“To be fair, it’s called putting them out of their misery.” Jonas laughed, handing the little girl over to her petite mother. “Snitch,” he accused the little girl, but his smile and tone of voice was anything but chastising.
“Da called me ‘itch, Momma,” Amber gave a mock little pout, though her blue eyes were gleaming with childish laughter as her arms wrapped around her mother’s neck as she turned back to her da. “Don’ call me ’itch, Da.” She wagged a little finger at him, obviously mimicking his actions.
Jonas chuckled at the childish order before moving to his feet and stealing a kiss from the girl’s cheek. “Then don’t snitch on Da,” he warned her, the laughter in his voice another surprise.
Stygian would be damned if he could ever remember seeing laughter in Jonas’s gaze, let alone hearing it in his voice.
“Come on, snitch, let’s get you bathed and dressed for dinner. Do you think you and your da could refrain from the food fight tonight? Those carrots were not easy for Erin to clean…”
She continued into the other room as her voice trailed off and Amber’s laughter became indistinct, leaving Stygian to miss it more than he was willing to admit.
That moment of tenderness, of family intimacy was nearly more than Stygian could bear. And in that moment, the young woman waiting in the other room jumped into his mind.
Skin like the softest silk; eyes the sweetest, softest gray; and a body that would tempt a monk. Full br**sts confined beneath the sports bra, gently rounded hips and toned thighs. Lips with the slightest sensual pout and a temper that would test even the most patient Breed.
Being next to her in the Dragoon had tested not just his patience, but also his self-control. He had wanted nothing more than to taste those sweet lips before moving on to certain other body parts.
“Control your lust, Wolf, or I’ll start thinking she’s your mate,” Jonas murmured, amused.
Stygian frowned back at him. “Hell, a Breed can’t even get horny anymore without being accused of mating.”
Jonas’s lips quirked in a hint of a smile. “True, Wolf. Very true.” Then he nodded to the monitors. “Go on out there, distract her a bit. Once the link reactivates, I’ll join the rest of you. Have the others keep their distance from her in case the skin tags she’s wearing are programmed to shut everything down once Breed body heat has been detected.”
Breeds had a body temperature that ran a degree or two higher than humans and made some electronics much easier to shut down if they were programmed correctly.
Stygian nodded, turned and headed back to the sitting room where the young woman waited.
And he started praying—
Praying she wasn’t his mate. Praying she was his mate.
And praying he could keep her alive.
CHAPTER 2
Waiting wasn’t high on her list of things she enjoyed, Liza admitted as she was forced to wait for Jonas Wyatt.
And waiting nearly an hour before coming face-to-face with none other than the big bad director of Breed Affairs himself didn’t help.
Not that she hadn’t met him before.
She had.
Just never quite like this.
And definitely not with what appeared to be the Alphas of the Wolf and Coyote packs as well as Callan Lyons, leader of the Feline Prides and acknowledged spokesperson of the Breed communities, entering behind him along with more than a half dozen other Breeds.
The room suddenly seemed way too small; the air around her too thick and heavy with male testosterone and dominant power.
“Miss Johnson,” Jonas greeted her cordially as she rose from her seat and Jonas stepped in front of her. “We need your help.”
Liza’s jaw tightened furiously as she came to her feet. “You need more than my help and you’re sure as hell going to need a few good lawyers.”
She really wasn’t happy over this. And if Cullen and Reever’s comments were any indication, then they were furious. The team of Coyote soldiers that had actually been following Liza had managed to completely disappear.
Reever had already threatened to have several of the men in the room neutered. Jonas was threatening to castrate them himself.
“We just saved your life,” Jonas stated, as though that were a boon she owed him.