“I’m guessing more and more people are thinking Dana was right and that I was behind the shootings, then.” It was more of a question than a statement.

“I’d say our trigger-happy friend has gone quiet to cast suspicion on you and make us stop watching everyone so closely.” Ethan was no doubt right about it.

“You don’t deny that people suspect me,” she began, “so I’m guessing I’m right.”

“It’s mostly just Dana, Shirley, and Cynthia.” Max’s derision was clear in his voice. “Don’t let it get you down, sweetheart. They’re not worth it.”

“Don’t waste your thoughts on them. You’ve just mated, enjoy it,” Ethan urged her.

She smiled. “Will do. Love you both.”

“You too, sweetheart,” said Ethan.

“Love you, Ri.” Max made a kissing noise just before the line went dead.

Returning her cell to her pocket, she crossed to the table and took the seat beside Tao. He’d already poured her coffee and filled her plate with pancakes drizzled in syrup. “Aw, thank you.” She didn’t miss Gabe mouthing, “Whipped” at Tao, but her mate just snickered at him.

“How are your uncles doing?” Tao asked.

“They sound good for two people who no longer trust most of their flock mates.”

“You told them we mated?”

She forked up a small chunk of pancake. “Yep.”

“They’re happy for you?”

She smiled at the “They’d better be happy for you” note to Tao’s voice. “For us, yes.”

“Good.”

“I think they might be a little disappointed that I’m no longer part of the flock, but they did their best to hide it from me.” She simply knew them too well.

“Did you tell them about Ramón?”

“No. It would have just frustrated them that they couldn’t be here to help, not to mention make them worry about me even more than they already do.” She sipped her coffee. “You planning to call your parents and tell them we’re mated?”

“Yes. After that . . . how about we let our animals out to play?” His wolf was craving it. “We’ll stay close to the mountain.”

Her raven perked up at that idea. “All right.”

Once they were finished with breakfast, Tao went off to call his parents while Riley settled the kids in the playroom with Grace and Rhett. To Riley’s utter surprise, both Avery and Lennon insisted on speaking with Riley to offer congratulations and promised they would visit soon. Well, it was good to know she wouldn’t forever be at war with her mother-in-law.

With all that done, she and Tao made their way out of the caves. At the clearing near the lake, he began removing his clothes. Riley was so distracted by the flow of muscle rippling fluidly beneath his skin that she just stood there, practically drooling.

Naked, he grinned at the hunger in her eyes. “We’ll get to that later. My wolf wants time with you first.” He pulled back and gave his wolf the reins.

Riley squatted to pet the wolf. She loved his thick, midnight-black fur. Loved sifting her fingers through it and hearing him rumble contentedly.

She laughed as he did a complete circle around her body, rubbing himself against her. “Someone’s possessive,” she teased. He playfully bared his teeth, so she did the same. Then Riley stripped and gave her raven freedom.

The wolf padded through the woods, hopping over logs and thick tree roots. The scents of pine needles, moss, and sun-warmed earth spoke to him. But it was the scent of his mate—their combined scent—that stood out above all else for him.

Her shadow moved over his as she soared above. She was agile. Graceful. Called to him to play. With a playful growl, he gave chase. She swooped low. The wolf bounced up to swat her. He missed. She was fast, sneaky.

The raven flew in circles around the wolf, taunting him. Then they raced through the woods alongside each other. Tired, the raven perched herself on his back as he padded back to the clearing. On their way, they passed two enforcers.

Dominic blinked at the sight of them. “Now that’s something you don’t see every day.”

Trick raised a brow. “Or ever.”

Deep inside the raven, Riley smiled.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The next day Trey and Taryn called a strategy meeting in Trey’s office. The Betas, the enforcers, Tao, Riley, and Makenna were all invited. In addition, Nick and Shaya, the Mercury Pack Alphas, were included in the meeting via teleconference.

Leaning against his office desk, Trey ran his gaze along everyone as he said, “Taryn and I have been talking about the best way to deal with Ramón. We can all agree that he’s not going to give up, and ignoring what he’s doing will give him the impression that we’re scared. We need to retaliate, but we need to do it in a way that’s smart. He’ll be expecting an attack, so he’ll be prepared for it. Besides, his residence is locked up tight and well guarded, which means that trying to infiltrate it would be difficult. And I don’t know about the rest of you, but, honestly, I’m sick and tired of war.”

Nick spoke. “I know what you mean, I feel the same way. But it just seems like everyone keeps bringing the fight to us.” His redheaded mate, Shaya, nodded, her elfin face grim.

Marcus looked from Trey to Taryn. “What kind of retaliation did you have in mind?”

Taryn, who was sitting on the desk and swinging her legs, replied, “We thought about pretending to back down so we could get close enough to get a grip on him, but he won’t buy it. Not after how long and hard we’ve fought him, and especially not while he knows we’ll be righteously pissed at him for trying to snatch Dexter.”

Shaya leaned forward, brow creased in concern, as she looked at Riley. “How is the little cub?”

“He doesn’t seem to remember any of it, and we think the drug they gave him is to blame for that. He wants to go back to the park so he can get a red balloon.” Riley had wondered if the memories would come back to him, but they hadn’t. It was a blessing, really, because what two-year-old wouldn’t be frightened after almost being snatched? Savannah had been watching him like a hawk, as if afraid he’d disappear if she didn’t. It broke Riley’s heart a little.