“Don’t look at her, Yon,” Anton threatened.

Yon paled. “Shit.”

“Give me the tray and leave.”

“Why are you acting so nuts? I’m not hitting on her.”

Anton grabbed the tray. “Leave.” The order came out harsh and scary sounding.

The muscular blond stumbled back, hit the corner of the doorframe, and softly swore. “You marked her, didn’t you? You are acting nuts. You didn’t mind me near her yesterday.”

“Keep your mouth muzzled and I only want you to deliver food to her. My business is no one else’s. Are we clear?”

“Perfectly.” Yon fled.

Shannon’s eyebrows arched at the strange interaction. Anton kicked the door closed, turned with tray in hand, and scowled at her. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“I’m sorry. Now I’m the grouchy one. I didn’t like him looking at you.”

“Was I in danger?”

“No.” He strode to the counter. “I feel very possessive of you. It’s got to be the marking thing.” He slammed the tray down. “I guess it makes me a little crazy. I just wanted to punch him for even daring to glance your way.”

“Wow.”

He spun to face her. “What?”

“Your fangs are showing.”

“Sorry. Damn.” A hand lifted to feel his sharp points and then it dropped to his side. “Marking is scary stuff. I heard it was bad but I really wanted to knock him down the stairs. He thinks you’re attractive.”

“He didn’t say anything.”

“He didn’t have to. His nose flared and his eyes darkened. Trust me. He thinks you’re sexy and would love to touch you.” He paused. “And I didn’t like it one bit.”

“I’m not interested in him. Does that help? Blonds aren’t my type.”

“Are werewolves?”

“Well, no. At least not until you.”

“Good.” His fangs receded and he seemed to calm. “Let’s eat. I’m sorry I have to leave you alone. Once the heat starts we take a break from most things and I’ll have some time off. Not much work gets done this time of year.”

She took a seat next to him at the counter. “Shifter holiday, huh?”

A chuckle escaped him. “At least for werewolves.”

“So the bar downstairs will be closed?”

“It will be this year. Last year my brother kept it open and lost a lot of money due to repairs.”

Shannon gave him a curious look.

“We get pretty aggressive when we’re horny. Not a good mix when you’ve got a bunch of single werewolf males with fewer females to try to impress enough for them to want to allow the males to f**k them. We also get a lot of out-of-town visitors from smaller places who are looking to find women to hook up with during the heat. There were a lot of fights. I’m running things now and have decided to close the bar once the mating heat starts. They can battle it out in the woods instead of inside.”

“Don’t the humans around here notice anything weird or suspect what you are?”

“It’s an annual thing that has gone on forever. They just assume it’s a busy tourist season. They sure don’t mind the money it brings in. We eat a hell of a lot and fill up the motel down the street.”

“A rowdy tourist season.”

“Yeah.” He grinned. “But we keep away from the humans for the most part. I will have to work a few nights during the heat but I won’t be gone long.”

“You have another job besides running the bar?”

“I’m a Harris and this is our pack. We patrol at night to make sure no visiting weres go after any local human women. It’s been known to happen despite it being against our laws. We’re never to do anything to risk humans discovering what we are. My brothers and I have split shifts with some of the pack enforcers. Of course, we own a lot of land that is private property for the runnings, to make sure humans don’t accidentally stumble into that.”

“What are those?”

He hesitated. “I don’t think you want to know and I’m not going to be a part of it so it’s nothing for you to be concerned about.”

“Now I’m really curious.”

He picked up his fork, his attention on his food, and took a bite. Shannon waited, not eating, for a response. She watched his throat work as he swallowed.

“That bad, huh?”

He finally looked at her. “It’s for single weres. At night they go into our woods and run.”

“That’s not so bad.”

“To f**k.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks warmed. “Got it. Kind of like chasing a female.”

“Kind of. Yeah. Chasing goes on. Fights.”

“And? I suspect it’s more than that.”

“It’s a free-for-all, okay?” He finally met her gaze. “Think werewolf orgy.”

To avoid his gaze, she focused on her food as she picked up her fork. “Do you ever attend them?”

The silence stretched. “I went to a few before I was expected to find a mate and that shit with my father started when he made up the schedule for me to meet women from other packs.”

“I see.” She really didn’t. The idea made her a little sick at heart of him going to a running. It sounded a little disgusting to her way of thinking.

“It’s a good way for males and females to hook up, test each other out to see if they are possible mates. Humans have spring break. Tell me a lot of sex isn’t going on then.”

“True.”

“Ever go to spring break?”

“No.”

They ate in silence until Anton stood. “I have to go to that pack meeting and then I have some errands to run. Yon will bring you lunch in a few hours if I’m not back yet. I’ll give him the door code. I trust him, but don’t talk to him.”

She gaped at him.

“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. He’s starting to feel the mating heat. He’s not hooked up with anyone either. He knows I marked you but hormones make any male stupid. I just don’t want you to be polite to him and have him believe you would welcome any advances. We’re not human. Remember that.”

“I promise to glare at him.” She smiled. “How is that?”

Anton surprised her by leaning over to brush a feathery kiss on her forehead. “Perfect. You’re safe here. Make yourself at home. I have cable and every channel. Just don’t leave.”

“I won’t.”

He backed up, studied her closely, and then seemed assured she meant it. He spun away and walked to the dresser. She watched him pull on a tank top and socks. He sat on the edge of his bed shoved his feet into his boots. He grinned at her before he strode out the door. Shannon’s shoulders slumped after he left. She closed her eyes, trying to determine if she felt any different since she’d been marked. It obviously affected Anton but she didn’t sense any changes.

* * * * *

Anton snarled at Carl, realized he held the pup above the floor, and everyone inside the room watched him in stunned silence. “I told you to leave her alone.”

The pup paled. “She’s just¯”

“Under my protection,” he snarled, shook the pup, and slammed him against the wall. “I see your friends aren’t here. Were they too frightened to face me?”

The pup frantically nodded, his eyes wide with terror.

“They should be. I want you, them, and the rogues you took to her place at the pack meeting tree in an hour. If you make me hunt you down, I’m really going to be angry. You don’t want that. I’m just going to yell, issue orders, and make threats. Make me track you down and there will be blood. Am I clear?”

“Yes,” the pup whined.

Anton dropped him. “Run. Find them and be there.”

Elroy Harris prowled closer to his son, a look of danger glinted from his dark gaze when Anton faced him, but curiosity showed as well.

“What was that about, son?”

“Could we talk alone?”

Elroy frowned. “No. You just threatened to bloody a pup in a room full of pack. If he’s done something that drastic we all need to hear about it.”

“Fuck,” Anton hissed. “This is a private matter.”

“Not anymore. You made it public by grabbing him here.”

“Fine. The pups kidnapped a woman and took her into the woods to hunt her.” He crossed his arms over his chest and shot a glare around the room. “I came across them after they’d treed her.”

Gasps and shock reflected on a lot of faces. Elroy cursed. “Is she well?”

“She’s fine. She’s a good climber and I got there in time. I warned them to stay away from her. I discovered Carl and a few of the pups disobeyed me by entering her home with a few rogues. They totally destroyed her apartment.”

“Apartment? They have no privacy or seclusion from humans. Why would a female be living in one? Does her pack own it? I am going to need to contact her alpha to make peace. When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me?” Anger made Elroy growl the words.

Anton hesitated, hated to admit this to his father, unsure of how he’d react. “She isn’t a werewolf.” He hoped that would be enough but doubted it. His father was thorough about learning every detail when an incident took place with a pack member. “There’s no alpha to calm.”

“Shit!” Elroy spun to glare around the room. “We have pups going after humans? Who hasn’t taught their young not to do this?” He shot a particularly cold look toward Carl’s uncle. “Do I need to take this up with your brother, Ed?”

The guy paled. “We taught our young to follow the rules. I don’t know why Carl did it but it won’t happen again.” The guy bolted from his chair. “I’ll see he’s at the meeting tree myself.”

Elroy spun. “Is the human well? How much did she understand? What did she see? Is she going to contact the police or did you have to kill her to assure our safety?”

Shit! Anton took a deep breath. “She’s human but not totally.”

“What does that mean? She’s a partial were? Where is her family?”

“Her father was half human and half shifter. He died when she was a small child and she’s been raised by her totally human mother. She can’t shift. She just faintly carries the shifter scent. It’s why the pups attacked her and kidnapped her to hunt.”

“I am going to kick their asses. We don’t force females to have sex even during mating heat. That’s pack rule.”

Anton knew he couldn’t avoid it any longer. He was surprised his father hadn’t already heard the complaint from the Mortell alpha after he’d spurned his daughter’s advances in favor of Shannon. “They didn’t want to f**k her. They wanted to kill her.” The shocked look on his father’s features assured him he needed to keep going. “She’s part puma and…under my protection,” he added quickly. There. I said it. He waited for the explosion from his father.

It only took a few seconds for Elroy to recover from the shock. “What?” he yelled.

“She’s mostly human, Dad. Helpless. She can’t shift. She’s without anyone to protect her. It seems cats kill half-breeds so her father had to flee his pride. She didn’t ask for trouble. Our pups accosted her in the parking lot of a grocery store, kidnapped her, and wanted to kill her. She’s this tiny thing, sweet as hell, and didn’t ever do anything to deserve that shit.”

Elroy paced, rage gripped his features, and claws shot from his fingertips. He halted finally and gave Anton a grim nod. “I understand. So the pups went against your order to leave her alone? Did they harm her when they showed up at her apartment?”