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“ Y ou weren’t planning on skipping training, were you?” I stepped up behind the uppity little witch that had invaded our nest and secured herself a position as Protector here.

She jolted, turning wide brown eyes on me, her maddening earthy jasmine scent filling my nose. “Yelena said I’m not supposed to train with you by myself.”

“Yelena is busy dealing with a brawl. It’s now or never, witchling.”

Her gaze hardened.

“I would invite you to remember that one of the conditions of you becoming a Protector was to commit to training with all of us.”

“So you want me to disobey one order for another?”

I chuckled. “You’re a Protector. Yelena’s orders aren’t for you; they’re for the nest. If you’re going to submit so easily, maybe you don’t belong in this echelon.”

“Does it get exhausting being a jackass all the time?”

“Not at all.” It was something I cultivated on purpose, not that I would ever tell the others that.

Logan rolled her eyes. “What’s so important you need to train me on it right this second?”

“How many of the nest residents have you actually met?”

She pressed her lips into a thin line.

“Exactly. How do you think you can rule a people if you don’t know them? You’ve been so fixated on your panthers and the other Protectors, you haven’t spared a damn second for the people who live here.”

“Those panthers are my mates ,” she hissed.

“And?”

“What do you mean and ?”

“They don’t get priority over the other residents.”

“Isn’t that the entire point of you all claiming people?”

“You haven’t claimed anyone so your argument doesn’t matter.”

A growl escaped her throat, and she squeaked, looking surprised that she had been able to make the sound at all.

“Growl at me all you want, omega. It won’t make a difference.”

Logan stared at me for a long moment, her brows knitting together.

“Why are you confused? You’ve never growled before?”

“No, not like that.”

Yelena had given us a few details, but not many. We knew that Logan’s omega nature and magic had been bound until very recently. I had assumed certain things couldn’t be bound, but evidently I was wrong.

“Omegas growl all the time. Rowdy little creatures.”

“You don’t need to be mean about it just because none of them have ever wanted you.”

“Someone’s being touchy because they don’t like basic facts. You’re not disproving the stereotype, little witch.”

“Fuck you. Take me to meet people then if you’re so concerned about my duties as a Protector. I’ll try not to be too rowdy .”

The fire in her eyes was fucking hot. It was so contrary to the icy indifference Yelena offered. She knew I wanted her and took special pleasure in teasing me about it. It wasn’t my fault. Everyone wanted Yelena. Velda teased too, and Calliope thought the entire thing was hilarious.

Shakti often sided with me to ensure the others didn’t get their way constantly.

I didn’t know what I would do when she was gone.

She’d been talking to me privately about moving to a nest in the Rockies her family had started, but we both knew the moment she left, the balance of power would be irreparably damaged.

None of the others ever sided with me. It was always my job to capitulate.

And they wondered why I was never in a good mood…

I gestured for Logan to follow me, and she had to hustle to keep up with my quick strides. “You know, you don’t have to listen to everything Yelena says all the time.”

“Who else am I supposed to listen to? You?”

“So testy. Can’t say a damn thing in this nest without one of you freaking out about it.”

We took the elevator one floor down. The two residential levels were split as well as we could manage, in order to separate prey and predator.

I had fought tooth and nail for that, giving in on a dozen different things to make it happen.

None of them understood. None of them could understand.

How could we ever expect lions, tigers, bears, and wolves to grasp the perspective of what they hunted?

I knocked on the first door we approached and it opened to reveal a small family of raccoon shifters: a mated pair and their two children. “Protector Logan is making her rounds to get to know the nest occupants.”

I shoved her forward to see how she would handle things.

Blessedly, she was a curious little thing.

The raccoons answered all her questions about what had brought them to the nest, about what they needed while they were here, and about them as individuals as well. At least she took one thing seriously.

I monopolized her for the next two hours, letting her speak to whoever answered the door, while I hung back to watch.

She startled as we moved down the hall to the next door, turning to me with wide eyes. “Yelena wants to know where I am.”

“Then tell her.”

“I can’t. The only one I can use telepathy with is Seth because we’re bonded.”

“Negligent of the others to not work with you on developing that.”

“We’ve been a little busy.”

“Communication is always a priority.” With a sigh, I searched for Yelena’s energy in the nest and reached out. She’s with me on the third floor.

You slimy little asshole. I told you she was not to be alone with you.

She’s fine. We’re just meeting people.

Fuck you. Bring her to the artifacts right now.

I rolled my eyes. “Come on, witch. Your owner is calling for you.”

Logan glared at me but didn’t negate the statement. Maybe she hadn’t quite shaken the mindset of belonging to Yelena. The lioness had been so fucking quick to claim all of them. I’d have taken the witch for myself if Yelena hadn’t gotten her first.

“You did well today.”

Logan looked at me with wide brown doe eyes. She’d have fit right in as a deer shifter looking like that. “All I did was talk to people.”

“You’d be surprised how many people are terrible at that.”

“Like you?” She raised an eyebrow, her lips turned up in amusement.

“Snark all you want, but if you go ask them if they trust me, I know what answer you’ll get. I know my reputation?—”

“Seems well earned to me so far.”

“You of all people should know there is more to the world than first appearances. If you prefer to be as ignorant as the rest, I can’t help you.”

“I’ll take my chances, thanks.”

Fuck’s sake. She was going to be as obstinate as the others.

Yelena met us at the elevator in the basement, looking unfairly gorgeous in a warm yellow dress that made her glow like the sun. Her expression wasn’t nearly so beautiful: twisted with annoyance that I would dare defy one of her orders despite the fact we were all equal.

“Precious, are you all right?” she asked Logan.

“I’m fine,” Logan assured her.

Yelena’s gaze snapped to me, fury sparking in her golden brown eyes.

I was sure she had a thousand things she wanted to say to me, but that was the problem with our equal power: she couldn’t pretend I was beneath her.

She certainly tried, but when it came to direct orders, we both knew I didn’t have to listen.

“You don’t have to keep her on such a short leash.”

The two women glared at me.

“I’m not on a leash.”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself to get through the day. What are we doing down here?”

“Charging your artifact. We’ve already done mine and Velda’s. We’ll do yours, and later we’ll charge Calliope and Shakti’s.”

Yelena ushered Logan ahead of her, presumably expecting me to follow them. The two of them settled on the dirt floor near my artifact, looking at me until I kneeled next to them.

“Put your hand in Logan’s,” Yelena ordered. “Once you’re both touching the artifact, she can let her magic go to fill it.”

This wasn’t something we had to do often.

The artifacts were designed to hold power, and ordinarily the wards didn’t take that much from them.

But times were different now. My rooms had a perfect view to watch the monster as it thrashed against our wards.

I had no idea how much magic it was draining, if it was at all.

The creature was certainly trying. I despised that we had only an invisible shield between us and it.

Logan had given me the ability to see it, and thus far I hadn’t pushed for any of my claimants to be given the sight.

It was bad enough that I had to see it. I didn’t want to subject them to that unnecessarily.

Maybe I would feel differently if we had to flee and they would need to run from it, but while we were sitting ducks, it seemed cruel to deny them the peace of ignorance.

The witch’s skin sparked against mine when I laced our fingers together and brought her hand through the ward to touch the gold torque I had contributed.

Heat glided through her, and I stared at the shimmering aura of our combined hands.

At least until she let out a shuddering breath and I turned to see Yelena’s lips at Logan’s throat.

What the fuck are you doing? Is this really the time to taunt me?

Yelena’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. This is how we keep her magic charged. Her power is derived from pleasure. If I can give her some while she works, it won’t drain her like a battery because it’s constantly replenished.

Logan’s earthy jasmine scent crashed over me, my muscles tensing and my cock tenting in my pants.

A little warning would’ve been nice .

She would never give me one. Yelena took special enjoyment in fucking with me. Of course she would want to put me directly in front of two women I couldn’t have and couldn’t walk away from while they played.

I stared at our joined hands, but I couldn’t escape the sounds or scent. My grip on Logan’s fingers tightened when she let out a whimper.

I was in hell.

Cat got your tongue, stag?

Fuck off.

Yelena’s laughter echoed through my head.

I yanked Logan’s hand away from the torque and stood sharply. “You’ve had your fun. I’m not going to play this game.”

Logan’s gaze could have melted steel. Power glowed in her eyes, but combined with the flush of her skin and her panting breath, I was desperate to throw her into the dirt and feast between her thighs until she stopped fucking hating me.

I left the two of them there, and rather than take my foul mood back to my suite, I stormed out to the front gate to stare down the creature that had trapped us all here.

“This is your fucking fault. What do you even want?”

It gave no response, not that I expected one.

Whatever this thing was, it was incoherent and spoke no language that I could tell.

The shriek it let out overwhelmed too many of my survival instincts and I made a hasty retreat.

This was bullshit. The whole damn nest was a powder keg because of that monster and all it would take is one fucking spark to blow the whole thing sky-high.