Nick’s brows rose in surprise. “In that case, I was obviously wrong to assume that you intended to use her and dump her like a secondhand toy, wasn’t I?”

“Yes, you were.”

“Well then, I’m thinking that it’s time you and I spent some time together, Fuller, clear up our ‘misunderstandings,’ show there are no hard feelings.” His smile was deceptively pleasant.

Roni bit hard into Marcus’s hand and tugged it away. “Wait a cocking, fucking second!”

“After all, you marked her and now you’re staking a temporary claim on her—that practically makes you one of us. Why not spend some time here, get to know us better?”

“Nick, don’t you dare!” Her brother had given a similar speech to her first real boyfriend . . . then he’d beat the shit out of him during a “friendly game of softball.” Friendly, her ass. The guy had been close to sobbing when it was over.

“Sounds good.” Marcus was kind of looking forward to whatever the Alpha had in mind. He had some anger to work off with this male who had repeatedly tried to come between him and Roni.

She gawked at Marcus. “Are you freaking kidding me?”

“Oh, come on, Roni, it’s just a bit of male bonding.” Eli was grinning from ear to ear.

She snorted. “‘Bonding’ is the last word to describe—”

Eli raised a hand. “Shh, honey, it’s time for the men to talk.”

Marcus looped an arm around Roni’s waist as she tried to launch herself across the table at Eli. “Nick’s right, sweetheart, we need to make it clear there are no hard feelings.”

“Why don’t you go with Shay to Phoenix Pack territory, Roni?” Nick’s eyes didn’t move from Marcus. “You can act as an extra bodyguard for Shay. She’s helping them get everything ready for Grace’s party tonight. I’m sure they’d love to have another set of hands.”

Roni snickered. “Leave him at your mercy?” She shot to her feet, pulling Marcus upright. “No, we’re leaving now.” But no amount of pulling on Marcus’s hand made him move.

Sighing, Marcus gently drew her to him and rubbed her nose with his. “It’s okay. You can kiss me better later.”

“But—”

Shaya appeared and guided Roni away. “Come on, let’s just leave them to it. It’s a guy thing, sweetie. Don’t even try to understand it, you’ll just hurt your head.” Jesse and Bracken, acting as bodyguards for Shaya, trailed behind the females as they left the lodge.

That was when all eyes honed in on Marcus. “So, how do you ‘bond’ around here?” In other words, what violent activity did they have in mind that would give them a chance to put him through a world of hurt?

Nick smiled. “Follow me.” He stood and left the kitchen, the other males of his pack right behind him.

Eli sidled over to Marcus as they strode after Nick. “Sure you want to do this? I don’t mean deal with us. I mean deal with Roni. She’s more of a challenge than all of us put together.”

Marcus grinned. “That she is. In which case, I have to ask, what did you do that inspired her to trap you in a headlock?”

“Put talcum powder in her hairdryer. But only because she hacked into my Twitter account again.”

“What exactly did she Tweet?”

“Word for word? ‘Anyone know what it means if you get a thick, yellowish discharge dripping from your dick? It’s sometimes crusty, if that helps.’”

Marcus burst out laughing. Damn, that female was entertaining. His female.

“So that’s something for you to consider: it’s really not us you need to worry about if you upset her. Roni always gets even.”

Roni checked her phone for about the twelfth time in the last six hours, but there was still nothing from Marcus. Something to indicate he was okay—or, at the very least, conscious—would be great. She’d tried calling others from the pack, but none of them had been of any help. As far as they were concerned, Marcus needed to prove that he not only saw her as more than a bed buddy, but also that he was worthy.

“He’ll be fine, honey,” Lydia assured her while helping Taryn pin up a huge “Happy Birthday” banner in the living area.

“You don’t know my brothers.” Roni shoved the ninth lollipop of the day into her mouth.

“We all have to run the family gauntlet. There’s really no way of getting around it.”

Taryn nodded. “Yup. Trey almost strangled my father to death once. They got past it eventually, but neither likes the other. Greta did her best to scare me off, as you know. Now she just does it for fun.”

Jaime blew up yet another balloon. “I don’t get along with any of Dante’s brothers, so I wouldn’t worry that Nick and Marcus aren’t friends. Thankfully, Gabe and Dante get along, though. Gabe and I are close, so that’s important to me.”

Shaya came to aid Roni in wrapping Grace’s gifts. “You’re surprised that Marcus stayed behind, aren’t you?”

Roni snorted. “Aren’t you?” she asked around her lollipop, but it was a rhetorical question.

“Sweetie, he walked through the door, made a beeline for you, and kissed you soundly on the mouth in front of your pack and family.”

“Really?” Taryn seemed excited.

“That kind of public display coming from a guy like Marcus, who avoids relationships like the plague, says a lot about where his head’s at.” Shaya stuck a huge bow on the gift Roni had finished wrapping.

“The question is,” began Jaime, “where’s your head at, Roni?”

When Roni didn’t answer, Shaya gave her a gentle smile. “Okay, I get that you don’t really like to confide in anyone other than Derren . . . but I have to admit, I’m totally jealous you don’t talk to me. I can be petty like that.”

Roni’s mouth twitched into a smile. She took out her lollipop. “It’s nothing personal, okay. I’m the type to work things out by myself. I talk to Derren because it’s the only way to make sure he comes to me when he needs to talk.” The guy had some seriously dark demons.

Shaya nodded in understanding. “All right. So what have you worked out?”

“I’ve worked out that Marcus annoys me.”