess is a little devil. Trouble follows her like it used to clamber after you.” Rhett arched a brow. “Used to?” Brent laughed. “I’m not touching that one! I’m going to go order our food. You want what you used to have?” “Yep.” She was about to go look for her boys when someone touched her shoulder. She turned around and stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh, my God!” Her hand flew to her mouth, and tears gathered in her eyes. Her brothers were here. They looked just like Daddy and Tate. She looked at one, then the other. They were all grown up and so handsome! One had slightly longer hair, still short, but long enough that it hinted at the curls they had had as children. They’d dressed completely different, too. One was in t-shirt, jeans and boots; the other in a nice pull-on, collared shirt, slacks, and casual brown shoes. But their faces and their expressions, even their bodies and their posture were identical. When they were little she’d been pretty good at figuring out who was who, but now? She was clueless.

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They stepped forward at the same time and held out their arms. She stepped between them and wrapped an arm around each of their waists. “You two have grown so much!” They pulled her into to a three-way hug. “Glad to have you back Rhett.” One said. “We missed you,” added the other. Stepping back, she grinned up at them. “I hate to ask, but which of you is which?” They looked at each other and smiled. The twin in slacks shook his head and smiled, showing off a dimple in his left cheek. “She doesn’t even know her own brothers.” It was Rand. It had to be Rand who teased her. She went up on tip-toe and kissed his cheek. “Yes, I do, Ransom McCoy. I was just seeing if you still tried to switch places.” Rand’s eyes widened a bit. “Oh, you did know.” Rome chuckled. “She did not. She just figured it out.” Rhett slugged him in the arm. “All right, Mr. Detective, hush!” Tate touched her hand, looking at one of his uncles, then the other. “Okay, I give up. They look exactly the same. I mean, if they had the same haircut and the same clothes on, they’d be impossible to tell apart. I’ve never seen a set of identical twins who look more identical than they do.” He wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air near them, then wrinkled his brow in confusion. “They even smell alike. How’d you figure it out?” She winked at Rome. “Can’t give away all my secrets.” Tate frowned, then looked at both his uncles and grinned. “Hi.” Rome sized the boy up and shook his head. “So you’re Tate? Mom has told us all about you. You poor thing, you look just like Rand.” Tate looked startled at first, then looked over at Rand and started laughing. Rhett kissed her son’s cheek, then pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. “Don’t even think about trying to borrow one of their IDs.” “Aw, Mom!” Everyone chuckled. Michael slapped Tate on the back on his way to the table. “Don’t even ask. No one would ever believe you’re forty-eight.” Tate sighed and picked up the ends of some strands of his own hair and tried to look up at them. “I suppose I could add a few strands of gray here and there.” Michael sat down. “I don’t have gray hair, pup.” Emilio came and plopped down on the seat beside Michael, grinning from ear to ear. Tate put his finger to his lip. “Shh ... don’t say it, Uncle Grandpa. People in glass houses and all that.” Everyone within earshot laughed.

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Tate was too cute. The kid always did have a way of making people feel at ease. Speaking of kids ... Rhett looked around. Where was Clay? Brent must have read her mind. He sat down beside her and put his arm over the back of her chair, then dipped his head toward one of the smaller tables. “Over there, with Marisa. He and Tate got in a fight.” Rhett sighed. “What was it about?” “I have no idea. They keep telling me to tell the other something, pretending like they can’t hear each other.” She bit her lip. It wasn’t funny. It really wasn’t. “Don’t you dare laugh!” “Welcome to parenthood.” Brent growled at her. The staff finally brought their food out and everyone dug in. Except for Tate. He’d claimed a seat between his two grandfathers, but instead of sitting and eating, he hovered in the background. He kept leaning in and staring at Rome and Rand, until Rome pointed at his chair. “Tate! Sit!” “But ...” “Because we’re mirror images. Your mother noticed that Rand’s dimple was on the left side. Now quit it.” Tate sat. Rome grinned. “Thank you.” He looked up at Rhett and winked. “Geez, I was afraid, next he was going to start studying nose hairs.”

***** After a promise from Rome and Rand that they, too, would be headed to the Bar Mc, Brent, Rhett and the twins had left the party. Sarah had assured them that she, Emilio, and Michael would follow in short order. Michael wanted to go over some TWiTs stuff with Rhett and see if she could pick out her three assailants from photos that he had collected. The boys had driven the Escalade back, and she and Brent followed in his car. They arrived at the Bar Mc several hours later, just as most of the ranch hands were getting off work and leaving the ranch. She waved to several of them in passing as they went up the drive. When they pulled to a stop beside the main house, Uncle Morgan came rushing up to greet them. He was so glad to see her and the boys, he hugged them and fussed over them for the longest time. He also talked to Brent for several minutes, anxious to get to know him again. Finally, he grabbed a suitcase and followed the boys inside, asking about Michael.

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As she and Brent finished pulling their stuff out of the back of the SUV, Luc sauntered over in his usual loose-hipped swagger. The man was a cowboy through and through, Rhett mused. He was also a hell of a great friend. Luc said a quick hello to the twins as they passed him on their way into the house, then leaned on the SUV and grinned. “You okay, Squirt?” Rhett nodded and smiled. “Yeah, and thanks to you I probably kept the boys from getting hurt.” He dipped his head in approval, his smile getting bigger. “Good deal. Morgan told me about it, but I’d like the details when you have time.” A growl came from behind her, and she whipped around to find Brent glaring at Luc. “Brent!” “What?” He continued to stare at Luc. Well, heck! She hadn’t realized Brent would be jealous. He had no reason to be. Luc was her friend, her mentor, her employee. Rhett sighed. “Brent, this is Lucio Ramirez, the Bar Mc’s foreman. Luc, Brent Hernandez, my mate.” Luc hesitated for half a second, then offered his hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Brent.” Brent shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” He didn’t sound too convincing, but at least he was polite. After Luc went back to work and they continued on to the house, the inquisition began. “Who is he?” “I told you, the Bar Mc’s foreman. He’s the only employee that actually lives on the ranch. The rest come and go.” “That isn’t what I meant, and you know it. Who is he to you?” Brent’s voice was low, unhappy. Rhett frowned. She couldn’t decide whether to be amused or irritated, so she settled for a little of both. She quirked an eyebrow at him. “What are you implying?” Brent looked sheepish. “Nothing. Damn it! Sorry. I know you wouldn’t ... that you haven’t. It’s just ... guess my instincts took over.” Rhett went up on tip-toe and kissed him. “You have nothing to worry about. I love you! You know that, right?” “Yeah.” “Luc is ex-special forces, a former Green Beret. Uncle Morgan hired him about ten years ago. Luc’s father was a wolf, but the gene passed over him. Uncle Morgan found out

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and confided in him about me and the boys. After that, Luc sort of took on the role of guardian. He taught me and the boys how to defend ourselves.” Brent nodded. “Then I have him to thank for you almost planting me on my ass this morning?” Rhett chuckled. “Actually, if I remember correctly, it was me who ended up on the floor.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Underneath me. Which is a very good place for you, if I say so myself.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek and strolled on into the house. Rhett shook her head, smiled, and followed him inside. Halfway through unpacking, Brent had fallen asleep, stretched out across her bed. Apparently, with all the turmoil in his life of late, he was tuckered out. She left him there to sleep and put in a load of laundry before straightening the bedroom. She also cleaned out her Escalade and checked on ranch business. At around seven o’clock, Uncle Morgan called her in for supper. Brent was absent from the table when she went in. When she asked the boys about it, she was informed that Tate had tried to wake him without success. Rhett grinned at that. Brent had always been hard to wake up. The man liked his sleep. She excused herself from the table and went after her errant mate. She entered the room quietly and lay beside Brent. He looked so peaceful. She kissed him. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. She kissed him again. This time he smiled and pulled her close, but he still didn’t open his eyes. “It’s time for dinner.” Brent growled and kissed her, nuzzling her cheek and chin. “That means it’s time to get up.” He nipped her chin. She chuckled and sat up. “Come on, Brent, everyone else is downstairs waiting for us.” “Shh.” He pulled her back down.

Oh, brother. She was obviously going to have to entice him awake. She leaned forward and flicked her tongue across his lips and slid her hand down ... looking. Ohh! There it is!. That was what she was looking for. She clasped the already semi-erect cock through his jeans and squeezed. Brent’s green eyes shot open. He bit her bottom lip with his teeth and pushed his hips forward, making his cock slide against her hand. “Oh, so now you’re awake.” She tightened her grip. She’d always loved touching him, exploring his body.

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He grunted and slanted his mouth over hers. His tongue slid between her lips, caressing her. He pulled her half on top of him, his thigh against her pussy. Oh, that felt good! She pressed against his thigh and became carried away in her own plan. She’d meant to wake him up, but instead she’d managed to get him up and arouse herself as well. Before she even realized it, she was grinding herself against him. Brent grabbed her ass in both hands and pulled her tighter to him, setting a steady rhythm. His cock twitched under her hand. God, she’d never get enough of this. She unfastened his jeans and reached inside. The heavy weight of his prick fell right into her hand. She could even feel the pulse of his blood throbbing against her palm. The pressure on her clit was wonderful, but that could wait. She wanted to taste him. Now. She broke their kiss and slid down his body. “Oh, fuck, yes!” Brent’s hands tangled in her hair and gently pushed her, helping her descent. She would have laughed, but she was too caught up in the sight that met her. He was already starting to leak. God, that was sexy! She swiped her tongue out, catching the slick precome. His hips bucked up, pressing the hard, hot head against her lips. She moaned. He tasted delicious. She lapped up one side and down the other, taking her time, enjoying the taste and texture. “Honey, you’re killing me. Suck it, already.” She grinned, then opened her mouth and took him all the way in, the thick head lodging in the back of her throat. She made swallowing motions. Some things a girl just never forgot. It was like riding a bicycle. And damn if she hadn’t always been good at this after he’d shown her the first time. Brent grunted. His hips rocked forward, fucking her mouth. “Ah!” Her pussy was soaked and tingling, itching, actually. She wiggled her hips, rubbing her clit against the seam in her jeans. It wasn’t nearly good enough. She reached down and unsnapped the button. Brent let go of her hair, and gripped her under the arms, then pulled her up so fast she blinked. She stared into his flushed face and frowned. She was about to ask him what his problem was when the bedroom door opened. “Mom, Brent?” Rhett looked over Brent’s shoulder. Thank God Brent had his back to the door. Clay was standing in the doorway, hands on his hips, looking annoyed. She raised a brow. “Yes?” “I was sent up here to tell you two to come eat. So, come eat.” “Okay. Be down in a minute.”

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“And Grandma called earlier and said to remind Brent to call in to work, if he hasn’t already.” “Okay.” Rhett made eye contact with Brent. “Call in to work.” She glanced back at the door. Clay was still just standing there. Rhett cleared her throat. He started to say something, then shook his head and walked off. Leaving the door open. The little shit! She looked at Brent. “Well, that certainly killed the mood, eh?” “Yeah. I can see we are going to have a lecture about knocking on the door before opening it.” Brent chuckled and kissed her. “Think it will work?” She chuckled with him. “It’d better.”

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Chapter Nine “So, Brent, the boys tell me you’re a Ranger.” Morgan took a bite of his dinner. “Yes, sir, I am. I’ve been in law enforcement since I turned twenty-one. Sort of went in that direction because of Rhett, but I don’t regret it. I like helping people.” Rhett looked at him. “Really? Because I disappeared?” “Yup. At first I had this notion of finding you. Then it was more of a way to keep others from disappearing. In a way, Rome did the same thing.” “Oh, man! I feel ... Heck, I don’t know how I feel. But I’m glad you’re a cop. It suits you. You would have made a good doctor, but I think you probably make a better cop.” She nodded and took a drink of tea. “Clay used to want to be a cop.” “Not anymore.” Clay grumbled. Rhett frowned. “What do you want to be now?” “A rancher.” Morgan nodded. “He’ll make a good one. The boy has a fine head for livestock. He’s a helluva cowboy.” “Thanks, Uncle Morgan.” Clay had a decidedly pink tinge to his cheeks. Brent smiled. Hearing the compliment directed at his son made him feel good, even if he hadn’t had a hand in raising him. After all, the pup still had his DNA. “What about you, Tate?” Tate’s eyes widened. “Me?” “Yes, you.” He shrugged. “Don’t know. Figured I’d just chill out for a bit, maybe take some basic college courses. I have a year to think about it, so who knows what I’ll decide in that time.” He looked at his mother with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

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“Maybe I could be a porn star. I could have a really cool name like Biff Stiff or Hank Hard or something.” Clay giggled behind his glass of tea and mumbled, “More like, Yank Hard.” Which had Brent and Morgan chuckling as well. Oh, this was fun! Rhett’s mouth dropped open. Then she snapped it shut. Her glare was ruined by the slight twitch of her lips. “Tate Edward Hernandez! Don’t make me beat you!” Tate laughed along with everyone at the table and held his hands up in surrender. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Rhett caught Brent’s gaze and sighed dramatically. “See what I put up with?” He chuckled. It looked pretty fun to him. Sure there were bound to be times when they were a pain in the ass, but the boys were really good kids. They seemed to love teasing their mother, but what teenage boy didn’t? Heck, he still liked to see if he could pull one over on his mom now and then. Brent enjoyed the time with his boys and he really, really liked Michael’s brother, but he was dying to escape to Rhett’s bedroom for the night. Just as soon as he could possibly do so without being rude, that’s exactly where he was headed. He’d gone down to dinner half hard, even with Clay’s interruption. It really kind of sucked now that he thought about it. He’d gone from having to worry about his parents walking in on them to worrying about their kids barging in. That was life, as the saying went. After dinner, Rhett herself gave him his opening. She put the last plate in the dishwasher and yawned. He bumped her with his hip after washing down the table. “Looks like you’ve had it. You ready for bed?” Rhett stifled another yawn behind her hand. Uh oh! Maybe she really was bushed? They said their good nights to everyone and went upstairs. No sooner had he shut the door to her room than she started pulling her shirt over her head, a seductive grin on her face. “Lock it.” He growled. Wow, looked like he wasn’t the only one who wanted to finish where they’d left off. He locked the door and stalked toward her. She turned her back to him and yanked her jeans and panties off, wiggling her butt as she did so. Oh, man! The woman was hot! He’d always liked her ass but, damn, now she had rounded hips. She was sexy as hell. He stepped up to her, pressing his denim clad erection against that pretty little ass and palmed her breasts as he nipped her neck. Rhett shivered. “You like that?” he half growled. He bit down where her shoulder joined her neck, not waiting for an answer, not needing one. “Oh, my God!” She pushed her hips back against him. He started nibbling his way down her neck. “Alone at last. Wanna finish what we started before dinner?”

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“Oh, good Lord, yes!” He lifted his own shirt over his head and unfastened his jeans before dropping to his knees in front of her. Oh, geez, he could smell her arousal. She was already wet for him. He groaned and leaned forward. His tongue glided up her slit, then teased her clit. She tasted good. Damn, he’d missed doing this. Her hips jerked. “Oh, God, Brent. It’s been sooo long.” Brent stopped long enough to pick her up and carry her to the bed. He set her down, pulled her hips to the edge, and parted her legs. Then he lowered his head and took one big, lingering lick of her pussy. Rhett melted, her legs falling open wider. She reached down and parted her lips, holding herself open for him. There was nothing sexier than a woman who knew what she wanted -- and his Hellion had always known what she wanted. She’d never been shy, not with him. He slid his hands under her butt, lifting her to his face, and devoured her. “Oh, God! Brent!” She was writhing. When he sucked strongly at her clit and slid a finger inside her, she started panting. Brent pulled back, blowing softly. “Ah, honey ... so fucking sexy. What do you want, Hellion? What do you need?” He licked her again, steadily fucking her with his finger. He knew she was close; she’d always been very easily aroused. He could make her come in a matter of seconds, but he wanted more. Apparently, so did she. Rhett sat up and grabbed at him. “Want you! Now! In me! Now!” Brent nodded, taking her lips into a deep kiss even as he struggled with his pants. Before he even got them pushed down, she was grasping his cock and sliding down to meet him. As wet as she was, the head slid past her entrance. Rhett groaned and tried again. He knocked her hands out of the way and pushed into her, sinking deep. They both moaned. Brent grabbed her hips and thrust into her, listening to the wet sounds of sex and their skin slapping together. He felt her orgasm crash into her, making her tense. “Omigod, omigod, omigod! Don’t stop! Breeeennnnt!” He continued to thrust deeply a few more times, then came as well. A ragged groan tore from him as he stared down into her eyes. Rhett held his gaze until the last tremors left her. Finally, Brent relaxed and leaned forward to kiss her. She kissed him back, chuckled, and let her legs drop from around him. “What’s so funny?” He nipped her chin. “My feet hurt. And I can’t move my legs.

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Chapter Ten The next morning, Luc took Brent around, showing him the ranch and introducing him to the hands. Given his reception of the man the day before, Brent had been a little surprised at the offer, but he’d readily accepted. Brent followed Luc to the stables, trying to figure the man out. He seemed genuinely friendly, if a bit of a loner. So why had he invited Brent on a tour of the ranch? “I’ll saddle Tate’s horse for you. Nutmeg is gentle, well behaved.” Brent shrugged. “Show me where she is and where Tate’s tack is, and I’ll saddle her myself.” One of Luc’s dark eyebrows arched. “You ride?” “Yup, since I was a kid. Michael, er, Rhett’s dad still likes to ride. He, Rhett’s brother, Rome, and I ride out occasionally. Michael made all of us learn how to saddle our own mounts as soon as we were big enough to do so. “Well, from what I’ve heard Michael McCoy is quite a horseman. If he taught you, I suspect you ride about as well as I do.” He pointed. “There’s Meg, and Tate’s tack is slung over the side of the stall there.” He grunted. “That boy is terrible about putting things back in the tack room.” Brent chuckled. He could imagine. “Probably too anxious to get back to a video game.” Luc laughed. “Likely true.” They saddled their horses in silence and led them out of the stables. When they got outside, Luc stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I’m glad you’re here. She’s missed you terribly and those boys need a father. Morgan is good to them, but, well, they need you.” Brent nodded. “Thank you for teaching them how to take care of themselves. From what I can tell, you did a damned good job. Rhett near dropped me yesterday morning.”

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Luc grinned and mounted his horse. “She’s good, but the one you have to watch out for is Tate. The kid is quick, and it’s not just because he’s a wolf.” He turned his horse away from the stables and corral. “Likely all the hand-eye coordination from the video games.” Brent mounted his horse and caught up with Luc. Luc chuckled. “Know your boy already, I see.” “Well, it’s sort of in his DNA. I’m quite a gamer myself, and hell, Michael can whip my ass at video games, not to mention he’s a computer programmer.” They rode along, Luc pointing out things here and there, showing him the ranch, introducing him to the hands. The Bar Mc was a much bigger operation than Brent had first thought. The main source of income was clearly the longhorns that the ranch was famous for, but they also trained and sold a few horses. Much to Brent’s surprise, Clay handled everything related to breeding and breaking the horses. There were also about a dozen cowboys that worked the ranch eight to five, then went home in the evening. Other than Rhett, the boys and Morgan, Luc was the only permanent resident. To say Brent had been on the jealous side when he’d met Luc was an understatement. The man was about his age and while he wasn’t what Brent would call handsome, he reckoned most women would think so. Despite his friendly manner, the man was rough around the edges and a bit distant. After spending time in his company and talking to him, Brent realized that Luc was no threat to his relationship with Rhett. In fact, he found he rather liked the man. How could he not when the man genuinely seemed to like Brent’s family. “What are you going to do about these werewolf hunters? Morgan says Rhett was shot by them.” Luc’s voice brought him out of his musings. “I’m going to destroy them before they destroy my family.” Luc nodded. “Good. I’d like to help.” Brent reined in, looking at the man, judging him. Luc stopped his horse and held up a hand. “Man, I have no designs on your mate. I like Rhett and have a lot of respect for her, but she’s just a friend ... and that’s all she’s ever been.” Brent nodded. He believed him. He was good at reading people, partly innate ability, and partly due to his werewolf senses, but he’d know if the man was lying. Even though the other man had trained with the Green Berets, and thus he’d have likely learned how to lie convincingly, Brent was certain he’d be able to tell. More to the point, he believed Rhett. Rhett had said Luc was a good guy. “I have as much a stake in this as you do. I may not be a wolf like you and your boys, but my family was, and it’s quite possible that I may have kids one day that are, too.” “Consider yourself counted in.” “Good.”

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Rhett came galloping up with a smile on her face and stopped in front of them. “Whoa. Well, what do you think? Do you like it?” Her excitement about the place was contagious. Brent smiled. “Yes, I do. It’s a nice spread. A lot bigger than I thought.” “You haven’t even seen half of it yet.” Luc added. Brent glanced at him. “This place is huge. Have Rhett take you around the perimeter. Assuming, of course, that her saddle will make it all the way.” Rhett stuck her tongue out at Luc. “Oh, shut up, before I fire you!” “There’s a story here, I take it?” Brent asked. It was obvious from Rhett’s reaction and Luc’s mirth that it was a case of the hellion being a hellion. “Oh! It’s not that bad!” Luc just smiled. Brent raised an eyebrow. “Oh, fine!” Rhett huffed. “I was going to jump into the saddle like the cowboys do in all the movies. You know, where they put their hands on the horse’s rump and vault on over into the saddle --” Brent burst out laughing. He could just imagine where this was going! Rhett sighed. “Do you want to hear this or not?” He held up a hand and looked over at Luc, whose shoulders were shaking. “Do I?” “Oh, yeah, definitely, if for no other reason than so I can relive the moment. I like a good laugh.” Brent glanced back at Rhett. Her lips quirked, but she gave a long-suffering sigh. “Well, I’d been trying to get that right for years. So this last month, I get Mona Lisa and put the saddle on her. I’m leading her out and the saddle is just sitting on her back, right? So I finally drop her reins and go around to the side to tighten her girth and get her all ready. Well, it suddenly occurred to me what I’d been doing wrong. You see, no one can jump that high without a springboard. I didn’t have a springboard, so I decided to use a hay bale. Well, it worked! I backed Lisa up to a hay bale, got on the bale, and jumped right on. Only, I’d forgotten to tighten the saddle, and when I jumped on I scared her and she took off ... but my saddle stayed put. Just like in the cartoons, she ran right out from underneath it. My butt hurt for a week!” Brent chuckled. He looked at Luc, “You know what her nickname is?” Luc shook his head. “Hellion.” Luc laughed so hard, he startled his horse. “Oh, yeah, it fits! Have her tell you about the time she decided to jump off the barn roof into the water tank. And when she hung from

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a swing of the hay lift.” He pointed over to the barn. Way up there at the top was a crane of sorts attached to the side. Brent closed his eyes, he didn’t even want to think about it. “Oh, yes, indeed! Thought Morgan was going to have a heart attack. And we won’t even mention Tate standing in the open door behind her, waiting his turn.” Rhett snorted. “Like I’d have let him do it!” Brent groaned. “You are a tattletale, Mr. Ramirez.” Luc grinned at her, then kneed his horse. “Later, Brent. Nice talking to you.” “You, too, Luc.” Rhett jerked her head to the side. “Come on. I’ll show you the rest of the place.” They rode side by side, Rhett chattering away, pointing out things and telling him about her role as ranch manager. Not only was she more at ease here than she had been in the city, but she obviously loved this place. She’d put a lot of hard work into the ranch and had made it her operation. How could he ask her to give all this up? They explored together, just enjoying each other’s company. Around lunchtime they headed back to the house and found their parents had arrived. As they were brushing down their horses, Brent asked about the other hands and was informed that they generally went into town since they had two hours off for lunch. When Brent and Rhett walked up, hand in hand, the family was gathered on the back porch. Morgan and Emilio were standing at the grill, talking while Morgan flipped the burgers. Tate was lounging on a bench built into the porch railing, playing some sort of handheld video game. Clay, Sarah, and Michael were conversing around a big table in the center of the patio. Everyone but Clay waved and said hello. His son was openly glaring at him. Brent sighed, then leaned down closer to Rhett. “What is his deal? Tate and I hit it off immediately, but I don’t even know where to start with Clay.” “I noticed that the other night, too. I’m not sure what his problem is. He’s never been as outgoing as Tate, but he’s not usually so standoffish, either. I’ll have a talk with him.” Brent shook his head. “No, don’t. I’d rather do this on my own.” “You sure?” “Yeah. I was just wondering if you could give me a clue about what’s bothering him about me. I think maybe he blames me for you getting shot.” “What?! That’s just ridiculous. No, that can’t be it. He’s been kind of distant since Tate changed on the last full moon. It took both of them two days to talk to me after that night. Maybe it’s a lingering resentment from that. I just can’t imagine he’d be that way over me being shot.”

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Brent wasn’t so sure. Clay was a teenager, therefore all bets were off. Brent could remember being a teenager, and just because something wasn’t rational didn’t mean you didn’t feel that way. He was going to get through to the boy on his own. He didn’t want or need Rhett running interference. He and the boys were going to have to get along without her around all the time. He pulled her face up and kissed her lightly. “I’ll get him to talk to me. I promise. Just give me some time.” She nodded. They stepped up on the porch. Tate got them two folding lawn chairs and brought them over. “Here, Mom, Dad.” Brent took his chair and Rhett’s. “Thanks, Tate.” “Rhett, are you ready to start looking at pictures?” Michael asked. “Sure, Daddy.” Michael headed inside, “Come with me, and we’ll go get my laptop. You can tell me what you know about TWiTs and where their lab is.” Rhett let go of his hand and followed her father inside. Brent was setting his and Rhett’s chairs up at the table when all hell broke loose. He wasn’t sure what happened, but he heard Clay mumble something as Tate walked by, then the next thing he knew, Clay was on the floor of the deck. “You asshole!” Clay jumped up and tackled Tate right off the porch and onto the gravel.

What the hell? Sarah squeaked, her eyes going wide in surprise. Emilio and Morgan stared, looking at the twins like they’d lost their minds, then Morgan yelled. “Boys! Stop it, right now!” They never even looked up at him, just kept struggling to get the upper hand. Clay was on top of Tate, trying to get a good punch in, but Tate was pretty adept at blocking. Pretty soon, Tate was on top. Brent caught a glimpse of claws on Tate’s next attempted blow and jumped over the railing. He grabbed Tate by the back of the shirt and hauled him off of Clay. When he set the pup on his feet, Tate struggled and turned on him, claws and teeth bared. Brent shook his head slowly, then made eye contact. “I wouldn’t try it, pup. I’ve got about seventy-five pounds and eighteen years on you.” Peripherally, he heard a car pull up and two doors slam. Then someone chuckled. “Need some help, big brother?” Rand asked from behind him. “Nope.” Brent raised an eyebrow at Tate, then at Clay. Clay scoffed, finally finding his feet. He charged Tate, but was brought up short by Rome grabbing him around the chest. “Whoa! Hang on, tiger. I don’t think you want to do that.” Tate struggled against Brent’s grip for a few seconds, then relaxed.

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Brent nodded to Rome. “Let him go. He’s not going to start anything.” He looked directly into Clay’s eyes. “Are you?” Clay pointed at Tate. “He started it.” Brent raised a brow at him. Clay sighed. “No.” “All right. Now, someone tell me what the hell that was all about.” Brent looked at Clay again. “Clayton?” The boy shook his head.

Stubborn little cuss. Brent looked at Tate. The teen’s claws had gone back to normal, but his eyes were still shifted. “Tate, quit glaring at your brother and answer me.” “He called me a suck-up for getting you and Mom a chair, so I kicked his chair out from under him.” Rand chuckled. “Shh ...” Rome slugged Rand. Rand glared at his twin. Brent frowned at them. “Don’t you two even think about starting anything.” He looked back at his boys. “You two apologize and behave yourselves.” They snarled at each other. “Boys.” Tate gave in first. He frowned the whole time, but he finally mumbled out a, “I’m sorry.” Clay rolled his eyes and turned to walk off. Brent grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. “You aren’t leaving until you apologize.” He tried to jerk away. Brent very calmly bent his face close to Clay’s. “Don’t test me, boy.” “Fine!” He snarled at his twin. “I’m sorry!” Brent released him, and he took off running toward the stables. He stared after his son for several seconds, before he turned back to Tate, Rome, and Rand. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Clay was going to drive him to drink, he was sure of it. The boy was as stubborn as his mother. He pointed at Tate. “I better never see you raise claws to your brother again. Do you hear me?” Tate blushed, his eyes finally normal again, and looked down at his feet. “Yes, sir.” Rand stepped forward and clapped Brent on the shoulder. “I was going to ask how you’re doing, but from the looks of things, they could be better, eh?”

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He nodded. “Yeah.” And that was all he was going to say about it. This was between him and Clay; he wasn’t going to drag Rome and Rand into it, too. “Come on. We’re about to eat.” Tate looked at both his uncles and grinned. “Hi.” Rome smiled. “Hey, pup!” Rand ruffled his hair. “I see you are trying to take up where Rome and I left off.” Tate’s brow wrinkled. “Huh?” “Giving your dad gray hair.” Rand smiled over at Brent. Brent couldn’t help but smile back. After he shoved Rand’s head, of course. Sarah greeted the older twins on the porch, hugging them both. “Hi, boys. Glad you made it. Did y’all have any trouble getting off work?” Rand shook his head. “Nope, Diego shoved me out the door and told me to get.” Rome chuckled. “I had to use vacation time, but it wasn’t that big a deal.” Emilio stepped over and slapped each of them on the back and chatted with them for a few seconds. Brent sat down and watched. Wondered what he was going to do about Clay. The back door slammed open and Rhett rushed out, a big smile on her face. “We found the man who shot me!”

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Chapter Eleven Everyone was outside at the patio table except Tate and Clay. Tate was walking around, listening. Michael pulled out his laptop and put on his glasses, then they began to go over all the information he’d gathered in the last year and compared it with what Rhett had learned. Rhett leaned back in her chair to get comfortable. “Daddy, show Rome the picture of that man and see if he recognizes him.” Michael turned his laptop around to face Rome. Rome looked at the computer screen. “No, he doesn’t look familiar. You said he asked for me?” “Yeah. We think he saw Tate and followed us. Tate does look younger, but he appears enough like you that someone who just got a glimpse of him might mistake him for you ... or Rand.” “Yeah, that’s true.” Rhett shrugged and looked at her dad. Michael frowned. “There are probably pictures.” Rome nodded his head. “I don’t remember anyone taking pictures. But I know they had placed someone in the police academy when I was going through. It wouldn’t be hard for someone to get photos of me.” “So they could have taken pictures from a distance, which would explain how someone could mistake the pup ... God only knows how long they watched you before they nabbed you. But what I don’t get is if they’ve had this info all this time, why haven’t they tried to grab you again? Or Rand for that matter? He’d be a much easier target.” “Hey!” Rand protested. “Just because I’m a chef doesn’t mean I’m a wuss.”

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Rhett supposed he must get that a lot. “Not that you’re a pansy or anything, but you aren’t a cop. Anyone besides someone in law enforcement would be an easier target.” Emilio leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “So what’s this about a compound or lab?” “I’m pretty certain that the building I was in for so long was their main building. I talked to several others in there, and they had all been held elsewhere for a short time, then transported there. So I did a search. The person that owns that building also owns several other buildings around Texas. I also did some checking on the free clinic I went to. I’m not totally positive it’s involved with this group because I couldn’t link it to the lab building I was held at, but I just can’t imagine any other way that woman and man could have known about the babies.” Michael hit some keys, frowned a bit and typed some more. “What is the clinic owner’s name?” Morgan leaned forward, putting his arms on the table. “Randal Spotsworth.” Emilio and Michael looked at each other. Michael’s brow wrinkled. “Why does that name sound familiar?” Brent slapped his hand down on the table. “That’s it! That’s our link!” He looked at Michael. “Wasn’t that one of the names of the men in the picture you found? The one with Kat’s doctor. Wasn’t he the guy Jess and Alex saw with Lisa?” Michael hit some more keys, then nodded. “Yeah, it is. I was pretty sure I ran this guy. Why didn’t I find the clinic?” Michael pulled his glasses off, tossed them on the table, and ran his hands down his face. “How about the other building? Who was the owner listed on it?” “Something Gordon. Greg ... Greg Gordon, that’s it!” Rhett answered. Michael slammed his fist down on the table, too. “Fuck!” “What?” Emilio squeezed his shoulder. “I thought Kat’s doctor’s name was Cliffard Gordon?” He grabbed Michael’s glasses and handed them to him. “It was, but his son’s name is Greg! Why the hell didn’t I look into that? It was listed as a textile company. Everything I had on Greg Gordon appeared to be above board. He’s supposedly estranged from his father.” Michael put his glasses back on. “I’m an idiot! I should have looked harder. I shouldn’t have assumed that he wasn’t involved.” Sarah who had been quiet up until this point got up and started massaging Michael’s shoulders. “We all make mistakes. It’s all right. “ Somehow, from the looks on her father’s face, Rhett didn’t think he agreed.

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Rhett looked out the back door in time to see her dad and Emilio ride off on a couple of horses. Brent, Rome, and Rand went to help Morgan, Luc, and the boys feed animals, so she’d gone looking for Sarah. Rhett found her with her arms propped up on the corral fence staring after her Michael and Emilio. Rhett walked over to her and leaned against the gate in a pose identical to Sarah’s. “Why didn’t you go with them?” Sarah shrugged. “I didn’t want to be a third wheel.” Rhett snorted. “Yeah, like you’d really be imposing. They love you; they wouldn’t have minded you going.” Sarah looked at her, startled. She grinned. “Yeah, I know.” “Morgan told you?” “No. Well, not exactly. I’ve known for a long time. But Morgan did tell me the circumstances of my birth, why Dad married my mother and why Morgan subsequently cut him off.” Sarah blinked. She looked stunned, like she didn’t know how to respond. “Thank you. If you hadn’t been in his corner, he probably would have caved in to Uncle Morgan and Emilio, and then we’d never have had Rome and Rand.” “You’re welcome. Sometimes I regret it, but then I just think about you and the twins and I don’t feel quite so guilty.” She blinked back tears, then leaned into Rhett, bumping their shoulders. “What do you regret, Mom? Why do you feel guilty?” Sarah stood there quietly for several minutes, the tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. She reached up and dashed them away, but didn’t look at Rhett. “Michael was so young. Sometimes I feel like I sacrificed his happiness for my own. I wanted another baby so badly. I should have just been grateful for the fact that I had Brent and let it go, but I couldn’t.” She shook her head and dabbed at her eyes again. “I just had to have a baby that looked like Michael, too. Emilio didn’t care as long as it didn’t bother Michael. And it didn’t seem to; he was happy. He pretty much took Brent over, as soon as I had him.” She grinned. “Did you know that he put off going to college so that Emilio and I could go, and he could watch Brent? He didn’t want strangers raising Brent. He even got up in the middle of the night with him and everything. Emilio used to get up in the dark and find Michael passed out on the couch with Brent sound asleep on his chest and an empty baby bottle in his hand ...” Rhett smiled, she could just picture the scene. Her dad had always been so good with babies. She remembered him with her twin brothers. “Well, I can’t regret it. I’m glad things happened the way they did, or I wouldn’t be here. And besides, Mom, he made the decision to marry Lindsay, not you.”

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“I know, but I pressured him. Emilio was so mad at me. He was certain that we could win a custody battle and keep you without Michael having to marry her, but I just couldn’t chance it. I know deep down Michael had real doubts, too, so I pushed. I made sure he knew how we could keep you for sure. Lindsay just wanted his trust fund and really that’s all she got, but oh, Emilio was livid. I thought for sure he was going to divorce me.” For the first time in the conversation, Sarah looked at her. She reached out and caressed Rhett’s cheek. “He didn’t stay mad long. Emilio took to you immediately; I think you looking so much like Michael helped with that. Then you did the rest on your own.” She smiled and leaned forward and kissed Rhett on the nose. “I love you and the twins and can’t imagine my life without the three of you. I just wish that all of you were mine instead of hers and that I didn’t have to put your daddy through hell to get you.” Rhett kissed her back. “I love you, too, Mom, and for the record, we are yours. What’s done is done. We all have regrets; trust me, I’m the authority on regrets.” Sarah laughed. “Yes, I imagine you are. But you’re right, what’s done is done and we have to move on. We can’t go back in time and change things, as much as we might sometimes want to.” That was very true, but over the years it hadn’t stopped Rhett from wishing she’d owned a time machine ... especially during the past month.

***** It was just getting dark but the moon was cooperating, lighting their way as they rode side by side, enjoying the land and each other’s company. Rhett loved riding horses. She wondered if being in wolf form and running with the pack was anything like it. Could it even compare? She’d find out this weekend, she supposed. Oddly, she was looking forward to it. It had always been something she couldn’t share with Brent, but now she probably could. If she’d even once thought of the possibility that women could be changed, she would have tried to convince him to attempt it with her years ago. Now, she likely wouldn’t have to be away from him if she didn’t want to be, ever again, even on the night of the full moon. She wouldn’t have to worry about being a hindrance to him; she would be able to heal wounds as easily as he could ... It was kind of weird, though. She didn’t feel any different. Would the increased senses come after she changed? Brent was quiet, thoughtful. He was the only person she knew who she could share a comfortable silence with. Even with the boys, she felt like she had to make conversation. But not Brent. They used to just sit out and stare at the stars or the clouds, or take long drives with the windows down, enjoying the wind in their hair and being together.

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He seemed to be at ease here, and he did know his way around horses. Would he be happy to stay? Would she? She loved it here, but she wanted to be near her dad and brothers, Emilio and Sarah, too. “Brent? What do we do now?” He shrugged. “You tell me. You and the boys live here. You know this place better than me. I was a toddler the last time I visited.” “Not that. Us.” Brent reined in and looked at her. “What do you mean, honey? What’s bothering you?” The problem was, she didn’t know what she wanted, where she wanted to live. The city still made her nervous. She felt like she had to always be on guard. She’d worry constantly over the boys and Brent, but she’d do that anywhere, not just there. She only knew that she wanted to be with him. How could she ask him to make a decision? “Where are we going to live?” He leaned over and kissed her. “Where do you want to live? I can probably transfer if you want to stay here.” Rhett gasped. He’d always been generous, but she hadn’t expected such easy acceptance. He must have read it on her face. “Ah, honey, you still don’t get it, do you? As long as we are together, that’s all that matters. If being out here makes you feel more secure, then I’ll move out here.” She didn’t even have words to express her feelings. She just nodded abruptly and nudged her horse. “Come on. Let’s go to the stock tank over the hill and let the horses drink.” He followed her. “I don’t have to go back anytime soon. I took a leave of absence until we get things settled, but I can go ahead and put in for a transfer, if that’s what you want.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think it’s only right that the boys and I come to you. But I’m scared. I’ve protected them all their lives, and I can’t let something happen to them now. I can’t let them take my babies, Brent, or you. I feel safer here. Like I’ll be able to see those monsters coming.” They arrived at the stock tank and pulled their horses to a halt. Brent jumped off his mount and walked over and helped her off hers. “We’ll find them, honey. They aren’t going to get the boys, or any of us, for that matter.” She sighed and laid her head on his chest. “It was awful. I must sound as crazy and fanatical as they do, but I want them all dead. I don’t want them to be able to hurt anyone else ever again. I should have fought a long time ago. I never should have run. I should have told the pack about them. If I had they might be gone now.”

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Brent pulled her back and looked at her. He shook his head. “I won’t lie to you. I wouldn’t have made the same decisions you did, and I wish like hell you hadn’t taken off, but you did what you thought was best at the time. You were protecting your children.” “But if I hadn’t tried to handle everything on my own, if I hadn’t been such a coward and --” Brent put his finger to her lips. “Shh ... you can’t change the past and you aren’t a coward. Not many people could have done what you did. You were a pregnant teenager, yet you still managed to take care of yourself and do what you thought was best for your children and your mate.” “But I didn’t, don’t you see? I had to run here, to Uncle Morgan, for help.” “Honey, no more. It’s over and done with. I may never agree with it, but I understand your reasons for what you did. Hell, in the same situation, it’s possible I’d have done the same thing. I want you to stop dwelling on it, Rhett. We have other issues and problems to solve. We don’t need any more.” She nodded. He was right. She couldn’t change it. She had to let it go, or she’d drive herself crazy. “The list seems to keep growing.” “Tell me about it. Such as, stop TWiTs.” “Figure out where to live.” “Get Clay to actually talk to me without being forced to.” “Get married.” Brent grinned down at her. “Yeah, get married. Teach you and Tate how to be decent respectable wolves, so you can take care of yourselves.” “Respectable, huh?” “Yep. Well, you, at least, Tate’s okay.” “And just what is that supposed to mean?” “You’re a troublemaker. I won’t be able to leave you by yourself, for fear of what you’ll get into. If there are any other packs around here, you’re likely to start a turf war or something. Or get caught in a trap, or hit by a car or, hell, the possibilities are endless.” She snorted. She wasn’t that bad. Okay, so she’d done some wacky things over the years but, good grief, he made her sound like an idiot. “What have I ever done that was so bad?” “There was getting us both snake bit when we were kids. Then there was the time I let you drive my car and you got out and forgot to put it in park ...” Brent walked over to the pond and picked up a rock, skipping it across the water. Rhett slapped her forehead, she’d forgotten all about those events. “Then there was the time we went out to eat and you threw the ketchup bottle across the restaurant and hit the waitress.”

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“Oh, come on! That was an accident! I was trying to get the lid off, and it slipped!” He peeked over his shoulder at her, a smug smile on his face, then turned back to the pond. “Honey, they are always accidents.” She ran toward him, put her hands in the middle of his back and shoved, putting all her weight into it. Brent came up out of the stock tank, spitting out water. “I can’t believe you just did that.” His voice was calm and even. He slowly started wading his way back to the bank.

Oh, shit! “It was an accident!” Rhett took off running, jumped on her horse and hauled ass back to the ranch house. Brent was right behind her the whole way. She ran through the house, ignoring the gathering curious stares from her family. She almost ran into Clay, who was coming down the stairs as she was going up. “Clay, baby, I love you! I’ll owe you big time if you’ll go unsaddle Mona Lisa for me.” She heard the front door open and her brothers start to laugh. She didn’t wait for her son’s answer, just bounded up the stairs, calling a quick, “Thank you, sweetie,” over her shoulder. Just as she reached her bedroom door, she heard footsteps behind her, followed by Clay’s bark of laughter. She lost precious seconds wrestling with her doorknob. As soon as she got the door open, she darted inside. During the process of shutting it again, it stopped about halfway and wouldn’t budge. Brent’s wet head popped through the opening. “Going somewhere, Hellion?” “Shit, shit, shit!” Rhett let go of the door and made a break for it. She ran around the other side of the room, intent on using the bed as a barrier, when it registered that he was no longer in pursuit. He locked the door and turned around to face her slowly, a sinister grin on his handsome face. Uh oh! “Now, Brent ...” “Yes, honey?” He pulled his wet shirt over his head, those sleek chest muscles flexing as he worked to get the soaking cloth off. Rhett swallowed, her pussy growing moist. Damn, the man was fine! He let the shirt drop to the floor with a sopping plop, then leaned against the door and pulled off one boot, then the other. His green eyes sparkled up at her, watching her watch him. God, he was sexy! Just the thought of what was going to happen once he got those dripping clothes off had her whimpering. His socks followed, and still he watched her. “You were saying something, Hellion?” “I was?” Damn, her throat was dry.

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He unsnapped his jeans and shimmied out of them and his underwear, too. Oh, God! That gorgeous thick cock was already hard and ready for her. It bounced a bit as he tugged his pants all the way off. Her pussy muscles clenched in anticipation. Brent looked around the room, his gaze passing the dresser, then snapping back. Her gaze shot to where his had been and saw the handcuffs lying on the dresser, where he’d laid them the day before. She whimpered again. He got the cuffs and slowly stalked around the bed toward her. She couldn’t take her eyes off him; he was beautiful in the way he moved, so predatory, like a tiger hunting prey. And, hot damn, she was his prey! Maybe he’d devour her when he caught her. “Why don’t you make this easy, honey? Be a good girl and strip, and get on the bed.” She wanted to -- more than just about anything in the world at the moment -- but running would be so much more fun. Being caught would be even better. Rhett darted toward the bed. She was planning to go across it to the other side, but she never made it. He caught her foot. He chuckled, and it sounded sexy and wicked and amused all rolled into one. She put up a token struggle, but it was so obviously fake, he laughed. He pulled off her boots and socks, then her jeans and panties. Her pussy was so sensitive even the cool air felt good. She shivered. Brent sniffed, and he closed his eyes. “Damn, baby, I can smell you.” When he lifted his lids, the green of his eyes had swallowed up most of the white; she knew he was seeing in monochrome. The thought that she could make him lose just an inkling of control over his instincts was a huge turn-on. He crawled onto the bed and straddled her waist. His cock was just begging for her attention. She reached out and clasped him and was rewarded with a hiss. Then he grabbed her shirt and bra and yanked them off. Rhett squeaked, arching her back, feeling her erect nipples stab into the air. Before she could get that gorgeous prick in her hands again, he pulled her hands over her head, cuffing one wrist, locking it through the headboard, then cuffing the other. She moaned. “What, honey? You want this?” He grabbed his cock, jerking it twice, then leaned forward to run the slick tip against her belly. “Oh, God!” Her pussy squeezed tight. She could feel her moisture seep out, tickling as it dripped slowly down her crease. He grinned, a knowing look on his face, and slid up her body. His erection came to rest between her breasts. He took his dick in hand, rubbing it across one breast, then the other. “You have any lube, Hellion?” She answered without thought, her gaze glued to his prick. She nodded dazedly. “Top drawer of the nightstand.” He slid off her and reached for the drawer, pulled it open. “Oh, fuck!” He looked back at her and blinked, then that almost evil smile was back. “Damn, baby!”

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Rhett’s eyes widened; she’d just told him where her toy drawer was. She shouldn’t be embarrassed; after all, they had done pretty much anything you could think of as teenagers, but she was. She closed her eyes and waited. A cool weight was set on her stomach, followed by another. Rhett opened her eyes and groaned. Of course, he had picked the biggest dildo in the drawer. He was smiling down at her like he’d won the lottery. “Are you ready for your payback, Hellion?” She nodded, causing the bottle of lube to roll off her belly. Oh, Lord, yes! Please pay

me back! Get even! Brent grabbed the lube and moved down her body, settling between her legs. “Brent?” “Yes, honey?” “Did you have to get the biggest one?” “Uh huh.” He spread her open with his fingers and took a long, leisurely lick, then another. She was so sensitive, her legs were already quivering. He suckled her clit and began to fuck her with a finger. She was on the cusp of coming when he pulled back and grinned at her. “Not yet.” He grabbed the red cock-shaped dildo off her stomach and slicked it up with the lube, then winked. “Maybe this time.” Oh, no! She’d wondered how this was supposed to be payback, and now she knew. He was going to torment her by dragging out the pleasure. The blunt tip pressed against her then filled her inch by inch. God, it was big! It stretched her so wide. “Shh ...” Brent’s other hand smoothed over her tummy as he bent and sucked at her clit again. It was absolute heaven. Before she knew it, he had the dildo’s entire nine-inch length inside her and was fucking her with it. She closed her eyes and relaxed, enjoying the feeling of being stretched so wide. He pulled his mouth away from her and continued to move the dildo slowly in and out. “That has got to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” The awe in his voice made her open her eyes. He was staring, his eyes still in lupine mode, and his fangs peeked out of the corners of his mouth. He looked so captivated, watching himself fuck her with the toy. Her inner muscles tightened, started to spasm. She was so close, she arched her back trying to make him move faster. “Brent, please ...” “Please what, honey?” “Faster.” “Like this?” He picked up a steady rhythm.

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Just as her body began to stiffen, to shake, he stopped. “Argh!” She glared at him. He was going to drive her insane. She needed to come so badly. He didn’t give her time to come all the way down, even though she was still really close to peaking. Instead, he tossed the toy aside and came to his knees between her legs. She reached for him but was stopped by the handcuffs. She’d forgotten all about them. Damn it! She was at his mercy. Brent slid up her torso, smiling. “Problems, Hellion?” She blinked and made a little whimpering sound. “You are an evil, evil man, Mr. Hernandez!” He chuckled and moved up until he was straddling her chest. He dropped forward on one hand and caught his prick in the other. He rubbed the tip across the underside of her breasts. She gasped, looking down at his cock. “What are you going to do?” “What I’d planned from the beginning.” He sat back and looked around for the lube. He snagged it and held it up, taunting her with it. “Know where this is going?” Rhett nodded. “I have a pretty good idea, yeah.” Her whole chest was flushed with arousal. Brent snapped the cap open and squirted a line of the slick stuff between her breasts, then tossed it aside. He pinched the hard little nipples and rolled them between his thumbs and forefingers. Rhett moaned and closed her eyes. He positively ached with need at the picture she made. Precome was running down his shaft and his balls were pulled taut. Leaning forward on one hand again he gripped his shaft with the other. He had the sudden urge to paint her lips with his cock. She always did that herself when she sucked dick. She ran the head over her lips like she was applying lipstick. Brent crawled up her body. He smoothed his leaking tip over her lips, painting them with his come. Rhett opened her mouth and flicked her tongue over the end and then her lips, tasting his seed. Her eyes opened, and she raised her head trying to suck him in. No way was he going to last if she did. He moved back, shaking his head at her. Trying to act like he was unaffected. If she had any idea how close to coming he was, the little devil would torture him with it and turn the tables on him. He slid back even with her breasts and positioned his cock in the valley between them. He squeezed the lush mounds together creating a tunnel, then slowly fucked her breasts.

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Rhett gasped and arched her back. Her tongue flicked the tip each time it got close enough. “Ah ...” He closed his eyes and enjoyed the slick feel of her skin and the soft, breathy moans she made. “Brent, pinch my nipples.” “Oh, fuck!” His whole body started to tingle; his balls drew up, trying to wring the semen right out of him. He let go of her breasts and fell forward, catching himself on his hands. Damn her! How sad was it that she could almost make him come with her words alone? He took several deep even breaths trying to regain his composure. Thankfully the little imp didn’t start talking dirty to him, which she had been known to do. When he was sure he wouldn’t blow his load from just her voice he sat up and opened his eyes. God she was something. Her breasts slick with lube, her chest rising and falling with each breath. She caught his gaze and smiled. “Okay, I’m sorry for pushing you in the water. Will you just ...” Oh, God! There she went with the talking again! Brent scooted down her body and grabbed her hips, hoping to shut her up, because if she started begging it was over. Brent gripped her bottom in both hands and lifted her, sinking that thick, hot prick into her as he did so. “Ahh ...” Her cunt tightened around him, trying to hold him there. “Oh, fuck! Honey! You feel so good around me.” Rhett smiled; it was all she could do. Her whole body was currently a giant ball of bliss. He lowered his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth. Pleasure shot from her breast to her pussy, making her clench her inner muscles. Brent let go ... thank God! He sat back up and began to thrust into her, hard and fast. She came, with a ragged groan. Her whole body contracted and tensed, even her spine tingled. Brent reached out and pinched her clit between his fingers as he continued to fuck her. The wet slapping sounds of their bodies was loud in her ears. Combined with Brent’s soft moans and grunts, it was like music. God, she loved this man! She barely relaxed from one orgasm before he forced her headlong into another. “That’s it, Rhett. One more.” She shook her head, only half comprehending. “Come for me one more time.” His fingers plucked at her clit again. Rhett instantly spasmed once more. “Brent!”

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He stiffened above her, his wolf eyes meeting hers as he came, spilling himself inside her. He mouthed the words, “I love you” before he collapsed on her. Several minutes later, when they could both manage to breathe without gasping, Brent raised his head. His eyes and teeth had gone back to normal. He got up and found his cuff keys and released her hands. She was so relaxed that she left her hands where they were. Brent leaned over her, frowning. “What?” Dang, was that her voice? It sounded so rusty. “This was supposed to be payback.” She grinned and closed her eyes, it was all she could manage before she fell into a deeply sated sleep.

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Chapter Twelve The day of the full moon Brent was out riding with Tate and having a great time. The kid was really a lot of fun. He was smart and funny and he made Brent proud; he was a good kid. Rhett had done a hell of a fine job raising him. If only he could just get his other son to bond with him, too, then he’d be truly content. Well, that, and maybe getting rid of TWiTs. Brent sighed. Taking care of the latter would go a long way toward making Rhett and the rest of the pack less paranoid. “What was that for?” Tate asked. “The sigh?” Tate nodded. “Just thinking.” “What about?” “Your mother. She is absolutely the most stubborn person I know.” “Yeah, I know. Clay is just like her in that respect.” “Oh, great! That’s all I need.” Tate chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Dad. He’ll come around. To be honest ... I think he’s just feeling a little left out.” “Why? He’s only left out because he wants to be.” “No, I mean about not being a wolf.” Brent blinked. What? “I got the impression he wasn’t too keen on the fact that you and I are wolves.” “Yeah, that’s what he’s saying, but I know my brother. I think he’s confused. I think down deep he wants to be a wolf. But I know he has some real worries about this group

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Mom is so terrified of.” He shrugged. “To be honest, he’s not the only one. It’s not easy watching your mother dying.” Brent winced. “No, I can’t imagine that it is. I know it damned sure wasn’t a pleasant experience for me.” “There is some resentment there. You know what I mean?” “I guess I can sort of see that. As though if it weren’t for me and my genes, your mother would have never been shot in the first place? But the fact is, y’all may have very well gotten the gene from her instead of me.” “Hmm. Well I hadn’t really meant resentment that way. But I guess that works. I was actually thinking that if Clay didn’t take Mom’s side he’d have to admit that maybe her keeping us from you wasn’t really necessary.” Brent looked at him, suddenly gaining more insight to his son. “You don’t think she was right in keeping away?” Tate raised a brow. “Do you?” “Hell, no!” Tate laughed. “No, I don’t think she was right. I understand her reasons, but I think it was the worst thing she could have done. Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away. Sheltering someone to that point sets them up for disaster.” “How the hell did you get so damned smart?” Tate shrugged. “What can I say? Clay got the looks, I got the brains.” Brent chuckled and shook his head. “You know, I always considered myself to be the smart one and Rome and Rand to be the pretty ones.” They both laughed, then the pup rode along beside him in silence for a few minutes before glancing at him. “We’ve both wanted to meet you for longer than I can remember. Clay even concocted a scheme to find you once, when we were about ten. But Mom found out and nipped it in the bud.” Whoa! Brent felt happy and sad and ... God, he’d missed out on so much. Already he loved Tate and Clay and would do absolutely anything for them. He’d never realized that someone other than Rhett could affect him so deeply. “I don’t know what to say, Tate.” “You don’t have to say anything. I just thought you should know.” “Thank you. If it’s any consolation, if I’d known ...” Tate nodded. “Yeah, I already figured that out.” “Good! I wish Clay would.” “Give him time. He won’t sulk forever.” “I guess he’ll have to talk to me when he changes, eh?” “Huh? You think Clay’s a wolf?” “Yeah, I do. He smells like pack.”

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“He does?” “Yeah, he does. Just because he hasn’t changed yet doesn’t mean he won’t.” “How does pack smell?” He shrugged. “I don’t know, different. Next time you’re around everyone, pay attention to smell. Everyone has a different scent, but there is an underlying smell to wolves. You’ll notice the same smell in yourself, me, Clay, my dad, and Michael. But you’ll notice that my mom, your mom, and your uncle Morgan don’t have that same vague underlying scent.” “But shouldn’t Mom have that scent? You gave her blood.” He hadn’t thought of that until Tate brought it up. But Tate was right; she should smell like pack and she didn’t. “I would have thought so, yeah. But maybe because she’s my mate, it’s different or something. I’ll have to ask Dash and Jill about that; they’re our researchers.” “Why so much research? Why isn’t that sort of thing known?” “I don’t know exactly. But my best guess would be that in an effort to keep ourselves a secret from the general population, we’ve lost a lot of information over the years. Our older generations didn’t keep records. And with groups like TWiTs out there, I can’t say that I blame them. But we also need to know ourselves better, not just the instincts and how to be a wolf, but scientific data.” “So the pack is researching us?” “Well, yeah, basically. Alex has appointed Dash and Jill -- Jill mostly; Dash seems to have developed an aversion to needles -- to do research. We need to know how things work the way they do and why. Actually, it seems quite a fitting job for our generation. Our Alpha and one of our Betas are doctors. And being a pathologist’s kid, I have to admit an interest in biology myself.” “You’re a Beta?” “I am.” “How does that work?” “You mean like what is my job? Or how did I get the job?” “Both.” “Well, I was sort of born to the job. I’m not sure how other packs work, but with us, we didn’t want to fight for it. Adrian or I could easily be Alpha, we’re every bit as strong as Alex. But Alex is the oldest, so it only seems right he should lead. A Beta is basically second in command. Adrian and I split the job. Adrian usually does more of the executive type stuff -- thank God -- deciding things with Alex, and I generally end up enforcing Alex’s decisions.” “Ah.” His son was quiet, thoughtful, for several moments. “So you really think he’ll change?” Brent blinked. “What?”

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“Clay. You really think Clay is a wolf, too? “ “Yeah. I do. He smells different from non-wolves. Even the ones that have the gene and don’t change.” “That’s really fuc-- freaking cool.” Brent laughed. “What am I going to do about you and your language?” Tate shrugged. “Just let it go, and let me talk how I want?” “I don’t think so. But nice try.” Tate chuckled. Then he sobered and looked over at him. “Seriously, Dad. That’s cool. I don’t like not sharing things with my brother.” “Sheesh! Twins! You’re all alike. Oh, well, I guess I’ll keep y’all anyway. After all, I put up with Rome and Rand all these years. I’m quite versed in twin idiosyncrasies.” “Hmm ...” “Hmm, what?” “So does that mean we are living here or are we going back to your house?” Wow. That was a loaded question if ever he’d heard one. He wished he knew the answer. “What do you want to do?” “I don’t know. I like it here. But, well, it doesn’t really matter to me. I can adjust. But Clay ...” Yeah, that’s what he figured. Clay wasn’t going to adjust well to moving. That was it. They were staying. He’d inform Rhett when they got back to the ranch house. Tate laughed. “You have the same look on your face that Clay gets when he decides something earth-shattering.” Yeah, and it felt good. He liked it here. More importantly, it was going to be less traumatic for his sons to stay here. “I did. We’re staying here. I’m going to call work when we get back and try to arrange a transfer.” “You talk to Mom about that?” “Yeah.” “And?” Brent groaned and glared at the boy. “We never actually came to a decision.” “But you just did ... on your own?” “Uh, yeah.” “You are a brave man!” Tate held up a hand and grinned. The smart ass! Brent grinned back and gave him a high five. “Come on, I’ll race ya to the barn.” They galloped all the way back to the house. It was clear that Tate was a great horseman. He was also very competitive. Every time he saw Brent getting too close, he tried to cut him off.

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Brent hadn’t had so much fun in a very long time. The only thing that would have made it better was if Clay had joined them. The house came into view and Tate reined in. “Whoa!” Brent stopped his horse beside Tate’s. Alex’s truck pulled to a stop and he, Adrian and Dash all stepped out. Brent smiled. Guess they had all decided to come spend the full moon with them.

***** Rhett leaned back into Brent’s arms on the couch and watched the guys goof off. They were catching up and waiting for everyone to shift. So far no one had been inclined to do so. No one wanted to leave, it would seem, but she knew that wouldn’t last. Dash was not strong enough to hold off his change -- she remembered that much -- and she wasn’t sure about her brothers. Tate was still new enough at changing that he couldn’t hold off long either. Although she could already tell he’d eventually be strong like his father and the rest of the Hernandez men. Her own father was just as strong -- she suspected Rome and Rand were, too -- so Tate had strong genes going for him. Tate was on the floor roughhousing with Emilio, Michael, and Rand. It had started out with Tate teasing “Uncle Emilio” -- now being referred to as “Uncle Grandpa” -- and somehow had ended up with the four of them on the floor in a large, tangled pile. She wasn’t really sure how her dad and Rand had gotten involved, but she liked the sight of them all at play. Rhett was so happy and amused at their antics that a chuckle welled up and escaped. Brent kissed her cheek. “What are you thinking?” “I forgot how happy my family always made me. I’ve missed the playfulness and the fun we had ... You know, I can’t remember the last time I was really, really content.” “Honey, that’s sad.” He tipped her head up, making her meet his eyes, then kissed her lips. “Okay, folks. I’m done. Stick a fork in me. I’m changing. Who’s coming with me?” Dash stood up from the recliner and stretched. Alex, who’d been sitting on the floor watching the others, arched his back and got to his feet, too. “I’m coming.” Adrian joined the other two. “Me, too.” He looked at Rhett and cocked a brow. “Well? Anything?” She shook her head. “Nope, nothing. No sudden urges to chase cars or sniff butts.” Adrian groaned. Everyone else laughed. Adrian finally grinned and shook his head. “God help us all when you and Jess get together on a regular basis.”

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Alex smacked him. “What is that supposed to mean? Like Kat doesn’t get in to a fair amount of trouble herself.” He snorted and walked off. “Not my Kitten! She’s an angel! It’s that imp you’re married to that drags her into mischief.” There was a smile in Adrian’s voice as he followed Alex out of the room. Rhett chuckled. “Is Jessica really that bad?” It was Brent she asked, but Rome who answered. “Oh, Lord, yes! She doesn’t actually mean to get into trouble, but she just can’t seem to help herself. And, sadly, she has rubbed off on not only Kat, but Marisa, too.” “I knew I liked her when I met her the other day. She sounds like fun.” Rome grinned. “She is that. One thing for sure is that with Jess around there is never a dull moment at family gatherings.” The quartet rolling about the floor finally tired themselves out and were lying on their backs and catching their breaths. Rome stood up and nudged Rand with his foot. “C’mon, let’s go. I’m tired of being cooped up.” Rand sat up and reached a hand to his twin, allowing Rome to pull him to his feet. He glanced down at Tate. “Wanna come with us, pup?” Tate’s eyes brightened even more, and he smiled. He glanced over at Rhett. “Can I?” It was Brent who responded. “Go for it. But make sure you stay with them -- no running off by yourself.” Rhett wasn’t sure about this. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her brothers, but she didn’t know them well as adults, not the way she did Brent and their dads. Apparently, Michael must have read the anxiety on her face, because he nodded at her. “Tate will be fine with Rome and Rand. At home, they’re sort of the unofficial pack teachers and take the pack’s pups out with them quite a bit. They even help train some of the new pups in control.” He looked up at his twins. “Make sure you watch him.” Rome nodded. Rand grabbed Tate in a headlock. “We got it! The pup is going to stay right with us and listen to everything we say. Aren’t you, pup?” “Yes,” Tate squeaked, then dug his fingers into Rand’s ribs. Rand released Tate, laughed, and held his hands up in an innocent gesture. “Okay, Okay!” Rome caught Rhett’s gaze with his. “We’ll take care of him. You have my word. And we won’t let him hunt the cattle.” She chuckled. “Y’all be careful.” After her dad’s reassurance, she felt much better about the whole thing now. Rome grabbed his twin and his nephew by the back of their necks and led them -- both protesting -- out of the room.

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Rhett looked over at the end of the couch to find Clay scowling fiercely. She supposed he was feeling a bit left out. Tate had taken to everyone so quickly and they to him, but Clay remained almost aloof. Maybe part of it was that everything was still so new for him. He’d gone from not even knowing werewolves existed to being related to them in an instant, and he didn’t have the wonder of discovering his wolf self, like Tate, to distract him. She touched his leg with her big toe. “You all right?” Face slightly pale, he closed his eyes and nodded. Emilio got upright and stretched his hands over his head. “They’ll be fine, honey. Rome and Rand are both very responsible and will watch over Tate, not to mention Michael and I will be around, as will the others. We’ll keep him safe, teach him what he needs to know.” He winked at her and kicked Michael’s ankle. “Let’s go, old man.” Michael snorted and stood. “Better watch who you’re calling old.” He ruffled Clay’s hair on the way by the couch. “See you in the morning, pup.” Clay’s face still looked pinched, but he smiled. “I’ll be here. Y’all have fun.” Rhett held back a sigh. Why wouldn’t Clay open up? She squeezed Brent’s thighs, which were resting under her hands, and leaned her head back against his chest. It felt so good to be with him. Brent encircled her with his arms, squeezing her in a hug and nuzzled her neck. “How are you, honey? You feel any different? Itchy under the skin? Nervous energy?” “No. I don’t feel different at all. I don’t think I’m going to change, Brent. How can that be? Are you sure you gave me blood?” He nipped her jaw. “Yep, absolutely positively, one-hundred percent sure. Right Clay?” Brent nipped her jawbone again and looked at his son. “Clay?” The teen looked up, his eyes glazed. “Huh?” A trickle of sweat ran down Clay’s temple. He reached up and scratched his face where the sweat had been. He looked even more pale than before. Was he getting sick? She sensed Brent’s scrutiny of Clay, his close attention to their son. She tensed. There was clearly something not right. “What’s wrong?” Brent patted her leg. “He’s okay. I think he’s holding back.” Huh? “Holding back? Holding back what?” “From shifting.” He got up from behind Rhett and walked over to the other end of the couch. Rhett thought she heard him say, “Very fucking impressive,” then he reached down and began to knead Clay’s shoulders. Clay stiffened at first, but he didn’t try to pull away. “It’s hard to breathe.” Brent started massaging his temples. “I bet. Try and relax, go with it.”

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She sat forward, studying Clay’s face. “You think Clay can change? How could he possibly hold back to this extent? Tate tried, but he already had parts shifting by this point.” “Yup, that is exactly what I think. I’d say he’s probably stronger than Tate, or more likely he has better self-control. How many full moons has this been going on?” She shrugged. Clay had felt bad and went to bed early last month, the night Tate had changed for the first time, but she’d attributed that to his anger with her and his brother’s sudden shifting. Come to think about it, he had been kind of sickly the previous month, too. “The past two months, maybe more. But definitely the last two.” Clay finally looked up at Brent and spoke. “I’m not a werewolf, Brent.” Brent laughed. “Oh, yes, you are, boy. A really freakin’ strong one at that. I can’t believe you can already resist the moon’s pull.” Clay shook his head. “I just don’t feel good, that’s all. Don’t you think I’d change if I could? I’m not a wolf.” “You are. What’s bothering you and where?” “My stomach is queasy and my head hurts.” “Uh huh. The morning after, do you have a horrendous headache?” Yes, he did. Rhett remembered that much. “He slept most of the day last month and nothing got rid of his headache -- not aspirin, Tylenol, or Motrin.” Brent winked at her, then squatted down next to Clay. “Listen to me. If you stop fighting against it and just relax, it will stop hurting. And I promise you that you will shift. I know I’m not wrong about this.” “I can’t.” “Yes, you can. Lie down on the floor and close your eyes. I know it’s a little weird and scary, but it’s also the most natural thing in the world if you let it happen. There is no pain if you go with it.” Clay looked skeptical. Brent got back up and stepped out of the way. “Quit being so damned stubborn. Please.” Clay gave in and lay down on the floor, then closed his eyes. Slowly, his face relaxed and his body seemed to lose its tension, too. Then his face began to elongate, and hair began to sprout on his arms and face. Rhett gaped. She’d seen her dad, Emilio, and Brent change a lot when she was younger. She’d even coached Tate through it when it had happened last month, but she really hadn’t expected Clay to change, too. She glanced down at her own arms. Nothing. Why hadn’t she changed yet? She wasn’t in any pain. “Don’t fight it, pup.” Brent’s voice brought her focus back to her son.

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Brent was kneeling beside Clay, a big smile on his face. “There. See? Be still; let me get all this off you.” He began to peel Clay’s clothes away until a black wolf came into view. Clay’s startled green eyes looked up at Brent, then darted to her. She beamed at him and glanced at Brent, whose smile was even bigger than before. Her mate reached out tentatively and Clay pounced, knocking him flat on his back. Rhett started to jump to his rescue, then noticed Clay’s tail was wagging furiously. He licked Brent’s face. Rhett almost got teary eyed. Not only was it nice to see Clay so happy, but it was wonderful to find him finally accepting Brent. She just hoped it would last. Brent laughed and rolled Clay off him, then came to his feet. “You make a hell of a good looking wolf, pup.” Clay grabbed his pants leg and growled, shaking his head back and forth. Brent laughed harder and tugged his leg back, playing tug-o-war. “Don’t rip my jeans.” The pup growled again, gave his head one more good shake and let go. He sat back and barked at Brent. Rhett chuckled. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Clay so playful. Her son ran to her and sat down again, peering up at her. His tail wagged so hard, she was surprised he hadn’t knocked himself over. She scratched behind his ears. He barked, then spun around and looked back at Brent. She stared, too. Brent was grinning from ear to ear. He came to her and pulled her into his arms. “What about you, honey? You aren’t going to change are you?” He looked puzzled. She shook her head. “No, I’m pretty sure I’m not. Do you think maybe it takes a while and I’ll have to wait until next month?” “I don’t think so. Whenever people are attacked, they change the very next full moon, even when they’ve been attacked the night before. I think the only exceptions are if they are bitten the night of the full moon and if they haven’t reached puberty. Like Julian; he didn’t change until he was sixteen or thereabouts.” Clay flipped her hand up with his nose, then stared at Brent expectantly. She reached down and petted his head. “I think someone wants to go hunt.” Brent kissed her forehead. “Will you be okay if I take him?” Clay’s head swung from his father to her. “Yes, go. Take him to join the others. He’s ready.” Brent looked unsure, but he finally relented. “Okay, but if you need --” She put her hand to his lips. She was a little nervous that she might actually shift while alone, but she was not going to keep Clay from enjoying his first change. This would also be

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a great opportunity for bonding between him and Brent. “Go. I’m fine. Uncle Morgan is upstairs if I need anything.” “Okay.” Brent lifted his shirt over his head. As usual, whenever possible, he was without shoes, so he immediately started on his pants, unsnapping them and pushing them down. “We’ll be back in the morning. Maybe tonight. Leave your bedroom door open so I can get in.” He wiggled his finger. “No opposable thumbs, remember.” She shook her head and snorted. “Yes, dear. I’m aware of the fact that you are without thumbs when you’re a wolf.” Brent slid his pants and underwear off. She bit her bottom lip and looked around the room. I will not leer at him with our son right here watching. Okay, maybe one little peek. She focused her attention on Brent in time to see him “tsk” her. She laughed and observed as he shifted smoothly and quickly into a large black wolf, practically identical to the smaller one running in excited circles around him. Rhett woke up in the middle of the night, still human, to a cold nose on the back of her neck. She looked at the clock. 4:30 a.m. She’d had a hard time going to sleep, worried about him and the boys. When she finally did drop off, her rest had been uneasy, with her waking several times. She grinned and rolled over to face the big bad wolf. God, it was good to see him safe. Rhett pulled the covers out from underneath him and covered him up. Glowing green eyes blinked open and she kissed his muzzle. “Did you and Clay have fun?” He nodded slightly. Running her finger through his fur she snuggled closer to him. “Did he come in with you?” Again he nodded. “Good. Did you meet up with Tate?” He dipped his head once more, then rolled to his feet. He stood over her, the covers still covering his back, and ducked down toward her face. His tongue snaked out, sliding across her cheek, then her lips. He bent and rubbed the side of his head against hers, then gave her one more wet lap across the cheek, before he lay down, his back against her front. She spooned up against him, hugging him and buried her face in his fur. She loved his pelt. Always had. It was so soft. She caressed his sides and ran her fingers all over him, enjoying the way the hairs tickled her hand. She was slightly disappointed at not having changed herself. If she were able to be with him in wolf form, she could help protect him, watch his and the kids’ backs. Not only that,

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she’d wanted to run and hunt with him since she was a teenager, but she could live with not shifting, as long as he always came home to her. She reminded herself that he’d been a wolf for a long time. Not only was he powerful enough to defend himself and their boys, he was also one heck of a smart man. It was probably for the best that she hadn’t changed; she’d be more of a hindrance to him. Rhett squeezed him tight and kissed his face. “Love you, Brent.” He licked her hand. She must have dozed for a while, because the next thing she knew there was a warm weight on top of her and the moist tip of a prick nestled against her damp folds. It was nice, comforting, familiar. She opened her eyes just as Brent’s dark head descended toward her. His green gaze held hers, as he laved and nipped her bottom lip, seeking entrance. Rhett sighed, opening for him, enjoying the kiss as his lips covered hers. He chuckled and pulled back, his mouth still touching hers. “Did you miss me?” She smiled and looped her arms around his neck, wiggling against his erection. What a great way to be woken up. “Always.” Abruptly he rolled them over, tugging her on top of him. She gasped and blinked, trying to catch her balance. Pushing herself to a sitting position, she peered down at him. He grinned, running his hands up her waist and around to cup her breast. The look on his face made her belly clench. It was obvious that Brent was totally and utterly enthralled with her body, his hands and gaze tracing her curves lovingly. His cock was hard and hot against her ass. He traced over her body, tweaked her nipples and squeezed her ass; his hands were never still. It was insane how he could make her burn, make her want. But then it had always been this way between them, their passion explosive. As teens, they’d thoroughly explored each others’ bodies, learning what the other liked. Even after all this time, they remembered. “Come here, Hellion.” He cupped her bottom, dragging her up his body. Pulling her over his face, he closed his mouth around her cunt. They both moaned. His tongue thrust up into her as his hands gripped her hips, making her move. She shivered, her clit throbbing in his mouth. She dropped her head back and went with the delicious sensations, rocking back and forth slowly. The familiar tingle started in her lower back and spread upward. She didn’t want to come this way. She pulled back and looked down. “No, I want you to fuck me.” Brent groaned. Her juices shone on his lips and chin. He slid her down his body and kissed her. She could taste herself on his lips; her pussy ached even more. There was no better aphrodisiac ... unless it was his come.

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Rhett had to have him. Now. She reached back, clasping the thick prick that was nudging her ass, and was rewarded with a grunt. “Baby, turn around.” “What?” “Turn around, face my feet.” Oh, he sounded so sexy, the way he got that husky tone to his voice. It made Rhett’s whole body positively ache with desire. What was he up to? She wanted him inside her right this second. “Now what?” “Back up and sit on my cock. Put your feet between my legs.” Her nipples tingled at his plain speech. She had no idea how this was going to work, but she was up for anything. She raised herself up and positioned his prick at her opening and sank down on him. “Ahh ...” He was so thick, it felt wonderful. He filled her up completely. Brent gripped her hips. “Now put your feet on the mattress between my legs lean forward a little bit and move.” Rhett did as he directed and swayed. “Oh, God!” Sensation shot up her spine. This position hit just the right spot inside her. She couldn’t not move. It felt too good. She gripped his knees, her nails digging in, but he didn’t seem to mind. He was panting behind her and continued to move her hips fast and furious. She could hear his gasps and feel his claws dig into her skin. The realization that she affected him to the extent that he could barely control his wolf nature was a huge turn on. She didn’t have to turn around to know that his eyes and teeth had shifted already. She ground her pussy down on him, gulping desperately for air. Who would have ever thought this position would feel this way? His cock hit the front wall of her vagina, tapping her G spot. She dropped her head back and let out a ragged moan. Within moments, her orgasm slammed into her, stiffening her spine and curling her toes, soaking them both. Seconds later, Brent stiffened beneath her, pushing upward with one last thrust. “Rhett!” She fell backward, lying on his chest with his cock still deep inside her. His arms enfolded her, hugging her close. His breathing was heavy in her ear. It tickled. She grinned. “What in the world gave you the idea to do it like that?” Brent chuckled and kissed her cheek, nuzzling for just a second. “The Internet is a wonderful thing.” Rhett made a mental note to make sure he knew the password to her computer.

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Chapter Thirteen Whimpering woke him. Before Brent even managed to get his eyes open, Rhett bolted upright in bed. He came up beside her and pulled her into his lap. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re all right, honey, I’ve got you.” “Brent?” He pulled her head into his chest and lay back down with her on top of him. “Yeah, babe, it’s me. Shh ...” She was shaking like a leaf, her breaths coming in panting sobs. Brent squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could take her pain away. He rubbed her back and arms, trying to soothe her, yet keep his own temper under control. Not only had those damned psychopaths taken her away from him, but they were still after her, even in her dreams. It didn’t surprise him one bit that she continued to have nightmares, especially since there was only so much vulnerability Rhett would allow people see. She tucked everything away inside, always had, except with him. She’d always talked to him, but without him, she’d had no one to share her fears with, until they came out the only way she’d let them. She’d probably been having bad dreams for years. “Tell me about it, Rhett. Tell me what haunts you. Maybe it will help.” She shook her head, clinging to him even harder. “It won’t.” “Yes, it will. Talk to me.” Several minutes passed in silence. Finally, she stopped trembling and relaxed in his arms. “I was trying to escape the lab and Carter caught me. He was choking me.” “Carter?” He nuzzled her ear with his face, trying to comfort her further, to encourage her to talk, while hiding his expression from her.

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“Carter was one of the scientists at the lab and a sadistic bastard. I hated him. He used to do things just to be cruel. The others, they were no better than him, but at least they did things for a reason. Awful and painful things, but they weren’t intentionally cruel, the way Carter was.” She took a deep breath. “I keep seeing all the things they did to Clayton. They cut off his hand ... and that last night, when he helped me escape -- I picture him dying, over and over again. But when I run back to help him and look into his face, it’s you.” Her voice broke on a sob. “Oh, honey ...” “I don’t want to lose you, Brent. I can’t watch them torture you like I was forced to with Clayton. I can’t let them get ahold of my, our, boys. I don’t want anyone I love to have to suffer that way.” He kissed her forehead and moved her face up to look at him. “We’ll stop them. I promise you. I will make it my life’s goal to see them all stopped.” She nodded and snuggled into him. It took a while, but finally she went back to sleep. Brent lay there in the early morning light, content to hold her but shaking with anger. He wished he could go back and erase from her mind the memory of what had happened. If it was the last thing he did, he’d get rid of TWiTs once and for all. Then maybe she’d have peace ... maybe they all would.

***** “Hmm ... you smell different.” Rhett looked up at Dash and frowned. They were in the living room of the main ranch house. “How would you know? You haven’t seen me in years. Well, except for the other day.” “Not different than yourself, different from everyone else.” He leaned forward and sniffed at her neck. She swatted at him. “Cut it out! That makes no sense whatsoever. Everyone smells different from everyone else.” “My God! I got it! You smell like maple syrup!” He chuckled. “Well, duh! I ate pancakes this mor-- Oww!” He stuck her with a needle and began drawing her blood. “Oh, hush, that didn’t hurt, you wuss! Besides it’s not my fault you decided to be all weird and shit and didn’t change. I hope you know this means more work for me. Me and Jill, that is.” She snorted. She would have smacked him, but he still had the needle in her arm. “It’s not like I chose not to change.” Dash pulled the little vial out of the Vacutainer and put another one in. “You never could do anything the way it was supposed to be done.” The second vial filled up, and he replaced it with a third.

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“Dang, Dash, are you trying to bleed me dry?” “Don’t even talk to me about being drained of blood! Every damned time I turn around, Jill is sticking me again! And it’s gotten worse since she’s been pregnant. I swear to God the woman is just trying to take revenge on me for all the blood samples she’s had to give lately. Let me tell you, expecting women are dangerous.” She could sympathize. It seemed like when she was pregnant with the twins she was always having blood drawn for yet another test. Rhett chuckled. Whenever Dash mentioned Jill, his whole face lit up. A woman that so obviously had Dash wrapped around her finger had to be something else; if Rhett hadn’t already liked Jill during their brief meeting, she would surely have liked her just from seeing Dash’s reaction to mentioning her. He pulled the last vial out, placed a square of gauze above the needle and removed the syringe from her arm, pressing the gauze to the small puncture wound. “Here, keep pressure on that while I get a Band-Aid.” “Aye, aye, Dr. Rigotti. Or is that woof, woof?” Dash chuckled. “Smart ass!” He put the bandage on her arm, then dipped his head toward her and sniffed one last time before he straightened up. “Yeah, you definitely smell like syrup.” She rolled her eyes. The man was obsessed with syrup. “So what is this about smelling like syrup?” A chuckle sounded from the doorway and Adrian strolled in. He put his nose in the air immediately and inhaled. “Yup, she smells sweet.” He grinned. “What?” She hated to be the last one to know what the joke was. They’d always done that to her. “One of you had better spill it, or I’m going to start smashing heads together.” Adrian held up his hands. “Oh, no. I’m not telling you. You really will start smashing heads if you find out. Ask Brent. Let him get smacked; it’s his fault anyway.” “Grrr.” She glared at him then turned to Dash. “Devon ...” she began. He sighed, glared at Adrian, then stepped backward, out of her reach. “Pregnant women smell sweet. Like syrup.” She blinked. What? She wasn’t pregnant. She couldn’t be. Could she? No. She’d been pregnant before, and she hadn’t felt the way she did now. A little voice in the back of her head said, “Yeah, but you wouldn’t be far enough along to notice yet.” She told the voice to shut up. “Well, I assure you, I’m not pregnant. I told you earlier: I had pancakes this morning.” Dash raised a brow and looked at Adrian. Adrian shrugged. “It’s possible, but I don’t think so.” He leaned toward her and inhaled again. “You smell just like Kat and Jess did. And Jill ... Jill smells just like you do now.” “Who’s pregnant?” Brent asked from the doorway.

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“Hellion.” Dash and Adrian answered in unison. She jumped out of her chair. “I am not!” This was getting ridiculous. She wasn’t pregnant. She couldn’t be pregnant with bad guys after her. Besides, she was way too old to have babies. Brent flinched. “Okay, okay, you’re not.” He looked at his cousins. “Why do you say she’s pregnant?” Dash looked at Rhett and took another step away from her. “She smells sweet.” Brent walked right up to her and breathed in slowly and deeply. She grimaced, then threw her hands up in exasperation. “So, help me, the next person that smells me is going to get it!” Brent blinked. “Geez! I was just going to kiss you.” Dash and Adrian laughed. “You were not!” God, she wished she could remember when her last period was. She’d stopped keeping track of them years ago. She hadn’t really needed to, since it wasn’t like there was any chance of her getting pregnant. Not unless toys and fingers could make you pregnant. And because she never had any health concerns and she never really went anywhere, it wasn’t like she was going to be out without anything to use if she did start. Brent leaned forward and kissed her nose. “Was too.” She raised a brow. “Okay, fine, but I was going to kiss you, too.” He sniffed. “And you do smell kind of sweet.”

Okay, don’t panic, Rhett. You did eat pancakes, and you have always had a sweet tooth. Alex walked in the room and grinned. “Y’all ready to go home? Jill just called; she wants us to pick up some sauerkraut and bananas on our way back.” He looked at Dash. “And she said to turn your phone on.” Dash glanced down at his phone, pushed a button, then looked up at Alex. “Eeww. That’s just gross. I don’t wanna go home. You can’t make me.” They all laughed at the sheer look of disgust on his face. Rhett reached out and patted his shoulder. “I’d remind you that it’s your fault, but I actually feel sorry for you. That is gross. I didn’t eat anything weird when I was pregnant with the twins.” Nope, but she had craved McDonald’s French fries. She wasn’t craving anything now. That was a good sign ... right? “Kat ate enough junk food to feed a small country.” Adrian shook his head and glanced at Dash. “And I thought all the cookies and crackers were bad.” “Jess ate her weight in Mexican food. I swear she had her very own table reserved at Mom and Dad’s place. And the funny thing is Kitty loves Mexican food, too. I had to take hot sauce away from her the other day. She was in my lap and I was talking to Dad; then next

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thing I knew she had gotten a handful of hot sauce and was slurping it off her fingers.” Alex shrugged. “Oh, well, at least I’m not having to take sauerkraut away from her.” Dash groaned. “Oh, yeah, make fun of me! Go ahead!” He sighed. “All right, let’s go. I’ve got Rhett’s blood. Maybe we can figure out why the hell she didn’t change -- other than the fact that she’s always done everything bare ass backward.” She stuck her tongue out at him -- and whispered, “Sauerkraut and bananas.” He gathered up his stuff, kissed her cheek, headed to the door, then looked back at Brent. “I’ll have Jill run a pregnancy test, too.” Then he stuck his tongue out at Rhett. “Bye, sweet thing.” Rhett couldn’t help but laugh. She and Dash had always had a competitive relationship. As a kid, there had been nothing more fun for her than yanking Dash’s chain. She took off after him, but was brought up short by Brent grabbing her around the waist. They said their good-byes to Adrian and Alex before she flopped down on the couch to think. What if she were pregnant? She glanced up at Brent. He was smiling. “What?” “You do smell different.” “Does that really mean anything?” He shrugged. “It could, or it could be like you said. You did slather on a lot of maple syrup at breakfast.” “Brent, I can’t have any more kids. I’m -- we’re too old. And I won’t even go into the long list of other reasons, TWiTs being one of the biggest.” “TWiTs won’t always be an issue, Rhett.” Rhett lay back on the couch and ran her fingers down her face. How could he say that? She closed her eyes and tried to think. “Honey, look, there’s no way to tell right now. Besides, I’m not all that cracked up about the idea, either. I already have two children that I missed growing up with and whom I don’t really know. I want to build a relationship with the boys before I add another kid to our family. But if you are pregnant, we’ll deal with it. Just don’t dwell on it, all right? Worrying about it now is just another thing to niggle at you and that you can’t change. Seriously, what’s the worst that could happen?” “Well, that’s easy, we could all get caught and tortured to death. Wonderful!” “You have such a positive outlook, it’s almost sickening. I expect butterflies and bluebirds to appear any moment now.” She heard someone else come in. “Hey, son.” Brent sounded more cheerful than a moment ago. “Hey, Brent,” Clay muttered.

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Rhett sighed; after last night, she’d thought their son had changed his attitude, but he certainly didn’t sound like he had. Apparently, Brent thought so, too. “Hey, I thought we were cool.” Clay flopped down on the couch next to her. “I was excited, okay? It’s not every day that someone experiences what I did.” Yeah, he had a point there. Rhett opened her eyes and looked at her son. “You think maybe you’ll change next time, Mom?” Brent groaned, clearly irritated by Clay’s change of attitude, and sat down in the chair across from them. She frowned, not liking that Clay hadn’t truly opened up to his father. Sure he didn’t seem quite as hostile, but she’d really thought last night had changed things. “Don’t think so, Clay. Dash and Jill are going to run some tests, but the general consensus is that I don’t smell like pack.” Clay’s forehead wrinkled a bit. “Actually, Mom, you smell ... different. Not like a wolf, but not like you, either. Huh, weird.” He got back up. “I’m going riding. Later.” Rhett turned to look at Brent, her eyes wide. “See, Clay thinks I smell different, too.” “Please don’t start that again. Stop borrowing trouble!” He sat down beside her and kissed her forehead. “Besides, he’s new to the whole wolf thing, so he could be wrong.” Rhett snorted. Somehow that wasn’t very reassuring, considering that four very experienced wolves thought she smelled ... pregnant.

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Chapter Fourteen Brent woke to the sound of whimpering. It wasn’t Rhett this time. She lay on her side, a leg thrown over his, snoring softly against his shoulder. He listened carefully as he idly rubbed her back. The whimpering began again, and he carefully slid out from under Rhett’s leg. Grabbing a pair of sweatpants out of the closet, he quickly put them on. The distressing little sounds seemed to be coming from Clay’s room. As Brent stepped down the hall and into his son’s room, the scent of sweat and fear assailed him. Then Clay yelled. Brent immediately sat down on the edge of the pup’s bed and touched his shoulder. He shook him lightly. “Clay?” The boy came up swinging, panicked noises forcing out of his mouth. Brent ducked out of the way, then captured a fist in his hand. “Clay! Wake up.” “Dad?” Clay stilled, his eyes opening dazedly. Despite the boy’s obvious agitation, Brent got a warm and fuzzy feeling. His son had called him “Dad.” And even though Clay was still pretty out of it, it was a good start. “Yeah, son. You all right?” Clay relaxed slightly, and Brent let go of him. “I, uh, had nightmare.” “Yeah, it’s going around. You want to talk about it?” Clay was quiet for several moments. Brent thought he’d refuse to answer, but finally he nodded and ran his hands down his face. “Give me a second.”

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“Take all the time you need. You want me to get you some water or something?” “No, er, yeah. Maybe we can go downstairs and get a drink and a bite to eat? I don’t want to go back to sleep yet.” This was the most civil Clay had been to him since they’d met. He’d sensed some loosening up after Clay had shifted; maybe he’d been right after all. “Okay, I’ll meet you downstairs.” “Yeah, all right.” Brent poured two glasses of milk, then dug through the pantry until he found some cookies. He’d just sat down at the table when Clay walked in, seated himself across from Brent and grabbed a cookie. He took a large bite. Brent pushed Clay’s glass closer to him. “Here, I got you some milk, too, so drink up. Couldn’t find any Oreos; these will have to do.” “Yeah, this is fine. Oreos don’t last long around here. I kind of have a thing for them.” Brent grinned. “Yeah, me, too. Guess we’ll have to buy twice as many now, huh?” “Yeah. And if you want them to last, you gotta hide them from Mom. When she runs out of chocolate, she goes looking for anything sweet.” “Uh huh, she’s always been that way.” Brent wanted to ask about the boy’s nightmare, but he was too thrilled with the easy conversation they were having to ruin it. He was afraid it would make the pup back away. “Did I wake you?” He shrugged. “Yes. No big deal.” Clay looked down at the table, fiddling with his cookie. “I’m sorry.” “It’s not a problem. I’m a light sleeper anyway.” Okay, so Rhett would probably disagree with that, but he wanted to help, wanted Clay to feel at ease. He wasn’t going to take a chance that putting pressure on Clay might make him distance himself again. Heck, the fact that Clay had even mentioned the nightmare to him had to mean he wanted to discuss it. It must have been very bad. He finished chewing before he tried again. “Want to talk about it?” Clay swallowed some more of his drink, then took another bite of his cookie. Again, Brent thought he wasn’t going to say anything after all, but after a few minutes, his son responded. “Had a dream about Mom. About all the stuff she’d said. She’d never really told us the whole story before, you know? About being locked up in that place and stuff. I kept seeing all the blood, thinking what if those people got ahold of us and did things to us, too.” “Yep, that was pretty scary. It sounds like your uncle Rome really got off easy when they had him.” Thank God! Brent didn’t want to think about what might have happened to Rome. He really didn’t like thinking about everything Rhett had told them about TWiTs

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either. Not only had they been around longer than anyone in the pack had suspected, but it sounded like they knew the weaknesses of the wolves very well. It was no wonder Rhett had taken off after witnessing shit like that. And if it hadn’t been for the senior Clayton ... Brent would forever be grateful to the older wolf. Frankly, Brent was pretty freaked out about the situation himself, but he tried to reassure Clay the best he could. Those psychopaths would only lay hands on his mate and pups over his dead body. “Try not to worry about it, son. We have some information on them, and I’ve dealt with them twice already, once when they abducted your uncle Rome and cousin Jess, and then again when they tried to get cousin Kat. I stopped them then, and I’ll stop them this time. We’ll all get them.” Clay nodded. “I was kind of mad that she wouldn’t tell us anything, but I guess after all she’s gone through and seen ... Now I can understand why Mom kept it from us. If it was similar to my dream --” He shook his head, letting his voice trail off. His gaze finally left the tabletop and peered up at Brent, green eyes soft. “I’m sorry I acted like a real jerk to you. I just, well, this hasn’t been easy. I mean, it’s not really an excuse and all but, yeah, okay, I’m sorry. I was a jerk.” He looked back at the table, playing with another cookie and moving the crumbs around with his fingers. “So, the dream. It was horrible. They had both of you. And Tate and I were watching, but we couldn’t get to either of you. And I just kept thinking they were going to kill you and I’d never gotten the chance to get to know you and --” His voice broke, and he glanced up at Brent again, his eyes swimming with tears. “I’m really sorry. I --” Brent felt the tears well in his own eyes. Good, Lord, Rhett was rubbing off on him -he was becoming as big a bawl bag as she was lately. He reached across the table and grabbed Clay’s hand, squeezing it. “I’m not going anywhere, pup, and neither are you, Tate, or your mom if I have anything to say about it. You are going to have the rest of your life to get to know me. We will find these monsters, and we will destroy them.” And he would because he didn’t have any other option. He’d stop at nothing to ensure his family’s safety and happiness. He had to protect them. Clay dipped his head in acknowledgment, almost as if he had heard Brent’s thoughts, squeezed back, then let go and wiped the tears off his face. He took a big drink of milk. “Yeah, I know. Mom wouldn’t have it any other way. I just hope she doesn’t get hurt trying, you know?” “That’s not for you to worry about. They will have to go through me to get to the three of you, and I promise you, that’s not going to be an easy feat. I will do everything in my power to make certain nothing happens to any of us. And if I know your mother, keeping her out of the way is going to present a much bigger problem than TWiTs.” He smiled somewhat ruefully at his son.

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Clay grinned, clearly trying to lighten the mood. “Man, as reckless and accident prone as she is, I bet you were always upset with Mom.” Brent chuckled. “Oh, yeah, you better believe it. Trouble never has a problem finding her. How do you think she got the nickname ‘Hellion’?” “It sure fits! Did you give it to her?” Brent shook his head and sipped some water. “Nah. It’s been so long that I’m not really sure, but I think our cousin Dash gave it to her. Heck, she was like four or something when people started using her nickname.” “That is so cool.” Clay smiled, looking almost wistful. “What? Her nickname?” “Nah. That you grew up together.” Brent nodded. Yeah, it was pretty cool. He just wished that they’d never parted. After several minutes of a comfortable silence while they finished their snack, Clay cocked his head to the side. “You know, your parents are weird.” “Yes, they are. But why do you say that?” “You mean aside from the fact that they’re always so happy and that your father wants us to call him ‘Uncle’ instead of ‘Grandpa’?” Brent grinned, not for the first time, over his father’s request to be called “Uncle.” Brent knew he was kidding, but damned if both boys hadn’t start greeting his dad as Uncle Emilio. After that, it had somehow progressed into Uncle Grandpa. “Okay, yes, aside from those, why are they weird?” “Well, they’re like a ‘buy one, get one free’ deal. You never see them separately. Well, okay, that isn’t exactly true. You see Grandma off by herself on occasion, but Grandpa and Uncle Grandpa? They seem attached at the hip.” Brent shrugged. He hadn’t really thought about it. Michael had always been with his parents, so it seemed normal to him. Sure, Michael had his own room at their house, but ... “I don’t know. Routine, I guess. They grew up together here. My dad’s parents worked for Michael’s parents. They’ve been together all their lives.” Clay returned his shrug. “I guess. They’re really cool, though; you know that, right? I mean Mom never talked about her mom. She always talked about yours and your dad and her dad. It’s like she had three parents. Some people only have one nowadays, and you both always had three. I wish --” His face closed up, and he shook his head. He took another bite of cookie. “You wish what, Clay?” His son looked up, green eyes somber again. “I wish you’d been around from the beginning. I always wondered what you’d be like. She used to tell us all about you. I even begged her once to find you, but she said we couldn’t, that it was too dangerous. I think she

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was kind of glad when Tate changed. I mean, I know she was scared, but she also knew we’d have to find a pack. And, well, there was no contest which pack we were going to find, you know?” Brent closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. Damn, what did he say to that? What could he say? All this time he’d thought the kid hated him. God, he felt like he was still treading on thin ice as it was. They’d come so far in such a short time that he didn’t want to ruin it, didn’t want to scare Clay into racing back into his shell. Brent knew he would have eventually built a relationship with Clay; he was too stubborn to have it any other way. But he’d wanted that relationship to start now. He’d lost so much time already. He wanted to tell Clay that from now on everything would be fine, and they’d be one big happy family. But he didn’t want to lie; he knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and surely Clay knew that, too. He wasn’t exactly sure how to be a father, but then he had two fine examples to go by. He pulled on those memories now, asking himself what his dad would do. What Michael would do. No doubt about it they’d tell the truth. They’d shoot from the hip and let him know how they felt. After a few seconds, when he knew he wasn’t going to give into tears and leap across the table and hug the life out of Clay, he spoke again. “I wish that, too. But we can’t change the past. We have to go from here. It’s not going to be all fun and games, Clay. Hell, it hasn’t even started out that way, but I’ll do my damnedest to be a good father to you and Tate. I’m going to do things you don’t like, and you are going to do things I don’t like, but we are going to get used to each other. And we still have to figure out what the hell we are facing with these damned wolf hunters. But what I can promise you is that from now on, I’ll be here when you need me.” Clay smiled again, but his eyes looked a little damp. “Thanks ... Dad.” “You’re welcome, son.”

***** “Night, Clay.” “Night, Dad.” What was that? Rhett’s eyes widened. Had she heard that right? Brent opened the door just as she reached for the knob. She stepped back to keep from getting run over. “Oh.” He slipped an arm around her chest, steadying her. “Hi, honey. What are you doing up?” He kissed her nose. “I was coming to find you. I had to pee, and you were gone. Was that Clay I heard?” Brent grinned. “Yeah.”

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“He called you Dad.” “Yeah, he did.” He was still smiling. She returned his smile and let him lead her back to bed. “Wow! What was that about? Not that I’m complaining.” He took his pants off and hung them up. “He had a bad dream, so we went downstairs and got a snack and talked about it.” She waited several seconds -- partially distracted by his naked ass. When he didn’t say any more, she threw a pillow at him. “And?” “And, what? That’s it.” He picked up the pillow and tossed it back. “Not only is he suddenly speaking to you, but he’s calling you Dad, and you say ‘that’s it’? Must have been some talk. So spill it!” Brent shrugged. “I told you, we just talked. He said he was sorry for giving me grief.” “Brent ...” she began on a warning note. He was hiding something. What was it and why? “Hellion,” he said, going to the edge of the bed. Rhett picked up the pillow, walked to where he was standing and clubbed him with it. Repeatedly. He chuckled, then tackled her onto the bed. He began tickling her. “Brat!” She laughed and struggled to get away. “Am not!” She’d almost wiggled herself off the side of the bed when he tugged her back. “Are too!” “Am --” Brent kissed her, and she decided that he could have the last word, after all, because she’d definitely much rather be using her mouth to kiss than to argue, even playfully. He straddled her hips and sat up, breaking their kiss. He was suddenly still, sitting there for several seconds just staring at her, a smile on his face. Rhett reached up and touched his cheek, watching him lean into the caress. He turned his face and kissed her hand. She smiled. He was so sweet, and she was a lucky woman. It was still a marvel to her that he was hers, all hers. He nipped the heel of her hand. Oh, this was fun, his playfulness and lightheartedness. Rhett dug her fingers into his sides, her turn to tickle him. He laughed and grabbed her hands. “Oh, no, you don’t!” He pulled her arms over her head. Rhett laughed with him and struggled halfheartedly. He held her hands where they were, opened her robe and quickly lowered his head, catching her already hard nipple in his mouth.

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Rhett hissed out a breath. She could swear her tender nub was connected to her lower extremities because she sure felt it there when he sucked. She squirmed, trying to appease the ache in her pussy. Brent slid down her body, kissing as he went. It felt unbelievably good. She’d thought the teasing was over, but as he reached her belly, he blew. Rhett squeaked and pushed at his shoulders, giggling. “You rat!” He laughed and nuzzled his face into her stomach, making her laugh harder. Then the goofball started attacking her ribs again. She squirmed and thrashed, but couldn’t get away. She tried to tease him back, but she was laughing too hard. Finally, he let her go and sat up, out of breath. She was tempted to get her revenge on him, but she knew that would just lead to her being the recipient of his manhandling again. “Teach you to bash me over the head.” She snorted. “I bashed you with a pillow, you goober!” She came up on her hands and knees, then crawled to him. When she got face to face, she kissed him. Deeply. Passionately. He moaned and opened for her. He tried to pull her to him, but she moved away and shrugged off her robe. He looked too good sitting there naked and sprawled out on her bed, hard cock standing straight up. She leaned over and took him into her mouth. “Oh, yeah!” Brent’s hips lifted, pushing his prick further into her throat. She grinned around him and drew back. This wasn’t what she had in mind. Rhett was grinning up at him, her gray eyes twinkling. She threw her leg over his, then climbed astride him. With a deft move, she grasped his cock, positioned it at her vaginal opening and slid all the way down on him. He was sure his eyes rolled back in his head, but he didn’t care how silly he might look. She felt too damned good; her pussy was so wet and warm, she fit him like a glove. Her hands landed on his shoulders, and she settled into a steady pace, moving herself up and down, back and forth. Brent melted, feeling unbelievably relaxed, and let her do all the work as he leaned back on his hands. He watched her riding his cock, her hips rocking. Damn, she was something! He quickly decided that he’d let her conk him over the noggin with pillows anytime she wanted to if it led to this every time. Heck, if it meant he could make love to her, she could hit him with whatever she wanted. She nipped his chin, then nuzzled his nose with hers, seemingly content to take things slow and easy, which was okay with him. Then she started moaning and gasping, and damned if those passionate noises didn’t make his balls pull tighter. It wasn’t long before she picked up her pace, moving faster and faster. Her head tipped back, and her body grew taut. Her pussy fluttered around him, seeming to milk him endlessly.

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When she tired and went limp, he caught her, hugging her close. He lowered her to the bed, and sat back on his heels without pulling out of her. Rhett smiled, looking sated and happy. He smiled, too, then leaned forward and stuck two fingers into her mouth. Her eyes widened, but she responded, sucking vigorously on them. His cock twitched at the beautiful sight. Fuck, but she was sexy! He slowly pulled his fingers out of her mouth and inserted them into her pussy, right next to his cock. He searched out that special spot, the one that made her come so quickly, then he began thrusting inside of her again. She gasped and arched, tightening around him. When he finally found the sensitive, spongy area, she actually squealed. Her whole body shook, as she soaked them and the linens. With her head thrown back in abandon, her breasts sticking straight up and her nipples fiercely erect, Rhett was the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen. Brent removed his fingers from her and pushed hard and fast. Her muscles quivered around him working his cock. He wanted it to last forever, but he was only seconds behind her. He stiffened above her, crying out her name as he came, fiercely glad to have her back. “Brent?” “Huh?” “I’m sorry.” “You should be, it’s not nice to be smacking me around with pillows.” She giggled. “Not that. I’m sorry for keeping away all these years. I was wrong.” “It’s all right, honey. There’s no point in rehashing all that.” She raised herself and began to draw circles on his chest with her fingers. “Yeah, but you missed out on a lot. You won’t ever get to know what it’s like to raise a kid from babyhood.” He stopped her hand and pushed her head back to rest on his chest. “Yes, I will, now go to sleep.” Rhett furrowed her brow. “Why do you say that?” “Because it’s late.” She pinched him. “Ow!” “Well?” “Honey, you’re pregnant.” “You don’t know that.” “Yeah, I do.”

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“Did Dash call?” “No, but he’s right. It’s obvious to me that you smell different. And it was this morning you ate anything sweet, so I doubt the scent would have lingered this long.”

Hmmm. “We’re going to have a baby and simultaneously two kids graduating high school?” Not that they could actually change anything if she were pregnant. Well, they could ... but she knew they wouldn’t. “Yup.” Apparently he’d come to the same decision. She lifted her head again. “You don’t sound the least bit concerned.” “I’m not. I wish I could spend more time alone with Tate and Clay, but oh, well.” He moved her head down. “Sleep, Hellion.” Why did life have to be so complicated? She snorted and cuddled into his chest. Just before she dozed off, she realized that he never did tell her what had transpired between him and Clay.

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Chapter Fifteen It was 4:30 in the afternoon when Marisa pulled into her Tia and Tio’s drive. She giggled when she saw that Michael’s truck wasn’t there. He and Tio usually fought over who got to park in the garage, and it looked like Michael had won. She was fairly certain he was home since that’s where he worked from. She made sure to leave enough room for her Tia and Tio to park in the drive, too, then cut the engine. She got out of her car and headed to the front door. She needed information because she’d overheard that TWiTs was after Rome again, but she couldn’t get anyone to confirm it. It was annoying how everyone was always trying to protect her. If something was going on with her family, she wanted to know about it. How could she protect her loved ones when no one would tell her what was going on? Rome and Rand were her mates, darn it -- she was sure of it, even if they wouldn’t admit it -- and she had every right to know if they were in danger. Marisa was absolutely positive she could pry the information out of Michael, though, because he was one of the few people in her family who treated her like an adult. She’d always been very close to him, Sarah and Emilio, but Michael was the only one of the three who didn’t smother her to death. Her Tio was the absolute worse. The man fretted over everything she did. In fact, he’d even tried to talk her dad out of letting her go camping with friends last year. The man was paranoid that something would happen to her. Despite the fact that Tio Emilio was overprotective, she loved him. Marisa smiled fondly and knocked on the door. She waited for several seconds but no one answered. That was odd. Michael was always home at this time of day. A movement caught her eye and she squinted at the frosted glass pane beside the door. Someone was moving around out back. She could almost see through the back patio door. She listened closely and heard the faint sound of the radio. Michael must be in the pool.

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She walked around the side of the house to the back gate, the radio becoming louder as she got nearer. She couldn’t see over the wooden fence, but she was sure it was Michael because country music was playing. Tia listened to rock and Tio never got home until after 5:30. Marisa reached for the handle on the wooden gate but was brought up short by the sound of ... kissing? No, that couldn’t be right, but it sure sounded like it. There were soft moans, too. “Love you,” Michael’s smooth voice rasped. Her eyes widened. Who was he talking to? Marisa peeked through the crack between the gate and the fence. She couldn’t see much, darn it, but she could make out Michael’s back. He was in the pool, and there was someone in there with him. She could see an arm around his waist, just barely, but she couldn’t tell whom the arm belonged to. Oh, wow! She smiled, almost giddy with joy for him. Michael deserved to be happy with someone who loved him. God knew he’d suffered enough being married to that bitch, Lindsay. No way was it possible that she was his mate. Marisa shook her head. She’d never quite figured that marriage out. “Love you, too, babe.” Tio’s voice answered.

WHAT?! No, she had to be hearing things. She squinted and pushed her face closer to the fence to get a better look. The hands splayed across Michael’s bare back were definitely masculine. She barely held in a gasp and continued to look. Michael’s head tilted to the side and ... Marisa’s hand flew to her mouth. It was Tio! Michael was kissing Tio, and it wasn’t just a friendly peck on the cheek, either! One of Tio Emilio’s hands slid up to cup the back of Michael’s head; the other slipped under the water and squeezed his ass. Marisa blinked and moved away from the gate almost blindly. She wasn’t sure what to think, but the first thing that came to mind was that her uncle was cheating on her aunt ... with his best friend. Oh, God! She turned around sharply to hurry back to her car. She couldn’t let them catch her spying on them. Just as she got to the drive, Tia Sarah pulled in. Marisa looked up, horrified, as the older woman put her car in park. Marisa felt tears slide down her face. Sarah jumped out of the car and ran toward her. “Marisa, sweetie, what’s the mat-- You caught them.” She pulled Marisa to her, hugging her tight. Marisa looked up at her aunt. “You know?” Sarah took a deep breath. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go inside, and we’ll talk about it. Let me explain. I’m guessing the two of them are in the backyard, yes?”

Tia knew?! Marisa was beyond confused. She shook her head and stepped back. “No, Tia, I --” The back gate slammed shut.

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Marisa turned her head just as Michael and Tio Emilio came running around the side of the house, their bathing suits dripping. They stopped when they saw her. Michael frowned. “I told you I smelled Reese.” “Fuck! I knew I shouldn’t have called in sick today.” Emilio’s shoulders slumped. He looked defeated. She had to get out of there. She looked from her uncle to her aunt and back to Michael. “I ... I ...” Sarah grabbed her hand and started tugging her toward the house. She looked over her shoulder at the two men. “You two make sure to dry off before you come inside.” Her aunt led her to the couch in the living room by the area out back, then gently pushed her down. A minute later, the sliding glass door slid opened behind her and Tia looked up. “Michael, you’re dripping on the floor.” She pointed her finger. “Out.”

Tio responded, “Give it a rest, Sarah. Here’s your towel, babe -- I mean ... uh ... Fuck!” There was a soft slapping sound, then Michael’s voice. “Watch your mouth.” Marisa looked up at Sarah, blinking back more tears. “I’m sorry, Tia. I’ll leave, okay. I’ll just pretend --” A cold, damp hand landed on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. She glanced over her shoulder into Michael’s gray eyes. “Please let us explain, Reese.” Her Tio sat down beside her. She knew it was him because Michael was still behind her. “Please don’t be angry with us.” What? Her uncle thought she was mad at them? She thought they were mad at her. She looked at him, biting her bottom lip. “I’m sorry, Tio. I wasn’t spying, I swear. I just came to see Michael, and when no one answered the door ... I didn’t see your car, didn’t know you were here ...” Her voice trailed off. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going on here. Michael sat down on her other side, his damp leg touching hers.

Tia sighed and threw her hands in the air. “You two are getting the couch and Marisa wet.” Emilio pulled Marisa into his arms, kissing her forehead. Michael’s arms circled her as well. She was literally mashed between them, and they were leaving cold, soggy spots on her. She giggled. “You two are definitely getting my clothes all wet.” Sarah chuckled and leaned over to wrap her arms around the three of them. “Okay, now that’s settled. No one is mad. Let’s get some sodas and cookies and talk.”

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Five minutes later they were all settled back in the living room with drinks and snacks. Marisa sat in one of the recliners, Tio and Michael were on the couch, and Tia was pacing back and forth. Marisa took a sip of her cola and set it down. She looked at her uncle and Michael. She was embarrassed, but she was also curious. They’d always been close, she knew that, but she’d never thought they were that close. “So, I guess you two are lovers, right?”

Tia stopped pacing and looked at her, then the two men. “It’s not really all that simple, Marisa. But, yes, they are. And so am I. We’re all lovers.” Marisa blinked rapidly before her eyes shot wide, and she stared at Sarah. “Excuse me?” Sarah nodded. “Have been since before you were born. Since before Brent was born, actually.”

Whoa! This was getting more and more interesting. She looked at Tio and Michael and admitted she really couldn’t blame her aunt for being with the two of them; they were both very handsome. “Are you all three mates?” She looked at Michael. “Why would you marry Lindsay when Tia is your mate?” Michael and Sarah faced Emilio, who closed his eyes for a second, then opened them and nodded. Michael turned to her. “Reese, it’s a lot more complicated than that, but you’re right -- Lindsay wasn’t my mate. The only reason I married her was because she threatened to take Rhett away --” “I couldn’t have any more children after Brent was born, and I wanted another baby.” Sarah sat down on the coffee table in front of her. “Michael found a way to get me another one. Lindsay agreed to artificial insemination; she was going to have the baby for us for a price. But when she found out that Michael had a pretty hefty trust fund, she wanted more. Since she was already pregnant with Rhett, we offered her a larger amount of money, but she wanted everything and Michael, too. She threatened to take Rhett away. Your daddy, Emilio, and Morgan, Michael’s brother, all wanted us to try and get custody through the courts. But I was scared. I didn’t want to lose Rhett --” Sarah dropped her head in her hands for a few minutes, and then her shoulders started shaking. Michael got up and walked around the table to hug her. “It’s all right, Sarah. It was a long time ago. When are you gonna stop feeling guilty about it?” She shook her head, hugged him back and looked over his shoulder at Reese. “I convinced Michael to marry her so we would have Rhett.” Emilio joined the other two adults and caressed both Sarah and Michael’s heads. “To make a long story short, Michael bribed Lindsay into agreeing to have another baby if he married her. So we ended up with Rome and Rand out of the deal, too. Not bad, eh, Reese?” She grinned and shook her head. “No, Tio, not a bad deal at all. But something tells me you weren’t all that happy with the situation.”

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“No, I wasn’t, but it’s the distant past, and Michael never really lived with her anyway, so it doesn’t matter. But none of the kids know, Reese. And I don’t want them to.” Michael glanced up at him, still holding onto Sarah. “I think we should --” Emilio sighed. “I know what you think. You’ve always felt that way, but I haven’t changed my mind. I don’t want them to know. What if they can’t accept it? Or us?” “You’re setting her --” Michael pointed at Marisa. “-- up for all sorts of complications by not telling them. And I’m specifically talking about the twins.” Michael swiveled to look at Marisa.

Tio groaned. “If it comes to it and the twins need to know, then I will tell them.” Marisa raised a brow at Michael, unable to completely hide her smile. She was pretty sure he was saying what she’d already suspected, but did he know for sure? “They’re both my mates, aren’t they?” He nodded. “I’m almost positive, yeah. Neither of them will say, but Brent seems to think so as well. He said Rome more or less admitted it when you were hurt in that fire a couple of years ago.” She giggled. She couldn’t help it. She’d always wanted the twins ... both of them. Even before she had had any sort of physical attraction toward them, she’d always known, somehow, that they were meant to be hers. Michael laughed with her, Sarah smiled, but Emilio frowned. “What, Tio?” “It’s not going to be easy, Reese. It’s not going to be accepted. You’ll have to hide it just like we do.” Michael groaned and stood. “Why does everything have to be so black and white with you, Emilio? It’s not going to be that big a deal. Diego and Claire, and Rita and Kyle have always supported us. Plus, Diego and Claire already know what we’ve suspected about Marisa and the twins, and they don’t care.” He paced back and forth in front of the couch. Emilio stared at the ceiling. “And why do you always have to be such a damned optimist? You know very well I’m talking about society in general, not family.” Michael dragged a hand across Emilio’s back as he passed him, then smiled at Marisa. “Who cares what society thinks, right, Reese?” Marisa snorted rudely. “Right!” Knowing what she did about these three was still weird, but she liked seeing Tia, Tio, and Michael together. She was so happy to realize that Michael actually did have someone to love him, that he was mated. She looked at her Tia, who was smiling at Michael and Tio fondly, and realized that Michael actually had two someones to love him. How had she not realized they were lovers a long time ago? Now that she thought about it, she should have seen it. Her Tio and Michael

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had always been much more affectionate to each other than most men. Even her dad and Uncle Kyle were the best of friends, but they didn’t share anywhere near the degree of closeness that Tio and Michael shared. Michael stretched his arms and legs out and yawned. “Feed us!” Emilio looked expectantly to Sarah. “Yeah, we’re hungry.” Sarah snorted. “You two can feed yourselves.” Michael protested. “Hey, you just more or less told Reese you take care of us. Now prove it.”

Tia turned to face Marisa. “Did I say that?” “Nope.” “Reese, you’re supposed to side with me. I mean, come on, who’s your favorite uncle?” Michael’s eyes twinkled.

Tio flicked his ear. “I am.” Predictably they ended up in a wrestling match. Somehow she and Tia ended up on the floor with them. When they were all laughing and out of breath, Marisa called her mom to tell her where she was, then she played video games with Michael and Tio. Tia gave in and fixed them all dinner. During the meal, the conversation turned to TWiTs. But even so the four of them managed to relax and enjoy each other’s company. Marisa finally left later that evening, feeling much better about not only Tio, Tia, and Michael, but her own situation as well. She agreed with Michael -- who cared what others thought as long as her family was okay with everything? Too bad she still had over a year before she turned eighteen, because knowing Rome -- Mister Hardhead himself -- McCoy, there was no way he’d agree to date her now, even if her parents consented. Her parents were cool, but they wouldn’t allow her to date a man -- or men, as was the case -- almost seven years older than her. At least not until she was of age. Marisa pulled into the parking lot of her parents’ restaurant. She knew Rand wasn’t working, but both her parents were. She got out of her car and started toward the front entrance. “Marisa Hernandez?” Marisa found a woman beside her. “Yes?” Someone grabbed her arm, then she felt something sharp. Marisa jerked away and tried to struggle. As she opened her mouth to scream, everything went black.

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Chapter Sixteen He stood there, staring at the phone, not quite sure what to feel -- whether to be scared or mad. Instead, he felt helpless, just like he had when Rhett had disappeared. At this point, there wasn’t anything he could do. “Brent?” Rhett’s hand slid down his back as she took the phone away and put it back on the charger. “Baby, are you all right? You look pale. Who was on the phone?” He looked at her and let her tug him to the couch. “Alex.” He sat down on the couch and felt two strong hands slide over his shoulders and begin to stroke away the knots there. A pair of green eyes met his. Clay gave him a reassuring grin and went back to his impromptu shoulder massage. Rhett knelt between his outspread legs and turned his face to meet her eyes. “What happened?” He glanced past her to Rome and Rand, who were standing shoulder to shoulder waiting for his answer. Damn! Even worse was the fact that he knew what he was about to put the two of them through. He faced Rhett again, then reached up to smooth away the furrow in her brow. “Marisa is missing.” Rhett gasped. Rand rushed forward. “What?! What do you mean she’s missing? Missing where? Has anyone tried to call the little imp to see where she is?” He pulled his cell phone off his belt and pushed a couple of numbers, then put it to his ear. “Hello? Diego?” He turned to Brent, his eyes widening in panic as he spoke to Marisa’s dad. Brent gazed at Rome, who was standing stock-still in the same position as he had been seconds ago, his face completely unreadable.

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Clay let go of Brent’s shoulders and came around to sit beside him. Tate leaned forward in the chair he was sitting in. “How long has she been missing, Dad?” Brent reached down and lifted Rhett into his lap, squeezing her tight, needing to hold her. “Well it’s what about 10:30 now ... she was last seen about 7:30 when she left my parents’ house. So about three hours. They found her car in the restaurant parking lot, but no sign of her or any evidence of a struggle. They’re still searching and will let us know once they find out anything. Until then, they want us to stay put.” Rhett started shaking in his arms. He ran his hands down her arms, trying to calm her. Rand came to stand in front of him. “She’s gone,” he whispered. He looked over at his twin, still immobile. “Reese is missing.” Rome finally responded. He looked past his brother and caught Brent’s stare. “TWiTs?” Brent shook his head and continued to stroke Rhett. “They don’t know, but it’s possible.” “No! Not again! Not now!” Rhett shot to her feet, her teeth clenched. He reached for her, but she jerked away. “I’ve had it! I’m tired of running, and I’m tired of being scared. Those fuckers aren’t going to get away with this! They are not going to hurt my family anymore!” She took off up the stairs, all the men staring after her like they’d been slapped. “Shit!” Brent faced Rome and Rand. “You two gonna be okay?” Rand’s lip quivered slightly, and he blinked back tears. Shit, shit, shit!. “Go. Go get her, before she starts making pipe bombs or does something equally foolhardy.” Rome’s arms encircled his twin, giving as well as receiving comfort. Brent leaped up the stairs two at a time. He reached their room just as the first pistol hit the mattress, followed by several boxes of shells, a shotgun, a rifle, and about seven knives in various sizes. He blinked. Good God, where had the woman gotten such an arsenal? “I’m going after them! Don’t try to stop me.” He sat down on the side of the bed and watched her face turn even more livid. “Who, honey? Who are you going after?” “You know who! I’m not going to let them destroy the people I love, and I’m not going to be running scared of them for the rest of my life. I’m going to that lab, and I’m going to kill everyone who doesn’t look like a wolf or a teenage girl.” He almost smiled. She was being completely irrational, but she had grit, he’d give her that. He also had no doubt she’d do exactly what she said -- if he let her. “We don’t know that TWiTs is involved.”

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She grabbed a magazine off the bed and started to load it. “The hell we don’t. From what little I know about Marisa, she isn’t the type to just go off and party and not tell anyone where she is. Besides, her car is at the restaurant, and her father obviously has her cell phone. Those sons of bitches aren’t going to get the chance to hurt her. I’m going to go get her out.” She shook her head vehemently, then grabbed a pistol off the bed. She popped the magazine in, pulled the slide back, checked the safety, then stuffed it in the waistband of her jeans. Lastly, she reached for one of the knives. “Hellion?” She screamed at the top of her lungs, then threw the knife, startling Brent. It stuck in the wall behind him, then she dropped to the floor, her face covered by her hands.

Holy shit! Brent was stunned, then he glanced down at his mate, curled into a ball and sobbing at his feet. He had expected the worst reaction to Marisa’s disappearance to be from Rome and Rand -- especially Rand. Stupid of him, really. He should have expected that Rhett would act like this. Okay, not quite like this, but he should have anticipated something. After all, this had to be hitting close to home, so to speak; Marisa was just a bit older than Rhett had been when she herself had gotten into the hands of TWiTs. He bent over, sliding his hand down her bowed back. “Shh. Honey, we don’t know that it’s TWiTs yet. Michael has people watching the lab for any sign of Marisa, and Alex has the pack out looking for her. If those bastards have her, we’ll find her. We’ll have a good idea where she is.” She lifted her head, her pretty gray eyes bloodshot, tears streaming down her cheeks. “We have to get her before they hurt her.” He slid down to the floor and gathered her in his arms. “We have to find her first. We can’t go into that lab, guns blazing, without knowing if she’s there. If it’s TWiTs and they know we are on to them, we may never get her back. And, besides, even if it is them ... they took Rome to a house, not the lab that you were brought to.” She nodded silently against him, bumping his chin with her head. Burying his face in her black hair, he continued to caress her. God, he hated that she was agonizing over Marisa like this. He was so pissed at the moment that he could barely see straight. Whoever was behind Marisa’s disappearance would pay. Not just for taking his little cousin, but for the hell they were putting his mate through. He was scared for Marisa, but he was also scared for Rhett. “Shh. We’re going to get her back, honey. Shh ...” “It’s my fault, Brent.” “Nonsense.” He tipped her face up to look at him. “It’s not your fault, and I don’t want to hear that again.” She didn’t respond, but laid her head on his shoulder, still crying, but not as raggedly as before.

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He wasn’t sure how long they sat there, but eventually her breathing evened out, and she started snoring softly against him. He continued to sit there, holding her securely while she slept. He would rid her of her fears and guilt if it took the rest of his life to do so. “I love you, honey.”

***** Brent woke up when Rhett started kissing his neck. She must be okay but, damn, his neck hurt! He was too fucking old to be falling asleep sitting up. He bent his head and kissed her mouth. Then tilted his head from side to side, trying to work the kinks out. “You feel better?” Her hands moved over his chest. She nodded. “A little.” She caressed him through his shirt for several seconds, then slid her hands underneath it. Oh, that was good! He loved the way her hands felt on him. His head dropped back onto the edge of the bed. She’d always loved stroking him. He glanced down at her and squeezed her shoulder. “Honey, I hate to stop you, but I have to get up. My neck and back are killing me.” Rhett scrambled out of his lap and stood, then offered him a hand. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wig out like that, and then fall asleep on top of you.” He took her hand, letting her help tug him up, then pulled her into a quick hug. “I don’t mind. You needed to get it out of your system. And, besides, I like cuddling with you. Only next time, let’s go ahead and do it in bed.” She stretched up and kissed him. “Okay, that’s a deal. If you help me get all that stuff off the bed, I’ll make it up to you.” Brent grinned and started setting the weapons on the carpet. “Sounds like a plan.” Abruptly, she sobered. “There’s really nothing we can do about Marisa.” It was more a statement than question. Her tone said she knew there wasn’t. “Not right now, honey. All we can do is wait. We’ll get news as soon as Alex has any.” She nodded and continued to place weapons on the floor. Once the bed was cleared, Rhett started stripping. Brent could only stare. Would he ever get tired of looking at her? Somehow, he doubted it. She was the most striking woman he’d ever seen, and she was his. His mate. Damn, she made him ache. Since she had come back into his life, he felt like he’d been in a constant state of arousal. His cock jerked, as if sensing his thoughts and agreeing with them. Once she was naked, she quirked one dark eyebrow and put her hands on her hips. “Well?” “Well what?”

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“Aren’t you going to get undressed?” He shrugged. “I was busy enjoying watching you get naked.” She grinned and slinked around the bed to him. “Like what you see?” She held her hands up and twirled. “Oh, yeah. Come here.” He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. “Love the way you look. The way you feel.” He kissed her, as his hand cupped her breast. Rhett moaned and pulled back, unbuttoning his jeans. “I’m glad. But I like to look at you, too, and I can’t do that with you all covered up.” She got the pants unfastened and slid them and his briefs down his hips. When she got his cock free, she stopped, and a little whimper escaped. She bent down and flicked her tongue over the head. When it jumped at her touch, she whimpered again. Brent moaned with her. Abruptly, she stood and started shoving at his hip. “What are you doing?” She groaned. “Move! Sit on the bed.” A chuckle escaped, but he did as she asked, or demanded, rather. That was one of the things he loved most about her. She knew what she wanted and had no problems telling him. It was unbelievably arousing, the way she was so comfortable with her sexuality. He wondered briefly if it was because of their experimenting with each other from a young age, but then her mouth completely covered the head of his prick, and he didn’t care anymore. As she got to her knees, her hands worked his pants the rest of the way off. She licked up one side of his cock, then the other, before sheathing him with her mouth again. One dainty hand slid down and wrapped around the base of his dick as she slid her mouth farther down. Brent’s thighs tensed. Damn, that felt incredibly good. She allowed his cock to slide out of her mouth, then she ducked her head to lap at his balls. “Jesus Christ!” She giggled and did it again, then took one testicle into her mouth before focusing on his prick again. Her dark head bobbed up and down as she went back to tasting his length. Her eyes twinkled up at him. What a sight! His balls got even tighter, and his thighs quivered because her ministrations felt so damned wonderful. Moving back up, she sucked his cock back into her mouth and started working her hand around him while the other hand fondled his balls. As if the look and feel of her sucking him wasn’t enough, she started making little moaning sounds. Like she was really enjoying herself. And she was; he could smell her arousal, and it damned near drove him right over the edge. Brent gasped and lay back on the bed. “Damn! Honey, I need you up here. If you don’t stop, I’m going to come.”

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Rhett furrowed her forehead at him, then pulled back. “So come. Isn’t that the point?” She immediately went back to swallowing his prick. The hand that had been caressing his balls disappeared, and soon he heard the wet sounds of her fingers buried in her pussy. Brent’s cock jerked, growing almost impossibly harder. The thought of her playing with herself was too much. He didn’t want to gain his release like this, but when she groaned around his cock, her body peaking tensely right against his thighs, he couldn’t hold back. His eyes blurred, his fangs exploded in his mouth, and his load shot down the back of her throat. He wasn’t sure who moaned louder, her or him, but when he finally revived from the rush of orgasm, she was still fondling his cock, licking and kissing it, tickling it. He reached down for her, but she batted his hands away. He chuckled halfheartedly. At last, when he was completely soft, she slid up on the bed next to him. Somehow or another, they ended up under the comforter snuggled together. It wasn’t long before they both drifted off to sleep. A knock sounded at the door. “Mom? Dad?” Brent opened his eyes and lifted his head up, making sure he and Rhett were both covered. “Yeah? The door’s unlocked.” Tate’s head popped around the corner, surveying the room and staring goggle-eyed at the weapons still lying on the floor. “Holy shit! What’s with the arsenal?” “Tate ...” he warned. “Oops, sorry, it just slipped out.” Tate walked over to the side of the bed and peered down at him. “Mom okay? She really freaked out.” Brent glanced down at Rhett, asleep in his arms, and brushed the hair out of her face. “Yeah, she’ll be okay. And, yeah, she kinda wigged.” Tate nodded, looking around the room again. “Did you know there is a knife in the wall above the bed?” Brent sighed. “Yes, I know. Your mother sort of put it there.” “You mean threw it.” “Yeah, threw it. Where did she learn how to do that? Luc?” “Yep. He taught all of us. I’m not as good as Clay and Mom, though, and Clay’s better with a knife than Mom is. I’m great with a rifle, and Mom kicks ass with a handgun. Clay and I are fairly well matched at fighting, but Mom doesn’t really like to get close enough to fight. She’s convinced her size is a major disadvantage.” He shrugged. “Luc’s pretty cool; he still works with us on what we learned now and again.” “Mom? Dad? Tate?” Clay walked into the room. “Alex just called. Rome talked to him. He says they’ve found Marisa. TWiTs have her.”

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Chapter Seventeen Rhett paced beside the table, listening to the plans the men, minus Dash -- who was at home with his pregnant wife -- were making. As soon as they had learned that TWiTs had Marisa, she, Brent, and both sets of twins had come to the cabin, bringing Luc with them. Marisa had been spotted being carried into the lab. Despite Rome and Jessica having been held in a home, Rhett had known that was where they’d take her. She’d had a gut feeling. Her dad had already gotten ahold of the lab’s building plans from public records and had a detailed report from pack members he’d assigned to watch the lab. Twenty-four hour surveillance had been set up there as soon as they’d learned of Marisa’s disappearance. They could only hope that the actual compound didn’t deviate too much from the blueprints on record. With those, the plans and surveillance things, and what she remembered of the place, they were certain they had a fairly accurate layout of the place. So, along with a few pack members, they were here at the pack cabin, planning a rescue mission. But that wasn’t good enough for her. She’d held her tongue for about an hour now, but she couldn’t do so any longer. “What are you going to do about the people in the lab? And the lab itself?” Emilio looked up at her. “What do you mean?” “I mean you can’t just leave the place as is. It has to be destroyed.” Alex looked up from the plans. “We have to get Marisa out -- that is our only goal right now. We will deal with the place later.” Jess, who was pacing on the other side of the table, shook her head. “Wait.” Alex’s head snapped around toward his mate. “What?” “Rhett’s right, we need to destroy this place.”

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Adrian stood up and faced Jess. “Yes, we do. But not until we have Marisa. We can’t chance her getting injured.” Jess met Rhett’s eyes over the men’s heads. “Then you send a team in to get her and a team to take out the place.” Rhett nodded. “We need info on them, too. Let’s see if we can get into their system and get as much data as we can.” Emilio glanced at her, then at Jess. “Sweetheart, we can take care of all that next time.” Kat groaned and got off the couch, stepping over the babies, who were playing at their feet. “What Jess and Rhett are trying to tell you is that there may not be a next time. You have to do it simultaneously. Y’all bursting in there to get Marisa will be like stirring up a hornet’s nest. If you don’t get rid of the nest and as many hornets as you can, we are all gonna get stung.” Rhett grinned. “Nice analogy, Kat.” She did a little curtsy. “Thank you, ma’am.” “The girls are right. I need to get to their computers.” Michael pushed his glasses up his nose and stretched his arms over his head, giving Rhett a wink. “We need to take the place down and gather as much knowledge as we can while we do it. After our rescue foray, TWiTs might hunker down or move shop. One team to retrieve Marisa and one to get info and torch the place sound like our best bet.” Luc shook his head. “Three. We need three teams. An entry team, a recovery team, and a team to get all the information we need.” Jess held up four fingers. “Nope, four or five teams. All those people are going to have to drive out of there somehow.” Luc winked at her. “That’s what the recovery team is, Squirt.” Adrian groaned and dragged his hands down his face. “This is supposed to be a simple rescue. In and out.” Kat snorted. “Oh, please. In and out? Not hardly. You guys are not looking at the whole picture ... again.” “How much time do y’all think we’re going to have?” Rome asked. She rolled her eyes. “You make the time. End of story. You’ve had twenty-four hour surveillance for the last two days, right? So you go in when there is less traffic. The middle of the night, I presume?” She held up her hand and ticked off each of her points. “Get the other prisoners, get info, and get rid of the lab. You are not going to just waltz right in and grab Marisa and hightail it out of there.” Rand leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “The others aren’t our problem.” Luc leveled a stare at him. “Don’t even go there. What if another pack went in to rescue one of theirs and left Marisa behind?”

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Rand blanched. Diego nodded. “Luc is right. As wolves, it’s our responsibility to help others of our kind.” Rhett held back her grin. It looked like Luc and Diego agreed with them, and she knew that even if she couldn’t persuade the rest of the men about the lab, they could. In the end, the guys would listen to Luc, because he was the expert. It was nice to have allies. “We --” Brent held up a hand. “Whoa, what’s this ‘we’? You aren’t going, Hellion.” He glanced around at Jess and Kat before turning back to her. “I agree we need to get the other hostages and do whatever else we can, but you three are not going to be a part of it.” Rhett didn’t bother trying to argue with him. She was going. Whether he let her join their rescue party or whether she went on her own was a whole other story -- and not one she wanted to get into at the moment. It was more important to make sure everyone was on the same page. “Okay.” “What?” Brent narrowed his eyes at her. “Oh, no. I’m not buying it for a single minute. You never agree that easily.” She quirked an eyebrow at him. He raised one right back. Tate finally broke their staring contest. “Clay and I can go. We can help.” She and Brent both shouted, “No!” For once they agreed on something. Luc leaned back in his chair, gazing at all of them. “Quite frankly, I don’t think that’s such a bad idea. I know what Rhett, Tate, and Clay are capable of.” Rhett patted his shoulder. “Thanks, Luc, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I’d rather the boys stay out of this.” Brent scooted his chair back and motioned her forward, then spoke to their son. “Thanks, Tate, but we have enough help right now. What I need you and Clay to do is much more important ...” He paused when Rhett walked over to him. He pulled her down onto his lap. “Definitely more important. I need you and Clay to keep your mother, Jess, and Kat from following us.” Why, the dirty rat! He was even trying to rope her own kids into sabotaging her plans. Before she could retort, Jess interrupted. Rhett noticed she was studiously avoiding Alex’s eyes. “Okay, okay, fine, we get it already. Y’all are heap big muscle men and aren’t letting us go. Can we get back to planning? I think we’ve lost track of why we’re here.”

***** Brent looked at the clock again. 2:25 a.m. He sighed and rolled over onto his back, pulling the covers up just a bit. Will 3 a.m. ever get here? He and his cousins had told their

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mates that they were going to the lab tomorrow night, but the men weren’t stupid, no matter what the women thought. All the men knew very well that their mates had every intention of following them, so they’d hatched a plan to tell the women one thing, then later met elsewhere to discuss their real intentions. Sure they were going to get bitched at eventually, but at least their mates would be safe. And they were absolutely going to try and get everyone out of the lab, so in the long run, there’d be nothing to gripe about and everyone would be happy. They’d also have Marisa back, plus maybe enough information on TWiTs to be able to permanently get rid of all of them, and the main lab building would be demolished -- all without having to worry about Rhett, Jess, and Kat trailing along after them. Now, all he had to do was wait. He might as well get up and dress. He needed to gather at least two handguns, a rifle, his cell phone -- damn, he really needed to buy some of those headsets the S.W.A.T. teams used, a flashli-Rhett jerked upright in bed, gasping for air, startling him out of his thoughts. “It’s all right, honey. It was just a dream.” Brent hugged her to him, slipping an arm around her chest. She nodded, clutching his arm with her hands. “Yeah, just a dream.” She took a deep breath and visibly tried to relax. “God, they always seem so real. I keep seeing Clayton die over and over again, knowing that I’m next and that if I don’t get away they are going to take the babies.” She turned and looked at him, her startled gray eyes dark with lingering fear. “I was so scared, and I wanted to go to you so bad, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t lead them to you. I was so lost. So alone ...” Brent lay back on the bed and pulled her on top of him, kissing her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. “Honey, these dreams are waking you up almost every night. You have to learn to accept the past. What is it going to take to help you get over it?” She shook her head. “I don’t know, Brent. I don’t know that I’ll ever get rid of them. I don’t think what I saw will ever stop hurting me.” “I hope not. I mean, I know they will always bother you. You wouldn’t be human if you could watch others get tortured and not have it affect you to some degree. But you have to try to move on. Clayton wouldn’t want you to continue to suffer for him.” “I know. I’m trying. Really I am. Maybe knowing what is going to happen tomorrow night will help me. Maybe finally seeing that lab destroyed will bring some closure.” He didn’t say a thing; he simply stroked her and held her, kissed her and murmured tender nothings. There was no way he was going allow her to put herself in danger just to see the lab go up in flames. He’d take her and show her after the fact ... that would have to be enough.

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Rhett stretched out her arm, searching for Brent, but found nothing except an empty spot. Instantly, her eyes snapped open, and she pushed herself up on her elbows, glancing around the room. Her gaze snagged her clock. It was 3:15 a.m. “Son of a bitch!” She didn’t bother looking in the bathroom or downstairs in the kitchen; she knew he was gone. He’d really left without her. She dressed quickly, all in black, pulled her hair into a low pony tail and braided it, then put on some black sneakers. She grabbed her pistol and four knives, stashing them on her body, then headed for the gun safe in the closet. Thank God she’d thought to ask Brent the combination the day before. She had the safe open in seconds and was rummaging around when someone opened the bedroom door without knocking. Who the hell could that be? Had she misjudged Brent? Had he only gone down to the kitchen to get a late night snack? She peered around the door of the closet, her gun in hand, just in case, and came nose to nose with Jess. They both jumped. Jess let out a small squeak and clutched her chest, before she called over her shoulder in a whispered shout. “She’s still here.” Rhett took a deep breath as Kat came tiptoeing into the room and shut the door behind her. “What are you two doing?” “They left without us.” Jess peeked into the closet. “Did he take everything? Alex took almost all the guns. Kat and I managed to scrounge up two handguns out of Adrian’s safe, but we need some ammo.” Oh, brother! She could not take the two of them. She was going to get yelled at enough as it was by going in on her own. It would be ten times worse with the other two in tow. She shook her head and held up a hand. Jess grabbed her hand and pushed it down. “Don’t bother. You can’t go in alone, so we’re going with you. You need someone to watch your back. To hear everyone tell it, you’ve always been a real bad ass, but that doesn’t mean you go without backup. Besides, Kat and I are excellent shots.” Rhett suddenly understood how Brent felt every time she followed him. Jess pushed past her and into the closet. She pulled out a box of 9mm rounds and a box of .45s. “Kat, you want the .45 or the 9?” “Nine, please.” Jess stepped out of the closet and tossed Kat a box. Kat immediately sat down on the bed and began loading magazines. Rhett sighed. “Listen, guys --” Kat shook her head but never looked up from her task. “Nice try, Rhett, but no cigar. You’ll be wasting your breath.”

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“What about your babies?” Jess dumped a rifle on the bed and another box of ammo. Then she, too, sat down and started loading. “We stuck one baby monitor in Claire’s room and the other in Sarah’s room.” She popped a magazine into the gun she got from the back of her waistband, then pulled the slide back and put the safety on. “We have as much to lose as you do. After all, those are our men out there, too, and we love every last one of them. We’re family, and now you’re back in the family, too, so we stick together.” She stood and replaced the weapon in her waistband, then picked up the rifle and shells. Rhett was left with nothing to say. Those were Jess and Kat’s mates and their family. Rhett smiled. She’d forgotten how tight being part of a pack was. “What if something happens to the two of you?” Kat left the bed and went to the closet. “What if something happens to you? You are no less important than we are.” She looked over at Jess. “That’s it? One rifle?” Jess nodded, and Kat stepped back into the room and put her hand on Rhett’s arm. “Besides, you’re one of us, and we aren’t letting you go alone.” Suddenly, she pulled Rhett into a hug. Rhett blinked, stunned. She didn’t quite know what to do. “We both feel like we’ve known you for years. We’ve heard so many things about you. We don’t want you hurt ... and we want to help.” Kat released Rhett and looked her in the eye. “Are you ready to go?” Rhett nodded, dumbfounded. Good Lord, if she survived this she was never going to tag along after Brent again. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. Someone had to look out for him. She sighed. “All right, fine, y’all can go. But when we get our asses chewed out, there will be no finger pointing.” Jess chuckled and hugged her, too. “No finger pointing. Besides they wouldn’t believe it was all your fault, anyway. In case you haven’t heard, Kat and I have a bit of a reputation of our own.” She let go of Rhett, grabbed the rifle, and headed for the door. “Well, come on. You’ll have to drive since Kat and I don’t know the location like you do.” Rhett still wasn’t convinced taking them was a good idea, but she didn’t see how she was going to ditch them. She’d never had very many girl friends because she’d always preferred being with the guys; after all, while growing up, all her cousins were male. Now, if she could just keep them all alive, maybe they could get to know each other better and torment their men together. She checked the room for Brent’s keys, knowing he wouldn’t have taken his car. The plan had been to take the SUVs, vehicles that could carry a lot of people, because they had no idea how many other prisoners might be present.

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The keys were on the dresser; she pocketed them and followed the others out the front door, shaking her head as she went. It looked like she had just found herself two partners in crime.

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Chapter Eighteen Rhett was getting antsy while she drove. She hadn’t seen the place since she’d escaped from it with Clayton’s help all those years ago, and she really wasn’t looking forward to returning to it now. In fact, she’d feel a whole lot better if they had more weapons. The knives really didn’t count, because neither Kat nor Jess could throw them like she could. And she sure as hell hoped that they weren’t going to get close enough to someone to actually have to use one. She made a mental note that they were going to conduct knife-throwing classes just as soon as possible. It had become abundantly clear that the other two were going to be her constant companions; and even if they weren’t, handling knives well was a skill that could be very useful for taking care of themselves and their families. “Kat, start looking around in here. Brent would have a least one other gun stashed in here somewhere.” “Tell me about it; the whole family is gun crazy.” Kat opened the glove compartment and began to rummage through it. “In the trunk. There should be a Kevlar vest and an assault rifle, assuming he didn’t take them, that is.” Rhett pulled off the road into a deep stand of trees, next to three SUVs, and parked. “Smile and wave to the rescue team, ladies.” Jess hissed. “Shit! I’d forgotten about them.” “Relax, they’re pack members. They aren’t likely to try and stop us, and the worst they can do is radio the guys ahead and let them know we’re here.” The lab was out in the middle of nowhere, not quite what she’d consider the boondocks, but close enough. A high chain-link fence surrounded it, and there was a gate and a guard shack. Only the shack hadn’t been in place sixteen years ago. She wasn’t surprised to see the addition exactly, after all, the surveillance team had mentioned it, but it

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was a little startling to see it first hand. Now escape would be somewhat more difficult. “How are y’all at climbing fences? Of course, getting over the barbed wire at the top could be a tiny bit tricky.” Jess chuckled. “Forget that. We know where the guys were going in, right? Let’s just try there, they’ll have cut the fence.” “Oh, God help us if Jess is the brains of this operation,” Kat complained. Jess snorted. “Oh, ha, ha! Very funny, Katherine.” Rhett chuckled at the ease with which they teased each other. She’d missed having a close friend, but living as paranoid as she had for so many years, she hadn’t trusted anyone enough, except Uncle Morgan and Luc, to develop deeper ties. “Well, yeah, we can do that. Assuming they didn’t change their plans.” Jess groaned as they all got out of the car. “If they did, I will kick their asses. It’s bad enough they snuck out on us. Can you believe that? They snuck out like a bunch of boys planning to tip cows or toilet paper a house.” “Oh, yeah, I believe it. That is so Adrian. I bet you anything this whole skullduggery was his idea.” The eye roll that accompanied that statement was obvious in Kat’s tone. “Nope, it was definitely Alex, or maybe Brent. Adrian would have just told you to --” Jess lowered her voice in mock imitation of Adrian’s more masculine voice, “stay put, Kitten.” “Yep, it does sound more like Brent, to be honest. He hates conflict, always has, so it’s much easier to sneak off without me than to argue as far as he’s concerned. So when we catch up with them, we can blame him. After all, we’re just doing the same thing they all did.” She walked up next to one of the pack member’s SUVs and looked inside, recognizing a man who’d strategized with them. “Give me a sit-rep.” The man blanched. “Ms. McCoy?” “A sit-rep?” “Uh, yes, ma’am. All three teams are inside. Alpha team has dispatched two guards and brought four wolves out so far. Bravo team has dispatched the guard at the guard stand out front and brought two wolves out. Charlie team has found several computers and is busy gathering information.” “What zones have been cleared?” Rhett asked. “Zones one to nine, ma’am.” “How many guards on duty?” “Only five from what we can tell, and two other non-friendlies.” “Have they gotten Marisa, yet?” “No, ma’am.” “Do they know where she’s being held?”

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“No, ma’am.” Rhett nodded. “Thank you. Go ahead and let the teams know we’re here and are coming in to assist. You can tell them that we will be taking zones fifteen and sixteen.” Rhett pivoted and went directly to Brent’s trunk, Kat and Jess following close behind. Kat frowned. “What did he say?” Rhett unlocked the trunk. “Weren’t you listening to all the military jargon when they were planning?” “No, I sort of spaced on that part. Who is Alpha team?” Jess answered. “Alex, Adrian, Rome, and Luc are Alpha team. Brent, Rand, and Diego are Bravo. Charlie team is Michael and Emilio. The zones are, well, never mind what they are. Rhett just told him we are going into the back left section of this building, zones fifteen and sixteen.” Kat bobbed her head. “Gotcha.” The trunk was empty. “Damn! Brent took the rifle, after all. And I’m betting that Luc is wearing the vest since he’s the only non-wolf. Guess we’ll have to make do with what we have. Y’all ready?” Kat and Jess nodded and the three of them crouched low, hidden by some tree trunks, to get a good look across the road at the lab. Kat stretched her neck side to side, rolled her shoulders, placed a gun in her waistband and the other in her hand, “I’m ready. Let’s go.” Jess slung the rifle over her shoulder and checked her pistol. “I’m good, too. Rhett?” Rhett checked her own weapons one last time and flipped the safety off on her gun. “Yeah, let’s do it. Keep in mind that these people are psychos. Watch your backs and pay close attention to everything. And, remember, keep your fingers off the trigger, unless you are firing; we don’t want any accidents -- or worse, having to explain them to the guys. Come on.” They crossed the road to the fence, which was parallel to another line of trees that offered great cover. Unfortunately, there was also a huge open area between the fence and trees, then from the trees to the building. Nonetheless, it was part of the reason the men had made their entrance on this side. The other reason to enter at this point was that this side was closest to a bank of windows, which wasn’t all that close, but somewhat less distant than on the other side. The guys, if all had gone as planned, had cut the glass from the windows by now. “Uh, there aren’t any dogs, right?” Jess asked, as she made her way through the brush alongside the trees. “No, not from what the surveillance team reported.” Rhett bit her bottom lip. She hoped their informants knew what they were talking about, because she hadn’t planned on

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any dogs. “Okay, the place they went in should be around this area; it’s the most concealed section of the fence. Stay low and keep an eye out for it.” Kat shrugged. “Well, look on the bright side. If the guys were wrong, the dogs have probably already gotten out after the guys cut their way in.” Yeah, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing, considering that the dogs would now be on their side of the fence. But Rhett decided not to point that out to Kat. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and remained alert for the possibility of guard dogs. Man, it was dark. The trees not only allowed for good cover from guards, but they blocked out the light pretty well, too. Somehow, she’d thought the moon would illuminate the place better. “Damn, I wish we had some freaking light, I can’t see a danged --” “Found it!” Jess crouched down, then dropped to her hands and knees, swinging her rifle to her side so that it wouldn’t get caught on the fence as she crawled through. The opening had been made large enough for all the men, so Jess had no problem getting to the other side. Instantly, she lay on her tummy and pulled her rifle up, checking for trouble and covering them. “All clear.” Kat followed, gun still in her hand, and Rhett came after. “Jess, why don’t you take the lead. Go toward the windows and stay as low as possible. Hurry. Kat and I are right behind you.” Kat nodded, and they waited for Jess to move. The side of the building they were on was supposed to be all office space; there was a bank of six windows, then the rest was brick wall. The area consisted of what the men were calling zones one to four. The containment cells on the far left side of the building were zones five to ten, and the labs were at the back of the building were zones eleven to sixteen, which was where they were headed. They were going in through the windows in zone three and then straight down the hall to zones fourteen to sixteen. As soon as they reached the windows, which were about three and a half feet up from the foundation, the women dropped to the ground and crawled toward the third window. Jess hunkered down below their target window and waited for them to catch up. Kat soon joined Jess and both were frowning. Rhett was about to ask what the matter was when she noticed the window was intact. Okay, so how had the men gotten in? “You think it was open? Surely not.” Jess shrugged and stood to the left side of the window. Rhett went to the right side. Kat faced away from the building, still in a crouch, and scanned the area around them. Rhett quickly glanced in the window trying not to be seen in case anyone was inside the room. “Jess, you see anyone from your angle?” Jess shook her head. Rhett grabbed the bottom of the window and lifted. It refused to open. Unbelievable. “Did they enter another window?” Jess whispered.

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She shrugged, the same thought had occurred to her. “Guess so. I didn’t see any missing glass, so maybe one of the windows was open. TWiTs probably figure they are out in the middle of nowhere, and that having a fence and guards are enough.” Maybe if their men had gotten inside further down the bank of window, she and the other two could get closer to their target zone, too. Apparently, Jess came to the same conclusion. She caught Rhett’s gaze and dipped her head toward the next. Rhett moved away from the window and motioned with her hand for Jess to go first, then tapped Kat on the shoulder. As a team they moved to the next window. They took the same positions as before and checked the window. This one was locked, too. “What do y’all think? Keep going?” Rhett asked quietly. Kat answered without breaking off her lookout duty. “Yeah. If the guys went this way, which we will assume they did, because that was the plan, why don’t we check the rest? They said these zones had been cleared already, right?” Jess didn’t hesitate. “Right.” She went past two more windows. Rhett touched Kat’s arm to let her know they were moving. When Jess stopped, Rhett peeked inside quickly, then tried the window. It opened silently. “This time, I’m leading. Remember, fingers off the trigger. Once we get in, don’t shoot unless you know who you are shooting at. The guys should be able to smell us, and you know damn well the pack told them we’re here.” At least she hoped they did. She was counting on that to keep the men from aiming at them by mistake. She took one last glance into the room, ensuring the coast was clear, then pulled herself up onto the ledge and through the open window. Once she made it, she motioned for Jess and Kat to follow. Jess handed her the rifle and got in without incident, but Kat ... they both had to grab her arms and tug her through. Kat immediately fell to the floor, flat on her face. Fortunately, it was carpeted, and she managed to land fairly quietly. “Sorry. I’m not very good at climbing.” Rhett’s lips twitched and Jess muffled a snicker. They helped Kat to her feet and shut the window. They were in a relatively small office with three desks that held computers. “Ready?” Rhett didn’t wait to hear Jess and Kat’s responses. She knew they were right behind her as she made her way to the only door. After listening with her ear to the door for several seconds, she finally cracked it open. She checked again and when she heard no sounds, she opened it wider. A rapid glance left and right ascertained that it led to a hallway, just as the plans had indicated. Also according to the layout, three central hallways connected at three different points: the front, middle, and back. They needed to reach the back hallway -- that was zone sixteen and the most likely place Marisa was being held. It was where she and Clayton, and several others had been held.

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She waved her hand and quickly exited the room, making her way down the hallway. They were zipping along when an arm shot out from one of the doors and grabbed her, dragging her into the room. Rhett reacted before her brain fully registered who it was. She knocked Emilio over the head with the butt of her gun, then kneed him in the groin. He instantly dropped to the floor, holding his head and balls. “Son of a bitch!” “Oh, shit! Dad! I’m so sorry.” Rhett knelt down beside him as Jess and Kat came through the door, shutting it behind them. “At least she didn’t shoot you,” Michael said from across the room. Emilio groaned. “I think I’d rather she shot me.” “I’m really, really sorry, Dad.” She helped him to his feet and looked around, surveying her surroundings. Her father was standing at a computer, typing rapidly. Jess had gone over to look over his shoulder and Kat was still at the door, keeping guard. Emilio finally straightened all the way up, his face red. “What are you three doing here? We just got a message from the surveillance team saying you were coming in.” Rhett crossed to the window behind her dad and Jess and peeked out the blinds. “We’re headed to zone sixteen and working our way back to fourteen. Did y’all find the computers in zone three? Where are all the freaks?” Emilio nodded. “Yes, we’ve been retrieving data since we got in. This is the sixth computer we’ve found; turns out they’re all networked. So far this one has had the most information. Our men took care of the guards and split up. Alex, Rome, and Adrian took the middle hallway, and Brent, Rand, and Diego took the front one.” “Okay, then we’re going to the labs in the back.” Rhett released the blinds. Jess patted Michael on the back. “Find anything yet?” “Yeah, some. I’m not really reading right now though, just trying to copy all the info, then delete it.” Kat shifted away from the door to add her two cents’ worth. “Good. I’m tired of worrying about these weirdoes.” “The whole reason we came without the three of you was to protect y’all from these weirdoes,” Emilio said pointedly. Rhett crossed the room and slapped him on his shoulder. “Do you really think I’m incapable of protecting myself, Dad?” “You better say no, or you’re liable to get kneed in the nuts again,” Michael said without looking up from the keyboard. Emilio groaned and stepped back.

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Kat peeked out the door again, then shut it. “So, let me get this straight. Y’all are using text messages to communicate?” “Yeah. We couldn’t get ahold of enough headsets quickly enough.” Emilio pulled out his phone and started typing something, then he looked at Jess, “You got your phone?” “In the car.” Kat held hers up. “I’ve got mine.” “Turn it on and put it on vibrate. That way we can communicate with y’all, too.” Emilio put his phone back on his belt. “Okay, we’re going to get Marisa.” Emilio started to say something, but Rhett cut him off. “We’re fine. You stay here and watch Daddy’s back. He’s obviously found something --” “I’ll say.” Jess spoke from her place by Michael’s side. “He’s found a whole freaking network of these psychos. I mean, bigger than we thought. In more states than we knew.” Rhett raised a brow. “Really?” Michael nodded, without glancing away from his task. “Looks that way.” He continued to type at a furious pace. Emilio jumped, then grabbed his phone and began to read. “Found two wolves. No M; will keep looking. Tell K she’s in trouble.” Kat snorted. “Tell A to kiss K’s ass.” Jess snickered and walked around the desk. “Are we going or what?” “Yeah, let’s go. Kat, we clear?” Kat cracked the door open again, listening intently. She stood there for several seconds, then gave a thumbs-up sign. As the three of them left, Emilio whispered, “Be careful. If you find Reese, come back here.” They made their way silently down the hall. When they reached the back cross-hall, Rhett took the lead again. She couldn’t remember exactly what room she’d been in. It wasn’t like she’d seen the outside of it. Well, she had, but she’d been too busy escaping to pay close attention. They came to the first door and Rhett gently eased it open. She glanced in and caught movement from the corner of her eye. There was a man in a white lab coat standing at a table in the corner. He hadn’t noticed the door was ajar, so she switched the gun into her other hand and grabbed a knife from her boot. She didn’t want to draw attention by using her gun unless she had to, but if she needed to, she could shoot as well left-handed as she could right-handed. Unfortunately, she wasn’t an ambidextrous knife-thrower. It really was too bad that she didn’t have the suppressed guns that Tate and Clay had taken off her attackers from the motel; Brent and the guys had hung on to them, of course.

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Rhett heard one of the other women gasp as they realized what she was about to do, but she quickly motioned them to silence, then pushed the door open and slipped in, vaguely aware of Jess and Kat behind her. The man turned, his eyes widening as he saw her. “Who --” Then recognition struck. “You!”

Oh, my God! It was Carter, the man who had gleefully cut off Clayton’s hand. Rhett aimed the gun at him and moved the knife to her side. “Yeah, me. I’m back, asshole. And if you want to live, you’ll tell me where you are holding the teenage girl you snagged outside of a restaurant two days ago.” The man chuckled. “You know, I’m going to have fun with you. I see you’ve brought some friends, too. How considerate of you. And when I’m done with all of you, I’m going to go find your brats. Tell me, were they both boys or was one a girl? Are they wolves?” He suddenly lunged toward her. Rhett instantly stepped out of reach. Fuck it, they’d find Marisa on their own. She threw the knife, hitting on the side of his neck. Blood gushed; she must have hit his carotid artery. Carter looked stunned as he grabbed at his throat. Rhett rushed forward, catching the bastard before he fell, possibly knocking things over and making noise. She glanced up at Kat and Jess. Both were staring at her and a little pale. “Sorry. He’s a sick son of a bitch. He used to get off on cutting wolves’ hands and feet off just to see how long it would take them to regenerate.” Kat swallowed audibly and summoned up a tiny grin. “Well, in that case, good riddance!” “Couldn’t you have waited until he told us where to find Marisa?” Jess asked plaintively, still a bit green about the gills, but regaining color by the second. Rhett pulled her knife from Carter’s neck and wiped it on his pants before standing up and leaving the wounded man to bleed out. “All right, let’s find her.” They snuck back into the hall and went to the next door ... where they hit the jackpot. Marisa was in a cage. When they entered the room en masse, the teen sat up and blinked rapidly. “Jess? Kat? Rhett?” Jess ran forward, hugging her sister-in-law through the bars. “Yeah, it’s us. Are you all right?” The girl nodded. “I am now.” Rhett inspected the room, searching for any other victims. There were more cages, but they were empty. Kat started, then looked down at her hip. She grabbed her phone and read. “Brent says he’s coming in, don’t shoot.” The door creaked open and all three women spun around aiming their weapons.

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Brent’s voice preceded him. “Hold your fire. It’s me.” They lowered their arms as Brent came through the door, followed by Rand and Diego. Diego spotted Marisa and rushed to her. “Marisa, honey! Are you okay?” “I’m fine, Daddy, just get me out of here, okay?” Rand dashed forward, grabbing Marisa’s hand. “They didn’t hurt you?” She shook her head. “No, they drew some blood and were going to breed ... well, never mind. I just want to go home.” “Are these the keys?” Jess jingled a set. Diego held out his hand when Marisa responded in the affirmative. Brent crossed the room, shaking his head. “I should have known you wouldn’t listen.” Rhett kissed his chin. “Yes, you should have. I’ll save the argument until we get out of here.” His brows furrowed. “What argument?” “You sneaking out without me.” He smiled and looked at Kat. “Message Adrian and my dad to let them know we have Marisa. Tell them to keep looking for others.” He faced Rhett. “Have y’all come across any guards? Other personnel?” “No, just one of the scientists. He’s dead. You?” “Yeah, we took out some guards out front and more inside when we got in. We’ve also found about eight wolves total.” Rhett nodded. That made sense. TWiTs had kept Clayton in human form a lot, the better to study him, even though the researchers had injections that could make the men shift. Were there cameras in the rooms? Rhett examined the ceilings and corners of the room. “If you are looking for spy equipment, we took those out at the guard booth and the security room; that’s how we ended up getting rid of a lot of them. As for the staff, no doubt your scientist wanted the place to himself.” Kat stepped forward, trading spots with Jess as she took over the post by the door. “So what happened to them?” Brent glanced at her, then back to Kat, clearly reluctant to tell them. Rhett wasn’t going to pull punches with Kat and Jess; they needed to know how serious this was. Their mates really weren’t doing them any favors by trying to keep them in the dark. “It’s okay, they’re tough cookies. They watched me kill Carter without a peep.” She gazed at Kat as she spoke to her mate. “I’m guessing the guards won’t be harming wolves anymore.” Brent nodded.

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Diego was still trying keys. And Marisa and Rand were whispering low words that sounded tender in between words of encouragement to her father. “Hurry, Daddy.” “Try that one, Diego.” Kat grabbed her phone, looking at it. “Adrian says zones thirteen and fourteen are clear, and they found three more wolves.” “Got it!” Diego pulled the bars open and caught Marisa as she jumped into his arms. “All right, we are almost done here. You gals go on and take Marisa home.” Brent started to turn, but Rhett caught his arm. “I want to stay.” He shook his head. “Brent --” “Look, honey. I know you can take care of yourself, but ...” He leaned closer. “Your main priority needs to be ensuring that Marisa gets out safely. Kat and Jess are competent, but they aren’t like you. If anything were to go wrong, it would be up to you to handle it. You understand what I’m saying?” She sighed resignedly. She did get it. Rhett was pretty sure Jess and Kat would kill if necessary, but they didn’t have the skills she did, and they didn’t react as quickly. And she was pretty sure both had silently freaked out when she’d killed Carter. “Can’t Rand get them out?” He kissed her. “I need you to do this. We’ve got to finish searching the rooms before we torch the place.” She didn’t want to go, but she would. Because he asked it of her. “Okay.” “Thank you.” He caressed her cheek then gave her a lingering kiss. “Love you. I need you safe.” “Are we done?” Diego asked. Brent let go of her and brought his rifle back to his shoulder. “Ready, Tio.” He went to the door, waited for Rand to give them the all-clear. “Where is the scientist’s body, Hellion?” “The next room over to the left.” Kat’s eyes shot wide as she stood behind Rand. “You aren’t going to eat him, are you?” Brent chuckled. “No, I hadn’t planned on it, but there are other wolves running around here.” Jess shuddered and held up a hand. “Ew. I don’t want to know.” Diego got his pistol ready and moved beside Brent. Rhett followed. “I’m not going out there without a gun, so someone better hand me one right now.” Marisa’s fiercely whispered words brought them to a halt. Brent looked at his uncle, and when Diego nodded, he pulled a pistol from his holster and handed it to Marisa. “One in the pipe, Reese; safety is off.”

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“Got it.” She got in line with everyone else, gun pointed toward the ceiling, mirroring Rhett, her father, Jess, and Rand. Rhett was impressed by the way the girl handled the weapon so well. Marisa kept her finger off the trigger and held the gun with a good, proper grip. Marisa grinned at her and mouthed, “Thank you.” She blinked. Why was Marisa thanking her? She hadn’t come on this mission alone. And even if Rhett hadn’t been the one to find her, another member of the pack would have come for the girl. Rand opened the door; Brent went out first. The rest of them followed with Rhett bringing up the rear. Once they got back to the room they’d left Emilio and Michael in, the guys split off and took the other hall. Michael was just finishing up with the computer when they entered. Marisa ran to Emilio, “Tio.” He hugged her tightly. “Reese. Thank God you’re okay.” Marisa let go of Emilio and raced to Michael, throwing herself into his arms. He kissed her forehead and shared a look with Emilio. What was that about? Rhett wondered. “Perfect timing, ladies. There is one more room we need to hit. Alex reported that the only computer there sits at the entrance, so they are bringing the whole thing with them. We’re going to go to the room next door, then we’ll be right behind you.” Michael peered out the blinds, then lifted them and opened the window. “Come on, I’ll help y’all out of here.” Rhett hated to admit it, but she was actually glad to be leaving this place. Just being back here was giving her the creeps.

***** Alex got in the cabin door and went into doctor mode. “Luc, let me see your hand.” Luc extended his blood-stained, bandaged hand to Alex and handed Brent his AR 15. It seemed that as their team had been leaving, they’d discovered two more inhabitants, both in wolf form and both frantic to escape. Luc had been the first one in the room and freed them from their cages when he had been bitten by one of the wolves. Brent had come in shortly behind him, to find him sitting on a snarling, agitated wolf, his hand an open wound. He’d torn some strips from his shirt to wrap up Luc’s hand, and then together they’d gotten the wolves out. Alex shook his head. “It’s already healed. The bite wound is gone. Man, I’m really sorry.” Which meant the wolf’s saliva must have changed Luc.

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Luc shrugged and went to the kitchen and washed his hand off. “It’s all right; I felt the pain go away, so I figured I must have been affected. Besides, I’ve dealt with wolves all my life, including my best friend. I’ll adjust, and I don’t regret anything. I wasn’t about to miss out on the action.” He turned the water off and looked at Brent. “I’m also betting that I’ll have my own personal wolf mentor on the ranch.” Brent nodded. “You will.” “Where are they?” Adrian paced back and forth. “Tio said they left before him and Michael. Come to think of it, where are Tio and Michael?” Alex darted a glance at Brent, then sat down. “Would you relax, Adrian. We just walked in the door. Tio and Michael were getting the fire going on their side of the building, then they were coming. The girls were with them. And don’t forget there weren’t any guards left. They’ll be here.” Brent was a little worried himself. “Why don’t you call Kat, Adrian?” Adrian threw his hands into the air and let them fall. “I did! She isn’t answering the phone.” “They’re here.” Rome jogged past them headed for the front door. They all went out on the porch, including Diego and Claire. Diego had walked in the door and immediately gone to wake his mate, who rushed to the cabin after he’d called her to say they’d gotten their daughter back. Emilio was walking up to the porch. He groaned and stopped dead in his tracks. “Goddammit! I don’t get it.” He shook his head, closed his eyes, and fisted his hands. Brent frowned. The girls were not with them. “Don’t get what Dad?” “My freaking eyes keep changing, and now I’m having to fight my teeth off, too.” Michael came to a stop beside Emilio, looking up at everyone on the porch. “We had a little trouble. Apparently, surveillance missed a guard, and the asshole shot at us. We ended up having to dispatch him as we were leaving. We stayed a little longer to make sure that the place was going to ashes. Didn’t want to chance it being put out.” Emilio’s head whipped around to face Michael. “Son of a bitch! You’re bleeding, aren’t you? You got shot?” He immediately started checking Michael over. Michael evaded his hands. “It’s just a nick. Cut it out!” He surveyed everyone on the porch again, then looked around. “Where are the girls?” Brent felt his chest tighten with fear. “I was just about to ask you that.”

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Chapter Nineteen “Oh, my God! This is un-freaking-believable! Give me the danged keys, and I’ll do it! I just want to remind the three of you that I am supposed to be the damsel in distress here! You guys are supposed to be rescuing me!” Marisa snatched the car keys out of Rhett’s hand, stomped around to the back of the car and opened the trunk. She looked up at Rhett, Kat, and Jess after a few seconds. “Well? I’m waiting! Someone help me get this crap out!” Jess’s lips twitched. Kat looked at the sky, taking a sudden interest in the stars. Rhett tried to restrain herself, but couldn’t. They’d just broken into a building, killed a man, freed Marisa -- and now they were actually arguing over who was going to change a flat tire. Jess didn’t want to get grease under her fingernails because, “It’s a bitch to get out.” Kat’s excuse was that she had never changed a flat tire before. Which really didn’t cut it as far as Rhett was concerned, because neither had she. And Rhett, well her excuse was ... she didn’t really have an excuse, she just didn’t want to do it. Here they were, three strong, independent grown women and, oh, boy, what they wouldn’t do to have a man available right about now. Even if their mates would rag them to death about this situation. Yup, the three of them were beyond ridiculous -- and how terribly sad that it took a teenager to point out the error of their ways. She burst out laughing. Pretty soon, Jess and Kat were cackling their heads off along with her. Marisa stood by the trunk, staring at them like they’d lost their minds. “What in the world is so funny?” Jess stopped chuckling long enough to say in an extremely exaggerated falsetto, “I’ve never changed a tire before.”

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Rhett followed suit with, “I don’t want to get gunk under my nails.” “Yeah, it’s a bitch to get out!” Kat added. Marisa smirked. “Well, I see you guys finally caught on to how ridiculous you sounded. Help me, so we can get this done. Save the tripping out until we get back to the cabin.” She unscrewed the thing that held the spare tire into place. She tossed the fastener aside and began to maneuver the tire. Kat came around the car and helped Marisa pull the tire up on its end and roll it out of the trunk. “Who’s going to watch the road?” Kat asked. Rhett and Jess started to join them, then Rhett thought better of it. “Jess, why don’t you save your nails and keep watch? We’re right around the corner from the cabin, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, ya know?” Jess grinned and nodded. Rhett grabbed the jack and tire iron. She wrinkled her nose as Kat and Marisa wheeled the tire over. God, she hoped this was as simple as it looked. Rhett lay down on her back and positioned the jack. When she stood again, Jess was circling toward the front of the car, glancing around. Rhett smiled. Good, Jess was paying attention to their surroundings. She had to admit the three of them really did make a good team. And Marisa fit right in. Rhett begin jacking up the car as Marisa and Kat waited with the wheel. When the flat tire was off the ground, she got the tire iron. “I’ll need help with this.” Marisa grabbed hold and assisted. After several minutes of grunting and straining from the two of them, the lug nut finally decided to cooperate. They got it loose enough so that Rhett could untwist it the rest of the way. Marisa grinned triumphantly and positioned the tire iron on the next lug nut. Kat added her strength to Marisa and Rhett’s efforts, making it come loose. Two down ... dang, Rhett’s arms were trembling. She was really going to have to work on her upper body strength. The tire iron slipped and Kat, Rhett, and Marisa all ended up on their butts. Jess walked by again, snorting with laughter. Rhett looked up and stuck her tongue out at her, but chuckled, too. “Okay, I hate to admit defeat, but I’m ready to call the guys.” Kat shook her head. “No way, José! You know they’ll never let us hear the end of this. We’ll rest a second, then attack it again.” Marisa rubbed her arms. “Man, my shoulders are killing me. Jess, I think you need to add push-ups or something to our weekly workout in competition class.” Kat grabbed the tire tool and went back to work. “It sure wouldn’t kill us. Man, who’d have thought we were this weak?” Marisa raised her hand. “I would’ve. My strength is in my legs.”

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“Mine, too,” Rhett agreed. Now why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? It was a fourway tire tool, so they could probably use their legs. She touched Kat on the shoulder. “Step back, I have an idea.” She sat down and used her feet to push the tool. It budged just a bit before it flew off. Marisa and Kat both turned their heads and ducked, watching it zip by them. Rhett winced. Oh, well, it had been worth a shot. Marisa fetched the instrument back while Kat held out a hand to Rhett. She took it and stood. Jess strolled by again. The other women resumed their previous positions and got one more nut off. When they started on the last one, the iron slipped again and they all went down in a pile, laughing hysterically. All three of them lay there giggling as Jess stepped over them. “Great, my accomplices are the three stooges.” Kat sat up, snatched a pebble and pegged Jess in the butt with it. “I’m tired! And a little stressed. If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry. Which would you rather?” Jess nodded. “Good point. Please continue. Laugh all you want. I’ll just enjoy everything.” So they did. They lay on their backs, shrieking with laughter for all they were worth. And that is exactly how Alex, Adrian, Rome, and Rand found them when they drove up.

***** After Brent got the call from Alex saying they’d located the girls, Brent pulled Michael’s truck behind his own car and parked. Adrian was just lowering the jack when Brent turned off the engine. Even from inside the truck, he could hear his cousin complaining. Brent grinned and shook his head. One of these days Adrian was going to be forced to relax and go with the flow. With Brent’s coaching, their cousin Alex was finally beginning to take things in stride. Brent knew that none of their mates’ antics were going to stop. Especially since Jess and Kat were cut from the same cloth as Rhett, and Lord knew, he’d given up trying to keep Rhett on a tight leash years ago. His hellion was going to do whatever she wanted; trying to restrain her would just make them both unhappy. Yes, it was a little nerve-wracking at times -- he’d definitely agree with Adrian on that -- but then her will and independence were two of the things he loved most about her, and he wouldn’t have her change. So, he was going to take things as they came, or he’d go insane. Rhett finally spotted him and rushed over to meet him. He opened the door and stepped out as she slid into his arms.

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“We sort of had a flat.” He kissed her nose. “Yes, I believe I noticed.” “Good Lord, does Adrian ever run out of steam? He’s been bitching since he got here. I’d forgotten how uptight he is. Even Alex finally ran out of complaints and collapsed from a fit of laughter, which only seemed to piss Adrian off more.” She shrugged and kissed his chin. “You’d think he’d have figured out that Kat isn’t paying him the least bit of attention.” Indeed, Kat was engrossed in a conversation with Rand, who had his arm slung over Marisa’s shoulder. Adrian was at the point of mumbling to himself as he replaced the jack in the trunk. Alex had already put the flat tire inside and was smiling at something Jess was saying. Everyone was clearly oblivious to -- or ignoring -- Adrian’s discontent. Rome sidled up beside Brent and Rhett. “How are you, big sister? Next time, I’ll vote to include you. Ya done good.” Rhett smiled up at him, arms still tight around Brent. “I’m good. I feel a lot better.” She looked at Brent. “Like a chunk of weight has been lifted. It’s unbelievably empowering to know that we torched that lab. And I know it sounds heartless, but I actually felt good about killing Carter. Not that I did it in cold blood; he was attacking me. At least now I can rest, knowing that he will never do grievous harm to another person.” Brent grinned. “It doesn’t make you heartless, honey. I thought it was self-defense.” “It was. But I think I’d have killed him even if it wasn’t.” She glanced down and shook her head slightly. “In fact, I know I would’ve. I guess that means I’m no better than they are.” Brent squeezed her tight, then slid his hand under her bottom, pulling her up to face level. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he caught her gaze. “No, it doesn’t. You wanting him dead is understandable. You could never be like them; you protect those you love. You even gave up your own happiness to do so.” Rhett slanted her mouth over his in a savage move, devouring him, giving him no choice but to submit to her kiss. Not that he was complaining. As kisses went it wasn’t the most graceful, but Lord did it have a lot of hunger and emotion behind it. Brent groaned into her mouth, his body already reacting to Rhett’s fervor. He was barely aware of Rome leaving as he stumbled back against Michael’s truck and continued to let her have her way with him. But if he didn’t get her back to the cabin, he was going to end up ripping her clothes off right here and now. And typically, Rhett wasn’t going to be the one to stop. No, she wasn’t one to deny her needs; already she was grinding her hips against his. The woman just let go when it came to lovemaking, and he thanked God for it. What a turn-on it was. Brent pulled back, panting hard. “Home. Now.” He opened the truck’s passenger door and slid her in, then called out to her brother. “Rome, drive my car back, please.” Rome waved, a huge grin on his face.

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Rhett was sprawled out on her seat, gasping for breath. Her head lifted as he started the truck. “Oh, God. Drive fast!” Brent chuckled and stepped on the gas. By the time they pulled into the cabin drive, Rhett was in his lap wrapped around him. As he opened the door, their lips locked together and he stumbled out, experiencing a weird sort of déjà vu. They clambered up the porch with her still in his arms. When he unlocked the door, he came face to face with his aunt and uncle, who were seated side by side on the couch. Brent set Rhett on her feet. Damn! Claire grinned. “After Alex called, we managed to get everyone back upstairs and in bed. We’re just waiting on Marisa.” Rhett grinned really wide, but didn’t still her hands, which were fondling his back, butt, and shoulders. “They’re right behind us.” Brent reached back and grabbed a hand that had just squeezed his ass. “Michael okay?” Diego chuckled. “Yes, he’s fine; it was just a nick. Sarah patched him up and put him to bed.” He nodded. Would it be really rude to rush off and not talk any more with his aunt and uncle? Diego pulled Claire into his lap and tipped his head toward the stairs, eyes twinkling wickedly. “Go on to bed, mijo.” Rhett gripped his hand and started tugging him up the stairs. “Thank you, Diego! Night!” Laughter followed them to their room. No sooner had he gotten the door shut than Rhett attacked him again, pulling at his shirt. “Off! Get it off!” He swept it off and felt her fingers working on his pants. By the time he tossed his shirt onto a nearby chair, she had his pants and briefs around his knees. A warm hand wrapped around the base of his cock seconds before it was engulfed in warm moist heat. Brent hissed out a breath. Rhett wasted no time. She swallowed his cock down, moaning in the back of her throat. She sucked him with a frenzied pace, like she couldn’t get enough of him, like she couldn’t control herself. He supposed it was the adrenaline rush from the events of the night at the lab and finally knowing it had been destroyed. He felt the same way. He tangled his fingers in her hair, loving the feel of her mouth on him. Damn, she looked so good with her mouth surrounding his cock, gripping it tightly. The sight of her hollowed cheeks as she worked his prick was almost too much. No way would he last long enough to give her pleasure. And he wanted her very, very badly. Needed to feel her around him, her body as close to his as physically possible.

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He reached for her and pulled her up, his cock coming out of her mouth with a wet pop. She whined at the loss of him. “Bed! Now!” Good Lord, he sounded like a damned barbarian, but he couldn’t help it. He needed her desperately. His cock felt like it was going to burst, and his balls were so tight, he was surprised he hadn’t come yet. Rhett jerked her clothes off as she made for the bed. Brent removed his boots and, in his hurry to get out of his pants, chucked them across the room. Rhett’s shoes soon followed. She struggled to slip out of her pants, finally kicking them free. She crawled up onto the edge of the bed, positioned neatly on her hands and knees, her pretty little ass in the air. She was so wet, he could actually see the moisture shining on her pussy lips. Brent inhaled sharply, taking in her scent. She smelled so good, so aroused. He wanted to bury his face in that damp heat and lap her up. “Now, Brent, now! I can’t wait! Fuck me now!” Oh, man! Rhett on her hands and knees pleading, insisting that he pleasure her -- if that wasn’t the sexiest thing ever, he didn’t know what was. He couldn’t resist one taste. He dipped his head and trailed his tongue up her slit and over her anus. She whimpered. He licked back down and thrust his tongue inside her, fucking her with it. She tasted so good, so right. “Please ... Brent, please ...” His cock jerked at her urgency, but he didn’t want to stop, not yet. Maybe after she came once. He slid a finger inside of her, getting it good and wet as he suckled her clit. She moaned and began rocking. Rhett was in heaven. His mouth felt so good on her clit. She wanted his cock inside her, but the sensation of his lips down there felt too good to stop. She was so close to orgasm. Just a little bit more and ... he moved his finger out of her and started circling her anus with it. It distracted her enough to pull her back from the edge of climax. What was he ... He hadn’t done that since ... well, since she’d been back. They’d done just about everything they could think of as teenagers, so she wasn’t all that shocked, but she hadn’t expected it now. He thrust his tongue back inside her, up and down, seemingly savoring her. Rhett moaned, once again on the verge of coming. She panted eagerly, pushing back toward him. When his finger finally penetrated her tight rectum, it was too much. It pushed her right over the edge, her pussy muscles clamping down tight, then relaxing over and over again.

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As the last aftershocks were leaving her, Brent stood and positioned his cock against her. They both hissed out a breath as the tip slid in. Then there was no time to think. He put his hand on her hip and slid the rest of the way in. His cock was so hard it hurt. Rhett’s wet heat surrounded him and her tight little ass squeezed his finger. Damn, he’d forgotten how quickly he could make her come just from doing that. He wondered if it would work as well while he fucked her, because he was already too far gone. Had been, in fact, since he’d slid into her and she’d contracted around him. She looked so damned good squirming and squirming in front of him. He fucked her ass with his finger while his cock thrust in and out of the snug, wet heat of her cunt. In seconds she was panting again, pleading. “Brent!” Her cunt compressed his cock, milking it as her ass clutched his finger. Moisture surrounded his prick, soaking him, pulling the orgasm right out of him. He thrust one last time and spilled himself into her. Rhett collapsed, her face mashed into the mattress. He had just enough energy to move to her side, before he did the same. When he opened his eyes she was smiling at him. He reached out and caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles before he leaned over and kissed her nose. God, he loved this woman! “Brent?” Her nose scrunched up and her forehead furrowed. “Not that I’m complaining or anything, but why didn’t you yell about me following you?” He ran a finger down her forehead, trying to smooth out the lines. “Would it have done any good?” She bit her lip and shook her head. “Exactly.” A brow lifted in confusion. “That’s it?” “Yeah. I had a feeling you’d follow, if that’s what you want to know.” “And you’re not mad about it?” “Nope. If I screamed and yelled every time you did something scream-and-yell-worthy, I wouldn’t have a voice left. I gave up trying to control you back when you were, oh, about thirteen or so. Best thing I ever did since it saved my sanity.” She snorted and scooted closer, burrowing into his arms, against his chest. He grinned over the top of her head. “Besides, Clay is going to rip you a new one tomorrow. I didn’t want to take the pleasure out of it for him.”

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Chapter Twenty Two days later, Alex called a pack meeting. Rhett and Brent walked back up to the cabin after a stroll around the grounds and would have been in time to grab a shower before everyone met -- until Jill stopped them. Dash was sitting on the porch steps; Jill one level below, leaning back on him. He had a huge smile on his face while his hands pressed on his mate’s belly. Jill groaned and looked up. “You guys got a few minutes?” Brent sat down and pulled Rhett onto his lap. “Sure, what’s up?” Jill groaned again, then chuckled. She looked over her shoulder at Dash. “Would you stop?” Dash kissed her on the cheek and grinned at them. “No. He’s kicking me. The little shit does it every time I touch you.” He pushed on Jill’s stomach again. Jill sighed and looked at Brent and Rhett. “They do this all the time. The baby kicks, Dev pushes. Dev pushes, the baby kicks. I can’t wait until they can take me out of the equation.” Dash kissed her again, keeping his hands on her belly, focusing his attention on Rhett and Brent. Rhett couldn’t help but grin. Dash looked extremely content, and it was nice to see the rascal so happy. But Jill was definitely going to have her hands full once their baby was born. It would be a miracle if she had a chance to hold the kid before it was six months old. Dash’s hands bounced. He chuckled. Jill gasped. “Good grief, how does he know it’s you? He doesn’t do that when I rest my hands there.” They all shared a laugh.

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“Both of them are already trying to drive me batty.” Jill made an exaggerated grimace before she continued. “Listen, I’ve done some testing on the blood samples Dash brought me. You aren’t a wolf, Rhett. I’m not exactly sure why you healed so fast, but I think it has to do with the enzyme that makes you Brent’s mate. I injected myself, Claire, and Jess with our mates’ blood, and the same thing happened. It healed a bruise Claire had and a cut on Jess’s hand, but it --” “You did what!?” Dash’s face paled. Jill looked at him like he was an idiot. “I injected --” Dash frowned. “I got that! Are you crazy? Where in the hell was I when you were doing this?” “At work and, no, I’m not crazy. Will you quit interrupting?” Jill turned back to Rhett and Brent. “As I was saying, the results were --” “What about the baby?” Jill sighed. “The baby is already a wolf, so it doesn’t matter. Now, hush!” She put her hand over Dash’s mouth. “Okay. We got the same results -- it heals any injuries, no matter how minor, which we kind of already knew, but it didn’t make us wolves. I’ve tested Teresa’s blood and a few other women who aren’t mates but are involved with the pack. They all lacked the gene that you, Marisa, and Claire carry from your fathers, but they were also missing an enzyme that you, Claire, Jess, and I have. I’m assuming that is what makes us mates. My enzyme matched one I found in Dev’s blood. I haven’t yet tested Diego or Alex. But I will. And I’d like some blood from you, too, Brent, if you don’t mind.” Brent nodded. “Sure.” Jill grinned. “Excellent. My working hypothesis is that mates of wolves can’t be changed by their mates, but they do heal faster with their mates’ blood, which seems borne out by my test results. For other women, werewolf blood does nothing to them.” Her stomach jumped again, making Dash’s hands lift. Jill winced and immediately Dash started rubbing the spot the baby kicked. “Also ...” She looked back at Dash. “You wanna tell them? Or should I?” “You’re pregnant.” Dash cocked an eyebrow. “Congrats?” Brent squeezed Rhett, chuckled, then whispered into her hair. “Told you so.” Rhett could hear the smile in his voice as he answered Dash. “Yeah, congrats. I’d have liked to spend more time with Clay and Tate but you better believe this is a good thing. Congratulations are definitely in order.” Rhett relaxed back into his arms. She was still nervous about the idea of having another child and thought she was way too old, but it would be nice to see Brent with a baby. Their baby. She’d missed the chance to watch him with their boys, had always wondered what he’d have been like as a doting father. Yeah, this was a wonderful thing, all right.

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Rhett smiled. She tilted her head, kissing him on the jaw. “You want to do the honors in telling the boys?” “Absolutely.” As if their talk had summoned him, Clay stuck his head out the door. “Dad!” He glanced down and smiled. “Oh, hey, there you are. Come on. The meeting is about to start. Alex is thinking about setting up a task force to deal with TWiTs. Grandpa and Uncle Grandpa are going to head it up. Tate and I want in! We’ve already volunteered.” Before they could respond, he disappeared back inside. Brent got up and pulled her with him. “Let’s go see what our children are trying to get into now.” Rhett took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. They’d handle it and everything ... together.

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Epilogue Brent sat up in bed and yawned. He could have sworn he’d heard the baby cry. He closed his eyes and listened closely. Maybe it was just his brain playing tricks on him. He had helped Luc to train the TWiTs task force all weekend and was exhausted. He glanced down at Rhett, still sound asleep. She usually heard the baby cry, but she, too, had been training all weekend. Wyatt wasn’t quite three months old yet, and he was still waking up for his nightly feedings, so Brent decided to go check. He’d rather be safe than sorry. He grabbed a pair of sweats off the chair next to the bed and went next door to the nursery. Clay was in the rocker, eyes closed, head tipped back, feeding and softly rocking the baby. Tate lay on his stomach on the floor next to the rocking chair. He, too, appeared to be asleep. Brent smiled at all three of his boys. The twins had to be just as exhausted as he and Rhett were after the hard training he’d recently put everyone through. Maybe he should have asked his mom to stay and watch the baby another night. “Hey.” Clay’s green eyes blinked open. “Hey, yourself. You want me to take over?” Clay shook his head. “Don’t bother. I already tried.” Tate sat up and stretched. “We need to talk to Mom about having another one; Clay’s a baby hog.” Brent chuckled. “Good luck with that! You may just have to wait until you have one of your own.” “He just wants to use Wyatt as chick bait,” Clay grumbled.

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Brent’s eyes widened. “Chick bait?” Clay pulled the bottle away from the baby, setting it on the table next to the lamp, then pulled Wyatt to his shoulder to burp him. “Not true! Although the kid is a babe magnet; I’ll give ya that.” Tate lay back down, propping his chin on his hands. “So you want to use your brother to pick up women?” Brent smothered a grin and tried to look stern. “No.” “Yes, he does! That’s why I don’t share.” Tate snorted. “Oh, yeah, like you weren’t eating up the attention the other day when we took him to the store with us.” After the baby burped a few times, Clay laid him back down and gave him back his bottle. “Well, maybe a little. But I didn’t take him with us to pick up chicks! I was giving Mom and Dad a break.” Brent shook his head, a grin breaking through. He bent down, kissed Tate on the top of the head, then went to the rocking chair and did the same to Clay and Wyatt. “I’m going back to bed. Good night, boys.” “Night, Dad,” they chorused as Brent left the room. Brent smiled all the way back to bed. He took off his sweatpants and crawled under the covers again, pulling Rhett into him. “Huh? What?” “Shh ... nothing. Go back to sleep.” He lay there for a few minutes, holding his mate. Damn, life was fabulous! He had his mate and three beautiful, healthy, obnoxious children. What more could a man ask for? “Hey, Rhett. You awake?” “Uhh?” “I’ve been thinking. I need another baby. The twins stole mine.”

Jeigh Lynn Jeigh Lynn lives with, her real life hero, her husband and their two rowdy sons. She is an ex-dance instructor and dancer of over twenty-five years. She lays claim to several National and Regional Dance Competition trophies, including Showstoppers, Stars of Tomorrow and Star Power. She was also featured twice on a variety show for the BBC. Currently, Jeigh is a stay at home mom and a writer, not to mention an avid reader of Romance and Mystery. When she's not fetching Kool-Aid and swapping out video games, she can usually be found enjoying the decadence of chocolate, in between her workouts and writing. Her hobbies include gardening, practicing her marksmanship, art, typing email to her critique partners and, of course, reading. Visit Jeigh on the Web at www.jeighlynn.com.