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I laughed nervously. "Uh, no thanks."

He looked at Yuji and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Yuji is a wicked artist with ink."

Yuji beamed in appreciation. Then he said, "Speaking of ink, I have a new design I want

to show you. I think you'll like it." He leaned back slightly and licked his lips, his eyes devouring Riley from head to toe. "I'd love to ink you again, you sexy white wolf."

Riley chuckled at his teasing. "Sure mate, I'll catch you before I leave."

Yuji nodded. "Cool." Then he went back to work on Mischka's water nymph.

The second we left Yuji's tattoo room, a young woman with skin the color of café au lait

blocked my path. She glared at me nastily before she shifted her gaze to Riley.

"You brought a
human
into The Den?" She looked me up and down in disgust. "How

could you bring her here?"

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Riley spoke to her calmly, but there was a sharp edge in his voice. "What's your problem,

Zoë?"

She scoffed in annoyance. "
This
is my problem," her hand sweeping the length of my

body. "She's not a member of the pack, so why is she here?"

He stepped closer to her, and I could've sworn someone turned down the music. "Because

I
want her here, and she
will
be a member of the pack."

"But she isn't a member
now
. It's not official."

Head cocked, Riley rubbed his chin and wore a thoughtful look. "If I recall, you don't

make the rules around here."

Her lip curled as she set her angry gaze back on me. "You're just a piece of meat. You're

food on his arm, did you know that?"

Riley growled, but I stepped toward her unafraid. "Excuse me, what did you say?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You heard me...meat sack."

I gave her a phony smile. "Ohhh...meat sack? So you
eat
humans?"

She returned another seething look. "I'd love to eat your white flesh."

Low-voiced, I challenged the raven-haired bitch. "I'd like to see you try." I pulled out one of my earrings in preparation for a fight, but Riley pushed me to the side. "Hey!" I stumbled with my footing because of my high heels.

Riley entered Zoë's personal space and growled loudly, his lips peeling back to expose

his elongated canines. It amazed me how his kind could ‘wolf out’ like that.

When she knelt before him with her head low, my mouth dropped in astonishment. He

bent down and grabbed her face with his large hand. He gave her a piercing stare, his green eyes

flashing into amber warning lights. Zoë submitted to him and whimpered under his threatening

gaze.

He snarled, "Don't you
ever
talk to her like that again. Do you hear me?" She nodded obediently. "And don't
ever
talk to
me
like that. Remember who your fucking Beta is." He pulled her up by her shoulders. "Now apologize to my mate."

Zoë approached me slowly, her gaze cast toward the floor. She stood at my height and

mumbled, "I'm sorry." It was a lame apology because her narrowed gray eyes looked at me with contempt. I knew she wanted to tear me apart.

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In the next second, she turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd of people who

watched Riley dominate her. I didn't want to cause problems within the pack, but it would be

naive to think everyone would accept me like Riley had said.

Quinn made her presence known when she laid a comforting hand on my arm. "Don't

worry about Zoë. She's been holding a torch for my brother since we first came to Black River. I

would've disciplined her since I'm the Beta Female, but Riley beat me to it."

Oh great, now I have to deal with competition from a woman with a long history with my

boyfriend
. I wondered how many other females felt threatened by our relationship.

Just at that moment, I realized exactly whom I allowed to claim me. Riley was probably

the most sought-after mate in Black River. He had the most authority aside from his father and

Celia. He was the second-ranked male and dominated his female counterpart, so he held the third

highest position in the pack hierarchy. Not to mention, he was extremely attractive.

With a heavy sigh, Riley ran a hand through his hair. I grinned for a second because he

looked like his father after
he
would discipline
him
. I suspected Zoë had ruined his mood, so I walked over to him and put my arms around his waist. He looked down at me through weary

eyes, and I pecked his lips to show affection. I started to understand my role as his mate and

allowed him to show other
Varulv
he dominated me.

"Thank you for defending me."

He embraced me and smoothed my hair. "I'm sorry I shoved you, but I had to handle Zoë.

I didn't want Quinn to do it because you're
my
mate."

"I understand," I said softly.

He pressed his lips to mine in an open display of affection, but his voice turned serious

when he said, "I won't tolerate anyone in the pack disrespecting you."

He put his arm around my shoulder and we walked to the bar. Quinn joined us, and I sat

between the twins. Riley ordered a beer, I had a glass of red wine, and Quinn felt daring and

wanted a mohito.

"I don't usually drink alcohol," she confessed with a smile.

We were having a good time, especially when Quinn started singing along to Lady

Gaga's '
Paparazzi
'. The fun only lasted a short while because she stopped abruptly.

Riley looked at her with a grin. "Keep going, your favorite part is coming up."

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Quinn crinkled her small nose and sniffed the air. "What the…?" She lifted her head high

and took a longer sniff. Then she swiveled on her stool, her brows knit in confusion.

Riley and I watched her silently. When she faced the opposite direction, a growl escaped

her throat and her body trembled. I touched her arm to calm her because I didn't want her to shift

into a wolf.

“Quinn, what's the matter?”

She gasped in horror. "No!" Then she made a sound of frustration, and I noticed her

knuckles tense as she gripped her glass.

She swiveled back toward the bar and slammed her free hand down, her delicate features

twisted in anger and her wolf eyes blazing. I leaned away from her in fear because I had no idea

what was going on. To my surprise, she yelled and threw her mohito across the bar. It crashed

into a row of liquor bottles and shattered one of them.

The bartender, a young Native American man, looked at her cautiously but didn't say a

word.

Riley hopped off his stool and approached his sister, but she ran out of the club crying,

her long hair flowing behind her.

I stood next to him. "What's wrong with her? Why'd she leave?"

He didn't respond because he was too busy sniffing the air. He mimicked his twin's

actions when he growled menacingly. He froze on the spot, his eyes focused on something...or

someone
. His growling got louder and his lips peeled back again.

I followed the direction of his gaze, and he seemed to glare daggers at a young man

sitting at a table next to an open window. He was part of a group of four, and one of the girls

looked very comfortable on his lap. He had an olive complexion and short dark hair. He laughed

with his group, but I had a feeling his good time was about to be interrupted.

I couldn't tell if Riley walked or ran toward him because his motion was a blur to my

eyes. The next thing I knew, he slammed the dark-haired guy against the wall...and this time the

music cut off.

I ran over to them and Riley had him by the neck at least three feet off the floor. The guy

was more muscular than he was and he didn't seem afraid. He actually laughed, but Riley wasn't

amused. He moved closer to the guy’s face and released a vicious growl, his amber wolf eyes

glowing fiercely.

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His low voice dripped with venom. "What are you doing here, Dominic? You were

banished."

At that moment, I realized my night was about to get more chaotic. I don't know why I

thought living in a remote mountain town amongst wolves would be peaceful.
Silly me
.

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I knew something was wrong with Dominic. Held in the air by your throat isn't a

laughing matter, but he seemed to think it was humorous. His dry laugh turned into a suffocating

wheeze as Riley's fingers dug into his jugular. Dominic squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed

Riley's hand. I stood next to his table and noticed his three friends watching the violent spectacle

in horror. They weren’t the only ones, because the two men had attracted a large crowd.

Riley's eyes blazed with a golden fire as he growled at Dominic. His knuckles turned

white from the pressure of his grip around Dominic's throat. The wolf inside him lay just beneath

the surface, ready to emerge and rip his clothing in front of everyone. No one could mistake

Riley for a human when he looked this way.

Dominic coughed violently as his airway closed tighter under Riley's strong hold. He

kicked his feet and struggled to pry his fingers off, but he was too strong. Although Riley had a

more slender build, it masked his true strength.

A few quiet words miraculously escaped Dominic's constricted throat. "I'm here...to

talk...to your father."

Riley snarled close to his face. "About
what
?"

Dominic gasped again and his face turned red.

I yelled out in fear, "Riley, let him go! You're killing him!"

In that instance, Riley released him and he fell to the floor with a hard thump. Glaring

down at his enemy, the muscle in his jaw twitched. "It's no more than he deserves," he said

through clenched teeth.

Dominic coughed and wheezed, his hands encircling his bruised throat. After a few

seconds, I heard a low chuckle and looked at him in disbelief.
This dude must have a death wish
.

He rose to his feet slowly and smoothed his espresso hair from his sweaty brow.

He had the audacity to smirk when he said, "I forgot how bad-ass you are."

With a growl, Riley stepped toward him but he jumped back.
Maybe he wasn't completely

out of his mind
.

He put his hands up defensively. "Look, I'm not here for a fight."

"What do you want with my father? If he knew you were here, he'd tear you to pieces."

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"I'm here to ask him if he'd let me rejoin the pack." His watery eyes were the familiar

wolf-like amber.

Riley sneered. "No fucking way. He's not going to listen to you...he's just going to kill

you."

"Well, I'm hoping he'll have a change of heart." His eyes darted toward me. I swallowed

hard and averted my gaze toward the floor.

Riley's voice still held nothing but contempt. "You're not welcome here, but I'll be fair

and give you a choice. You can either leave voluntarily..." I looked up and saw Riley step into

his personal space, his voice cutting into Dominic like a blade. "Or I can throw you out this

window." His head jerked toward the open window next to the table.

Dominic surprised me when he challenged him. "Actually, you have no authority over me.

You're not my Beta, so I don't have to listen to you."

Riley growled violently and lifted him up in the air again, only to slam him down on the

table. Dominic landed hard on his back and groaned in pain. Then he laughed, but it sounded

more like a wheeze.

He gasped weakly, "I'm not a member of your pack."

Riley hissed, "
Exactly
…which is why I should kill you right now."

The smug smile faded from Dominic's face. "Then do it. You know you don't need to

threaten me. You can do whatever you want." His eyes darted toward me again and his superior

grin returned. "Kill me right in front of your mate," he baited. "Show her what kind of Beta you truly are."

Riley turned his head and looked at me, frustration etched in his face. In the next second,

he whipped his head toward Dominic and pushed him off the table. He landed on his side and

groaned again. This time he laid on the floor breathing hard before he stood again. His neat hair

turned into a bird's nest on his head, but he reached up to smooth it. Then he set his eyes on me