“Ask her,” Zander said, pouring coffee into his cup. “I was as surprised as you are.”

Logan only watched him, though Colin relaxed a little and remained seated.

Zander went on calmly. “She has my scent mark in return—entirely accepted by her. This way, if anyone wants to give her crap, they have to go through me.”

Eoin, whose eyes had flicked to that of an alpha lion, gave Zander a nod. He hadn’t stood up, but he hadn’t needed to. He could intimidate standing or sitting. “I agree. It was a good thought.”

The two brothers finally gave Zander grudging nods, taking their father’s decision as their own. Zander let out a silent breath of relief. If he’d had to fight them, he’d have hurt them, which would have grieved Rae.

Ezra, who had been sitting at the table, well away from the unspoken battle, said, “Zander will make her a good mate. Rae needs a clan.”

“What does that mean?” Carson asked. He too was at the table, looking a bit surprised he was taking a meal with Shifters and not hating it.

“No one knows Rae’s pack or her extended clan,” Ezra explained. “It’s taboo to mate within a clan, so when a Shifter’s isn’t known, it’s harder for them to find a mate. Zander is pure bear, unlikely to be related to her, so it’s perfect. When are the sun and moon ceremonies?”

Rae chose that moment to walk in. She took in her brothers, father, Zander, Ezra, and Carson all turning to look at her, and her cheeks went flame red.

As usual when Rae got flustered she covered embarrassment with anger. She stalked past Zander to the coffeepot, dumped coffee into the remaining empty cup, and slammed the pot back on the stove.

“Do you all have nothing better to do than watch a woman get herself coffee?” She fixed the room with her gray stare. “That’s pretty sad.”

Ezra flushed and returned to his breakfast. Her brothers looked abashed and wouldn’t meet her eyes. Only her dad and Carson kept their gazes on her.

Zander chuckled and saluted Rae with his coffee cup. Little Wolf had just showed everyone in the room exactly where they stood in her hierarchy.

Eoin rose and went to Rae, his expression softening. “I’m happy for you, child. I truly am.” He reached for her and enfolded her in an embrace.

“It’s only a scent mark,” Rae said, trying to sound offhand. She leaned into her father as he hugged her, closing her eyes to hold him tightly in return. When they eased apart, Rae wiped her eyes. “My wolf thought it was a good idea, that’s all. I can always take the mark away.”

Zander gave her a level look. “You have to catch me first. And by the way”—he thunked his cup to the table and went to the stove to fill up his plate—“I’m not taking mine back.”

Rae shot him a startled glance but Zander only moved past her without looking at her. The fact that she was his now surged through his blood. The males in this town had had their chance. Tough shit for them.

Rae headed for the stove once Zander was seated at the table, as though she didn’t trust herself near him. She heaped scrambled eggs from the big frying pan onto her plate and laid a couple of pancakes from the griddle on top of them. She’d worked up as much of an appetite last night as Zander had.

Rae turned away, a full plate in her hand. “We’ll talk about it lat—”

There was a loud popping sound and a man sprang into existence in the kitchen. He was tall and lean, with a runner’s strength, and had eyes like dark holes into nothing. He also carried the strong, unmistakable scent of the realms of Faerie.

Every Shifter but Zander snarled, hackles rising. Rae gasped out loud, but instead of dropping her plate or anything else dramatic, she set down her breakfast, shifted into her half-wolf, and went for him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Rae had almost completed her leap when Zander caught her around the waist and hauled her back. She was a volatile armful as she snarled, fought, and tried to bite, but Zander held her fast.

“Don’t be inhospitable,” Zander said in her ear. “This is Stuart Reid. He’s a friend. I called him to come up here and talk to me.”

Rae turned her wolf-human face up to him. Her muzzle was full of black whiskers over which her gray eyes fixed on him. Even as her ferocious beast, she was cute.

Rae let her muzzle recede as she became fully human once more. “He’s the guy you know?”

“Yep. He’s Fae but not the same kind of Fae.” While Reid had the long, lean Fae features, his hair was midnight black, his skin darker than that of the Fae most Shifters knew about. “He lives in the Las Vegas Shiftertown now. Your dad’s met him a couple of times at Shifter leaders’ meetings.”

“Which you’ve never attended,” Eoin said sternly. “How do you know what goes on at Shifter leaders’ secret meetings?”

Zander kept his eyes on Rae. “I know a lot of things. Don’t worry—Reid isn’t regular Fae. He’s dark Fae, or whatever he calls it.”

“Dokk alfar,” Reid said in his deep voice. “Not hoch alfar—the High Fae. Different species.” Sounded like he explained this often.

“He can teleport,” Zander said. “But only to places he’s seen before, so I made a little movie with my phone last night and sent it to him. Hope you don’t mind.”

“I deleted it,” Reid said quickly to Eoin. “I promise I will not violate your territory or your privacy.”

Reid had obviously lived with Shifters a while—he knew just what to say to soothe Eoin down.

Eoin’s irritation was only for Zander. “Maybe discuss it with me next time, Moncrieff?”

“I didn’t want to disturb you,” Zander said. “And didn’t have time to warn you this morning. Anyway, Reid’s a good Fae and I need to consult with him. Want eggs?” he asked Reid, gesturing to the stove.

“No thanks,” Reid said. “I had breakfast. Wouldn’t mind coffee though.”

Eoin had already opened a cupboard to take down an extra cup and pour the brew. He was not about to let anyone else in his house serve a stranger—especially a Fae. If the stranger attacked, the strongest Shifter of the household would be right in front of him with a steaming hot beverage in his hands.

Reid only thanked Eoin politely and sipped the coffee.

“How everything in Vegas?” Zander asked conversationally. If he got the man talking about ordinary things maybe everyone in the room would relax.