Like now. Once more pretending she didn’t sense him approaching. Meanwhile, he’d spotted her a few blocks away, his gaze narrowing in on her platinum locks cut in a shag that framed her delicate features. His gaze lingered on the sweet ass hugged by jeans snug enough to make him jealous.

On cue, his cock roused. Good thing he wore loose cargo shorts and snug briefs. Damn that woman for unfailingly arousing him. The annoyance at his inability to control his urges around her almost brought forth a roar.

He held it in. A proper male, with aspirations of moving up in the Pride ranks, never lost his cool. He did, however, like to poke the wolf to see if she’d bite.

“Well, if it isn’t the canine menace,” he drawled.

At last, she glanced in his direction and immediately scowled. “Goldilocks. I’m surprised to see you. Mustn’t have been easy tearing yourself away from that mirror.”

He couldn’t help a wide smile because joke was on her. He didn’t even have time to brush his hair after his nap since his sister insisted he had to immediately run out and pick up his nieces from school. He’d not expected Maeve to be here doing the same thing.

“A good thing I can keep my ego boosted with the way my reflection is perfect in every window I pass,” he riposted and wondered why she kept shifting her weight from foot to foot. A sign his presence affected? Or did she have to pee? His younger sister used to do a little dance when she had to go, but did his older sister, with a many-steps skin and hair routine that hogged the bathroom, care?

“Why are you here? Going to steal a human child so you can bathe in their blood to keep your baby-soft skin?”

As usual, Maeve tossed sharp barbs. Her dislike couldn’t be more clear. If only it would kill his desire for her. And only her.

Since they’d met last fall, he’d not banged anyone else. Not for lack of trying. Women threw themselves at Dylan. But did he do the horizontal tango, vertical bounce, or anything sexual with them?

No! An image of Maeve, the wolf who hated him, flashed in his head, and his cock, usually his pride and joy after his hair, wouldn’t rise to the occasion. Mightily disturbed by this most devastating affliction, he’d actually spoken to his younger sister, Gladys, the ten months separating their births making them almost as close as twins.

“I’m broken,” he’d declared, stalking into her apartment.

“Broken how?” She didn’t even glance away from her computer screen to ask.

“I have erectile dysfunction.” A shameful thing to admit out loud.

“You?” Gladys sounded skeptical, with reason. A known womanizer, Dylan never had problems when it came to performing in the bedroom.

“Yes, me. I know, shocking, and yet it’s been a problem for months. I even tried taking pills to get Little Johnny to wake up and play, but nothing happened.”

“Viagra doesn’t work on lions.”

“Now she tells me,” he’d muttered.

“Maybe your manhood is taking a sabbatical on account you overused it.”

“Are you slut-shaming me?” he’d huffed indignantly.

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand.” He’d resumed pacing. “It works fine in the shower and first thing in the morning, but soon as I try to actually use it on a woman… Bam. It deflates faster than a ballon popped with a claw.”

Gladys cleared her throat. “Out of a curiosity, which I’ll probably regret, when you’re choking little Johnny, are you thinking of anyone in particular?”

“Maeve.” Depressed by his future as a celibate monk, he saw no point in lying.

Gladys’ mouth rounded, and then she’d laughed. “You have the hots for a dog?”

“My affliction isn’t amusing.”

“Perhaps not but it is easy to fix. Sleep with her.”

“I’ve tried,” he’d exclaimed. “She’s not interested.”

“And your dick took her rejection as a challenge.” Gladys snickered.

“What can I do?”

“Either find someone else that makes you rise to the occasion or seduce the wolf.”

Easy to say but doing it could be risky. Maeve would likely bite and maim if he came on too strong. Although he did find it interesting she’d noticed his smooth skin. His lips curved as he replied to Maeve’s insult. “You’re the first woman to ever call me soft.” A low purred response ripe with innuendo. When it didn’t elicit a reaction, he threw out something sure to make her snarl. “Maybe if you smiled more…”

Her lips puckered in a way that made him want to soften them—with his own.

“I don’t know how you still have your teeth.” Her fingers clenched into a fist.

Would she hit him? Maybe that would break the curse she’d placed on him.

“And I don’t know why you’re always so bitchy. Must be a dog thing.”

“I cannot wait to get out of this feline-overrun city,” she grumbled.

“Going back to the isle soon?” AKA Isle Royale, a national park that the Pride had vacationed at last fall. It was where he’d first noticed—and been both insulted and at times even ignored—by Maeve.

Before she could reply, a bell rang and kids began streaming from the school, running and yelling with wild excitement. Not his nieces. He saw the twins emerge holding hands, looking picture perfect, just like their mother. His sister, Petunia, never had a hair out of place.

“Uncle Dylan!” they hollered in harmony, racing for him. They might be proper little ladies most of the time but not around him.

He knelt to scoop them both, and they clung to him, chattering, something about learning the life cycle of a butterfly, the fact Becky’s pizza slice at lunch had two extra pepperonis on it—which wasn’t fair, she should have shared—and that someone had tried to lure a classmate.

Dylan blinked. “Hold on, what happened?”

“A police man came to our class and asked us if we saw any strangers,” Rosie stated.

His brow furrowed. “Did you?”

“Yes!” Rosie chirped, only to be countered by Daisy, who sounded way too sage. “Those people are strangers to us but mommies and daddies to other kids.”

“But I don’t know them,” Rosie huffed. “So that makes them strangers.”

“Any folks hanging around that aren’t related to your classmates?” he questioned.

“Dunno.” Daisy shrugged. “Mother told us not to talk to anyone we don’t know from the Pride.”

Wise advice.

The girls changed the subject, finding it boring compared to the fact Rosie’s box of crayons had a red, but Daisy’s didn’t.

Dylan set the girls down and cast a final glance at Maeve’s receding butt. Surely, she felt the heat of his stare? Not once did she turn back, but he’d swear that ass shook more than it needed.

He held on to his nieces’ hands as they walked the few blocks to their home. He entered Petunia’s brownstone, and his nieces raced to the kitchen where the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted. He would have followed, but his sister emerged still wearing her apron. “Thanks for grabbing the girls. I’d just started throwing cookies in the oven when I noticed the time.”

“No problem. I take it you didn’t want them walking without an adult because of the stranger thing.”

“It’s all over the mommy groups,” Petunia exclaimed, clasping her hands. “Lorraine, a girl, about a year older than Rosie and Daisy. A man approached the fence when she was out for recess, claiming her parents sent him to pick her up. Lorraine, not being a dummy, ran to tell a teacher.”

He uttered a low whistle. “Damn. Good thing she was smart enough not to get into the white perv van.”

“Black actually, with stolen license plates. School surveillance cams caught the guy getting into the van.”

“So we have a picture?”

“Not a good one,” Petunia admitted with a turn-down of her lips. “The guy wore a cap pulled down low and sunglasses. Doesn’t look like he was working alone either since he got into the passenger side and the van immediately drove off.”

“Not a custody issue then.” At his sister’s shake, he added, “Any chance Lorraine was targeted?”  The private school the girls attended taught some kids belonging to rich and powerful parents, making ransom and blackmail very possible.

“Whatever the reason, he picked the wrong school to pull that shit with. I’m not the only one who will shred him to pieces if he goes near my girls.” For a second, his elegant sister dropped her polished veneer and a more feral side emerged.

“It would the dumbest and last thing they’d do,” he agreed. Touch a hair on his precious nieces’ heads and they wouldn’t be able to identify the remains.

The phone in his back pocket buzzed and emitted a chime that could only indicate a text from one person. “Boss is dinging me.”

“Got time for a cookie?”

Did a lion nap in sunshine?

He grabbed a half-dozen before heading out of his sister’s immaculate and magazine-perfect home. He jogged the two blocks to the massive condominium that housed a good portion of the East Coast Pride. He took the stairs, two at a time, to the boss’s office and arrived to find numerous biatches—who smirked in his direction—and a few of his boys.

“What’s going on?” he asked Maven, his closest friend since kindergarten.

“No idea,” his friend replied, drawing the attention of one of the biatches, who felt a need to shout, “Hey, Maven, want to come over later and we’ll bleach your curly locks to make you into a proper lion.”

Maven raked back the dark hair that constantly flopped over his eyes and ignored the taunt. A rare leopon—the result of his mom’s one-night stand with a panther—he looked nothing like the mostly golden-haired Pride he belonged to.

The door to Arik’s office swung open, and his Omega, the brick wall known as Leo, beckoned them to enter. The lion king stood behind his desk, not wearing any of his children, a rarity that could only mean serious business.

When Leo shut the door, everyone quieted, and Arik tucked his hands behind his back to address them. “Thanks for coming. We might have a situation on our paws. A human child was snatched on her way home from the private school the Pride’s cubs attend.”

“And?” asked a bored biatch, perched atop a bookcase eyeing her manicure.

“We think the human child might not have been the target. The female was recovered an hour ago in an alley on the other side of the city, and Officer Mahoney happened to be present.” Mahoney being a member of the pride. “She called us right away to let us know the little girl claimed the kidnappers let her go because they grabbed the wrong one.”

“Hold on, who was the right one?” Dylan asked.

“That’s the part we don’t know. However, the child that was abducted happens to walk in the same direction as the cubs, and she’s blonde. You can imagine my concern, which leads me to my reason for calling you here. The condo is already heavily monitored, but as soon as those cubs leave the building, they’re vulnerable.”

“Ha!” interrupted Deedee from her spot on the bookcase. “Have you met some of those hoydens? You’d have to be an idiot to toy with them.”

“Not all of them are capable of self-defense, hence why, until we ascertain there’s no actual danger, your task for the next little while will be to escort the children discreetly to and from school and other activities.”

“You’re making us babysitters?” Deedee almost fell off the bookcase.

“Bodyguards,” Arik corrected. “I am counting on you to ensure not a single hair is disturbed on any of the cubs.”

“Shadow the ankle biters until the kidnappers make a move and then shred them. Sounds good,” stated Brittany, sitting cross-legged on the carpet and daring anyone to accidentally step on her.

“We are not using the children as bait.” Arik’s firm command.

“Are you sure? You’ve got a few to spare?” snickered Brittany, leading to a sharp look from Arik.

“Since you have so much to say, obviously out of deep concern for the safety of the cubs, you will be volunteering at the school cafeteria to keep an eye.”

“But I can’t cook.”

“Learn.” Arik turned from her and addressed the rest. “I’ve posted an announcement in the Pride’s discord to advise the parents of cubs to not let them roam unsupervised for the moment. And I’ll tell you what I told them. Do not attack anyone who looks askance at the cubs. If you, or anyone, sees anything that ruffles fur, you report to me immediately for further investigation. Do not, I repeat, do not, do anything stupid in public. That means no throwing yourself on any hoods and punching holes through windshields, Deedee.”

“Bet that jerk doesn’t honk at women just trying to cross the street anymore,” Deedee declared, showing no shame.

As the group dissipated, discussing how they’d split up the task of following so many lively cubs, Dylan lingered behind to have a word with his boss.

“What is it?” Arik asked, taking a seat behind his desk.

“Should we be warning the wolves?”

“Given they don’t live in the area, not sure that’s necessary, but I’ll let Hayder know.” Hayder being the Beta for the pride. He’d married a wolf and, given three of their four kids ended up being puppies, alternated his time between the Pride and a wolf pack in Maine that was helping him ensure the kids got a proper Lycan education.

“I meant Jude’s sisters. They’re watching Mattie this last week of school before heading to the isle and they wouldn’t see the message since they’re not members of our Pride discord.”

“Likely Hazel will have seen it and notified them, but just in case, make sure they’re aware.”

“Will do. Do you want someone from the Pride assigned to watch Mattie, given she lives outside the condo?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. Jude’s sisters should be rabid enough to keep the tyke safe.” Fair assessment. Both Maeve and Avery would tear the face off anyone who looked sideways at Mattie.

“Sounds good, boss.” And being a good lion, Dylan didn’t pass off the task of notifying the wolves to anyone else.

Nope. His dumb ass knocked on the door to deliver the message in person.

Only it was Avery, not Maeve, who replied. Weird how the twin didn’t evoke any response from little Johnny. Despite the fact they looked almost identical and shared eerily similar scents, his cock remained asleep.

“Hey, Dylan. Maeve’s not here.” Unlike her twin, Avery didn’t insult him every chance she got. However, why would she assume he’d come for Maeve?

“I’m not here to see your sister. Why would you think that?” He laughed a tad higher pitched than warranted.

Avery arched a brow. “I see you’re just as bad as her.”

“I don’t have a clue what you’re implying. I came because I have a message.”

He relayed what little they knew about the stranger at the school, the human child abducted and released, as well as the possibility another might be taken. Upon hearing the news, Avery’s expression darkened.

“Thanks for letting us know. We’d heard about the girl but assumed some kind of custody dispute. We’ll keep the munchkin safe until we leave for the isle in a few days.”

Leave?

The very thought frazzled. Not just his composure but his hair. That night in the mirror, he did his best to tame the frizz. Failed. He dumped some heavy-duty conditioner on his head and, after massaging it through the strands, placed a plastic cap over top. As he paced, waiting until he could rinse it out, his mind spun.

Maeve was going away.

What a relief. With her gone, surely his cock would start working again.

He never got a chance to find out.

Chapter 2

A few days later…

“Why do you look so glum?” Avery asked Maeve as they headed for the boat that would take them to Isle Royale.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about. I am stoked to get back.” Maeve lied because heading back to the park should have had her tail wagging, and yet, as she boarded the ferry, her feet dragged.

Who knew she’d enjoy living in the city so much, such as the ability to grab meals—that she didn’t have to make!—at any hour. Anything she wanted, she could have. No special ordering. No waiting for it to come in on a supply run. She especially loved street food. Hot, savory, sometimes cooked on a shopping cart using dubiously sourced meat. Central Park at night could be a blast. She’d four-legged raced through it more than a few times just before dawn, scaring the literal piss out of early morning joggers.

What she wouldn’t miss? A certain male lion she couldn’t seem to quite get out of her mind. Even more annoying, she always sensed when he was in the vicinity and had to fight an urge to seek him out. She even went so far as to pretend she didn’t notice his presence, like the other day at the school. Pretending he didn’t exist shouldn’t have been hard, seeing as how Goldilocks was the furthest thing from her type.

For one, she refused to date cats on principal or bears, who could be utterly selfish, reserving their honey-licking skills for bee combs and nothing else. Past experience meant she only got involved with human or canine-type men.

Another reason Goldilocks shouldn’t be invading her thoughts? Way too pretty, which came with a heavy dose of arrogance that should have been off-putting. Only, to be fair, she shared those same traits. It probably explained why they clashed and sniped.

And yet, despite knowing they made the worst kind of match, she couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to sleep with him. Wrong, so wrong, and yet she knew it would fun. Toe-curling. A ride she’d thorough enjoy and therein lay the problem. Yes, sex would be orgasmic but wouldn’t change the fact they came from two different worlds. He was a city lion, working for his Pride. She belonged to a pack that preferred roaming the great outdoors. But the biggest reason to avoid him? Once he got bored and moved on, he’d break her heart. Then she’d have to break his legs. Shave his mane. Set his motorcycle on fire.

Yes, motorcycle. It was like the fucker had been designed to make her panties constantly wet.

Thinking of him brought his phantom scent. She leaned on the rail of ferry, preparing to traverse to Isle Royale. Inhaled deep with her eyes closed and yet the smell of him somehow got stronger.

“Imagine bumping into you, Wolfie.” The familiar drawl had her whirling and gaping.

“What are you doing here?” she blurted. out Had he followed her?

“Protector duties.”

Words that led to her glancing past him and noticing the abundance of blond heads in too many sizes spreading out across the ferry’s deck.

“What’s going on? I thought the Pride wasn’t visiting the isle until the end of summer.”

“That was before the latest incident. You might not have heard since you left the day before it happened. A cub almost got snatched in the washroom of the ice cream place with his mother at the counter ordering. Luckily, the boy fought and shrieked. The abductor panicked and left through the emergency exit to jump into a minivan with mudded-over plates and got away.”

“That’s freaking brazen,” she exclaimed.

“Scary, too,” he admitted, glancing at two little girls, identical in outfit and mien, clasping the rail and pointing. “Anyhow, given the number of issues we’ve had with attempted abductions of late, the boss spoke to your brother, who offered to provide a summer camp for the cubs to keep them out of the way while we hunt for the culprit.”

“Lucky me. I get to babysit your mewling kittens,” she grumbled.

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to scoop any litter boxes."