Latin Moon, Book 3: A New Moon

Praise for the writing of Jeigh Lynn

Latin Moon

Jeigh Lynn’s Latin Moon is a book that you should not miss! Alex and Jessica are unforgettable characters that you will instantly fall in love with. The physical and emotional connection between the two will amaze you. -- Tewanda, Fallen Angel Reviews I absolutely loved Latin Moon. Ms. Lynn has written a novel that flows so well that I found myself at the last page before I knew what happened. -- Francesca Hayne, Just Erotic Romance Reviews

A Lover’s Moon

Ms. Lynn has written another must read and I look forward to reading more of her sexy werewolves and their mates. -- Ann, Romance Junkies Another brilliant story from Ms. Lynn! This is the second in the Moon series, with several more planned to follow – and I can’t wait, because I have enjoyed both of these so much! -- Elizabeth, Fallen Angel Reviews Emotions run high in A Lover’s Moon. Lynn does a wonderful job of portraying both characters’ fears and the depth of emotion they have for each other... Loose Id has found a gem in Jeigh Lynn and her Moon series. This reader can’t wait for the next tale in this series. -- Tammy, Love Romances

Latin Moon and A Lover’s Moon are now available from Loose Id.

A NEW MOON

Jeigh Lynn

www.loose-id.com

Warning This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

***** This book contains explicit sexual content and graphic language.

A New Moon Jeigh Lynn This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Published by Loose Id LLC 1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-29 Carson City NV 89701-1215 www.loose-id.com

Copyright © May 2006 by Jeigh Lynn All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC.

ISBN 978-1-59632-266-0 Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader

Printed in the United States of America

Editor: Olivia Wong Cover Artist: Christine M. Griffin

Dedication To Lesley Musser, JBuL’s steam meter. Keep writing, Les! You’ve come a long way from when we first met. You’re up next! Special thanks to: Andre, who helped me tremendously with tricky plot points, and the ladies of JBuL for putting up with my “arteest” temperament. ;o)

Prologue

“Brent, we’re going to get in trouble if they find out.” He glanced at her across the dark interior of the car. Her head was bowed and she was wringing her hands, something she frequently did when she was nervous. He looked back at the road. What was he supposed to say? She was right: if their parents found out, they would both be in for it. He could just hear his father now: “Brent, what were you thinking? She’s only fifteen!” “They aren’t going to find out, Rhett.” He turned into the drive in front of his pack’s cabin and cut the engine. “We’ve seen each other every day since you were six. Besides, they can’t, and won’t, keep us away from each other. We’re mates, and they know it.” She released her grip on her hands, unfastened her seat belt and slid over next to him. Wrapping his arm around her, Brent pulled her head down on his shoulder. She sighed and snuggled into him. “Where did you tell them you were going?” He brushed a kiss across her forehead, then pressed his cheek against it. “To Jeremy’s to spend the night.” Rhett lifted her head and looked up at him, her eyes wide. “What if they drive by and don’t see your car there?” “I told them Jeremy and I were going out. They’ll assume I drove.” Rhett seemed to relax, then smiled up at him. “Good idea. You think of everything.” She laid her head back down and pressed closer into his side. “I gave Christine the number here. She said if Dad calls, she’ll tell him I’m in the bathroom, then she’ll call us here so I can call him back.” He smiled into her dark hair. “Smart.”

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Brent rubbed his hand up and down her arm, just glad to hold her. She was everything to him -- his best friend, his love, his entire world. Even if she hadn’t been his mate, he was convinced he’d still love her. He sighed; he had to make sure that she really wanted this. Turning her face to his, he kissed her nose. “Are you sure?” Rhett looked surprised; then she reached down and undid his seat belt. Sliding between him and the steering wheel, she threw her leg over his, straddling him. Then, taking his face in her palms, she stared into his eyes. “Of course, I’m sure. I love you more than anything. This is all I have been able to think about for the past six months. I’m just a little nervous, is all.” She swallowed audibly and took a deep breath. “I don’t like lying to our parents, but I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be than here with you ... alone.” He pulled her hands away from his face and rearranged them around his neck. Leaning forward, he slanted his mouth across hers. When she parted her lips for him and allowed his tongue to slip inside, everything else seemed to disappear. Now, without a doubt, he knew that they were making the right decision. Without breaking their kiss, he groped for the door handle with one hand and pulled the keys out of the ignition with the other. As he pushed the car door open and slid his legs out to stand up, Rhett tightened her arms around him and wrapped her legs around his waist. While he fumbled with the front door of the deserted cabin, Rhett pulled her lips away from his and began nibbling on his neck. Pushing the door open, he slid her down his body, a groan escaping when she slithered over his painfully erect cock. Her feet hit the floor and she quickly darted behind him. He heard the door shut and lock before her arms surrounded him again and her body pressed against his back. One dainty hand cautiously touched his denim-clad groin, and he hissed. Oh, good Lord, she was going to kill him; he was sure of it. “Rhett, if you do this here, we’ll never make it to the bed.” He fumbled his way up the stairs with her arms still around his waist, her hand fondling him every few steps. Brent chuckled. “You know, Hellion, if you let go of me, we’ll get there a lot faster.” “Yes, but what’s the fun in that?” That was his girl; she had to do everything the hard way. He shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. Just as they reached the top landing, her arms disappeared. He shoved open the bedroom door. Rhett lay on the bed covered in blood. Only it wasn’t his room, and there was something else different about her. She was the same ... but somehow older. He started to run to her but was stopped by a growl. He turned and stared into a pair of green eyes ... his eyes. But it wasn’t him.

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Chapter One Brent sat straight up in bed, covered in a fine layer of sweat, and desperately gasped for air. He blinked several times, ran his fingers through his hair, then gradually slowed his breathing. Just a dream. It was just a dream. Good Lord, where had that come from? Brent dragged his hands down his face and flopped back on the mattress. His dreams always comprised memories, but he hadn’t dreamed about Rhett since her last birthday, and certainly never like that. It had started out fine, a small portion of the night he and Rhett had first made love. But that last scene ...? The room behind the door in the dream had not been his. It had been plain, almost sterile, like a hotel room. And Rhett, even aside from the blood, had changed from an excited adolescent girl just moments before to a more mature one. An adult. He knew he’d definitely never seen her covered in blood. Bloody yes, but not covered in the stuff. He shook off his confusion and suddenly focused on another memory. It had been twenty years ago today ... the Hellion’s eleventh birthday. She’d come over to his home to play, and they’d been in the tree house, where she had rarely gotten to go because Dash insisted she was a stinking girl and had no business there. Brent and Rhett had been climbing down to go get some lemonade when he’d looked up and seen blood on her pink shorts. He’d freaked big time. In fact, he had grabbed her off the ladder, crying and yelling for help, and hauled her toward his home. His mother had met him at the back door, taken in the situation in one quick glance, then pulled Rhett out of his arms, sending him to his father and Michael, both of whom were tinkering in the garage. After he’d given a short recounting to his dad and Michael of what had happened, both men had sat him down and gave him a comprehensive lecture on the female reproductive system. He remembered saying “Ewww” a lot and being really

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embarrassed, but he also recalled feeling overwhelming relief that Rhett wasn’t bleeding to death. About a half hour later -- after his father and Michael had finally gone back to fixing whatever it was they’d been working on in the garage -- Rhett had come out and found him sitting on the porch drinking lemonade. They’d sat there in silence for several minutes and shared his drink. Finally she’d said, “What a lousy birthday present. And if you tell the guys, I’ll kill you, then when we get to the party I’ll tell them you actually cried ’cause you thought I was dying.” They’d both laughed, then leaned toward each other and kissed. It hadn’t been anything spectacular, just a chaste little peck on the lips, but it had been their first. If he remembered correctly, he’d even punched her in the arm after that. The phone rang pulling Brent out of his reverie. He glanced at the clock: 6:14 a.m. Who would be calling him this early? “Hello?” “Hey, son, it’s Michael.” Brent chuckled. “Why in the world would you tell me it’s you? Like I wouldn’t know as soon as I heard your voice.” “Well, it’s early. I figured I woke you up and you’d be groggy.” He grinned. “I’d still know your voice. What’s up, goofball?” Michael’s rich laughter poured over the phone. “Hey, watch it, kiddo. I was just calling to remind you that Marisa’s birthday party is tonight, Diego and Claire’s house at six-thirty.” “I’ll be there.” Brent paused. “I ... she’d be thirty-two today.” “Yeah, I know, son, I know. It’s been a rough morning over here, too. I hate going through this every year. Your mom has been crying all morning; then your dad got up in a pissy mood, and we argued. After which he got dressed and stormed out of the house. Your mom and I haven’t seen him since.” Michael sighed. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Marisa’s birthday wasn’t the same day, you know? I mean, seeing Reese all happy and alive and vibrant just seems to drive it home even harder that Rhett’s not here anymore. And Marisa reminds me of Rhett in so many ways. Not as much as Jessica does, but ... How are you holding up?” “Had a nightmare about her.” “Yeah? Anything you want to talk about?” Brent shook his head, then cleared his throat. He had always talked his problems over with Michael. In some ways, he was closer to the man than to his own father. Well, that wasn’t exactly true; he was as close to Dad as he was Michael, but he could talk to Michael about things he couldn’t talk to his dad about. Maybe discussing the dream with him would

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create some sort of sense out of it. Certainly, he could never tell his parents because they’d both get too upset, but Michael was different. He could handle it. “It started out all right. Just a memory, but then I saw her lying on a bed covered in blood. And she looked maybe about what she’d be now.” Michael gasped. “You all right?” “Yeah, it just rattled me a bit, but I’m over it. It was just a dream. You know I always have dreams about her close to her birthday.” “When you and Rhett were young, you used to have similar dreams where you sensed she might be hurt. You think maybe ... never mind. If you need me, kiddo, I’ll be here most of the day. I’m going to go with your mom later to get Reese’s present, but I’ll have my cell on. Speaking of presents, you want us to pick up something for you?” “Nah. I’m going to give her money.” “She’ll like that, I’m sure.” There was a pause, then Brent continued softly. “You really think this might be like that? You think maybe those dreams I had about her after she left were true, too, and she’s somehow still alive?” “Son, I think she’d be here with us if she were still alive. Let it go, Brent. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. I’m sorry. Listen, I better let you go so you can get ready for work. You haven’t been at this job long enough to be going in late.” Michael was right on both accounts. He knew Rhett would be here if she were alive and, no, he hadn’t been at his new job long. Brent sure didn’t want to screw things up with his dream job. After all, not just anyone made it into the Texas Rangers. “Yeah, I guess I’d better get up. I’m not willing to turn in my silver star yet. It’s a good thing I only work till noon on Saturdays, so I’ll be at the party as soon as I’m done.” Michael chuckled. “Have I told you how proud I am of you?” “Only about five hundred times since I was accepted and got my star.” “Yeah, well, I am. We all are. Have fun at work, kiddo. And Brent ... I love you.” Brent blinked back tears and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Love you, too, Michael. See you tonight.” He hung up and got out of bed. It was time to stop with the pity party and get with the program. There’d be time to be depressed tonight, after Marisa’s party. When he was alone ... again.

***** “Come on boys! Up and at ’em!” Rhett McCoy clapped her hands as she walked through the motel door that adjoined her room to her sons’. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight that greeted her.

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Clayton’s green eyes opened, then narrowed on her, seconds before he pulled the covers over his head with a groan and burrowed back down in them. Clay had never liked mornings. Tate, on the other hand, had always been a morning person, the opposite of his twin. He sat up in bed a huge smile on his handsome face. “Morning, Mom. Happy birthday!” “Thank you, Tate.” “What’s on the agenda? Are we gonna go right to Da--” Good gosh, the boy was like a dog with a bone. “Lunch first!” Rhett walked further into the room and perched herself on the side of the bed of her other sixteen-year-old and stroked Clay’s head. Tate threw his legs over the edge of his own bed and stood, stifling a yawn with one hand and threading the other through his tousled black hair. His gray eyes blinked several times before focusing on her again. “Okay, fine. Lunch first. Hamburgers?” he added hopefully. Rhett grinned at him, glad he hadn’t pushed the issue about his father. Lord knew her nerves were frazzled enough without arguing with Tate today. Not that she could really blame him. He’d had a one-track mind since she’d told the boys they were finally going to meet Brent. Tate especially had always wanted to meet his father and, now with the recent upheaval in their lives, he needed answers that only Brent could supply. Answers that, despite Rhett’s upbringing around wolves for half her life, she couldn’t answer. “Sure, go get a shower, while I try to get your brother up.” Clay groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers tighter into his body. Rhett leaned over and tickled him. He thrashed out of her reach several times, before finally throwing the covers off his head and glaring up at her, clearly disgruntled. “All right already! I’m up! What time is it anyway?” Rhett watched in amusement as he flung himself out of bed, grumbling about being “woken up at the crack of dawn.” “It’s noon, hardly sunrise.” Clay stared down at her, his eyebrows arched. “You let me sleep till noon?” She got up, rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “I figured since we got into town so late, it was the least I could do. Now, Grumpy Butt, get moving! We have a big day ahead of us.” She swatted him on the behind as he walked past her. “Happy birthday, Mom.” Rhett turned slowly at the sound of his voice; it was so much like his father’s. “Thank you, Clay.” She smiled as he walked off into her room and headed for the bathroom. Rhett followed after she heard Clay shut the door and start the shower. She sat down on the end of her bed and sighed. Even aside from the fact that her boys were a constant

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reminder of him, not a day went by that she hadn’t thought of Brent. God, she’d missed him so much! Clay was a carbon copy of his father the last time she’d seen Brent. From the boy’s thick black hair to his bright green eyes to the swagger in his step -- the resemblance was a constant source of heartache. And Tate. Well, he was all McCoy in the looks department, resembling her, her younger brothers, Rome and Rand, and her father. But between the twins, Tate was more like Brent in personality, easygoing and a people person. He was fun and charismatic, a charmer; people liked him immediately, and he hated anyone to be upset. Rhett lay back on the bed. God, what am I doing? Ever since the moment she’d decided to come back, she’d been both anxious to see Brent and dreading it. She’d often thought about calling him over the years, but the very thought of Brent being used as a lab rat and tortured all the ways she’d witnessed had been enough to squelch that notion. After all, she’d left for his and the rest of her family’s protection. She’d been positive she could live without him, knowing that he was safe, than live with him, fearing for his life -- and that hadn’t changed. She knew she’d been on the paranoid side, but if that kept her family safe, then so be it. But now, not only was she putting Brent in danger, she was endangering her boys as well. She’d sacrificed her own happiness all those years ago, and it had been for nothing. She was back to where she’d started, but worse -- she had become a hazard to her boys, too. Well, to Tate at least. And Clay, he had fallen into the same category as she did, a danger and liability to those they loved most. At least she’d had the good sense to get herself and the boys the best training in self-defense she could find; that had to have helped, but it still did not give her and Clay the advantage a wolf would have. They would never have the quick reflexes and the heightened senses, but it had to be worth something. She had to believe that it did. Rhett reached up and dabbed at her tears, she didn’t want the boys to finish their showers and find her crying. She’d made her choices and had to live with them ... all of them, past and present. Returning was the right choice, but still she couldn’t help that little niggling in the back of her head. What if ...? There were no two ways about it, being back in town was making her jumpy. Rhett finally gave up and let the tears fall as she thought back to the past full moon -when she’d found out that all her heartache had been in vain. Three weeks ago, she and Uncle Morgan had been in the kitchen going over bills when a gut wrenching cry came from the living room, followed by Clay’s “Omigod! Mom! Uncle Morgan!” The panic in his voice had sent her and Uncle Morgan racing to him.

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The first thing they’d seen was Clay. He was standing in the middle of the living room, video game controller still in one hand, staring at his brother in shock. Tate had his knees under him, his forehead pressed to the floor ... obviously in the middle of changing. His hands were already claws, and his face was starting to change, elongating into a muzzle. He was making desperate little whimpering noises, sounding so terrified. He had no idea what was going on; how could he? She’d never told him or Clay about their heritage. They didn’t even know werewolves existed. “Shit!” Rhett didn’t hesitate. This was the moment she’d hoped to avoid for the past sixteen years. As much as the realization that Tate hadn’t escaped his genetics pained her, the fact that her son was so clearly in distress wounded her more. Her boys came first. Tate was apparently trying to resist the change, and it always hurt worse to resist. That much she remembered. She rushed forward and dropped beside him. “Don’t fight it, Tate. Just calm down. I know you’re scared, honey, but trust me. I’ll explain it all, I promise, only right now you have to relax and let it happen.” He peered up at her, sweat running down his face in rivulets, pleading with his eyes. “Mom?” Rhett nodded quickly as she felt tears well up in her own eyes. She ran a hand through his hair. “I know, baby, I know. Mommy’s right here. Just let go and it will stop hurting, I promise.” She could hear Clay’s panicked voice and Uncle Morgan’s soothing tones in the background, but her focus remained on Tate. Tears streaked down her face as she continued to stroke his head and shoulders, willing him to loosen up. Finally, the strain of holding back exhausted him. He looked up at her, those pretty gray eyes wet, and finished shifting ... into a black wolf. Rhett tried to pull the shirt off him but couldn’t see through her own anguish. She was peripherally aware of Clay’s scream, his erratic breathing and his repetition of “Holy shit!” Then he was on the floor next to her, reaching out a cautious, shaking hand toward his twin. Gray wolf eyes wide, Tate just stood there, trembling violently, tangled in the pile of clothes that still clung to him. Clay touched one of his brother’s ears, then jerked his hand back, clasping it over his mouth. Uncle Morgan knelt on Tate’s other side and pulled the shredded remains of the shirt off the wolf’s neck. He reached out and patted his head. “It’s all right, young’un. We should have told you, prepared you. I’m sorry.” Tate’s head swung toward her, meeting her gaze, hurt and accusation shining in his eyes. Clay jumped up and glared down at her. “What the hell is this? This isn’t real.” He shook his head and started backing away, “It can’t be.”

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“It is,” she whispered. Clay stopped, outrage clear on his face. “You knew about this? You knew, and you didn’t tell us?” Rhett sighed and turned to lay on her side. She’d explained about their family and werewolves in general, while Uncle Morgan had added bits and pieces here and there. The whole time Clay had stared daggers at her, staying right by his twin’s side, one hand in Tate’s ruff. When she’d finished with her explanations, Clay had yelled and shouted all sorts of accusations at her until Uncle Morgan had threatened to whoop the daylights out of him for “talking to your mama that way.” She’d been too upset to care. She’d felt guilty about not telling the boys about their heritage and was terrified about what Tate’s change meant. He was in danger now: not only was he unaware of how to be a wolf, but those maniacs were still out there. The ones she’d run from in the first place. Rhett had pulled them both out of school immediately; she couldn’t risk Tate changing again or drawing attention to his wolf side. Clay could have stayed, but she didn’t want to raise any suspicions. At least this way it looked as if she were considering taking care of their education herself. Once she was sure Tate could control his instincts and urges, the boys were going back to school just as soon as could be. Her sons had refused to speak to her for two days. On the third day, they had come to her with more questions. Questions she couldn’t always address, questions that her sons should already have known the answers to -- and would have if they’d rightfully grown up surrounded by their pack. A knock sounded at the door, pulling Rhett out of her thoughts. She sat up on the bed, instantly alert, and automatically looked over at the nightstand where her knife and gun lay. No one but Uncle Morgan knew she and the boys were here. “Hello? Housekeeping.” She relaxed marginally. “What can I do for you?” They didn’t need anything; they were about to leave. “Housekeeping, ma’am,” the woman repeated. A key jingled in the lock and Rhett instantly jumped up, grabbing her gun and knife, then lifted the pillow and tossed her gun under it. “Just a moment!” She started to hide the knife, too, but thought better of it. Instead, she held it behind her back and ran toward the entrance to ward off the maid. She got to the door just as it cracked open. Rhett shoved her foot in front of it, stopping its progress, and caught the top with her free hand. A woman stood there with a cartful of towels, soaps, and assorted other motel items behind her.

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“Can you come back? We’re about to check out and don’t need --” The woman pushed through the door, knocking her off balance, and was followed immediately by two men. Where in the hell had they come from? All three strangers held guns with suppressors on them. Before Rhett regained her balance, one of the men grabbed her wrist and pointed his gun in her face. “Where is Roman McCoy?” Rhett froze, her gaze taking in the entire scene; she knew better than to panic. She still had her knife though they each had guns. “I said, where is Roman McCoy. We know he’s here.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about! There is no one here by that name.” Think

Rhett, think! After glancing over the room, the woman looked at the man holding her. “He’s in the shower. I just heard it shut off.”

Shit, shit, shit! Clay was about to walk right into this mess. She had to get loose, protect her kids. There would only be a few seconds to get away and take control of the situation. Whatever she did, it had to be good, and it had to be a surprise, because she was only going to have the one chance. Rhett ducked away from the gun as she swung her knife, stabbing the man in the belly and snatching his gun. He doubled over with a howl. The other man turned from the bathroom door and trained his gun on Rhett. “You bitch!” Rhett fired off a shot from the gun she’d seized, hitting him in the shoulder. Then everything happened at once. Tate stepped through the connecting door, drawing on the hand-to-hand combat skills he’d been taught. Catching the woman/maid by surprise, he instantly disarmed her and shoved her to the floor. At the same moment, Clay opened the bathroom door. In the blink of an eye, the man Rhett had stabbed recovered, charging Tate. Tate shot him in the leg, dropping him, then instantly re-aimed at the woman, who got to her feet, holding up her hands. Clay stepped into the bedroom, and the man Rhett had shot lifted his gun. “No!” Rhett ran toward a very stunned Clay and jumped in front of him, firing the pistol at the same time the man did. She watched a crimson stain spread across the stranger’s chest even as she felt a stabbing pain in her own. Her body flew back into Clay, propelling them both into a wall. The man’s eyes widened with shock, then he fell onto the carpet with a muffled thud. Rhett swayed, but Clayton’s arms wrapped around her, steadying her. “Mom!”

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The last thing she saw before she passed out was Tate rushing toward her and the wounded man and woman grabbing their fallen comrade and hightailing it.

Thank God my babies are safe.

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Chapter Two Brent opened his car door and pulled off his boots and socks, set them in the passenger floorboard and grabbed the flip-flops off the seat. Damn boots! They killed his feet. Actually, it wasn’t just the boots. All shoes bothered him; he hated them. He’d always thought that if God had meant for people to wear shoes, they’d have been born with the damned things. Tossing the flip-flops on the ground, he slid his feet into them and placed his cowboy hat upside down on the seat. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving his gun inside, so he kept it on his hip momentarily, and grabbed his swimsuit, then locked the car. Going around to the trunk, he opened it up, pulled the gun belt off his waist and laid it inside next to the assault rifle and Kevlar vest. After he secured everything, he headed up the walk, but didn’t bother knocking on the door; everyone would be out at the pool. Besides, it was his aunt and uncle’s home. When he opened the door, the sound of teenage laughter assailed him, followed by a squeal and a big splash. He kicked his flip-flops off and pushed them with his foot to the side of the door. He could see his family gathered around outside, and was on his way toward the sliding glass door when a baby’s cry stopped him. Aunt Claire looked up and started into the house, but he waved her off and changed direction, following the cry to his aunt and uncle’s bedroom. In a playpen by the bed were both his baby cousins. Brandon was sound asleep, still sucking on his pacifier, but Kitty had pushed herself up on her arms and was screaming at the top of her lungs. Brent flipped the light on and immediately the caterwauling stopped. Kitty’s big brown eyes met his, and she started babbling her usual baby talk.

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Katrina -- or Kitty, as Jess had nicknamed her -- was ten months old and quite a charmer. All the men in the family were firmly wrapped around her little finger. He grinned. “Hello, angel. You sure do make a lot of noise, you know that?” She babbled some more and raised her arms, clearly wanting out. Brent laughed and pulled her from the playpen. She was sopping wet. “Well, no wonder you were screaming. I’d be screaming, too, if I had pee stuck to my bottom. Let’s see if we can find a new diaper and some clean clothes.” He bent down and felt the lining of the playpen, then the blanket. Thankfully, they weren’t damp so he didn’t worry about removing Brandon and getting fresh linen and blankets. Tossing his swimsuit on the bed, he went about locating her changing bag. Once he found it, he pulled out wipes, a diaper and a little dress. He laid her on the bed, then sat down and cleaned and changed her. The whole time the little imp giggled and squirmed, obviously having a great time. Brent played with her, blowing on her belly and tickling her. Brent loved babies; always had. After he was done, he picked her up in one arm and grabbed the wet diaper and the pajamas with his free hand, then walked to the bathroom. As soon as Kitty was close to his face again, she placed her little hands on each of his cheeks, leaned forward with her mouth wide open and gave him a kiss. Brent felt ten feet tall. “Oh, thank you! That was the best sugars ever!” He threw away the diaper, put the pajamas in a bag, sealed it, then tossed it on the counter and washed his hands. Then he ruffled the wispy dark hair on her head and turned out the light. “Let’s go see what everyone is doing. I think I heard Tia Marisa getting thrown in the pool when I came in.” He and a smiling, laughing Kitty went out into the backyard to join the party. Rome and their cousins Alex, Adrian, and Dash were sitting around the picnic table drinking beer. Jess was on a lounger next to Alex, lying on her stomach, evidently trying to acquire a tan despite her pale skin. Kat was right beside her, nose buried in a book. Meanwhile, Michael, his uncles Diego and Kyle were at the grill talking and flipping burgers. That was odd; Rand usually took over the cooking at family events. His aunts Claire and Rita and were in the hot tub, and the rest of his family -- parents, cousins Marisa and Julian, Rand, and Marisa’s friend, Kacy, if memory served -- were in the pool. Marisa was practically standing on Rand’s shoulders in an effort to dunk him. No wonder Rand wasn’t cooking, flirting with the girls was apparently more important than perfectly grilled hamburgers. Brent grinned and looked at Kitty. “Well, it looks like they started without us.” Kitty squealed. Everyone looked over at them, calling out hellos. “Hi. Sorry, I’m late. I had to change my date’s diaper.” He glanced at Kitty. “Right, sweetheart?” His family laughed as he made his way to the picnic table.

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Alex reached down between him and Adrian and pulled a beer out of the cooler. He dripped the water across Jess’s back, then held the bottle toward Brent. Jess squeaked, then looked up at Alex and glared. He ignored her and smiled at Brent. “You want me to take her?” Brent took the offered beer and shrugged, “If you want her. She’s got fresh nappies on.” He tried to give the baby to her father, but she shook her head and clung to his neck, so he sat down with her in his lap. He didn’t mind; in fact, it was something he did quite often whenever he was around her. Everyone knew he was one of Kitty’s favorite people, but that she wouldn’t go to her father made him smile widely. Alex snorted. “Gee, I see where I rate.” Brent blew on Kitty’s cheek and was rewarded with a giggle. “Yeah, right behind adoring Uncle Brent.” The baby tried to reciprocate by blowing on his cheek, covering him in drool. Brent cringed, then wiped at the slobber running down his face. Adrian tossed his beer bottle into the trash can about five feet away and elbowed Alex. “Get me another one.” He eyed Brent. “Is Brandon still asleep?” “Yup, sound asleep. Didn’t even hear this young lady demanding a fresh wardrobe.” Alex chuckled as he watched Brent clean himself. Kitty immediately looked up at her father and waved. “Da da da da da.” Alex smiled and waved back. Not to be outdone by his brother, Dash stood up and leaned across the table puckering his lips at his niece. When she kissed him back he sat down and beamed at Alex. “You rate behind Uncle Dash, too. She gives me kisses.” Brent opened his mouth to tell Dash that she kissed everyone when Kitty was plucked out of his arms. Brent looked over his shoulder to find Jess shrugging Kitty onto her hip. Kitty whined and reached for him. He squelched the urge to snatch her back. “Oh, you even changed her clothes. Brent, you freaking rock.” Jess bent and kissed his cheek. Brent smiled up at Dash. “She kisses me, too ... and so does her mother.” Dash stuck his tongue out at him. Adrian grinned even wider. “Yeah, you better wipe that. Your cheek is liable to rot off.” Jess aimed a swat at him, missed and hit Alex. “Hey!” “Oh, hush, you deserve it for dripping that cold water on me.” Jess turned around and left. Brent, Dash, Adrian, and Rome laughed. Alex smacked Adrian.

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Adrian glared in return. “What was that for?” “For getting me hit.” Brent chuckled, took a swig of beer, and looked over at Rome. “Hey.” “Hey, big brother.” Rome dipped his head. “How was work?” “It was fine. How ’bout you? You liking homicide?” “Yeah. I’m glad I chose it over S.W.A.T. I got my first case day before yesterday, and I actually got to work with Emilio. He did the autopsy.” “Yup, sure did.” Emilio stepped up behind them, drying off. “So, do you have any good leads?” Rome nodded. “A few.” Brent only half listened as he looked around at his family. “Where’s Jill?” “She had to work.” Dash looked at his watch. “She should be waddling in here any time now. And I’ll bet you twenty bucks the first thing she does is head straight for the food.” Brent spotted Jill coming up behind Dash and hid a grin. “I’m not taking that bet on account of Jill would likely kill me if she found out.” Brent smiled as -- right on cue -- Jill walked up behind Dash and gently shoved the back of his head. “I heard that. Brent should have taken the bet, ’cause you’re wrong. I came right over here, to sit down.” She leaned slightly and kissed her husband. “Now get up, give me your chair, and go fix me a hamburger.” Dash groaned but did as he was told, vacating his seat so his pregnant wife could sit down. Brent leaned back. He had a great family, and it was entertaining seeing his cousins with their wives. He tried not to let it get to him, but at times it did, like now, when it was clear what he was missing out on. Kitty, for example. She really brought home the fact that he’d never have kids of his own. When Rhett had disappeared, she’d taken his future with him in so many ways. He didn’t begrudge his cousins their happiness; rather, he was thankful for the fact that they had mates and children. He wouldn’t wish his loneliness on anyone, and his family seemed to include him in gatherings more often than not, so in a way he hadn’t completely missed out. He sighed; he was here to have fun, not sit around and be pitiful. Putting thought to action, he decided get his swimsuit on and take a dip. Not to mention that helping Marisa in her campaign to dunk Rand held a certain appeal “Uncle Diego?” Diego turned away from the grill. “Yeah?” “I’m going to change into my swim trunks. Be back in a minute.” “Okay. Bring me another plate on your way out.”

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“Will do.” Brent stood up and headed into the house. Time in the pool would do him good; maybe a soak in the hot tub as well. Even though the strain of knowing it was Rhett’s birthday, too, pressed on him, being with family seemed to make it more bearable.

***** Michael shook his head and continued to fiddle with the computer in Brent’s car. “This is so cool, I want a computer in my truck. Maybe a radio like yours, too.” “What in the world would you do with a police radio in your truck?” “Play with it.” Brent laughed. The thought of Michael having a radio in his car was one thing, but the computer? That was downright scary. The man would be causing traffic accidents left and right because he was too busy fiddling with the thing. “You know you didn’t have to come with me, I could have just gotten the bottle of Jack Daniel’s and come right back.” “Nah, I needed to get away for a bit. Shit, how long have we been there?” Brent checked his watch, then pulled into his driveway. “Since noon or thereabouts, so around three hours.” Brent cut the engine. “You coming in or you wanna wait here?” Michael opened the passenger door, “I’ll come in.” Brent got out and stopped dead in his tracks. He smelled blood, but it wasn’t just blood, there was something else about it ... Need slammed into him, hardening his cock and blurring his vision, threatening to make his eyes shift. He blinked, shaking his head. What

the fuck?! Michael stopped, too. “Do you smell that?” He nodded and looked around quickly. “Yeah.” Michael lifted his face in the air sniffing. “I smell wolf, too.” So did Brent. And fear; it saturated the air and was coming from the area around his front door. There were bushes right near his entrance. Someone could very well be hiding in them. He reached for his gun. Damn! It was in the trunk. He glanced at Michael, holding up a finger. Michael nodded and started across the yard to check out the shrubs from the opposite side as Brent. He stopped and waited about four yards from the greenery. Brent went back to his car and got his pistol, then shut the driver’s side door, creeping closer to the bushes, and damn if his gums didn’t start itching again. What the hell? Michael didn’t seem to be having the same difficulties. Michael rounded the side of the plants. A growl sounded and he jumped back, holding his arms up in an I’m-no-threat gesture, then flicked a shocked glance at Brent.

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Puzzled, Brent got close to the front door and saw a gun muzzle sticking out of the bushes before he stared into a pair of green eyes that were very familiar. He examined the face quickly, taking in the features. Young, maybe sixteen or seventeen, black hair. “Brent Hernandez?” the teenager asked. Brent held his gun trained on the boy, who reeked of fear. He also noticed the youth was trembling. In normal circumstances, he would have never admitted who he was on the possibility someone he’d arrested was looking for revenge, but combining the scent of blood, the boy’s obvious fright and Michael’s clear surprise at whatever he’d seen, he found himself answering. “Yes, I’m Brent.” Michael gasped as the low growling was repeated. “What is it, Michael?” Brent didn’t take his gaze off the kid. From the corner of his eye, he saw the other man moving closer to the bushes again. The growl got louder. “Kid, you gotta call the wolf off so we can help you. I’m Michael McCoy, and she’s my daughter.” What the fuck was Michael talking about?! Brent moved closer, still holding his gun at the ready. The weapon that was sticking out of the bushes lowered. “Tate! Come here! They’re going to help us.” He bent down and moved aside the branches that were obscuring his vision -- and came face to face with a gray-eyed black wolf. The wolf licked his face, whimpered, and quickly got out of the way. The teen was cradling a bloody and unconscious woman, his free hand pressed hard against some injury. Rhett.

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Chapter Three Green eyes glared at Brent, boring into him as he shoved forward through the plants. The boy leaned over Rhett, instinctively shielding her from him, then reluctantly let Brent pull her into his arms. Brent couldn’t control the trembling in his hands or when his eyes shifted to its lupine counterpart as he lifted her out of the bushes. Michael rushed to the main entrance, taking the gun and keys from Brent and unlocking it. He held the door open as Brent carried Rhett inside, then urged the boy and the wolf inside as well. Michael started to demand answers from the teen, but Brent barely heard them or the responses. He laid Rhett on the couch, quickly examining her. Her pulse was weak, and her breathing very shallow. There was blood all over her shirt, and smeared across her cheek. He ripped her shirt in half, exposing her wound, immediately realizing it was from a gunshot. “Shit! We have to get her to a hospital!” “No!” the boy shouted. “She said no hospital!” Brent looked at him, startled. “Michael! Call Alex! I have to stop this bleeding!” Fortunately, Michael already had the phone out and was speaking rapidly into it while Brent concentrated on Rhett, carefully prodding the injury, then pressing on it, and quickly assessing the rest of her. She had on a tan bra that barely held her full breasts. Her lower half was covered in snug-fitting jeans. Almost every bit of the exposed pale skin was smeared with red. The wolf rushed over, rested his head next to Rhett’s, and whined. For several seconds Brent stared into eyes identical to Michael, Rome, and Rand’s when they were in wolf form. Then he looked back at Rhett.

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Rhett was as small and feminine as she always had been, but she had more muscle tone now. Her inky-black hair was shorter, no longer to her hips, maybe just below shoulder length. The cherubic face that he remembered was slimmer, more mature, but she was still as beautiful as she’d ever been ... more beautiful, actually. She was alive ... really alive. No way was he going to let her die. Brent racked his brain. What could he do? He’d spent way too much time around Alex and Adrian to not have learned something, then there was the first aid training he’d received as a cop. He kept pressure on Rhett’s injury and looked up, catching the boy’s attention. “You! Go down the hall to the left. Get me pillows and blanket from my bed! Hurry!” The boy took off in a run and was back seconds later, looking at Brent expectantly. “Pull her boots off and put the pillows under her feet, then cover her with the blanket.” The kid nodded, doing as he was told. When he was done, he knelt down beside the wolf, watching as Brent ran a hand through Rhett’s hair. Brent took the time to really study the kid and almost swallowed his tongue. It was like looking into a mirror. How was that poss…? He had a son? Jesus Christ! He had a son! He looked back at Rhett, then at the kid. He and Rhett had a son. “What’s your name, pup?” The boy never took his attention off his mother. “Clay. Clayton Hernandez.” The wolf -- what had Clay called him earlier? Tate? -- whimpered, nuzzling Clay’s arm. Who was he? Could he be ...? No. Brent shook his head. Yeah. Okay. Wow! He’d never fainted in his life, and he damned sure wasn’t going to start now. Pull yourself together Brent! “Are you brothers?” Clay nodded. “Twins. Can Alex save her? Alex is your cousin, right?” “Yeah. Alex is my cousin.” Green eyes bore into his. “He needs to hurry.” Brent felt like someone had punched him and that he was in the freaking Twilight Zone. “Yes, he does. He’ll be here soon.” It seemed like eons later, but Brent knew it had to be a bit shorter than that, before Alex was pushing him out of the way. “Move, Brent!” “She’s got a gunshot wound.” Brent moved only enough to let Alex get to her. His cousin was already demanding items from his bag and cutting off Rhett’s bra when a scream sounded. Brent turned in time to see Michael catch his mother as she fainted. They didn’t have time for this. Where the hell was his dad? Michael had laid Sarah down on the floor gently and gone to help Alex. Clay was already grabbing things out of the bag as Alex directed and assisting. “Holy, shit!” Emilio closed the front door behind him and rushed forward.

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“Godammit! “ Alex shouted, but continued to work frantically. Brent could tell by the set of his cousin’s jaw that she was dying. He couldn’t -wouldn’t -- let that happen. He thought hard for a second and pulled up a childhood memory from the recesses of his mind. His uncle, Alex’s father, had mixed his blood with their cousin Julian’s to save the child after Julian had been hit by a car. He’d never heard of something like that working on females other than mates and close family members, not to mention Julian had become a wolf after he’d healed, but he was willing at this moment to give anything a try. And she was his mate, so his blood should do something, heal her to some degree at least. Brent dug through Alex’s bag until he found the spare case of scalpels. He pulled one out and slashed at his wrist. As blood dripped down, he bent over Rhett, knocking Alex’s hands out of the way, letting his life force drain into the hole the bullet had made. Alex looked up at him, his face white. “What are you doing?” “Trying to save her.” “She’s a woman. Women can’t change.” “Maybe she can, since she has the recessive wolf gene. Has it ever been tried?” “No.” Rhett’s blood rolled down her sides along with his. The persistent bleeding was enough that he didn’t think any of his blood was being absorbed. Apparently Alex came to the same conclusion because he used his own scalpel to enlarge the wound, then pressed his fingers in to slow her blood flow. Moments later, Alex had Clay use gauze to soak up some of the leakage, which allowed Brent to get more of his blood into her. They continued this for a few minutes, then his cousin felt Rhett’s neck for a pulse with one hand, while still holding pressure with the other. “Still too thready, but there nonetheless. If this works like it did with Julian, she should heal very quickly.” Alex’s gaze met Brent’s and again he read his cousin’s thoughts: If this doesn’t work, then it’s not going to matter anyway. “Michael, hand me some forceps. I think I can feel the bullet so I’m going to go for it.”

Please, God, let it work! Brent looked back at his mate, still letting his blood flow into the wound. The bright red streaks that covered parts of her ashen skin looked garish, but she was still the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. No way was he going to let this be the end. Alex slowly and gently pulled out a piece of lead with the forceps. He wiped his hands and felt her neck again. “Her pulse is definitely stronger. And the bleeding has slowed.” He grinned up at Brent. “It’s working.” Her chest was moving more deeply. Before, Brent had barely been able to see any motion. He leaned closer, brushing his lips across her parted lips, her breath tickling his cheek. She’s really here. After all this time, she’s finally back here where she belongs.

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Brent stared at her, vaguely conscious of the boys and his parents behind him. Man, it’s

warm in here. A hand gripped his arm. “Brent! I don’t need you passing out on me.” Alex yanked him to his feet. “She’s stabilizing. Shift now and take care of your laceration. I’m going to close her wound, even though your blood seems to be healing her.” “But Julian healed almost immediately.” “She started healing immediately, too, but her injury is different from what his was. This is new territory for me, Brent. I don’t remember much about my dad giving Julian blood. I’ve never seen anyone heal this quickly aside from shifting. I never even considered that a woman might possibly be changed if she had the wolf gene.” He looked down at her and shook his head. “She was hardly breathing when I got here, and her pulse was almost nonexistent. She was damned near dead. I could not have saved her. But now, her respiration is almost normal, she has a strong pulse, and her bleeding has stopped entirely.” Alex blinked away tears. “Go ahead and shift while I suture her up. Although at this rate, I’m not even sure I need to.” Brent nodded. Keeping his gaze on his mate, he kicked off his flip flops, pulled his tshirt over his head and shucked his swimsuit. When he was naked, he changed into wolf form, then immediately shifted back. He heard a gasp as he came back to his feet. Changing so quickly was an impressive feat, but he knew that his father and Michael could both do it as well. He was still a little light-headed and unsteady, but managed to get his trunks back on, briefly releasing his focus from Rhett. His father, mother, Michael, and the teens, one still in wolf form, were staring at him. He wobbled again. Alex put a steadying in the middle of his back. “Don’t fall on Hellion. If you are going to faint, kindly do it elsewhere and try not to get injured in the process.” “No, I’m good, just a bit dizzy. Give me a sec.” Alex nodded, gripping his shoulder for support. He glanced down at Rhett again, then himself, and grimaced. They were both a mess, but that wasn’t his priority. Right now, he really had to know what had happened. He needed to be certain that there was no chance someone was going to finish the job they’d done, or that the authorities would show up demanding answers. First and foremost, he had to protect his mate and ... pups. “Alex, we need to get her cleaned up. Can she be moved yet?” “She’s stable, but I’d rather you wait a bit longer.” He nodded and turned to face the others. He pointed to Clay. “Are we in any immediate danger?” The boy shook his head. “I don’t think so. We’d been here for about an hour or so and no one came.”

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Brent nodded. “Okay. Go to my bathroom and get cleaned up, Clay. There are clothes in my closet. They’ll be a bit big, but they’ll do for now.” Clay frowned. “I have my own clothes.” “Where?” “In the truck.” Brent didn’t remember seeing a truck. “What truck?” “It’s a Cadillac Escalade actually. I dropped them off here, then parked behind a house two streets away. I didn’t want to chance someone recognizing it.” Brent looked at Michael and his parents. “Let’s get him freshened up and go check out the SUV. If everything looks okay, we’ll bring it back here and park it in the garage.” He looked down at the wolf, his son Tate. “Can you change back?” The pup cocked his head to the side, his eyes wide. Brent took that to mean he wasn’t sure. “Go ahead to the main bathroom down the hall and try. I’ll have someone bring you some clothes.” Clay, who was glaring dangerously at him, started to say something, but Brent held up a hand. “Not now, pup. Go shower, then we can talk.” Clay turned and left. Smart boy. Sarah smiled at him. She was a little on the pale side, but otherwise she looked in control of herself. “I’ll go find him something to wear and take -- do we know what his name is yet?” “Tate.” Brent grinned. “His name is Tate.” She nodded. “Tate. I’ll go get Tate and Clay some clothes.” Michael touched his shoulder. “I’ve got the keys to their car. I’m going to go ask Clay what color it is, then your dad and I are going to go take a look.” “Take my gun with you. And be careful.” “We will.” Emilio stepped toward him, pulling him into a hug. “Are you okay, son?” “Yeah, I’ll be all right.” After his dad and Michael left, it got really quiet. It was just him, Rhett, and Alex, who thrust a glass of orange juice at him. Brent sat down a little heavier than he’d intended on the floor by the couch. “Whoa!” “No shit.” Alex shook his head and grinned. “Nerves of fucking steel! You are the only person I know that gets so calm they seem to slow down in a crisis. You realize that Dash and I used to joke around and say that in case of an emergency, call 911 first, then shake Brent to make sure he’s awake.” He snorted, gulped down the juice, then clasped Rhett’s small hand in his. Tears stung his eyes as he brought it to his lips. He couldn’t believe that after all this time she was really

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here. Where had she been? Why the hell hadn’t she contacted him to tell him she was okay? Who had shot her? And why? He blinked back his emotions. This was not the time for him to have a breakdown. Alex leaned forward, reaching for Rhett. Brent growled and bared his teeth, surprising not only Alex, but himself as well. Alex eased back. “Easy. I was just checking on her.” “Yeah, okay. Sorry.” Alex reached for her again, very slowly this time monitoring Brent’s reactions as he did, and checked her vital signs again. He lifted his stethoscope and bent to listen to her chest, keeping Brent firmly in his sights. “I totally understand. Been there, done that, as the saying goes. I’m impressed as hell that your eyes and teeth have gone back to normal and remain that way despite her blood being all over the place the way it is.” Brent watched his cousin carefully, but kept himself in check. “There’s too much other stuff to worry about. My eyes changed, but I managed to hold my teeth back.” “I’m impressed.” Alex stood up, pulled off his stethoscope, and tossed it into his medical bag. Sarah came in with a large bowl and some clothes over her arm. “I got some warm soapy water and fresh clothes. I thought we’d get her cleaned up while everyone is elsewhere.” She set the bowl down next to Rhett. Brent’s upper lip snarled, but he caught himself before he growled. “Good thinking, Mom.” Alex took the clothes out of her arms and laid them over the coffee table. Brent got to his knees, then reached under to get rid of the remains of Rhett’s bra as gently as he could while his mom slid his mate’s panties off. As soon as she was completely uncovered, Brent cupped her breasts, hiding them from his cousin’s view. Oh, damn! It had been so long since he’d touched breasts. Rhett’s breasts. His cock hardened almost instantly. Her nipples did likewise. She might be out of it, but apparently her body wasn’t. Brent closed his eyes and dropped his head to rest on the couch, biting his lower lip. He could hear water slosh, and then a damp cloth tickled the back of his hand. Opening his eyes, he looked up, his vision monochrome. Elongated canines pinched his lower lip. Alex grinned. “Getting to you now, huh? Take a deep breath.” He said nothing. His mom patted his shoulder and held out a washcloth. “Try to relax and concentrate on cleaning her. I’ll go turn down your bed, and we’ll put her there when you’ve finished.”

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He took the wet cloth and began washing Rhett’s front. Even though she was injured, it was harder than hell for him to remain unaffected. His cock jerked. Great, his parents, sons, and cousin were wandering around the house, and he was half naked with a boner. Peripherally, he was aware of Alex washing her feet and legs. He needed to turn her to wash her back but he couldn’t do it without jostling her around. He looked up at Alex. Alex grinned, eyes shimmering. “Ready for me to help lift her up?” Brent nodded. “Alex?” Alex slid his hand under her head and shoulders and raised her up, looking at Brent the whole time. “Yeah?” “You okay?” “I’m all right. I just ... now that I have Jess, I realize what you must have gone through all those years ago. How hard it must have been.” Brent looked up at the ceiling to keep his tears from falling. “You deal with what you have to in order to get you through. You, Adrian and Dash ... Hell, the whole family, you guys were always there for me. That helped.” Alex shook his head. “I don’t see how. I can’t even imagine ...” He laid Rhett back down, jostling her and making her breasts jiggle. Brent’s erection got even harder. He shifted, adjusting himself, hoping Alex wouldn’t notice. Alex chuckled. “What?” “You. Damn, I haven’t seen you move that fast in ... well, I don’t know how long, but ... chill out. It’s perfectly understandable, nothing to be embarrassed about.” Brent reached for his shirt and pulled it on as well. With a sniff and a dab at his eyes, Alex grabbed the clothes off the table and tossed them at him. Brent raised up his mate, then tugged a t-shirt down over her head. Alex handed him a pair of boxers. Brent held them up and frowned; they were his. Alex chuckled. “Yeah, at the risk of sounding like I’m telling you that you have a big butt ... there is no way those are going to stay on her.” He shrugged and slid them up her legs. “Well, as long as she doesn’t stand they will. When do you think she’ll wake up?” “I don’t know. Seems like it took Julian a while. We are going to have to dedicate more research to this. I’m baffled. I don’t understand how this process works, but it obviously does. I’ve never even heard of a female wolf. I would have never even considered it a possibility, but since she did heal so quickly with your blood ... maybe it’s because she has

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the gene or because her bond with you is so strong.” Alex shrugged. “That was quick thinking, cuz; you saved her.” “Yeah, let’s just hope she doesn’t have issues with possibly becoming one of us.” “I can’t imagine that she would. Her whole family is wolf.” He bent and kissed Brent on the forehead. “I’ll go make sure Aunt Sarah has everything ready.” He rolled his eyes and swatted at Alex. Even in the midst of an enormous life-changing emergency, the absurdity of it hit him. “Oh, for crying out loud! Get out! I’m sitting here with a boner, and you’re kissing me. Good Lord!” Alex chuckled and left, but he was back within seconds, Sarah in tow. She bent and ran her hand down Rhett’s cheek, smiling fondly. Brent tensed. He was still having a hard time not reacting every time someone touched Rhett. Only sheer will kept him from snapping at his mother. Logically, he knew she was excited at having Rhett back, but his instincts were to protect his mate, even from his parent. And despite that there was no threat whatsoever, it was damnably hard to override that response. He gave up trying to control his body and focused on his instincts instead. There was no hope the others wouldn’t see his eyes and teeth, but with any luck they’d miss his erection. His dad came through the front door and headed straight for the garage, gaining everyone’s full attention. His mom stood up. “I guess they brought Rhett’s car back.” “It would appear that way,” Alex agreed. Clay returned to the living room, dressed in a pair of Brent’s sweatpants and a t-shirt. He stopped in the doorway. His bottom lip trembled slightly as he stared at Rhett. Quickly, he looked up. “She’s going to be okay?” Alex walked over to the pup, patting his shoulder. “Yeah, kid, she’s gonna make it.” Clay gave Alex a weak smile. “Thank you.” Brent admired the kid’s strength. He couldn’t imagine watching his mother almost die, then having to entrust her care and his and his brother’s own to a group of strangers. Hell, not to mention coming face to face with your grandparents and father for the first time. The pup was strong ... they both were. Pride swelled in his chest as he looked past Clay. Tate, dressed similarly to Clay, was coming down the hall. Brent got his first good look at his other son as he stepped into the light. Sarah gasped. Alex whispered, “Whoa.” Brent blinked. As he’d thought earlier when he’d stared into the wolf’s eyes, Tate was a near exact replica of Michael, Rome, and Rand. He was not as filled out yet, but that would obviously come in time. His face though ... it was uncanny.

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“We got the SUV -- holy shit!” Michael stopped right inside the doorway. Emilio immediately ran into him. “Oof!” “Jesus Christ!” Tate gave them all a lopsided grin and shrugged. He looked at his twin. “Is Mom gonna be all right?” Clay nodded, then surveyed all of them. “I should have been the one that was shot, not Mom. She was hurt from jumping in front of me, to protect me. She told me and Tate that we were in danger, but I didn’t believe her. I thought ...” Michael walked forward and squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. Just be glad that your mom loves you enough to take a bullet for you and that she’s going to be fine.” Tate walked toward Brent, his beautiful gray eyes wide and watchful as he reached out a hand to touch his mother. Brent bit his lip. He would not growl at the pup or pull her away, but he wanted to. Tate pushed a stand of hair off her face, leaned forward and kissed her pale cheek. “Our mom is the best.” Brent closed his eyes, struggling to keep his emotions at bay. God, what she must have gone through and sacrificed, raising them on her own. He opened his eyes and looked at both his sons. One looked like him, the other looked like Rhett, how cool was that? He smiled. “Yeah, I bet she’s a great mom. She was always good with the twins.” Tate’s brow scrunched up and his head cocked sideways. “Huh?” Clay walked closer, his gaze daring Brent to stop him, and kissed Rhett’s other cheek. “He means her brothers. Not us.” “Oh! I forgot that we have uncles ... besides Morgan.” Tate’s face paled. “Oh, no! We have to call Uncle Morgan.” Michael looked stricken. “My brother Morgan?” Tate nodded. “We live with Uncle Morgan on the Bar Mc.” Everyone started babbling at once. This was going nowhere fast, Brent thought. They needed answers, and they weren’t going to get them with everyone trying to talk over each other. He moved back down beside his mate and grabbed her hand. “Everyone sit!” The room fell silent. They all looked at him, then took a seat. Brent cleared his throat and looked at the twins. “All right, what’s going on? Start from the beginning. Obviously you know more than we do, because y’all at least knew of our existence, which is a whole hell of a lot more than I can say about the rest of us knowing about any of you. We thought your mother was dead.”

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Clay told them about their childhood and upbringing, seeming to emphasize how happy they’d all been, then Tate took over, explaining how he’d changed for the first time recently but hadn’t even known about werewolves. Aside from not mentioning the pack or their wolf heritage, Rhett apparently hadn’t told the boys other things, too, because neither knew exactly how or why they’d ended up with Michael’s brother, Morgan. In addition, whenever the boys had asked about their father, Rhett had always told the pups that they couldn’t be with him because it wasn’t safe, but she’d never said why it wasn’t safe. Surprisingly, however, the one thing the boys actually did know quite a bit about was Brent. Practically everything about him, in fact, except that he was a wolf. After the boys finished talking, the room fell silent again. Everyone turned to Brent. He kissed Rhett’s hand. “Okay, so what happened this afternoon? You already said she was bringing you here. How did she get shot?” Tate shrugged. “I don’t really know. Mom’s been so worried about protecting all of us lately, but she never said why. I guess it has to do with that.” “Shut up, Tate! If it weren’t for you --” Clay then pointed at Brent. “-- and him, we wouldn’t need protecting in the first place.” Tate jumped to his feet. “Screw you, Clay! It’s not like I can help it.” Alex, who was sitting next to Tate, grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his seat. Brent’s narrowed his eyes as he glanced at Tate, then at Clay. “Whoa, boys, chill out! What’s this about?” “Nothing.” Clay grumbled. Emilio shook his head. “Yeah? Doesn’t sound like nothing. Especially the bit about needing protection. Your mother was hurt, so someone better spill the beans, right now. “ Tate sighed. “It’s because we’re wolves. Mom thinks her being a human puts us in danger.” Brent’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. Has your mother had problems? Did she mention someone being after her?” “I don’t get it either,” Alex added. “Unless she’s had a run in with TWiTs, too.” Tate lifted his shoulders. “The last full moon when I changed for the first time, she said that now I was in danger and she and Clay were a burden to me. She pulled us out of school and made plans to come here. That’s all I know about it.” Brent bit his lip. What in the hell did that mean? He had so much crap he needed to mull over. Rhett certainly had a lot of explaining to do.

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Chapter Four Several hours later, after Michael, Alex and his parents had left, Brent moved Rhett into his room. No one had wanted to leave until she woke up, but it was getting late. His parents and Michael had finally relented after he pointed out there weren’t enough beds, agreeing to go get some sleep and come back in the morning. Only the boys couldn’t sleep, so they’d decided to stay up until she woke, or they could no longer keep their eyes open. And Brent was pretty certain that sleep wouldn’t come to him either, even with her lying on the bed beside him. There was just too much going through his head. Who’d shot Rhett and would they be looking for her? Why had she left? What was she so afraid of? Did this have anything to do with the attacks on his family in the past year? That TWiTs group? He grabbed a shower and came back to find the boys quietly sitting on the couch. He took a seat on the coffee table in front of them. What better way to kill time until Rhett regained consciousness than to get to know his pups? Brent got a knot in his stomach every time he thought about leaving Rhett pregnant and him not even knowing about it. He could work himself into a fine fury over it if he let himself, but since he’d just gotten his body back under control, he let it go for now and concentrated on his sons. “So, when is your birthday?” “October fifth. Clay was born first. I popped out ten minutes after.” Brent looked at Clay. The pup hadn’t said two words to him since he’d accused him and Tate of being the reason Rhett had been shot. Clearly, the kid was going to be difficult to win over. Tate, on the other hand, seemed very eager and inquisitive about his -- their -- family. “What is your full name, Tate?” “Tate Edward Hernandez.”

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He gaped. He’d always like the name Edward. When he and Rhett were teenagers he’d told her that he was going to name their son that. She’d always argued with him because she didn’t like the name. The fact that she had given it to one of their sons as a middle name ... it said a lot. So why, then, had she left? “Clay’s is Clayton Benjamin Hernandez. What’s yours? Weren’t you named after Mom’s dad? Uh, Michael? Wow, that’s weird, we always called him our grandfather, but now that I’ve met him ... what should I call him? Both of them? ’Cause Emilio is my grandfather, too, huh?” “Yeah, Emilio is your grandfather, too. And, yes, I’m named after your granddad, Michael. He’s Michael Brent; I’m Brent Michael. Your mother was named after my dad. He’s Emilio Rhett --” “And she’s Rhett Emily.” Brent nodded. “What do I call you?” He sucked in a deep breath. The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind yet. Hell, he was still digesting the surprising fact that he not only had children, but they were practically grown. Was it only this morning that he’d been depressed over his lonely state? Now, he not only had his mate back, but a couple of pups, too. It wasn’t an unpleasant discovery, of course -- the opposite, actually -- but he was a little disoriented. Rhett had a lot to answer for when she woke up. “His name is Brent,” Clay gritted out. Brent sighed. He wasn’t going to contradict him, not yet, anyway. The kid had had a really rough day. He wasn’t going to pressure the boy at this time, but they weren’t going anywhere, and he had every intention of acting as their father, so Clay was going to have to come to terms with it sooner or later. “You can call me whatever you are comfortable with for now. Brent’s fine until we get to know each other better.” Tate sat quietly for several seconds. He looked around the room, seeming to contemplate something, then back to Brent. “So does that mean I can call you Dad if I want?”

Damn! Brent blinked several times and took a deep breath. “Yeah, Tate. I’d like that.” He smiled at his son. Tate smiled back, but sobered quickly. He started wringing his hands. Brent’s heart ached at the familiar gesture; Rhett had always wrung her hands, too, when she was troubled. “What’s on your mind, Tate?” “So ... this means we can stay? I mean you aren’t going to make us leave now that we’re here? And you’ll teach me how to be a wolf? How to not shift when I don’t want to? And how to use my senses to my advantage?”

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“Hell, no, you’re not leaving me!” He flinched. He hadn’t meant to yell. It was just that the thought of losing Rhett again -- and the boys, for that matter -- was a terrible one. He’d given up hope of having his own family, but now that they were actually here ... “Yes, I’ll teach you all that and more. Stuff you would have already learned by now if you’d been raised pack.” “So, I guess now you’ll have to teach Mom how to be a wolf, too.” Tate shrugged. “Maybe all of us can hunt together ...” “Not all of us,” Clay mumbled under his breath. Brent glanced at him. “Why not all of us?” Clay groaned. “Because not all of us are wolves.” “You both smell like wolves to me. As for your mother, we don’t know yet what will happen with her. Being a wolf is a recessive male gene and our pack has never heard of a female werewolf.” “Really?” Tate glanced at his brother, then Brent. “Well, Clay’s not a wolf.” “So, what, you a cop or something?” Clay pointed at the star on Brent’s shirt. He sounded surly and not really interested, but it was obvious he wanted to change the conversation from wolves, so Brent let him ... for now. “I’m a Ranger.” Clay scoffed. “You help free little animals from traps?” Brent laughed. “No, I don’t free little animals from traps. Well, I guess I would if I ever came across one. But I’m not a park ranger. I’m a Texas Ranger, so I have legal jurisdiction all over the state of Texas.” Tate practically bounced in his seat. “Holy shit! That’s so freakin’ cool! Like the Lone Ranger! Or ... or like Walker, Texas Ranger!” Brent hid a smile. It wasn’t an easy thing to do given Tate’s exuberance. He cleared his throat and cocked a brow. “Are you supposed to be saying ‘holy shit’? I somehow doubt that’s appropriate language in front of your parents, even if you are sixteen.” Tate flushed. “Uh, sorry. That’s just, well, pretty neat. Mom’s been so worried about protecting all of us, so that will make her feel better.” Clay growled. Brent looked from one to the other. He was sure that whatever it was their mom was afraid of could be dealt with. Clay on the other hand, was looking to be a problem. He was somehow blaming Brent for Rhett getting shot. Brent wasn’t quite sure how it was his fault, but he didn’t argue with the boy. He really needed to hear what Rhett had to say about all this.

*****

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NO! She didn’t want to wake up. Brent was holding her, talking to her, bathing her. Telling her he loved her. It was one of the most lucid dreams she’d had in a long while. Tears leaked from eyes as she blinked them open. Why was it so dark? She wiped her eyes and sat up, finally able to focus in the dark. Where the hell am I? Her hands and her gaze flew to her chest and torso as she remembered the shooting. Her wound was gone! There was no blood or anything. Had she dreamed it? A moment of panic seized her. She wasn’t in the motel room, and it was nighttime. She could see the moon through the window, even with the blinds closed. The last thing she remembered was feeling a burning pain and Clay holding her tightly ... Omigod! Where are

the boys?! Rhett looked around and spotted a lamp next to the bed. She wasn’t sure whether to turn it on or not. It might be better if no one knew she was awake. What if she had to rescue the boys? She took in her surroundings, or at least what she could make out. The place didn’t look familiar. The room’s furnishings were a dark mahogany, heavy and masculine, and the bed itself was huge. How had she gotten here? Slowly, cautiously, she got out of bed to investigate and smoothed her hand down the footboard. There was a picture on the dresser across from the bed. She picked it up and almost dropped it in her surprise. It was a one of her, about age fifteen. She set it down. Where were Clay and Tate? Rhett blinked away tears. She had to find her children, make sure they were safe. She took a closer look at herself and realized she wore a pair of men’s shorts, so big that they were barely clinging to her hips, and a men’s t-shirt. She’d been in jeans and another t-shirt. Had the shooting really happened? She lifted her top and checked again. There was no sign of any wound, much less a gunshot wound, but she was certain she’d been shot. She’d felt it, the pain, the panic that her boys would be killed as well. She should be dead, had been dead or very near it. She could still hear Clay’s frantic voice calling out to her, begging her not to die. But then she’d dreamed about Brent, had felt him, heard him. Was she in his home finally? It felt like it, felt like him. He must have brought her here, it was the only explanation she could think of. She’d meant to find him, but somehow he’d found her instead. But how? Rhett shook her head to clear it and went to the door. She needed to see her boys. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the knob. It turned easily; she opened the door and stepped out and down a short hallway. The first thing she noticed at the end were Tate and Clay on a couch, watching TV. A huge wave of relief washed through her and the tightness in her chest since she’d woken up in a darkened room loosened a bit. Thank God they’re

okay. She rushed toward them. “Boys.” It came out as a whisper, but they heard her. Both of them turned. Their faces lit up in happiness as they stood. Clay leaped over the couch to meet her. “Mom?”

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“Rhett?” She froze. The voice was softer and deeper than she remembered, but there was no mistaking to whom it belonged. Tate and Clay looked behind her. She swallowed the lump in her throat; she wasn’t ready to see him. What would she say? Rhett closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pivoted slowly. His watery green eyes met her gaze. Rhett let out a soft moan and bit her bottom lip. He looked ... older, more masculine, but ... beautiful. She wrung her hands together as tears streaked down her face, blurring her vision. She was dimly aware when he stopped about two feet from her, reached out and ran his hand down her cheek. Rhett leaned into his touch, staring at his beloved face, then threw herself into his arms, sobbing loudly. Brent’s arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tight as he buried his face in her hair, shaking, too. She nuzzled her face into his chest. He felt so good, so right. “Love you! Missed you so much!” She clutched at him, trying to drag him even closer. Brent’s face slid over hers, his lips pressing against her forehead over and over, before trailing down her temple to her cheek and finally to her mouth. His lips were soft, warm, dearly familiar. Rhett brought her own hands up to tangle in his thick black hair. She opened her mouth, eagerly thrusting her tongue into his, and ravaged his. She could taste his tears ... taste her own. She wanted to crawl inside him and never come out. He moaned and kissed her back, more than matching her ardor. Almost immediately her body responded. She couldn’t think past the pleasure. It’d been too long, much too long. She’d never thought she would be able to feel this way again. She needed him, had to claim him now that they were together again. He belonged to her. How had she ever let go? His hands cupped her bottom, dragging her up his body until her head was above his, their lips still connected. God, she’d ached for this. Somehow, during all those lonely years, she’d forgotten how big and strong he was, how good it had felt to be in his arms. Her whole body was on fire, begging for him. His erection pressing into her thighs proved he wanted her as desperately. She wrapped her legs around his waist -“Ahem!” Brent immediately set her on her feet, dabbed at his eyes, then glanced over her shoulder, coloring slightly. She was suddenly turned and wrapped in two sets of arms, both mashing the breath out of her. The boys started talking at once.

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“I thought you were going to die, Mom.” “You scared us.” “There was so much blood.” “Dad saved you.” Rhett pulled back, peering into two pairs of bright eyes, one gray, the other green. She smiled, trying to reassure them and wiped at Clay’s eyes, then Tate’s. “Don’t cry, boys. I’m alive. Not sure how, but I’m here, and I’m all right. Are you both okay? Did they hurt you?” She started to look them over, trying to assess possible damage. There didn’t appear to be any, thank goodness. She rose up on tiptoe and kissed both of them before turning back to Brent. He cupped her cheek with one hand and brushed the tears from her face with the other, then kissed her again. Rhett sighed, trying to gather her thoughts. They were all here. The three people she loved most in the world. Finally together. There was so much to ask, so much they needed to talk about, but she didn’t know where to start. “How did you find us?” “The boys brought you to me.” She glanced at the twins in wonder, then back at Brent. “Then you’ve already met?” Almost before the words had left her mouth she wished she could take them back. It was a stupid thing to say really, but apparently her brain had decided to take a hike. Even under normal circumstances, the whole situation would be overwhelming, but this was far from normal. “What happened?” “It was fuckin’ awesome, Mom. Dad slit his --” Brent glared over her shoulder. “Uh, sorry.” Tate sounded contrite. Suddenly her son’s words hit her, and the mother in her swam back to the surface. Her head snapped around to face him. “Tate Edward Hernandez! Watch your mouth!” Brent grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the couch. “Come sit down, and we’ll fill you in. Then you can explain to me why the hell you just up and disappeared.” The censure was clear in his voice. She nodded, clinging tightly to Brent’s hand and touching Clay’s back as he walked in front of her. She didn’t want to let go of any of them. On the couch, Clay sat on one side of her, Brent, the other. Tate took over the coffee table in front of her. “Dad saved you.” “My dad was here? He saved me? How?” “Not your dad. My ...” He glanced at Clay. “Our dad. Brent. But your dad was here, too, and so was --”

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Wait! Tate kept talking, but she didn’t hear him. She faced Brent and couldn’t quite keep from touching him, reassuring herself that she was really here, that he was. She trailed her hand down his smooth jaw, marveling at its handsome lines. How could he be even more gorgeous than he’d been when she’d last seen him? Brent smiled at her and brushed his lips across hers. “You have a lot to answer for, Hellion. I’m not in the least bit happy with you right this minute -- but our sons are amazing. You’ve done a hell of a fine job raising them.” His eyes shone. “Mom? Are you listening to me?” Tate waved a hand in her face. “What? Sorry. Why don’t you boys give me a minute with Brent.” Clay frowned and looked suspicious. “Why?” “Because, I need to talk to your ... uh, my ... um, Brent.” Brent stood up, wrapping her hand in his. “Boys there are all sorts of video games and movies in the cabinet. Help yourselves. We’ll be right back.” He tugged on her arm and pulled her down the hall into the room she’d woken up in. Once he closed the door, he went to the bed and sat down, staring at her expectantly. “What?” “You tell me what, Hellion. You’re the one who wanted to talk when I was willing to spare you for a few hours.” What did that mean? “Spare me?” She raised a brow. Brent raised a brow right back. “Trust me, you really do not want to start with that attitude right now.” Rhett blinked. How had they already gotten to this point? From passion to flinging accusations and anger? She didn’t want to do this. “Where in the hell have you been?” He wasn’t yelling yet, but used the same quiet, overly enunciated tone he’d always used when he was upset. It was flat, unemotional, and condescending all at once. His holier-than-thou voice, as she used to think of it. It had never failed to piss her off when she was younger, and it had the exact same effect now. Still, the low voice was a good sign. Once Brent started shouting, slamming doors and sulking weren’t far behind. She had to grit her teeth to keep from raising her voice. Okay, deep breath. You aren’t going to get upset, Rhett. You expected this. He had a right to be mad; she knew he did, so it was pointless to get pissed. After all, there was no way he could have known that she’d done everything to protect him. Rhett inhaled sharply, trying to calm herself. “It’s a long story --” “More importantly, it had better be a really good long story, because I can’t think of a single good reason for you to have disappeared like you did.” He leaned back on his hands, patiently waiting.

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Argh! That tone! “I was --” “Pregnant.” He sat back up, his forehead creasing slightly. “You were pregnant, with my children.”

Crap! His voice was getting louder. She was not going to get mad. She wasn’t. In his situation, she’d be pissed, too. But he had no idea what she’d been through. “I found out I was pregnant the day I left. I was --” Brent shot to his feet, glaring down at her. “And you didn’t even bother to tell me?! What the fuck, Rhett!” She twisted her hands together and looked up at him, her expression hopefully calmer than she felt. “I’m trying to tell you. If you will just stop interrupting.” Brent clamped his mouth shut and sat back down. He ran his hands through his hair and blew out a gusty breath. “Okay, I’m sorry. Talk.” “Thank you.” “Don’t get smart!”

That’s it! She’d tried, she really had, but he was obviously not ready to listen. “Godammit, Brent! When you decide you can quit yelling --” He shot to his feet again. “Do you have any fucking idea what I went through? Do you even give a shit?” “No, I don’t have any idea! And you don’t have any idea what I went through, either, so stop shouting at me!” Great, now she was doing it, too. So much for keeping her cool. Screaming wasn’t going to help; it certainly wasn’t going to change a thing. What she needed was space -- time alone, time to think. So did he, for that matter. Rhett turned and stomped toward the door. She threw it open, marched out, and slammed it shut. Seconds later the door crashed against the wall. “If you so much as take one step out of the front door, you won’t be able to sit down for a week!” The door slammed once more. Rhett sat down on the couch beside the boys with a sigh. The twins were studiously pretending they hadn’t just heard their parents arguing loud enough to send dogs howling.

Damn! That hadn’t gone well at all. But to be perfectly honest, she’d never thought it would. She knew him well enough to know he was going to have to get some of the anger and hurt out before he’d listen. At least she hoped that was the case. She needed his help, and she needed him to listen to her. Surely, he hadn’t changed that much. Then a sudden realization struck her as funny, and she giggled. They were acting as if nothing had happened, as if there hadn’t been a separation of well over a decade between them. Was she still the only person in the entire world who could make him lose his temper? It was a little demented, she knew, but that had to be a positive thing. It felt darned good to be home at last.

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Chapter Five While Brent was in his room stewing, the boys had filled her in on what had occurred while she’d been unconscious. Rhett had known she’d been close to death, of course, but hearing the details from her sons’ viewpoints had been terrifying. She’d found herself thinking what-if a few dozen times, but never got much farther than that, because the answers were much too disturbing to contemplate. One thing was certain, though, none of them were safe. By coming back home, she’d inadvertently done the one thing she’d tried all these years to avoid and put her children in danger. Brent and the rest of her family and friends, too, were at risk. She had to talk to Brent. The strangers at the motel had asked for her brother, and she was pretty sure who they were or, more to the point, who they worked for. What she couldn’t figure out was what they wanted with Roman and why they thought he’d been there in her room. It was two in the morning now. The boys had gone to bed in the rooms Brent had given them earlier. They had been exhausted but hadn’t wanted to leave her. It had taken some doing, but she’d finally convinced them that she was fine and that they needed their rest. Rhett glanced down at the water, sandwich and chips that Tate had placed in front of her before he’d retired. She should eat, but she didn’t feel up to it. Questions kept filling her mind. How had they found her so fast? Why had she been shot? What did all this mean for her family? How and what did they know about Rome?

Wait, Rome and Rand should be all grown now. They were ... what? Twenty-four? She needed to get ahold of her baby brothers and warn them, make sure they were safe, but it was the early hours of the morning. What if she’d misheard what the man had said? And Brent wasn’t speaking to her.

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She pushed her chair back away from the kitchen table and got up, wandering around the house, trying not to disturb the boys or Brent. The house seemed perfectly suited to her mate. The décor was easy and laidback, with a rustic, western feel to it. There were hardwood floors, burgundy leather furniture, and the earth tone walls, all of which were very much in accord with Brent’s personality. She sighed and stepped up on the hearth of the huge rock fireplace that dominated the main room to get a closer look at several pictures on the mantle. The first picture was a wedding picture ... Alex’s. Wow! Alex was married now. And Brent was barefooted, despite being outfitted in a tux! Rhett grinned so big her cheeks hurt. Brent had always hated shoes; she wondered if they’d let him lose the shoes for the entire wedding or just the reception and pictures. The next photo comprised Brent, Adrian, and a gorgeous redhead. The woman stood between the men, her arms around both their waists. Who was she? And was she there with Brent or Adrian? A surge of possessiveness shot through her. Rhett glanced back at the wedding picture. The redhead was beside the bride. Hmm ... Rhett moved on to the next frame. The same woman was there, too, smiling at Alex’s wife and a beautiful teenage girl. The pretty brunette was obviously Alex’s wife, but who were these other two? “That’s Jessica, Marisa, and Katherine.” She jumped at Brent’s voice, which came close behind her. Turning slowly, she looked at him. “Who?” He pointed, and she pivoted back toward the pictures. “That’s Jess.” He indicated the brunette, Alex’s wife. “She’s Alex’s mate. That ...” He touched the glass over the teenager. “... is our little cousin Marisa. Aunt Claire was pregnant with her when you left. And this ...” He pointed to the redhead. “... is Kat. She’s Adrian’s mate.” God! She’d missed so much. She faced Brent again, needing to ask about her brothers. He tipped her chin up with his finger until she was looking into his eyes. “I’m sorry I overreacted. I’ve been through hell without you, and I just can’t imagine why you’d leave. I ...” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now. We’ll work the rest out later. You said you loved me. Do you?” Rhett wrapped her arms around him, fighting tears, and nodded against his chest. “Oh, yeah. I never stopped loving you. I had to leave ... had to protect the boys. I had to protect you.” Brent pulled her back, cupping her face. “God, I missed you every single day. I thought you were dead.” She sniffled. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to leave.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Why did you?” “I had to. You sure you’re ready to hear it now?”

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“Yeah.” He looked around the room. “Where are the boys?” “They went to bed. Listen, before we start talking, I need to know about Rome and Rand. Are they safe? I think they’re in danger, too.” “They’re fine. Dad called and told them about you. They’re on guard, nothing will happen to them tonight.” “You’re sure?” “Positive. Come on.” He pulled her with him to turn out all the lights, then they checked the front door, before he led her back into his bedroom. He sat on the bed, pulling her down beside him, then intertwined her fingers with his. “All right. Start from the day you disappeared.” Rhett stiffened, then forced herself to relax. He needed to know. “After you drove us home from school and went to work, I was cleaning my room and glanced at my calendar. I had to check again when I realized I hadn’t had my period in nearly two months.” “Holy shit!” He shook his head, clearly astonished that neither of them had picked up on it before then. “Okay, so you figured you were pregnant, then what?” “I wasn’t actually sure. You know how irregular I was.” She blew out a deep breath. “You remember my friend Christine?” “Yeah, she’s married and has three kids now. Why?” “Really? Who’d she marry? Anyone we know?” Brent leveled a stare at her, his I’m-becoming-impatient stare. “Okay, okay. Well, Christine had had a scare, too. She took one of those home test kit thingies, and it was positive. So, she went to this free clinic to find out for sure, and it turned out that she wasn’t really pregnant; somehow the home test had got it wrong. Well, I didn’t really want to waste money on something that might not be accurate, so I decided to go ahead and visit the clinic. Luckily, Dad wasn’t home, and my mom ... Well, you know my mom; she nev--” Brent frowned. “What? What was that look for?” “Nothing. Finish your story. I’ll tell you later.” She narrowed her eyes at him, but decided it must not be that big a deal if he thought it could wait. “So no one was home. I put on the blond wig I’d used for Halloween when I went as Marilyn Monroe, grabbed a pair of sunglasses, and called a cab to take me t--” “Why in the world did you wear that wig?” “So our parents wouldn’t find out.” “Did you think they wouldn’t find out eventually?” “You’re missing the point. I was holding out hope that I wasn’t pregnant.”

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“Yeah, okay. Go on.” “It took an hour to get to the clinic. They gave me a blood test, which was positive ... obviously. I was kind of in a daze when I went outside, so I forgot to call for a cab. Believe me, it’s pretty life-altering to find out you’re pregnant, not married, and still in school. Anyway, there were some pay phones in the alley by a grocery store across the street. I was still pretty shocked and wasn’t really paying attention to where I was when a man and woman grabbed me by the arms.” Brent had a fierce scowl on his face as he squeezed her hand. “And?” “I struggled, of course, but the woman put something over my face. When I woke up, I was in a cage --” “What?!” Brent pulled her sideways into his lap, holding her close, but with enough room to see her face. “Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but that is the honest-to-God truth. I couldn’t make this up if I tried; it’s just too bizarre.” She cupped his cheek in her hand and nuzzled her forehead against his face, needing the contact. “I’d never willingly leave you. You know that, don’t you?” He nodded and turned his lips toward her palm, kissing it. “Yeah, I guess if I’d thought about that earlier, we could have dispensed with my fit and gotten right to what happened. I’m sorry. What happened next?” She bobbed her head a little, acknowledging his apology. “The cage was in some sort of laboratory or something. I mean, there were all sorts of beakers and science equipment.” Rhett felt the familiar sorrow when she remembered. She thought about Clayton and closed her eyes. God, she wished she could have saved him and his mate. Brent wiped tears from her cheek. “They were testing wolves. Like lab rats or something. Clayton said they were trying to find the most effective ways to destroy wolves. They’d torture them to see how much they could take, how much their bodies would actually heal.” She swallowed hard, trying to keep her gorge down, and concentrated on getting through the story. “I never found out how they knew I was pregnant. But they knew, just as they somehow knew it would be a wolf. I bet the clinic was involved and something must have shown up in my blood test.” She shivered, remembering the fear. The sudden protectiveness when she’d thought of her baby. She recalled thinking that Brent would never get to see it, that he’d never even know. “They kept me there for four months or thereabouts. I don’t know exactly. But I was just over twenty-five weeks pregnant when I got out.” “It’s okay, sweetheart, I’m right here. Who is Clayton? I know you don’t mean our son. For one thing, you were pregnant with him; for another, that Clayton was mated.” He kissed her forehead again and pulled her closer, hugging her tightly. “Try to tell me the rest of it.”

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She nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. I just remembered thinking that I was going to die and never see you or our family again, and that neither of us would even get to see our baby.” His lips caressed her cheek. “Babies, and they are here ... safe.” “But at the time, I didn’t know there were two of them. I think that the people at the lab knew there were two, but I didn’t know until later.” “No, you wouldn’t have.” “Clayton was one of the wolves they’d captured and about my dad’s age. His cage was next to mine, and he’d been there a few days before me. He ... he ... he was my friend, the only thing that kept me sane. I named our son after him. They used to ... Oh, God!” She could see everything so clearly, like it was right in front of her. She could still smell the blood, hear his screams, suffer the utter feeling of helplessness -- know she couldn’t stop the torture. And that those monsters would likely soon start doing the same things to her. The scenes were etched in her brain, abominations she couldn’t get out, no matter how hard she tried. Her breath was a shuddering sob. Brent squeezed her tighter to him. “Clayton helped me escape.” “Where is he now?” She shook her head. “He died to get me free. They shot him with a silver bullet.” “Honey, we aren’t allergic to silver. That’s just a myth. The bullet alone would likely have killed him.” “No. No, it’s not. You have to trust me. Actual skin contact won’t affect you, but open wounds ... That’s what these people did to Clayton and the others -- inflicted wounds on them, then tested the effects of silver. They were trying to find ways to kill werewolves, wanted to wipe wolves off the face of the earth.” Rhett clutched at Brent’s arms. “They did so many things, so many experiments ... they knew a wolf can’t heal a wound made by silver. They hurt him in all sorts of horrible ways, yet he healed. But when they cut Clayton with silver, he scarred. Even shifting didn’t help.” Brent roared. “TWiTs!” “What?” She saw him struggle to remain in control. “I’ll tell you when you’re finished, but the group you’re describing is called The Werewolf Termination Squad. Michael, er, your dad and mine nicknamed them TWiTs.” Rhett’s hand flew to her mouth. Brent knew about them? How? Did this mean their pack had encountered those beasts, too? Brent pulled her hand down. “Finish your story. I’ll tell you all I know afterward.” “Clayton waited months for the right opportunity, which finally came when one of the scientists showed up without a guard. As soon as the man opened the cage, Clayton jumped him, got the keys and released me. We snuck out through a window. I thought we’d made it, that we were in the clear, but the guards saw us as we were making our final break for the

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fencing. He shoved me forward, shouting at me to get away. I tried to stop him. I did, but he stalled them while I ran and was shot. I hid and he found me later, after he’d killed the guards. But he’d already lost too much blood from his injuries, and he made me go on without him.” She shook her head helplessly. “Honey, why didn’t you come home? I could have protected you and the boys.” “I thought maybe I’d get lucky and the gene would pass over the boys. I thought I could hide them, keep them, you, our families safe. Because I’d used a fake name and address at the clinic, I knew they wouldn’t be able to find you. And I couldn’t take a chance of them hunting me down or stealing the babies. So, I started thinking, really thinking about where I could go. I remembered your dad talking about my uncle Morgan at the Bar Mc, and I headed out to West Texas. I couldn’t believe it when he knew who I was as soon as he opened the door, then took me in.” “Okay, I get all that, honey, but why didn’t you come back later? Or call or something?” “I was scared. I almost picked up the phone several times, but I couldn’t let what had happened to Clayton happen to anyone I loved. I kept remembering how they’d caught Clayton through his mate, Marcie. By that time, I’d had the boys, and I couldn’t put them in that sort of danger, either.” More tears poured from her. She couldn’t help the pain she’d felt then and now; she’d wanted to come home so badly, but she couldn’t risk it. “I thought the boys would be safer away from the pack. I suppose I fooled myself into thinking they wouldn’t shift. It doesn’t matter now. When Tate changed last month, I realized we were in danger, anyway. He needs someone to teach him how to be a wolf, how to control himself, protect himself --” Brent closed his eyes and shook his head wearily. “What?” “I still can’t believe you actually think I was better off without you.” Rhett stood up and paced, needing him to somehow understand. “You weren’t there. You don’t know how Clayton suffered ...” She squeezed her hands into fists, the memories making her heart hurt. Brent reached out and caressed her arm softly. “You are my mate. Don’t you know what that means? Hell, Rhett, forget that ... you know how much I loved ... love you.” Emotion gathered in her chest again. “I love you, too. That’s why I had to go. Do you think I wanted to leave? That I enjoyed being away from my family? That I wanted to tell my kids about their father rather than us being together? Do you have any idea how hard it was to live without you?!” She sank down to the floor and buried her face in her hands and sobbed. She hated being so weak, but she couldn’t help it. Her whole life was one giant screwup! Everything she’d done had been in vain, and she’d ended up hurting everyone she loved.

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Brent picked her up, cradling her in his arms, and allowed her to cry out all the regrets and pains of the last sixteen years. “Shh, it’s all right. You’re here now, that’s all that matters. Shh ...”

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Chapter Six Brent laid her in the middle of the bed and followed her down, spreading her legs and settling between them. He cupped her face in his hands, making her look up into his beloved green eyes. He wiped away her tears and stared at her for the longest time. “Look at me and listen, honey. I love you. We’ll handle whatever comes together, as a team. Okay?” “Okay.” His weight felt so good, so familiar on top of her. She had thought of this often, ached for him. She reached up, threading her hand through his thick black hair. So much hair and so soft. He hadn’t changed much. His face was a bit slimmer, the angles slightly more pronounced, but he was still as handsome as he’d always been. He moaned and leaned his head into her caress, making her smile. He’d always been extremely sensual, loved to be petted and caressed. She’d thought his preference more feline than canine. She was sure if he could purr, he would. She ran her fingers down his jaw, across his chin to trace his lips, beautiful, full and sexy. He closed his eyes and nipped at her fingers, then sucked them into his mouth. Her body began to wake up and pay attention. His hips pressed down, making his cock rub against her. She squirmed, arching into him. She’d dreamed of this so often, dreamed of him, had pleasured herself many times over the years thinking about him, and now it was once again him doing the touching. She could hardly believe this was real, that she was back in his arms after all this time. Brent, her lover, her mate. Her pussy throbbed, begging for attention, letting her know that it was no illusion. Drawing her legs around him, she pulled him tight, thrusting slowly. Ooh, his dick was in just the right spot and so hard. Even through their clothing -- his jeans and her shorts -- it felt so good. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing her breasts against him. He was

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warm, solid, and her nipples were so hard they ached for attention. Even the sensation of pressure against them was welcome. Brent reached under her hip, pulling her snug and thrust back. “Oh, damn!” His head dropped forward to rest on hers and stayed that way a while. “Can’t believe you’re real. God, I’ve wanted you.” She nodded. “Me, too.” He pushed up her shirt with his free hand, pinching her nipple, twisting lightly, before he leaned down and took it in his mouth. It felt better than any imagining she’d had of him in the last sixteen years. Rhett’s whole body tingled. God, when was the last time she’d felt this good? This alive? She pushed her pussy against the thick rod nestled against it, moved faster. She desperately wanted him inside her, but this felt so good she didn’t want to stop. “Brent! Yes, harder.” She was so wet the boxers were sticking to her. She knew he would be able to slide right in. Brent pulled back, sat on his heels and flipped his shirt over his head, revealing a breathtaking view of muscled tan chest. Rhett groaned. She wanted to sink her teeth into those chiseled pecs, run her tongue over those tight abs. Moistening her mouth, she stroked him from neck to navel, watching his muscles jump at her touch. When she got to the little trail of hair that went beneath his waistband, she started tugging at his pants. “Get them off! Now!” His green eyes sparkled with amusement, and a grin played at his lips. “Patience. I’m not going anywhere. We have lots of time.” He lifted her into a sitting position and removed her t-shirt. Rhett resisted the urge to grumble, but only because he quickly slid down her body and slipped her shorts off, tossing them onto the floor with their shirts. He was right, they did have all night. He sat between her thighs, staring at her for a long moment before he ran a hand down her body. Watching him watching her aroused her even more. He ran his fingers across her tummy, his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he studied her. He glanced up, catching her gaze, and she noticed his eyes had changed. Without breaking eye contact, he scooted down until his nose was buried in the curls above her pussy. Her vagina clenched tight, tingling with anticipation. She loved his mouth on her. He’d always been so good at oral sex, had always enjoyed it almost as much as she did. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, then let it out with a sigh. “God, you’re so beautiful, Hellion.” Oh, damn! She whimpered a needy little sound and spread her legs wider, drawing her knees up and pumping her hips just a little, begging for him.

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He closed his eyes, rubbed his cheek against one thigh, then the other, and finally breathed softly across her clit. The man was a tease, and she was seriously contemplating strangling him if he didn’t hurry. Rhett squeezed her eyes shut, praying for mercy. She’d always thought he got some perverse satisfaction from tormenting her. Now she was sure of it. His tongue traced up one side of her slit, then down the other, leaving a trail of moisture that he blew on to torture her further. She moaned. “Brent ...” “Fuck this! I can’t ... I tried, but ... Not now.” He covered her with his mouth, flicking his tongue into her opening, lapping and sucking deeply. A groan of pure unadulterated pleasure poured from him into her cunt. Rhett’s eyes snapped open to watch. His beautiful green orbs held her gaze as he fucked her with his tongue. Her inner muscles clenched, and she felt her orgasm building, tingling up her spine. Her toes curled into the sheet, her back arched. It felt so incredible, she couldn’t decide whether to move into it or squirm away. It didn’t matter as she wasn’t going anywhere. Brent grabbed her hips, pulling her back into his relentless assault. The wet slurping sounds registered as her body hurled into climax. She came harder than she remembered doing in a long, long time, her pussy spasmed tight at the sensation, her brain drifting off into la-la land. Brent got off the bed and shucked his clothes in record time. He crawled back onto the bed sitting on his knees between her legs. She was so beautiful spread out before him; her breathing labored, a fine sheen of sweat covering her skin, her pussy red and swollen. He took a deep breath and positioned his aching prick at her entrance. Oh, God, her scent alone was enough to make his balls draw taut. He pushed steadily inside her. Heat surrounded his cock; her muscles squeezed him tight, contracting. He still wasn’t fully seated in her when Rhett’s back arched up off the mattress, and she came again. He thrust into her several times, hard and fast, then moved back to watch his prick slide in and out of her. Oh, fuck, that was hot! His cock glistened with her juices. She was so wet. Gripping her hips, he tugged them back and forth, moving her on him as he stared at the place they were joined. His canine teeth dug into his lips. She ran a finger down one fang, then cupped his cheek, still trying to catch her breath. “Love you.” He nodded, his arms sliding up and around her torso to hug her, then let her lie back. “Love you, too.” His voice was low, rumbling a bit and muffled from the elongated teeth.

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Rhett shivered, rocking her hips. As his cock slid back and forth inside her, she pushed herself up looping her arms around his neck. Her breast felt so good pressed up against his chest. She ran her fingernails up his back. He trembled in her arms and moaned, then bit down on her shoulder where it met her neck and shifted so that he lay down on top of her. Rhett gasped. He knew he hadn’t bitten hard enough to hurt, but that it gave her goosebumps, making her quiver and tighten her inner muscles. He groaned and bathed the area he’d just nipped with his tongue. Then he raised up, smiling down at her, and rolled over, pulling her on top of him so that she straddled him. He pushed her torso up until she was sitting on him and clasped her hips. “Move, honey. Oh, God, you feel so delicious. Move for me.” And she did. Within seconds, she had him quivering beneath her. A tingly sensation raced up his spine, and his back arched up off the bed as he came. It took him several seconds to come back down from the rush, but when he did, he realized she was really close to another orgasm. She kept moving, her eyes boring into his. He tightened his hands on her waist and helped her approach her peak. “That’s it, honey, come on. Come for me.” Rhett’s body responded to the husky command. She gasped for air and let out a ragged moan. Her pussy squeezed him tight as her orgasm washed over her. It felt so good he considered continuing. He was still hard. Maybe he could come again? Then suddenly her whole body refused to cooperate, went limp, and she collapsed on Brent, dashing that idea. They lay there silently, clinging to each other, caressing and enjoying each other, reluctant to let go. His cock was finally starting to soften, and his eyes and teeth had gone back to normal. Sweat trickled down her temple onto Brent’s chest and it suddenly occurred to him. She hadn’t changed at all. He chuckled, feeling better than he had in years. She pushed up and looked down at him And grinned. “Why are you laughing?” “Because nothing has changed.” “What do you mean?” “I mean it’s impossible to go slow. You’re just too damned demanding.” She snorted. “Is that a complaint?” “Not at all. I feel like a teenager again.”

***** She sat on the counter watching Brent cook breakfast. The kitchen had a rustic feel to it, all dark wood cabinetry and granite countertops, but it also had nice, new, shiny,

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stainless-steel appliances. If she enjoyed cooking, she would have been in awe over all the gadgets. As it was, she just appreciated the aesthetics of the cooking area. Their boys were blowing things up on a video game they’d found. It appeared that Clay and Tate had come by their video game addiction honestly. Their father had -- in Tate’s words -- “a very kick-ass collection.” Which led to Brent promptly correcting his speech, which led to Brent actually having “a kick-butt video game collection.” In fact, Brent’s entertainment system had the boys practically drooling over it. There was a forty-two inch, a flat-screen TV, several game consoles, a DVD player, the whole works. The thing Rhett like most about it, however, was that it was all set in a beautiful dark wood armoire and could be hidden away when it wasn’t in use. Of course, the armoire was kind of a waste with her boys around -- the entertainment system would always be in use. Rhett grinned. “I like your home.” Brent smiled, looking quite at ease in the kitchen. “Yeah? I bought it with you in mind.” “Really?” He shrugged and started digging through the refrigerator. “Yeah. Couldn’t help myself. I just always asked myself, ‘What would Rhett think of this?’ or ‘Would Rhett like this?’” “Me, too. Especially with the boys. You sure you don’t want help?” “You still cook like you used to?” Rhett chuckled. She’d never been accused of being the world’s greatest chef. She still wasn’t very good actually. Uncle Morgan and the boys had taken care of meals at the Bar Mc. “Pretty much.” He pulled some sausages and bacon out of the fridge then faced her. “You had to have gotten some practice.” “No, not really. If anything, I can manage others in the kitchen like nobody’s business. I was really good at buying cookbooks for the boys and Uncle Morgan. I even read them out loud to them on occasion.” He laughed and shook his head, then dug through the lower counter and came up with a skillet. “Still bossy, I see.” Rhett smiled. “I’ve had lots of years to hone my skills. I’m really bossy now.” He threw his hands in the air and looked up at the ceiling rather dramatically. “God help me.” He glanced back at her, his lips twitching. “Don’t suppose you’ve learned to listen and do what you’re told?” She shook her head. “Don’t suppose I have. Nowadays, I’m the one who gives orders and expects them to be followed.” Brent walked over to her, resting his hands on her hips and kissed her nose. “Honey, you’ve always given orders and expected them to be followed. Like I said, you’re bossy!”

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“Since you said that with a smile on your face, I won’t punish you.” He chuckled. “Gee, that’s big of you.” He kissed her lips just as the oven beeped, signaling it was heated to the right temperature for the biscuits. She nipped his bottom lip and wrapped her arms and legs around him, deepening the kiss. Brent melted into her, his tongue exploring her mouth before plunging in between. His hands slid under her bottom, pulling her pelvis tight against him. God, the man had hard abs. Talk about sexy. And oh ... oh! That was rubbing her clit just right -A loud clanking sound startled them, making them jump apart. Brent dropped his forehead to hers, breathing heavily. After a few seconds, and seemingly in more control than she was, he pulled away slightly and looked at Tate, who was peeling bacon strips apart and putting the slices in the skillet. “I’ll do that, Tate.” Brent voice sounded hoarse, raspy. Tate raised a brow, smirked. “That’s okay, Dad, I kinda want to eat sometime today.” Brent’s mouth dropped open, then he faced Rhett, a flush on his face. She shrugged. Heck, she was still trying to dampen down the ache of arousal. She could care less about food or who was cooking it. “It’s no big deal. I’m sort of used to taking care of breakfast.” Tate winked at them, then turned a piece of bacon over. Brent chuckled and gave her a quick peck on her mouth. “That’s just sad, honey. I think this state of affairs may just border on child abuse.” Tate laughed and nodded his agreement with Brent, the fiend. “I don’t see how. It’s not like I threaten to beat him if he didn’t cook, or I’d refuse to go to Mickey D’s if he didn’t want to cook.” “No, watching the two of you make out in the kitchen is child abuse. That’s just gross!” Clay muttered from the couch, on the other side of the open kitchen. As if he didn’t know what it was like to have hormones raging out of control. Rhett snorted. Brent smiled at her, but directed his comment to Clay. “Well, why were you watching, then?” “I wasn’t!” Tate added sausages to the skillet, then washed his hands at the sink. “I think it’s sweet. Y’all go right ahead. Maybe I can learn some tips. Just don’t get too freaky, or I’ll have to get the hose.” He had a huge grin on his face. If Rhett had been less befuddled by his father, she might have realized what he had in mind. The kid turned the water to cold, picked up the sprayer and squirted them. Rhett squealed, throwing her hands up to block the water. “You brat!” Brent sputtered, blinking water from his eyes.

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Tate then took off like a rocket, laughing his fool head off. He made it all the way around the partition to the living room before Brent tackled him. By the time Rhett got there, they were rolling around on the floor, laughing, tickling each other. She glanced at Clay and raised an eyebrow, asking silently if he wanted to help her attack the other two. He huffed out a breath, then got up and went into the kitchen, probably to snatch some food before the rest of them remembered there was hot food to be had. She looked after him, then shrugged and pounced on Tate’s back, helping Brent to tickle him. Over breakfast, Brent told her and the boys that her parents had divorced. He also detailed all that happened with the pack, including Jessica and Rome being abducted by TWiTs and how that group had tried to destroy Kat and Adrian’s baby. The pack’s problems with TWiTs made her feel guilty. If she’d contacted her family, maybe she could have warned them, prevented some of these things from happening. Rhett looked at them, all of them at the table like a real family, and had to smile. It warmed her deep inside to see Brent and the twins together. But then she remembered her brothers. “We need to get ahold of Rome and make sure he’s safe. Those men who came to the motel door asked for him, but I don’t know how they linked me to him.” Brent swallowed the food in his mouth and looked at Tate, then back at her. “How long have you been in this area?” “Just since yesterday evening.” “I bet they saw Tate out somewhere and thought he was Rome. He does resemble the twins ... maybe a little younger and less built, but he could be their triplet.” “Yeah, he looks like pictures of my daddy as a teenager, too. It was weird at first, but at the ranch there are pictures with our dads together around age sixteen. And they look enough like Tate and Clay that you have to really look to be sure who are in the pictures. Pretty much the only way to tell is by your dad, because Clay really favors you -- and you have enough of your mom’s genes that you look different.” Brent grinned. “Rome and Rand look just like your dad now. Well, except they are a little taller and Michael is starting to go gray -- don’t tell him I said that.” “What are they like now, Rome and Rand? They were so young when I left.” “They’re good men. Rand is a chef; he works for Uncle Diego and Aunt Claire at their restaurant. And Rome is a homicide detective. They just bought a house together a few blocks over. Julian is living with them now, too. He was staying with me.” “So they’re still close to Julian?” He nodded. “Yeah. Julian is saving up to buy a house, too, but when the twins moved into their own home, he abandoned me for them.”

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“What about my dad? Where is he?” “He moved back in with my parents two years ago after he divorced Lindsay. He pretty much lived there, anyway; his clothes and stuff were over there ever since Rome and Rand moved out. Mom and Dad converted one of the guest bedrooms into an office for him. He also just bought a hot tub and is building a gazebo for it in the backyard.” She hadn’t been surprised to hear about her parents’ divorce, but what had surprised her was that it had taken her father as long as it did to get rid of the witch who was her mother. “So, he’s happy.” It was more a statement but Brent answered anyway. “Oh, yeah, more than I’ve seen him be in years.” Brent reached for the phone clipped on his belt. “I’d better call Alex, then check on Rome. Obviously TWiTs is still looking for him. They are probably after Jess and Kat, too.” A car pulled up outside just as Brent finished dialing. Two doors slammed shut. Instantly alert, Brent turned off his phone, took a whiff of the air and relaxed. The front doorknob jiggled, the lock turned, then the front door was flung open. Sarah stepped through the door, her dark auburn ponytail swinging from side to side as she glanced about. Her green gaze finally settled on Rhett, and she began to tear up. Rhett stood, dampness gathering in her own eyes at the sight of her mother ... well, the woman who had always been her surrogate mother. She fought the tears back. She was tired of crying -- she’d cried enough last night to last a lifetime. Sarah bit her bottom lip, then ran across the room, enfolding Rhett in her arms. “Mom.” Rhett pulled back slightly, studying the older woman’s face up close. She had not changed much, a little older maybe, but she still looked the same. Sarah dabbed at her eyes. “Oh, sweetie, I missed you so much.” She reached out and touched Rhett’s cheek. “You’re even prettier now. Oh ...” Sarah hugged her again, and her face got even wetter. “I’ve missed you, too, Mama.” Two arms wrapped around Rhett from behind, then another set wrapped around her side. She looked up into Emilio’s moist brown eyes and smiled. “Hi, Dad.” “Hi, baby.” She twisted around to face her father, who stood behind her. “Daddy.” Michael kissed her nose. “Hi, sweetheart.” Her battle with her emotions didn’t last long. She finally gave in to her tears, but at least these were happy tears. Her three parents -- they were her parents; all three had raised her -- with her, hugged her, and kissed her for a good ten minutes. Then they turned toward the twins like a flock of hens. They’d always been doting parents; God only knew how much smothering they were going to do as grandparents. Poor boys! Brent slipped up behind her, sweeping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her head as they watched Tate and Clay with their grandparents. The bewildered kids

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didn’t quite seem to know what to think about all the attention, but they appeared genuinely pleased to see the adults again. Finally, everyone made it into the main room where Rhett explained where she’d been and how the man who had shot her had asked for Rome. After a few phone calls, one to each of her brothers, as well as the one Brent made to Alex, Rhett was assured that Rome and Rand were fine, and on guard against trouble from the TWiTs, as were Alex, Adrian, and the rest of the family. She leaned back against Brent. It was a comforting position, and she didn’t want to give it up, so she snuggled deeper into his warmth. “Did anyone think to call Uncle Morgan?” Emilio sat forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “I called him when we got back to Diego’s --” He glanced down at his wrist. When he realized he didn’t have his watch on, he grabbed Michael’s arm beside him. “-- and Michael called him about three hours ago.” Michael jerked his arm back. “You could have just asked, instead of jerking my arm out of the socket.” “Don’t be a puss!” Emilio turned and stuck his tongue out at him. Rhett bit her lip to keep from laughing, then whispered to Brent. “I see they haven’t changed.” “Not a bit. I suspect any minute now that they will be rolling around wrestling on the floor. Michael has even taken to calling Dad his Mexican houseboy.” Rhett giggled. “Oh, I bet that goes over we--” “Puss! I’ll show you who’s a--!” Michael tackled Emilio. They scrambled to grab ahold of each other’s arms, both trying to gain the upper hand while laughing. They were practically in Sarah’s lap. “Emilio! Michael! Knock it off!” Sarah sighed, then threw her hands in the air, but she had a fond smile on her face. She glanced over at Rhett and Brent and shook her head. “I swear to you, one of these days, they are going to grow up!” “Are you sure about that, Mom? They haven’t managed to do so in the last fiftysomething years.” Michael stopped long enough to glare at Brent. “I’m not fifty yet!” “Close enough.” Brent grinned. Rhett smiled. God she’d missed this -- the easy banter and playfulness among all of them, the joy and lightheartedness her family brought to her even in the most difficult situations. Uncle Morgan was great, but he’d been no substitute for the people she’d lived with as a child. This was what her boys should have had growing up. She squelched down the regrets. At least they had it now. Things were going to be okay.

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Chapter Seven Brent stretched out on the bed, his eyes closed, listening to Rhett in his shower. Their parents had finally left, and the boys seemed more at ease after spending the majority of the evening talking to their grandparents. With all the upheaval the night before, they hadn’t really gotten to talk, but they’d made up for it tonight. Brent wasn’t sure who’d been happier to meet whom, whether it was the grandparents or the grandkids. He smiled on remembering his father telling the boys they could call Michael “Grandpa,” but he was “Uncle Emilio” on account of the fact that he was too young to be a grandfather. His mom had promptly reminded his dad that she and Michael were both younger than him. Brent smiled. Family. You had to love them, not that they didn’t drive you crazy, but ... he just hoped he could be as good a father to his sons as his dad and Michael were to him. It was weird thinking of himself as a father. And to have Rhett and the boys ... he was almost afraid to let go of her, of them, for fear they would disappear. It was all he could do to let Rhett out of his sight long enough to wash up. He’d wanted to shower with her, but he’d refrained. He figured she needed some time to herself, especially after all she’d been through the last two days. Hell, they all had suffered. If he were completely honest, he needed the time alone, too. He was not entirely happy with her yet. She’d robbed him of a lot of years, but he knew she honestly believed that she’d done the right thing, which helped temper his anger somewhat. There were so many things that needed to be discussed, questions that needed to be answered. Would Rhett move back here, stay with him? Were the boys going to adjust well to having him as a father? Tate seemed okay so far; Brent had had a blast roughhousing with the pup this morning. But something told him Clayton was every bit as stubborn as he was.

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Why did things have to be so complicated? Hell, he still had to figure out what was going on with those damned werewolf hunters. Were they ever going to be rid of them? Every time the pack thought they’d gotten rid of them, TWiTs popped up again. The water shut off. Brent glanced around the room. It looked clean enough, but he felt like he should do something special. Yesterday was her birthday. And with everything else on his mind, he’d forgotten that. Brent got off the bed and dashed into the living room. He turned on the light and looked around quickly. Jackpot! There was a candle on the end table and one on the bookshelf. He snagged a lighter out of the junk drawer in the kitchen and rushed back to his room. Rhett was still in the bathroom, so he placed the candles on the nightstand and one on the dresser, lit them and ran back to the kitchen. He grabbed some cookies out of the pantry. Not exactly what he wanted, but they’d have to do. He hurried back to his room and shut and locked the door just as she came out of the bathroom. She stopped, clearly stunned. “Wow! When did you do this?” “Just now.” She giggled, clutching the towel to her chest. Brent couldn’t help but stare. If possible, she was even more alluring than she had been at sixteen. Her body certainly seemed more curvy, more ... womanly, and her hair was wet and falling down around her shoulders. It was still kind of strange to see her with short hair when as a kid she’d always worn it to her waist. She was still a tiny little thing though. “Brent?” He snapped out of his enchantment over her form. “Yeah?” “Thank you.” “For what?” “Trying to make the boys feel at home. For ...” She shrugged. “... still loving me.” “Ah, honey. You don’t have to thank me for that; they’re mine, too. I want them to be happy. And how could you even doubt I still love you? I’m not exactly happy with the choices you made, Hellion, but I’ll always love you.” “I’m glad.” She paused. “You know, I hadn’t had sex in almost sixteen years. Except for last night.” He felt a wave of relief wash over him, making him immensely happier. He chuckled and held his arms out to her. She stepped into them, wrapping her arms around his waist. “If it makes you feel better, it’s been that long for me, too.” Rhett gasped and pulled back looking at him. “Really?” “Yes, really. Why would you think otherwise?”

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Her forehead crinkled up. “Because you thought I was dead.” “It didn’t change the fact that you were my mate.” “Yeah, but --” He cupped her face, making sure their eyes met. “Listen to me, because apparently you don’t get it. I know you know we’re mates; you lived with this knowledge since we were children. Wolves mate for life. There is only one. Ever.” “Yeah, but if I were dead ...” “I didn’t want anyone else.” And he didn’t. Oh, sure, he’d had urges, but he’d been satisfied to use his hands. He had never wanted another like he did her, because he knew there was no replacing Rhett, and he’d never wanted to give another woman false hope. He knew he could never give all of himself to another, heart and soul, the way he’d given them to her. He kissed her lips in a chaste peck, then rested his forehead against hers. How could she not understand? “Okay, let me put it another way. Why didn’t you move on?” Rhett gasped and pulled back, looking into his eyes. “I couldn’t! You were still alive. I knew that. I couldn’t cheat, I ... I ...” She blinked, then grinned at him. “I didn’t want anyone else, either. He would have been a poor substitute for you.” Brent grabbed her and kissed her, almost roughly, pressing his cock against her belly. She’d seen that he had been half erect as soon as she’d stepped out of the bathroom, but now he was harder than a steel pipe. She moaned; her hands slid down and grabbed his butt and squeezed. He chuckled into her mouth and pulled her back toward the bed. He sat on the edge, then tugged her towel loose, letting it drop. He looked at her for several seconds, almost making her self-conscious. “Honey, you’re absolutely gorgeous.” He pulled her forward, his hand coming up to offer himself one dusky nipple. It was a contest as to who moaned louder when he took the small peak between his lips and tugged. He suckled for several minutes before moving on to the other. Rhett’s hands came up to tangle in his hair, and her head dropped back in complete abandon. God, her nipples were still so responsive to him. She had always loved for Brent to suck on them. He pulled her with him as he fell back onto the bed, straddling him as he kissed her. She opened for him, kissing back. Her tongue explored his mouth even as he explored hers. She nipped at his bottom lip, then laved it with her tongue. Her mouth slid down his jaw nibbling and licking. Brent petted and stroked her back, letting her have her turn. “I want you so bad.”

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She took her time, learning him all over again, driving him insane. She kissed her way down his bare chest to his belly, and ended up on the floor kneeling in front of him. His cock was so hard. His prick jerked visibly in anticipation. She’d always loved to play with his cock, loved to touch it, lick it. He brushed the damp hair out of her face, pushing it past her ear. She peered at him as she licked a line up his abdomen as he caressed her cheek. His green eyes were heavy lidded with lust. His dark lashes fanned across his cheek. He was so sexy. She nuzzled her nose against his belly, taking in his scent, his warmth. It was a dream come true, being here with him like this again. She hooked her fingers in the waistband of his pajama bottoms and started tugging. “Off.” She needed that thick cock. She wanted to taste him, feel him in her mouth. He complied, eagerly lifting up so she could pull them off his hips. His cock sprang free and she let out a small whimpering sound, before she grasped him and angled him into her mouth. “Jeez ...” Brent hissed out a breath, apparently he hadn’t expected her to just swallow him whole without a preamble. She slid all the way down, then back up, squeezing the base with her hand. He was smooth and hot against her tongue. She was good at this, had always enjoyed watching him squirm. The caress of his prick against her lips almost made them tingle. Her eyes peered up at him from above his cock, knowing he’d be watching very intently. He always loved to watch. “Ummm ...” she pulled back and smiled at him when she met his green gaze. Brent squeezed his fists together and took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he let it out. The urge to draw her back to him was strong, but he resisted it. His canines stung his gums as they lengthened. He ached to be inside her. She dipped her head sideways as she licked him, running her mouth along his length, then swiping her tongue across his balls. “Jesus, Rhett!” His eyes flew open. His color vision was gone. The little hellion chuckled and let go of him. Carefully keeping her hands from touching him anywhere, she covered his balls with her mouth and sucked lightly. That was it, he had to have her. Had to fuck her. He grabbed her under the arms and pulled her upright, so that she was sitting on the bed. “On your hands and knees, now!” he all but growled. Rhett gasped at his words, her eyes going wide, but she hurried to comply. He could smell her arousal increase. “Oh, fuck!” That pretty little ass was just perfect there. And he could see how wet she was, the moisture glistening off her plump pink lips. He bent forward and sank his teeth into

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the soft flesh, exerting just enough pressure to sting, but not enough to draw blood. Rhett squealed and dropped her head down on the mattress, raising her butt higher. He let go and climbed onto the bed behind her. She shimmied insistently toward him. “Now.” He clasped her hips, then noticed his hands had shifted to claws. “Oh, shit.” “Now, Brent ... please.” He shook his head and closed his eyes, took some deep breaths, desperately trying to get his instincts under control. As usual, Hellion was having none of it. She reached back, took hold of his prick and positioned him at her entrance, then thrust against him, impaling herself. “Ahhh ...” She bit her bottom lip. She was so wet and hot around him that he slid right in. She began moving immediately. He gripped her hips to still them, trying to gain back control. She shook her head and tried to move, growling at him when she couldn’t. His claws flexed on her hip. He gulped for air. “Be still.” This woman was going to be the death of him. As a teenager he’d finally learned to control his nature, but damned if he was going to have to learn all over again. He couldn’t shift, wouldn’t allow himself to, but it was going to take some effort to hold back. Finally, he regained enough balance to make his hands change back. Rhett must have felt it, because she thrashed restless again. Her inner muscles tightened on him. “Please ... oh, please ... move.” Brent grasped her waist and thrust into her. She moaned and pushed back harder. He set up a fast, steady rhythm, and she met him the whole way. Within minutes she was spasming around him, her body stiffening in ecstasy. “Oh, God, yes! There!” He bit his inside cheek to keep from yelling out and pushed into her one last time. His entire body went taut as he came, then relaxed on top of hers. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” She giggled and collapsed forward onto the bed. He got off her, grabbed her towel from the floor and cleaned them both up, then pulled the covers back. Rhett stayed where she was, sprawled diagonally across the bed on her stomach. She shook her head. “Too hot.” He grinned and pushed her feet. “Get in the bed right. I won’t cover you up.” “’Kay.” She shuffled around without ever actually getting up and managed to position her head on a pillow.

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Brent chuckled and slid in next to her on his back and ran his hand idly over her spine and butt. After a few minutes, she brushed her hair back off her face and finally crawled, or rather squirmed, on top of him. “Brent?” “Huh?” “What are the Oreos on the nightstand for?” He grinned. Damn, he’d forgotten all about them. “Well, they were my improvisation for the lack of a belated birthday cake. But I sort of got distracted by a certain demanding hellion. Want one?” He felt her head shake against his chest. “No, not really. I was just curious why they were in here.” “Unh. Happy birthday, Hellion. I’ll get you something when I have a chance. Any requests?” She raised her head and kissed his chin. “Nope. You’re all the birthday present I need. I think I’m covered for the rest of my birthdays for as long as I live.” Brent sighed, happier than he’d been in years. He squeezed her tight and pushed her head back down to his chest. “Love you, Rhett.” She snuggled in. “Love you, too.” He was almost asleep when her head popped up again. “Brent?” “Huh?” “You know my parents weren’t mates, right? Despite that, I have to admit there is definitely something in me that, well, that makes me yours. I know it, and I feel it, too. But my parents didn’t have that.” He grinned, but didn’t open his eyes. He supposed her parents’ relationship was the reason she’d convinced herself that he had moved on. With them as an example it would have been easy to draw the conclusion that the bond between mates wasn’t that strong. “No, they weren’t mates. Michael and I talked about it once. That’s another reason I’d never be with someone that wasn’t my mate.” Obviously, he was going to have to prove some things to her, but not tonight. He lifted his head just enough to kiss her forehead, then dropped it back down. “He told you that? That they weren’t mates? What all did he say?” “Just that. That Lindsay wasn’t really his mate.” “Oh.” She laid her head back down finally. “Why?” “No reason. Just wondering if he told you the whole story.” “The whole story?” “Yeah. Why he married a woman that wasn’t his mate.”

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“No, he didn’t say, and knowing what a sore subject your mother always is, I didn’t want to pry.” “Uh.” He was just about on the edge of sleep, awake enough to be aware, but relaxed and very near to dreaming, when her head came up again. “Brent?” He became fully awake, trying to figure what had actually woke him. Oh, yeah, Rhett. “What, honey?” “Am I going to change the next full moon? Tate said you gave me blood. I didn’t think women could be changed.” He blinked his eyes open. Damn! Was she upset about it? “Actually, we don’t know either. It was a long shot, but you healed, so you might be a wolf. I couldn’t lose you again. I --” “Wow, and it worked, huh?” She patted his chest. “It’s okay, I’m not mad. To be honest I’ve always kind of envied you guys for getting to change. I was just wondering.” Good, he really didn’t want a pissed off mate right now. He was too damned tired to argue. “Oh. Well, yeah, then. You’ll probably get to be a wolf, too.” He kissed her head again. “Night, Hellion.” “Night.” She snuggled into him, pressing a kiss to his chest before she turned her head and relaxed. “Brent?” “What?!” He winced; he hadn’t meant to snap at her. “Uh, what?” he said more gently. Her fingers started tracing patterns on his chest. “You remember the first time we made love?” How could he forget? He’d climaxed and then collapsed. She’d tapped him on the shoulder, bringing him out of his post-orgasmic daze and informed him that, “We need to work on your stamina, because I didn’t come.” Brent smiled sleepily. God, she was one of a kind. He’d made it up to her, of course, and they’d both gone to sleep quite satisfied, but her comment had made the event special like nothing else would have done. It had really driven home the comfort and ease they’d shared with each other. The love. It was a good thing she hadn’t moved on, she’d have been hell on any other man’s ego. “Yeah, honey, I remember. Now, go to sleep.” He kissed her head again, then rolled her off of him and onto her side, spooning her. After she snuggled in and got comfortable, he covered her mouth with his hand. She giggled and bit his hand. “Okay, I can take a hint. Good night.” He grinned, dropping his hand back to her waist. “Good night, Hellion.”

*****

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Brent was jolted awake. He heard the soft choking sounds and came to immediate attention. Rhett was sitting up in the middle of the bed, her hands clutching her chest, out of breath. Concern slammed into him. He sat up quickly, wrapping his arms around her. “Honey, what is it?” Rhett struggled for a few seconds, then relaxed, leaning heavily on him. Her hands gripping his arms, holding them tightly to her. Her breathing was ragged, but at least she wasn’t fighting for air any longer. “Nothing, nothing. Just a dream. I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” “Yeah, but that’s okay.” Brent glanced at the clock beside the bed. 4 a.m. “That must have been some dream. Wanna talk about it?” She shook her head, but she started telling him about it anyhow. “It was the night Clayton and I escaped. I don’t think he really wanted to live without Marcie. He shifted and went after the guards, giving me enough time to get away. He died to save me and the boys.” Brent stroked her back, soothing. “Tell me about Marcie, honey.” “Marcie was his mate, she was a human. They tried to do tests on her, too, only she couldn’t heal. I was lucky. The only reason they didn’t do anything to me was because they wanted the babies. Clayton is the one who told me there were two of them. He could hear both their heartbeats. “That’s why he lasted as long as he did, I think. To help me get out, I mean. He told me to stay hidden. To be the mom mine never was and to stay away from wolves. I couldn’t endanger you the way Marcie had Clayton. That’s how they caught him, you know. They caught Marcie, and he went back for her. I didn’t want to put you in that sort of situation.” Rhett turned to him, cradling his face in her hands, tears dripping down her face. “Don’t you see? You’d try to save me just like Clayton did Marcie. I couldn’t let you be taken and tortured because of me.” Brent pulled her to him, positioning her so she could wrap her legs around his waist, and tugged her closer. Her tears ran down his back as he stroked her hair and rocked her back and forth. His chest hurt. She had honestly thought she was protecting him, had loved him so much that she’d left. Irrational as he thought it was, in her mind it was the only way to save him. He lay his head on her shoulder, blinking away his own tears. “Shh, honey, it’s all right. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. Shh ...” She shook her head. “No. No.” She leaned back, looked at him. “Promise me if they ever capture me again, you’ll take the boys and run. You can’t come after me. You can’t --” “Shh ...” Brent clasped her to him, squeezing her so tightly he knew it couldn’t be comfortable, but he couldn’t help it. Tears streaked down his own face, running in salty rivulets. “No. Never. I won’t promise you that, Rhett. I can’t. I would never leave you in a place like that.” He realized he was shaking his head and stopped. “I’ll do everything in my power to protect you, but I can’t promise you that.” He moved her legs from behind him and

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laid down, clutching her to his chest. He held her for the longest time, letting her cry, letting them both cry. “Brent?” “What is it, honey?” “I wanna go back to the ranch. I don’t feel safe here.” “We’ll leave tomorrow afternoon.”

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Chapter Eight After packing everything the next morning, they went to lunch at Brent’s uncle’s restaurant. Sarah had planned a big get-together to reunite Rhett with family and introduce her to the newer members. Rhett was a little nervous, not just from going out in public knowing that there were people stalking them, but about being accepted by Alex, Adrian, and Dash’s wives. After last night, Brent seemed a little more nervous, too. And clingy. She couldn’t turn around without bumping into him. Not that she was complaining, but he kept scaring the crap out of her. This morning, when she’d thought he was still asleep, he’d snuck up and hugged her from behind as she was looking out the window. She’d screamed a split second before she stepped to the side and aimed her elbow at his stomach. Almost immediately after, she’d realized who held her. Fortunately for him, he had quick reflexes. He’d caught her elbow and took her to the floor, gently, but still, it hadn’t looked so great. The boys had come running in and found Brent sitting on her, naked, in the middle of the bedroom. By then they were both laughing, but neither Tate nor Clay had found it as humorous as they’d had. To save the twins’ sanity, not to mention hers, she was going to have to get accustomed to Brent being around again, touching her all the time. She loved the sensation of him, loved touching in return, but she was going to have to get used to it after so many years without. They reached the restaurant, then sat in front of it for a few minutes before Brent cut the engine. He turned back to face the twins. “Boys, do not leave the restaurant for any reason. We have a private room in the back and there shouldn’t be anyone in there but family. So, don’t leave that area, okay?” Tate smiled. “Sure, Dad.”

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Clay frowned, but at least he didn’t argue the point. “Okay.” Brent turned back to her. “You ready?”

No! What if the other wives didn’t like her? As she’d always been way too much of a tomboy, she’d never gotten along well with other females. Her only friend growing up had been Christine, and look where that had gotten her. Rhett rolled her eyes at herself, then nodded at Brent. She was being ridiculous. Who cared if they didn’t like her? None of them really had a choice; they were family, like it or not, so they’d have to endure her presence from time to time. “Brent, can I have my gun?” “You don’t need it, honey.” He tapped the one on his hip. “I have mine. We’ll be fine. It’s just family. They aren’t stupid enough to attack us in the midst of a whole pack of wolves.” Yeah, okay, that made sense, but she really didn’t like going anywhere unarmed. Even on the ranch she usually had at least a knife with her. Thanks to one of the ranch hands who was ex-special forces, her hand-to-hand combat skills were pretty good, but she really didn’t like getting close enough to people to use them. She’d much rather shoot or throw a knife from a distance. Brent must have seen the reluctance on her face because he reached down and pulled his ankle holster out from under his pants leg and handed it and the small .380 in it to her. “Here, it’s got velcro and elastic, so it should fit you.” She smiled and took the gun. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” She strapped it on and pulled the leg of her jeans back in place as he and the boys got out of the car. Brent came around to her side and opened the door for her. He bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips, then took her hand and escorted her inside. As they entered, the hostess smiled at Brent and told him everyone was already there. Brent squeezed her hand and led her and the boys back to a private dining room. They walked into absolute chaos. Everyone was gathered in small groups and talking at once. Rhett glanced around the room and recognized everyone. Well, almost everyone. She’d seen pictures of Marisa, Jessica, and Katherine, but Adrian was carrying two babies around. He had aged well and was still handsome. She wondered if he was still so ... so anal retentive. “Adrian has kids?” “Just one. Brandon is his. The other is Kitty. She belongs to --” Adrian walked over to them, and the little girl he was carrying immediately lunged forward and reached out to Brent. “Well, hello, sweetheart.” Brent took the baby, and she grabbed his face in her two chubby little hands and planted a big, open-mouthed, slobbery kiss on his lips. Adrian turned to Rhett and smiled. “Hey, Hellion.”

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She smiled back, ignoring Brent, who was talking to Kitty and tickling her. “Hey, yourself.” Adrian reached out with his free arm and hugged her. “Glad you’re back. We missed you.” “I’m glad I’m back, too.” The little boy, Brandon, smiled at her and waved shyly. She smiled and waved back. “Hi there, handsome.” “Ah, shucks. Really, Hellion, you don’t have to call me that. Dash will be just fine.” Two arms encircled her from behind, startling her. She turned to find Dash smiling down at her. She laughed and hugged him. It seemed he hadn’t changed a bit personality wise. In appearance, though, he was handsome, more than he’d been the last time she’d seen him. Then, he’d been tall and skinny, all knees and elbows. He’d since filled out, rather nicely. “I was talking to the baby. Why would I ever call you handsome, you rat.” “Well, because I am, of course.” “Oh, Lord!” A very pregnant, very pretty brunette, walked up beside him, swatting him on the shoulder. She smiled at Rhett. “Hi, Rhett.” She held out her hand and Rhett shook it. “I’m Jill, Dash’s wife. It’s really good to finally meet you. Welcome home. And feel free to smack Dash around. I promise I won’t take offense. In fact, the help would be appreciated.” Dash chuckled and kissed his wife’s cheek. Rhett got caught up with them and was vaguely aware of the twins being dragged off by Sarah. She learned that Jill was a doctor and worked in the emergency department with Alex, which was how she’d met Dash -- through Alex. Jill appeared to be a great match for the sometimes obnoxious Dash. She obviously kept him in line and the love between the two was apparent. Rhett liked her instantly. She continued to talk to them and Adrian for several minutes before Alex showed up, followed by his parents, Claire and Diego, and Adrian’s parents, Kyle and Rita. Marisa soon followed. Marisa was a sweet kid and Rhett could see why her own father was so taken with the young woman. She had the feeling that Marisa had been a bit of a substitute for her, which was okay. She was just glad her dad and Emilio had had someone to tease. Just as Claire was leaving to go check on the food preparations, Alex and Adrian’s mates showed up. They both greeted their men, then quickly welcomed Rhett. “I’m Jessica.” The petite brunette held out her hand to Rhett, a huge grin on her pretty face, then dropped her hand before Rhett could take it. Instead, she pulled Rhett into a huge hug. “I’m so happy to meet you!” The redhead she recognized as Katherine giggled. “Yes, we are.” She shook Rhett’s hand. “We’re glad you’re back.” She tipped her head, indicating something behind Rhett. “For a change, it’s nice to see Brent smiling when he looks at someone besides Kitty.”

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Rhett glanced over her shoulder. Brent still had the little girl in his arms and was talking to Alex, Dash, and Adrian. Rhett felt a stab of guilt at seeing him so comfortable with the baby in his arms. How would he have been with his own? He obviously loved Kitty very much and the feeling was apparently mutual, because when Alex reached out to take his daughter, she refused to let go of Brent, clinging tightly to his neck. How sweet was that? Jessica brought Rhett’s attention back to her and Katherine. “I feel like I know you already. We’ve heard all sorts of stories about you.” Oh, Lord! Rhett could only imagine what they’d heard. She had definitely earned her nickname ... and then some. “Brent speaks rather highly of the two of you, too.” Jess grinned, her eyes twinkling. “You know he’s told me once or twice that I remind him of you.” Rhett’s eyebrows shot up. She didn’t know these two women well, but she just couldn’t help liking them. Their obvious niceness and good humor were contagious. “Well, I beg your pardon, then. Apparently you irritate the crap out of him.” The three of them laughed. Rhett talked to the two of them for several more minutes, feeling more and more at ease. She could already tell that, given half a chance, the three of them would become fast friends. It was also quite apparent that Jess had a bit of a mischievous streak in her. Rhett felt an immediate kinship with her, as she’d always had a bit of a rebellious streak in her, too. Finally, Brent got Kitty to go with her parents. He kissed Rhett’s cheek as Kat and Jess took their babies for diaper changes. “Having fun?” “Yeah, I guess I am. I like Jess and Kat.” “I knew you would. Jess is a little devil. Trouble follows her like it used to clamber after you.” Rhett arched a brow. “Used to?” Brent laughed. “I’m not touching that one! I’m going to go order our food. You want what you used to have?” “Yep.” She was about to go look for her boys when someone touched her shoulder. She turned around and stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh, my God!” Her hand flew to her mouth, and tears gathered in her eyes. Her brothers were here. They looked just like Daddy and Tate. She looked at one, then the other. They were all grown up and so handsome! One had slightly longer hair, still short, but long enough that it hinted at the curls they had had as children. They’d dressed completely different, too. One was in t-shirt, jeans and boots; the other in a nice pull-on, collared shirt, slacks, and casual brown shoes. But their faces and their expressions, even their bodies and their posture were identical. When they were little she’d been pretty good at figuring out who was who, but now? She was clueless.

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They stepped forward at the same time and held out their arms. She stepped between them and wrapped an arm around each of their waists. “You two have grown so much!” They pulled her into to a three-way hug. “Glad to have you back Rhett.” One said. “We missed you,” added the other. Stepping back, she grinned up at them. “I hate to ask, but which of you is which?” They looked at each other and smiled. The twin in slacks shook his head and smiled, showing off a dimple in his left cheek. “She doesn’t even know her own brothers.” It was Rand. It had to be Rand who teased her. She went up on tip-toe and kissed his cheek. “Yes, I do, Ransom McCoy. I was just seeing if you still tried to switch places.” Rand’s eyes widened a bit. “Oh, you did know.” Rome chuckled. “She did not. She just figured it out.” Rhett slugged him in the arm. “All right, Mr. Detective, hush!” Tate touched her hand, looking at one of his uncles, then the other. “Okay, I give up. They look exactly the same. I mean, if they had the same haircut and the same clothes on, they’d be impossible to tell apart. I’ve never seen a set of identical twins who look more identical than they do.” He wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air near them, then wrinkled his brow in confusion. “They even smell alike. How’d you figure it out?” She winked at Rome. “Can’t give away all my secrets.” Tate frowned, then looked at both his uncles and grinned. “Hi.” Rome sized the boy up and shook his head. “So you’re Tate? Mom has told us all about you. You poor thing, you look just like Rand.” Tate looked startled at first, then looked over at Rand and started laughing. Rhett kissed her son’s cheek, then pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. “Don’t even think about trying to borrow one of their IDs.” “Aw, Mom!” Everyone chuckled. Michael slapped Tate on the back on his way to the table. “Don’t even ask. No one would ever believe you’re forty-eight.” Tate sighed and picked up the ends of some strands of his own hair and tried to look up at them. “I suppose I could add a few strands of gray here and there.” Michael sat down. “I don’t have gray hair, pup.” Emilio came and plopped down on the seat beside Michael, grinning from ear to ear. Tate put his finger to his lip. “Shh ... don’t say it, Uncle Grandpa. People in glass houses and all that.” Everyone within earshot laughed.

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Tate was too cute. The kid always did have a way of making people feel at ease. Speaking of kids ... Rhett looked around. Where was Clay? Brent must have read her mind. He sat down beside her and put his arm over the back of her chair, then dipped his head toward one of the smaller tables. “Over there, with Marisa. He and Tate got in a fight.” Rhett sighed. “What was it about?” “I have no idea. They keep telling me to tell the other something, pretending like they can’t hear each other.” She bit her lip. It wasn’t funny. It really wasn’t. “Don’t you dare laugh!” “Welcome to parenthood.” Brent growled at her. The staff finally brought their food out and everyone dug in. Except for Tate. He’d claimed a seat between his two grandfathers, but instead of sitting and eating, he hovered in the background. He kept leaning in and staring at Rome and Rand, until Rome pointed at his chair. “Tate! Sit!” “But ...” “Because we’re mirror images. Your mother noticed that Rand’s dimple was on the left side. Now quit it.” Tate sat. Rome grinned. “Thank you.” He looked up at Rhett and winked. “Geez, I was afraid, next he was going to start studying nose hairs.”

***** After a promise from Rome and Rand that they, too, would be headed to the Bar Mc, Brent, Rhett and the twins had left the party. Sarah had assured them that she, Emilio, and Michael would follow in short order. Michael wanted to go over some TWiTs stuff with Rhett and see if she could pick out her three assailants from photos that he had collected. The boys had driven the Escalade back, and she and Brent followed in his car. They arrived at the Bar Mc several hours later, just as most of the ranch hands were getting off work and leaving the ranch. She waved to several of them in passing as they went up the drive. When they pulled to a stop beside the main house, Uncle Morgan came rushing up to greet them. He was so glad to see her and the boys, he hugged them and fussed over them for the longest time. He also talked to Brent for several minutes, anxious to get to know him again. Finally, he grabbed a suitcase and followed the boys inside, asking about Michael.

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As she and Brent finished pulling their stuff out of the back of the SUV, Luc sauntered over in his usual loose-hipped swagger. The man was a cowboy through and through, Rhett mused. He was also a hell of a great friend. Luc said a quick hello to the twins as they passed him on their way into the house, then leaned on the SUV and grinned. “You okay, Squirt?” Rhett nodded and smiled. “Yeah, and thanks to you I probably kept the boys from getting hurt.” He dipped his head in approval, his smile getting bigger. “Good deal. Morgan told me about it, but I’d like the details when you have time.” A growl came from behind her, and she whipped around to find Brent glaring at Luc. “Brent!” “What?” He continued to stare at Luc. Well, heck! She hadn’t realized Brent would be jealous. He had no reason to be. Luc was her friend, her mentor, her employee. Rhett sighed. “Brent, this is Lucio Ramirez, the Bar Mc’s foreman. Luc, Brent Hernandez, my mate.” Luc hesitated for half a second, then offered his hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Brent.” Brent shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” He didn’t sound too convincing, but at least he was polite. After Luc went back to work and they continued on to the house, the inquisition began. “Who is he?” “I told you, the Bar Mc’s foreman. He’s the only employee that actually lives on the ranch. The rest come and go.” “That isn’t what I meant, and you know it. Who is he to you?” Brent’s voice was low, unhappy. Rhett frowned. She couldn’t decide whether to be amused or irritated, so she settled for a little of both. She quirked an eyebrow at him. “What are you implying?” Brent looked sheepish. “Nothing. Damn it! Sorry. I know you wouldn’t ... that you haven’t. It’s just ... guess my instincts took over.” Rhett went up on tip-toe and kissed him. “You have nothing to worry about. I love you! You know that, right?” “Yeah.” “Luc is ex-special forces, a former Green Beret. Uncle Morgan hired him about ten years ago. Luc’s father was a wolf, but the gene passed over him. Uncle Morgan found out

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and confided in him about me and the boys. After that, Luc sort of took on the role of guardian. He taught me and the boys how to defend ourselves.” Brent nodded. “Then I have him to thank for you almost planting me on my ass this morning?” Rhett chuckled. “Actually, if I remember correctly, it was me who ended up on the floor.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Underneath me. Which is a very good place for you, if I say so myself.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek and strolled on into the house. Rhett shook her head, smiled, and followed him inside. Halfway through unpacking, Brent had fallen asleep, stretched out across her bed. Apparently, with all the turmoil in his life of late, he was tuckered out. She left him there to sleep and put in a load of laundry before straightening the bedroom. She also cleaned out her Escalade and checked on ranch business. At around seven o’clock, Uncle Morgan called her in for supper. Brent was absent from the table when she went in. When she asked the boys about it, she was informed that Tate had tried to wake him without success. Rhett grinned at that. Brent had always been hard to wake up. The man liked his sleep. She excused herself from the table and went after her errant mate. She entered the room quietly and lay beside Brent. He looked so peaceful. She kissed him. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. She kissed him again. This time he smiled and pulled her close, but he still didn’t open his eyes. “It’s time for dinner.” Brent growled and kissed her, nuzzling her cheek and chin. “That means it’s time to get up.” He nipped her chin. She chuckled and sat up. “Come on, Brent, everyone else is downstairs waiting for us.” “Shh.” He pulled her back down.

Oh, brother. She was obviously going to have to entice him awake. She leaned forward and flicked her tongue across his lips and slid her hand down ... looking. Ohh! There it is!. That was what she was looking for. She clasped the already semi-erect cock through his jeans and squeezed. Brent’s green eyes shot open. He bit her bottom lip with his teeth and pushed his hips forward, making his cock slide against her hand. “Oh, so now you’re awake.” She tightened her grip. She’d always loved touching him, exploring his body.

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He grunted and slanted his mouth over hers. His tongue slid between her lips, caressing her. He pulled her half on top of him, his thigh against her pussy. Oh, that felt good! She pressed against his thigh and became carried away in her own plan. She’d meant to wake him up, but instead she’d managed to get him up and arouse herself as well. Before she even realized it, she was grinding herself against him. Brent grabbed her ass in both hands and pulled her tighter to him, setting a steady rhythm. His cock twitched under her hand. God, she’d never get enough of this. She unfastened his jeans and reached inside. The heavy weight of his prick fell right into her hand. She could even feel the pulse of his blood throbbing against her palm. The pressure on her clit was wonderful, but that could wait. She wanted to taste him. Now. She broke their kiss and slid down his body. “Oh, fuck, yes!” Brent’s hands tangled in her hair and gently pushed her, helping her descent. She would have laughed, but she was too caught up in the sight that met her. He was already starting to leak. God, that was sexy! She swiped her tongue out, catching the slick precome. His hips bucked up, pressing the hard, hot head against her lips. She moaned. He tasted delicious. She lapped up one side and down the other, taking her time, enjoying the taste and texture. “Honey, you’re killing me. Suck it, already.” She grinned, then opened her mouth and took him all the way in, the thick head lodging in the back of her throat. She made swallowing motions. Some things a girl just never forgot. It was like riding a bicycle. And damn if she hadn’t always been good at this after he’d shown her the first time. Brent grunted. His hips rocked forward, fucking her mouth. “Ah!” Her pussy was soaked and tingling, itching, actually. She wiggled her hips, rubbing her clit against the seam in her jeans. It wasn’t nearly good enough. She reached down and unsnapped the button. Brent let go of her hair, and gripped her under the arms, then pulled her up so fast she blinked. She stared into his flushed face and frowned. She was about to ask him what his problem was when the bedroom door opened. “Mom, Brent?” Rhett looked over Brent’s shoulder. Thank God Brent had his back to the door. Clay was standing in the doorway, hands on his hips, looking annoyed. She raised a brow. “Yes?” “I was sent up here to tell you two to come eat. So, come eat.” “Okay. Be down in a minute.”

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“And Grandma called earlier and said to remind Brent to call in to work, if he hasn’t already.” “Okay.” Rhett made eye contact with Brent. “Call in to work.” She glanced back at the door. Clay was still just standing there. Rhett cleared her throat. He started to say something, then shook his head and walked off. Leaving the door open. The little shit! She looked at Brent. “Well, that certainly killed the mood, eh?” “Yeah. I can see we are going to have a lecture about knocking on the door before opening it.” Brent chuckled and kissed her. “Think it will work?” She chuckled with him. “It’d better.”

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Chapter Nine “So, Brent, the boys tell me you’re a Ranger.” Morgan took a bite of his dinner. “Yes, sir, I am. I’ve been in law enforcement since I turned twenty-one. Sort of went in that direction because of Rhett, but I don’t regret it. I like helping people.” Rhett looked at him. “Really? Because I disappeared?” “Yup. At first I had this notion of finding you. Then it was more of a way to keep others from disappearing. In a way, Rome did the same thing.” “Oh, man! I feel ... Heck, I don’t know how I feel. But I’m glad you’re a cop. It suits you. You would have made a good doctor, but I think you probably make a better cop.” She nodded and took a drink of tea. “Clay used to want to be a cop.” “Not anymore.” Clay grumbled. Rhett frowned. “What do you want to be now?” “A rancher.” Morgan nodded. “He’ll make a good one. The boy has a fine head for livestock. He’s a helluva cowboy.” “Thanks, Uncle Morgan.” Clay had a decidedly pink tinge to his cheeks. Brent smiled. Hearing the compliment directed at his son made him feel good, even if he hadn’t had a hand in raising him. After all, the pup still had his DNA. “What about you, Tate?” Tate’s eyes widened. “Me?” “Yes, you.” He shrugged. “Don’t know. Figured I’d just chill out for a bit, maybe take some basic college courses. I have a year to think about it, so who knows what I’ll decide in that time.” He looked at his mother with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

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“Maybe I could be a porn star. I could have a really cool name like Biff Stiff or Hank Hard or something.” Clay giggled behind his glass of tea and mumbled, “More like, Yank Hard.” Which had Brent and Morgan chuckling as well. Oh, this was fun! Rhett’s mouth dropped open. Then she snapped it shut. Her glare was ruined by the slight twitch of her lips. “Tate Edward Hernandez! Don’t make me beat you!” Tate laughed along with everyone at the table and held his hands up in surrender. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Rhett caught Brent’s gaze and sighed dramatically. “See what I put up with?” He chuckled. It looked pretty fun to him. Sure there were bound to be times when they were a pain in the ass, but the boys were really good kids. They seemed to love teasing their mother, but what teenage boy didn’t? Heck, he still liked to see if he could pull one over on his mom now and then. Brent enjoyed the time with his boys and he really, really liked Michael’s brother, but he was dying to escape to Rhett’s bedroom for the night. Just as soon as he could possibly do so without being rude, that’s exactly where he was headed. He’d gone down to dinner half hard, even with Clay’s interruption. It really kind of sucked now that he thought about it. He’d gone from having to worry about his parents walking in on them to worrying about their kids barging in. That was life, as the saying went. After dinner, Rhett herself gave him his opening. She put the last plate in the dishwasher and yawned. He bumped her with his hip after washing down the table. “Looks like you’ve had it. You ready for bed?” Rhett stifled another yawn behind her hand. Uh oh! Maybe she really was bushed? They said their good nights to everyone and went upstairs. No sooner had he shut the door to her room than she started pulling her shirt over her head, a seductive grin on her face. “Lock it.” He growled. Wow, looked like he wasn’t the only one who wanted to finish where they’d left off. He locked the door and stalked toward her. She turned her back to him and yanked her jeans and panties off, wiggling her butt as she did so. Oh, man! The woman was hot! He’d always liked her ass but, damn, now she had rounded hips. She was sexy as hell. He stepped up to her, pressing his denim clad erection against that pretty little ass and palmed her breasts as he nipped her neck. Rhett shivered. “You like that?” he half growled. He bit down where her shoulder joined her neck, not waiting for an answer, not needing one. “Oh, my God!” She pushed her hips back against him. He started nibbling his way down her neck. “Alone at last. Wanna finish what we started before dinner?”

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“Oh, good Lord, yes!” He lifted his own shirt over his head and unfastened his jeans before dropping to his knees in front of her. Oh, geez, he could smell her arousal. She was already wet for him. He groaned and leaned forward. His tongue glided up her slit, then teased her clit. She tasted good. Damn, he’d missed doing this. Her hips jerked. “Oh, God, Brent. It’s been sooo long.” Brent stopped long enough to pick her up and carry her to the bed. He set her down, pulled her hips to the edge, and parted her legs. Then he lowered his head and took one big, lingering lick of her pussy. Rhett melted, her legs falling open wider. She reached down and parted her lips, holding herself open for him. There was nothing sexier than a woman who knew what she wanted -- and his Hellion had always known what she wanted. She’d never been shy, not with him. He slid his hands under her butt, lifting her to his face, and devoured her. “Oh, God! Brent!” She was writhing. When he sucked strongly at her clit and slid a finger inside her, she started panting. Brent pulled back, blowing softly. “Ah, honey ... so fucking sexy. What do you want, Hellion? What do you need?” He licked her again, steadily fucking her with his finger. He knew she was close; she’d always been very easily aroused. He could make her come in a matter of seconds, but he wanted more. Apparently, so did she. Rhett sat up and grabbed at him. “Want you! Now! In me! Now!” Brent nodded, taking her lips into a deep kiss even as he struggled with his pants. Before he even got them pushed down, she was grasping his cock and sliding down to meet him. As wet as she was, the head slid past her entrance. Rhett groaned and tried again. He knocked her hands out of the way and pushed into her, sinking deep. They both moaned. Brent grabbed her hips and thrust into her, listening to the wet sounds of sex and their skin slapping together. He felt her orgasm crash into her, making her tense. “Omigod, omigod, omigod! Don’t stop! Breeeennnnt!” He continued to thrust deeply a few more times, then came as well. A ragged groan tore from him as he stared down into her eyes. Rhett held his gaze until the last tremors left her. Finally, Brent relaxed and leaned forward to kiss her. She kissed him back, chuckled, and let her legs drop from around him. “What’s so funny?” He nipped her chin. “My feet hurt. And I can’t move my legs.

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Chapter Ten The next morning, Luc took Brent around, showing him the ranch and introducing him to the hands. Given his reception of the man the day before, Brent had been a little surprised at the offer, but he’d readily accepted. Brent followed Luc to the stables, trying to figure the man out. He seemed genuinely friendly, if a bit of a loner. So why had he invited Brent on a tour of the ranch? “I’ll saddle Tate’s horse for you. Nutmeg is gentle, well behaved.” Brent shrugged. “Show me where she is and where Tate’s tack is, and I’ll saddle her myself.” One of Luc’s dark eyebrows arched. “You ride?” “Yup, since I was a kid. Michael, er, Rhett’s dad still likes to ride. He, Rhett’s brother, Rome, and I ride out occasionally. Michael made all of us learn how to saddle our own mounts as soon as we were big enough to do so. “Well, from what I’ve heard Michael McCoy is quite a horseman. If he taught you, I suspect you ride about as well as I do.” He pointed. “There’s Meg, and Tate’s tack is slung over the side of the stall there.” He grunted. “That boy is terrible about putting things back in the tack room.” Brent chuckled. He could imagine. “Probably too anxious to get back to a video game.” Luc laughed. “Likely true.” They saddled their horses in silence and led them out of the stables. When they got outside, Luc stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I’m glad you’re here. She’s missed you terribly and those boys need a father. Morgan is good to them, but, well, they need you.” Brent nodded. “Thank you for teaching them how to take care of themselves. From what I can tell, you did a damned good job. Rhett near dropped me yesterday morning.”

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Luc grinned and mounted his horse. “She’s good, but the one you have to watch out for is Tate. The kid is quick, and it’s not just because he’s a wolf.” He turned his horse away from the stables and corral. “Likely all the hand-eye coordination from the video games.” Brent mounted his horse and caught up with Luc. Luc chuckled. “Know your boy already, I see.” “Well, it’s sort of in his DNA. I’m quite a gamer myself, and hell, Michael can whip my ass at video games, not to mention he’s a computer programmer.” They rode along, Luc pointing out things here and there, showing him the ranch, introducing him to the hands. The Bar Mc was a much bigger operation than Brent had first thought. The main source of income was clearly the longhorns that the ranch was famous for, but they also trained and sold a few horses. Much to Brent’s surprise, Clay handled everything related to breeding and breaking the horses. There were also about a dozen cowboys that worked the ranch eight to five, then went home in the evening. Other than Rhett, the boys and Morgan, Luc was the only permanent resident. To say Brent had been on the jealous side when he’d met Luc was an understatement. The man was about his age and while he wasn’t what Brent would call handsome, he reckoned most women would think so. Despite his friendly manner, the man was rough around the edges and a bit distant. After spending time in his company and talking to him, Brent realized that Luc was no threat to his relationship with Rhett. In fact, he found he rather liked the man. How could he not when the man genuinely seemed to like Brent’s family. “What are you going to do about these werewolf hunters? Morgan says Rhett was shot by them.” Luc’s voice brought him out of his musings. “I’m going to destroy them before they destroy my family.” Luc nodded. “Good. I’d like to help.” Brent reined in, looking at the man, judging him. Luc stopped his horse and held up a hand. “Man, I have no designs on your mate. I like Rhett and have a lot of respect for her, but she’s just a friend ... and that’s all she’s ever been.” Brent nodded. He believed him. He was good at reading people, partly innate ability, and partly due to his werewolf senses, but he’d know if the man was lying. Even though the other man had trained with the Green Berets, and thus he’d have likely learned how to lie convincingly, Brent was certain he’d be able to tell. More to the point, he believed Rhett. Rhett had said Luc was a good guy. “I have as much a stake in this as you do. I may not be a wolf like you and your boys, but my family was, and it’s quite possible that I may have kids one day that are, too.” “Consider yourself counted in.” “Good.”

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Rhett came galloping up with a smile on her face and stopped in front of them. “Whoa. Well, what do you think? Do you like it?” Her excitement about the place was contagious. Brent smiled. “Yes, I do. It’s a nice spread. A lot bigger than I thought.” “You haven’t even seen half of it yet.” Luc added. Brent glanced at him. “This place is huge. Have Rhett take you around the perimeter. Assuming, of course, that her saddle will make it all the way.” Rhett stuck her tongue out at Luc. “Oh, shut up, before I fire you!” “There’s a story here, I take it?” Brent asked. It was obvious from Rhett’s reaction and Luc’s mirth that it was a case of the hellion being a hellion. “Oh! It’s not that bad!” Luc just smiled. Brent raised an eyebrow. “Oh, fine!” Rhett huffed. “I was going to jump into the saddle like the cowboys do in all the movies. You know, where they put their hands on the horse’s rump and vault on over into the saddle --” Brent burst out laughing. He could just imagine where this was going! Rhett sighed. “Do you want to hear this or not?” He held up a hand and looked over at Luc, whose shoulders were shaking. “Do I?” “Oh, yeah, definitely, if for no other reason than so I can relive the moment. I like a good laugh.” Brent glanced back at Rhett. Her lips quirked, but she gave a long-suffering sigh. “Well, I’d been trying to get that right for years. So this last month, I get Mona Lisa and put the saddle on her. I’m leading her out and the saddle is just sitting on her back, right? So I finally drop her reins and go around to the side to tighten her girth and get her all ready. Well, it suddenly occurred to me what I’d been doing wrong. You see, no one can jump that high without a springboard. I didn’t have a springboard, so I decided to use a hay bale. Well, it worked! I backed Lisa up to a hay bale, got on the bale, and jumped right on. Only, I’d forgotten to tighten the saddle, and when I jumped on I scared her and she took off ... but my saddle stayed put. Just like in the cartoons, she ran right out from underneath it. My butt hurt for a week!” Brent chuckled. He looked at Luc, “You know what her nickname is?” Luc shook his head. “Hellion.” Luc laughed so hard, he startled his horse. “Oh, yeah, it fits! Have her tell you about the time she decided to jump off the barn roof into the water tank. And when she hung from

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a swing of the hay lift.” He pointed over to the barn. Way up there at the top was a crane of sorts attached to the side. Brent closed his eyes, he didn’t even want to think about it. “Oh, yes, indeed! Thought Morgan was going to have a heart attack. And we won’t even mention Tate standing in the open door behind her, waiting his turn.” Rhett snorted. “Like I’d have let him do it!” Brent groaned. “You are a tattletale, Mr. Ramirez.” Luc grinned at her, then kneed his horse. “Later, Brent. Nice talking to you.” “You, too, Luc.” Rhett jerked her head to the side. “Come on. I’ll show you the rest of the place.” They rode side by side, Rhett chattering away, pointing out things and telling him about her role as ranch manager. Not only was she more at ease here than she had been in the city, but she obviously loved this place. She’d put a lot of hard work into the ranch and had made it her operation. How could he ask her to give all this up? They explored together, just enjoying each other’s company. Around lunchtime they headed back to the house and found their parents had arrived. As they were brushing down their horses, Brent asked about the other hands and was informed that they generally went into town since they had two hours off for lunch. When Brent and Rhett walked up, hand in hand, the family was gathered on the back porch. Morgan and Emilio were standing at the grill, talking while Morgan flipped the burgers. Tate was lounging on a bench built into the porch railing, playing some sort of handheld video game. Clay, Sarah, and Michael were conversing around a big table in the center of the patio. Everyone but Clay waved and said hello. His son was openly glaring at him. Brent sighed, then leaned down closer to Rhett. “What is his deal? Tate and I hit it off immediately, but I don’t even know where to start with Clay.” “I noticed that the other night, too. I’m not sure what his problem is. He’s never been as outgoing as Tate, but he’s not usually so standoffish, either. I’ll have a talk with him.” Brent shook his head. “No, don’t. I’d rather do this on my own.” “You sure?” “Yeah. I was just wondering if you could give me a clue about what’s bothering him about me. I think maybe he blames me for you getting shot.” “What?! That’s just ridiculous. No, that can’t be it. He’s been kind of distant since Tate changed on the last full moon. It took both of them two days to talk to me after that night. Maybe it’s a lingering resentment from that. I just can’t imagine he’d be that way over me being shot.”

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Brent wasn’t so sure. Clay was a teenager, therefore all bets were off. Brent could remember being a teenager, and just because something wasn’t rational didn’t mean you didn’t feel that way. He was going to get through to the boy on his own. He didn’t want or need Rhett running interference. He and the boys were going to have to get along without her around all the time. He pulled her face up and kissed her lightly. “I’ll get him to talk to me. I promise. Just give me some time.” She nodded. They stepped up on the porch. Tate got them two folding lawn chairs and brought them over. “Here, Mom, Dad.” Brent took his chair and Rhett’s. “Thanks, Tate.” “Rhett, are you ready to start looking at pictures?” Michael asked. “Sure, Daddy.” Michael headed inside, “Come with me, and we’ll go get my laptop. You can tell me what you know about TWiTs and where their lab is.” Rhett let go of his hand and followed her father inside. Brent was setting his and Rhett’s chairs up at the table when all hell broke loose. He wasn’t sure what happened, but he heard Clay mumble something as Tate walked by, then the next thing he knew, Clay was on the floor of the deck. “You asshole!” Clay jumped up and tackled Tate right off the porch and onto the gravel.

What the hell? Sarah squeaked, her eyes going wide in surprise. Emilio and Morgan stared, looking at the twins like they’d lost their minds, then Morgan yelled. “Boys! Stop it, right now!” They never even looked up at him, just kept struggling to get the upper hand. Clay was on top of Tate, trying to get a good punch in, but Tate was pretty adept at blocking. Pretty soon, Tate was on top. Brent caught a glimpse of claws on Tate’s next attempted blow and jumped over the railing. He grabbed Tate by the back of the shirt and hauled him off of Clay. When he set the pup on his feet, Tate struggled and turned on him, claws and teeth bared. Brent shook his head slowly, then made eye contact. “I wouldn’t try it, pup. I’ve got about seventy-five pounds and eighteen years on you.” Peripherally, he heard a car pull up and two doors slam. Then someone chuckled. “Need some help, big brother?” Rand asked from behind him. “Nope.” Brent raised an eyebrow at Tate, then at Clay. Clay scoffed, finally finding his feet. He charged Tate, but was brought up short by Rome grabbing him around the chest. “Whoa! Hang on, tiger. I don’t think you want to do that.” Tate struggled against Brent’s grip for a few seconds, then relaxed.

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Brent nodded to Rome. “Let him go. He’s not going to start anything.” He looked directly into Clay’s eyes. “Are you?” Clay pointed at Tate. “He started it.” Brent raised a brow at him. Clay sighed. “No.” “All right. Now, someone tell me what the hell that was all about.” Brent looked at Clay again. “Clayton?” The boy shook his head.

Stubborn little cuss. Brent looked at Tate. The teen’s claws had gone back to normal, but his eyes were still shifted. “Tate, quit glaring at your brother and answer me.” “He called me a suck-up for getting you and Mom a chair, so I kicked his chair out from under him.” Rand chuckled. “Shh ...” Rome slugged Rand. Rand glared at his twin. Brent frowned at them. “Don’t you two even think about starting anything.” He looked back at his boys. “You two apologize and behave yourselves.” They snarled at each other. “Boys.” Tate gave in first. He frowned the whole time, but he finally mumbled out a, “I’m sorry.” Clay rolled his eyes and turned to walk off. Brent grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. “You aren’t leaving until you apologize.” He tried to jerk away. Brent very calmly bent his face close to Clay’s. “Don’t test me, boy.” “Fine!” He snarled at his twin. “I’m sorry!” Brent released him, and he took off running toward the stables. He stared after his son for several seconds, before he turned back to Tate, Rome, and Rand. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Clay was going to drive him to drink, he was sure of it. The boy was as stubborn as his mother. He pointed at Tate. “I better never see you raise claws to your brother again. Do you hear me?” Tate blushed, his eyes finally normal again, and looked down at his feet. “Yes, sir.” Rand stepped forward and clapped Brent on the shoulder. “I was going to ask how you’re doing, but from the looks of things, they could be better, eh?”

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He nodded. “Yeah.” And that was all he was going to say about it. This was between him and Clay; he wasn’t going to drag Rome and Rand into it, too. “Come on. We’re about to eat.” Tate looked at both his uncles and grinned. “Hi.” Rome smiled. “Hey, pup!” Rand ruffled his hair. “I see you are trying to take up where Rome and I left off.” Tate’s brow wrinkled. “Huh?” “Giving your dad gray hair.” Rand smiled over at Brent. Brent couldn’t help but smile back. After he shoved Rand’s head, of course. Sarah greeted the older twins on the porch, hugging them both. “Hi, boys. Glad you made it. Did y’all have any trouble getting off work?” Rand shook his head. “Nope, Diego shoved me out the door and told me to get.” Rome chuckled. “I had to use vacation time, but it wasn’t that big a deal.” Emilio stepped over and slapped each of them on the back and chatted with them for a few seconds. Brent sat down and watched. Wondered what he was going to do about Clay. The back door slammed open and Rhett rushed out, a big smile on her face. “We found the man who shot me!”

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Chapter Eleven Everyone was outside at the patio table except Tate and Clay. Tate was walking around, listening. Michael pulled out his laptop and put on his glasses, then they began to go over all the information he’d gathered in the last year and compared it with what Rhett had learned. Rhett leaned back in her chair to get comfortable. “Daddy, show Rome the picture of that man and see if he recognizes him.” Michael turned his laptop around to face Rome. Rome looked at the computer screen. “No, he doesn’t look familiar. You said he asked for me?” “Yeah. We think he saw Tate and followed us. Tate does look younger, but he appears enough like you that someone who just got a glimpse of him might mistake him for you ... or Rand.” “Yeah, that’s true.” Rhett shrugged and looked at her dad. Michael frowned. “There are probably pictures.” Rome nodded his head. “I don’t remember anyone taking pictures. But I know they had placed someone in the police academy when I was going through. It wouldn’t be hard for someone to get photos of me.” “So they could have taken pictures from a distance, which would explain how someone could mistake the pup ... God only knows how long they watched you before they nabbed you. But what I don’t get is if they’ve had this info all this time, why haven’t they tried to grab you again? Or Rand for that matter? He’d be a much easier target.” “Hey!” Rand protested. “Just because I’m a chef doesn’t mean I’m a wuss.”

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Rhett supposed he must get that a lot. “Not that you’re a pansy or anything, but you aren’t a cop. Anyone besides someone in law enforcement would be an easier target.” Emilio leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “So what’s this about a compound or lab?” “I’m pretty certain that the building I was in for so long was their main building. I talked to several others in there, and they had all been held elsewhere for a short time, then transported there. So I did a search. The person that owns that building also owns several other buildings around Texas. I also did some checking on the free clinic I went to. I’m not totally positive it’s involved with this group because I couldn’t link it to the lab building I was held at, but I just can’t imagine any other way that woman and man could have known about the babies.” Michael hit some keys, frowned a bit and typed some more. “What is the clinic owner’s name?” Morgan leaned forward, putting his arms on the table. “Randal Spotsworth.” Emilio and Michael looked at each other. Michael’s brow wrinkled. “Why does that name sound familiar?” Brent slapped his hand down on the table. “That’s it! That’s our link!” He looked at Michael. “Wasn’t that one of the names of the men in the picture you found? The one with Kat’s doctor. Wasn’t he the guy Jess and Alex saw with Lisa?” Michael hit some more keys, then nodded. “Yeah, it is. I was pretty sure I ran this guy. Why didn’t I find the clinic?” Michael pulled his glasses off, tossed them on the table, and ran his hands down his face. “How about the other building? Who was the owner listed on it?” “Something Gordon. Greg ... Greg Gordon, that’s it!” Rhett answered. Michael slammed his fist down on the table, too. “Fuck!” “What?” Emilio squeezed his shoulder. “I thought Kat’s doctor’s name was Cliffard Gordon?” He grabbed Michael’s glasses and handed them to him. “It was, but his son’s name is Greg! Why the hell didn’t I look into that? It was listed as a textile company. Everything I had on Greg Gordon appeared to be above board. He’s supposedly estranged from his father.” Michael put his glasses back on. “I’m an idiot! I should have looked harder. I shouldn’t have assumed that he wasn’t involved.” Sarah who had been quiet up until this point got up and started massaging Michael’s shoulders. “We all make mistakes. It’s all right. “ Somehow, from the looks on her father’s face, Rhett didn’t think he agreed.

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Rhett looked out the back door in time to see her dad and Emilio ride off on a couple of horses. Brent, Rome, and Rand went to help Morgan, Luc, and the boys feed animals, so she’d gone looking for Sarah. Rhett found her with her arms propped up on the corral fence staring after her Michael and Emilio. Rhett walked over to her and leaned against the gate in a pose identical to Sarah’s. “Why didn’t you go with them?” Sarah shrugged. “I didn’t want to be a third wheel.” Rhett snorted. “Yeah, like you’d really be imposing. They love you; they wouldn’t have minded you going.” Sarah looked at her, startled. She grinned. “Yeah, I know.” “Morgan told you?” “No. Well, not exactly. I’ve known for a long time. But Morgan did tell me the circumstances of my birth, why Dad married my mother and why Morgan subsequently cut him off.” Sarah blinked. She looked stunned, like she didn’t know how to respond. “Thank you. If you hadn’t been in his corner, he probably would have caved in to Uncle Morgan and Emilio, and then we’d never have had Rome and Rand.” “You’re welcome. Sometimes I regret it, but then I just think about you and the twins and I don’t feel quite so guilty.” She blinked back tears, then leaned into Rhett, bumping their shoulders. “What do you regret, Mom? Why do you feel guilty?” Sarah stood there quietly for several minutes, the tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. She reached up and dashed them away, but didn’t look at Rhett. “Michael was so young. Sometimes I feel like I sacrificed his happiness for my own. I wanted another baby so badly. I should have just been grateful for the fact that I had Brent and let it go, but I couldn’t.” She shook her head and dabbed at her eyes again. “I just had to have a baby that looked like Michael, too. Emilio didn’t care as long as it didn’t bother Michael. And it didn’t seem to; he was happy. He pretty much took Brent over, as soon as I had him.” She grinned. “Did you know that he put off going to college so that Emilio and I could go, and he could watch Brent? He didn’t want strangers raising Brent. He even got up in the middle of the night with him and everything. Emilio used to get up in the dark and find Michael passed out on the couch with Brent sound asleep on his chest and an empty baby bottle in his hand ...” Rhett smiled, she could just picture the scene. Her dad had always been so good with babies. She remembered him with her twin brothers. “Well, I can’t regret it. I’m glad things happened the way they did, or I wouldn’t be here. And besides, Mom, he made the decision to marry Lindsay, not you.”

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“I know, but I pressured him. Emilio was so mad at me. He was certain that we could win a custody battle and keep you without Michael having to marry her, but I just couldn’t chance it. I know deep down Michael had real doubts, too, so I pushed. I made sure he knew how we could keep you for sure. Lindsay just wanted his trust fund and really that’s all she got, but oh, Emilio was livid. I thought for sure he was going to divorce me.” For the first time in the conversation, Sarah looked at her. She reached out and caressed Rhett’s cheek. “He didn’t stay mad long. Emilio took to you immediately; I think you looking so much like Michael helped with that. Then you did the rest on your own.” She smiled and leaned forward and kissed Rhett on the nose. “I love you and the twins and can’t imagine my life without the three of you. I just wish that all of you were mine instead of hers and that I didn’t have to put your daddy through hell to get you.” Rhett kissed her back. “I love you, too, Mom, and for the record, we are yours. What’s done is done. We all have regrets; trust me, I’m the authority on regrets.” Sarah laughed. “Yes, I imagine you are. But you’re right, what’s done is done and we have to move on. We can’t go back in time and change things, as much as we might sometimes want to.” That was very true, but over the years it hadn’t stopped Rhett from wishing she’d owned a time machine ... especially during the past month.

***** It was just getting dark but the moon was cooperating, lighting their way as they rode side by side, enjoying the land and each other’s company. Rhett loved riding horses. She wondered if being in wolf form and running with the pack was anything like it. Could it even compare? She’d find out this weekend, she supposed. Oddly, she was looking forward to it. It had always been something she couldn’t share with Brent, but now she probably could. If she’d even once thought of the possibility that women could be changed, she would have tried to convince him to attempt it with her years ago. Now, she likely wouldn’t have to be away from him if she didn’t want to be, ever again, even on the night of the full moon. She wouldn’t have to worry about being a hindrance to him; she would be able to heal wounds as easily as he could ... It was kind of weird, though. She didn’t feel any different. Would the increased senses come after she changed? Brent was quiet, thoughtful. He was the only person she knew who she could share a comfortable silence with. Even with the boys, she felt like she had to make conversation. But not Brent. They used to just sit out and stare at the stars or the clouds, or take long drives with the windows down, enjoying the wind in their hair and being together.

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He seemed to be at ease here, and he did know his way around horses. Would he be happy to stay? Would she? She loved it here, but she wanted to be near her dad and brothers, Emilio and Sarah, too. “Brent? What do we do now?” He shrugged. “You tell me. You and the boys live here. You know this place better than me. I was a toddler the last time I visited.” “Not that. Us.” Brent reined in and looked at her. “What do you mean, honey? What’s bothering you?” The problem was, she didn’t know what she wanted, where she wanted to live. The city still made her nervous. She felt like she had to always be on guard. She’d worry constantly over the boys and Brent, but she’d do that anywhere, not just there. She only knew that she wanted to be with him. How could she ask him to make a decision? “Where are we going to live?” He leaned over and kissed her. “Where do you want to live? I can probably transfer if you want to stay here.” Rhett gasped. He’d always been generous, but she hadn’t expected such easy acceptance. He must have read it on her face. “Ah, honey, you still don’t get it, do you? As long as we are together, that’s all that matters. If being out here makes you feel more secure, then I’ll move out here.” She didn’t even have words to express her feelings. She just nodded abruptly and nudged her horse. “Come on. Let’s go to the stock tank over the hill and let the horses drink.” He followed her. “I don’t have to go back anytime soon. I took a leave of absence until we get things settled, but I can go ahead and put in for a transfer, if that’s what you want.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think it’s only right that the boys and I come to you. But I’m scared. I’ve protected them all their lives, and I can’t let something happen to them now. I can’t let them take my babies, Brent, or you. I feel safer here. Like I’ll be able to see those monsters coming.” They arrived at the stock tank and pulled their horses to a halt. Brent jumped off his mount and walked over and helped her off hers. “We’ll find them, honey. They aren’t going to get the boys, or any of us, for that matter.” She sighed and laid her head on his chest. “It was awful. I must sound as crazy and fanatical as they do, but I want them all dead. I don’t want them to be able to hurt anyone else ever again. I should have fought a long time ago. I never should have run. I should have told the pack about them. If I had they might be gone now.”

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Brent pulled her back and looked at her. He shook his head. “I won’t lie to you. I wouldn’t have made the same decisions you did, and I wish like hell you hadn’t taken off, but you did what you thought was best at the time. You were protecting your children.” “But if I hadn’t tried to handle everything on my own, if I hadn’t been such a coward and --” Brent put his finger to her lips. “Shh ... you can’t change the past and you aren’t a coward. Not many people could have done what you did. You were a pregnant teenager, yet you still managed to take care of yourself and do what you thought was best for your children and your mate.” “But I didn’t, don’t you see? I had to run here, to Uncle Morgan, for help.” “Honey, no more. It’s over and done with. I may never agree with it, but I understand your reasons for what you did. Hell, in the same situation, it’s possible I’d have done the same thing. I want you to stop dwelling on it, Rhett. We have other issues and problems to solve. We don’t need any more.” She nodded. He was right. She couldn’t change it. She had to let it go, or she’d drive herself crazy. “The list seems to keep growing.” “Tell me about it. Such as, stop TWiTs.” “Figure out where to live.” “Get Clay to actually talk to me without being forced to.” “Get married.” Brent grinned down at her. “Yeah, get married. Teach you and Tate how to be decent respectable wolves, so you can take care of yourselves.” “Respectable, huh?” “Yep. Well, you, at least, Tate’s okay.” “And just what is that supposed to mean?” “You’re a troublemaker. I won’t be able to leave you by yourself, for fear of what you’ll get into. If there are any other packs around here, you’re likely to start a turf war or something. Or get caught in a trap, or hit by a car or, hell, the possibilities are endless.” She snorted. She wasn’t that bad. Okay, so she’d done some wacky things over the years but, good grief, he made her sound like an idiot. “What have I ever done that was so bad?” “There was getting us both snake bit when we were kids. Then there was the time I let you drive my car and you got out and forgot to put it in park ...” Brent walked over to the pond and picked up a rock, skipping it across the water. Rhett slapped her forehead, she’d forgotten all about those events. “Then there was the time we went out to eat and you threw the ketchup bottle across the restaurant and hit the waitress.”

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“Oh, come on! That was an accident! I was trying to get the lid off, and it slipped!” He peeked over his shoulder at her, a smug smile on his face, then turned back to the pond. “Honey, they are always accidents.” She ran toward him, put her hands in the middle of his back and shoved, putting all her weight into it. Brent came up out of the stock tank, spitting out water. “I can’t believe you just did that.” His voice was calm and even. He slowly started wading his way back to the bank.

Oh, shit! “It was an accident!” Rhett took off running, jumped on her horse and hauled ass back to the ranch house. Brent was right behind her the whole way. She ran through the house, ignoring the gathering curious stares from her family. She almost ran into Clay, who was coming down the stairs as she was going up. “Clay, baby, I love you! I’ll owe you big time if you’ll go unsaddle Mona Lisa for me.” She heard the front door open and her brothers start to laugh. She didn’t wait for her son’s answer, just bounded up the stairs, calling a quick, “Thank you, sweetie,” over her shoulder. Just as she reached her bedroom door, she heard footsteps behind her, followed by Clay’s bark of laughter. She lost precious seconds wrestling with her doorknob. As soon as she got the door open, she darted inside. During the process of shutting it again, it stopped about halfway and wouldn’t budge. Brent’s wet head popped through the opening. “Going somewhere, Hellion?” “Shit, shit, shit!” Rhett let go of the door and made a break for it. She ran around the other side of the room, intent on using the bed as a barrier, when it registered that he was no longer in pursuit. He locked the door and turned around to face her slowly, a sinister grin on his handsome face. Uh oh! “Now, Brent ...” “Yes, honey?” He pulled his wet shirt over his head, those sleek chest muscles flexing as he worked to get the soaking cloth off. Rhett swallowed, her pussy growing moist. Damn, the man was fine! He let the shirt drop to the floor with a sopping plop, then leaned against the door and pulled off one boot, then the other. His green eyes sparkled up at her, watching her watch him. God, he was sexy! Just the thought of what was going to happen once he got those dripping clothes off had her whimpering. His socks followed, and still he watched her. “You were saying something, Hellion?” “I was?” Damn, her throat was dry.

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He unsnapped his jeans and shimmied out of them and his underwear, too. Oh, God! That gorgeous thick cock was already hard and ready for her. It bounced a bit as he tugged his pants all the way off. Her pussy muscles clenched in anticipation. Brent looked around the room, his gaze passing the dresser, then snapping back. Her gaze shot to where his had been and saw the handcuffs lying on the dresser, where he’d laid them the day before. She whimpered again. He got the cuffs and slowly stalked around the bed toward her. She couldn’t take her eyes off him; he was beautiful in the way he moved, so predatory, like a tiger hunting prey. And, hot damn, she was his prey! Maybe he’d devour her when he caught her. “Why don’t you make this easy, honey? Be a good girl and strip, and get on the bed.” She wanted to -- more than just about anything in the world at the moment -- but running would be so much more fun. Being caught would be even better. Rhett darted toward the bed. She was planning to go across it to the other side, but she never made it. He caught her foot. He chuckled, and it sounded sexy and wicked and amused all rolled into one. She put up a token struggle, but it was so obviously fake, he laughed. He pulled off her boots and socks, then her jeans and panties. Her pussy was so sensitive even the cool air felt good. She shivered. Brent sniffed, and he closed his eyes. “Damn, baby, I can smell you.” When he lifted his lids, the green of his eyes had swallowed up most of the white; she knew he was seeing in monochrome. The thought that she could make him lose just an inkling of control over his instincts was a huge turn-on. He crawled onto the bed and straddled her waist. His cock was just begging for her attention. She reached out and clasped him and was rewarded with a hiss. Then he grabbed her shirt and bra and yanked them off. Rhett squeaked, arching her back, feeling her erect nipples stab into the air. Before she could get that gorgeous prick in her hands again, he pulled her hands over her head, cuffing one wrist, locking it through the headboard, then cuffing the other. She moaned. “What, honey? You want this?” He grabbed his cock, jerking it twice, then leaned forward to run the slick tip against her belly. “Oh, God!” Her pussy squeezed tight. She could feel her moisture seep out, tickling as it dripped slowly down her crease. He grinned, a knowing look on his face, and slid up her body. His erection came to rest between her breasts. He took his dick in hand, rubbing it across one breast, then the other. “You have any lube, Hellion?” She answered without thought, her gaze glued to his prick. She nodded dazedly. “Top drawer of the nightstand.” He slid off her and reached for the drawer, pulled it open. “Oh, fuck!” He looked back at her and blinked, then that almost evil smile was back. “Damn, baby!”

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Rhett’s eyes widened; she’d just told him where her toy drawer was. She shouldn’t be embarrassed; after all, they had done pretty much anything you could think of as teenagers, but she was. She closed her eyes and waited. A cool weight was set on her stomach, followed by another. Rhett opened her eyes and groaned. Of course, he had picked the biggest dildo in the drawer. He was smiling down at her like he’d won the lottery. “Are you ready for your payback, Hellion?” She nodded, causing the bottle of lube to roll off her belly. Oh, Lord, yes! Please pay

me back! Get even! Brent grabbed the lube and moved down her body, settling between her legs. “Brent?” “Yes, honey?” “Did you have to get the biggest one?” “Uh huh.” He spread her open with his fingers and took a long, leisurely lick, then another. She was so sensitive, her legs were already quivering. He suckled her clit and began to fuck her with a finger. She was on the cusp of coming when he pulled back and grinned at her. “Not yet.” He grabbed the red cock-shaped dildo off her stomach and slicked it up with the lube, then winked. “Maybe this time.” Oh, no! She’d wondered how this was supposed to be payback, and now she knew. He was going to torment her by dragging out the pleasure. The blunt tip pressed against her then filled her inch by inch. God, it was big! It stretched her so wide. “Shh ...” Brent’s other hand smoothed over her tummy as he bent and sucked at her clit again. It was absolute heaven. Before she knew it, he had the dildo’s entire nine-inch length inside her and was fucking her with it. She closed her eyes and relaxed, enjoying the feeling of being stretched so wide. He pulled his mouth away from her and continued to move the dildo slowly in and out. “That has got to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” The awe in his voice made her open her eyes. He was staring, his eyes still in lupine mode, and his fangs peeked out of the corners of his mouth. He looked so captivated, watching himself fuck her with the toy. Her inner muscles tightened, started to spasm. She was so close, she arched her back trying to make him move faster. “Brent, please ...” “Please what, honey?” “Faster.” “Like this?” He picked up a steady rhythm.

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Just as her body began to stiffen, to shake, he stopped. “Argh!” She glared at him. He was going to drive her insane. She needed to come so badly. He didn’t give her time to come all the way down, even though she was still really close to peaking. Instead, he tossed the toy aside and came to his knees between her legs. She reached for him but was stopped by the handcuffs. She’d forgotten all about them. Damn it! She was at his mercy. Brent slid up her torso, smiling. “Problems, Hellion?” She blinked and made a little whimpering sound. “You are an evil, evil man, Mr. Hernandez!” He chuckled and moved up until he was straddling her chest. He dropped forward on one hand and caught his prick in the other. He rubbed the tip across the underside of her breasts. She gasped, looking down at his cock. “What are you going to do?” “What I’d planned from the beginning.” He sat back and looked around for the lube. He snagged it and held it up, taunting her with it. “Know where this is going?” Rhett nodded. “I have a pretty good idea, yeah.” Her whole chest was flushed with arousal. Brent snapped the cap open and squirted a line of the slick stuff between her breasts, then tossed it aside. He pinched the hard little nipples and rolled them between his thumbs and forefingers. Rhett moaned and closed her eyes. He positively ached with need at the picture she made. Precome was running down his shaft and his balls were pulled taut. Leaning forward on one hand again he gripped his shaft with the other. He had the sudden urge to paint her lips with his cock. She always did that herself when she sucked dick. She ran the head over her lips like she was applying lipstick. Brent crawled up her body. He smoothed his leaking tip over her lips, painting them with his come. Rhett opened her mouth and flicked her tongue over the end and then her lips, tasting his seed. Her eyes opened, and she raised her head trying to suck him in. No way was he going to last if she did. He moved back, shaking his head at her. Trying to act like he was unaffected. If she had any idea how close to coming he was, the little devil would torture him with it and turn the tables on him. He slid back even with her breasts and positioned his cock in the valley between them. He squeezed the lush mounds together creating a tunnel, then slowly fucked her breasts.

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Rhett gasped and arched her back. Her tongue flicked the tip each time it got close enough. “Ah ...” He closed his eyes and enjoyed the slick feel of her skin and the soft, breathy moans she made. “Brent, pinch my nipples.” “Oh, fuck!” His whole body started to tingle; his balls drew up, trying to wring the semen right out of him. He let go of her breasts and fell forward, catching himself on his hands. Damn her! How sad was it that she could almost make him come with her words alone? He took several deep even breaths trying to regain his composure. Thankfully the little imp didn’t start talking dirty to him, which she had been known to do. When he was sure he wouldn’t blow his load from just her voice he sat up and opened his eyes. God she was something. Her breasts slick with lube, her chest rising and falling with each breath. She caught his gaze and smiled. “Okay, I’m sorry for pushing you in the water. Will you just ...” Oh, God! There she went with the talking again! Brent scooted down her body and grabbed her hips, hoping to shut her up, because if she started begging it was over. Brent gripped her bottom in both hands and lifted her, sinking that thick, hot prick into her as he did so. “Ahh ...” Her cunt tightened around him, trying to hold him there. “Oh, fuck! Honey! You feel so good around me.” Rhett smiled; it was all she could do. Her whole body was currently a giant ball of bliss. He lowered his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth. Pleasure shot from her breast to her pussy, making her clench her inner muscles. Brent let go ... thank God! He sat back up and began to thrust into her, hard and fast. She came, with a ragged groan. Her whole body contracted and tensed, even her spine tingled. Brent reached out and pinched her clit between his fingers as he continued to fuck her. The wet slapping sounds of their bodies was loud in her ears. Combined with Brent’s soft moans and grunts, it was like music. God, she loved this man! She barely relaxed from one orgasm before he forced her headlong into another. “That’s it, Rhett. One more.” She shook her head, only half comprehending. “Come for me one more time.” His fingers plucked at her clit again. Rhett instantly spasmed once more. “Brent!”

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He stiffened above her, his wolf eyes meeting hers as he came, spilling himself inside her. He mouthed the words, “I love you” before he collapsed on her. Several minutes later, when they could both manage to breathe without gasping, Brent raised his head. His eyes and teeth had gone back to normal. He got up and found his cuff keys and released her hands. She was so relaxed that she left her hands where they were. Brent leaned over her, frowning. “What?” Dang, was that her voice? It sounded so rusty. “This was supposed to be payback.” She grinned and closed her eyes, it was all she could manage before she fell into a deeply sated sleep.

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Chapter Twelve The day of the full moon Brent was out riding with Tate and having a great time. The kid was really a lot of fun. He was smart and funny and he made Brent proud; he was a good kid. Rhett had done a hell of a fine job raising him. If only he could just get his other son to bond with him, too, then he’d be truly content. Well, that, and maybe getting rid of TWiTs. Brent sighed. Taking care of the latter would go a long way toward making Rhett and the rest of the pack less paranoid. “What was that for?” Tate asked. “The sigh?” Tate nodded. “Just thinking.” “What about?” “Your mother. She is absolutely the most stubborn person I know.” “Yeah, I know. Clay is just like her in that respect.” “Oh, great! That’s all I need.” Tate chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Dad. He’ll come around. To be honest ... I think he’s just feeling a little left out.” “Why? He’s only left out because he wants to be.” “No, I mean about not being a wolf.” Brent blinked. What? “I got the impression he wasn’t too keen on the fact that you and I are wolves.” “Yeah, that’s what he’s saying, but I know my brother. I think he’s confused. I think down deep he wants to be a wolf. But I know he has some real worries about this group

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Mom is so terrified of.” He shrugged. “To be honest, he’s not the only one. It’s not easy watching your mother dying.” Brent winced. “No, I can’t imagine that it is. I know it damned sure wasn’t a pleasant experience for me.” “There is some resentment there. You know what I mean?” “I guess I can sort of see that. As though if it weren’t for me and my genes, your mother would have never been shot in the first place? But the fact is, y’all may have very well gotten the gene from her instead of me.” “Hmm. Well I hadn’t really meant resentment that way. But I guess that works. I was actually thinking that if Clay didn’t take Mom’s side he’d have to admit that maybe her keeping us from you wasn’t really necessary.” Brent looked at him, suddenly gaining more insight to his son. “You don’t think she was right in keeping away?” Tate raised a brow. “Do you?” “Hell, no!” Tate laughed. “No, I don’t think she was right. I understand her reasons, but I think it was the worst thing she could have done. Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away. Sheltering someone to that point sets them up for disaster.” “How the hell did you get so damned smart?” Tate shrugged. “What can I say? Clay got the looks, I got the brains.” Brent chuckled and shook his head. “You know, I always considered myself to be the smart one and Rome and Rand to be the pretty ones.” They both laughed, then the pup rode along beside him in silence for a few minutes before glancing at him. “We’ve both wanted to meet you for longer than I can remember. Clay even concocted a scheme to find you once, when we were about ten. But Mom found out and nipped it in the bud.” Whoa! Brent felt happy and sad and ... God, he’d missed out on so much. Already he loved Tate and Clay and would do absolutely anything for them. He’d never realized that someone other than Rhett could affect him so deeply. “I don’t know what to say, Tate.” “You don’t have to say anything. I just thought you should know.” “Thank you. If it’s any consolation, if I’d known ...” Tate nodded. “Yeah, I already figured that out.” “Good! I wish Clay would.” “Give him time. He won’t sulk forever.” “I guess he’ll have to talk to me when he changes, eh?” “Huh? You think Clay’s a wolf?” “Yeah, I do. He smells like pack.”

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“He does?” “Yeah, he does. Just because he hasn’t changed yet doesn’t mean he won’t.” “How does pack smell?” He shrugged. “I don’t know, different. Next time you’re around everyone, pay attention to smell. Everyone has a different scent, but there is an underlying smell to wolves. You’ll notice the same smell in yourself, me, Clay, my dad, and Michael. But you’ll notice that my mom, your mom, and your uncle Morgan don’t have that same vague underlying scent.” “But shouldn’t Mom have that scent? You gave her blood.” He hadn’t thought of that until Tate brought it up. But Tate was right; she should smell like pack and she didn’t. “I would have thought so, yeah. But maybe because she’s my mate, it’s different or something. I’ll have to ask Dash and Jill about that; they’re our researchers.” “Why so much research? Why isn’t that sort of thing known?” “I don’t know exactly. But my best guess would be that in an effort to keep ourselves a secret from the general population, we’ve lost a lot of information over the years. Our older generations didn’t keep records. And with groups like TWiTs out there, I can’t say that I blame them. But we also need to know ourselves better, not just the instincts and how to be a wolf, but scientific data.” “So the pack is researching us?” “Well, yeah, basically. Alex has appointed Dash and Jill -- Jill mostly; Dash seems to have developed an aversion to needles -- to do research. We need to know how things work the way they do and why. Actually, it seems quite a fitting job for our generation. Our Alpha and one of our Betas are doctors. And being a pathologist’s kid, I have to admit an interest in biology myself.” “You’re a Beta?” “I am.” “How does that work?” “You mean like what is my job? Or how did I get the job?” “Both.” “Well, I was sort of born to the job. I’m not sure how other packs work, but with us, we didn’t want to fight for it. Adrian or I could easily be Alpha, we’re every bit as strong as Alex. But Alex is the oldest, so it only seems right he should lead. A Beta is basically second in command. Adrian and I split the job. Adrian usually does more of the executive type stuff -- thank God -- deciding things with Alex, and I generally end up enforcing Alex’s decisions.” “Ah.” His son was quiet, thoughtful, for several moments. “So you really think he’ll change?” Brent blinked. “What?”

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“Clay. You really think Clay is a wolf, too? “ “Yeah. I do. He smells different from non-wolves. Even the ones that have the gene and don’t change.” “That’s really fuc-- freaking cool.” Brent laughed. “What am I going to do about you and your language?” Tate shrugged. “Just let it go, and let me talk how I want?” “I don’t think so. But nice try.” Tate chuckled. Then he sobered and looked over at him. “Seriously, Dad. That’s cool. I don’t like not sharing things with my brother.” “Sheesh! Twins! You’re all alike. Oh, well, I guess I’ll keep y’all anyway. After all, I put up with Rome and Rand all these years. I’m quite versed in twin idiosyncrasies.” “Hmm ...” “Hmm, what?” “So does that mean we are living here or are we going back to your house?” Wow. That was a loaded question if ever he’d heard one. He wished he knew the answer. “What do you want to do?” “I don’t know. I like it here. But, well, it doesn’t really matter to me. I can adjust. But Clay ...” Yeah, that’s what he figured. Clay wasn’t going to adjust well to moving. That was it. They were staying. He’d inform Rhett when they got back to the ranch house. Tate laughed. “You have the same look on your face that Clay gets when he decides something earth-shattering.” Yeah, and it felt good. He liked it here. More importantly, it was going to be less traumatic for his sons to stay here. “I did. We’re staying here. I’m going to call work when we get back and try to arrange a transfer.” “You talk to Mom about that?” “Yeah.” “And?” Brent groaned and glared at the boy. “We never actually came to a decision.” “But you just did ... on your own?” “Uh, yeah.” “You are a brave man!” Tate held up a hand and grinned. The smart ass! Brent grinned back and gave him a high five. “Come on, I’ll race ya to the barn.” They galloped all the way back to the house. It was clear that Tate was a great horseman. He was also very competitive. Every time he saw Brent getting too close, he tried to cut him off.

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Brent hadn’t had so much fun in a very long time. The only thing that would have made it better was if Clay had joined them. The house came into view and Tate reined in. “Whoa!” Brent stopped his horse beside Tate’s. Alex’s truck pulled to a stop and he, Adrian and Dash all stepped out. Brent smiled. Guess they had all decided to come spend the full moon with them.

***** Rhett leaned back into Brent’s arms on the couch and watched the guys goof off. They were catching up and waiting for everyone to shift. So far no one had been inclined to do so. No one wanted to leave, it would seem, but she knew that wouldn’t last. Dash was not strong enough to hold off his change -- she remembered that much -- and she wasn’t sure about her brothers. Tate was still new enough at changing that he couldn’t hold off long either. Although she could already tell he’d eventually be strong like his father and the rest of the Hernandez men. Her own father was just as strong -- she suspected Rome and Rand were, too -- so Tate had strong genes going for him. Tate was on the floor roughhousing with Emilio, Michael, and Rand. It had started out with Tate teasing “Uncle Emilio” -- now being referred to as “Uncle Grandpa” -- and somehow had ended up with the four of them on the floor in a large, tangled pile. She wasn’t really sure how her dad and Rand had gotten involved, but she liked the sight of them all at play. Rhett was so happy and amused at their antics that a chuckle welled up and escaped. Brent kissed her cheek. “What are you thinking?” “I forgot how happy my family always made me. I’ve missed the playfulness and the fun we had ... You know, I can’t remember the last time I was really, really content.” “Honey, that’s sad.” He tipped her head up, making her meet his eyes, then kissed her lips. “Okay, folks. I’m done. Stick a fork in me. I’m changing. Who’s coming with me?” Dash stood up from the recliner and stretched. Alex, who’d been sitting on the floor watching the others, arched his back and got to his feet, too. “I’m coming.” Adrian joined the other two. “Me, too.” He looked at Rhett and cocked a brow. “Well? Anything?” She shook her head. “Nope, nothing. No sudden urges to chase cars or sniff butts.” Adrian groaned. Everyone else laughed. Adrian finally grinned and shook his head. “God help us all when you and Jess get together on a regular basis.”

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Alex smacked him. “What is that supposed to mean? Like Kat doesn’t get in to a fair amount of trouble herself.” He snorted and walked off. “Not my Kitten! She’s an angel! It’s that imp you’re married to that drags her into mischief.” There was a smile in Adrian’s voice as he followed Alex out of the room. Rhett chuckled. “Is Jessica really that bad?” It was Brent she asked, but Rome who answered. “Oh, Lord, yes! She doesn’t actually mean to get into trouble, but she just can’t seem to help herself. And, sadly, she has rubbed off on not only Kat, but Marisa, too.” “I knew I liked her when I met her the other day. She sounds like fun.” Rome grinned. “She is that. One thing for sure is that with Jess around there is never a dull moment at family gatherings.” The quartet rolling about the floor finally tired themselves out and were lying on their backs and catching their breaths. Rome stood up and nudged Rand with his foot. “C’mon, let’s go. I’m tired of being cooped up.” Rand sat up and reached a hand to his twin, allowing Rome to pull him to his feet. He glanced down at Tate. “Wanna come with us, pup?” Tate’s eyes brightened even more, and he smiled. He glanced over at Rhett. “Can I?” It was Brent who responded. “Go for it. But make sure you stay with them -- no running off by yourself.” Rhett wasn’t sure about this. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her brothers, but she didn’t know them well as adults, not the way she did Brent and their dads. Apparently, Michael must have read the anxiety on her face, because he nodded at her. “Tate will be fine with Rome and Rand. At home, they’re sort of the unofficial pack teachers and take the pack’s pups out with them quite a bit. They even help train some of the new pups in control.” He looked up at his twins. “Make sure you watch him.” Rome nodded. Rand grabbed Tate in a headlock. “We got it! The pup is going to stay right with us and listen to everything we say. Aren’t you, pup?” “Yes,” Tate squeaked, then dug his fingers into Rand’s ribs. Rand released Tate, laughed, and held his hands up in an innocent gesture. “Okay, Okay!” Rome caught Rhett’s gaze with his. “We’ll take care of him. You have my word. And we won’t let him hunt the cattle.” She chuckled. “Y’all be careful.” After her dad’s reassurance, she felt much better about the whole thing now. Rome grabbed his twin and his nephew by the back of their necks and led them -- both protesting -- out of the room.

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Rhett looked over at the end of the couch to find Clay scowling fiercely. She supposed he was feeling a bit left out. Tate had taken to everyone so quickly and they to him, but Clay remained almost aloof. Maybe part of it was that everything was still so new for him. He’d gone from not even knowing werewolves existed to being related to them in an instant, and he didn’t have the wonder of discovering his wolf self, like Tate, to distract him. She touched his leg with her big toe. “You all right?” Face slightly pale, he closed his eyes and nodded. Emilio got upright and stretched his hands over his head. “They’ll be fine, honey. Rome and Rand are both very responsible and will watch over Tate, not to mention Michael and I will be around, as will the others. We’ll keep him safe, teach him what he needs to know.” He winked at her and kicked Michael’s ankle. “Let’s go, old man.” Michael snorted and stood. “Better watch who you’re calling old.” He ruffled Clay’s hair on the way by the couch. “See you in the morning, pup.” Clay’s face still looked pinched, but he smiled. “I’ll be here. Y’all have fun.” Rhett held back a sigh. Why wouldn’t Clay open up? She squeezed Brent’s thighs, which were resting under her hands, and leaned her head back against his chest. It felt so good to be with him. Brent encircled her with his arms, squeezing her in a hug and nuzzled her neck. “How are you, honey? You feel any different? Itchy under the skin? Nervous energy?” “No. I don’t feel different at all. I don’t think I’m going to change, Brent. How can that be? Are you sure you gave me blood?” He nipped her jaw. “Yep, absolutely positively, one-hundred percent sure. Right Clay?” Brent nipped her jawbone again and looked at his son. “Clay?” The teen looked up, his eyes glazed. “Huh?” A trickle of sweat ran down Clay’s temple. He reached up and scratched his face where the sweat had been. He looked even more pale than before. Was he getting sick? She sensed Brent’s scrutiny of Clay, his close attention to their son. She tensed. There was clearly something not right. “What’s wrong?” Brent patted her leg. “He’s okay. I think he’s holding back.” Huh? “Holding back? Holding back what?” “From shifting.” He got up from behind Rhett and walked over to the other end of the couch. Rhett thought she heard him say, “Very fucking impressive,” then he reached down and began to knead Clay’s shoulders. Clay stiffened at first, but he didn’t try to pull away. “It’s hard to breathe.” Brent started massaging his temples. “I bet. Try and relax, go with it.”

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She sat forward, studying Clay’s face. “You think Clay can change? How could he possibly hold back to this extent? Tate tried, but he already had parts shifting by this point.” “Yup, that is exactly what I think. I’d say he’s probably stronger than Tate, or more likely he has better self-control. How many full moons has this been going on?” She shrugged. Clay had felt bad and went to bed early last month, the night Tate had changed for the first time, but she’d attributed that to his anger with her and his brother’s sudden shifting. Come to think about it, he had been kind of sickly the previous month, too. “The past two months, maybe more. But definitely the last two.” Clay finally looked up at Brent and spoke. “I’m not a werewolf, Brent.” Brent laughed. “Oh, yes, you are, boy. A really freakin’ strong one at that. I can’t believe you can already resist the moon’s pull.” Clay shook his head. “I just don’t feel good, that’s all. Don’t you think I’d change if I could? I’m not a wolf.” “You are. What’s bothering you and where?” “My stomach is queasy and my head hurts.” “Uh huh. The morning after, do you have a horrendous headache?” Yes, he did. Rhett remembered that much. “He slept most of the day last month and nothing got rid of his headache -- not aspirin, Tylenol, or Motrin.” Brent winked at her, then squatted down next to Clay. “Listen to me. If you stop fighting against it and just relax, it will stop hurting. And I promise you that you will shift. I know I’m not wrong about this.” “I can’t.” “Yes, you can. Lie down on the floor and close your eyes. I know it’s a little weird and scary, but it’s also the most natural thing in the world if you let it happen. There is no pain if you go with it.” Clay looked skeptical. Brent got back up and stepped out of the way. “Quit being so damned stubborn. Please.” Clay gave in and lay down on the floor, then closed his eyes. Slowly, his face relaxed and his body seemed to lose its tension, too. Then his face began to elongate, and hair began to sprout on his arms and face. Rhett gaped. She’d seen her dad, Emilio, and Brent change a lot when she was younger. She’d even coached Tate through it when it had happened last month, but she really hadn’t expected Clay to change, too. She glanced down at her own arms. Nothing. Why hadn’t she changed yet? She wasn’t in any pain. “Don’t fight it, pup.” Brent’s voice brought her focus back to her son.

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Brent was kneeling beside Clay, a big smile on his face. “There. See? Be still; let me get all this off you.” He began to peel Clay’s clothes away until a black wolf came into view. Clay’s startled green eyes looked up at Brent, then darted to her. She beamed at him and glanced at Brent, whose smile was even bigger than before. Her mate reached out tentatively and Clay pounced, knocking him flat on his back. Rhett started to jump to his rescue, then noticed Clay’s tail was wagging furiously. He licked Brent’s face. Rhett almost got teary eyed. Not only was it nice to see Clay so happy, but it was wonderful to find him finally accepting Brent. She just hoped it would last. Brent laughed and rolled Clay off him, then came to his feet. “You make a hell of a good looking wolf, pup.” Clay grabbed his pants leg and growled, shaking his head back and forth. Brent laughed harder and tugged his leg back, playing tug-o-war. “Don’t rip my jeans.” The pup growled again, gave his head one more good shake and let go. He sat back and barked at Brent. Rhett chuckled. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Clay so playful. Her son ran to her and sat down again, peering up at her. His tail wagged so hard, she was surprised he hadn’t knocked himself over. She scratched behind his ears. He barked, then spun around and looked back at Brent. She stared, too. Brent was grinning from ear to ear. He came to her and pulled her into his arms. “What about you, honey? You aren’t going to change are you?” He looked puzzled. She shook her head. “No, I’m pretty sure I’m not. Do you think maybe it takes a while and I’ll have to wait until next month?” “I don’t think so. Whenever people are attacked, they change the very next full moon, even when they’ve been attacked the night before. I think the only exceptions are if they are bitten the night of the full moon and if they haven’t reached puberty. Like Julian; he didn’t change until he was sixteen or thereabouts.” Clay flipped her hand up with his nose, then stared at Brent expectantly. She reached down and petted his head. “I think someone wants to go hunt.” Brent kissed her forehead. “Will you be okay if I take him?” Clay’s head swung from his father to her. “Yes, go. Take him to join the others. He’s ready.” Brent looked unsure, but he finally relented. “Okay, but if you need --” She put her hand to his lips. She was a little nervous that she might actually shift while alone, but she was not going to keep Clay from enjoying his first change. This would also be

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a great opportunity for bonding between him and Brent. “Go. I’m fine. Uncle Morgan is upstairs if I need anything.” “Okay.” Brent lifted his shirt over his head. As usual, whenever possible, he was without shoes, so he immediately started on his pants, unsnapping them and pushing them down. “We’ll be back in the morning. Maybe tonight. Leave your bedroom door open so I can get in.” He wiggled his finger. “No opposable thumbs, remember.” She shook her head and snorted. “Yes, dear. I’m aware of the fact that you are without thumbs when you’re a wolf.” Brent slid his pants and underwear off. She bit her bottom lip and looked around the room. I will not leer at him with our son right here watching. Okay, maybe one little peek. She focused her attention on Brent in time to see him “tsk” her. She laughed and observed as he shifted smoothly and quickly into a large black wolf, practically identical to the smaller one running in excited circles around him. Rhett woke up in the middle of the night, still human, to a cold nose on the back of her neck. She looked at the clock. 4:30 a.m. She’d had a hard time going to sleep, worried about him and the boys. When she finally did drop off, her rest had been uneasy, with her waking several times. She grinned and rolled over to face the big bad wolf. God, it was good to see him safe. Rhett pulled the covers out from underneath him and covered him up. Glowing green eyes blinked open and she kissed his muzzle. “Did you and Clay have fun?” He nodded slightly. Running her finger through his fur she snuggled closer to him. “Did he come in with you?” Again he nodded. “Good. Did you meet up with Tate?” He dipped his head once more, then rolled to his feet. He stood over her, the covers still covering his back, and ducked down toward her face. His tongue snaked out, sliding across her cheek, then her lips. He bent and rubbed the side of his head against hers, then gave her one more wet lap across the cheek, before he lay down, his back against her front. She spooned up against him, hugging him and buried her face in his fur. She loved his pelt. Always had. It was so soft. She caressed his sides and ran her fingers all over him, enjoying the way the hairs tickled her hand. She was slightly disappointed at not having changed herself. If she were able to be with him in wolf form, she could help protect him, watch his and the kids’ backs. Not only that,

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she’d wanted to run and hunt with him since she was a teenager, but she could live with not shifting, as long as he always came home to her. She reminded herself that he’d been a wolf for a long time. Not only was he powerful enough to defend himself and their boys, he was also one heck of a smart man. It was probably for the best that she hadn’t changed; she’d be more of a hindrance to him. Rhett squeezed him tight and kissed his face. “Love you, Brent.” He licked her hand. She must have dozed for a while, because the next thing she knew there was a warm weight on top of her and the moist tip of a prick nestled against her damp folds. It was nice, comforting, familiar. She opened her eyes just as Brent’s dark head descended toward her. His green gaze held hers, as he laved and nipped her bottom lip, seeking entrance. Rhett sighed, opening for him, enjoying the kiss as his lips covered hers. He chuckled and pulled back, his mouth still touching hers. “Did you miss me?” She smiled and looped her arms around his neck, wiggling against his erection. What a great way to be woken up. “Always.” Abruptly he rolled them over, tugging her on top of him. She gasped and blinked, trying to catch her balance. Pushing herself to a sitting position, she peered down at him. He grinned, running his hands up her waist and around to cup her breast. The look on his face made her belly clench. It was obvious that Brent was totally and utterly enthralled with her body, his hands and gaze tracing her curves lovingly. His cock was hard and hot against her ass. He traced over her body, tweaked her nipples and squeezed her ass; his hands were never still. It was insane how he could make her burn, make her want. But then it had always been this way between them, their passion explosive. As teens, they’d thoroughly explored each others’ bodies, learning what the other liked. Even after all this time, they remembered. “Come here, Hellion.” He cupped her bottom, dragging her up his body. Pulling her over his face, he closed his mouth around her cunt. They both moaned. His tongue thrust up into her as his hands gripped her hips, making her move. She shivered, her clit throbbing in his mouth. She dropped her head back and went with the delicious sensations, rocking back and forth slowly. The familiar tingle started in her lower back and spread upward. She didn’t want to come this way. She pulled back and looked down. “No, I want you to fuck me.” Brent groaned. Her juices shone on his lips and chin. He slid her down his body and kissed her. She could taste herself on his lips; her pussy ached even more. There was no better aphrodisiac ... unless it was his come.

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Rhett had to have him. Now. She reached back, clasping the thick prick that was nudging her ass, and was rewarded with a grunt. “Baby, turn around.” “What?” “Turn around, face my feet.” Oh, he sounded so sexy, the way he got that husky tone to his voice. It made Rhett’s whole body positively ache with desire. What was he up to? She wanted him inside her right this second. “Now what?” “Back up and sit on my cock. Put your feet between my legs.” Her nipples tingled at his plain speech. She had no idea how this was going to work, but she was up for anything. She raised herself up and positioned his prick at her opening and sank down on him. “Ahh ...” He was so thick, it felt wonderful. He filled her up completely. Brent gripped her hips. “Now put your feet on the mattress between my legs lean forward a little bit and move.” Rhett did as he directed and swayed. “Oh, God!” Sensation shot up her spine. This position hit just the right spot inside her. She couldn’t not move. It felt too good. She gripped his knees, her nails digging in, but he didn’t seem to mind. He was panting behind her and continued to move her hips fast and furious. She could hear his gasps and feel his claws dig into her skin. The realization that she affected him to the extent that he could barely control his wolf nature was a huge turn on. She didn’t have to turn around to know that his eyes and teeth had shifted already. She ground her pussy down on him, gulping desperately for air. Who would have ever thought this position would feel this way? His cock hit the front wall of her vagina, tapping her G spot. She dropped her head back and let out a ragged moan. Within moments, her orgasm slammed into her, stiffening her spine and curling her toes, soaking them both. Seconds later, Brent stiffened beneath her, pushing upward with one last thrust. “Rhett!” She fell backward, lying on his chest with his cock still deep inside her. His arms enfolded her, hugging her close. His breathing was heavy in her ear. It tickled. She grinned. “What in the world gave you the idea to do it like that?” Brent chuckled and kissed her cheek, nuzzling for just a second. “The Internet is a wonderful thing.” Rhett made a mental note to make sure he knew the password to her computer.

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Chapter Thirteen Whimpering woke him. Before Brent even managed to get his eyes open, Rhett bolted upright in bed. He came up beside her and pulled her into his lap. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re all right, honey, I’ve got you.” “Brent?” He pulled her head into his chest and lay back down with her on top of him. “Yeah, babe, it’s me. Shh ...” She was shaking like a leaf, her breaths coming in panting sobs. Brent squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could take her pain away. He rubbed her back and arms, trying to soothe her, yet keep his own temper under control. Not only had those damned psychopaths taken her away from him, but they were still after her, even in her dreams. It didn’t surprise him one bit that she continued to have nightmares, especially since there was only so much vulnerability Rhett would allow people see. She tucked everything away inside, always had, except with him. She’d always talked to him, but without him, she’d had no one to share her fears with, until they came out the only way she’d let them. She’d probably been having bad dreams for years. “Tell me about it, Rhett. Tell me what haunts you. Maybe it will help.” She shook her head, clinging to him even harder. “It won’t.” “Yes, it will. Talk to me.” Several minutes passed in silence. Finally, she stopped trembling and relaxed in his arms. “I was trying to escape the lab and Carter caught me. He was choking me.” “Carter?” He nuzzled her ear with his face, trying to comfort her further, to encourage her to talk, while hiding his expression from her.

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“Carter was one of the scientists at the lab and a sadistic bastard. I hated him. He used to do things just to be cruel. The others, they were no better than him, but at least they did things for a reason. Awful and painful things, but they weren’t intentionally cruel, the way Carter was.” She took a deep breath. “I keep seeing all the things they did to Clayton. They cut off his hand ... and that last night, when he helped me escape -- I picture him dying, over and over again. But when I run back to help him and look into his face, it’s you.” Her voice broke on a sob. “Oh, honey ...” “I don’t want to lose you, Brent. I can’t watch them torture you like I was forced to with Clayton. I can’t let them get ahold of my, our, boys. I don’t want anyone I love to have to suffer that way.” He kissed her forehead and moved her face up to look at him. “We’ll stop them. I promise you. I will make it my life’s goal to see them all stopped.” She nodded and snuggled into him. It took a while, but finally she went back to sleep. Brent lay there in the early morning light, content to hold her but shaking with anger. He wished he could go back and erase from her mind the memory of what had happened. If it was the last thing he did, he’d get rid of TWiTs once and for all. Then maybe she’d have peace ... maybe they all would.

***** “Hmm ... you smell different.” Rhett looked up at Dash and frowned. They were in the living room of the main ranch house. “How would you know? You haven’t seen me in years. Well, except for the other day.” “Not different than yourself, different from everyone else.” He leaned forward and sniffed at her neck. She swatted at him. “Cut it out! That makes no sense whatsoever. Everyone smells different from everyone else.” “My God! I got it! You smell like maple syrup!” He chuckled. “Well, duh! I ate pancakes this mor-- Oww!” He stuck her with a needle and began drawing her blood. “Oh, hush, that didn’t hurt, you wuss! Besides it’s not my fault you decided to be all weird and shit and didn’t change. I hope you know this means more work for me. Me and Jill, that is.” She snorted. She would have smacked him, but he still had the needle in her arm. “It’s not like I chose not to change.” Dash pulled the little vial out of the Vacutainer and put another one in. “You never could do anything the way it was supposed to be done.” The second vial filled up, and he replaced it with a third.

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“Dang, Dash, are you trying to bleed me dry?” “Don’t even talk to me about being drained of blood! Every damned time I turn around, Jill is sticking me again! And it’s gotten worse since she’s been pregnant. I swear to God the woman is just trying to take revenge on me for all the blood samples she’s had to give lately. Let me tell you, expecting women are dangerous.” She could sympathize. It seemed like when she was pregnant with the twins she was always having blood drawn for yet another test. Rhett chuckled. Whenever Dash mentioned Jill, his whole face lit up. A woman that so obviously had Dash wrapped around her finger had to be something else; if Rhett hadn’t already liked Jill during their brief meeting, she would surely have liked her just from seeing Dash’s reaction to mentioning her. He pulled the last vial out, placed a square of gauze above the needle and removed the syringe from her arm, pressing the gauze to the small puncture wound. “Here, keep pressure on that while I get a Band-Aid.” “Aye, aye, Dr. Rigotti. Or is that woof, woof?” Dash chuckled. “Smart ass!” He put the bandage on her arm, then dipped his head toward her and sniffed one last time before he straightened up. “Yeah, you definitely smell like syrup.” She rolled her eyes. The man was obsessed with syrup. “So what is this about smelling like syrup?” A chuckle sounded from the doorway and Adrian strolled in. He put his nose in the air immediately and inhaled. “Yup, she smells sweet.” He grinned. “What?” She hated to be the last one to know what the joke was. They’d always done that to her. “One of you had better spill it, or I’m going to start smashing heads together.” Adrian held up his hands. “Oh, no. I’m not telling you. You really will start smashing heads if you find out. Ask Brent. Let him get smacked; it’s his fault anyway.” “Grrr.” She glared at him then turned to Dash. “Devon ...” she began. He sighed, glared at Adrian, then stepped backward, out of her reach. “Pregnant women smell sweet. Like syrup.” She blinked. What? She wasn’t pregnant. She couldn’t be. Could she? No. She’d been pregnant before, and she hadn’t felt the way she did now. A little voice in the back of her head said, “Yeah, but you wouldn’t be far enough along to notice yet.” She told the voice to shut up. “Well, I assure you, I’m not pregnant. I told you earlier: I had pancakes this morning.” Dash raised a brow and looked at Adrian. Adrian shrugged. “It’s possible, but I don’t think so.” He leaned toward her and inhaled