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The incredible beauty who stepped down from the SUV took my breath away. She had long, black hair that hung down past her hips in thick, luscious waves that begged for me to run my fingers through them. She was shorter than Ariel by several inches, but then again, Ariel was tall for a female. And that wasn't where the similarities ended. The newcomer was bigger boned than Ariel and had wider hips than her. She looked like she should have been a lot stockier than she was, but there was a skinniness to her that didn't seem natural to me. Her breasts were bigger, but her legs were shorter than Ariel's.

They were both incredibly beautiful but in very different ways.

The thing that linked them the most, outside of being female, were their eyes. Where Ariel's eyes were a bright, vibrant green, they held something inside them that made my insides shrivel up and something vital inside of me want to die. The new girl had eyes that were so dark they bordered on being black, hell, maybe they even were. You would think that with eyes so dark they would hold the mysteries to her soul locked up in them so that you got a hint, but that wasn’t it. No, that absolutely was not it. Her eyes were exactly like Ariel's eyes and held that same something that made me want to find the person responsible for that look, so I could put my fist in their face repeatedly.

"Who is that?" Liam asked from beside me.

A quick glance over my shoulder showed that Gunner and Mason had joined us as well. Their eyes were bouncing back and forth from Ariel to the new lady with raw curiosity that I imagined matched the look on Scout's face as well. I was better at masking my emotions, and Liam would remain blank faced until he felt like showing an emotion. Which wasn't often.

"Raven," a deep, masculine voice growled.

My lips twitched in amusement as Quinton walked around the hood and approached us. He looked pissed and I couldn't blame him. If either of them belonged to me, I wouldn't want other men looking at them the way I imagined the rest of my coven had been since the moment both females stepped out of the vehicle.

Any trace of amusement fled when I spotted the small hand held in Quinton's. I followed that hand down to a small, little boy I'd never seen before. He clung to Quinton's hand as if it were a lifeline.

"What is this?" I asked hesitantly. Maybe I didn't really want to know. "And who are these people?"

Ariel stepped right up to me. "Hey, Raven. Introduce me to the rest of your coven, will you? The only one I got to formally meet was Liam, and he's overrated."

Masculine snickers came from behind me.

"She's got your number, Li." Mason laughed. He stepped forward and held his hand out to Ariel for her to shake. "Hello, beautiful girl, I'm Mason." He shook her hand and visibly shivered.

Fuck.

My eyes strayed back to Quinton and the tightness to his jaw didn't bode well for Mason. Or any of the rest of us, if I was being honest. He was known to be one crazy motherfucker.

"It is apleasureto meet you."

Ariel withdrew her hand hastily and smiled broadly at him. "I'd be careful with my words if I were you. Otherwise my boyfriend might have to fuck up your pretty face."

From beside me, Liam burst out laughing.

Scout choked on air.

Gunner snickered.

Mason visibly took a step back, away from her. Yeah, I wasn't the only one who'd heard the stories about Quinton Alexander.

My men weren't pussies by any means, but there were some people in this world you were stupid not to have a healthy dose of fear toward. And Quinton Alexander was one of those men. It was just that simple.

There were rumors floating around in the community that said when he was younger, his father had been a maniac, and along with the Council they had experimented on him. I didn't know the details or whether or not it was actual truth, and I didn't want to. Pain was oftentimes very personal and should not be dragged out simply for others to poke at.

Ignoring Quinton, Scout stepped up and thrust his hand out to Ariel. "Scout," he grunted. "It's good to finally meet you."

I rolled my eyes at the finally part. If she listened to him and Liam, she'd think I came home after the first time I met her and talked about her nonstop. And I hadn't. I swear.

Ariel smiled sweetly at him. "Same here, Scout."

I imagined Scout melting right there on the spot.

Gunner didn't step up to shake her hand. "Gunner," he grumbled under his breath. Quinton had certainly made his point loud and clear.

The smile on Ariel's face grew slightly bigger. She knew exactly what was going on and found the whole thing amusing. "Hello, Gunner. It's very nice to meet you."

There was a sweet charm to her that had been missing each time I'd encountered her before today. Before, she'd been closed off and angry. Which I completely understood, but she looked way better when she was relaxed and smiling. Anyone would.

Quinton wrapped his arm around Ariel's shoulders and she was jerked back and into his body. The little boy stood beside him, staring up at me with wide, too intelligent for his age eyes.