When Mack circled too close, I snapped. He jumped back and growled a low warning that I didn’t heed.
Aylin, she's not pack. Alpha Lowell ordered that no one is allowed on pack land during this time. Mack’s smooth rumble ran over my body, commanding me to listen.
He was right, but I hadn't introduced Luna to Bryn and Liam. They would accept her. I hoped.
I'm bringing her to them today. The lame response rolled off my tongue like rain down a windowpane. I should have introduced Luna to them sooner, but I had had other things on my mind. Connor's cocky grin flashed through my mind and heated my skin.
Mack shifted into his human form. The man hovered over me in his flannel sweater and tight jeans. His six-foot-four frame demanded I relinquish my wolf. Damn it! I wanted to run and be free. Now, I had to be an adult and face the protectors of the pack.
I called back my wolf and urged her to allow my human side forward. She shook her head, wanting to stay and guard her new friend. Her hesitation surprised me. My wolf and I were always on the same page, but tonight she rebelled. My inner self snarled and commanded her to step aside.
I hated to argue with my wolf. It had been too long since I allowed her to run free. And we needed this. But I also needed to speak with Mack, and he preferred human form.
C'mon girl, I cooed to my wolf. We'll run afterwards. I promise.
She whimpered, but moved to the deeper part of my mind, allowing my human side to step forward. The shift came easily. I tossed my long, red hair over my shoulders and eyed the two men before me. Mack and Cole were good men and great for the Lowell pack. They honored Liam, but didn't agree with my position within the pack. Few understood why I was the enforcer. Only those whom I had to handle would agree with Liam's decision.
I faced down these two testosterone-filled men who deemed Luna a threat.
“You escort her off the premises, or I will,” Mack said.
I tilted my head. It wasn't often that someone within the pack challenged me, but this was a new time. Liam worried about his wife and unborn child. The command to keep all non-pack members off our land was vital, and I had defied that order. But Luna was Bryn's half-sister, and I had a feeling she would help us in our fight against the rebels and Gabriel.
Bryn and Liam would understand once I introduced her to them.
“No, I will take her to Liam. She is no threat.” I cued Luna to shift, hoping she took my advice and showed the guys she wasn't a risk. It took several minutes of earth-shattering silence before she shifted into her human form.
Sunlight glinted off the platinum hair of the small woman stood beside me. Her dark eyes darted between the men and me. She shivered. I placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her nerves.
“What?” Eyeing Luna with curiosity, Mack took a step forward. “She's a relative of Bryn's?”
“Yes, a half-sister, and I haven't introduced them yet.” I held out a hand, stopping Mack's approach.
His eyes darted to my imprint, and he gasped. Such an unmanly snort.
I tried hard not to laugh. Honestly, I did, but when my chuckle escaped, I couldn't stop. The soulbond was new, and I had been trying to forget about it with my wolf's run, until these two interrupted it.
The crash of reality came back full force. I laughed harder. My secret was out.
Mack's eyes sparked with interest, and Cole took a step back, his fingers falling short of holding up the cursed cross.
“Uh-uh.” I waved a finger at Mack, who ignored my warning and took another step forward.
The unbonded imprint attracted males, releasing a pheromone that increased sexual interest. Luckily for me, I had an ace in my pocket.
“Aylin.” Mack's husky voice trickled over my skin and turned my stomach.
For once, I was thankful for Connor's lack of restraint. I moved my hair and tilted my head, showing off the love bite on my neck.
“I'll challenge him for you.” Mack knelt in front of me and kissed my knuckles. “You are worth claiming the right way. Who is this fool?”
I pulled back my hand and wiped it on my pants. Connor would not be happy at all. I tried to reason. “Mack, this isn't you.”
“Hmm... Aylin,” Luna said.
“For you, I'll risk it all,” Mack said.
“Man, stop it.” Cole slapped the back of Mack's head.
“Ouch!” Mack stood. His interest did not recede.
“Connor wouldn't appreciate you advancing on his territory,” I said.
“Aylin, I've never known you to place yourself in someone else's hands,” Mack said.
Connor would not be happy. Neither was I.
Stupid soulbond. Mack was a friend. A comrade now acting like a buffoon. A small part of me smiled at the attention, but my smarter half knew that I needed to stop this before he thought he had a chance. The last thing I needed was a challenge thrown out for my affection. “Well, my mate, Connor, has made me see things differently.”
“Mate? Connor?” Mack asked.
“Yup.” The agreement rolled off my tongue like a prayer. The idiot knew exactly what he had done marking my neck and, with my encounter with Mack, I was thankful for it. Damn Connor for being right.
“Why didn't you say something sooner?”
“Listen, I will not discuss Connor and me anymore—” I reached for Luna “—I need to take Luna to Bryn and Liam.”
“Right, the half-sister,” Cole said. “Which half?”
Damn it. “Does it matter?”
“Well, considering Cassiel was in captivity for the last decade, and Bryn doesn't know she has a half-sister, I'm guessing—” Cole eyed Luna with distaste “—that she's a product of evil. Gabriel's bastard child.”
Luna inhaled a shocked breath.
“Wait, a minute.” I curbed my need to make him scream for
