Sam held a cup of coffee, a look of fear playing across his face like he'd just awoken a bear. What the h.e.l.l kind of hold did Walt have over these guys? I didn't like it, and that slapped my p.u.s.s.y back in check.

"Thanks, Sam." I lifted my espresso and slammed it back before setting the cup back on the bar and reaching for the coffee. I held it in both hands for a moment before inhaling its dark aroma. "Mmmmmm." I took a sip and almost had a coffeegasm. "Wow. No offense to your previous offerings, but this is f.u.c.king amazing." I took another, keeping the cup close so I could catch its rich scent between gulps. When I opened my eyes again, Sam, Walt, and all the other guys standing close, were staring at me with l.u.s.tful expressions.

"Holy s.h.i.t, I'm not even into chicks, and I'm totally turned on," Ja'lyn announced from nearby.

d.a.m.n, when did she join us? I giggled and set the coffee down. "Well, I'm not either, but if I ever change my mind, I'll be sure to drink some of this manna from heaven while you're in the room."

Ja'lyn laughed and looked at Sam. "I'll have what she's having." The whole bar laughed.

"Coming right up." Sam went to fetch her a cup.

After taking a sip, she also moaned, "Dear G.o.d, this is not the usual c.r.a.p Walt serves in here."

"I do not serve c.r.a.p."

"It is compared to this." She took another sip. "Where did this come from? Do you have a secret stash?" she asked Sam.

"Nope. Shi brought it." Ja'lyn, Walt, and I all shifted our focus to Shi, who appeared embarra.s.sed by the attention.

I said, "That's so sweet. Thank you."

Ja'lyn asked, "Where did you get this, and can you get me some?"

Walt asked, "Why would you do that?"

Shi answered Walt first. "Because I knew Andy would love it." He looked past me to Ja'lyn. "It's special order. I can give you the information or get some for you with my next order." Then, he looked at me and smiled sweetly. "You're welcome Andy." He blushed and tilted his head in such a way that it reminded me of a curious kitten. I found it to be the most adorable thing ever, until a rumble thundered up out of Walt, causing Shi to pale and look more like a frightened cat.

I smacked Walt on the shoulder. "Stop it. Why do you keep doing that?" He didn't say anything. "Well?"

He shrugged and took the coffee Sam had just set down in front of him, drinking deeply. "d.a.m.n, that is good." Apparently, he had no intention of answering my question.

The throbbing in my c.l.i.t decreased in strength. Just as well; I didn't need another controlling alpha p.r.i.c.k in my life. I'd just gotten rid of one. "d.a.m.n."

"What's wrong?" The entire bar asked at the same time.

I was giggling as I reached into my purse for my phone. It still said there was no service, but I noticed the time to be four-thirty AM, so I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Nothing's wrong guys. I still have a couple hours before Mom and Grams send out the National Guard if they don't hear from me. I don't suppose the phone lines are back up?"

"Sorry, Andy; they're not." Sam looked heartbroken at having to tell me that.

"It's all good. It's too early to call, but maybe later someone could take me somewhere I can pick up a signal?" I reached over the bar and patted his hand. Walt started to make a noise, but I faced him and put my finger in his face. "You cut that s.h.i.t out now." His eyes widened in shock, and all the noise in the bar disappeared. The menace in Walt's eyes was slightly frightening, but I didn't back down. I decided to try and ease the tension. "Wanna play darts?" I used the finger in his face to tap his nose before jumping off my barstool. As I headed toward the dartboard, the entire bar burst into laughter again.

EIGHT ~ Walt.

It took me a minute to compose myself. I didn't believe anyone had ever done such a thing to me before, not even when I'd been a child. And the tactic had been masterfully carried out. She'd defused a highly-volatile situation with only a tap of her finger. Just as an Alpha's mate should be able to do. She plucked the darts out of the board and turned.

"You coming?" Her tone suggested she used the double entendre on purpose. Sa.s.sy little thing... G.o.d, I loved that.

Before I could speak, my dad touched my arm and whispered, "We need to talk, Son."

I nodded then said to Andy, "Not yet, but soon."

"Promises, promises." She smiled, and I lost my train of thought until my dad huffed behind me.

"This won't take long. I'll play the winner of this game."

"That'll be me," She said confidently.

I laughed, "Well, aren't you c.o.c.ky?"

"Is it c.o.c.ky if it's true?" She twisted the top half of her body and threw a dart. Perfect bullseye. "Okay, who wants to be destroyed first?" Her eyes roamed over the room.

Gavin, Ja'lyn's falcon brother-in-law, and Mico, a primate, both stepped forward. "I'm up for the challenge," Gavin said.

Mico followed with, "Me too if the A-boss isn't playing."

"Sounds good." She gave me one last smile before giving the other guys her full attention. I watched her for a minute, as did everyone else in the room. They adored her. Loved her, and not in a s.e.xual or creepy kind of way that would make me want to rip them limb from limb. This was the kind of adoration that drove someone to jump in front of a bus for her or do anything she might ever ask of them-just as an Alpha's mate was supposed to inspire her clan.

"You'd be the biggest idiot who ever walked the planet if you let that go," Ja'lyn told me.

"What has gotten into you Ja'lyn? You know better than anyone else that the Good of the Clan law stands." Dad looked appalled.

"Except that putting the Good of the Clan law first has done nothing good at all. There's no reason why Walt should end up as miserable as I am."

My Dad looked as though he wanted to scold Ja'lyn, but that would've been like kicking a wounded puppy. She'd gotten a raw deal not even my dad could deny. Her situation hadn't always been as bad as it was currently. When she'd turned eighteen, the Falcon Nest group within our clan had been nearing extinction. It had been the hope that the infusion of Lupinski blood would either improve the nest's reproductive health as a whole or, at the very least, produce a new generation of falcons. The Lupinskis always married the most eligible member of a species who held the most power. And for Ja'lyn that had been Henry Harcourt, the eldest son of the prey birds' Alpha, Justin. Consequently, he was also older brother to Gavin, the guy currently getting his a.s.s handed to him at the dartboard.

Ja'lyn had gone into the marriage knowing she would never truly love Henry, but still working her a.s.s off to try and make their marriage work. It seemed as though he'd been trying in the beginning too. But then, she hadn't conceived, and no one else in the nest had either. Henry and the marriage took a turn for the worse when Reggie and Robbie had moved to Ball Ground, Georgia and opened a bar near my twin's studio. From the moment Ja'lyn and Reggie had met, everyone had known they were fated mates, including Henry. It had been painful for the two of them to be apart, but Henry had never cared about their feelings and had begun at that point to treat her more and more as a possession instead of a partner.

Their marriage was essentially over once her position within the clan had been elevated, and she'd become my beta and second in command of the entire clan. Henry had been unable to handle being outranked by his wife and over the years had slipped more and more into the role of righteous and greedy douchebag-a.s.shole, inheriting the traits from his father, Justin.

Gavin, thankfully, had turned out nothing like his father or brother and so had become part of my inner circle. He hated how his brother treated my sister, but like the rest of us, couldn't see a good way out of the situation. Rules were rules, and besides that, Ja'lyn would have to make the call. She was determined, Not to fail,' as she'd put it, and so for some unknown reason still played the part of good wife.

"Walt," my dad said, breaking me free from my thoughts, "you can't. I don't care what you and Abe have been up to. The sacrifice is necessary to keep clan life from imploding."

"We're barely surviving. Maybe these sacrifices aren't really what the clan needs to thrive," Abe responded.

My dad shook his head and glared at Abe. "What sacrifices have you made?"

Abe shrugged. "We all have our secrets." He turned in his seat and drank his beer while staring off, seemingly in deep thought. He'd spoken the same words on occasion over the years. And all of us, at one time or another, had tried to figure him out, but none of us had any luck learning a thing. Whatever sacrifice Abe had made; he'd never learned to live with it entirely without regret. Shifter groups over the years have tried to persuade him to agree to an arranged marriage, but he was my dad's cousin, so he could remain a bachelor since the Good of the Clan law didn't directly apply to him.

"What about you, dad? You married for the Good of the Clan, and we see how well that worked out for you and Ma." Ja'lyn said the words, and then quickly took a drink of her coffee and turned away.

"Don't talk about your mother that way."

"Why not? It's true," I muttered in agreement.

"Regardless, now is not the time. The clan is unstable; they need a leader right now."

"And what the f.u.c.k have I been doing?"

"Your job, and you need to continue to do so. The big cats are headed for some serious power struggles. Kim, the wolves' beta, keeps causing trouble-"

"That's Nate's fault," Ja'lyn exclaimed. "And again it's because of the good of the clan. If he pulled his head out of his a.s.s and mated with Sydney, Kim wouldn't have a leg to stand on. But nooo, good of the clan bulls.h.i.t and all that."

My dad ignored her outburst and continued, "If you want to change the way the clan has been run for over a hundred years, you can't do it overnight. It'll bring chaos. I think the better approach would be for you and Abe to prepare all of your research and bring it up at the next meeting."

"The next meeting isn't for another six months."

"That'll give you plenty of time. Think about it Walt; your happiness isn't as important as the health of the clan as a whole." He patted my arm and walked away toward the bathrooms.

"What are you going to do?" Ja'lyn asked.

"My job-"

"Don't be an idiot. We have the research-" Abe interrupted me.

"Dad was right. The clan can't handle-"

"Bulls.h.i.t!" Ja'lyn said, loudly enough for Andy and Mico to turn and stare at us. Ja'lyn leaned in and whispered, "You're the f.u.c.king Alpha; start acting like it and be happy in the process."

"I don't know if I can."

"You'd better try." Abe took a sip of beer, "You'll regret it every day for the rest of your life if you don't; trust me."

NINE ~ Andy.

"Sounds good." I gave Walt one last smile before giving the guys my full attention. "Alright, Gavin. You're up first."

"Ladies first."

I giggled. "I'm no lady. What are you up for? 51 by 5's, legs, killer, round the world?"

Gavin smiled. "Let's play round the world."

"Got it boss. Mico, I wouldn't get too comfortable; this won't last long." I turned and hit one, two, and three, in quick succession. "Gavin, you're up."

He looked a touch shocked, but quickly composed himself. "Holy s.h.i.t. Where'd you learn how to do that?"

I shrugged. "My Grams and Mom taught me. Quit stalling let's go."

"Pushy."

"You have no idea."

Gavin was laughing as he took his place and hit a one, two, but missed the three. "I was distracted."

"Sure." I chuckled.

I decimated Gavin in seven turns, never missing my target and had soon moved on to Mico. I liked him. He was funny and sweet, slightly shy, was crowned by the most fabulous red hair, besides being wickedly handsome. We were pretty evenly matched, although I took note of how his strong arms evened the playing field for him against my skills. They were so long, like ones on the orangutans at the zoo. I chuckled to myself. It was a hazard of the job to think of everyone around me descriptively. I could turn anyone I met into a character for one of my books. I was in the middle of a throw when Ja'lyn shouted, "Bulls.h.i.t," so loudly, the entire bar looked in her direction, including me-after I'd made my shot, of course.

Graham, who sat at the other end of the bar, kept staring at Walt and Ja'lyn and would then glance at me. Abe stared off into s.p.a.ce as he drank a beer while sitting on the barstool next to Walt. Ja'lyn stood on Walt's other side leaning in close but also kept occasionally glancing in my direction.

While Walt was undeniably hot, besides the fact my body had never reacted as it did to him on any previous occasion, I didn't have time for this s.h.i.t. Avoiding drama was my new mission in life. Whatever the f.u.c.k they were talking about, I refused to give a s.h.i.t. I took my last shot and hit twenty-one. As I was plucking the darts out, I called, "Who's next?"

"I am." Walt's voice rumbled behind me, sending shivers throughout my body.

G.o.d.a.m.n it, p.u.s.s.y! I just got you under control. After taking a breath, I turned to smile confidently at him. "You're on." I held out a set of darts to him. "You're up first."

The smile he returned hit me square in the heart. There was more than just desire there, something sweeter. I wouldn't call it love, but admiration maybe. Additionally, he seemed unsure, afraid of something. Walt didn't just take the darts from me, he wrapped his hand around mine, holding it for a brief second, and then slowly dragging his fingers down to my own before claiming the metal shafts.

He stared down at me and threw his darts without looking away.

We held the gaze for a second before Mico said, "d.a.m.n, nice throw." Breaking the hold Walt had on me, I looked at the board. He had hit one, two, and three.

"I'd say you've met your match," Walt whispered in my ear, and it took every ounce of strength not to tremble and turn into a puddle on the floor. The tenor of his voice was like music to my ears and an aphrodisiac in my blood. I wonder if he likes dirty talk? Then again, with his voice, I'd be turned on listening to him read the phone book.

"Nothing to say?" Walt said louder with slight amus.e.m.e.nt in his voice. b.a.s.t.a.r.d enjoyed throwing me off my game-my kind of guy.

I looked him in the eye as I adjusted the darts in my hand and threw all three. You could've heard a pin drop in the room, and our ears filled with the thud-thud-thud of the darts striking their target. Then, the room erupted in cheers.

Whoops, hollers, "f.u.c.k me," "Holy s.h.i.t," "He's gonna get his a.s.s kicked," "d.a.m.n girl," "Someone has to film this," and "How the f.u.c.k did she do that?" rang around the room. I smiled at Walt, who hadn't laid eyes on the board yet and said, "I'd say it's you who's met your match."

He looked at the board as I did. My darts had landed in the same three blocks as his, only mine were situated slightly closer to the bullseye. When he turned to me, I raised my eyebrows.

"Challenge accepted." He leaned in closer. "It's on," he said, and then winked as he went to the board to retrieve our darts. I wasn't shy about staring at his a.s.s as he walked away from me. Perfect bubble b.u.t.t to grab onto as he rode me into oblivion. When he turned, I took my time raising my eyes. He had the most spectacular body, drool worthy. And what the f.u.c.k was he doing to me? The thoughts this man inspired-d.a.m.n, I should've been taking notes for work. Yeah, work. Let's go with that.

He was frozen in place when my eyes made it to his face. I shrugged and smiled, breaking the spell I had on him. He blinked a couple of times, laughing as he made his way back to me to hand me my darts.

We abandoned our game, trying to outdo each other with trick and distance shots. The entire bar was glued to our compet.i.tion. When we couldn't think of anything new to compete at in darts, we moved on to the pool table arena. The games with him were the most fun I'd had in a long time.

Everyone around us was having fun too. Some were playing darts while others were taking bets, all of them appearing to enjoy the show Walt and I were putting on with our trick shots and never ending s.e.xual innuendos. The bar rang with laughter and joy. Even Graham was having a good time.

Mico had the most adorable laugh, hitting himself in the chest in fine orangutan fashion. Shi sat back, appearing slightly bored as he tried to figure out the mechanics behind our trick moves, but I could see in his eyes that he absorbed much more than he let on. It put me in mind of one of those safari videos showing a lion take down his prey, the moment he sits back calmly before striking. Gavin had taken on the role of official bookie, leveling his eyes with a scary I'm-predator-and-you're-my-prey at any who hesitated to pay up.

G.o.d, I wish I had my backpack. They would've made the best shifters in one of my books. I should've been taking notes and getting down a few story ideas. I might've been able to write four separate books about the Hemming brothers alone. I was just thinking about how the blue color of their eyes reminded me of a wolf's when there was a crash on the other side of the bar. All four brothers tilted their heads towards the noise with wide eyes ...and I lost it.

"Bawahahahahahahaha!" I was wiping tears and snorting as I laughed, and when they all looked over and did the same thing, I lost it all over again.