“That year I met Max.” Her smile wasn’t sad anymore; it was mischievous. “He was dating a girl who was getting too clingy and he was trying to get out of the relationship without hurting her feelings. And, no, there wasn’t another woman involved; he just felt pressured and wanted out. So we wound up comparing notes and some of the things I told him triggered alarm bells for him. He said he wanted to meet Rudy and I said sure.”

Adrian could feel her tension. Everyone, with the exception of the children upstairs, was completely still.

“Needless to say, Rudy wasn’t happy to meet Max. That night we went on a date and he took me out into the woods. I didn’t think anything of it at the time because we’d gone there before. It was his favorite place to be, someplace where we could talk about our dreams, how we wanted our lives to go, that sort of thing.”

She sighed, her head dipping down and off to one side. Adrian had the impression she was looking at him. He caught a flash of red from her eyes before she tilted her head back up, hiding her eyes behind those glasses. “He attacked me that night. I didn’t believe in Werewolves or Werepumas before that night.”

“Werewolves?” Belinda asked. She’d taken up a position near Becky, as was her habit since the attack on the female Beta. Becky’s eyes narrowed; Emma looked thoughtful. The Pride leaders both looked cold and emotionless, putting Adrian on guard. He turned his attention once again to Sheri.

“Yes. Werewolves. Rudy transformed right in front of me and attacked me. He held me on the ground and tried to mount me. My injuries were…bad.” She took a deep breath, obviously rattled by the memories, and Adrian couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He stood and went to her, standing next to her, holding the hand that wasn’t holding Jerry’s harness. She seemed to steady at his touch, her voice calming and growing stronger, and his Puma purred in satisfaction. “I managed to get away from him but I was bleeding pretty badly. Sometimes I think he wanted me to get away, that he wanted the thrill of the hunt, but I don’t think he expected me to get to the road.” She smiled slightly. “My guardian angel finally woke up when I reached the road, because I was nearly hit by Simon, who was coming home from a party.” Simon nodded grimly, confirming her story. “I begged him to take me to the hospital. He took me to Max instead. I don’t remember much of what happened after that, but when I woke up I was completely healed, other than a bite mark.” She pulled aside the edge of her white sweater to reveal a scar. Out of the corner of his eye Adrian saw Becky rub a similar mark. Simon’s hand covered his mate’s and he looked down at her with a fierce protectiveness that, for once, Adrian completely understood because he was battling the urge to look down at Sheri the same way.

Sheri let the edge of her shirt go and took his hand again. He wasn’t certain she noticed she’d done it.

“Max bit me and changed me. If he hadn’t I would have died. When Rudy tried to hurt me again I was able to defend myself. I was forced to run when he tried to hurt me with his Pack backing him up.”

Max took over before Adrian could ask some questions, like, why aren’t you a Wolf? “At this point I was pretty sure Parker was rogue. I contacted the local Pack, and they knew nothing about him or his small band of friends. They promised me they’d deal with him. When Parker tried to get back at me for changing Sheri, Simon and I managed to fight him and his ‘Pack’ off. He’s been chasing Sheri ever since.

She’s been forced to move around a lot and not have anyone close, like a Pride, for fear Parker would use them against her. She’s petitioned to join our Pride, which means she’s no longer alone.” Max’s hard gaze swept the room. “ We deal with this threat now.”

The Alpha smiled when his Pride members murmured their consent. Adrian felt Sheri’s hand tremble in his.

“Now, for those of you with kits, keep in mind that Parker is a sick man who won’t stop at anything to get Sheri back. Keep them safe, know where they are at all times. I’ll e-mail everyone with a photo of Parker so that if you see him you know what to do. Contact me or Simon—”

“Or me,” Adrian piped up, squeezing Sheri’s hand reassuringly. He let up immediately when he saw her wince, but refused to let go.

“Or Adrian.” Max nodded. “Under no circumstances, other than threat to your kits, are you to approach Parker in any way. He runs with about three other wolves. That may or may not have changed. I’ll contact the Pack in the Pocono’s and see if they’ll help. Last I heard the Pack leader was isolationist, so we may be on our own on this.”

“I’ll help,” Belinda said. “There are places she may need to go to that a man can’t go. I’ll go with her.”

“Well, she’s not the Curana so she should be safe,” one of the females muttered.

“Excuse me?”

Adrian shuddered at the ice in Emma’s voice as the Pride’s Curana took offense at the woman’s tone. A thin mist surrounded her, a serious indication of just how pissed off she was. “Do you doubt my word that Belinda Campbell had nothing to do with the attack on Rebecca Yaeger?”

Uh-oh, them’s fightin’ words . If the woman knew what was good for her she’d back down and apologize immediately. Adrian watched as several of the women winced and drew away from the offending member of the Pride.

“No, Curana.” The woman bowed her head in submission.

“Good.” Emma looked around at the other members of the Pride. “I expect this nonsense to stop.

Belinda has proven to both Rebecca and me that she had absolutely nothing to do with Olivia’s attack on Rebecca. Punishing her for Olivia’s actions is wrong, and I expect better of my Pridemates.

Understood?”

Adrian watched as Max positioned himself squarely next to his mate, a cool warning in his eyes for anyone who would challenge her. To challenge Emma was to challenge Max, and not a single male in the room believed himself capable of defeating the Alpha. When the Betas ranged themselves right next to the Alphas and added their glares the argument was pretty much over.

Murmurs of assent drifted through the room and the Alphas relaxed. “Sheri will be working part-time at Wallflowers, starting tomorrow,” Emma added in a warmer tone of voice.

“She can move into Becky’s apartment, it’s right above the store,” Simon said, his arm going once more around his mate.