Armande rose slowly, his body stiff and sore. He held his hand out to his sister. “Come on, Charisse. Let’s get her home. If we’re lucky she’ll start drinkin’ early and take to her bed in one of her ‘spells.’”

Saria stood as well. “I’m glad you’re datin’ Mahieu, Charisse.”

Charisse shook her head as she allowed her brother to pull her to her feet. “She’ll run him off or seduce him. One way or the other, she’ll get rid of him. I knew better than to say yes, but he was so persistent. Please tell him I’m sorry.”

“Mahieu is tough, Charisse,” Saria assured. “He won’t run—and he certainly won’t be seduced.”

“Then he’ll be the first,” Charisse said. She walked out, her head high, Armande’s arm around her shoulders.

Drake stared after them. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“I’m so sorry, Drake,” Pauline said. “I had no way of warnin’ you. My sister can be difficult, although not always that bad.”

“What the hell would make a woman that beautiful so bitter? She definitely doesn’t like other women, not even her own daughter.”

Pauline shrugged. “She married the wrong man. Bartheleme wanted her because she’s beautiful, but he didn’t love her, not like he should. He was jealous and possessive, but he wasn’t her true mate. Her life was horrible—intolerable for a woman like Iris who needed attention. Bartheleme lavished attention on Charisse and treated Armande as if he didn’t exist. He treated Iris the same way. Worse, the man Iris had fallen in love with before Bartheleme came along, rejected her because she can’t shift. He wanted his children to be leopard. Obviously both Charisse and Armande can shift, so in the end she didn’t accept his reasons. She believed she wasn’t good enough for either man and she’s become the bitter woman you see.”

Drake shook his head. “All of you should have traveled away from the area to find other lairs. Marrying someone for the sake of producing shifters and not loving them, not finding your true mate, eventually destroys a lair.”

“Amos and I found that out the hard way,” Pauline agreed. “He was good to his woman, but I think in the end she knew he loved me. We tried hard never to see one another, b sometimes, we just couldn’t stop ourselves. Amos stayed true to his wife. Iris met Buford Tregre while she was still in high school. He was already married but she fell madly in love with him, believed his promises that he would leave his wife and marry her. But of course he didn’t. She was crazy about the man, but he was ugly to her when she never could shift. He said she was worthless after stealin’ her virtue. She was pregnant and she lost his baby. No one knew. In those days good girls didn’t ever get pregnant, and certainly not by a married man.”

“I think she had a very narrow escape,” Saria said. “That man was cruel to his wife, his sons and their wives.”

“When you’re young and terribly in love, it doesn’t feel like an escape, Saria,” Pauline pointed out gently. “Iris is beautiful, but men only seemed to want her to show her off. There was never a true, steady love for her, like Amos has for me. She’s agin’, although she doesn’t want to admit it, and she’s frightened. Charisse just reminds her every day that she’s growin’ old and the men are lookin’ to someone younger now.”

“Perhaps if she learned not to be so mean to everyone, a man would give her a chance,” Drake pointed out. “As it is, no one is going to chance being with her.”

Pauline laughed. “Do you think she’s dumb enough to show that side of herself to a man she’s settin’ out to seduce?”

“I suppose not.” He cleared his throat. “This baby she lost, Buford’s baby. You’re certain she lost it and didn’t pass off Armande as Bartheleme Mercier’s child?”

Pauline gasped. “No. No, Drake. She lost Buford’s baby. She was so distraught and miserable. And Armande is quite handsome.”

“I could have sworn you once told me Buford was handsome,” Drake pointed out, keeping his tone strictly neutral.

Pauline took a breath. “I guess he was, in the early days before I knew what a monster he was. Somehow he didn’t seem quite so good-lookin’ when I knew his character. Armande is Bartheleme’s son,” she added decisively.

Drake nodded his head, turning his attention to Saria, taking her hand. “You’re nearly falling asleep right here, honey. Can you eat something and then we’ll head for bed.”

Saria nodded and followed him to the dining room. Most of the team had already finished and were headed up to bed. Joshua paused by Drake’s chair.

“I’m wiped out, man. Do you want a guard posted?”

“I doubt it’s necessary with all of us in the house. Let’s sleep armed. We’ll activate the security system and let Pauline know it’s on so she won’t set it off when she comes back. We’ll sleep light enough and no self-respecting shifter is going to run around as a leopard in broad daylight out in the open. There are too many of us for the killer to show up.”

Joshua nodded. “Thanks, boss. For some reason, I can’t keep my eyes open. I must be getting old and can’t hang with the young crowd anymore.”

Drake laughed and pointed at Jeremiah, the youngest of all of them. He was desperately trying to cover a huge yawn. Joshua clapped the kid on the back and his team went upstairs to their rooms, leaving him alone with Pauline and Saria.