“Emma, why don’t you let them through the door? It’s cold out there,” Max interrupted.

She could almost feel Emma’s amusement as the Curana stepped back. “Sure, Sheri, come on in.” The Curana leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Remind me that we need to talk later, okay?”

“Emma, come on.” Max laughed again. “Do you really want to know who I slept with in college?”

“Not really.” Sheri could hear the grin in Emma’s voice. “I just like making you squirm.”

There was the sound of a soft kiss. “I’ll make you squirm later,” Max purred softly in Emma’s ear. It was obvious he thought no one else would hear him, but her hearing was even more acute than a normal Puma’s.

She could feel her cheeks redden at the banked heat in his voice. Emma’s soft “Oh, boy” sounded too much like how she felt as Adrian slid an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. His hand landed possessively on her hip as they walked into the room.

“What was that about a rabid boyfriend?” Adrian asked. His voice sounded strained.

Strained or not, she loved listening to it. It was warm and rich like melted chocolate, running over her skin in a sexy slide that raised goose bumps on her arms. Her eyes flashed red behind their glasses. Darn it .

Melted chocolate described the good doctor perfectly. Rich chocolate brown eyes, dark brown hair and tanned skin over smooth muscle made the man a rich treat she was dying to eat up, especially since she was a devoted chocoholic.

Too bad it wouldn’t work out. Rudy would take one look at the good doctor and eat him for lunch.

Literally.

Max sighed. “Long story, buddy, and one we’ll be telling the entire pack. C’mon in, take your coats off and have a seat. Hey, Jerry.”

She gave Jerry the command that let him know he was off duty, so when Max bent down and petted him, he wagged his tail hard enough to nearly pull the harness out of her hand. She laughed, glad her dog and her Alpha liked one another. “He likes you.”

“Good, because he’ll be seeing a lot of me.” He took her coat and handed it to Emma. Adrian casually guided her to a large burgundy leather sofa. She could see people moving around, but couldn’t really make out faces. Scents, on the other hand…

There were several men and women in the group; thankfully none of them wore perfume or cologne, something Weres tended not to do anyway. Their sensitive noses wouldn’t allow it. None of their scents were familiar except for Max, the Betas and Adrian. Children squealed and laughed upstairs. She could make out the sounds of a video game running somewhere and figured the majority of the children were there.

The enticing scent of the luscious Dr. Yum drifted towards her. “Rabid boyfriend?” Adrian whispered in her ear as he settled in next to her.

She sighed. “I only want to tell it once, okay?”

Silence.

“Please?” She didn’t know why she was pleading with him, but the weight of his stare was beginning to make her uncomfortable. And uncomfortably hot, something she did not need to be in a room full of predators.

She could just make out his nod before she heard his “Okay.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “But we will talk about this later.”

The feel of his breath on her ear and neck sent a shiver down her spine even as his commanding tone got her hackles up.

She frowned at him and started to say something, only to be interrupted by Max. “Okay, people, listen up. We have a new Pride member to meet tonight. She’s someone Simon and I knew in college, someone I changed when she needed help. Her name is Sheridan Montgomery. She’s a good person who’s had a hard time. She’s come to us for help, so please listen up.”

Sheri could hear the Alpha in Max’s voice, felt his power reach into the room. All of the conversations died down immediately as she stood and stepped forward. She could smell Max and his mate standing next to the fireplace, with Simon and Becky on Max’s right. She turned reluctantly to face the room. The moment of truth. Will they help me, or not?

“Hello,” she began, her fingers tightening on Jerry’s lead. He reacted by going back on duty, settling down next to her in an alert posture. “I’m Sheri.”

Adrian sat back as casually as he could and tried to get his tense muscles to relax. His mate had been threatened, and from the way Max and Simon were acting she was still under threat. His Puma was practically vibrating. If he’d had a tail it would have been swishing rapidly back and forth. Hell, even as a human he had the urge to stand up and pace, but he forced himself to stay still and listen to what Sheri had to say.

“Back in college, I dated a man named Rudy Parker. I was in my third year of the Comp Sci program, he was in the graduate program. Mechanical Engineering. He wanted to work with robots.” She smiled sadly as she said it. “He seemed like the answer to every dream I’d ever had.”

Adrian nearly growled. The thought of her caring about someone else that much set his teeth on edge, and he’d only known the woman for about an hour. Every possessive instinct he had began stretching, like a cat waking in the morning light, all of its attention centered on the slender blonde in front of him.

“In my senior year little things started to happen that had me worried. He’d tell me to wear a skirt, because he loved me in skirts, then he’d get upset if I wore jeans. He’d buy me hot chocolate to drink and pout if I wasn’t properly grateful. Things began escalating right before I graduated.”

Her voice was strong, but her hands began to shake. He had the urge to get up and put his arms around her, to let her know she’d be safe with him. Did this Parker guy hurt her? If he’d laid a hand on her he was a dead man. Adrian would hunt him down and gut him personally.

He felt someone’s eyes on him and turned. It was Simon. The man looked at him as if he knew exactly what he was thinking. And if anyone in this room did, it would be the big artist. His mate had been attacked and badly injured by a Pride member before she’d been turned, and Adrian knew Simon still wished he’d killed the bitch. Becky leaned into Simon and stroked his arm soothingly, but her eyes were glued to Sheri.

Adrian turned his attention back to his snow princess.

“Rudy knew I couldn’t see very well. I’m legally blind. I used a cane when I went places at college and at home. I knew my way around fairly well, so it wasn’t difficult, and the cane came in most useful when doing things like crossing the street. He took my cane, told me it had been stolen by some kids playing a prank, and then offered to help me around campus. He started missing his own classes to get me to mine, which seemed really sweet at the time. But if I didn’t go into the building, or if he checked on me and I wasn’t there, he would freak.