A yawn broke from her as she stretched out on top of the comforter. It had been a long, traumatic day. She’d been attacked at the gates and then again on Reservation. The day couldn’t end soon enough. Smiley was in the living room and she knew no one would get past him. She was safe.

* * * * *

Tiger jogged to the left of the trees while Vengeance dodged to the right. The human had taken to the forest and they’d had to leave the Jeep behind. The human had made a mistake since his scent was easier to follow with the thick vegetation blocking the wind. Tiger crouched, sniffed the air and knew he was close to finding his target. The scent was strong and the prey was terrified. He’d made it almost two miles but it wouldn’t be far enough to escape. The human had slowed from exhaustion and his weakness was sure to get him caught.

Tiger ran, following the scent. He saw something ahead and sprinted quickly for it. His eyesight was good at night. It was a gift of his altered DNA. He was grateful for it tonight.

The human was limping. Tiger smelled Vengeance coming from the other side to trap their prey between them. This was the male who’d touched Zandy. He silently slowed before leaping to land next to his target.

The human gasped and fell back on his ass. Tiger roared. The male screamed in response. The stench of terror intensified—a bittersweet smell. The urge to tear the son of a bitch apart was strong but instead Tiger reached down, fisted the male by his shirt and yanked him to his feet. He was big for a human male.

“Why did you attack the female and trespass into her quarters?”

The smell of urine was strong. The human had wet himself. Vengeance laughed. Tiger waited for the human to respond.

“We thought she was Jessie North,” he sobbed.

Tiger growled. “She is not.”

“I know. I saw her driver’s license.”

The man’s front pocket started to beep. Tiger tore the material open, grabbed the cell phone and looked at the caller ID. He growled and turned it to face the male he held. “Who is this?”

“One of the guys. He said he’s going to meet me over the wall to get me the fuck out of here.”

Vengeance growled. “You will not be meeting him. I’m hungry, Tiger. How about you? I say we chow down on this son of a bitch.”

The human moaned in horror, almost causing Tiger to smile. Vengeance was good at terrorizing the stupid ones. He believed they’d eat him now. If the male had a brain, he’d know they didn’t eat people and, even if they did, they sure as hell wouldn’t want something that reeked of body odor and piss.

“What did you want with Jessie North?”

Tiger snarled when the male refused to answer. He knew it was just the thing to do when whimpering sounds came from the human.

“I was ordered to kill her. Okay? I was told to slice her damn throat. She’s betraying mankind by sleeping with one of you animals. It’s just not right.”

“Why did you attack the human female in her bed?”

“She is living with you assholes too. All bitches deserve to die if they let one of you screw them.”

In a fit of rage, Tiger threw the son of a bitch. The male’s back hit a tree hard. He groaned as he fell to the ground and kept whimpering in pain. Tiger had the urge to kill him but Vengeance’s presence prevented him from doing it.

“I am about to lose my temper and we need him alive. Will you haul his ass to the Jeep, Ven? I’m going to make a call. We need to interrogate him and see who he’s working with so we can round up the stupid bastards.”

Vengeance nodded. “I think I will dunk him a few times in the river first. I don’t want to smell him while we take him in.”

“Good idea.” Tiger lowered his voice. “Make sure you don’t drown him but I won’t mind if he thinks you might.”

Vengeance chuckled and hauled the human male to his feet. “Let’s go, piss pants. The river is calling your name.”

The human screamed. The sound was high pitched and Tiger cringed. He heard Vengeance snarl in response.

Tiger opened his phone and dialed Security. “We have the human male. Check all the walls. He said someone would meet him for pickup. Locate and grab them. I have his phone.” Tiger flipped it open. “He made two calls since the attack, to two different numbers. Get ready to trace them. I want all these bastards caught. They thought the human female was Justice’s mate. He was here to kill her. Call Homeland and have them tighten security around Justice and Jessie.” He hung up.

Tiger had ordered Zandy to stay at Reservation, thinking she’d be safer behind their walls. Instead she’d been attacked for living on Reservation and being human. He stomped to his Jeep to wait. He glanced up at the sky, wishing he were in bed with Zandy. He wanted to see her to make sure she was really fine. He turned when he heard Vengeance and the frightened, wet human male coming from the woods.

“He’s clean.” Vengeance chuckled.

“He tried to kill me,” the human male sputtered.

Tiger grinned. “Shut up or I will ask him to keep trying until he succeeds.”

The drive back to Security was a short one. Tiger sped. He dropped off the human to be interrogated. Usually he’d do it himself but he wanted to see Zandy. He needed to see her. He tossed his keys at Vengeance.

“Take the Jeep home and stop being an asshole. I have better things to do with my time right now than deal with your temper tantrums. Patrol Wild Zone if you want to do something. Bring them in alive if you find humans.”

Vengeance nodded. “I will patrol.”

“Good.”

Tiger took off, jogging toward Zandy’s building. He needed the time to calm before he faced her. He didn’t want to frighten her and he was still suffering from bloodlust. He felt much calmer when he knocked on her front door. He hated finding it locked to keep him out. Smiley answered the door.

Smiley frowned. “She is sleeping. I assume you wish to ask her questions. It should wait until morning. She’s told us everything she knows.”

Irritation rose quickly at being told what to do by the other male. “You’re relieved. I’ll stay here until she wakes.”

Smiley hesitated. “She is attracted to you physically. I smell it on her when you are near. I like her a lot, Tiger. I would like to talk her into dating me. I can’t tell you who to share sex with but please keep it in mind if you scent arousal on her. I don’t want another obstacle in my way if she doesn’t enjoy the outcome of you touching her when it wouldn’t mean anything to you.”

Tiger was instantly enraged. “Leave,” he growled.

Smiley knew he’d gone too far. He lowered his gaze before he inched past Tiger’s rigid frame. Tiger wanted to slam the door but he closed it quietly, locking it. The male had openly just admitted to wanting Zandy but he wasn’t going to have her. He spun on his heel, walked to the bedroom door and eased it open.

The bedroom was dark with only a narrow beam of light coming from her bathroom. Zandy was sprawled on her stomach on the top of the covers. The scents of other males masked a lot of hers. It drove him a little crazy, knowing how close she’d come to dying and that he hadn’t been there to protect her. Others had come to her rescue.

The loose shorts showed off her bare legs and one side had slid up to reveal one rounded ass cheek. She wasn’t wearing underwear and the baggy shirt rode up to reveal inches of her spine. The thought of Smiley seeing so much of her made him want to track the male and punch him in the face.

A soft growl refused to be denied but she didn’t stir. He reached down and unfastened his pants. His cock flared to life. The desire to touch her and have her under him made him quickly strip. He breathed in the mixed scents in the room and wanted her immersed in his. He knew he was being irrational, she wasn’t his, but he couldn’t help it.