Sergio cupped his throat. “All of you get out of here. And don’t step a single foot on my territory again.”
Nick actually smiled. “Provided you told me the truth, there’s nothing for you to worry about. Except for the matter of the female trying to creep up on my sister. Unless you want said female to die, call her off.”
“Nick,” whined Roni, who had easily sensed the jackal trying to blindside her. “Why did you have to tip him off? I was looking forward to having some fun with her.”
There was no way Marcus would have allowed the female jackal to touch her, but he knew telling her that he’d planned to intervene and protect her wouldn’t have worked out well for him.
Sergio shook his head slightly at the female, and she halted . . . but not before baring her teeth at Roni. His little wolf laughed.
“Aw, isn’t she cute?”
Considering she’d used the same tone that one might use when referring to a newborn bunny, it was totally understandable that the jackal jumped at Roni. Marcus had seen it coming, and he was fast as he moved to leap between them. But Roni was faster. Quick as fucking lightning, she grabbed the flailing female by the throat and slammed her onto the floor, pinning her there. And she hadn’t even lost her lollipop in the struggle. His wolf growled his approval.
Roni shook her head sadly at the jackal, wagging her lollipop. “My, my, my, we are behaving very stupidly today, aren’t we?”
One of the male jackals stepped forward. “Let her go!” Marcus blocked his path.
“Well, now, that’s up to her.” Roni cocked her head at the female. “Are you going to use what few brain cells you have and be a good girl if I let you up?” The jackal nodded, her eyes fearful. “For your sake, you better not be bullshitting me.” The female quickly scampered.
As one, the Phoenix and Mercury wolves turned their backs on the jackals—communicating their lack of fear. Sergio’s voice stopped them as they reached the door.
“Remember, don’t come back here.”
Taryn shook her head, looking offended. “Ah, now that’s just rude.”
Roni nodded. “Totally.”
Back in the rear seat of the Chevy, Roni once again found herself caught between the window and Marcus, who was currently focused on his cell phone. Frustratingly, she was conscious of every single inch of that solid, supremely masculine body pressed against her side.
She should have felt trapped. He was a very pushy, dominant male who was invading her personal space. And yet, all she felt was the insane urge to turn her head and inhale more of his scent. But could anyone really blame her? The guy oozed sex, power, and danger. It was a lethal cocktail for any dominant female shifter. It made her wolf kind of drunk.
“I can’t get onto the website,” announced Marcus, returning his cell to his pocket.
“Me neither.” Dante twisted slightly in the seat in front of them. Trey and Taryn, who were sitting in the same row as the Beta, mirrored his move. “You need to be a subscribed member.”
Taryn shrugged. “So just enter a few fictional details to become a member.”
Marcus shook his head. “Can’t. The questions are pretty specific, requiring you to state stuff like your pack name, location, and Alpha—things that can be cross-referenced. Whoever created the site, and I’m assuming it was the Scorpio Pack, likes to pre-approve their members. I have to wonder why they’re being so careful.”
A muscle in Trey’s jaw ticked. “Dante, get Rhett on it.” Immediately, the Beta took out his cell phone and called Rhett.
“The questions tell us one thing,” began Taryn. “It’s clearly exclusive to shifters.”
“What does ‘SNM’ stand for?” asked Roni.
“It doesn’t say.” It was all too mysterious and secretive for Marcus’s peace of mind.
Taryn worried her bottom lip. “I don’t like this.” Trey tugged her closer, and she melted into him.
As the Alpha female took comfort in her mate’s touch, Roni watched the scene curiously. She’d been brought up to believe that leaning on others emotionally made a person weak; that it made them vulnerable to that person. Kathy Axton seemed to see weakness all around her—especially in Roni, who she insisted on treating like a helpless kid.
She’d always been emotionally reserved with Roni. In Kathy’s opinion, a need for emotional feedback in a female was a weakness, and she did not want her daughter to be weak. So she had withheld physical affection to literally train Roni not to need it, to not even feel the need to give it.
It was the way Kathy herself had been raised, and maybe emotional intimacy was in fact a weakness. But Taryn didn’t look weak right then. Just the same, Shaya never appeared weak when taking comfort from Nick. They just looked . . . happy.
A large, warm, calloused hand gently lifted Roni’s, taking her from her thoughts. She frowned as Marcus flattened his hand to hers and began examining them from every angle. “What are you doing?” Instead of answering her, he slid his hand down to cuff her wrist, and breezed his thumb over a jagged scar on her palm. There was nothing sexual about it, but her stomach clenched at the skin-to-skin contact.
“How did you get that?”
Roni tried retrieving her hand, but he held tight. “I had a fight with a cougar.”
“Shifter?”
“No, a full-blood. I was in my wolf form at the time.”
Marcus turned her hand over, exposing a long, thin scar. “What about this one?” He was genuinely curious, but he was also intent on breaking the touch barrier. With Roni, it had to be done slowly and subtly, so subtly that she didn’t even realize his intent.
“Eli’s ex-girlfriend wouldn’t back off and leave him alone. I wasn’t okay with that. Things turned a little bloody.”