Bringing Alonzo in was dangerous. All of them knew it and were willing to take the risk. Like Elijah, Drake and the others thought he would be a good asset, a man worth saving. Still, one wrong move and he wouldn’t make it back. Elijah sighed. He was leopard. He knew the rules of living in the world of leopards. The rules were even more rigid and ruthless, more primitive and savage than the rules of his family.

Joaquin Estrada was there as well. He kept to himself, although he’d met Drake a few times when Elijah had pulled him in on a rescue job they needed. There was no way Joaquin or Tomas would ever allow Elijah to go too far without one of them.

“Siena wants to take over her grandfather’s winery,” Elijah confirmed for Drake. “But I can’t let her go back there until Paolo is dragged out into the open and I can take his ass down.”

“You take Siena to that winery, I guarantee Paolo will come out of the shadows,” Drake said. “He’ll have no choice. He’s made his brag to her father’s army. They see the princess and she tells them Paolo beat the crap out of her and murdered their boss, they aren’t going to welcome him.”

A snarl erupted before Drake could finish. Growls rumbled deep in Elijah’s chest, and his eyes banded with heat. His leopard rose fast, angry, vicious. There was instant silence on the plane. Elijah fought back his male. Cleared his throat several times to try to stop the raging beast from coming up any farther. He felt the itch of fur. The ache in his joints. The need to shift.

Drake didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t back away. He didn’t try to shift in order for his leopard to combat Elijah’s. He simply waited for Elijah to get himself under control, as if he had all the faith in the world that he would. If he didn’t, Drake was dead. Elijah’s male would kill him instantly, and no one, not even Elijah, would be able to stop him.

Elijah breathed deep, forcing his leopard under control. Breathing away the need to shift. The anger remained. “I should rip your fucking head off,” he snarled, his voice low, dark with his rage. “You already put her out there as bait once, against my better judgment, and someone got close enough to take a shot at her.”

Drake nodded. Calm. Elijah recognized instantly why he’d always admired Drake. He took responsibility. He never passed the buck. And he remained calm. He got the job done. It was how he could lead so many, clean up and run a very difficult lair and run so many jobs with dangerous leopards following his orders. Elijah could be that calm over everything and anything—unless Siena was involved.