Cade motioned that he was going into his office to work and Lex nodded shortly before taking his call.

Lex came into the office half an hour later and threw his long frame into a chair. “That was Nick Lawrence calling about more border bullshit. I’ve sent Dave down to pick up three of our wolves who’re in jail for fighting with Pacific wolves. This dispute has gone on long enough. Someone is going to end up really hurt or dead.”

“Call the Mediator. You know it’s unavoidable.” Cade took a sip of his coffee, chuckling. The National Pack had a mediator, a man who came in to solve inter-Pack disputes. It was a pain to deal with bureaucracy like that, but Alpha wolves made for ridiculously complicated negotiations. It was better to call in an expert before wolves died.

“I know. Better we deal with this now.”

Cade nodded. “And anyway, the wolf who’s been in the shadow seat was made Mediator three years ago. I hear he’s good. Young. Forward-thinking. When you get together, take Nick aside and ask their opinion about the issue of Pellini Group’s influence on the National Governance Council.”

Lex sighed and finished his coffee. “I can’t imagine they like it any more than we do. Most of the Packs don’t like it. I say we deal with it now, before they get any more power.”

“That’s treason and I forbid you to talk like that outside of this house.” Cade’s voice was sharp. Warren Pellini and hisconnectedwolves had found an in into the National Pack governance structure. Right now Pellini had the ear of a few powerful wolves, and they were all uneasy.

“Hey, I can do my f**king job, Cade. You don’t need to forbid me like I’m some unranked wolf.” Lex pushed his chair back and stood up, eyes flashing.

“Whoa!” Nina rushed into the room and put herself between them. “Knock it off, both of you! You don’t see me and Tracy doing this sort of thing, do you?” Nina tossed an annoyed look over her shoulder at her sister-in-law, who was watching the exchange with similar annoyance and concern. “Boys, boys, put your cocks away please. If you don’t, I’m just going to break out the ruler and measure them once and for all. But let’s do this instead—shut the f**k up and stop the swaggery Who’s the Biggest Baddest Wolf crap. At least before lunch.”

She placed a hand on each of their chests and felt their pounding hearts beneath her palms. Their hearts in her hand, it meant something. The three of them were tied to each other in a really elemental way and sometimes she was the bridge between two very strong males.

The anger and challenge drained from them and she allowed herself a little sigh of relief.

“God, you’re full of shit for someone so hot.” Cade leaned in, kissed her forehead and looked around her at his brother. “I didn’t mean offense by it. I do trust you to do your job. I trust you with my life every day. This is worrying me more than I realized, I suppose.”

Lex relaxed a bit and pulled Nina to him with one hand, her back to his chest, and grabbed his brother with the other and cupped his neck. “Of course. I’m sorry I overreacted.”

Tracysnorted. Turning around, she picked up the pile of paper she’d been working on, and put it in front of Cade. “I have to go to work.” She shook her head at her sister-in-law. “Better you to have to deal with this crap than me.”

“You’re going to work dressed like that?” Cade frowned atTracy in her very short denim skirt, her legs encased in fishnet stockings. She was wearing a tight red sweater and her golden-brown hair hung in loose curls around her face and shoulders.

“No, I forgot my boots.” She reached into the hall closet and pulled out a pair of high-heeled boots that laced up the front and came to her knees.

“Holy crap! Trace, you cannot possibly go out in public dressed like that!” Lex narrowed his eyes, hands on his hips as he took his baby sister in.

“Why not? She looks amazing.” Nina kissedTracy ’s cheek and turned back to look at her husband.

“That’s the point. That skirt is too short, the sweater is too tight. The boots, they’re…they’re…”At a loss for words, Lex just gestured at her wildly.

Tracywinked at both her overbearing brothers and pulled her coat on. “They’re really gorgeous, aren’t they? I love them.” Looking back at Nina, she grinned. “Just call me or have your guy call me and I’ll bring those pots back here tonight.”

Blowing them all a kiss, she sauntered out of the room, yelled her goodbyes to everyone else and left.

* * * * *

Aside from the accounting work she did for the Pack,Tracy was lucky enough to have the refuge of her record store, Spin theBlack Circle . She had loved the place since the first moment she’d found the empty storefront two years before but it was an added bonus that her mother hated it and didn’t want to come near it.Tracy was spending a lot of time there lately and was strongly considering kicking out the tenants who lived upstairs so she could move in there and have a great reason to keep her mother away. She was also fortunate to have a manager who loved the store almost as much as she did and who ran the place with amazing efficiency and the help of a small but great staff.

After several hours at the store, she went home to get some paperwork for Cade. The house was one that she’d spent a lot of time in as a kid. Her grandparents had turned the Pack over to her father beforeTracy was born, and as a result they had a lot of free time to spend with their grandchildren.