“You could team up with Marcus.” At Taryn’s suggestion, everyone looked at her curiously.

Roni had to have misheard her. “What’s that now?”

Taryn shrugged casually . . . a little too casually. “You’ll do better working alongside someone who’s of equal status. Anyone with a higher position will rub you the wrong way. You won’t have that problem with Marcus.” She shot a meaningful glance at the male hand resting possessively on Roni’s shoulder—a move that her wolf hadn’t bristled at, which spoke volumes about her comfort level around him.

“She’s not working with the man-slut,” spat Nick.

“Personally, I think it’s a good idea.” Shaya wasn’t affected by Nick’s glower. “If she has a partner who matches her well, you won’t have to worry that she’ll wander off. Marcus won’t smother her, but he won’t let her walk all over him either.”

“Roni isn’t going!” Nick growled warningly when Roni opened her mouth to argue. “No. As your Alpha, the decision is ultimately mine.”

Not liking Nick’s high-handedness, Marcus decided it was well past time he intervened. He could respect that Nick was Roni’s Alpha and that it was only natural that he would want to protect his sister, but stifling someone as dominant as Roni would be a huge mistake. “You must understand why he’s asking you to stay behind, Roni.”

She rounded on Marcus. “Who the fuck asked for your opinion?”

“I’m just saying, his decision makes sense.”

She might have clawed his face off, but then she saw the calculating glint in his eyes. Deciding to play along, she asked, “How did you reach that messed-up conclusion?”

“He’s taking Derren and Eli with him—his Beta and his Head Enforcer. That will mean the three most dominant males in the pack are concentrating on something other than Shaya’s well-being.” Marcus let that sink in for a minute and watched in satisfaction as Nick frowned thoughtfully. If anything would have the Alpha rethinking his decision, it was the idea of how that decision would affect his pregnant mate.

“Although you didn’t follow his order today and things sort of went tits-up,” continued Marcus, “I’m guessing you’ll be sure not to do it again.” Nick’s frown deepened, and Marcus knew the guy was considering how she did “Roni’s thing” and would in fact disobey his orders if she felt it was in Shaya’s best interests. “You should be flattered he’s placed that trust in you.”

Roni liked how this wolf’s mind worked. She stifled a smile as she watched an array of emotions flash across Nick’s face. He was clearly struggling with this.

Finally Nick released a heavy breath. “All right, Roni, you can come. I’ll have Eli stay behind. Maybe you and Marcus would make a good team, considering he can be just as cunning as you.”

Trey gave him a mockingly sympathetic look. “You might be an Alpha, but your family will always find a way to play you.”

Nick just scowled at him. “I’m glad you find this amusing, Sailor Joe.”

It seemed to take a few seconds for the words to sink in, but when they did, Trey spun to snarl at Taryn, “You told him?”

She laughed awkwardly. “Of course I didn’t tell him.” In a low voice, she added, “I told Shaya.”

While everyone else was doing their best to hide their amusement, Dante was outright laughing his ass off. “A sailor, huh? Didn’t think that role-play was your thing.”

Trey glowered at him. “Something funny, Fireman Sam?”

The laughing abruptly stopped, and Dante rounded on his mate. “You told him?”

Jaime spluttered. “No!” She cleared her throat. “Although I did tell Taryn. And Shaya. And Roni. But I didn’t tell them about the time you—” A large hand clapped over her mouth.

“About the time you . . . ?” prodded Nick, grinning.

Wincing as Jaime bit into his palm, Dante shook his head. “Nothing.”

Shaya snorted at Nick. “You’re not really one to judge, considering you—” Her words were cut off as he kissed her hard.

Squirming under Trey’s glower, Taryn obviously felt it was time to change the subject because she turned to Nick, Roni, and Derren. “Good to have you along for the ride. We’ll expect to see you all here tomorrow, bright and early.”

CHAPTER THREE

Bright and early the next day, Roni strolled into her pack’s main lodge to have breakfast. The huge hunting lodge had been revamped to Nick’s specifications and was absolutely amazing: the luxurious furniture and the spacious open-plan living area, dining room, and kitchen were all done in a rustic tone. Each of the lodges scattered around their territory was similar but on a much smaller scale. Roni loved her lodge, loved the homey feel to it, and loved that it was the most isolated of all the lodges on the land.

What she didn’t love was that her maternal aunt was seated at the long table. Petite with caramel-blonde hair and devious eyes, Janice refused to age gracefully and insisted on short skirts, high heels, heaps of makeup, and thin vests that broadcasted her cleavage . . . as if dressing up like a twenty-year-old fought the aging process or something. Hey, that was fine—to each their own. What wasn’t fine was that Janice liked to demean others to make herself feel better, and Roni was her favorite target.

“Good morning, Roni,” said her aunt with forced affection.

Roni’s greeting was just as falsely sweet. “Hope you slept well, Janice.”

Kathy placed a plate piled with pancakes on the table, which her brother Eli practically attacked. “Roni, eat. You need to build up your strength.” Kathy talked as if Roni was an undernourished eight-year-old. They had one of those mother-daughter relationships where they loved each other but got along better when they had plenty of space between them. Like oceans, for example.

Roni took a seat between Derren and Eli and loaded her plate with food. Nick’s dog, Bruce, appeared at her side, panting and licking his muzzle. As Roni did every morning, she threw him a slice of bacon.

“When are you going to play a proper role within the pack, Roni? It’s not usual for females to have the position of enforcer.” Janice didn’t hide her disapproval.

“It’s more common than you’d think.” Shaya shot Roni a supportive smile. “And Roni’s excellent at her job.”