The smile didn't fade from the were's mouth, but his eyes took on a cold, white glow. Tendrils of power pulsed just beyond Slade's mental touch. "If I wanted you dead, there'd be nothing you could do."

Not for the first time, Slade wondered at the true depths of the Enforcer's power. And the direction of his loyalty. Balancing his weight on the b.a.l.l.s of his feet, he nodded. "I'll take my chances."

"So will I." Caleb growled, taking a similar position.

Allie placed Joseph in the baby seat on the table and stepped forward. Before Allie could open her mouth to chime in, Caleb put his palm over it and shook his head. "You never will."

Allie glared and stomped on his foot. It was such a ludicrous attempt to dent his brother's defenses, done with such expectation of success, that Slade couldn't help but smile. Neither could Tobias. Or Caleb. Which just made Allie madder.

As soon as Caleb removed his hand, she was spitting fire. "You're not relegating me to the sidelines, Caleb Johnson. We're married. That means we're in things together."

"Not battle," Caleb countered.

"Not when it comes to fighting," Slade reiterated.

"You have other concerns," Tobias lectured, nodding to Joseph, who was watching everything.

"You don't have to find the one thing we agree on," Allie huffed.

"It's convenient."

Scooping up Joseph, she muttered, "Oh my G.o.d, you're worse than mother hens."

"You should work harder to curb her impulsivity," Tobias told Caleb.

"There are times when I find it charming."

Allie rolled her eyes. "This is the twenty-first century, you know."

"But still dangerous," Slade felt compelled to add. And all the more dangerous now that he'd brought Jane here. Not that he'd had a choice.

"And you're married to the head of an important family," Tobias said, reining in his energy until it was once again an intangible shimmer. "That makes you a target."

"We're all targets, but we still have to live, love ..." Allie glanced pointedly at Slade. "Marry."

Leave it to Allie to point out the elephant in the room.

"The scientist is not for Slade," Tobias said flatly.

Allie's brows shot up. "Who are you to determine that?"

"Yes, Enforcer"-Slade gave Tobias back his own cold smile-"who are you?"

Tobias bared his canines. "The one with the bad feeling."

Tobias's bad feelings were nothing to sneeze at. The hairs on the back of Slade's neck rose. Caleb stepped forward, all signs of challenge gone. "About Jane?"

"Yes."

Slade knew what the were was going to say.

"Shut up, Tobias."

"For heaven's sake, we can never get the man to speak and then when he actually has something to contribute, you tell him to shut up?" Allie grabbed Tobias's arm and tugged him toward the table. "Come have a bear claw."

To Slade's surprise, Tobias went. "You're getting downright domesticated, Enforcer."

"Uh-huh." He took the heavily iced pastry and bit off a chunk.

"What he's getting is my last bear claw!" Caleb growled.

Allie folded her arms across her chest. "You'd just throw it up."

"But I'd enjoy it coming and going."

"Now that's just gross."

Caleb glared at Tobias. Allie glared at Caleb. Slade wanted to silence them all before the truth could come out. Before it became something that had to be dealt with.

"Jane is my business."

"Not in this."

Caleb shook his head. "She's his mate, Tobias."

"She cannot take his blood. There can be no bond."

That snapped Caleb's head around. "What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?"

The cold clenched in Slade's gut. Reaching out mentally, he blended his energy to Jane's. She slept because he'd forced her to, but beneath the coercion, there was burning pain. s.h.i.t. He hadn't accidentally converted her. He'd poisoned her.

"Slade?"

The touch on his arm drew him back. Allie was looking up at him, pity in her eyes. They were all looking at him. He felt the brush of Caleb's mind. The calculation in Tobias's.

"What do you know, Enforcer?"

The chair creaked as Tobias sat back. "Sanctuary is coming."

"Now tell us something we don't know."

He wiped his mouth. "For her."

Caleb snapped. "Why?"

"Ask Slade."

s.h.i.t again.

"Slade?" Caleb asked. "Something you forgot to mention?"

"Her research is as important to them as to us."

"s.h.i.t."

Inside Slade, the vampire rose with the need to protect. His bones ached with the desire to morph. The coppery taste of blood flooded his mouth as his fangs bared for battle.

Allie s.n.a.t.c.hed up Joseph. "How do you know this?"

Shoving Allie and Joseph behind him, Caleb asked too quietly, "Yes, Enforcer, how do you know?"

Tobias c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at them. "You can smell the need to mate on him. But she couldn't take his bite." Tobias c.o.c.ked his head to his side. "Was it your saliva that sickened her?"

"Slade?" Allie asked.

Was she so sensitive just his saliva could hurt her. He ran his hand over his nape. "I don't know."

She can't stay here.

Slade turned with a snarl, meeting the Enforcer's mental push with one of his own. "The h.e.l.l she can't. One foot off this property, and Sanctuary will have her."

Tobias's gaze didn't shift from Slade's. Neither did his energy. "She can be guarded, but not here."

"She stays."

"Slade?" Caleb asked.

"Why does she have to leave?" Allie interrupted.

"To have a mate so close and not take her will drive him insane."

Slade deflected another probe from Tobias, feeling the were's state of surprise that he could. There was a lot his brothers and the Enforcer didn't know about him. A lot he'd kept to himself.

"I'm fine."

"You're not."

Fine enough. "I would never hurt Jane."

"Yes, you would."

The next snarl came from his toes.

The Enforcer stood-tall, broad shouldered, big enough to give even a Johnson pause. "But not because you wanted to. And that's the problem. We can't afford to lose her. And we can't afford to lose you."

"What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?" Caleb demanded.

"When the pressure gets to be too much, he will go berserk."

"Berserk?"

"Crazy with rage. No one will be safe."

"Slade? Berserk?"

It was a measure of Allie's sweetness that she couldn't see the beast within any of them.

"The McClarens have offered her protection," Tobias continued. "They will fight to the death for her. As you will fight for Slade." Folding his arms across his chest, he finished, "No matter what side wins that battle, it will be Sanctuary that wins the war."

Joseph fussed. Allie swore and patted his back. "That can't happen. Ever."

"No, it can't." The resolution in Caleb's voice sent a chill down Slade's spine.

"Maybe she can disappear."

And Slade can go with her. The projection bled from Allie to Slade. Slade shook his head. "They'll never forget about her."

Caleb set his coffee cup on the table. "Maybe it's time you told us why?"

How much to tell?

All of it.

Shut the h.e.l.l up, Enforcer.

"The formula she was working on has promise."

"It can help Joseph?" Allie asked with that ever-present hope Slade wished he could fulfill.

"Maybe. But that's not its true value."

"And what would that be?" Jace asked, entering the room. He had the same square features as all of them, but his hair was longer under his hat, in the werewolf style, and he was flanked by two D'Nally Enforcers. On his cheek was a fading bruise. In an hour it would be gone.

"Hey, Jace. Still settling out the nuances of leadership?"

"Nah, just teaching the rogues technique."

"They must be getting better."

"They're showing promise." He poured a cup of coffee. "So tell me about the true value of this formula."

Slade hesitated. He could normally tell his brothers anything, but Jace was aligned with the D'Nallys now and Tobias had his own agenda.

"G.o.dd.a.m.n it, Slade, you brought her here, we have a right to know," Caleb snarled.

He settled for a compromise. "She's a valuable resource, Caleb. We can't afford to lose her."

"Apparently we can't afford to keep her, if Tobias is to be believed."