“Don’t really know. He’s never had a lupus garou the right age to pursue.” Nicol gave a smug smile. “But she sure is keeping him at arm’s length. His face is even reddening a bit.”

Devlyn knew his must have been too, as hot as he was getting. He downed his drink and then ordered a bottled water to chill his blood.

When Alfred tried to move his hand lower down Bella’s back, Devlyn rose from his chair, ready to force one red male to cool it with Devlyn’s intended mate.

Chapter Nine

Before Devlyn could rush to the parquet floor, the music changed to a fast-paced dance and Alfred released Bella. Curbing his temper, Devlyn sat back down at Nicol’s table.

“Hell,” Nicol said to Devlyn and motioned to another man — about the same shorter stature, around five-ten, with brown hair tinged with red. “Ross is headed this way. Guess he’ll think I couldn’t score again.”

Devlyn took his eyes off Bella and stared at Nicol. “You said you hadn’t courted any lupus garou.”

“No, human females. They’re all right, but nothing like one of our own kind. Too tame.”

“Ever thought of changing one?”

Nicol’s eyes grew big. “Why would I want to do that?”

“To have a mate. I considered it a time or two,” Devlyn fabricated — anything to convince Nicol to talk about his relationships with human women. “I thought I might find the one I liked and then, if she were agreeable, change her. Like in your pack, we have a shortage of females who are the right mating age. So... yeah, I’ve considered it.”

Nicol nodded. “Yeah, me, too. But it wouldn’t work. A human would be afraid.”

“Ever have a problem when you’re getting it on hot and heavy and then you have the urge to change?”

Nicol stared at the table, grabbed his beer, and chugged it down. “No... no, and you?”

“A time or two,” Devlyn lied. “You know, during the full moon.”

Nicol slid his gaze away and nodded at Ross when he sauntered over to the table. Devlyn rose from his chair and offered his hand in greeting. Ross ignored him, and, amused, Devlyn overlooked the insult and sat back down.

“This is Devlyn,” Nicol said, “and Devlyn, this is Ross.”

Ross sniffed the air and then frowned. “You’re a gray. Not from around here.”

“Yep.” Devlyn wanted to add, ‘Going to make something of it?’ But this wasn’t the time to act macho.

Ross’s gaze shifted from Devlyn to Nicol and then to Alfred and Bella. He rested his hands on his hips. “Man, that’s her, eh?”

“Yeah, as you can see, Alfred got to her first.”

Devlyn finished his water when Bella sat at the table with Alfred again.

“Are you going to ask her to dance?” Ross asked Nicol.

Nicol rubbed the back of his neck. “And start a fight? You know Alfred won’t let any of us near her when he’s around.”

Devlyn stood. “I’ll ask her to dance.” It was time to do something with that testosterone that made him testy where Bella was concerned.

“But you’re a gray,” Ross said, his voice astounded.

“And have a mate,” Nicol reminded Devlyn.

Inwardly, Devlyn smiled. “Yeah, well, it’s just a dance. Not a proposal.”

“He’s got to be crazy,” Nicol said under his breath when Devlyn moved away from the table. “He’s a gray,” Ross retorted.

Yeah, he was a gray and he would dance with that hot little red number. Nothing would stop him, certainly not one horny red pack leader.

Now what the hell? Bella stared at Devlyn stalking across the floor, forcing dancing couples to move out of his way or get run over. He was going to blow their case, yet from the way he acted, it didn’t matter. She knew he’d have a fit when Alfred moved his hand lower on her backside. And she knew he would watch Alfred’s every move and not have missed the red’s action.

But this was not the way to handle it.

Her breathing accelerated as she tried to think of how to rectify the situation.

Before she could say anything, Alfred turned and saw the lupus garou targeting his date.

“He’s a friend,” she quickly said.

Alfred didn’t look back at her but continued to stare down the impending threat. “The one who wants you?”

“No, the one who rescued me from the hospital.”

He turned to her briefly. “The one who wants to take you back to the gray pack to hand you over to the leader?”

“He saved my life when I was little. He’s changed his mind about turning me over to Volan.”

Alfred shifted his attention back to the menace who stalked across the club, their eyes locked in combat, the wolf way.

When Devlyn reached him, he stretched his hand out to Alfred. “I’m Devlyn and I understand you’re Alfred. I’ve been visiting with two members of your pack. They say you’re a great leader.”

Bella waited in breathless anticipation to see if Devlyn’s words helped soften the confrontation.

Alfred took Devlyn’s hand, but his lips tightened when Devlyn squeezed hard, his own hand much larger. Devlyn’s arm muscle grew taut and Alfred’s eyes watered.

She took a deep breath, hoping Devlyn’s show of strength would make Alfred back down.

“Has Bella told you we’re from the same pack?”

Alfred flashed her a satisfied look at having found out her real name. “She said grays raised her, yes, and that you’d planned to return her to your pack leader.”

Devlyn looked over at Bella for an explanation.

“I also said you’d changed your mind.”

Devlyn’s lips turned up slightly. “I haven’t had the pleasure of dancing with my wolf mate,” he said to Alfred. “I hadn’t seen her in years. Never had the chance to dance with her back then.”

Devlyn showed all of the signs of wolf posturing.

Instead of waiting for Alfred’s response, Devlyn pulled her from her seat, slipped his arm around her waist, and held her close as he moved her to the dance floor.

“Oh jeez, Devlyn.” She frowned at him when he drew her deeper into the mob of dancers. “Could you make it any more obvious you have the hots for me?”

Grinning at her, his hands moved down her backside and cupped her buttocks. “If you must know, yes.”

She encircled his neck with her arms. “Now listen, I wouldn’t let him get away with such behavior toward me. You’re ruining the whole thing. What will he think?”

Devlyn slipped his leg between hers and rocked against her heated core. “What he already knows. I’ve claimed you.” He glanced back at the table where the other reds sat. “Maybe this will work even better.”

She scowled at him. “What if they decide to gang up on you for trying to steal a red from their territory? They’re not going to allow it. Not from a gray.”

He grunted.

Sliding her hands down, she cupped his butt and tugged him closer. “Is this helping your plans?”

Chuckling, he kissed the top of her head. “Yeah, a few more moves like that and we’ll have to return to the vehicle and finish them.”

She breathed in his heady scent. “You sure smell good.”

“Taste good, too, if you want a bite.”

“Ah, Devlyn, what are we going to do? You know I want you, but... “

Raising her chin, he dropped his mouth open to speak, but the words wouldn’t come.

“What’s wrong?”

“That’s all I’ve waited to hear, Bella. You said the magic words.”

He captured her mouth with passionate aggression, his tongue plundering her, claiming her as he’d done so long ago. His hands roamed over her back and then down to her buttocks again, and he pulled her against him. Adrenaline running high, she trembled. She couldn’t deny her feelings for him.

But she couldn’t take the words back now. She’d committed to him, just as if she’d said ‘I do.’

“I mean — “

“I know what you mean. Do we go home now and consummate our relationship or fake this charade a little longer?”

“I haven’t seen Argos yet. What if we miss him?”

“He can get in touch with you the same way.” Devlyn worked her toward the front exit.

“You can’t mean to take me home this instant.”

“Yeah, we have unfinished business, honey. And it’s not waiting any longer.”

She glanced at Alfred. Nicol and another wolf had joined him.

“Ross and Nicol,” Devlyn said when he saw her look at them.

“They’re planning on stopping you from taking me out of here, don’t you think?”

“Damn it.” Devlyn’s brown eyes turned black as his jaw clenched in anger.

His intense posture sent a shiver down her spine.

“What’s wrong?”

“New plan. Zoo man Thompson’s near the front exit looking for you. Let’s find a back way out.”

As soon as he guided her toward a rear exit, Alfred and his wolfmates blocked their escape.

“What if Alfred says he won’t let us leave unless I’ll agree to be his mate?” she asked, her heartbeat quickened.

“You’re already spoken for.” He hurried her toward the exit.

All three reds glared at Devlyn, stood their ground at the rear door, and wouldn’t let them pass.

“We have some trouble,” she said to Alfred, trying to diffuse the fight she feared was about to erupt any second. “Thompson, the man from the zoo who tranquil-ized me and put me there in the first place, is standing at the front door of the club. He probably has police officers standing by.”

“Will you go with me?” Alfred asked.

“I promised myself to Devlyn.”

Swallowing hard, Alfred’s Adam’s apple moved up and down. He crossed his arms. “No deal.”