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“Not any people,” he corrected. “Only his pack.”
“I’m not in his damn pack!”
“But he did make you.”
“Make me!”
“Shae, shouting will not help us find the solution.”
She rolled her eyes at him and rose from the bed to find a nightie to pull on. The decision gave him relief and disappointment. “He made me like y’all, so he can throw me around like a rag doll. Can you do that to me too? Is that why you and I did—”
“No!” He blew a breath out through his nostrils and spoke with more reserve. “I told you. I am a rogue. I do not have a pack. I am not an alpha.”
She put a hand on her hip, considering him. “But you do have the power of one, don’t you?”
He refused to answer that question. “You are correct. You are not a member of his pack, so he controls you only because he made you, and there was a level of intimacy started between you.” Eiji ground his teeth. “When you are fully wolf, he will have the ability to mark you as his mate and claim you.”
“Which means?”
“You walked away from him tonight because you wanted to. As his mate, you won’t want to.”
The bathroom door slammed shut, and the lock clicked into place. Eiji banged on the door, but she refused to answer. He picked up the sound of retching, and he shut his eyes, resting his forehead on the chilly wooden panel. No matter how many times he called out her name, she ignored him.
After some time, the toilet flushed, and the faucet water ran. The low shoosh of a toothbrush being used started up, and then more water. She gargled, and the shower turned on. All the time, he waited, listening for sniffs or sobs. There were none. He’d known from the first time he met her she was strong. Yet, often he thought there was more to her, something beyond normal American women. He couldn’t be sure, and she hadn’t shared all regarding her family. He had seen the hesitation whenever the subject arose. He considered it rude to push and waited for her to trust him. If she had done so earlier, tonight would not have happened. Still, he couldn’t blame her.
A new scent met him, and a low growl began in his throat. He took another second to listen in on Shae’s movements and then left the house. Not fifty feet away, the beast waited. Eiji shut the door and walked into the shadows. The brown wolf was nothing special, big body, conical head, and shorter legs. He bared his teeth at Eiji and crouched low as if ready to attack, but Eiji didn’t sense the intent to kill, at least not at the moment.
They stared into each other’s eyes a long time, assessing. Eiji didn’t risk looking away. He knew the wolf would take it as him giving place or as fear. Even if he didn’t mean to attack, he would do so because he thought he had the advantage. Eiji would not give him the opportunity.
“Change,” Eiji commanded, growing tired of the game. “You have something to say. Hai?”
The wolf gave a low, annoyed yip, and then he did shift to a human form. Eiji recognized him right away, although he had known before now. Travon, the third in Darryl’s pack.
“What do you want?”
Travon spit on the ground in front of Eiji. “I came with a message from Darryl.”
Eiji waited in silence.
“He wants to thank you for taking care of his girl.” The grin that spread over the man’s face said the words were far from gratitude. “You’ve done a good job. You got her over the hump when our kind risks dying. A lot of our women die before…” For a few seconds, real emotion appeared in his eyes, and then it disappeared. “Darryl says keep your hands off her now. Don’t even think about having sex with her because he’ll know if you do, and you’ll find yourself dead like your cousin.”
Eiji stilled. “What do you know of Izumi?”
Travon waved a hand like that wasn’t important, but Eiji stormed him and whipped the man off his feet, holding him by the neck. Two strides forward, and he slammed Travon against the tree behind him. Travon’s feet dangled inches off the ground. He tried prying Eiji’s hand from his throat, but failed.
“Answer,” Eiji spat. His eyes burned a little with the change because his anger had erupted, and fine white hairs skimmed along his arms. If he wasn’t careful, he would shift to the white wolf, the form most of the women in his family took on.
He squeezed Travon’s neck, and the man gasped and gurgled for air. “I-I c-can’t tell if I c-can’t breathe.”
Eiji let him fall to the ground, and Travon rolled to his knees, rubbing his neck and panting. He glared up at Eiji while he crouched. “You’re going to pay for that shit.”
“My cousin,” Eiji repeated.
Travon took his time standing. “I don’t know nothing. Just that she died, and she was one of us.”
Eiji’s eyes widened. “In your pack?”
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