Less than an hour later, Erin twisted her damp hair up into a clip before pulling on a pair of cargo pants and a long-sleeved sweater. Out of habit she strapped her two blades onto her belt. Even though the ranch was fairly well protected at the moment, she would never allow herself to be vulnerable again.

As a member of the warrior class, shifters born to protect others in their race, she didn’t care that she was simply going to go play a game of poker with some of her packmates. Her weapons went where she went.

Stepping out into the hallway, she was nearly bowled over by Vivian, the ten-year-old jaguar cub Connor and Ana had adopted, and Lucas, the only other cub on the ranch, though he was a lupine shifter. Dodging to the side, she was careful to keep her weapons away from them. Hurting these little cubs, even inadvertently, would slay her.

“Hey, Erin.” The dark-haired she-cat jerked to a halt in front of her. “I think Ana and Noel are making popcorn and watching a movie tonight. Are you staying in too?”

“No.” Lucas answered before Erin could, the blond ten-year-old boy’s voice full of authority. “It’s game night at the guys’ cabin.”

Vivian looked back at her, eyebrows raised. “Why would you want to hang out with all those males?”

“Because she’s not a girly-girl like you.” Lucas tugged on one of Vivian’s pigtails, then raced away.

“Hey!” Vivian whipped around, her two long braids flying as she chased after him.

Their footsteps thumped loudly down the stairs and were soon followed by the front door slamming shut. Erin cringed at the sound. She knew Ana hated it when they did that. Almost like clockwork, Ana walked into the foyer carrying a bottle of wine as Erin was descending the stairs.

Her dark eyes turned Erin’s way. “Was that the cubs?”

Erin shrugged, unwilling to give them up. “I’m just heading out.”

Those eyes narrowed slightly, but the corners of Ana’s mouth curved up. “Nice evasive way of answering, just like my mate.”

Erin shrugged again, but didn’t bother hiding her smile. Ana was the perfect mate for an Alpha. Sharp and deadly if she needed to be, but protective and motherly at the same time. Connor had done well by mating with her. Considering that he’d saved Erin’s life over a year ago, she was glad the Alpha had found happiness.

“You know you’re always more than welcome to join us.” Ana motioned with her hand toward the living room, where Erin scented Noel, Ana’s sister, already waiting.

“I know and I appreciate it.” She genuinely liked the other females, but she preferred hanging out with the males. Carmen, Ana’s younger sister, had been killed a couple of months ago, and her death had been a stinging reminder that Erin couldn’t afford to develop female relationships. Dark-haired Carmen had been so full of life and energy, exactly the kind of friend Erin had needed when they’d moved to the ranch. She’d told Carmen things she hadn’t told another soul. Like what had happened to her before Connor’s pack had saved her from that disgusting alley she’d been dumped in and left for dead. Then Carmen had been taken from this world. Erin’s throat squeezed tight as the emotion bubbled up inside her. “I just need to blow off some steam with the guys.”

“See ya later then.” Ana shrugged and continued toward the living room. Female laughter drifted out, but Erin ignored it as she opened the front door.

The moment she stepped off the front porch into the cool night air, she scented him before she felt his presence or even saw him. The annoying male was like a freaking ghost. With that inky black hair and his equally dark eyes, Noah Campbell practically blended in with the shadows when he wanted to, even in human form.

Ignoring his presence—wherever that was—she strode across the yard toward the cabin where most of the males lived together. And just like that, the tall, intimidating shifter fell in line with her.

“Playing poker tonight?” Noah’s voice was like pure liquid sin. That soft Southern drawl belied the deadliness she’d seen him display more than once.

“Yep.” She kept her eyes straight ahead, unwilling to give in to her desire to look at him. He was her one weakness and she’d sworn never to allow a male to get past her defenses again.

“Why don’t you come to dinner with me instead?” It felt as if he purred the question directly in her ear even though he wasn’t remotely close enough.

A shiver feathered over her body like a thousand kisses, making her skin tingle and her heart beat just a little bit faster. Somehow she said, “No.”

Now he growled at her, grabbed one of her arms, and pinned her against the closest tree with his body. The hold wasn’t hard and she knew he didn’t intend to physically harm her, but her inner wolf reacted nonetheless. Before she could stop herself she’d drawn one of her blades and had it pressed against his inner thigh, right over his femoral artery. She could slice through it in one swipe, incapacitating him. Shifter blood clotted at incredible speed, so it wouldn’t kill him, but if he’d been a true enemy, it would slow him down enough that she could try to mete out a killing blow or run from him.

Right now that second option looked pretty good. The coward in her wanted to run from the sensual feelings he stirred inside her. Reining in her frustration at her instinctive action against a friend, she quickly withdrew and sheathed her weapon.

He still didn’t move. Just narrowed his dark eyes at her, as if he wanted to see her innermost thoughts. “You afraid to have dinner with me?”

She knew he was baiting her, but she didn’t care. Hell, yeah, she was afraid. Afraid to be alone with him because she couldn’t think straight around him. Afraid that once he got her alone he would see how truly fucked up she was and realize he could do so much better than her. Why he hadn’t figured that out by now was beyond her. Falling for a shifter like Noah was the absolute dumbest thing she could ever do. Once he realized she wasn’t what he needed, he would move on to a sweet little beta.

Being the good guy that he was, he would try to let her down easy. God, in her head she could actually hear how the damn conversation would play out. Since he was nearly a foot taller than she was, she was forced to look up to meet his steely gaze. “I’m not afraid, just not interested. Why can’t you get that through your thick skull?”

“Not interested?” His voice was incredulous and she knew why.

It was a constant struggle to hide her scent of need and desire when she was around him. Not to mention that they’d kissed a few times in the past couple of weeks. Tasting what she could never have was just plain stupid, but that hadn’t stopped her. The only reason she had stopped was the knowledge that he would eventually want to take things to the next level. And that meant having sex. Something she didn’t think she could ever do again. The last man she’d trusted with her body—abruptly she cut off that line of thought and shook her head. “Fine. I’m attracted to you. Big deal, Noah. That doesn’t mean I want a relationship, and the last time I checked, no still means no.”

At her words, he stepped back as if she’d slapped him. Immediately guilt suffused her. She ruthlessly shoved it away.

“I know what no means. I’d never hurt you, Erin,” he said softly.

The guilt she’d just pushed down popped right back up, threatening to suffocate her. She swallowed hard. “Not intentionally you wouldn’t.”

He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “Look, Noah, the only thing I can offer you is friendship. I know we’ve gotten . . . friendlier than usual the past couple weeks, but that has to stop. I don’t want anything else, and if you can’t accept my friendship, then we can’t even hang out one-on-one anymore.” When he didn’t respond, she continued. “Take it or leave it.”

“Friends,” he muttered, slight disgust lacing his voice.

Even though it was exactly what she wanted to hear, something sharp twisted in her chest. The pain was unfamiliar and uncomfortable. She’d been so used to feeling nothing for so long that this took her off guard. If she didn’t know better she’d think she was actually disappointed that he’d acquiesced so easily.

* * *

Anthony Mayfield pulled out one of his many disposable cell phones from the top drawer of his desk. He quickly dialed the number of his contact in the Fontana Sheriff’s Office. He’d been waiting all day on news about Katarina Saburova. She’d been taken in for questioning regarding a shifter attack two nights ago. Just like he’d known she would be.

Though most of Anthony’s Fontana subordinates in the APL were dead—including Edward Adler, his main contact in the region—he still had a few members he could count on. Right now he needed everyone he could get for the APL’s media campaign against supernatural beings. Losing Adler had been an unexpected blow, but the man had been unable to kidnap humans. Since Adler couldn’t even do that, it was probably a good thing Anthony was rid of him.

His contact answered on the second ring. “Yeah?”

Anthony could hear a steady din of voices in the background. Which meant he was at the police station. “So?” He didn’t elaborate. The only time he called was for something specific.

“Give me a sec.” A pause, the sound of a door shutting, then the background noise faded. “She gave up her DNA.”

Tapping a finger against the hard surface of his desk, Anthony frowned. “What?”

“I was as surprised as you are,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Shifters didn’t do anything human governments asked of them unless they were presented with a warrant. They might have come out to the world, but they weren’t pushovers. Their resistance to man’s laws was another example of their animal nature. They wanted to be able to live freely and by their own rules. As if they were better than everyone else. They held their immortality so close to the vest—as if they were gods—keeping it from more deserving humans like himself. “Do you know why?”