The image of a small version of Tasha feeling so lost and empty that she used her friend as a substitute sister almost broke his heart. “I’ll bet Tala was happy to be part of that game.” Tasha's smile widened. “Yeah, she was. She never had any siblings, so we both got a lot of fun out of that little fantasy.” Her smile faded as she continued. “But maybe I would have coped a lot better if it hadn’t been for what happened when I was four.” It was a struggle for Onyx to keep his voice even when anger was riding him at the idea of anything hurting her. “What happened, Tasha?” “For the first four years of my life, my parents and I didn’t live on pack territory. The Alpha—Tala’s dad, Jakob—didn’t approve of my mom mating a human, even though my dad was her true mate. So they lived in a house close by. But my parents…See, my dad was a Navy SEAL, so he went away a lot. My mom wasn’t very good at handling it—not

Before Jean had even revealed the Anti shifter ’ involvement, Onyx had known they were responsible, because he could clearly see Jace among the gathering humans. His expression was smug and daring. Little bastard. Vandalizing Onyx’s mate’s—or girlfriend, as Jace believed—place of work definitely counted as personal and was definitely one very good way to rile him. As both Tasha and Jean tracked Onyx’s hard gaze, they each snarled at Jace as the same realization dawned on them. “He’s got balls, showing up here after what he’s done,” hissed Jean, moving toward him. Trevon’s hand on Jean’s arm stopped her. “Not balls,” said Trevon. “He’s hoping Onyx will react.” Trevon briefly explained the situation. Onyx had expected Jean to be pissed with him, to blame him to some degree for bringing this trouble to her salon. But Jean gave Onyx a look of sympathy. “I can’t imagine what you must have gone through in that place. A lot o

Though Onyx’s expression was reprimanding, he kept his voice low and sensual. “Don’t make me bite you again.” Her pupils dilated, and she took an unsteady breath. “Oh, you liked it, did you?” Her snort said, Don’t flatter yourself. He placed his mouth to her ear. “I can smell your arousal, Shay.” The tips of her ears were suddenly as scarlet as her cheeks. “What I really want is to taste it again. What I want more than that is to be inside you. You have no idea how badly I need it.” “Then what are you waiting for?” He smiled against her lips. “For you to beg.” Because he needed an element of surrender on her part—he knew he wouldn’t get her total emotional surrender yet, so if he had to settle for this, it was enough for now. Her mouth fell open. “That’s so not going to happen.” “We’ll see.” He cocked his head, running his finger along her collarbone. “You didn’t give away the mov

Tasha was a calm, practical female who was not reduced to being tongue-tied and shaky at just a guy’s presence. But as she and Onyx stood in the hallway like two cowboys about to have a showdown, it was exactly what happened. His intensity and power wrapped around her like a cloak—not just his power as an alpha, but his masculine power. It seized and overwhelmed both her body and her mind, and she felt totally captivated by it and by him. Tasha's need to have him and be taken by him was primal and potent, making it hard to keep her breathing even and her hands steady. Her mouth was suddenly bone-dry, and her heart was pounding. He hadn’t even touched her, and yet she felt owned at the possessiveness now blazing from his eyes. Then he spoke, and his even, deep, authoritative tone made her and her wolf snap to total attention. “Come here. Last night, I pounced on you. This time, I want you to come to me.”

As she entered the room, Royd straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall and came toward her wearing a devilish grin—yep, he had every intention of flirting with her to annoy Onyx, just like he did to all the mated females to provoke their mates. Well, it wasn’t so much flirting as delivering cheesy lines, but it had the desired effect on the mated males. She halted him with a look. “Royd, if you value your life, you won’t aggravate him right now.” Not while Onyx was being forced to cope with her being in the presence of a number of males, particularly when two of them were unmated. Possessiveness would be haunting him, just as it did her when Sansa was around. Royd, to her surprise, raised his hands in surrender and dropped his smile. “Okay, fine, but I was just going to give you a little kiss. If you don’t like it, you can always return it.” “Royd." “Watch it, blondie,” warned