Page 27 of Howl About That

Here we go,Keiro thought grimly.

"What do you mean your fated mate was in trouble?" Helias's voice dropped to that dangerous quiet that had intimidated pack members for decades.

"Did I not make myself clear enough?" Keiro's own voice turned silky with challenge, his Alpha presence filling the smallroom. "Poppy Mintz is my fated mate, and I bought the land to help her with some financial issues."

Helias shot to his feet with uncharacteristic speed, his careful composure finally shattering completely. "I don't know what you think you're trying to do here, but you cannot mate with a lioness Alpha and help her with her financial concerns!"

The dismissive tone, the assumption that Keiro would simply bow to tradition and walk away from his mate—it ignited something primal and furious in Keiro's chest. His wolf growled with fury, demanding dominance, demanding protection of what belonged to them.

"Well, I can and I am." Each word came out with deadly precision, his Alpha authority radiating through the room like heat from a forge. "She is my fated mate, and that is non-negotiable. I don't care about pack tradition or the old way of thinking that wolves and lions should remain divided."

Helias's face flushed with anger, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "Keiro, you cannot be serious. The bloodline implications alone?—"

"I'm dead serious, and I've already made her co-owner of that land. We're in a business partnership now. End of discussion."

Without waiting for Helias to respond, Keiro turned on his heel and strode toward the door. He could feel the elder's fury radiating behind him, could practically hear the arguments and threats forming, but he refused to engage further.

The cool air hit his face as he stepped outside, and Keiro had to resist the urge to go to his pack right now and declare that Poppy was his fated mate, although he suspected that knowledge would soon spread like wildfire. Keiro turned down the familiar pathway that led him back to his family's estate, fury burning in his chest alongside something harder to define—determination, maybe, or defiance.

Some things need to start changing around here.

But he'd just provoked the pack's oldest and most influential elder and potentially created a political nightmare that would ripple through shifter society. What else was he supposed to do though—walk away from his mate because tradition frowned upon it?

The thought of Poppy's fierce independence, her refusal to simply accept his help, her walls rebuilt the moment she'd allowed herself vulnerability—it all crystallized into something approaching clarity. She was resisting the bond not because she didn't feel it, but because she'd learned to carry everything alone, learned that survival meant self-sacrifice.

Just like he had.

Well, not anymore. We're better together,he told himself as his estate came into view.I just have to keep proving it through action to her until she believes it.

ELEVEN

POPPY

The stone driveway was warm beneath Poppy's boots as she stood in the afternoon sunlight, watching Keiro's Bentley disappear around the bend toward the main road. The elegant vehicle had looked absurdly out of place against the rustic backdrop of her estate, much like everything else about this impossible situation she'd created.

Co-owner.

The word echoed in her mind like a bell she couldn't unring. Five hundred acres of Mintz land that had been lost to financial necessity two years ago was now hers again—technically hers and Keiro's. The papers they'd signed that morning at the bank felt surreal, her signature next to his on documents that made them legal partners in something that went far deeper than business.

Her lioness prowled beneath her skin, still rumbling with satisfaction from their morning together. The memory of Keiro's hands on her body, the way he'd worshiped every inch of her skin with a reverence that made her forget why she'd built walls in the first place—it all crashed over her in waves that left her yearning for more and furious at herself in equal measure.

Best sex of your life,her lioness purred smugly,and you pushed him away like a coward.

Poppy closed her eyes against the accusation, but she couldn't deny the truth of it. The moment she'd felt herself melting into him completely, felt the terrifying possibility of actually needing someone, she'd slammed her defenses back into place with brutal efficiency. The look in his eyes when she'd pulled away—confusion, hurt, something approaching devastation—had haunted her for the past several hours.

But what choice did she have? Letting herself fall for Keiro Izell would create ripple effects she couldn't predict or control. Cross-species politics alone would be a nightmare, but add in her precarious financial situation, the ninety-day countdown to complete bankruptcy, and Sander's constant challenges to her authority…

You can't afford to want him,she reminded herself firmly.Even if he's everything you never knew you needed.

The sound of approaching vehicles pulled her from her brooding. Three black SUVs wound up her driveway, and Poppy's stomach dropped as she recognized the efficient convoy that meant Neve had mobilized a cleanup crew. Her Beta emerged from the lead vehicle with characteristic grace, her light brown hair pulled back in a tight ponytail that emphasized the sharp intelligence in her dark eyes.

Behind her, two burly lion shifters from the pride emerged from the second vehicle, carrying what looked like body bags to dispose of the rogue lion shifters Poppy and Keiro killed last night outside the estate. Another pair of lion shifters from the pride emerged from the third vehicle, carrying tools to work on replacing the stained-glass window beside Poppy's front door.

"Well," Neve said without preamble, her voice carrying that blend of concern and exasperation that Poppy knew all too well, "this is quite the spectacle."

Poppy watched the cleanup crew work with professional efficiency as her mind processed the reality. The violence of the previous night felt distant now, overshadowed by the emotional carnage of her morning with Keiro.

"What happened here?" Neve continued, moving to stand beside Poppy on the stone driveway. "You weren't exactly forthcoming when you called me last night."