Rick turns to Keith and Evan and orders them to continue patrolling the area. "Keep it secure until Alpha orders you back. I will speak with him about this."

Evan and Keith nod before turning back. Evan shoots me a glance over his shoulder, but I ignore him, rotating on my heel with Brianna in tow. Rick shifts and sprints back to the village, his paws kicking up damp leaves and twigs behind him.

Pushing the last look my mate gave me to the back of my mind, I focus my attention on helping Brianna walk to the village. My lingering thoughts on those two words the rogue uttered continue to plague me. Maybe Brianna will know what he was talking about?

I probe her, but even she has no idea. We walk back in silence, focusing on our footing.

I think of Ryan, Evan's brother, and how pissed he was when he picked up his scent on the rogue's fur. It confirmed what he and his parents had been afraid of.

Ryan is one of them. But what does that even mean? Does he mean to bring harm to his family? What could Ryan have done in the past to make him reject his family? Surely they didn't kick him. They don't seem to be the type to do that.

Brianna's in too much stress to talk right now, I can tell, so my head continues to fill with questions as we trudge forth.

When we get back to the village, we find our clothes in the bushes and get dressed. Brianna shakes her head at the jeans I hold up for her, and just puts her underwear and T-shirt on. Her T-shirt barely covers her fanny, but with the big gash in her thigh, she doesn't care. Stepping out from the tree line, the village is eerily silent. There's a lot of hesitation among the four shifters milling about. They are loosely spaced out around the front door of the Alpha's house, as if waiting for something to happen.

Rick is there, leaning his back against the right corner of the building. His hands are shoved in the front pockets of his jeans, while his chest remains bare, like the other guys present. Only one woman is hanging out among the men in skimpy short-shorts and a tank top. They're all caked in dirt, and keep shooting worried look at the front door.

The infirmary, Brianna tells me, is in the guesthouse. Before we head inside, Clyde steps out of the Alpha's house with Owen and Blake (Clyde's beta), in tow. The waiting shifters nearly pounce on the trio, talking animatedly in hushed voices.

Brianna and I pause to watch what happens next.

Rick hangs back, and as he waits for Clyde to acknowledge him, he catches my eye. Lowering my gaze, I get the feeling that Brianna and I should go inside.

Brianna must have picked up on it too as she urges me into the guesthouse.

The infirmary is just inside the doors and opposite of the dining hall. Faint howls in the distant woods interrupt the silence as I step into the big white room with simple white cots lining both sides of the walls.

Half a dozen men and two women are already inside with minor wounds like Brianna's. There's one guy lying on a bed, but I can't even make out what's happening because there are threes nurses around him, blocking him from view.

To my surprise, Burk is sitting three cots down from the entrance. Upon entering the infirmary, he looks up and catches my eye. He has a few cloth bandages wrapped around his upper arms and his forehead. He grins as he gets to his feet and starts toward me at a leisurely pace.

Oh great. As if I want to see him again.

"Well, well, well. Looks like the fates wanted us to meet again," he drawls as his eyes look me up and down. Gross.

Brianna looks from him to me, her brows furrowed. "You know each other?"

"Hardly." I glower, balling my hands into fists at my sides. "He hit on me early this morning."

Brianna's eyes widen before they start burning with rage. As Burk steps up to us, she shoves him back forcefully with both hands against his chest.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You can't just go around hitting on a girl with a mate already!" She shoves him again, grimacing from the pain in her leg, but tries not to let it deter her. "Seriously, what's your problem?"

His grin widens as his dark eyes linger once more on my body before rising to look into mine. "I like black women. They're exotic."

Now I really did want to vomit-preferably all over him.

Brianna's not about to let him cross a line. She points her finger in his face and says between clenched teeth, "I don't care what your sexual preferences are. Zee has a mate and you should respect that, you deranged werejerk."

Her insult pulls my lips back in a smirk. We don't consider ourselves werewolves since we transform from normal human beings into normal wolves. No full moon transformations into a half man, half beast creature. We're not a cursed person, as our shifter abilities are genetic, not voodoo. Seeing as we're not on par with the traditional European version of werewolves, the concept of a were-anything is derogatory and insulting to us-except for me, as everything is still new and slowly integrating into my worldview. I find it somewhat amusing.

While the wolf part of me still feels new, along with pack-life, and pack-mates, I know how men are, and if it's one thing Ava bestowed upon me, it is how to handle a guy like Burk.

Despite not being at the club, where over-confident guys like Burk typically thrive, I'm not about to let this excuse of a male-shifter get the best of me.

"It's okay, Bri," I say, taking a step closer to him until I'm a few inches away.

His grin broadens as his eyes zero in on my breasts. I can't help but wonder what he expects to find there since there's not much for my bra to push up. Still, it's none the less disgusting.

Ava's voice flits through my head as I lift my hand and gently trail a finger down his bare chest, trying to suppress the urge to shudder. 'Get real close, make him think you're into him. Then, when he least expects it, go for the goods.'

I witnessed my mate murder someone back there. I know I'm not in the right frame of mind right now, but I've had enough of Burk and his advances. He has to get it through his thick skull that I'm off limits.

As my hand lowers down his torso, I pause as I hold my breath in preparation for the next delicate act.

His breath hitches in his throat as well-for all the wrong reasons.

Before he can see it coming, I grab his junk and squeeze it hard.

His eyes practically bulge out of their sockets as his body locks up and he gasps loudly.

Ava was right. This technique was simple and effective, not to mention hilarious.

I lean in so that my breath is blowing in his ear as I maintain a firm hold on his precious cargo. "If you had half the balls you think you have, you wouldn't be in this position, would you? Because a real man knows his place, and buddy, I'm ready to crack these nuts like it's Christmas Day."

He makes a gagging, choking noise as he tries to sputter something to me, no doubt begging me to release him. Naturally, I don't. At least, not until I'm finished making myself perfectly clear to back off.

"Now how about you stay out of my business, or else I won't hesitate to rip your nads off if you come close to me again, ya feel?"

His reply comes out in a huff of air. "Yuss."

I drop his manhood and pull away, immediately recoiling and looking around for a sink to wash my hands in.

To my surprise, although it shouldn't surprise me, I see everyone's eyes on me in the room, staring at me with their mouths hanging open.

Even Brianna's brown eyes are as round as saucers as she gapes at me.

"Where can I wash my hands?" I ask, thus snapping her out of her slack-jawed trance.

She blinks and snaps her mouth shut. Turning, she points to the wall behind us, where there are cabinets lined up above a counter that runs from one end of the wall to the other, with a sink for washing hands upon entry to the infirmary.

Good. Touching that scumbag and not be able to wash the filth from my hands is a nauseating thought. As I walk to the sink, a shudder ripples through me. I can't believe I just did that. It felt good to put him in his place, but at the same time, I'm completely surprised by my actions.

Ava would have been proud.

I sigh as I turn the taps and place my hands under the running water, picturing her laughing hysterically in my mind and slapping me on the back. 'Girl, you got this!'

I smile a little at the image before frowning. I miss her. It feels like forever since I last saw her. The last time we talked didn't end on a positive note either.

As I lather some soap on my hands, her sharp voice reverberates through my head from our last conversation on the phone nearly a week ago. 'Jeez, girl, you never make time for me anymore. I never thought I'd see the day where you put your bae before yo sista.'

Hanging my head, I turn the faucet off and snatch a sheet of paper towel from the dispenser to dry my hands off.

Keeping my shifter secret from her has been hard. Keeping my new life with the pack from her has been even harder. She won't understand. I know she won't. She'll call them a cult and that I should leave while I still could.

I just wish I could be more open to her regarding these things. I know I can't though. She'll just have to accept the new me, or rather the fake me with only secrets to keep.

As I turn around to face the room full of stares again, a howl in the distance cuts through the sterile silence of the infirmary.

It's Clyde giving everyone the all-clear and instructions to return to the village.

Relief washes over me, and unconsciously I clutch my T-shirt over my heart. Evan will be back, and in one piece.

As long as he doesn't bring pieces of the rogue back with him, that is.

My heart sinks immediately with that thought as everything comes flooding back to me.

I shake my head to clear it. I told myself not to think about it, and I don't want to anymore. He did it to protect us. It was him or us, and that's not a choice we can argue with.

When I return to Brianna, she's lying on her side on one of the cots as a middle-aged woman cleans her wound. I note that Burk is curled up in a fetal position on one of the cots along the other wall. Good, he can stay like that until we're done here.

A hiss of pain from Brianna draws my attention away from him and back on her.

"This is going to need stitches," she tells Brianna.

"Ugh, great," she says, as the woman stands up and goes to the cabinets to get the required supplies to stitch her up. Brianna looks up at me as soon as the woman's gone and forces a grin on her face. "Battle scars. Sweet. That ought to help me find an awesome mate."

My lips tug up at her attempt to lighten the mood. That's what we really need-a good distraction. Everything has been so tense since we first got here, that we really just need a break to let loose and have fun. That's what the feast was supposed to be about, wasn't it?

The thought of the feast has me wondering if it is still happening or not. I glance out the window of the infirmary to the darkening sky. Night will be upon us in less than thirty minutes. With the food already prepared, and the rogues gone, this should be a feast worth celebrating.