“I could call Daddy,” she offered.“If you think you can’t keep your brotherhood’s promise to him, I can call and tell him the Steel Riders didn’t place me with a mated male.”
“I’ve never backed down from a challenge,” he said.“Besides, all you have to do is tell me no and I’ll back off.”
Mina stepped further into the room, walked up the Spark and placed her hands on his shoulders.“But what if I don’t want to tell you no?What if my beast wants you just as much as yours wants me?”
He groaned.“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I’m saying that I think you could be my mate, and while it would foil Daddy’s plans of selling me to the highest bidder, it would thrill my wolf and me.We want you, Spark.The question is how much do you want us in return?Are we worth facing the wrath of Connal McPhearson?”
Spark’s eyebrow arched.“That’s the name of the fierce Shadow, President of the Silver Skulls?”
She smiled.“That’s his name.”
“Having a name to go with him makes him a little less…threatening.Not that I doubt for one moment he’d rip me apart if I dared touch his precious daughter.Everyone knows he dotes on you.”
She ran her palms up and down his chest.“This means he’ll eventually give in to me when I tell him my beast has chosen you for our mate.”
“I don’t know, Mina.I should keep my hands to myself.Just because our beasts want one another doesn’t mean we should give into it.I’m going to do my job, which is to make sure other males keep their distance while you go through your heat, and then I’m going to hand you back over to your father, untouched.”
She frowned, not liking his answer.“Fine.Sit in here and brood then.”
Pushing away from him, she stormed through the living room, opened the sliding glass doors, stripped off her clothes and shifted to her wolf.She gauged the distance between the second floor and the ground below and then leapt over the balcony railing.Her paws sank into the grass and she looked up at Spark’s window.When he saw her, she saw the curse word that sprang to his lips and he ran out of his room.Before he had a chance to catch her, she darted into the nearby wooded park.
Twigs snapped under her paws as they pounded the earth.She passed some kids playing, not daring to stop at the coos of “Oh!A doggy!”As she rounded the corner and darted across the street, a hoop jerked tight around her neck and she was nearly lifted off all four paws.She let out a yelp and turned to face the man holding the other end.A gleeful smile split his lips as he looked her over.
“You’ll make a fine pet for someone.Heck, if you don’t get adopted soon, I just may take you home myself.”
Mina groaned, but it came out as a whine.Just what she needed.Animal control.How the hell was she going to get out of this one without shifting and being buck naked?Not to mention, not everyone knew about shifters.She didn’t want to be the one to spill the secret to the general public.Her daddy was going to tan her ass for this already.
“Wait!”Spark yelled out, jogging across the road and coming to a stop beside Mina.“That’s my dog.”
“Yours, huh?Well, the law is the law, and since I caught her, I have to take her in.But you’re welcome to stop by in an hour and complete the paperwork to get her back.And, of course, pay the fifty dollar fee for retrieving a pet without tags.Has she had her rabies shot?You know you’re supposed to display that tag if nothing else.It’s the law.”
“I’m really sorry.She never leaves home without her collar, but she jumped a second story balcony for this little jaunt.”Spark glared down at her and she gave him a wolfy grin in return.He looked ready to tan her ass, but she gave him a playful yip and jumped up, placing her paws on his chest.
“Not very well-behaved, is she?”the animal control officer asked.
“No, she isn’t.”Spark narrowed his eyes.“You said an hour?”
“It will take me about that long to return to headquarters and get her processed, but don’t worry.We don’t allow anyone to adopt a new dog for at least forty-eight hours so the owners have time to come claim them.”
Uh-oh.Mina hadn’t thought of that.She licked Spark’s jaw as an apology and then followed the officer to the waiting truck.He loaded her into one of the on-board kennels and locked the gate.She gave Spark a forlorn look and wished she could take it all back.If she’d known how much trouble she’d get into, and that she’d end up costing Spark money, she never would have run.Her brief moment of freedom hadn’t been worth the embarrassment of being hauled off to doggy jail.
An eerie feeling settled over her; she looked out through the bars and saw the one face she wanted to avoid.Striker had somehow managed to find her, and Mina knew that could only spell trouble—for Sparkandher.Striker hadn’t made it a secret that he wanted her.If he claimed her as his mate, his place in the pack would be assured and Mina’s daddy would have no choice but to relinquish Mina’s inheritance to the smarmy wolf.
Mina hoped like hell Striker didn’t follow them to the pound.The last thing she wanted was a face-off while she was so vulnerable.If she bit his ass like she really wanted to do, they’d probably put her to sleep for aggression.She just had to hope that Spark beat him there.
It didn’t take long to reach the pound and the sounds of barking and howls filled the air.Mina wanted to cover her ears and wish herself anywhere but here, but instead she found herself led through the outdoor kennels and placed into an open cage.She didn’t know how long she’d paced the cell, but eventually the officer came to retrieve her.She was happy to leave the cage and her heart soared at the thought of seeing Spark again.Except it wasn’t Spark’s glowering countenance she saw.
Oh fudge.
“Mr.Striker, I have to tell you, another fella came up to me while I was catching her and claimed she belonged to him.But since you have a picture of you with her and a bunch of other wolf-hybrids, I have no reason to doubt your story.Can you imagine?He tried to tell me she jumped from a second-story balcony.”
“Well, I appreciate you getting Mina back for me,” Striker told the man, reaching for the leash around Mina’s neck.
Oh, hell no!She growled low and menacingly, and backed away from Striker.
“Seems she doesn’t like you much,” the officer commented.
