Page 122 of Shifter Situations

“Now that everyone is listening,” Sloane began, glancing at the purple sky as she watched the beginnings of the sunrise. “Briggs, would you take Ripley inside to get some clothes?”

“Whatever you say, Barbie,” he rumbled, grunting when the panther shoved past him.

“Novak, keep Hyde on the porch,” Sloane commanded. “If you can. She’s a slippery bitch when she’s mad, so don’t take your eyes off of her.”

He groaned, tightening his hold on the petite succubus. “Is she worse than drunk Jack?”

Hyde twisted her head to wink at the vampire, a savage grin splitting her face as she kicked at his feet with each step he took.

I turned my attention to the group of guys across from Sloane, observing the darkness roll over Arwen’s features.

I couldn’t be sure if he was pissed about the way Novak was man-handling Hyde or just the touching in general. But I decided to watch his reactions. I didn’t like the hostility he was exuding.

“Vaughn? Would you go with him? He’s going to need your help. The necromancer has epically pissed her off.”

The fae nodded, narrowing his eyes at the other males. He had a newly acquired soft spot for Hyde, but it was a soft spot nonetheless. I’d seen him protect Blaire fiercely, and I knew he’d do the same for the tiny succubus.

Sloane motioned for Palmer, Stone, and me to follow her as she ate up the distance to Dolyn and the other three males. They glared at her in varying degrees of annoyance and fury.

Her steps didn’t falter as she smoothed her hand down the front of her shirt—the fae’s shirt.

She pointed her index finger at Arwen, the vivid red nail sharp enough to kill a man. “You first. Listen closely because I’ll only explain this once.”

He nodded, glowering when she smiled at him.

“Hyland Drake might be your mate, but she is not your property. I have killed more people for her than you can fathom. I will not so much as blink over adding your name to that list if she asks it of me. Do you understand?”

Once again, he nodded.

She tilted her head as we heard the door to the cabin open, listening to Briggs grumble as he and Ripley came back outside. Then she swung her attention from the necromancer to the trio.

“Fantastic. Now for the three of you.”

The djinn rolled his eyes, getting an elbow to both sides of his ribs from Dolyn and the skinwalker.

Sloane narrowed her gaze on her childhood friend, and the temperature around us heated to an uncomfortable temperature.

“You were asked to protect her, not smother her. There is a big fucking difference. I don’t care if she’s your mate. She deserves space and peace after the shit she’s been through.

“If she wanted attention, then she would seek one of you out, or maybe all three of you. Creeping on her and overcrowding her is not okay. Tread carefully. I’m learning that she’s quite feisty; so should you guys.”

Dolyn released a deep breath, nodding his head slowly as he accepted what Sloane was telling them.

“I look forward to getting to know you three, and Dolyn will likely agree when I say that can go one of two ways. We can all be cordial to each other, possibly even friends, or I can make your life a living heaven. I have been looking for new subjects to experiment on; my usual tactics are getting boring. But I’d prefer not to go that route with you.”

The incubus grinned at her, shaking his head, and she leaned a little closer.

“Once you get your shit sorted with your mate, I have some questions, D.”

He raised a brow, pointing to his mouth, and Sloane scoffed.

“I’m living for the silence around here. Are you going to be a dick if Palmer unmutes you?”

His head bounced as he shrugged, not giving her an answer, but she knew him well enough to know that Dolyn Drake was his own breed of asshole.

Stone stepped into Arwen’s line of sight, his eyes intense as he stared the necromancer down.

“Not everyone can talk out their problems when they’re mad and still think rationally. You like space when you’re overwhelmed, and so does she. That’s why she came to Sloane, Arwen. She wasn’t being childish; she was trying to calm down before she did something that she would regret. Being here didn’t just offer her a safe place to decompress; it offered you one too.”