His bike pulled up beside Zach’s as they cruised down the street. Miki watched Sara, her friend finally in her element. Arms wrapped around Zach, she yelled something to him over the roar of the motor that made him smile… Well, it was actually more of a leer. The two seemed to truly enjoy each other’s company.

Miki sighed with the sudden realization that she envied her best friend.

“You okay back there?”

Again with the wolf hearing. How did any of them feel comfortable doing anything in that house when they could hear everything?

“Mik?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine.”

“Liar.” He kept one hand on the handlebars while he used the other to rub her arm. “What’s up?”

“Just got a lot on my mind.”

“You need to learn how to relax. You know, I’m pretty sure I can help with that.”

She just bet he could. “No thank you.”

“Really? You sure?”

Miki crossed her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. The man really was shameless. “You really don’t need to do anything for me. Ever.”

“Spoilsport.”

Chapter Five

Miki didn’t know a shapeshifter could be so boring. The man just rambled on and on. About himself. Even his name bored her. Bob. She silently began to call him Bob the King of Boring. She let him ramble as she looked around the club.

True, it wasn’t much. But that was because wolves didn’t need much. A dark, moody room with a big bar, room to dance, and some alcoves where they could make out with the fellow shapeshifter of their choice. This was neutral ground. A place they could all get together, dance, and have a great time without getting territorial.

Of course, this wasn’t the entire club, merely the wolf part. One flight down was one of the hottest clubs in Northern California. A place where the rich and famous met up with the vapid and thin. She’d read about Sara’s club in one of the magazines at the bookstore. The place wasn’t only hot, it made money hand over fist, starting new trends. All that shit.

And Miki had finally come to the realization she still had a hard time dealing with.

Sara was fucking rich. Not a little rich. Not sort of rich. Fucking rich.

According to Kelly, her new little Pack confidant, Sara not only had Pack money access, she had money left to her by her parents. Her grandmother refused to touch it, forcing her granddaughter instead to work for every little thing she ever got. Although, Miki was kind of glad about that. She could imagine a rich, snotty shapeshifter Sara. Miki probably wouldn’t be friends with that Sara. But cool, still wearing her Jockey For Her underwear Sara was definitely her friend. Her best friend. Just like Angelina.

It was apparently this Sara who had become quite the truce maker, too,pulling together Packs that at one time couldn’t stand each other.

Miki’s eyes searched the dance floor until she found her. She still couldn’t believe six months ago this was the girl who could barely walk, was in constant pain, and lonely beyond belief. As much as Miki envied her now, she felt overwhelming happiness for her, too. Miki watched as Sara, her favorite black cowboy hat in place, moved her body against Zach’s. She had grace and precision and, not surprisingly, Zach couldn’t keep his hands off her.

It suddenly occurred to Miki that Bob was still rambling. The tragedy with her brain was that she could still listen to him even when she was thinking about twenty different other things. Her grade school teachers called it a gift. Gift her ass, if she had to listen to Bob talk about how great he was all night. Thank God he wasn’t part of Sara’s Pack.

Of course, that fact didn’t seem to stop Bob from moving in on her. He’d gotten closer and she didn’t like it one bit. She felt naked with only her steel-toe Docs. Because she had to take a plane into Northern California, she had to leave all her precious weapons back home. Miki had learned a long time ago a woman her size definitely needed an advantage.

She glanced around for a beer bottle to smash and then use on Bob should it become necessary, but then Conall suddenly stalked out of the crowd. He grabbed Bob by the back of the neck and slammed his head down on the bar, then lifted him up and tossed him, sending the man flying across the floor and hitting the opposite wall.

Conall grinned as he sat his big body down on the stool next to her. The one he’d just forced poor Bob to leave. “So, you having a good time?”

Apparently, they wouldn’t be discussing Conall’s way of getting a man to back off. She wondered briefly if he’d done that because Bob was making her uncomfortable or because Bob was making him uncomfortable being so close to her. She hated herself for hoping it was both.

“Yeah. Downstairs sucks, but this place is great.”

“This is for family only.” And she knew he saw all wolves as his family. For some unknown reason she liked that.

“You want something to drink?”

“Water.” Miki watched as he leaned over and spoke to the bartender. Man, was his body long. Long and big. He’d taken off his jacket and stowed it along with hers behind the bar. He wasn’t dark like Zach. But at the same time he wasn’t pale. He wore a black sleeveless T-shirt and she marveled at the size of his shoulders and arms. She focused on the thin black bracelet he wore on his wrist. It looked like something a kid made. A couple of pieces of wool braided together. Yet, it had to be the sexiest thing she’d ever seen in her life. She couldn’t explain it. It just was.