Exhaustion weighted my ankles by the time we crested a short rise and encountered the first No Trespassing sign. The trail turned to a dirt road leading toward a house. I set foot on the path, and Dell tackled me. My back slapped the ground. “Oof.”

“When they say no trespassing, they mean no trespassing.”

A scorched earth smell had me craning my neck to peer past her. Black smoke rose from the spot still marked by my boot print in the loose dirt. “They hexed the perimeter.”

“Yes, they did.” Dell poked me in the shoulder. “You’ve got to be more careful.”

“They must really not want the pack on their property.”

“They live near us out of necessity.” She lifted her head, flared her nostrils. “They bought this parcel of land for the express purpose of being able to tell Bessemer where to stick it when he tries to lord over them. They aren’t pack, they don’t live on pack lands or partake of pack supplies. All they want from us is our blood in their vials and our bodies primed for spellwork.”

A grimace twisted my face. “What happens if his wife dies before he finds a cure?”

“Then we’ve armed our pissed-off, grief-stricken witchy next-door neighbors with all the ammo they need to take us out with spells, hexes and charms.” She shrugged. “Assuming they don’t hire another coven to take us out for them.”

“Well—” I shoved her back, “—as much as I enjoy having a naked woman sprawled on top of me, do you think you can let me up now?”

A sly expression flittered across her face. “What’s the matter?” She walked her fingers over her hips, up her sides and over her rib cage until she cupped her breasts. “Scared of a little jiggle?”

On another woman it might have played out as seductive. On Dell, who must be picturing tassel-tipped pasties on her nipples, judging by the way she was swinging them in circles, I had to laugh.

My snorted chuckles drew Graeson’s attention, who made a point of ignoring Dell’s antics, which only made me suck in air harder.

“It’s all right, girls.” She gave them one last grope. “One day you’ll find someone who appreciates you.”

“You’re insane.” I bucked my hips. “Get off me.”

“Don’t stop on my account,” an easy voice drawled.

I bolted upright, knocking Dell onto the ground. I rose on my knees and flung out my arms to cover her nudity from…an invisible man?

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he assured us. “Wargs aren’t big on keeping their clothes on.” Seeming to realize how that sounded, he cleared his throat and backtracked. “I meant that as a statement of fact. Not as a slur.”

“Show yourself,” I ordered.