Marcus winced. “I didn’t at first.”

“No one who will rip strips of flesh from my son’s back is welcome here!” declared Kathy.

“Your son had every chance to stop antagonizing Jesse,” began Harley, “but he kept at it—even when Jesse tried to walk away. He was trying to pick a fight. You should thank me, really. If I hadn’t gotten involved, they probably would have fought.”

“Thank you? I should thank you?”

“You don’t have to actually say the words. A box of chocolates will do just fine.”

Everyone froze as Nick, Derren, and Ally walked out of the trees. Taking in the situation, the Alpha scowled. “What the hell is going on here? I got a call from Zander telling me a bunch of you were storming through the forest like you were on some kind of crusade.”

Kathy turned to her oldest son. “You saw what she did to Eli!”

“Yes, I did.” Nick’s jaw tightened. “And I told you to let it alone. Just like I told Roni that Eli wasn’t a victim of a feral attack. He’s working through some personal shit right now and it’s clouding his decisions. This is not helping. Roni, you know better than to let Mom get you all riled up.”

Kathy gasped. “Nick!” He just ignored her.

Fed up with this shit, Jesse announced, “We’re done here.” He took a step back, placing himself at Harley’s side. “I had a great deal of respect for you, Kathy, but you lost a lot of that today.”

The fire in Kathy’s eyes dimmed. She swallowed. “I’m just defending my son.”

Harley shook her head, incredulous. “Eli used Jesse as both a physical and emotional punching bag. If you can defend that, if you’re willing to defend that, you don’t deserve the trust Jesse has in you.” Spinning on her heel, Harley marched inside.

Jesse sighed at the crowd. “Eli implied that having Harley here would make me pull away from the pack. Ironic that if I pull away to any extent, it will be because of what you guys did today. Not because of her.” Before anyone could say another word, he returned to the lodge, slamming the door behind him.

He tracked Harley to the kitchen, where she was staring out the window. He slowly curled his arms around her and kissed her nape. “I’m sorry about that, sweetheart.” She hadn’t deserved any of that.

“Not your fault.”

“I want you to feel safe here.” He wanted her to find peace in this place. That was hardly going to happen when she had his pack mates confronting her. He kissed her neck again. “I won’t try to defend what Roni did tonight. I will say that she’s a good person. She’s very protective of her baby brother. Her mother . . . well, she knows what buttons to push.”

“I know. I’m not mad at Roni,” said Harley truthfully. “I know how manipulative some people can be.”

“You’re talking about Clive.”

“Yep.” Her father had a whole species eating out of his hand because he knew how to play others so well. “I won’t say Kathy is quite as talented as he is at it, but she’s good.”

Gently turning Harley to face him, Jesse began to massage her shoulders. “I knew Kathy would have problems with you being here. I didn’t expect her to pit you and Roni against each other. I don’t think anyone would have expected that.”

“Maybe Nat and Kim riled up Kathy, who then riled up the others.”

“Whatever the case, Shaya’s going to freak.” His Alpha female liked Harley and didn’t tolerate shit like that. He continued his massage, but the tension didn’t leave her. And he quickly sensed . . . “Your cat’s pissed.”

“Very.” The cat had a wicked temper and was raking Harley with her claws, wanting out.

“How do you usually calm her down?”

“Give her freedom for a few hours. But if I did that now, we both know what she’d do with that freedom.”

Hunt down the wolves who had challenged her. “Let her out.”

“Look, I know you’re pissed at Kathy and might find some satisfaction in seeing her mauled—”

“I never meant give her the freedom to go hunting. I meant, let her out, trust me to calm and soothe her.”

Harley grimaced. “I’m not sure that will work.”

“My wolf would calm for you.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “Trust me. Shift. I’ll calm her.”

“It takes her hours to truly simmer down, and you have to go back to work.”

He shook his head. “I’m done for the day. I’m not leaving you.”

“You think there’ll be more trouble?”

“No.”

“But your protective instincts are doing a frenzied dance after that little confrontation, so you don’t want me out of your sight,” she guessed.

He kissed her. “I never want you out of my sight. Now, come on, let her out.”

Dubious, Harley nonetheless stripped naked and placed her folded-up clothes on a dining chair. “Good luck.” Then she gave her cat the freedom it craved.

Jesse crouched down so as not to seem so intimidating to the angry margay. “Hey, pretty kitty.” She spat at him, repeatedly smacking the floor with her tail. “I know, I know. But you can’t go hunting.” Risking his eyeballs, Jesse scooped her up and held her against his chest. She squirmed and let out a low guttural growl; sharp claws pricked him, but she didn’t draw blood. He took that as a good sign.