“Behave,” he said, then left.

Willow didn’t move until she heard the front door close, then she got out of bed and took a shower. She needed her sisters. Needed their advice bad. One night with the Alpha and already she was doubting things, hell, even pondering ridiculous notions like actually being his.

A nasty memory popped in her mind. David ordering her on the ground as he mounted her from behind...as his friends watched. Humiliation burned hard inside her, tears welled in her eyes.

“Fuck that,” she said viciously and slammed her hand into the shower handle to turn it off. She dried off and dressed. She checked to make sure her eyes weren’t red as she went to find a phone.

She found one in the office downstairs. Pictures lined the walls filled with happy moments between Lyonis and the pack members.

Willow grimaced as she dialed Chloe’s cell. It went straight to voicemail so she tried Lily’s line next. She sighed with relief when she answered.

“Hola?”

“Lily, it’s me.”

“Woohoo! It’s about time you called, sista. We’ve been waiting to hear something. Chloe said she called you but the connection was bad or something like that.”

“Yeah,” Willow said, “She called when I was Germany but I couldn’t make out what she said. She mentioned something about the demon being dead.” Willow took a seat at Lyonis’ desk and kicked her feet up on it.

“Yup, she downed it...with an axe to its head!”

Willow’s jaw dropped. “What?”

Lily laughed. “You heard me. She felled that thing like an Amazon warrior. It was epic. So where are you?”

Willow looked around the office and considered lying. Admitting that the Alpha had bested her in this particular match didn’t sit well with her.

“He got you, didn’t he?” Willow sighed heavily.

“Yes, for now. I’m in his house at his in Oklahoma. Ugh, get me out of here, Lily.” Her sister’s tinkling laughter grated over her nerves like sandpaper.

“No way. You two are going to have lots of fun.” Willow pulled back the phone and glared at it as if it had two heads.

“Have you been talking to him or something because I keep hearing the same thing from him?”

“Nope, never met him but I’m going to. I’ll call Chloe as soon as we hang up and we’ll come over.”

“Thank God. You guys can sneak me out of this place.” Relief had her shoulders sagging.

“No can do,” her sister said flatly.

“What the hell do you mean no can do?”

“I’ve had visions, Willow. I’m not taking you out of there and neither will Chloe. You need to stay there and deal with things; it’ll turn out for the best, I swear.”

“Excuse me?” sputtered Willow. “You cannot leave me here! This is a prison. There is a girl already who has a fucking bullseye on my head. She probably thinks I’m encroaching on her man. And he has extra guards to keep me from escaping.”

Lily sighed loudly. “You’re just exaggerating now. Really, Willow, leave that for me please. I’ll tell you what just because I love you, I’ll call Chloe right now, and we’ll be there ASAP.” Willow checked the clock.

“Ugh, I’m afraid that’s not soon enough. It’ll be at least a day before you guys could get here.” Lily giggled.

“Nope, Tyrian has special demons on his team. They can teleport!” A sudden throbbing pain slammed against Willow’s forehead. She rubbed it.

“Isn’t that just peachy.”

“It is. Also, I’m going to seduce my demon.”

“Huh?” Willow said, feeling dumber by the minute.

“Telal Demuzi. I met him, and I’m already halfway in love with him. I keep having dreams about him,” she sighed dramatically. “I can’t wait for my birthday. Another eight months...”

“Riiight,” Willow said. “Listen just get over here as soon as you can. I need you guys.” She said the last softly and hoped Lily didn’t hear the desperation in her voice.

“Right-o. Love you, sis. Have fun why don’t you? We’ll be there as soon as we can. Bye!”

Willow started to say goodbye but Lily hung up before she had the chance.

“Little brat.” She laughed softly.

Feeling infinitely better knowing the cavalry was coming to help, Willow went outside. The town looked completely different from yesterday. People were out walking, dogs were in the yards, children and mother’s were out playing.

Willow took a deep breath, then went to introduce herself. It wasn’t because Lyonis asked her to, but because she needed to find allies. Allies to help her escape.

Lyonis smiled at his guards, Jackie and Thane. He didn’t trust anyone more to run the pack while he was away. They were his best fighters, his smartest soldiers, and his most trustworthy. Both dominant shapeshifters, Thane and Jackie took a long time to accept a partnership.

Lyonis knew his pack members and sometimes he knew things about them they never quite saw themselves. In this case, he knew that Jackie and Thane were desperate for each other but allowing their own differences to keep them apart. He almost grinned at them; if only they had any idea just how great two dominants could be together. Already he was learning, and he loved it.

“You’re late,” Thane said with a frown.

Lyonis grinned at him. “I was occupied this morning.”

“I bet,” Jackie said with a cocked eyebrow.

Thane gave her a hard look. “I guess in your world a man can’t enjoy his new mate.” Jackie crossed her arms and squared off against him.

“No, Thane. In my world, work comes before play. Besides, she isn’t his mate yet. If you knew anything about women, you’d have seen the look on her face at the welcoming ceremony. She’s pissed.”

Lyonis sat down and grinned at the play between them. Thane seemed to stand taller as he loomed over his partner.

“I know enough about women to know that she’s putting up a front. A front that she wants knocked down one thrust at a time.”

Jackie sighed with disgust. “Oh, please. Not everything revolves around sex, Thane.”

“That’s only because you never allow the males to sniff around you.” Jackie stiffened; her eyes glowing with the need to shift.

Lyonis came to a stand. “Enough of the pleasantries. Let’s get down to business. What did I miss while I was gone?”

Thane took a seat but Jackie stood. Lyonis wanted to shake both of them. He wasn’t the only one who saw what was between them. The pack whispered about it behind their backs.

“Amy’s been prowling since you left and now that you’re you came back with another woman, she’s pissed,” Jackie said.

“That isn’t news,” Thane said. “Amy will get over her Alpha infatuation and move on to someone else eventually.”

Jackie’s jaw flexed side to side. “Maybe or maybe not. She can be a problem, Alpha Lyonis. She’s highly territorial and she has had her mark set on you. I’d caution your future mate.”

Thane shook his head. “In other news, thing were pretty solid here. We had a successful hunting party. We have enough meat to last us through the winter.”

“Fantastic,” Lyonis said. “Anything else?”

“No, everything’s been normal.” Jackie paused then said, “So are you going to explain the succubus to us.”

Lyonis grinned as he remembered his first morning awake with his mate. She hated that he made her feel good. He wondered why that was. Was she merely that stubborn or was there more to her?

“I already did. I went to get her as ordered in the will Francis left me but what I found was something much greater. I felt the connection the instant I saw her. My mate.”

Thane smiled like a cat. “She’s not bad on the eyes, either.” Jackie’s eyes rolled.

“You think that about all women.”

“Not redheads.” The barb sent Jackie’s back ramrod straight; her eyes glowing in anger...and hurt. Lyonis saw it a second before she hid it.

“Enough!” Both of them bowed their heads. “You need to care for one another to be the best at what you do. Not fight all the time. This is not healthy and it does not set the kind of standard I want in my pack leaders.”