With that resolve in mind, Danny exited the car and strode into the building. The laughter stopped when the men looked his way. No doubt they saw his changed eyes and clenched fists. The air around him buzzed with the energy of an impending shift barely restrained.
Danny directed his stare at the men, one by one. Each time, they tried to meet his stare, only to drop their gazes almost immediately. Their shoulders hunched forward in a submissive pose, proving why he was an officer in the pack, and why they weren’t.
After today, he had half a mind to kick them from the pack entirely, making them lone wolves. Disgraced in the eyes of other shifters. Anger guided him forward, and he used the rage to fuel him.
“What the hell were you three thinking this morning?” His voice rolled around a growl. The words felt foreign in his mouth as his wolf fought for control. Things were about to get ugly if he didn’t rein in his temper, but the animal fought him whenever he tried. The wolf’s instinct screamed that fighting these men was the only way to protect his woman. But the man knew Amber wasn’t his woman, yet, and these men, even shifted, wouldn’t stand a chance against the beast inside him.
Two of the men cringed, staring at their feet. That at least soothed the animal marginally. Not enough. But it was a start.
“We know what she is,” the third man, Drake, stated as he raised his head, rancor in his voice.
Danny whipped around to look at him, and saw him struggling to hold his gaze. Danny growled a warning, and the man’s shoulders stiffened in response. His gaze sunk lower, but the man struggled to raise it again.
“You know so much, do you? Then you also know what the Council does to shifters who attack humans. How much worse do you think it would be if they found out the human you’d attacked worked for the government? Think that will make things easier for shifters? You could have started a war this morning, a hunt on all of our kind. Is that what you wanted? Give me one reason I shouldn’t turn you over to the Council right now.” His voice had risen to a shout. Freeing his anger felt good. Right. So he opened the cage and let the rage out, felt it sweep over him as a red haze filled his vision.
Drake opened his mouth to speak, to offer up a reason, but Danny didn’t want to hear it. Riding the wave of anger, he cut Drake off before he could utter a word. “And if you know everything, then you must also know that I’ve been handling the situation. That Jason and Ethan are also involved. For you three to act on your own says you don’t respect me, or them. Or our authority. Maybe I should take that as a challenge.” He took another step forward, focusing his attention on Drake, who’d dared to speak. He stepped into the other man’s space. “Are you challenging me, Drake? Throwing down the gauntlet?”
The other man’s terrified gaze met his briefly before darting away. Smart man. But there’d been more than fear in his eyes. There’d been resentment. For what? For having more power in the pack, for being more liked. Hell, maybe simply for being stronger, more dominant. Danny could only speculate the reasons. But he knew resentment when he saw it. And he knew that kind of bitterness would eat at Drake, until it demanded action. Today he’d proven reckless. How much worse would it be when that anger built and choked him from the inside out? Danny had to put him in his place once and for all.
“All right then, let’s do this.” The energy in the air sparked as Danny stepped back and prepared to shift to his wolf.
A hand grabbed his arm from behind. Danny whirled, intending to rip to pieces whoever had stopped him. Sharp green eyes met his, stopping him cold. He clenched his fist, refusing to take his frustration out on Laurie. Behind her, Jason came running through the door, sweating and out of breath.
“What’s going on?” Jason demanded. Out of the corner of his eye, Danny saw the other men flinch under the strength of Jason’s dominance. Danny felt it press against him and wanted to draw back as well, but let his anger strengthen him. Raising his chin, he stared directly into Jason’s eyes as Ethan stormed inside behind him.
“They attacked Amber tonight. When I arrived, they were taking turns throwing themselves against the front door trying to get to her.”
“We were just trying to scare her into leaving.” Drake spoke up behind him.
Danny whirled around and growled low in his throat, causing the man to cower.
“You three can leave. I’ll decide what to do with you later.”
Danny spun back around and stared at Jason. That was it? Where was the anger, the rage? If Jason wasn’t upset about this disgusting display of disloyalty, he wasn’t the man Danny had always believed him to be.
“You’re just going to let them go?” he demanded, his shock in his voice.
“No, I’m not. I’ll speak with you three about your foolish actions later. Leave, now.”
The men tripped over themselves in their rush to leave. None of them questioned their Premier, or threw dirty looks at Ethan. Apparently it was just Danny they resented.
The door swung behind them and Danny was left with his three siblings. He stared at the door behind them, trying to rein in his frustration. He knew his eyes were still his wolf’s. Just as he knew he’d need to call on his patience if he were going to endure the lecture he was sure Jason planned.
“You shouldn’t have let them go.” The words popped out before he could stop them.
Jason caught Danny’s gaze and held it. Silence stretched between them, uncomfortable at first as the wolf tested the strength of Jason’s dominance, until finally settling down, accepting that however strong it might be, Jason was stronger. There was a reason, beyond him being oldest, that Jason was Premier. Still, Danny had never tested the bonds, knowing he was not suited to the job. Most of the town thought he was so even-tempered, so patient, but they never knew how hard Danny worked to control his emotions. How scared he sometimes made himself.
“This isn’t like you,” Jason said at length.
How wrong he was.
“They endangered the pack! How can you be anything less than furious with them? For God’s sake, they could have killed her.”
Laurie fidgeted, catching his attention. Her head tilted to the side as she studied him with narrowed eyes. “What upsets you more, that they endangered the pack, or that they could have hurt her?” she asked softly.
He felt his temper building once again. They dared question his loyalty to the pack? As it stood, he was already ruining any chances he might have had with a woman he felt in his heart could be made for him. Could be everything to him if he let her. But he couldn’t let her become that important. Because instead he spent every day deceiving her. And damn it, he’d done the job he’d been assigned. What more did they want from him?
“She may be an agent, but she’s still a person. Her door is hanging on one hinge, for crying out loud. Of course I’m upset they attacked an innocent woman. She hasn’t done anything against us. She’s investigating riots, she’s not an evil scientist out to dissect us.”
“Of course she’s not. But we have to be careful.”
“Being careful is one thing. Keeping an eye on her doesn’t harm anyone. But what those men did this morning was out of line. The way you treated her in the pub and at your bookstore, like she was the enemy, when she’s done nothing to warrant that hostility… You all should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Ethan at least had the decency to look embarrassed, and he hadn’t even been bad. Laurie looked thoughtful and Jason simply stared at him. No telling what was going on behind his eyes.
“Whatever. You’re going to feel how you feel, but don’t you dare criticize me for not wanting to see her maimed or killed by those idiots. And if any of you attack her, you’ll be fighting me, too.”
Danny started to storm past, but Jason’s harsh grip on his arm made him stop.
“You’d fight your family over her.”
Closing his eyes, Danny forced a calm he wasn’t feeling. “Until she’s proven herself an enemy, I’ll fight anyone who attacks her. Just as I would for any wo
man. Even if that means fighting my family.”
Danny tried to pull away, but Jason held tight. He was quiet so long, Danny braced himself for what he’d say next.
“Are you sure you can handle this?”
Now, Jason questioned his abilities? Not only that, but if he removed Danny from the task, he’d remove his reason for seeing Amber. The thought of never seeing her again caused emotions to surge inside him. Fury, fear, and sadness grappled for control. Instead, Danny called on the control he was known for. He couldn’t lose this assignment. He couldn’t lose her.
“I can handle this.”
“It’s just that you seem to be getting rather close to her in a very short time. I hope you’re not confusing pretend interest, with real interest.” Ethan explained, but Danny didn’t shift his gaze from Jason’s.
“She’s much prettier than any of us anticipated,” Laurie spoke.
“I can handle this,” Danny repeated, staring directly into Jason’s eyes. The words, and the confidence behind them, earned his release with a nod from Jason.
Tension hung heavily in the air. Never before had he felt so at odds with his family. Never had he questioned their hearts so much as he did now. Because even if he removed his feelings for Amber from the equation, he still saw members of his pack attacking an innocent woman.
He knew if he said too much, revealed too much of the turmoil inside him, Jason would bar him from her. And he was coming to understand, for whatever reason, he was meant to have met Amber. Meant to keep her close.
“Is that all?” he asked. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remove all insolence from his tone. He knew Jason caught the undercurrents when his shoulders stiffened, but he didn’t say anything. Merely nodded his head in assent.
Without another word, Danny turned and left them in the building. To hell with them all. He’d protect Amber on his own, if need be.
* * * *
Laurie followed Danny with her eyes as he left. Even with as much confidence as she had in him, she worried. Especially after the happiness she’d glimpsed on his face that night in the bar before he’d noticed them. Or the flash of pure anger on his face when he’d caught her about to fight Amber in her bookstore.
And when she saw him through the window this morning on her way to the bookstore, she’d been sure he was about to do something stupid. There was no question he had lost his cool. Which worried her more than she’d care to admit. After seeing his reaction to their interference, she was glad she’d taken the time to call her brothers before rushing inside. Things could have gotten ugly.
The man who’d been about to attack Drake, arguably the most annoying and stupid wolf in their town but not a bad guy, had not been the brother she knew. Danny had always been the cool one, the one whose patience never broke. Well, rarely broke. When he’d first caught Brendan’s scent on their sister Julie, the youngest in the family, he’d gone a bit crazy until learning she was Brendan’s mate. But sometimes, his calm forbearance made her forget how young he was.
At twenty-seven, he was still vulnerable to manipulation. And she had a bad feeling this Amber woman was a master of exploitation. Somehow, she had to make sure he was left standing when this was all said and done.
“He’s right, you know.” Laurie looked over at Ethan, also staring at Danny’s retreating form.
“About what?” Jason demanded.
“Amber hasn’t done anything worthy of our contempt. If Danny thinks she’s not out to harm us, we should give her a chance.”
“A chance at what? How do we protect ourselves if she can’t accept what we are?” Great, now she had to deal with an enraged Jason. Nothing like two enraged alpha wolves before eight AM.
“I’m not suggesting we reveal what we are to her, but we all could have been friendlier toward her. Especially you two.”
Scratch that. Three enraged alpha wolves. All in one morning. How’d she get to be so lucky?
“Well, I’m sure glad we’re not letting this agent tear us apart.” Laurie waited until both men’s gazes turned her way before continuing. “We’re stronger than this. At least, we should be.”
Both men looked away, turning their heads to the side. Right now, they needed to come together, not fall apart. Not just for the sake of their secrets, but for Danny. Because Laurie was becoming more and more certain he was going to need them.
Chapter 8
The screeching whirl of a screwdriver dragged Amber out of a sound, and blissfully dreamless, sleep. She sat up in bed, putting a hand against her temple. The world around her came into fuzzy focus. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out where that noise came from.
She’d known she would feel hung-over if she took a pill so early in the day, but the headache that started an hour after hanging up with the home office had left her little choice.
Glancing at the clock, she groaned at the bright green eight AM glaring back at her. Which meant she’d only been asleep for an hour before whatever that forsaken noise was that woke her.
From beyond her door, the murmur of male voice reached her, jolting her wide awake. There were men inside the cottage.
Dizziness assailed her when she stood. Damn it. She should never have taken that wretched pill. What had she been thinking, to put herself at such a disadvantage while on assignment? But she couldn’t afford time to sober up. The men were already in her home. How much longer before they reached the bedroom?
She pulled the gun out from the drawer beside the bed, cringing as the wood screeched. She left the drawer open and crept to the door. Male laughter drifted from the other room.
Amber put her ear against the door. If only she could catch their words. A few clunks, but it didn’t sound as if anyone was creeping toward the bedroom.
Maybe they didn’t know she was here. Was it possible? Could the men be simple robbers? If they were, they’d chosen the wrong house. She’d kick their asses. The thought of a fight cheered her on. Just what she needed to get back in agent mode. They wouldn’t know what hit them.
Amber cracked the door and peered into the main room of the cottage. She glanced out but couldn’t see anyone in her line of sight. With the weight of the gun heavy in her hand, she opened the door a bit wider.
“Do you think you got a heavy enough door?” a man demanded. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it.
“After what happened? I’m not chancing it. No telling if those men learned their lesson, and she needs to be kept safe.”
Danny. At the sound of his voice, Amber’s whole body relaxed. Then a shiver of awareness shot through her. No question about it, she wanted him. What a mess…
Stowing the gun under her mattress, Amber smoothed her hair and entered the room. She stopped cold when she saw what they were doing. That explained the drill.
“What are you doing?” she asked as the men concentrated on lining up the hinges on a new front door. The old one, cracked from the crazy animal attack that morning, lay on the grass beyond the porch.
“Hi, baby.”
She didn’t want to examine the thrill she got at the endearment. Or the way her stomach jumped in joy when he dropped what he was doing and crossed to hug her.
“Hey!” Ethan shouted as the door tilted out of his grip.
A small giggle escaped her as she watched him try to hold onto the door. She clasped her hand to her mouth. How long had it been since she’d laughed from the gut like that? Too long. Somehow Danny put her at ease so she could let go and have fun. Definitely dangerous.
“That’s a nice sound,” Danny said, brushing the back of a finger down her cheek. Everywhere he touched, her skin heated. Great, she hoped she didn’t blush. But judging by his widening smile, her wish hadn’t been granted.
To distract herself, she turned her attention to Ethan. He’d managed to right the door himself, and leaned on one forearm against the empty doorframe. No denying he looked good, and he knew it. But his lean frame and lighter features didn’t attrac
t her like Danny and his stocky build did.
“Heard you had a little trouble this morning. Danny thought you needed a new door, and bought the most secure one he could find. I’m just here for the grunt work.” He raised his hand and knocked against the panel. The door, supported only in the middle, started to tilt from the impact, and Ethan jumped to catch it.
A snort escaped as she watched the antics. “You didn’t have to do this.” Although she spoke to Danny, she refused to meet his gaze, staring at his brother instead, her resolve to cut all contact with him still firm in her mind. He was a distraction she couldn’t afford. Too much was riding on her.
Across the room, Ethan looked at her, a questioning expression on his face. Danny put his hand on her arm, but she didn’t give in to the slight tug. This was for the best.
“You shouldn’t have done this,” she amended.
“Of course I should have. Your door was broken. It wasn’t safe. Amber, what’s wrong?”
She hated hearing the worry in his voice, but she closed her eyes against the sympathy welling up inside. Cutting off ties was the best decision for him too, he just didn’t know it.
Gentle hands forced her to face him. She kept her eyes closed, but knew she’d have to make eye contact eventually. As much as she tried to brace herself, it didn’t prepare her for the emotions that assailed her when she met his gaze. Longing. Frustration. Desire. But all were eclipsed by the genuine affection she had for him. No matter what might be fabricated on her part, she knew the affection filling her entire being was true.
Danny was a good guy. Better to hurt him now than wait until their feelings strengthened.
“Nothing. Let me grab some sodas for you guys.”
Cowardly. She knew it even as she turned and dashed for the kitchen. But being so close to Danny frayed her nerves, especially when he looked at her as if she was…precious. How could she be this attached so soon? It made no sense. Which only supported her boss’s theory. She must be projecting her apprehension about the assignment into her emotions for Danny. But knowing it and ignoring the feelings were two different things.
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