“No, it’s just that I have to work. I have a few commissions that I need to finish and—”

“Whatever you need for your work, we’ll transport to the pack’s compound. And if you need money I’ll—”

Now she cut him off as she held up a hand. “Don’t even go there.”

Okay. He could respect that even if he did want to take care of her in every way. “We could stay here if you wanted, but it’s not smart.” There was no way he’d actually let her stay here. Not without an army surrounding them, but he was trying to be diplomatic.

“I know. I just don’t like anyone ordering me around. Actually, I had just planned to stay with my friend, Sabrina. What does a compound mean? It sounds scary.” A thread of fear twined off her.

He chuckled. “It’s what we call the mansion my pack lives in. It’s huge enough that we all have a lot of space. Everyone has their own rooms, which are basically apartments. We all take care of each other and Knox is a fair Alpha.”

“But I’m a jaguar.” Her lips pulled into a thin line.

“So?”

She swallowed audibly. “Other than you, the only wolves I’ve come in contact with before haven’t been exactly...nice.”

There was something about her tone that made his inner wolf go on red alert. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know all these rules and regulations you guys seem to have so if I tell you something you have to promise me it stays between us.”

“You think I’d betray or hurt you?”

“No. I just don’t know if I can be punished for what I did. What I had to do.” Her body had gone completely stiff as she watched him warily.

“What happened?” His inner wolf was clawing at him as scenarios raced through his mind.

“In college I met a few wolf shifters. I’d guessed there had to be other shifters out in the world, but none lived in Miami that I knew of. And I still haven’t met any jaguar shifters.” There was a note of sadness in her voice that he might have missed if he hadn’t been listening so intently. “Anyway, they were all dominant and arrogant and one of them pushed me too far. He tried to rape me and told me it was my fault because I was stupid enough to be packless.” She gave a derisive snort, but the pain etched on her face was deep.

Rainer’s inner wolf flexed its claws, death and rage the only thing it saw for one brief moment. Rape? He wanted to respond, but his throat tightened almost painfully. No words would come out as he imagined her at the mercy of some asshole.

She continued. “That was my first lesson on what packless meant and why I’ve avoided shifters ever since. I...was forced to kill him.” She stumbled over the words then stopped talking and just stared at Rainer, clearly waiting for his response.

It took a long moment for him to get his inner wolf under control. The thought of her being targeted because she didn’t belong to a pack had his claws aching to unleash and lash out at anyone who’d ever tried to hurt her. He’d never been so grateful that someone—a stranger—was dead. Whoever that wolf was, he was damn lucky he wasn’t alive.

“Rainer?” Estrella’s soft voice brought him back to reality. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him.

His breathing was erratic and he had to force his inner wolf back down. Though he couldn’t see himself, he figured his eyes had likely changed to a darker shade of green, revealing his wolf—which explained the way she was watching him.

“You were more than justified in killing him,” he finally said. “Whoever he was, he was likely packless or a lone wolf by choice. Shifter violence against females is rare among all the different species. I’m sorry you ever had to deal with any of that. I wish we’d met years ago. Hell, I wish you’d had your parents or someone nonhuman to watch out for you growing up.” Being a lone female shifter was hard and he hated that she’d been by herself for so long. No wonder she’d been so wary of him when they’d first met. And he hadn’t helped things by being so arrogant.

A small smile touched her lips. “Everyone has crap to deal with and even though I miss my parents every day, I’ve had a good life. Trust me, it could have been a lot worse. I’ve seen what happened to some of the kids in the foster system and it’s not pretty.”

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her close, savoring the feel of her lush body pressed against his. She wasn’t alone anymore and he desperately wanted to be the one to protect her. Even if things didn’t work out between them—that thought killed him and he knew without a doubt it would be because she pushed him out of her life—he didn’t want her alone anymore. He might be a wolf, but she was now under his pack’s protection. There was no doubt his Alpha would welcome her. Right now, Rainer just needed to convince her to stay with him and not go to her friend. “Come with me?” he asked before dropping a light kiss on her forehead.

Estrella sighed and nuzzled her face against his chest. “You’ll fight dirty if I say no, won’t you?”

He smiled as he rested his chin on top of her head, inhaling her sweet scent. “I can think of plenty of dirty things I’d like to do right now.”

She chuckled, the sound wrapping around him and squeezing tight. “Fine, I—”

They both froze as a high-pitched ringing cut through the air. Estrella glanced over her shoulder toward the direction of her living room. “That’s Sabrina’s ringtone.”

Estrella’s friend. “Grab it.”

She hurried to the other room and even though he couldn’t scent or hear anyone else in the house and his pack mates had already swept it earlier, he did his own sweep while she took her friend’s phone call. Plus he wanted to give her privacy.

When he returned to the living room he found her sitting on the edge of one of her couches, a brittle smile on her unusually pale face. “Rainer, I’m going to stay with my friend instead. I appreciate the offer, but I’m just not ready to live with a bunch of strangers, even temporarily. There’s no reason I can’t help you find out what’s going on from someplace else.”

Rainer’s blood chilled at whatever she wasn’t saying. He could have easily listened to her conversation but he’d tuned her out, needing to give her the privacy she deserved. Now he wished he’d paid attention because whatever had happened in the last sixty seconds was very bad. He could see it in her body language and scent the fear pulsing off her in angry waves. And he’d be damned if he let her push him out now. Whatever was going on, he was sticking by her side.

Chapter 6

Estrella watched Rainer as she tried to keep her breathing steady. His expression was dark, angry and a little confused. Unfortunately she felt as if her insides might unravel at any moment. Sabrina hadn’t been on the phone, but that same male from the other night had. The one Estrella had clawed and the same one she’d heard shout in the woods not to hurt her. Terror latched its claws deep into her chest as she replayed the man’s words in her head. Meet me alone at dusk or your friend dies.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Rainer snarled, his expression darkening. “You were just about to come with me.”

She stood, phone still clutched in her hand as she tried to drag in a breath, desperately needing to pump some oxygen into her lungs. Estrella couldn’t let Sabrina die and these creatures wanted her, not her friend. “I have the right to change my mind. Unless you plan on forcing me to go with you?” It took every ounce of her willpower to keep her tone sharp.

He jerked back, almost as if she’d slapped him and guilt blew up inside her. She ruthlessly shoved it away. No time for stupid emotions right now.

She hated hurting Rainer, but she had to save Sabrina. “I’ll give you my cell number so you can contact me, but I’m going to leave now. I just need to pack a small bag.” Avoiding his gaze, she tried to skirt past him, but he grasped her upper arm.

Not hard enough to bruise, but he wasn’t letting her go anywhere. “Who was on the phone?” There was a dark edge to his voice and his pale eyes had darkened to a stormy green that sent a chill down her spine.

“I told you—”

“Don’t lie to me. Who. Was. It.” His fingers slightly flexed and for a moment she could see his wolf lurking beneath the surface.

Estrella wanted to kick him out of her home, but she knew he wouldn’t go easily. And if she left on her own, deep down she knew this man would follow her. Not to mention, no matter how strong she was physically, she knew so little about vampires and their weaknesses. She could use the backup and Rainer had already proved how strong he was. Taking care of things on her own was instinctual and was why she’d lied, but damn...she could use the help. “I don’t know his name, but he has my friend.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

Rainer’s expression softened slightly, but not much. “What did he say?”

“Just that he has my friend and I have to meet him at the art studio right after sunset or they’ll kill her. I don’t know what they want—other than me. They want to trade her freedom for me and I have to go. Sabrina has been my best friend since I was eighteen and I love her more than...” Her voice broke again and hot tears welled up. What the hell? She never cried but in the last twenty-four hours she was like a leaky faucet.

Rainer let out a string of creative curses and he still hadn’t let her arm go. “You’re not going anywhere alone.”

“She’s my—”

“I didn’t say we weren’t going to get her back. I just said you’re not going alone. How could you...” He trailed off and turned away from her. Rubbing a hand over his face, he told her to hold on and then was silent for a long minute.

She figured he was talking to one of his brothers. Or maybe all of them. The way he’d said “we” made a foreign sensation ignite inside her. She’d never had many people to depend on before and the thought that she did now was almost too much to fathom.