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ENDER

What the hell was that?

I’d come up against my share of female fighters. In my line of work, it wasn’t uncommon to have a woman try to take out a target. Especially a beautiful one. Someone who could go unsuspected because the entire room was too focused on her face or body. They didn’t notice when she slipped poison into a drink or a blade between someone’s ribs.

My back teeth ground together. A blade. Like the one the girl had hidden at her waist.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Puck accused.

I turned to look at my pack mate, but it took more effort than I wanted to admit. My gaze was still focused on the door the woman had slipped out of. “Me? You’re the one leaving yourself open to attack.”

Puck stared at me for one beat, then two. Finally, he let out a sigh and bent to pick up the skillet and grilled cheese that were now scattered on the floor. “As you can see, I’m perfectly fine, and my virtue is intact.”

I scoffed. “Pretty sure you lost your virtue along with your virginity when you were all of fourteen.”

“Thirteen, actually,” Puck said, sniffing the sandwich.

“Don’t even think about eating that, you heathen.”

Puck glared at me. “Doesn’t smell like anything’s on it.”

“You’re an animal.”

He just shrugged, tossed the grilled cheese into the trash, and started the process of making another.

I watched him move around the kitchen, grating more of that ridiculously expensive sharp cheddar he insisted on buying. Knowing the life of privilege Puck had grown up in, it was surprising that he was the chef of the group. But he loved it, and the rest of us never complained.

“Tell me about her.” It wasn’t a question, and Puck arched a brow at the demand in my tone.

“You know, you could always ask nicely. You need to work on your playing-with-others skills.”

“Jesus,” I muttered. “Pretty please, will you tell me about this woman who conveniently got a job at your bar, who carries a knife in her belt, and could be an assassin sent by any one of our enemies?”

Puck sprinkled the cheese onto the two thick slices of bread, not answering me.

“Puck,” I barked. “Have you forgotten about the dark mage clan we just dismantled, the human MC we took down before that, or the fucking Red River pack?”

His gaze flicked up to me. I saw the concern there and knew I’d made a misstep. Puck hid his empathy under layers of charm and humor, but he cared deeply for each and every one of us. He and King were the worriers of the group, and I’d let something slip that I shouldn’t have.

“Is there any word on Red River?” he asked, his voice dropping .

I was usually good at hiding my reactions and stilling my emotions. You had to be when you were taking out a target from a hundred yards or pretending you were completely unassuming so you could take them out up close. But now, just the name of that vile pack had claws lengthening from my fingertips and fur rippling across my forearms.

“Locke’s back on it now that we’re home.” My voice sounded relatively normal, but Puck didn’t miss the strain.

“You know I’ll help however I can,” he assured me.

“I know,” I clipped. “But right now, you can help by telling me what that girl’s deal is.”

There was something about the woman’s scent. It was human but not quite…right. The urge to lean in and fucking sniff her when I had her pinned had almost been too much to bear. Even now, the scent of wildflowers and fresh rain still clung to me as if particles of her had embedded themselves in my skin.

Puck sighed and then pointed the spatula at the stool the girl had vacated. “Sit. I don’t trust you not to fuck up this grilled cheese with your rage responses.”

I let out a snort but went along with the request. As I took a seat on the stool, the scent of wildflowers and rain grew stronger because she’d been seated here for a while. Dammit. If I moved now, it would give away that the scent affected me, and I wasn’t about to give Puck that nugget of intel. So, I simply shoved her empty plate to the side.

“Her name is Wren, and she started here about a month ago. Dina said she came in inquiring about the help-wanted sign and ended up renting the apartment above, too.”

My head tipped back, and I stared at the ceiling as if I had X-ray vision and could see through the plaster and framing to the space above. What would it say about her? Pink and girlie? I didn’t think so. Black and edgy? It wasn’t that either.

The name Wren fit her. There was an earthy air to her that seemed to ground. But there was also a wild defiance to her .

She hadn’t shown a single ounce of fear when faced with me. And just about everyone usually did.

“King’s having Locke look into her,” Puck went on.

“King met her, too?” That had the hairs on the back of my neck bristling. We’d been back for less than twenty-four hours. How was this woman so entrenched in our pack already?

“She trains at his gym. I guess she took a hard hit last night, and he wanted to make sure she got home okay.”

I’d just bet she had. That was a classic con move—playing the injured female so she could get in close and do some serious damage.

Puck flipped one grilled cheese onto a fresh plate and slid it to me. “Chill. She’s not a threat.” He frowned. “Though she did threaten to slice my balls off and feed them to me. Maybe I should’ve taken that more seriously since she had a knife.”

“You think?” I gritted out, then took a bite of the grilled cheese. It was the perfect mixture of cheddar with a bite, fresh bread, and seared butter.

Puck pushed his own sandwich onto the cutting board and sliced it in two before taking a bite. “I wouldn’t make a move there. King seems protective.”

“When isn’t King protective?” He was forever swooping in to save the wounded birds. As if that would miraculously bring his sister back. “I’ll figure out her deal.”

“End,” Puck warned. “Don’t kill her.”

The request had me stiffening. “Since when do you care who I kill?”

Puck shrugged. “I dunno, there’s something about her. I like her.”

Fuck.

This was exactly why I should kill her right now. Our lives didn’t come with picket fences and two-point-five kids. Anyone linked to us was a risk—for them and for us.