“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad we stopped.” He spun away and headed for the food. “I’d have felt like hell if I’d caused you any pain.”

Shannon had to admit his response confused her. Most guys would be upset that the sex had come to a halt but he sounded almost relieved. She hugged her waist and watched him lift a large tray and carry it to the bar. He sat on a stool located there.

“Come on. We need to eat.”

She forced her feet to move. Anton softly cursed, stood, and brought back two sodas from the fridge. She paused at the stool next to his and then sat. She glanced over at him.

“Why do you seem so relieved we stopped?”

He refused to look at her while he lifted one of the three plates off the tray to set it in front of her. “We shouldn’t get involved sexually. It is a really bad idea, but when I touch you, I seem to forget that.”

She inhaled the wonderful smells from her dinner. Someone had prepared a huge steak, some kind of stuffed baked potato, and a salad. She studied Anton’s two plates, the same food she had.

“You eat that much?”

“Yeah. Werewolves eat a hell of a lot. I’ll be ready for a midnight snack later. I take it you don’t?” He finally fixed his attention on her.

“No. I’d be so big I wouldn’t fit through doorjambs if I ate two dinners every night and then ate again before bed. I’ve always struggled with my weight.”

“You’re very human, in other words.”

“I guess so. I take it there aren’t many overweight shifters?”

“There are some but it’s tough to do. Our metabolism uses up calories quickly. Shifting burns a lot of them. If someone were to stay in one form for a long time they could manage to put on extra weight. I shift often.”

Curiosity piqued Shannon. “Doesn’t it hurt? It looks painful. I always imagined it would be.”

“It does at first but then you adjust.” He picked up his fork and knife to dig into one of his meals. “How much do you really know about us?”

“Just what my father told my mother and what she learned as his wife. She always tried to remember everything to share with me.”

“She’s totally human?”

“Yes.”

He gawked at her. “And your father told her what he was?”

“He couldn’t really help it. He shifted in front of her. She said it scared the hell out of her. She ran but he chased her down.”

“How did that happen? Didn’t he smell her nearby before he shifted?”

She smiled. “Animal control had captured him with one of their traps. They injured him when it happened. He passed out and woke inside a veterinarian’s office. My mother worked there. He came awake to hear the doctor say they planned to neuter him in an hour when they returned after lunch, he wanted to get out of there as you can imagine, and needed someone to help him escape. Some zoo offered to take him if they neutered him first. He was smack-dab in the middle of a busy city area where they’d notice a na**d guy or an animal his size. My mother just happened to be the one who walked into the back first. He shifted inside the cage, opened it and chased her. He borrowed a doctor’s coat and forced her to drive him out of the city.”

“She’s lucky he didn’t kill her.”

“He thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.” Shannon smiled. “I heard that story from my mom a thousand times. My dad was really handsome, very sexy she said, and he fascinated her after her terror eased, when she realized he didn’t plan to hurt her. She drove him to her grandfather’s cabin, took a few days off, and patched him up. The trap had cut him pretty deeply. They fell in love.”

“How did he die? We’re extremely hard to kill, even mixed with human blood.”

She met his curious gaze. “There was a fire. He got us out but an elderly woman lived in the apartment next door. He heard her calling for help.” She pushed back tears and dropped her attention to her food. “He tried to save her, the roof collapsed, and they didn’t make it out before it did. I can’t remember much about him. Everything we owned burned. There aren’t even any pictures to remind me of what he looked like. I know he loved us very much. It took my mom nearly ten years to even date other men. I think she only survived the heartbreak of his loss to raise me.”

“I’m sorry. He sounded real nice, Shannon.”

He said her name. She turned to peer up at him. “He died a hero.”

“Yeah, he did.” He smiled. “Eat.”

She focused on her food. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable as they finished their dinner. He ate everything from both his plates. He stood and cleared the counter. He met her gaze when he came back to sit on his stool.

“You look like your mother, don’t you?”

She nodded. “How did you know?”

He grinned. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I can imagine how drawn he felt to her and how much he wanted to be with her.”

A blush warmed her cheeks. “Thank you.”

The distance between them suddenly disappeared when he leaned into her. He brushed back her hair. The light trace of his fingertips made her shiver with longing and passion flared in his sexy eyes. He growled softly, lowered his head, and breathed across her neck. His other arm wrapped around her waist to tug her against his body. Desire shot through her and she knew she wouldn’t resist him. She wanted Anton. The attraction between them too great to deny. His lips caressed her skin under her ear and then he pulled back to study her.

His mouth opened but a knock interrupted whatever he planned to say. He muttered a curse, slid off the stool, and stalked to the door. Shannon hoped it wasn’t his mother visiting. From what she’d heard about the woman she guessed it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience.

“What the¯”

A tall, striking woman with jet-black hair in a single braid that fell to her ass shoved past a stunned Anton into the apartment. She wore all leather and resembled something out of a sexy action film with the way the outfit formed tightly against her body. Green, bright eyes actually flashed at Anton. Her hands gripped her h*ps and one of her black leather high heels tapped the floor. Her chest pushed forward and her skintight top parted to reveal the generous curves of tanned br**sts.

“You insult me, Anton Harris. You sent your younger brother to meet me. I will not settle for some pup. You will not slight the Mortell Pack this way.”

Anton gaped at the woman. She turned her head, spotted Shannon, and sniffed. Her features paled suddenly and then a snarl tore from her mouth. Her fangs literally grew longer, her nose wrinkled, and she lunged toward Shannon.

“No!” Anton leapt into the woman’s path, his arms spread wide to block her and keep her back.

Fear stabbed hotly at Shannon and she turned, her instincts taking hold, and leapt on top of the counter. She ran along it until she hit the wall. She spun, trapped there, and desperately searched for an escape route. Her gaze fixed on the window not too far away. They were on the second floor of the building. She still wanted to fling her body through the glass, even knowing it might kill her.

A terrifying snarl sounded again to draw Shannon’s attention. The woman had crouched down, one hand balanced on the floor that now had long claws instead of fingernails, and her features had shifted enough that a black spread of hair covered her cheeks. Her jaw had elongated into more of a muzzle than a mouth, and very sharp-looking white fangs were revealed more clearly. The woman’s green eyes had narrowed, shifted shape, and the sound had come from her.

“Move out of my way.” The woman’s voice sounded more masculine than feminine.

“No,” Anton snarled back, his voice equally as terrifying. “She’s under my protection.”

Someone pounded up the stairs and then a muscular, burly guy with long hair barreled into the room. He nearly tripped over the half-shifted werewolf woman prepared to attack on the floor but drew to a jerky stop just in time to avoid a collision. The new guy looked very similar to Anton with his long black hair, his jeans, and a tank top that revealed tattoos spread across broad, muscular arms. Shannon guessed they had to be brothers.

“I tried to stop her,” he panted. “She didn’t take meeting me well, knocked me on my ass, and she can move swiftly when pissed. It seems she somehow knows what we look like.”

“Get her out of here, Rave,” Anton snarled. “I don’t care how.” His gaze remained locked on the woman threatening Shannon. “If she tries to get around me it’s going to cause a war between our packs because I’ll throw her out myself. She won’t enjoy flying out a window or down the stairs.”

Rave suddenly stopped breathing and his head turned. His dark gaze sought and found Shannon. Confusion reflected on his features and then his eyes widened with shock. He sniffed loudly. “Puma? Seriously? Oh, shit.”

He didn’t snarl at her or growl. Shannon figured that had to be a plus. He glanced away from her to frown at Anton.

“Why do you have her here?”

“She’s under my protection.” Anton snarled again at the woman on the floor. “Do you understand? You attack her and I attack you. You will never reach her.”

The woman slowly rose up, her terrifying features still in a half-shifted state, and defiantly stared at Anton. “You dare insult my pack by preferring to f**k one of them over me?”

“Fuck?” Rave gasped. “Who said anything about that? He said he was protecting her for some reason.”

“I smell them,” the woman spat. “Sex and desire.”

Rave sniffed again. He blinked a few times, his gaze passed from Shannon to Anton, and he suddenly laughed. “Oh shit. This is…wow!”

Anton glanced at Shannon. “Don’t move, Shannon. I’m coming to get you.” He shot a warning look at his brother. “Don’t let that bitch attack. I need to get to Shannon. She’s too close to the window. She can’t control her fear.”

Rave hesitated and then stepped around the angry werewolf woman to put his body between Anton and her. “Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on here? Deana, I suggest you calm down. I know you’re not happy over having to meet with me instead of my older brother but you can’t attack someone under his protection.”

“She’s a puma.” Deana snarled again, growled, and her fingers lifted to display her sharp claws. “They are our enemy.”

Anton spun toward Shannon and he eased forward. “Easy, kitten. You’re safe. Don’t move, okay? You’re in no danger.”

Fear nearly overpowered her as she glanced at the window again. A soft sound escaped her lips—a whimper. Anton softly cursed in response.

“Shannon? Look at me.”

She did. She took a deep breath, trying to fight the urge to jump away from him. He wouldn’t hurt her, she knew that, yet another snarl from the werewolf bitch had her turning toward the window. The urge became so powerful that her body tensed in anticipation of jumping to reach it.

Anton surged forward. She hissed when he grabbed hold of her ankle. He jerked hard and she tumbled off the counter. She landed inside the cradle of his strong arms when he caught her. She turned against his chest and clawed at him. He groaned but then pressed her against the wall.

“Easy,” he crooned. “I’ve got you. Hold on to me.”

She panted, fought her instincts, and realized what her fingernails were doing. She jerked them away from his skin. The smell of blood filled her nose and she saw she’d drawn it from him. She’d marked his flesh, her nails had pierced him. She wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. Hot tears spilled from her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”