“We can’t get a divorce. We’re not married.”

“Oh God, I’ll be one of those kids.”

“One of what kids?”

“With weekend parents.”

“Julie, damn it, we are not getting a divorce . . . Why the hell are six cars parked in our driveway?”

We both stared at the completely full driveway, occupied by four Pack Jeeps; Pooki, which was Dali’s Plymouth Prowler; and a sleek-looking silver Ferrari, which was Raphael’s favorite ride.

“Something happened,” Julie said.

I parked fifty yards away, just in case, and hightailed it to the door. The door handle turned in my hand. Unlocked. I walked in, Julie at my heels.

“I want to know why nobody told me she almost died!” Andrea said.

I followed her voice and stepped into the kitchen. She sat at the table, eating handfuls of trail mix. Raphael sat next to her, stroking her back.

“I’m her best friend. I had a right to know!”

“You had a right to know?” George waved her arm. “I’m directly involved in this and nobody told me.”

“We all had a right to know,” Robert said, one hand over the phone receiver’s mouthpiece. His husband, Thomas, stood next to him, drinking coffee out of a mug with a kitten on it. Both alphas of Clan Rat were in attendance.

“She claimed the city. It’s a matter of Pack security,” Robert said, then put a hand over his free ear and went back to his phone call.

“It’s a matter of Kate and Curran,” Dali said.

Jim dragged his hand over his face. “You weren’t told because you would bicker about it all day and by the time you were done deciding, she would’ve been dead.”

“Oh please,” Desandra said. “It’s not like we’re children.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Dali told her.

The blond alpha of Clan Wolf winked at her.

Curran stood near the stove, behind everyone. Our gazes met. Relief showed in his eyes and then I saw the precise moment he realized I was covered in gore. A gold fire sheathed his irises.

“It was my decision,” Jim said. “Deal with it.”

“What is that smell?” Andrea turned. Suddenly everything went quiet.

“The scouts report there was a giant incident near the Casino,” Robert said, hanging up.

“What kind of a giant incident?” Desandra asked.

Curran’s face was terrible.

“An incident with a giant in it,” Robert clarified, and saw me.

Curran moved.

One moment I was standing and then I was in the hallway, my feet in the empty air. He’d clamped his hands on my shoulders and lifted me to his face. His voice was glacial. “One thing. I asked you to do one thing.”

He was really pissed off. I would’ve preferred it if he’d roared.

“I’m sorry.”

Something thudded against the front door.

“You gave me your word and you broke it.”