The ride home dragged on as she riddled out everything she'd learned. Most importantly, why rogues had targeted to kill her when she was working to save them?

And she had no doubt that they would've killed her. She was faster than before, but still not quick enough. She needed to be better. Needed to train harder and trust her animals more. If they had sent anyone but boys, she doubted she would've come out on top.

By the time she parked the car and trudged toward the front steps, exhaustion had mugged her and won. All she wanted was a hot shower and a bag of ice.

Hand on her jaw, she opened the door and pulled up short.

Four men littered the hallway: Durant, Jackson, Taggert and Dominic in his wolf form. As one, all eyes riveted on her like she was a ghost. She could've kicked herself for not getting a clue when the house was lit up like a beacon. "Uh, what's up?"

She carefully kept her hand on her jaw, thankful the light spilling from the study didn't reach her. She angled her body to better hide in the shadows. Unobtrusively as possible, she wrapped the darkness around her to smudge her appearance. She dropped her arm to her side. If they looked at her jaw directly, they'd be able to see the injury. Otherwise, she should be safe.

Dominic reacted first, stalking toward her on stiff legs, his fur ruffled on end in outrage. Tags and a harness rested on the floor, the only way a shifter in animal form could go out in public. No one would've mistaken his beast for a pet.

Then there was Durant. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Where were you?" The calm, soothing tone of Durant's voice raised her hackles.

No one moved. Their extreme reaction alarmed her. "I went to meet a guy about the case I'm working. Didn't Griffin tell you?"

"He gave us some cockamamie story about you meeting an alpha on your own then proceeded to disappear. That was hours ago."

"It was for the case I'm working." So why did that sound like a lame excuse?

"Work is fine, but you are not just a Region. You're the alpha of this pack. Please tell me you're not stupid enough to endanger yourself by meeting another alpha without any type of backup." He stepped toward her, and his nostrils flared. In seconds, he was at her side.

She tried to turn away, but he had her face gripped in his big palms before she could so much as twitch. She sucked in a breath when his fingers swept ever so lightly over her injury as if brushing away the darkness she'd grabbed.

Stupid.

Of course they scented the blood.

"What the hell happened to you?" He tipped her face into the light. Jackson whitened, clearly holding himself responsible. Taggert's reaction hurt the worse. He stared at her with wounded eyes. Not that she was injured, but that she'd left without telling him and broke his trust.

Their expectations were too much. They treated her as a prisoner. "You're overreacting. You knew I had a meeting."

"But you conveniently forgot to tell us where. You can't go into a potential dangerous situation and not expect us to react."

"The meeting went smoothly. Why make it into such a big deal?"

A rumble of anger worked up Durant's chest, her question testing his patience. "You're the alpha. Even a male wouldn't have left his pack without protection. Until you achieve pack status, your situation is even more precarious. And to make it worse, you know what I'm saying is true. Look at you. You're injured."

"But not from the meeting." Admitting the truth was humiliating. She was a fully-grown female. She could take care of herself, yet two teens nearly took her down. "I was attacked getting into my car."

Durant captured her wrist in his grip. When she tugged, his hold clamped down like a vise, and he dragged her unceremoniously toward the kitchen.

He slammed the swinging door open so hard it warbled and rebounded off the wall. She barely caught the wood before it thumped into her. Durant yanked out a chair, wood screeching across the floor, before shoving it under her ass. She plopped inelegantly on the seat with an oomph.

Everyone filed into the kitchen behind them. The wall of glass was dark, reflecting the too silent room back at her. The violence so prevalent in shifters lurked close to their surfaces, ready to erupt if she made the wrong move.

Jackson leaned against the wall, muscles tense, ready to explode. He crossed his arms as if he didn't trust himself not to toss her over his knee.

Taggert set about making tea, though he knew that she didn't drink the stuff. The action calmed him, so she kept her protests to herself.

"You've shown you can't be trusted with your own safety." Raven swiveled in her seat at Durant's comment. He opened the fridge, slamming around inside as he wrestled ice cubes free from the freezer. He piled the cubes onto a rag, forming a small mountain of ice.

"I-"

"You will never be alone without a chaperone." He roughly wrapped the towel and came toward her, a number of ice cubes escaping like mice to hide under the recesses of the cupboard. "Even if you have to go to the bathroom, one of us will stand guard by the door."

"That's not necessary." She thought he'd plunk the haphazard icepack in her outstretched hand. Instead, he placed it to her jaw with a gentleness that shouldn't have surprised her. The cold burned against her skin, and she clenched her teeth against revealing any reaction for fear she'd set them off again.

Durant lifted her face to his. "Isn't it? You're in charge of protecting that kid, Aaron. How can you protect him without being here? If something happened to you, everyone in this room would be at risk." He dropped his hand, but kept the icepack against her skin. "Explain to us how it's not necessary."

"Did something happen?" Dread tightened her chest.

His eyes flashed gold at the question. He leaned in closer, his jaw clenched so tightly, she feared he'd hurt himself. "No one could find you."

The kitchen fell silent. Raven searched their uncompromising expressions, and her shoulders slumped. They were in complete agreement. Part of her appreciated their concern, but another part found it stifling. A shiver worked down her spine at the possibility of being caged again. It didn't matter that their prison was made out of concern instead of hate. "You're treating me as a helpless female, not an alpha."

"Then damn well act like one!" The roar echoed in the room.

"Do not pretend like I'm just a shifter. My power gives me an edge. I will not stop working my cases because you fear I might be harmed."

"And I don't expect you to. All we're asking is not to take any chances until after your pack status has been approved by the council."

They weren't going to budge. To make it worse, a small part of her agreed. "Fine."

There was a pause of stunned silence. A contented rumble poured out of Durant now that he'd gotten his way. He angled her head in the light to get a better view of her injury. "Now tell us what happened."

"Two kids decided to have a little fun." Raven shrugged off his hold, ignoring the growl of upset. "My car took the brunt of the attack."

"What did they want?"

"They didn't say. Warning me off the case. What else could it be?"

"Which case?" Aaron opened the door and entered, a casualness to his walk that said he'd made himself at home and wasn't above eavesdropping. Though well into the night, he hadn't changed as if he, too, had been waiting up for her. "The police case or mine? Mother has a habit of hiring rogues to do her dirty work. Were they trying to scare you or kill you?"

Raven wondered that herself. It seemed almost too simple that his mother could be behind both. She was definitely capable of it. She had the ruthlessness for it and access to drugs. But the woman didn't strike her as being smart enough to pull it off without leaving some clue that would lead back her.

Raven kept her suspicions to herself. She needed solid proof first. "They called me Region, so I'm going to say the police case." She didn't mention that if she'd fallen, she had no doubt they wouldn't have stopped their assault until she was dead.

Aaron didn't appear completely convinced, but accepted her answer.

One important fact stopped her from arguing with them more.

If someone was after her, they could've easily gone after her people in order to teach her a lesson. The logic of it terrified her. Shifters were ruthless enough to do it.

Maybe the buddy system wasn't such a bad thing.

She would be able to keep them safe.

"Durant, get back to the club. Since I need to acquire more of a resistance to shifters, we'll be there tonight to absorb the pack atmosphere." The tiger didn't look happy, but didn't refute her.

He silently handed the icepack to Taggert, his golden eyes never leaving hers. He hesitated as if contemplating hocking his precious club and all it had cost him just to stay with her. She couldn't let him risk that for something as stupid as a tiny scratch. "You're hosting the conclave. They need you at the club. Go."

With a scowl, he turned and disappeared out the door.

"Aaron, go back to bed. I'll see you in the morning." He left without another comment, his eyes seeing too much.

Taggert took one look at her then Jackson. He dumped the ice in the sink and left on silent feet.

"And are you going to order me about like a lackey to do your bidding?" There was a snarl on his lips as he said it.

His continual silence since he'd arrived yesterday grated on her nerves, and she couldn't hold back a taunt. "So did you finally grow a backbone?"

His eyes instantly turned yellow, and he leapt toward her. Raven stood her ground and lifted her chin, silently daring him. She missed the old Jackson, not this lifeless soldier.

Only inches separated them when he halted. They just stared at each other, each too afraid to reach out to the other. His scent of fresh cut grass had haunted her.

She'd missed it.

Him.

He inhaled deeply, fighting for control or as eager for the scent of her as she was him. She didn't know which one she hoped for more and wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

She lifted her hand and placed it on his chest, nearly swallowing her tongue as delicious heat backwashed into her. The animals at her core gave a pleasant rumble.

"Don't send me away."

"You left."

"I didn't have any choice. I had to protect you."

"And did protecting me include spilling my secrets to anyone who would listen?"

A dull flush highlighted his cheekbones. "I told them enough to convince them that you could help. Nothing more. Are your secrets worth more to you than Aaron's life?"

His reply doused the last of her anger. He knew her too well and used it against her. She searched his face for a lie. And found none. "You could've asked first."

"Pack never asks another pack for help. It's a sign of weakness. A trade is different."

When he reached for her, she stepped back, not ready to concede yet. She needed answers first. He tensed at the rejection, her words hitting him harder than any blow. "Aaron seems to think he's here because of his mother. Is that the real reason?"

Jackson shook his head. "Only partially. Kevin is worried he won't be able to crest. No one can detect any evidence of his wolf. I explained your theory to the alpha that some shifters have certain abilities. Instead of being born with a defect that could cost him his life, the alpha is hoping that Aaron might have one of these gifts."

"I thought you didn't believe in that nonsense."

"I believe in you." The hoarse comment took her off guard and knocked her on her ass with the pure intensity.

Raven didn't confirm or deny what she'd uncovered about Aaron. The kid had a right to his privacy. If he wanted anyone to know, he would tell them. But it made a sick sort of sense. His gift could be a defense mechanism years in the works to protect him against a mother trying to kill him. "Then I guess we're lucky that the alpha didn't put spying on his son in the agreement."

She ignored the way Jackson's jaw clenched at being shut out. Jackson was the most honorable man she knew, but until his loyalties were decided, she couldn't afford to trust him.

She went to her room, craving to turn around, crawl onto Jackson's lap, and welcome him home the way her wolf urged. But she couldn't give into her emotions and lose him again.

She wasn't sure she was strong enough to let him go a second time without inciting an all-out war.

Chapter Eleven.

At seven the next morning, Raven rolled over, and opened her eyes to find Taggert standing next to her bed, a pile of messages in his hand. Groaning, she crammed the pillow over her head.

"Go away." This was his cruel revenge for disappearing on him while he'd slept.

Paperwork.

"Scotts called. You're to report at the station at ten." The bed dipped under his weight as he sat. The heat of him prickled over her skin almost uncomfortably, and she cursed as her beasts woke, eager to feel him up against her. She clenched her eyes shut. If she could just get back to that delicious dream, she wouldn't have to imagine what Taggert's body felt like touching hers.

As if by some silent signal, construction started in the bathroom. She tossed the pillow at the door. "Did you tell them to do that?"

"Durant gave them orders they weren't to begin until you woke." Taggert gave her a devilish smile, telling her that he knew about her dreams and wished to continue the torment. She had thought him innocent when she'd first took him home, now she wondered if he might not be the most devious of them all, slowly and insidiously slipping into her life.

"You're enjoying this." She glared at him.

Taggert grinned again, turning his face from handsome to downright sinful. "My room doesn't have any construction."

Why did that sound like an invitation?

She corralled her emotions and flopped back the covers. Taggert swallowed hard at the shorts and tank top, his eyes glued to her body. The total unexpected reaction for such a tame outfit tickled her.

Enjoying the little payback, she grabbed her clothes and headed down the hall to the guest bathroom. Still amused at Taggert's reaction, Raven hadn't noticed the room was occupied until she'd entered.

Jackson stopped toweling his hair and slowly lowered his arm. The flex and release of his tanned muscles as he finished drying was hypnotizing. The second towel was hooked precariously low on his hips, ready to slide to the floor any second. But she knew he wouldn't let it drop. He would not seduce. He would demand and take. The attraction was made sharper for the fact that neither of them could act on it.

Not while he belonged to someone else.

Maybe never.

She clutched her clothes like a shield, barely managing to scrape her chin off her chest. When she would've taken a step back, Jackson became unstuck.

"Almost done." His voice had a rough growl to it that spread goose bumps over her flesh.

Just watching him increased the burn of desire Taggert had ignited, something no cold shower would be able to fix. She leaned weakly against the wall and waited for him to gather his things.