"Blood is nice." Excitement laced his voice. "Or maybe I'll do you as I did little Mark and Aimee. Put a gun to your head and make Braden hold you down while I take your ass."

"What is with the ass thing?" She propped her hands on her hips as she feigned incredulous confusion. And no fear. "Have you heard about germs, Mac? Disease? How do you know they haven't infected you somehow? Is insanity contagious?"

His surprise was almost laughable. For a moment, he looked lost, uncertain. And her hand was so close to her gun.

Caution.

She flashed Braden a glare as she felt the command.

Caution be damned. Cooley was making her sick and it had nothing to do with the pain he was trying to cause her.

Gunfire continued to echo through the entrance to the canyon as the comm link at her ear went silent. She knew the Breeds were well aware of what was going on. She only prayed a few of them were at least getting into firing position. "We don't have long, Senator," the Coyote at his side growled out.

"They'll have reinforcements coming in soon."

Stupid mutt, why couldn't he keep his dumb mouth shut?

"Yes, unfortunately." The senator breathed in deeply. "There will be no time to teach her Breed how lowly he truly is. But take her alive and bring her with us."

Megan laughed. She forced amusement to fill her voice, mockery to shape her expression.

"Nuh-uh." She shook her head slowly. "I don't think so. You may as well go ahead and kill me, Cooley. I won't let you take me."

He smiled serenely as he turned the gun in Braden's direction.

"I'll make him hurt as he dies, Megan."

Satisfaction. For some reason, Braden was immensely satisfied to have that gun pointing away from her. Men.

She felt the soldier at her side shift position as the gunfire seemed to come closer.

Megan shifted her own stance, allowing her hands to press close behind her hips.

"He's going to hurt anyway." She shrugged, feeling Braden's amusement now, as well as the careful preparation of his body. His hands were still held loosely at his sides, but she knew how quick he could be.

Cooley turned his head back to her, his gaze piercing.

"Is he your mate?'His lips twisted in disgust. "Aimee would scream in pain as I held her down. I warned the scientists then that there was a Mating, but they wouldn't listen."

"They knew you were a nutcase too?" she questioned sarcastically.

Anger flowed from him. He wasn't calm any longer, nor was he in

complete possession of all his marbles. A few had rolled away somewhere.

"They lost sight of what they were created for," he spat out. "To kill. To be killed. They are nothing." His gun wavered on Braden. "They are animals."

"At least they can get it up without blood." She snorted. "Or is that your problem-penis envy, Mac? I bet their dicks are way bigger than yours anyway. You should feel slighted."

Fury surged through him as his hand trembled.

"Cooley, we're pulling back. The Breeds are moving in." Half a dozen soldiers poured into the area, their faces streaked with shielding paint, sweat, and blood. "Get it over with. We're out of here."

Rifles pointed toward her and Braden. She saw the flash of fear in Mac's gaze, the blood lust in Jose's.

There were boulders to her side, a deep depression to Braden's. She felt him reaching out to her, guiding her, slamming the information into her as they faced the newest threats.

"Kill the bastard_" Mac ordered.

Move.

The mental order screamed into her brain as she threw herself to the side, grabbing her gun from the small of her back and aiming for Jose as the senator swung his gun her way a second before she fired. She managed to get a shot off, straight into Jose's heart, but she was a second too slow in firing at Mac. Suddenly the night exploded with light. War whoops and Breed roars filled the canyon as Megan felt a blaze of fire erupt along her side. Shit, she was shot.

She kept rolling, throwing herself beside the boulder as she fired at the senator again, watching him take more than one hit and fall. His expression filled with amazement as he went to his knees then slowly toppled to his side.

Lance and three other tall, hard-eyed warriors materialized from the dark as the soldier who had so carefully sent her the information rose from his position and stepped forward as well. As moonlight sliced through the cavern and reflected off his gem-bright blue eyes, recognition slammed through her. He had hid his eyes earlier, which was why she hadn't known who he was.

Uncle Steven. She stared at the soldier, well, Special Forces member really. She sat still and silent as the commotion washed over her. The soldiers still alive were being cuffed quickly as the soft hum of a helijet

could be heard moving in. Lights, voices, too much movement. Family could be a bitch, she thought. How the hell had her uncle managed to infiltrate the senator's forces? Who cared how, she decided just as quickly, she was only thankful that he had.

Megan closed her eyes as everyone seemed to be screaming at once, throwing out orders, cursing Breeds, radical military dumbasses and senators in general.

All she wanted to do was sleep. She could feel the blood weeping from her side, the pain lancing through her body as shock began to set in.

"God dammit Megan, open your fucking eyes." The sound of Braden's enraged voice had her doing just that.

She grimaced as he tore the night-vision goggles from her head, tossing them aside and tearing her jacket from her body.

"You're fucking crazy," he finally said, as though just realizing that. Hell, he had been with her how long now?

Surely forever. And he was just now seeing that? Poor guy, he was just slow.

"I wouldn't mention this to Lance if I were you," she suggested as

someone hunched beside them, handing Braden a thick square of gauze that he pressed quickly to the wound at her side.

"Get a stretcher," her uncle Steven yelled out commandingly to someone. She wasn't certain who.

"Contact the clinic; we're bringing her in."

Uh-oh.

The clinic." She leaned against Braden's shoulder. "This is all going to get interesting. Especially considering the fact that Lance has probably already called the whole damned family. Stupid warpaint shit. No wonder I didn't recognize Steven. What the hell was he doing holding a gun on me?"

She felt fuzzy, but she remembered him standing there, watching. Waiting.

"What the hell was he doing here?' she asked again.

"Would you shut up? 'Braden snarled, though his hand pawed at her head roughly, She guessed it was some form of comforting gesture. Damn, he seemed kind of upset. "It didn't go in deep." She tried to look at the wound, but gave up when the growl became an animalistic snarl.

"Darnn, you're grouchy," she muttered as he rocked her. Sitting in the

damned dirt and he was rocking her. It felt kind of nice: a little odd, but nice.

"And you're shot, Superwoman," he snapped. "Act like it.'.

She frowned at that. "There's a way to act?"

He groaned. And he didn't sound pleased.

Thankfully, that thought didn't seem to bother her much. She closed her eyes, resting against his warmth. And let the darkness edging along her vision finally surround her. She was just going to nap for a minute. Just for a minute…

"Pass out on me and Lance will see it," Braden's voice suddenly cut through the fog in her veins. "He showed up with the rest of the damned males in your family, Megan. What did you say? The wound wasn't deep?

Are you wimping out on me here?"

Oh. now that wasn't fair. Her eyes snapped open as she tilted her head back defiantly.

"I'm going to kick your ass." The threat lacked heat. It actually sounded rather weak.

But Braden's smile, it lit up the night. Those sexy lips curved slowly, wickedly.

"Talk like that is just going to make my dick hard."

She lifted her hand, cupped his cheek, and smiled. God she loved him.

"Your dick stays hard."

"Just for you, Mate." He turned until those perfect lips were pressing to her palm. "Always, just for you."

Always. That sounded good enough for her.

She sighed as Lance and her uncles were suddenly converging on her. Thankfully, there was no coddling.

Steven checked the wound, his fingers probing but gentle, his gaze proud. He watched her with pride. With understanding. Seeing those emotions in his eyes helped her to hold back her instinctive rejection of his touch. The discomfort wasn't as severe as it had been, but still, it wasn't comfortable.

"Come on, bad ass." Braden moved in front of Steven when he finished, lifting her into his arms. "You're a crazy woman. Not too deep, my ass. That bullet has to come out, Megan. Looks like you get to wimp out on

me after all."

Still in? She stared up at him in horror as she felt her head whirl. Oh hell…

She never saw the shock on her mate's face as she passed out, or the surprise in her cousin's and uncle's. But it was her first bullet, she would be careful to assure them later. She deserved a little faint.

Chapter Twenty-One

SANCTUARY FOUR WEEKS LATER

Megan stared at the shafts of sunlight spearing through the windows of the cabin she and Braden had occupied during the weeks of testing they had agreed to. They had left the hospital after the surgery that removed the bullet from her side and flew straight to Sanctuary, where she had been watched over with such careful observation that it gave her the

damned willies. The doctors here were way too intense.

But it had saved her from an influx of family members.

They had visited a few times, but her father and grandfather seemed to understand that her dreams were finally materializing. Lance was less than happy. For some reason, the thought of working with the unknown female deputy Washington promised to send him wasn't sitting well with him.

Her uncles, Steven, Nash and Blake, had returned to their tribal lands after the completion of a mission they had begun with their resignation several years before. Cooley's name had been associated with the Genetics Council due to the sensitive files recovered from one of the larger genetics Labs. How they had managed to fool the senator, she wasn't certain. She had been a little groggy when that one had been explained. Something about alternate identities and facial reconstruction. No wonder it had taken so long for her to recognize Steven.

None of them were overly pleased with her. She snickered at the thought. They hadn't wanted her in the thick of the fight, and they sure weren't pleased with the little they had learned of the Mating between her and Braden.

Mating Heat. She snorted at the phenomenon as well as the surprising information she had learned. It wasn't a comfortable feeling, knowing

that something as basic as her DNA had been altered in any way, even as minutely as the Mating hormone had altered hers.

She wasn't a Breed, but she might as well be.

Longer life. She had groaned at that piece of knowledge. Higher immunity and advanced healing she could deal with. She liked that part, actually. The rest was going to take some getting used to.

And then, there was Braden. A small smile tipped her lips as she stood by the bed, watching him sleep. His long golden hair framed the savage features of his face, giving them a stronger, more primal air. The streaks of dark brown, russet and black that threaded through the thick golden brown strands tempted her fingers to sift through the mass to watch the parade of color as it drifted through them.

"Wake up, sleepy head." She leaned close to nip at his lips, only to squeal in surprise as his hands caught her waist. Before she could counter his move, he had her flat on her back beneath him.

"You are dressed." He growled as he stared at her from narrowed, dark gold eyes, his firm lips curving into a smile as his hands pushed beneath the snug black top she wore.