Burning Up

its teeth inside him. This human cub was about to learn that leopard males didn’t recognize any claim not acknowledged by the female. And Ria didn’t consider herself bound to this one. Even if he hadn’t overhead her conversation with her grandmother, nothing about her had spoken of a commitment to another. She didn’t carry Tom’s scent . . . and she hadn’t pushed Emmett away last night.
    Saying nothing of that, he turned to face Alex. “Could I speak to Ria?”
    “Why?” Alex’s eyes narrowed, even as she pulled Tom inside and put her hand on the opposite doorjamb as if to bar Emmett’s way.
    “I need to see if she remembers anything else about her attacker.” Emmett’s leopard knew a worthy adversary when it saw one. Alex was one hell of a protective mama-bear. But Emmett had tangled with plenty like her in the pack. “It’ll help us make the streets safer for all daughters.” No, he wasn’t above using emotional blackmail to talk his way in.
    Alex dropped her arm. “Hmm. Come in—but if you upset Ria, I’ll beat you up myself.”
    “I’m not fragile, Mom.” A familiar voice, a familiar scent—soft, fresh, but with a lingering spice to it.
    He drew the contradiction of it deep into his lungs, his leopard keeping careful watch as Ria hugged her mother, then took the flowers from Tom. No kiss. Good. His claws scratched inside his skin, wanting out, wanting to do damage. Pretty Tom with his slick hair and flawless skin irritated him.
    “Emmett.” Ria looked to him, all big brown eyes and hair. “We can talk in the living room.”
    As he nodded, Alex took the roses. “I’ll put these in water. Tom can sit with you for moral support.”
    “On second thought,” Ria said, making Alex freeze, “I think I’d rather go out for a walk—I can show Emmett where I was ambushed. Grandmother wants to talk to Tom.”
    Grinning inwardly at how neatly she’d cut off all options but the one she wanted, Emmett stepped out onto the drive and waited for her to join him. “You’ve done this before,” he said when she came up beside him and they headed off.
    “You have to grow a fairly strong personality in my family,” she said, a smile flirting with her lips. “It’s a survival mechanism.” Reaching into the pocket of her coat, she passed over a folded piece of paper. “The account number.”
    “Thanks.” He glanced at her features, frowning at the bruise she’d tried to hide under makeup. “Show me your hands.”
    She turned them palm-sides-up. “Healing okay.”
    “The bastard is in a coma,” he muttered, cupping her hands so he could inspect the damage. The leopard hated seeing her marked up. So did the man. “You know a Psy we could chat up?”
    “Well,” she said when he forced himself to let her go, “my mother’s accountant is Psy but I don’t think Ms. Bhaskar is into interrogations.”
    “Pity.”
    “So, last night . . .”
    “Can you talk about it?” He paused to look down into her face. “If it’s too hard, we can delay it for a few days.”
    A hint of open irritation flared in her eyes. “What about making the streets safer for all daughters?”
    “It’s important,” he admitted. “This gang, Vincent’s Crew, they’re taunting us. If we don’t get them out of the city soon, we lose the right to hold it.”
    “Really?” Lines marked her forehead. “Why?”
    “It’s about power,” he told her. “A predatory changeling pack can only legitimately claim territory it can hold—and that means clearing it of all other predators. The Crew calls our authority into question. Another changeling group could decide that means we have no right to this area.”
    “And then blood would spill,” she said, voice solemn. “The SnowDancer wolves?”
    “Dangerous,” he told her. “But they’re holding a massive amount of territory already. Our intel says they haven’t got the manpower to push us out.”
    “But they’re not the only ones are they?” Sliding her hands into the pockets of her vivid red coat, Ria nodded left. “That’s the alley where he grabbed me. I was walking home after a night class. My last class actually.”
    “Why were you alone?” he asked, a slight growl in his voice. “It was after dark.”
    “It was barely eight.” Irritation sparked again—Emmett was starting to show the same overprotective tendencies as her parents. “And I’m an adult in case you haven’t noticed.”
    A slow blink. “Oh, I noticed.”

THREE
    H eat