“You need to see this.”

With a sigh of annoyance—of course, almost everything annoyed him—Travis followed after his brother. As they walked out of the woods beside the lake on his parents’ territory, Travis stopped in his tracks.

“Holy shit.”

“I know.”

They watched as the Shaw brothers played tug of war with a crocodile over what Travis would guess was a nine-point buck. The buck was still kicking, too, but that didn’t stop the brothers or the croc.

“I’m sensing the crazy gene, hoss,” Donnie mumbled.

“Ya think?”

Slowly, the Smith brothers backed up into the woods. They moved silently, hoping neither the croc nor the lions noticed them. When they got back to their car, they didn’t say another word until they made it back to the garage.

The sobbing had been the best part. Not Bertha. She didn’t cry after Sissy went on and on about the beautiful Smith–Ward wedding. As always, Bertha handled her pain with violence. But that poor little Omega she’d lit into had only been walking by. Then, that Omega’s sister had gone after Bertha, which led to an enthralling fistfight. Sissy simply didn’t see good ones these days. But the sobbing…well, that came when a male tried to break it up and got punched in the face for his trouble.

That had been the best.

Still, all that faded into the background as two blood-covered lions came running up. One had half a deer in its mouth; the other was trying to get it.

“I bet they were fighting with Ralph again.”

Ronnie looked at her. “Why would you say that?”

“Because they wouldn’t fight over half a deer. Mitch would have one half, and Bren would have the other. They’d both be happy.”

“I see.” Ronnie smirked. “What are you going to do when you find out you’re falling for Mitch?”

“Pop you in the mouth.”

With a nod, “Good to know.”

Brendon had the deer, and Mitch took him down, the pair fighting over that carcass like two pitbulls over a tennis ball. The rest of the wolves sunning themselves watched in silence while Sissy and Ronnie discussed dinner plans after football practice. When the brothers went up on their hind legs and tore into each other’s mane-covered necks, Ronnie asked Sissy, “Where did Dee go?”

“You know Dee. She’s the ghost. Disappears whenever the mood strikes her fancy. She’s good, too. Even I don’t notice.”

The brothers must have worn themselves out because they both crashed on either side of Sissy and Ronnie, panting, covered in blood, and appearing quite happy.

“You know except for Mitch almost getting blown away, this has been the nicest little vacation.” When everyone gaped at her, Ronnie reiterated,“I said, ‘except for Mitch almost getting blown away.’”

“True. She did qualify.”

Mitch rubbed his mane against Sissy’s leg, and she stared at him in disgust. “You’re getting blood all over me.”

That’s when he put his whole face into the act.

Sissy sighed. “Why do I bother?”

Football practice seemed to be going really well, except all the players kept staring at him and Brendon, and Mitch had no idea why. True, he was a fascinating specimen of male perfection, but it was starting to weird him out.

Mitch walked off the field and up to Sissy. She held out her water bottle, and he gratefully drank from it. It was a hazy, hot day, and he was simply covered in sweat. Still, he liked the way Sissy kept eyeing him.

“Your brothers keep staring at me and Bren. Think they went gay overnight?”

“I could only hope. It would make them much more interesting. But I think they saw you tussling with Ralph.”

“It wasn’t a tussle. He wouldn’t give up that buck, and Bren and I took him down. He was ours.”

“Darlin’, I think you keep forgetting that you’re supposed to be smarter than the croc ’cause you’re only lion half the time.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Of course you don’t.” Sissy stood, and Mitch smiled when he noticed she’d put on another pair of shorts. Even better, though, she only wore her bikini top, and the shorts over the bikini bottoms. It was sexy as hell.

She took the empty bottle back and with her voice low, said, “Meet me in the visiting team’s bathroom in three minutes.”

Then she sauntered off.

Mitch cleared his throat and glanced around. The team had taken a break, heading off to get sports drinks and water from the coolers on the sidelines.

“Go behind the bleachers and around,” Ronnie said, her eyes never turning away from the field. She raised her hand to wave at Brendon.

“I guess this isn’t the first time you two have done this before, right?”

Ronnie looked up and winked at him. “You are so cute, Mitch Shaw.”

He chuckled and walked off behind the bleachers and around the far end of the field.

Mitch walked into the ladies’ bathroom and glanced under the stalls, looking for good-sized feet in flip-flops. Apparently the bathroom was the one place Sissy wouldn’t or couldn’t go to without something on her feet. He found himself kind of grateful for that.

“Sissy?”

“Lurking in the girls’ bathroom again, huh?”

He turned around, and she closed the door, locking it.

“Just seeing where you went off to.”