KianBullets rained upon them from the clubhouse, buying me a fighting chance. Dogs swarmed all over me like a prime steak, biting, snapping, snarling like rabid mutts. Something switched inside my brain, letting the bloodthirsty creature from within take the wheel. Coarse brown fur burst through my skin as I tore through my shift, rising on my hind legs in a sky-splitting roar.Dogs leaped this way and that, and I swatted them away like flies. My claws scored through fur and flesh in a monstrous game of war. The ground shook with every forceful impact. Wolf shifters skidded through the dust, crashing into parked cars, buildings, and taking out the boundary fence as if it was made of string.Claw had seized the opportunity to shift while they incapacitated me. He struck me hard across my face in a cheap shot. Light burst in my eyes and blood fell from the sky like crimson rain, splattering all that it touched. Claw jumped into the thick of the battle, butting me in the stomach to wind

Kian"You're quiet," I mentioned, breaking the forty-five-minute silence.Something was bothering my wife. Bears could not telepathically link with their mates and read their thoughts, but we could sense when something was wrong. Gia had been staring through the window with a vacant look in her eyes, not even acknowledging the passing scenery. It was like her mind floated off to someplace else. Somewhere I couldn't follow."Gia, baby, is everything all right?" I kept talking, trying to drag her mind back to the present.She sucked in a breath like she remembered she needed air to breathe."Oh, sorry . . . I was daydreaming," she muttered an excuse and shook her head as if her thoughts were too troublesome."About?" I prompted, wanting to know what she was thinking. All she had to do was confide in me, and I would help in the best way I could.This was her chance to share her problems or to lie and keep them bottled up inside. We were mates, and mates were not supposed to have secrets

GiaKian was on the phone to someone as I finished getting ready. The glass door was closed; it muffled the sound of his voice, making it difficult to hear what he was saying. I could tell by the relaxed look on his face that it wasn’t the Reaper. His eyes flashed in my direction, and he did a double take as he saw what I was wearing. The leather jeans, red cross-over top, and spikey heels did wonders for my petite figure. Kian’s manager wanted me to look every inch the biker chick to complement my husband’s image. I noticed the price tags, and my eyes popped out on stalks. Now that I was ready, I wanted to flaunt my new look and see if Kian approved. I caught his attention with a sultry wave, then made his jaw drop with a sexy dance. Kian mouthed something at me through the glass panel, then pointed to his dick and made a lewd gesture. His grin vanished in a flash as he resumed the conversation on the phone. He turned around so I couldn’t lipread him. Whatever he was talking about, i

KianGia and I made it to the restaurant, but I could see she left a part of herself behind with Kellen. She was sitting in a dream-like state, bouncing her leg beneath the table, looking at nothing at all. She told me to choose something for her, and that wasn’t like my Gia. Her head was someplace else, worrying about what her father told her. I ordered some steaks, potatoes, and steamed vegetables. It was the only thing on the menu that I could pronounce without sounding like a remedial. Gia liked steak. We ate it plenty of times at home. She liked to wash it down with half a bottle of wine. So, I ordered some wine too. See? I did take notice of the little things.“I still can’t believe you bumped into your dad today. How about that?” I brought it up to break the silence.“Did you know that he would be there?” she asked, not accusingly, but with a curious look in her eyes.Shit! She thought I orchestrated that.“No,” I replied, taken aback that she thought I would spring something s

Gia“Breathe, honey,” Kian consoled me, rubbing small circles on my back.Never mind being killed by hunters. The inscription on my headstone would read “Choked to death on a sour cherry gin sling.” It burned my throat like a motherfucker.“What’s wrong?” Cyrus asked, sounding alarmed. “Did she swallow one of those damned cherry stones?” he whirled around and glared at the bartender. “It’s supposed to be a cocktail, not a fruit fucking salad!” he roared. “Pit the fucking stones before I pit out your fucking heart.” He turned to me, his face flooded with concern. “Are you all right, shug?”I swatted the air dismissively. “It’s okay . . . it’s fine . . . I’m all right. It just went down the wrong way.”Kian handed me a napkin to wipe my eyes and the cocktail juice from my chin. Cyrus’s frown remained in place. I was trembling from head to toe, scared shitless that hunters wanted to kill me. Clearly, I was a long way from being fine.“This isn’t a conversation I want to be having around