Force of Temptation

“Shush,” he soothed, petting her with firm strokes all the way from her head to her tail. The writhing soon stopped, but she kept on growling—it was one continuous sound. “I’m mad at them too.” He scratched the top of her head. “But you still can’t kill them.” And so the growling continued.

When some of the tension finally left her, Jesse lay on the sofa, legs crossed at the ankles, and rested her on top of him. He scratched her behind the ears and under her jawline, until the growling turned to purring and she relaxed.

Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, he switched on the TV. The cat opened one eye and, apparently uninterested in the choices that Netflix had to offer, closed it again and drifted off. They stayed like that for hours as Jesse had his own movie marathon. The Wolf of Wall Street was just finishing when there was a knock at the door.

Still pissed with his pack, Jesse wasn’t in the mood to get up and greet anyone. “Who is it?” he called out gruffly, stroking the waking cat sprawled on his chest.

“Me,” said a female voice hesitantly. Shaya.

He silently swore. If it had been anyone else, he could have told them to fuck off. But he found it practically impossible to be mad at Shaya. “Door’s unlocked.”

It slowly opened a little, and Shaya stepped halfway inside, clearly unsure of her welcome. “Hi.” She smiled at the cat. “Hi, there.”

The cat released a quiet growl.

Shaya’s smile wavered. “Not a happy kitty.”

“No,” agreed Jesse.

The Alpha female blew out a long breath. “Can’t say I blame her. Our pack let you both down today—hell, they let themselves down. Bracken and Zander feel truly awful.”

Jesse frowned. “They had nothing to do with it.”

“No, but they were part of the last pack that ganged up on Harley. It’s eating at them that ours did the same thing. That’s why they’re both currently guarding the perimeter of your lodge, refusing to let anyone near it. I had to prove my intentions were honorable before they’d let me pass. I mean, hello, I’m Alpha female here.”

Jesse’s mouth kicked up into a smile. He wasn’t surprised. He, Bracken, and Zander had been friends since childhood and were as close as brothers.

“They’re also making Eli and Roni hang behind until you agree to see them. I can understand if you’d really rather not, but I’d appreciate it if you’d let them fix this. They feel bad about it, and they don’t want a divide in the pack.”

Neither did Jesse. As Nick said, they needed to be a unit right now. Hector was the enemy. Eli might have acted like an asshole, but he was a decent guy who’d had Jesse’s back in battle more than once. Jesse sighed. “All right.”

Shaya brightened. “Thanks, Jesse.” She called the two wolves over. Eli entered first, though he only took a single step inside. Jesse didn’t get up to greet him. Honestly, it would be better if he stayed where he was and kept a tight grip on his mate anyway. Tension was gathering in her muscles, but she looked deceptively relaxed.

“I came to apologize,” said Eli, casting the margay a wary glance. “I took my anger out on you and I said some pretty sly remarks. I was out of line.” Simple. To the point. No attempt to justify his behavior. “It won’t happen again.”

“No, it won’t,” said Jesse.

“And I’m sorry for my mother’s behavior.” Eli shook his head. “She had no right to do what she did. If I’d known what she planned, I would have put a stop to it. Please believe that.”

Roni entered then, shoulders hunched and eyes glinting with shame. The cat unsheathed her claws, and Jesse ground his teeth as they dug into his skin. Just a little more pressure would have him bleeding, so he was glad that Roni didn’t advance any farther into the room.

“I’m sorry too, Jesse.” Roni bit her lip. “I don’t have an excuse. There isn’t an excuse for turning up at your house to confront your mate—a female who was totally justified in what she did. I’m not going to blame my mother. Nick was right; I should know better than to let her get me all worked up.” She looked at the margay. “I came to apologize to Harley too.”

Going by the way she was tapping her claws . . . “I don’t think Harley or her cat will be receptive right now.”

Roni’s shoulders slumped. “On a scale of one to ten, how mad at me is she?”

“Harley or her cat?”

“Both.”

“Harley blames Kathy, not you. But her cat . . . she’s gonna need a little time.”

Roni inclined her head. “Fair enough.”

“Kathy, Caleb, and Kent have been dealt with,” said Shaya. “The boys had actually backed down well before Nick arrived at the scene. They feel like shit but are too scared to face your mate, especially in her cat form. As for Kathy . . . she’s been uncharacteristically quiet. Subdued, even.”

“It’s because Jesse told her she lost a lot of his respect,” Roni explained. “Respect means a great deal to my mother. Not just because she’s a very proud, dominant female, but because my father placed a lot of importance on respect.”

Eli nodded. “He’d say you had to give it before you could get it, that to lose someone’s respect was a shameful thing.”

“Then it would seem that Jesse hit her where it hurt.” Inhaling deeply, Shaya turned to Jesse. “Dinner’s almost ready. Are you coming to the main lodge to eat?”