“I said he could probably stil wear you down, but he’s lazy at heart. He’d rather have a girl who doesn’t make too much work for him. Me, on the other hand, I like a bit of kick to my queso, if you know what I mean.”

I knew what he meant, and I knew it was a lie. If he really liked a challenge, he’d be headed toward my cage instead of Abby’s. But like I’d said, he just wasn’t Alpha material. Apparently Miguel wasn’t either.

Eric cupped the lock to Abby’s cage in his hand. I growled again, and again he glanced at me. “Sure, you can watch.”

You chickenshit son of a bitch! Of course, since I was a cat, it came out as a roar, and a damn good one at that.

“What?” Eric asked, his exasperated tone contrived. He was up to something.

“Don’t watch if you don’t want to. Lie there with your paws over your ears, for al the good it does. But as long as you have claws and a tail, there’s no way you can stop me.”

What? My ears perked up—literal y. Was he saying that if I Shifted back I could stop him? I cocked my head to the side. What do you mean?

“Did you think I was heartless?” he asked, clearly uninterested in an honest answer. “I know you’re a good big cousin and would like to spare Abby any more pain. And I’m wil ing to do my part. But not unless you Shift back.”

I tilted my head to the other side. Go on.

“A simple trade. You, for her. But I’m not into bestiality, for obvious reasons.

Those claws look pretty sharp.”

Yawning, I showed him my teeth were sharp, too.

“Yeah, and those canines could do some real damage. They’l have to go if you want to make a deal with me.”

There has to be some way to negotiate without using words, I thought. I wasn’t wil ing to Shift back until I knew exactly what he had in mind, other than the obvious. After my Shift, I’d be naked and vulnerable, which was no big deal when surrounded by my own Pride members. But with Eric as my only company, it was nothing less than suicidal.

“I tel you what,” he said, tapping his watch pointedly. “I’l give you one minute to decide. You Shift back and agree to play nice, and I’l leave Abby alone. For now.

Or, you can sit with your tail curled around your haunches and listen to how wel your cousin likes it. She’s a screamer, you know.”

Abby refused to look at me. She was clearly terrified, now sitting in her favorite corner with her knees pul ed up to her chest. But she wouldn’t ask me to do it. She wouldn’t wish what she’d been through on anyone else. She was just a kid and already so strong—but she shouldn’t have to be.

“Thirty seconds,” Eric said, barely hiding a smile as he bounced the key in his palm.

What the hell is he up to? Miguel had said Eric couldn’t touch me. Could that have changed? Or was Eric taking advantage of the boss’s absence? Maybe Miguel gave Eric a chance to try to break me, before giving up on me entirely. That certainly sounded like something Miguel would do, and for him it was a win-win situation. He could send Eric in to wear me down so I’d be too tired to resist when he got back. Even if Eric lost, I’d be exhausted from having fought him off. Plus, if Eric got hurt, Miguel’s injuries wouldn’t be so humiliating by comparison.

But then the scariest possibility of al snaked its way into my brain. What if this was my fault and had nothing to do with Miguel? What if chal enging Eric’s masculinity and embarrassing him in front of the others had made him want to prove himself?

Shit. With a mouth like mine, who needs mortal enemies?

“Seven, six, five…” Eric counted, eyeing his watch.

I growled at him one last time. I’ll kill you if I get the chance. If he understood, I saw no sign. He smiled in ignorance, convinced he’d won. For once, he was right. I couldn’t sit there and listen while he raped my cousin. Again.

“Do we have a deal?”

Just for a moment, I hesitated, my heart pounding as I looked at Abby. She stil wouldn’t meet my eyes, so I nodded. It wouldn’t be as bad for me as it was for her. Hopeful y.

Eric smiled, and my stomach churned. “Good. You’re a wonderful cousin. Now Shift back.” He glanced at Abby over his shoulder. “I hope you appreciate what your cousin’s doing for you,” he said.

That was al she could take. “Don’t do it, Faythe,” she whispered. “You don’t have to do this.”

But I did have to. I’d already given my word, in a manner of speaking.

Anyway, he’d have to open the door to get in, which was what I’d wanted in the first place. And when opportunity knocks…

Eric came closer to my cage, stil standing wel out of my reach. “Get on with it, before I change my mind.”

I wanted privacy for my Shift but knew he wouldn’t oblige me, even if I had a way to ask. So I Shifted on the rough concrete floor while he watched, ogling each phase as it came.

At the end of the first phase, Eric came close enough to wrap his hands around the bars. He knew he was safe. If I could have lunged for him, I would have, but I could no more pounce during a Shift than I could sprout butterfly wings and fly away.

I considered reversing the process, hoping he wouldn’t realize what I’d done until it was too late. In the end, I didn’t do it because I knew it wouldn’t work. And because once I’d tried and failed to kil him, he’d go after Abby, just to punish me.

My best shot would come once he’d locked himself in with me.