She hoped it hurt. A lot.

Bunny stood as the sheriff entered Chloe’s room. The man’s eyes went immediately to Chloe. He didn’t even try to hide his wince. “Still no change?”

Bunny shook his head, watching closely. The sheriff approached Chloe’s bed. He took one of her pale hands into his and bent down, his hat nearly falling off. He grabbed it before it could land on Chloe’s face. “Hey, little vixen. You need to wake up now. Sarah’s threatening to bake cookies, and you know how she is in the kitchen.”

There was no response, not that Bunny had expected to see one.

“Do you know who my daughter’s mate is?”

Anderson lifted his head and stared at Aunt Laura. He nodded. “Yeah. I know who he is.”

“And?”

He straightened up and let go of Chloe’s hand. “He’s not in town right now. Sarah called him and let him know what’s going on. He told her he’d be back as soon as he could.” Anderson shifted, looking uncomfortable. “There are a few things you should know. First, he doesn’t know about us. He’s human.”

They all nodded. Bunny’s mother had been human, and the stories about how his father had cornered and claimed his mate still had the power to reduce grown men to giggles. The fact that Barbra Bunsun had every intention of being caught only added to the joy of the story.

Still, everyone knew you had to be careful when claiming a human mate. Not everyone would respond well to finding themselves furry. In the past, there had been those who had attacked their shifter mates, thinking them possessed by the devil.

“Second, he had the mistaken impression that Chloe and I were dating.”

Bunny folded his arms across his chest and snarled. Next to him, Ryan growled.

They, too, had thought the sheriff and Chloe were dating. The way Chloe spoken about him, the bracelet he’d given her for Christmas with the little cats and foxes on it, had all said girlfriend as far as the Bunsun-Williamses were concerned.

Hell, as far as he knew Ryan still thought it, despite being told Chloe had a mate somewhere out there.

Anderson’s hands went up. “We weren’t. Damn it. My mate still gives me fits about that.” He rolled his eyes. “But Jim blames both of us. The third problem is he thinks Chloe’s too young for him. He even told her as much.”

“Will he come for her?”

Aunt Laura was still staring at Anderson, her gaze boring into him.

Anderson nodded. “I think he will. Sarah says he loves Chloe, he just needs to deal with his issues. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s here before morning.”

“How would Sarah know this?”

Anderson’s whole face softened. “My mate is the Omega of the Halle Pride.”

Bunny was confused. As the Omega, Anderson’s mate should have known exactly how the man felt, both about her and about Chloe. The way he understood it, Omegas were the emotional lynchpin of whatever Pride or Pack they belonged to.

How could there have been any confusion over which one he wanted? There was no way, once he met his mate, that he could confuse it for anything but the mate bond. Had he met his Sarah after he’d begun dating Chloe, or had it been some sort of cosmic misunderstanding? Unfortunately Bunny didn’t feel he had the right to ask the sheriff that question. He barely knew the man, after all, and only trusted him because he’d helped Tabby.

“Any idea who did this to my daughter?” Uncle Steve’s voice was low and threatening. His hand reached out and stroked Chloe’s hair.

“I have some theories, but until I’m sure, I’m not going to say anything. Don’t ask me, I won’t tell you.”

And that was when Bunny realized exactly what sort of man stood in front of them. Anderson radiated an aura of power he’d only felt once before. “You’re a Hunter.”

Anderson’s smile was grim. “Yup. How’d you know?”

“I had a friend once, James. He’s a Hunter.” It had been a long time since he’d seen James. He was the Bear Senator as well as a Hunter. He was a charming rogue with a core of steel. The aura of power faded, leaving Bunny feeling a little off balance.

“James Barnwell?”

Bunny’s brows shot up. “You know him?”

Anderson grimaced. “The son of a bitch trained me.”

Bunny snorted. He’d heard more than one person use that tone of voice when describing James. Hell, he’d heard him called much worse than that.

“He’s also the reason we’re in this fix with Chloe and Jim, in a roundabout sort of way. He convinced me not to claim Sarah before I left, Sarah and I almost imploded and we each turned to other people to get over it. Chloe and I were friends and we talked a lot. I asked her to keep an eye on Sarah. Sarah started hanging out a lot with Jim Woods, Chloe’s destined mate, and Chloe got jealous. I don’t think she even realized what she was doing, but Chloe was the one who had everyone thinking we were dating.” He shook his head. “If I hadn’t come back when I did, both Chloe and I could have lost our mates.”

Bunny winced in sympathy. He couldn’t begin to imagine spending eternity without Tabby now that he’d had her. But to lose her before he got to claim her would have been torture.

“It doesn’t surprise me that James told you to hold off on your mating. He doesn’t believe Hunters should be mated at all.” Bunny shared a glance with Anderson.

Someday James Barnwell would find his own mate, and when he did, he knew exactly how the Hunter would react.

Poor girl. I hope I get to watch the mighty Hunter fall. The sheriff was watching him, a questioning look on his face. “When he finds her, call me. I’ll bring the popcorn.”

Anderson shook his hand. “Done.”

“I hope this Jim person gets here soon,” Uncle Steve said, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

“I just hope she responds to him.” Ryan stalked out of the room, his tension obvious. Watching his baby sister lying motionless in that hospital bed was hitting the other man hard.

Bunny held out his hand, pointing to the door Ryan had just walked out. “Could I ask you a few questions outside?” He led the way after Anderson nodded his agreement. He made sure the door was shut before asking the question burning in his gut. “Tabby got a phone call this morning, and I need to know if this person is a threat to her or not. And before you ask, she’s refusing to talk to me about it.”

“I’ll answer if I can.”

“Who the hell is Gary?”

When Anderson’s midnight blue eyes turned to gold, Bunny knew the answer.

Gary was trouble.

“So?”

Tabby winced. Cyn was behind her, guarding the end of the counter, trapping her behind glass and artwork. Glory was leaning over the counter, her face full of mischief. The shop was empty, and the moment she’d been dreading all day was finally here. Her nosy-ass friends had her cornered. “So what?”

The two women exchanged a glance. “How was it?”

Tabby’s cheeks heated up. “It?”

Glory’s head tipped back, exposing the long line of her neck. “Oh, Bunny,” she moaned. “Bunny, Bunny,” she chanted, each one becoming more breathless, until, “Bunny! ”

Cyn was laughing her ass off as Glory faked an orgasm. What neither woman saw was Ryan right outside the door, his eyes narrowed as he glared at Glory. When Glory threw her head back and shuddered, his fists clenched, his eyes turning deep, dark brown.

If Glory didn’t stop, Ryan was going to do something seriously drastic. She just hoped drastic didn’t involve Ryan’s claws and Alex’s face.

“Knock it off, guys.”

Glory giggled and waved her hands like a hula dancer. “Well? How was the motion of his ocean?”

“Screw that.” Cyn propped one hip against the counter. “I want to know about the size of his boat.” She held her hands at least seven inches apart and waggled her eyebrows.

The bell over the door jingled and Ryan sauntered in, his gaze glued to Glory.