“Aw, that’s no fun,” Dougal said. He lost his smile and walked away.

Graham watched him go, the bike throbbing impatiently under him. “Damned cub. How did you do it, Eric? Raise a cub to adulthood without killing him? Or him killing you?”

Eric shrugged, his lazy look in place. “Jace is a different person. And my son, not my nephew. He’s . . . Jace.”

“Yeah, well.” Graham glided the bike forward and lifted his feet. He rode off without a good-bye, but when he checked his rearview, Eric had disappeared.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Misty took the turn out of Shiftertown onto the quiet street that led to it. Not many people were out this late in the hot afternoon. The people who lived in or commuted to Las Vegas rarely came to this back corner of it.

A large pickup pulled abruptly in front of her, blocking her way. Misty slammed on the brakes. At the same time, another truck pulled up beside her on the passenger side. A man got out, opened her car door, and slid inside. He closed the door, the truck ahead of her moved, and he pointed.

“Drive that way.”

The man in her car was Eric Warden. Misty stared at him, making no move to obey. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Asking you to go that way.” Eric pointed down a side street.

Misty gripped the wheel. “This is kidnapping.”

“No it isn’t,” Eric said. “It’s having a chat. Now will you start driving?”

The two trucks roared off. Misty caught only a glimpse of who was in them, but she thought she recognized the bear Shifter Shane driving one, his brother Brody the other.

Misty pushed the accelerator and moved the car down the street Eric had indicated. “All right. You’ve kidnapped me. For a chat. What do you want?”

“Accept Graham’s mate-claim.”

Misty slammed on the brakes again. Eric braced himself on the dashboard, then grabbed the seat belt. “If you’re going to drive like that, I’ll buckle up.”

“Did Graham send you?” Misty demanded.

“Graham tried to stop me. I sent him off to take care of his Fae problem.”

“Good.” Misty started driving again, slowly. “Why do you want me to accept Graham’s mate-claim? I think it would be a bad thing for Graham if I do.”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to fight for acceptance, and he’ll have to kick a few asses before everyone calms down. But I’ve watched Graham now for almost a year. Trust me, I keep a close eye on him. When Graham’s around you, he’s at ease with himself. He’s a loud, arrogant, obnoxious shit—always has been, and will always be—but with you, he seems to find peace. A reason for living . . . besides his determination to be the biggest dickhead in the room.”

“He’s not a dickhead,” Misty said hotly. “If he wasn’t like he is, he’d have lost everybody in his life, more than he already has. He doesn’t say that out loud, but I know it. Dougal would have been killed in the wild a long time ago—I understand that now—and the Shifters in his Shiftertown wouldn’t have survived. Graham fought to keep them all alive.”

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t know,” Eric said. “He kept those Shifters together up in Elko, when all of them could have easily gone feral. One hell of a task. I commend him for it.”

“And so you want me to cause more trouble by staying with him?”

Eric leaned back in the seat and rested his arm along the window. “They’ll come around. Shifters are all about what’s for the good of the pack, or clan, or whatever community they’re in. Might not seem like it most of the time, but they are. The only reason Shiftertowns work is that we’ve dedicated ourselves to making them work. We want survival, and we want our cubs to grow up safe and happy. We took the Collars, instead of letting ourselves get wiped out, for the sake of the cubs. Graham’s Shifters will understand, in time, that Graham having you is the best thing that can happen for them. All the crap about hierarchy and Shifters breeding with Shifters for strength is bullshit.”

“I see.” Misty drove in silence for a time. She turned onto a main street, heading for her store. “You know, you’ve never once asked me what I wanted.”

Eric made a lazy gesture with the hand along the window. “I don’t have to. You want to mate with Graham.”

Misty shot him a look. “Excuse me?”

“I’ve been watching you too.” Eric leaned even farther back in the seat and rested one motorcycle-booted foot on the dashboard. “You’re a sweet young woman, and when you’re around Graham, you’re happier, stronger. More self-assured. And I see the way you look at him. Trust me, no one else in Shiftertown looks at Graham as though they want him to stay exactly the way he is.”

“Really? That’s kind of sad.”

“It means he needs you, and you need him. End of problem.”

Misty turned down another street, navigating heavier traffic. “Was it that simple when you were going after Iona?” She sent him a sweet smile. “Graham told me you looked like you’d been hit with an anvil.”

Eric didn’t take offense. “True, I denied my need to be with Iona for a long time. I’d been grieving my mate for so many years I didn’t know how to fall in love again. Iona taught me. Besides I had to save Iona from . . . other Shifters who considered her fair game.”

Misty’s smile widened. “Don’t worry, I know Graham tried to Challenge you for her, so you don’t have to spare my feelings. For a man who doesn’t like to talk about personal things, Graham has told me a lot. I met him the night you two fought, and you lost.”

“I didn’t lose,” Eric said indignantly. “I was incapacitated by something else. It was a draw.”

“Graham tried to claim it was a draw too. But you both lost, didn’t you?”

Eric sat up. “Hey, this is supposed to be your kidnapping. Me telling you what you should do.”

“I’ll think about it. Meanwhile, I need to return this car and make sure the rest of my life is all right. Including my brother.”

“Paul’s a good kid. He’ll be fine.”

“You have a lot of optimism, Eric.”

“I’ve been around a while,” Eric said. “It’s experience, not optimism.”