Please feel free to join the insanity.”

“Thanks, but everyone calls me Bunny.”

The room stopped dead. He’d never seen anything like it. It was like he’d picked up life’s remote and hit Pause.

“I’m sorry. Did you say people call you Bunny?” Simon, his dark eyes twinkling, leaned back against the fireplace mantel.

Bunny nodded. He loved some of the reactions he got when he told people his nickname, especially other shifters. They tended to range from horrified disbelief to unstoppable giggles.

“And you let them? Why not strap a cracker to your ass and call yourself lunch?

Ow! Damn it, Becky.” He rubbed the spot on his arm his curly-haired mate had just smacked.

“Ignore Garfield, he hasn’t had his Cat Chow yet.” Simon’s eyes flashed down at his mate, gold sparks dancing in the dark brown.

Bunny bit back his laugh. “And you’re making fun of my nickname?”

Max rubbed the side of his nose. “Why don’t you two have a seat while we wait for Gabe and Sarah.” He walked away, pointing languidly at Emma. “Not a word.”

“Damn. And I had so many of them, too.”

Max stopped and stared at Emma, one eyebrow rising.

Emma gave as good as she got, staring right back at her mate. From the way their mouths were curving, Bunny didn’t think there would be a fight, but the tension in the room seemed to ratchet up a notch. He wondered if the blond Alpha was about to drag his small mate up the stairs, Pride meeting be damned.

The doorbell rang, breaking the staring match between the two Alphas.

“I’ll get it.” The Marshall stood, moving with easy grace to the front door. “It’s Gabe and Sarah. One of you get a cold towel, she spilled some coffee on her hands again.”

Bunny frowned. “How did he know that?”

Emma waved Becky toward the kitchen and followed her through. “He’s the Marshall.”

And?

Sheri, Adrian’s mate, must have seen his confusion. “The Marshall can sense the physical well-being of every member of the Pride.” She frowned. “Your scent. It’s so…wild. Not like the other Bear in town.” She stared up at him, her pale blue gaze unfocused. Suddenly her eyes widened. “You’re a—”

“Hey, Bunny.” Gabe slapped him on the back, interrupting whatever it was Sheri had been about to say.

“Anderson. Learn anything about Chloe’s attacker yet?”

Gabe shook his head. “I wish I had some news already, but there were no witnesses. Nobody on the street heard or saw a thing. The evidence we’ve collected is still at the labs in Pittsburgh, so we have to wait.” He shrugged. “I wish I had more, but that’s all I’ve got so far. How is Chloe, by the way?”

Bunny could see the way the small brunette watched Gabe. Her short hair was windblown, her hands reddened. His fingers twitched, the urge to heal the small hurt nearly derailing his train of thought. This must be Gabe’s mate, the one who’d given Gabe fits over Chloe. “Still unconscious. Any idea when her mate is supposed to arrive?”

“Jimmy’s coming back?” Emma swept back into the room, a wet towel in her hands. “Here, Sarah. Wrap this around that burn.” She clucked her tongue. “That looks nasty.”

“Let me.” He took hold of the poor burned hands and breathed deep, the relief at being able to heal the small hurt releasing some of his tension. He opened himself up to his Bear and the spiral of the healing path. He mended the burned flesh, encouraged the new growth of tissue and forced the skin to reabsorb the swelling.

When he was done, no trace of the burn could be seen, and his legs were trembling with fatigue.

“Holy shit.” Adrian stared down at the woman’s hands, his eyes wide. “I felt that.”

He lifted his face, his gaze narrowed on Bunny. “I’d forgotten Bears could do that.”

The woman smiled up at him sweetly. “Thank you.” She patted his arm. “That really stung.”

Gabe took one of her hands in his own, stroking the healed skin. “I owe you one, Bear.”

Bunny shrugged, feeling uncomfortable with the awed reactions of the Pumas.

This sort of healing was as commonplace as hello among Bears. “It was nothing.”

Gabe’s jaw clenched. “You healed my mate. That means I owe you one.” His jaw relaxed and his brows shot up. “Unless you’d rather not have the man investigating the attack against your mate owe you?”

“Attack?” Emma frowned, taking a seat on the huge leather couch. “All I heard at the restaurant was talk of harassment.”

“Tabby was attacked outside her place of business a couple of days ago. A stink bomb was thrown through the window, and when she and the other girls ran out, she was hit on the back of the head hard enough for her to black out.”

Bunny glared at Tabby. He hadn’t known she’d lost consciousness. He might not have been quite so calm if he had.

“Look, before we get too far, why don’t we fill the others in on everything that’s been going on? We tend to get a little blind to what’s going on outside the Pride, so they might not know what all’s been happening.” Gabe took a seat in one of the side chairs and pulled his mate into his lap.

She settled in with a sigh, resting her head against his shoulder. “Good idea.”

Bunny took a seat on the couch again, Tabby next to him. Adrian and Sheri took up the remaining seats, leaving Emma in the other wing chair, Max standing by her side. Simon and Becky settled on the floor across from the couch, their backs to the entertainment center. “Okay, here’s what I know so far. Tabby was Outcast

—” he ignored the gasp of his mate “—for something she didn’t do. She roamed as a Wolf for about eight years before landing in Halle.” He stared at Gabe, willing him to understand what he was about to say. “And if anyone owes anyone else, it’s me who owes you and your grandmother for taking care of Tabby.”

Gabe nodded, acknowledging what he’d said. Bunny got the feeling he didn’t quite agree with him, but that was all right.

“Because of her status, this guy Gary feels he can do anything he wants to Tabby without repercussions.”

Max winced. “Unfortunately, he’s right. She’s without the protection of her Pack, set apart from them for a crime, whether she committed it or not. Unless she proves she’s worthy of joining another Pack or manages to get her old Alpha to take her back, she’s considered a criminal and fair game.”

Emma’s lips curled up in a wicked grin. He’d seen that grin before, on a cartoon when he’d been a kid. It was the same grin the Grinch had when he came up with his idea to dress as Santa and steal Christmas. The look sent shivers down Bunny’s spine. And from the looks her mate was giving her, he guessed the Alpha had no clue what his little mate was thinking.

“Great.” Bunny sighed and ran his hand over his bald head. The stubble there rasped against his palm. Time to shave again. “Anyway, he’s egged the store, bothered all of the girls who, by the way, are all human other than Tabby, and called her multiple times. I got to see him last night and, frankly, if I hadn’t been there, I’m not certain he would have stopped at harassing her. As it was, he tried to warn me off, telling me he had every right to bother my mate. In other words, he’s stalking her.”

“He’s given humans a hard time?” Max whistled. “Who’s his Alpha?”

Bunny blinked. “I have no clue.”

Gabe shrugged. “I’ve asked him, but he refuses to answer. The only thing I’ve been able to learn is he comes from New Mexico. I’m still running down his birth records. The college has been less than enthusiastic about turning over records and, without a warrant, they’re right. I can’t get one without probable cause.”

Gabe ran his hand up and down Sarah’s back. Whether it was to soothe her or himself, Bunny had no clue. “Besides, technically speaking, shifter law is on his side. The girls at Living Art are aware of what Tabby is and who the Pride members are, so they’re considered kin.”

Bunny could feel the helpless rage building up in him again. Did this mean that the little fucker could keep on taunting Tabby, possibly hurting her, and there was nothing he could do about it?

Fuck. That.

A soft hand landed on his arm. He looked up into the warm brown eyes of the Omega. “We’ll fix this. I promise.”

A calm peace he’d never felt off a yoga mat settled over him. He nodded, knowing she was right. Everything would be fine. Sarah smiled and sat back in her mate’s lap, her hands curled up in her own. Gabe took hold of her wrists, his thumb stroking the insides. Something about the caress had Bunny taking notice. He stared at the sheriff and his mate, and wondered…

“Alex?”

“Hmm?” He turned back to find Tabby staring up at him. The fact that his name was pretty much the first word she’d uttered since walking in the front door soothed something deep inside him.

Tabby took a deep breath. “Tell them about Chloe.”

He growled. “Some asshole beat my cousin Chloe damn near to death and left her in the road like trash. She would have died if it hadn’t been for Julian Ducharme.

She’s still in a coma. Nothing we’ve done so far will wake her up.”

Max’s blue eyes flashed gold for a moment. “I heard. We’re going to look into that.” He exchanged a glance with Gabe and Adrian, who both nodded.

Sheri bit her lip. “Chloe’s such a sweet little thing. Who would want do that to her?”

“We don’t know, but so far the clues are few and far between.”

“I’m betting on Gary and the Gutless Wonders,” Tabby muttered.

“Gutless Wonders?” Max’s tone was not amused. “How many Pack members does Gary have with him?”