“Have you tried petitioning the closest human resources office for help?”

She shook her head. “I’ve heard of the Poconos boss. He’s a scary guy, and his COO is said to be a little insane.” She heard someone in the booth behind her choke, but ignored it. “I heard she’s from around here, but she left before I arrived.” Tabby shrugged. “Besides, Gabe is aware of what’s going on and he’s doing his best to look out for me.” Although she hadn’t yet told Gabe about how Gary and his Pack had cornered her in the woods. Damn, with everything that had been going on, she’d forgotten she’d wanted to speak to the sheriff about that. It seemed like her life was both spinning out of control and finally finding its center.

Gary hadn’t found out her new cell number yet, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still stalking her.

“What’s that frown for?”

She looked up from her plate. Seeing the look on Alex’s face, she grimaced. “I need to talk to Gabe about something.” One of those dark brows rose and she winced. “I just want to tell him that some of Gary’s issues are beginning to spill over onto Cyn and Glory.”

He looked unconvinced. “And then you’re going to tell him about the butterflies that flew out of your butt.”

Okay, the person behind them really needed to stop listening in on their conversation. Throaty feminine laughter floated over them and Tabby frowned, not sure if she was more pissed at the eavesdropper or Alex. “Look, he’s begun harassing them too. He knows that if he hurts them, it hurts me, and it would be my fault.” It would damn near kill her if something happened to Cyn or Glory because of her.

“Bullshit. It would be Gary’s fault.” Alex’s expression turned thoughtful. “Maybe its time we called in some reinforcements then.”

“I agree.”

Tabby blinked and turned. There, standing next to her, was a short, curvy woman with long dark hair and laughing brown eyes. Behind her stood one of the handsomest men Tabby had ever seen, his sky blue eyes serious. His blond hair just brushed the collar of his blue shirt. The only flaw on that perfect face she could see was a small scar just along one side of his nose, so faint it was barely noticeable. Dr. Max Cannon, Alpha of the Halle Pride, slipped his arm around the waist of his wife and Curana, Emma Cannon. “I understand you’re having some problems.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Captain Understatement.” She smiled at Tabby, her expression mischievous. “Lion-O and I heard everything.” She rattled off an address Tabby knew was in one of the more affluent sections of town. Not quite in the same area as the truly rich, like the Howards, but still pretty respectable. “Come over to our place, both of you. We need to talk.”

Tabby blinked. That hadn’t been a request. “Okay,” she drawled. She’d heard about the Little General who ran the Halle Pride alongside her mate. You did not want to be on her bad side.

Emma nodded. “Good. We’ll see you there in half an hour.” She pulled out her cell phone and began to dial. “Sarah? Listen, I need you and Gabe at our place in half an hour.” She frowned. “Sleeping in? There’s no time to sleep in.” She began to march out of the restaurant with an absent wave at the stunned couple at the table. “We have an issue! Oh, and I need to grab a hold of Becks and Simon. You can call Adrian and Sheri. Yes, I know what time it is, Sarah. Why do you think I’m giving you half an hour?” Emma pulled the phone away from her ear and frowned down at it. “Do you kiss your husband with that mouth?”

Tabby bit back a giggle. She now understood the other nickname she’d heard in conjunction with the Halle Curana. Hurricane Emma.

Max shook his head, his lips twitching as he watched his mate walk away, still chattering on the phone. “I don’t know where the hell she thinks she’s going. I’ve got the car keys.” He turned back to Tabby, a small swirl of power surrounding him briefly, sending a shiver down her spine. She had the oddest urge to bow down to the Puma, his Alpha powers caressing her with a different flavor than that of the Wolf Alpha she’d once served. “I’ll see you both in half an hour.

Whatever the problem is we can fix it. One way or another.” He nodded goodbye to Alex and followed his mate out the door.

Tabby gulped at Max’s ominous words. “Uh-oh.”

Alex frowned. “What? I’d think this would be a good thing. You have the local guys on your side, right?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t know if Gabe ever told them I…was fired, and what for.

And they have strong ties to the Poconos boss.”

Alex shrugged, his eyes glued to the man leaving the restaurant. “It’s a moot point now. We’ve been summoned, not much we can do about it.” He cut into his strawberry-coated pancakes. “Eat your bacon. Something tells me we’re going to need our strength.”

Bunny pulled the Jeep to a stop outside the two-story Craftsman style home. A dark gray gable roof was set off by rich mahogany brown shingles and bright white trim work, with rich red fieldstone set around the base of the house. The front had that beautiful pillar and post design, with a covered porch that wrapped around to the left side of the house. An attached garage had been seamlessly integrated into the right side of the house. Huge glass double doors with an art deco design waited to greet visitors to the home. The house was warm, inviting and beautifully maintained. In the driveway sat a red Dodge Ram and a black Mustang. “Wow. Nice place.”

Tabby nodded and opened her door. “Yeah. Nice.”

He studied her face. She was pale and shaking. “It’s okay, baby.”

She took a deep breath and huffed it out. “The last time I got summoned by an Alpha, I was Outcast.”

“Max has no cause to ask you to leave Halle. Besides, he’s not your Alpha.

Technically, he can’t outcast you.”

She shook her head. “Bears don’t have Outcasting, do they?”

“Not really, no. We don’t have the same kind of Pack or Pride structure.” Not all shifters had traditional Alphas and Omegas and all that political crap. Most were simple family groups, like the Bears, Foxes and even the otherwise solitary Tigers.

The loose-knit family groups would keep in touch via couriers in the old days and, in modern times, snail mail and e-mail. They held the vote for their proxies on the Senate that way, never having to meet unless they wanted to. Outcasting was something reserved for those who abided by the more stringent rules of the Packs and Prides, like the Wolves, Coyotes, Pumas and Lions, where one shifter’s actions could endanger the lives of all.

“Then trust me, it’s a really big deal.” She shrugged her shoulders like she was shifting a heavy weight. “Let’s go, I guess.”

Bunny held out his hand, offering his mate his full support. No matter what happened in that house, Tabby was his mate. That meant she could fall under either Pack law or Bear law. And since Bears had no Outcasting system, as far as he was concerned his mate had no problem.

One of the front doors opened. Emma Cannon stood there, a grin on her face and her hand on her hip. “I was wondering how long you two would stand out there.

C’mon in. We won’t bite, I promise.”

Bunny moved forward, enjoying the warmth of Emma’s greeting. He could already tell there would be few problems on that front. Emma was greeting them like old friends. “Thank you, Mrs. Cannon. I’m Alexander Bunsun.”

Emma’s lips curved up in a wicked smile. “I know who you are. You’re the wereBunny who rode into town on a hog.”

Bunny didn’t know whether to laugh or not. “Um… Yeah. Maybe?”

A woman with wild curly hair down to her waist pulled Emma out of the doorway.

“Don’t worry, she has that effect on a lot of people.” She ignored Emma’s rolled eyes and pulled Bunny inside.