A football came bouncing their way. Makenna caught it and threw it back to the group of human teenagers a short distance away. The park was quite busy, which would hopefully reassure Zac.

After a moment of silence, Zac said, “I didn’t think I’d have to meet Ryan so soon.”

“And you felt like I was trying to get rid of you in a hurry. No, sweetie. He’s really intent on seeing you. I thought it would be best to get the first visit over with quickly. It might placate him a little.”

Zac frowned thoughtfully. “Oh.” He exhaled heavily. “What if I don’t like him? What if he wants me but I don’t want him?”

“Then you don’t go with him. But you can’t make a decision like that until you get to know him. All I’m asking is that you give him a shot.”

Zac looked away. “Whatever.”

She wondered why that one-word response from a teenager had the potential to make her want to scream. “So . . . do you think stairs are supposed to go up or down?”

He smiled. “Why do you always ask weird questions?”

“You’re assuming I do it for a reason.”

Chuckling, he shrugged. “Up.”

“Okay . . . What about that issue that The Killers raised? Are we human, or are we dancer? What do you think?”

His shoulders shook. “That lyric makes no sense.”

“I know, I don’t get it!” Hearing a vehicle pulling up in the small parking lot on their left, she glanced over. She knew that Chevy. “Here comes Ryan.” Zac froze. “Don’t worry, nothing bad will happen to you. You’re in a public place, surrounded by people, and you have me.”

Swallowing hard, Zac nodded. “Which one is he?” he asked as a total of five wolves exited the car. “And who are the others?”

“See the broad guy with the snarl and the military haircut? That’s Ryan. I’m guessing the others are his pack mates.”

“You’re not surprised that he hasn’t come alone, are you?”

“Loners aren’t trusted, so I figured his Alphas wouldn’t want him to come without some backup.” They approached slowly, their postures nonthreatening—as if they were conscious of not spooking Zac. Everything female in her stood up and paid attention when Ryan’s smoky black eyes settled on her. It was pure instinct to irritate him. “Hey, White Fang. Who’ve you brought with you?” Her inner wolf was pleased to see him, but not so much his companions. She wasn’t always comfortable around strangers.

A mountain of pure muscle cocked a brow at Ryan. “White Fang?”

Ryan just grunted at him, which Makenna translated as “fuck you.”

A small blonde smiled at Makenna; there was a hint of cautiousness in her eyes. “You must be Makenna.” Her gaze shifted to Zac, and her smile became more genuine. “And you must be Zac. It’s good to meet you both. I’m Taryn, Alpha female of the Phoenix Pack.” It wasn’t said with superiority, just as a statement of fact.

Makenna had heard plenty about Taryn. Mostly that she was plain insane. Makenna could respect that.

“This is my mate, Trey. And these are our Betas, Jaime and Dante.”

The strongly built Alpha male inclined his head at Zac before narrowing his arctic-blue eyes suspiciously at Makenna. Jaime, a tall brunette with mischievous eyes, gave Zac a little wave and offered Makenna a guarded smile. Her mate nodded at the kid before studying Makenna intently. Ryan . . . well, he was staring at her again with a crease between his brows.

He looked so indomitable and remote. Again, it should have been off-putting. But his supreme masculinity caused a carnal hunger to slowly begin trickling through her. That hunger intensified as his masculine scent swirled around her like a blanket; it seemed to somehow stand out from the others.

Ryan turned his attention to Zac. His frown didn’t ease. “I’m Ryan.”

Shifting closer to Makenna so their thighs touched, Zac regarded him as warily as he did the others. “You don’t look like my dad.”

“You do.” Something in Ryan’s chest tightened as he watched the teenager’s gaze dance around them, as if assuring himself of all possible escape routes. “We won’t force you to come with us,” he promised the teen. Although, up until that point, he had thought about it. He wanted Zac somewhere safe.

As Ryan slid his gaze to Makenna, he noticed the “just fucking try it” glint in her eyes. Yeah, she knew his instinct was to whisk the kid away. And she was prepared to fight for Zac. His wolf loved that fierceness; he wanted to bite her.

She looked just as quirky yet stylish today in colorful bangles, a cropped denim jacket, bold neon-orange top, and low-rise jeans—flashing a diamond navel piercing that had a thin silver chain looped through it. His cock, which had been rock hard since her scent had wrapped around him, throbbed almost painfully. Maybe his wolf’s idea to bite her wasn’t so bad.

“We just want to talk to you, get to know you,” Taryn assured Zac. “Is that okay?”

Zac shrugged one shoulder. “I guess.”

All five Phoenix wolves settled on the ground, and Makenna suspected they were hoping to seem less intimidating to him.

Jaime gave Zac a friendly smile. “How old are you?”

He slanted a look at Makenna before replying, “Fourteen.”

Jaime’s brows arched. “Really? You look older than that.”

“Why did you leave your pack?” Trey asked Zac.