Noah didn’t miss a beat; that was one of the reasons she adored him. For all his seriousness, he loved to play with her. “I think it’s more than plans. He’s got a big date in the works—”

Noah was cut off as a low, menacing growl worked its way deep from Ryan’s throat. Erin had just wanted to mess with him, but the dark look on his face stopped her cold. “Shit, Ryan, we were just messing with you.”

Ryan glared at both of them. “Fuck! That’s messed up. I expect it from you”—his eyes narrowed on Erin—“but not you, man.” He shook his head and for a moment Erin thought he was really and truly pissed, but then he laughed under his breath. “Payback’s going to be a bitch, short stuff.”

She rolled her eyes at the nickname, though inside it warmed her. Her relationship with the warriors of this pack was more comfortable than with her last pack. Not that she’d truly let her guard down around them. She’d seen firsthand what happened when you trusted someone and they betrayed you—she had the scars to prove it too. Scars that went far deeper than the faint ones that marred her back and sides. Shaking off the dark memory, she pasted on a smile. “Whatever—”

Erin stopped abruptly as Vivian raced inside with Esperanze, Lucas, and Leila in tow. Lucas and Vivian were in shifted form and the little cubs were absolutely adorable.

Esperanze, the pretty shifter with hair longer than anyone else in the pack—the kind of gorgeous locks Erin wasn’t afraid to admit she envied—looked completely frazzled. “Erin and Noah, you two are in charge of these little hellions,” Esperanze said as she motioned to Vivian and Lucas.

“No problem.” Erin wrangled Vivian out from under the table. “Come on, you little she-cat. It’s time for a run.” As Erin pulled her out, she saw Noah trying to wrestle Lucas out from the pantry, where he was hiding behind some canned food. For one completely insane moment she could actually picture what it would be like to have cubs with Noah. The thought alone sent a brutal, knifelike sensation jamming through her chest. As her breath caught, Noah looked over and frowned.

The concern in his gaze nearly undid her, but she ignored him and focused on Vivian, who was trying to scramble out of her grip.

Once she got the she-cat under control, she turned back to face Esperanze and stilled.

Almost as if he’d appeared out of nowhere, Nikan was suddenly in the room. The tall Native American shifter who’d recently mated with Esperanze was standing next to her, his stance completely protective and proprietary. “Do you need help with anything?” Nikan asked.

Esperanze shook her head, fine lines bracketing her mouth. “No. Leila already has some college credits, but we’re going to go over what classes she might be able to opt out of through testing and I can’t do that with the cubs—”

“I don’t need to finish school,” the young she-wolf muttered, earning her another exasperated look from Esperanze.

Erin eyed the girl, curious as to whether she was like her, and wondering what Jayce was going to do about it. Leila had gray eyes and that unique yet familiar cedar scent that Jayce had told her was common among enforcers—few though there were. And if Erin had to guess, she’d say Leila preferred fighting in her human form. She really wanted to know if the young shifter had any fighting skills, namely if she had a preference for blades, but at the same time she didn’t think one so young should be fighting anyway. Thankfully, Jayce was the one who would figure out if Leila was like them.

“You’re going to listen to what Esperanze has to say anyway,” Erin said quietly.

Leila crossed her arms over her chest, a sulking expression covering her face. “Fine.”

Before anybody else could say anything, the front door banged open. “Everyone in the living room. Now.” Connor’s voice carried to whoever might be in the house.

Even Vivian settled against Erin at Connor’s command. There was something about an Alpha’s voice that just made you listen.

As they all hustled into the room, Erin wasn’t surprised to find almost a dozen more pack members filing in. Absolute quiet descended as Connor flipped on the giant flat screen he’d recently installed. Erin stood next to one of the couches, conscious of the fact that Noah was directly behind her. All that male heat could burn her if she let it.

Suddenly her thoughts of the sexy man at her back disappeared as the reporter’s words on television registered.

The pretty brunette wearing a sharp black pantsuit with a black-and-white-checkered scarf stood outside the police station, holding a microphone in front of a woman who was probably in her early forties. At the bottom of the screen the word LIVE appeared in red all caps.

“In light of these recent killings allegedly committed by shifters, how do you feel about the safety of your family?” the reporter asked.

The woman brushed her hand over her curly hair, obviously nervous. “Any killings in our town make me scared.”

“Do you fear members of the Armstrong-Cordona pack who live on the outskirts of Fontana?”

The woman shrugged and tugged on her hair almost absently. “I . . . Well, yes, especially with what’s been happening. I don’t understand why the cops haven’t made an arrest yet.”

“Do you feel that Sheriff McIntyre’s relationship with this pack has compromised his ability to do his job where these shifters are concerned?”

“She’s spoon-feeding her leading questions.” There was raw fury in Ana’s voice.

On the screen, the woman took a small step back from the reporter, her eyes wide. “Well, his sister is married to one of those shifters, so I guess anything’s possible, but—”

“We’re about out of time, but thank you so much for talking to me this morning.” The reporter turned back to the camera and began a diatribe of borderline slander, not quite saying that the sheriff was dirty, but implying it. She also implied that their pack was behind these recent killings, but at least she mentioned the criminal records of the victims—damn, that reporter worked fast.

The entire situation made Erin’s blood boil. Whatever happened to responsible journalism?

Connor turned the television off. “This is why we’re all going to be sticking close to the ranch until this mess is settled. We don’t need to be in town and possibly inciting any humans. And if for some reason a human tries to physically or verbally spar with you, walk away. By now I’m sure you all know what happened at December’s store Sunday night. Thanks to Erin there was no damage, but that’s not even important. Those actions are reflective of how the locals are starting to look at us and we all need to be prepared for any situation at this point.”

As a few pack members asked questions, Erin raked her free hand through her hair. The woman who had been interviewed was clearly afraid of their pack. If the local news team kept reporting slanderous stories, the view of shifters among Fontana’s citizens could turn even worse. It would take only a handful of really angry people to turn the tide. And that could create a volatile situation that none of them wanted to face.

Chapter 14

Brianna tucked her blond hair behind her ear, a very human gesture that she never would have made before her first attempt to infiltrate the APL. Now she tried to mimic humans as much as she could. It helped her blend in. And her mannerisms seemed to put the woman across the booth from her at ease.

Jackie Anderson. Stick-straight shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, and frumpy clothing that hid her shape. It was what Brianna saw when she looked at Jackie’s outward appearance. But the woman was also kind. And scared. She hadn’t come out and said the words, but Brianna could sense it whenever she talked about her husband.

Even when Brianna used her gifts of persuasion to get Jackie somewhat relaxed around her, she still sensed a lingering fear. Unlike shifters, Brianna couldn’t scent things, but Jackie wore her emotions like a thick winter coat. Right on the outside for Brianna to see.

“I should probably get going,” Jackie murmured as she played with the handle on her plain white coffee mug.

It was empty and they’d already shared two cups. Brianna looked directly into Jackie’s sad eyes and concentrated as she dropped her voice an octave. “But you were just telling me about the conversation you heard last night between your husband and someone.”

Those brown eyes dilated slightly as Jackie stared at her. “Uh, yes, it was a cop, I think. Or at least it sounded like it. Ralph has some friends on the force. He also said something about their secret weapon and a man named Mayfield not being on the ground, whatever that means. My husband told his friend he’d made the right choice in targeting criminals. And—”

A loud crash sliced through the air as one of the waitresses dropped a tray containing two large breakfast plates only two booths away. The sound jerked Jackie out of her slight trance. “I should probably get going,” she said again and this time she stood. “Ralph has today off and he doesn’t like it if I’m gone too long.”

Brianna’s eyes narrowed for an instant as she allowed anger to well up inside her, but she quickly pushed the emotion back down. “Of course. I’ll call you later this week. Maybe we can go see a movie or something?”

Jackie fiddled with the zipper on her coat. “Maybe. Thanks for meeting me today. It’s nice having someone to talk to.”

Brianna smiled. “Same here.”

Once the human left the diner, Brianna looked around for Angelo, her new shadow, though she’d already guessed she wouldn’t see him anywhere. The attractive shifter caused heads to turn wherever he went—and something foreign twisted inside her every time a female looked at him, something she would never acknowledge—but today she hadn’t seen him following her from her new apartment.

Still, she knew he was nearby. The man was like a ghost. Her innate senses as a member of the Fianna told her someone was watching her and had been all day. Those same senses told her it wasn’t a dangerous watcher either. That’s how she knew it was Angelo. After leaving money on the table, she made her way out of the restaurant, pausing only to open the door for an older woman.