Eric

I stared at the landline phone long after my sister had ended the call.

No matter how much you thought you were ready for an upcoming hard conversation, things had the habit of turning out in a way you had never predicted.

I had expected Monica to rage at me over the phone for leaving Lucian behind in my escape from the crime scene. Or to be sad at her fated mate's arrest but still be glad to hear her brother was not at a detention facility right now, "lying low at a safe place" instead.

In reality, my sis had taken the news of Lucian and several pack members getting arrested as cool as a cucumber. Had they called her already, exercising their right to a phone call? I doubted they had been processed by the police so quickly. Or perhaps she believed her fated mate had connections that would get him out of jail?

I hadn't gotten to ask her those questions, because she had quickly ended our phone conversation with, "I have to go. We'll speak when you get back." In fact, I hadn't had the time to tell her that I was part of the reason Lucian had been detained.

Maybe it was better this way. I should explain everything in person. Particularly the part where I had found my fated mate at the same time that I had contributed to Monica losing hers.

Whether I would make it back to my sister was another matter.

Bas definitely intended to hand me over to the police, despite having accepted my reasons to work with criminals. I was indeed guilty in the eyes of the law, but I had the feeling he wanted me behind bars for purely selfish reasons.

Whatever his motives, I hoped we would reach some understanding. With Samantha being out of danger and tucked in his bed, Bas should be calmer and more reasonable–

A door slammed somewhere nearby.

Now that I was no longer lost in my thoughts amid the spacious living room, I sensed the level of tension in the apartment had spiked. At what point things had started escalating, I had no clue, but they sure were escalating fast at the moment.

I had barely made it out into the long corridor when the shouts started.

"I will not be kept here against my will!"

Samantha was awake... And pissed, by the sound of it.

A grunt. "It's for your own protection!"

A snort. "I don't need protecting! I've been doing fine on my own for years."

A scoff. "Didn't seem like it just an hour ago, female."

"Because you blocked my way with your butt-ugly SUV, male!"

"My car is not ugly."

"It's as ugly and environmentally deadly as I am capable of protecting myself: one-hundred percent!"

"A perfect comparison proving how poor your judgment is! You're not leaving my sight."

"You... You overbearing... sasquatch!"

Silence fell in the apartment as though a bomb had gone off and left me deaf.

I reached the open door to Bas' bedroom, afraid what I'd see–

Dean burst out laughing.

The unexpected sound amid the dead silence made everyone jump in their places, Bas by the door and Samantha on the other side of the bed from him.

"Sasquatch! Hahahah..." Dean was nearly bent in two next to Bas. His hysterical laughter was the result of built-up tension needing an outlet, I could tell. "Damn, that was a good one, sweetie... Why haven't I come up with that?... Hahahah... Oh, my poor ribs..."

A punch in the shoulder cut Dean's laughter short.

"Ouch."

Bas grunted, his hands balled into fists at his side. I could barely see Samantha from behind his wide back, naked and still wet from his recent shower. An impressive collection of bruises and half-healed claw marks marred his skin all over, the towel around his waist barely hiding anything.

"Don't you dare take it out on Dean," Samantha snarled. "He has done nothing but defend you when I knew you couldn't possibly be reasonable and understanding."

"Fuck, female, you speak of understanding? You who run away from us as though we were cursed, leaving us at the diner wondering whether we would ever again see our fated mate, the most precious person in a shifter's life? You who are insulting me in my home right after we saved your ass, getting beaten up for a second time today in the process? All because you wanted to play hero?" Bas harrumphed and crossed his arms over his chest. "If you're capable of showing understanding, then I'm truly a motherfucking sasquatch."

Silence descended in the room yet again, the tension thick enough for a non-Omega to sense.

This was my cue. Using my powers in the most heated moment of an argument sometimes backfired but if I didn't act now...

In just a moment, Samantha sighed deeply, Bas' fisted hands opened and Dean's tense shoulders relaxed.

Three pairs of eyes focused on me.

Had they only now realized I was at the door?

Bas had stepped to the side in order to look at me, so I could see Samantha perfectly well now.

With her face cleaned up and her hair smoothed back, she appeared even lovelier than before. She had always looked attractive to me when during my scouting missions at her building I had seen her from across the street. But now, when she was standing mere steps away from me, and dressed in my shirt and wearing my scent on her pale skin? I couldn't take my eyes off her.

Was that a blush coloring her cheeks?

She cleared her throat. "Thank you. All three of you. You saved me from those monsters and..." Samantha wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm a bit freaked out by the idea of a mating bond with three males but... I'm willing to give it a try. To give us a chance to get to know each other, I mean."

"So you're staying," Bas stated rather than asked.

This guy... I could blast him full-force with my Omega powers but it seemed he would always go looking for trouble regardless.

Samantha mirrored Bas' stance with her arms crossed. "I never said such a thing. Honestly, what perplexes me the most in this situation is that Mother Nature would pair me with the likes of you."

"And what exactly are the likes of me?" he asked calmly. My powers did have some effect on him, after all.

Samantha met his gaze head-on. "Cavemen. Aggressive, testosterone-laden shifters who think they can do whatever they want just because strength is on their side. To them, other men are a welcome punching bag for stress relief, and women exist to serve them in any way possible. Preferably on their backs."

Dean and I looked at Bas. The jaguar and I were like spectators at a tennis match following the movement of the ball between the two players. Waiting with a hushed breath to see who would lose it first.

"I tend to be aggressive, yes," Bas stated matter-of-factly. "Testosterone messes with my head sometimes, fine. But I never act against the people I care about, only those who are a threat to them. When a female tells me 'no', that means 'no', my strength to take what I desire be damned. I do use females to scratch my itch but they use me in return, both sides leaving satisfied. And I prefer the cowgirl to the missionary."

Samantha turned a pretty shade of red.

Dean chuckled, an amused glint in his eyes.

I cleared my throat, feeling uncomfortable every time intimate matters were discussed openly like this. At least the tension had left the room entirely.

"Why don't you respect my 'no', then?" Samantha insisted. "I told you I don't want to stay here. You should let me return home."

She did have a point. Keeping her here against her will wasn't right, be it a safe place or not. I was going to support her wishes either way.

Bas ran a hand through his dark-blond beard. "You're not safe there. You're not safe anywhere without a pride of your own, Samantha, and you know it."

"I've managed as a lone shifter for years, Sebastian," she replied, chin tilted up.

She sounded convinced, but I caught a glimpse of something in her eyes. It lasted only for a heartbeat but it was enough for me to know. My fated mate didn't want to be on her own. She might have before, but not anymore.

"You have us now," I spoke, surprising everyone, including myself. "You no longer have to be alone, lovely."

Lovely? Did I just call her that out loud? Well, it was fitting...

"That's right," Dean tuned in, sounding inspired. "You can be part of our pride, sweetie."

"You will join," Bas declared. "As our fated mate, you automatically become pride member. And since our pride lives in this building, you are in fact home."

Samantha rolled her eyes as she groaned in frustration. "I just told you I need a few days to wrap my mind around the fact I've met you, and you want me to move in with you? Give me some time and space, guys!"

Judging by how both Dean and I looked at Bas in that moment, both of us were on the same page. It was only Bas who was yet to see reason.

"Fine!" the big guy said through gritted teeth. "We'll escort you to your place."

"Thank you."

"And I'll stay the night."

"What?!"

"What?"

"Huh?"

Bas shot me and Dean a look. "I'm not leaving her unguarded." Returning his gaze to Samantha, he specified, "I'll sleep on the couch. It would be as if I'm not even there."

I felt like face-palming myself. Just when things were starting to look up...

Samantha wasn't amused either. "For crying out loud, can you hear yourself? You expect me to barely notice 200 pounds of male on my tiny couch? Just a few steps away from where I would be sleeping? Ha! If I need any protection in my own apartment, it would be from you."

"Then I'll come, too." Dean lifted his hand as if volunteers were being sought.

"No!" Samantha and Bas said simultaneously.

Dean eyed his friend suspiciously. "Why not, pal? Why you but not me?"

"One of us has to stay here with the pride, Dean."

"Oh. Right."

"Make your choice, Samantha. It's either one of us spending the night at your place or you remaining here. This is final!"

God, this was not going to end well. I could feel the tension in the room spiking yet again–

Wait, why was Samantha smiling mischievously like that?

"Have it your way, sasquatch. I choose Eric."

I... had not seen that coming.