Zandy laughed. “The local motels won’t rent to them?”

Richard shook his head. “Nope. They put out big signs. Haven’t you seen them? They state ‘no anti-New Species persons’ allowed right there with the ‘no shoes, no shirt, no service’ signs. It’s kind of funny.”

“That is. I’ve never visited any of the motels. I bought my house online and did all the paperwork by fax. I just moved here after the house closed. I’m glad Justice North is happy. I like him. I’m glad he found someone but I thought he’d take a New Species mate.”

“You and everyone else.” Richard accelerated once they reached the highway that would lead them into town. “The fact that she’s human is going to stir up every asshole out there who has a problem with the NSO. We’re going to get slammed with hate mail but just remember to respond nicely.” He turned his head and winked. “Insult them back with polite sentences.”

“Dear sir, your thoughts are much appreciated by our entire mail department because we laugh daily over your views and hope you have the kind of day you’ve wished on us too.”

Richard chuckled. “Too bad we can’t just tell them to fuck off.”

* * * * *

Tiger snarled as he hung up the phone and glared at the males around him. “Lock it down and triple security. I want the males from the Wild Zone patrolling the long stretches of walls where we’re spread thin. Have them break into two groups, twelve-hour shifts and they can tear apart any trespassers if they somehow make it over the walls.”

Flame cocked his head. “Seriously?”

“No. It would be nice though, wouldn’t it? Tell them to terrify but hold anyone they find until we can send someone to collect the morons.”

The other male grinned. “I know I could think of a few humans on the other side of the gate I wouldn’t mind beating on.”

Harley nodded next to Flame. “The loudmouth with the blow horn would be at the top of my list to get an attitude adjustment.”

Tiger’s sense of humor returned as he grinned. “The male in the red beer shirt?”

“That’s the one,” Harley confirmed. “Just two minutes with him and I’d send him home with that horn in a bad place that would make walking difficult for him.”

Moon shifted his stance. “I’d go after the male in the fatigues. He isn’t really military but someone should put him through my version of boot camp.” He lifted his foot to show off his military-issue boot.

Tiger’s bad mood dissipated. “Try to keep your sense of humor. I know it is difficult but we’ll get through today.”

“What about tomorrow?” Harley smirked. “I don’t think this is going to blow over fast. I think those losers out there just realized we can give their women a lot better than they can.” He softly growled. “I could show them with that brunette beauty in the blue suit.”

Moon growled too. “Hot. She could do an in-depth report on me anytime.”

A deep chuckle escaped Tiger. “Don’t flirt with the reporters.”

The phone rang again and Tiger dismissed the males. He reached for it and was glad it was Justice who called. “How is Jessie holding up?”

Justice hesitated. “She’s angry. We expected a backlash but it’s been worse than we feared. Brass said you’ve had a lot of protester issues since late last night.”

“It wasn’t actually bad until a few hours ago. I wish you’d given me warning before you announced this. I wasn’t even aware of what had happened until this morning when I came on shift.”

“I tried to call you but you didn’t pick up. I was told you wanted time off and didn’t want to be disturbed.” Justice paused. “Are you well? Brass said you’d called to say you were spending the night in the Wild Zone.”

Tiger hated to lie. “I just needed to commune with nature.” An image flashed of Zandy under him while he’d fucked her. His dick stirred at the memory of her parted lips and sexy green eyes staring into his. He’d gotten in touch with his animal side all right. A lot. Guilt struck next. “That’s a lie,” he admitted. “I refuse to speak of it but I was with a female.”

The silence on the other line lasted long seconds. “Okay. I don’t understand the reason for secrecy but I’ll respect it. You know you can discuss anything with me.”

He was tempted and hesitated. “Maybe later. I want to work this out on my own.”

“Understood. Our females can be complicated. Do you need more males there? We’re spread thin here but you have more territory to protect.”

“I’ve just sent my team to recruit the help of the males from the Wild Zone. They won’t be real stable but they love to hunt. I don’t think they’ll kill anyone if they find a human. Harley and Moon will assign them in teams to even out the calmer ones with the more feral. It’s now standard procedure here in case of emergency. I’d qualify this as one. How are you holding up?”

“I’m furious. I knew it would cause problems when we released a statement about me taking a human mate but we hoped for the best with her father at our side.”

“Why did you do this now?”

Justice hesitated. “Jessie’s brother was shot. He’ll live but she flew to be at his side. The press saw some of our males on her security team. They contacted us to ask why. We had him transferred to Homeland to recover. It’s safer for her to be with her brother here than at a hospital. Jake agreed and our doctors are caring for him. The reporters weren’t going to let it go.”

“You had no choice.”

“That’s how we felt.” Justice sighed. “I apologize for the difficulty but she’s worth it.”

“I know you love your mate.”

“Love is an understatement. She’s my life. Her brother however is a thorn in my side. I hadn’t met him until they flew him in. He’s difficult.”

“Anti-Species?”

“No. Just an asshole. Think of a younger version of Tim Oberto without the leash since he works for us. Jake quit the military to work for a private security firm. He’s already demanding to see our entire security protocols to fix them. He’s a very protective older brother. I admire his love for my mate but the male is annoying.”

“Humans come with family,” Tiger teased. “He is yours now.”

“Bite your tongue. I know I’d enjoy punching him in that loud mouth of his.”

“Resist. Your mate wouldn’t approve.”

“Jessie wants to punch him too. She threatened to shoot him in his other leg so the scar on his thigh will have a matching one if he doesn’t back down. They have this strange sibling relationship where they argue a lot and make dire threats against each other.”

“My day doesn’t seem quite as stressful now,” Tiger teased. “Enjoy getting to know Jessie’s brother.”

“Take care.”

Tiger hung up and entered the main room of Security. The cameras were filled with scenes of protesters. “Are they behaving?”

“No one is throwing anything since we hosed down the first twenty feet in front of the gate,” Zest answered with a grin. “They didn’t enjoy getting icy water baths.”

“Good.” He brushed his fingers through his hair. “How about the town? Has the sheriff returned our call?”

“He isn’t reporting any trouble. Most of the protesters are avoiding it and instead hanging out here.”

“That’s a relief. I don’t want the town to grow to hate us.”

At least something was going right. Tiger knew it was going to be a long day. He’d had hopes of calling Zandy to arrange a meeting with her after work but she’d be sleeping by the time his shift ended.

* * * * *

“That was fun.” Zandy shot a glance at Richard. “Thanks for buying me lunch in town.”

“My pleasure. You have great taste. I think my wife is going to love that locket with the rose design. It’s beautiful.”

“Just remember to take those pictures in tomorrow when you pick it up after they inscribe it for you. One of you and one of your kids. Every woman would love that. It was actually fun to shop for someone else.”