Jesse said to Nick, “I take it you’ve come about the hate mail.”
“We want to hear about it,” replied Nick. He turned to Harley. “But we’ve actually come because there are some females here to see you. They say they’re cousins of yours. Margays. The female who did the talking said her name is Indie.”
Smiling at the thought of her cousins, Harley said, “I’d like to talk to them.”
Nick gave a short nod. “I’ll have Zander escort them here.”
As the Alpha spoke to the enforcer on his cell phone, Jesse turned to Harley and said, “I thought you weren’t in contact with your paternal family.” His sources had assured him that she wasn’t.
“They belong to a different pride,” explained Harley. “They’re Clive’s nieces, but they don’t particularly like him or the rest of their family. Still, their pride looked out for me.”
“They didn’t offer to take you in?” asked Shaya.
They had, and Harley had appreciated the offer, but . . . “I wanted to be with Tess. They supported my decision, but they still came to see me every so often to check on me. They also taught me and my cat how to fight. Tess didn’t mind their visits because she thought it was good that my cat had ‘social interaction’ with her own kind.”
“Maybe they hoped you’d one day join their pride,” said Jesse.
Harley shrugged. “Maybe.”
A few minutes later, there was a short whistle in the near distance.
“They’re here,” announced Nick.
Following Jesse to the porch, Harley smiled at the four margays standing at the bottom of the stone steps. It had been at least six months since she’d last seen any of them. Only two of them were sisters—in fact, Jazz and Shiloh were twins who looked nothing at all alike.
By way of appearance, none of the four females seemed at all threatening, especially the tiny and innocent-looking Jazz. As Piper always managed to look like she’d just stepped off a catwalk, she could easily be dismissed as a woman whose only interest in life was that of her own appearance. Indie had a megawatt smile that could brighten a room and charm just about anyone. And the introverted Shiloh, who was forever playing games on her phone, was often mistaken for timid and meek.
The truth of the matter? Every single one of them was lethal and not to be fucked with.
“I didn’t expect you guys to come,” said Harley, feeling the Mercury wolves gather behind her. Like Harley, her cousins weren’t very tactile, so she didn’t try to hug them.
“We heard from your father’s people what happened,” said Indie. The tall blonde was such a true mastermind with her intellect, insightfulness, and strategic streak that Harley always joked that she could take over the world if she wanted to.
“He’s sending you after the extremists?” Harley said. It was rare that Clive asked anyone for anything, but he wouldn’t have reacted well to Harley in danger.
“Yes. But we’d have hunted them in any case; they tried to hurt one of ours.”
“You can’t join the hunt,” stated Piper, her willowy figure showcased in a floral pencil dress. “When we have annihilated the extremists who targeted you, you are free to join our pride if you—”
“She’s safe here; it’s where she belongs,” growled Jesse, his tone nonnegotiable.
Twirling a lock of her cherry-red hair around her finger, Jazz studied him for a moment before turning to Harley. “He’s a bossy one.”
Shiloh finally looked up from her phone and, flicking her coppery-blonde bangs out of her eyes, asked Harley, “Are you sure he can deal with you?”
Harley smiled at the curvy feline. “No, but he’s delusional enough to believe he can.” Each of the margays looked at him with mock pity, but Jesse just snorted.
Indie said to Nick, “Will you keep her location quiet?”
Nick gave a curt nod. “She’ll be safe here.”
Piper twisted her lips. “I think it will also be best to keep your . . . connection to this male quiet from Clive.”
Harley agreed with that. “Has he told Lily about the bomb?”
“No,” replied Indie. “She would come here and create a scene, which would risk exposing your location.” Indie sighed. “I’m reluctant to leave you here.”
Jesse bristled. “She’s safe with me.”
“I hope that’s true,” said Jazz. “I don’t think Harley would enjoy killing you, so it would be a shame if she had to.”
“Take care, Harley,” said Indie. “Call us if you need us. We’ll come.” As one, they turned and retraced their steps. Zander kept pace with them.
Shaya sidled up to Harley. “They were . . . interesting.”
“So,” began Eli, “that group of females will hunt the extremists?”
Harley wasn’t sure why he sounded so surprised. “Female margays are good hunters.”
“They don’t look like hunters,” said Eli.
“Do you think they’ll find the extremists?” Jesse asked her.
“If anyone can, it’s them,” said Harley.
There was a moment of silence, and then Ally announced, “I liked them.” Her mate sighed at her, a sound that said he’d never understand her. She seemed to find that amusing.
“Well,” said Derren as they all returned inside the lodge. “Shall we talk about the hate mail now? It would be best to have a conversation about the extremists away from the pups. But if you’re still eating . . .”