“No!”

Ellie cleared her throat. “What is going on?” She looked to Justice for the answer.

“You aren’t leaving with them,” Fury ordered harshly as he glanced over his shoulder at her. “They won’t allow me come with them to protect you and I won’t let them to take you from me.” His dark gaze tore from hers and he glared at the men inside the living room. Fury took another step back, forcing Ellie into a corner with his body in front of hers.

Ellie’s heart raced from adrenaline. She realized Fury protected her by sealing her into a corner to prevent anyone from reaching her without going through him first. She rubbed his back with her hands, trying to silently calm him. She had to wiggle to see around Fury and her attention returned to Justice.

“Who wants to see me and why? What is going on?”

Justice flashed sharp teeth as his upper lip curled with disgust and then his shoulders straightened. He took a deep breath as he met Ellie’s questioning stare. “Some of your people think Fury is forcing you to stay here like some kind of…” He shrugged. “They are afraid he is raping and beating you, and whatever else they can think up that would be monstrous.”

“That’s not true.” Ellie huffed in outrage. “Who is saying that bullshit?”

Justice growled. “Your boss made those charges. Director Boris has everyone in an uproar over your supposed mistreatment.”

“Hey, he’s not my boss anymore. God, he’s an ass**le.” Ellie stopped rubbing Fury’s back. She kept her body against his though and she curled a hand around his waist loosely. “Fury, it’s all right. No one is going to hurt me.”

“They aren’t taking you away from me,” Fury snarled. He backed up more, pushing Ellie into the corner tighter.

“She has to come with us,” Justice growled. “Look at how you are acting. What is wrong with you? She’s not a chew toy, Fury. You’re behaving the way they are accusing us of being. Calm down.”

“No one is going to hurt my Ellie.”

Justice’s eyebrows rose as surprise transformed his features. “Your Ellie? You’re breeding with her, aren’t you?” His voice softened. “You won’t let us get close enough to her to smell her. Is that why?”

“She’s mine,” Fury snarled.

Justice’s normally tan skin tone paled slightly. His gaze swung to Ellie. “Did he force you? Are you all right?”

Ellie flinched over the memory of Justice discovering her tied to Fury’s bed. “I’m great except for being crammed into a corner. Fury, you’re crushing me. Could you please stop pushing back? This isn’t a good way for you to pin me against a wall.” She relaxed when he gave her a few inches of breathing room. She locked her gaze with Justice’s surprised ones. “Fury hasn’t forced me to do anything—he never has. We’re great. We’re fine.”

“He didn’t just breed you. He mated you.” It was a grim-sounding statement Justice made.

Ellie hesitated. “We’re sleeping together if that’s what you mean. Yes. We’re great. Everything is fine and I want to be here. Fury wouldn’t hurt me. You know him so you should know that.”

Justice’s eyes narrowed. “What about last time? What he did wasn’t rational.”

A blush warmed Ellie’s cheeks. “We were working things out. He didn’t mean to hurt me. He accidentally scratched me with his teeth.”

Eyebrows rose. “How does one accidentally kidnap a woman from a park and tie her na**d to a bed?”

“That part wasn’t an accident but you know that. I told you why he took me from the park.”

Fury stiffened against her and turned his head to stare at her with shock. She glanced at him, inwardly winced, and returned her full attention to Justice. She had a sinking feeling she and Fury were going to have a tense conversation in the very near future.

Ellie refused to acknowledge the two NSO officers. She wished a hole would open up under her. She didn’t want to discuss this but she knew Justice was concerned for her safety. He’d brought men with him who looked ready to possibly hurt Fury to get her away from him.

“You know we had some issues. He might have gotten me into his bed without my agreement but once there, it turned consensual. I told you he didn’t rape me and I wasn’t being dishonest or covering for him, damn it. He asked my permission before he entered me.”

Justice watched her closely, studying her for a long moment. He finally nodded. “I see. You were seduced until you couldn’t refuse him.”

She took a deep breath. “I’ve always been very attracted to Fury. He didn’t have to try real hard. Can we please drop this now? I’m here with Fury because I really want to be.”

Justice turned to the two NSO officers. “Go outside and guard the door.”

The two men closed the door behind them as they left. Justice ran his fingers through his hair and let his hands drop to his sides. A thumb hooked inside the front pocket of his jeans. He focused on Fury.

Fury hated to feel fear but he experienced it now. He knew he alarmed Justice with his gruff behavior and possessiveness of Ellie. Panic still coursed through him that somehow the humans would whisk her away from Homeland, out of his reach. He didn’t trust Director Boris. The human had beady eyes and failed to hide his dislike for New Species.

Some of the human employees weren’t happy over Ellie living with him and they resented a human being with his kind. Ellie had become his, making her a New Species, and humans had no claim on her anymore in his opinion. It was that simple. If he were allowed to go with her to see Director Boris, he’d feel more secure that nothing would happen but they refused to allow him to be present. That triggered every alarm inside him.