“I had it under control.”

“Indeed. Walking a two-hundred-pound jaguar into a house full of wolves, humans, and children. Had you lost control, she could have attacked one of us. Austin had a right to be angry, don’t you agree?”

Wheeler cut him a sharp glare. William had a sneaky way of injecting guilt into any man with a simple prick of words. “Maybe I also think my brother could have trusted me and given me a chance to explain.”

“You two should talk it out first thing in the morning.”

“And mayhap I don’t want to,” Wheeler growled.

Some forgotten, juvenile part of him wanted unwavering loyalty among his brothers, who were not just pack to him, but family. But that’s not the way it worked.

“Perhaps he’ll listen, or not. But if you don’t plead your case, you’ll never give him that chance.” William stood up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. “That woman must like you something fierce.”

Wheeler scoffed at the remark. “That what you think? Naya despises me with the power of a thousand suns.”

William pressed his fingertips on the table, his eyes lit with amusement. “I think we both know that’s a lie. Unless it’s their first change or they’re scared, the animal within us always respects the ones we care for. If you’re blind to that fact, then maybe it’s just as well. If you know it to be true, then you are a black-hearted man if you choose to mistreat her henceforth, as that woman has feelings for you.”

“She doesn’t have feelings for me. She’s… confused.”

A smile hooked one corner of William’s mouth. “She didn’t look very confused when you escorted her panther onto the porch and patted her side as she rubbed against you. You do know why cats rub their faces on things, don’t you? They’re marking territory.”

Wheeler unscrewed the lid from the salt and flung a handful at William. “Get the fuck out of here.”

William laughed and shook his head. “Good night, brother.”

When he left the room, Wheeler wiped up all the granules of salt from the table. His mind drifted back to the club when Naya had begun her performance…

Jesus effing Christ. Naya was like a symphony of movement as she walked the stage. He’d never seen anything so captivating as the way she had complete ownership of her body, delivering more than a dance, but using it in a way that evoked emotion. He’d visited many a strip joint, but nothing compared to what he had witnessed. In fact, it struck him in a most profound and unexpected way when he saw the chain shackled to her wrist and her struggle for freedom.

Had it not been for his damn cell phone ringing, he would have watched the whole performance. He might have been able to save her from the man who had brazenly walked onstage, and you can bet your ass that man wouldn’t have made it five steps in her direction. Austin had sent him to protect her, and the one time she needed Wheeler, he was dealing with family shit.