CHAPTER FOUR
Friday afternoon Tao slung his bag over his shoulder and stalked out of his room to find Dante waiting. Locking his door behind him, Tao tipped his chin. “Hey.”
“I’m driving you to the airport,” said Dante.
Tao nodded in thanks. Nick’s friend was presently using the private jet, which meant Tao and Riley would be taking a commercial flight. “I’ll get Riley and meet you downstairs.”
“You know . . . maybe you could use this weekend to smash down her barriers. Don’t try to tell me you don’t want her, that would be a damn lie. You might argue over everything and nothing, but it’s part of the chemistry between you. Like some weird kind of foreplay. It’s been hilarious watching the two of you circle each other like wary predators. If you want the truth, I think she would be good for you, and I think you would be good for her.”
Given that the Beta was big on control and demanded respect, it truly did surprise Tao that Dante had warmed to her. Riley lived by her own rules and resisted all attempts at control. “I didn’t expect you to like her.”
“Why?”
“She’s impulsive, unimpressed by authority, and her raven keeps shitting on Greta.”
Amusement lit Dante’s eyes. “Ravens have a vengeful streak, and Greta does enjoy giving Riley shit. I guess her raven’s just returning the favor.”
Tao snorted. “Whatever. I’ll meet you in the lot.” Clutching the strap of his duffel, Tao stalked through the tunnels.
He hadn’t actually seen all that much of Riley over the past few days. He’d been working the late shifts, guarding the territory’s perimeter, so they’d only really seen each other at the evening meals. He’d deliberately sat beside her every time, keeping his thigh pressed to hers and occasionally toying with her hair—a subtle possessive gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by anyone.
Reaching Riley’s room, he rapped his knuckles on the door. She opened it, looking tired. He wasn’t surprised, having once overheard her telling Makenna that she suffered from insomnia. “All packed?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “I just need to get my bag and—what are you doing?” She frowned as he pushed his way into the room, kicking the door shut behind him.
“We need to get a couple of things straight. First of all, I know you’d rather do this alone, but you know that going anywhere alone is not a good idea. You wouldn’t want me out there without protection any more than I want you to be.”
“Don’t bet on it.”
“So let’s drop that, shove aside the issue, and concentrate on making sure this visit goes well for you and your uncles.”
She poked her tongue into the inside of her cheek. “All right.”
“Good. Now on to the next thing: where’s my watch, Riley? I had it yesterday morning.”
She raised an imperious brow. “Oh, I see, because ravens like to collect shiny things, you think I took it?”
“No, I think you took it because you took it. You always steal my shit.” He pointed to the iPad on the dresser, proving his point.
“Borrow, I borrow your stuff.”
“Without my permission, which makes it stealing.”
“Only if you want to get technical about it.”
Looming over her, he growled, “Do you have to be such a pain in my ass?”
“You really should learn to control your anger better. Eighty-eight percent of men with bad tempers end up with high blood pressure and die an early death.”
“They do not.”
“They could do.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, seeking patience. She made up statistics all the freaking time. He did not know why, just like he didn’t know why she stole his shit. It was just something Riley did. “I can’t do this. The conversation needs to end now.” Opening his eyes, he found them drifting to the mark he’d left on her neck. “That sure faded fast.” His wolf didn’t like that at all. Honestly, Tao didn’t like it much either.
“I’m a fast healer.”
The hint of smugness in her tone made his wolf growl. “Oh, you are?” Tao backed her into the wall. “Then we’ll have to do something about it.”
Knowing exactly what he intended to do, Riley grabbed his arms. “Don’t you—” He closed his mouth over hers and licked the seam of her lips. She resisted. For all of three seconds. Then lust bloomed deep in her core, shocking her with its intensity, and her body took over.
Tao plunged his tongue inside her mouth, groaning as the exotic taste of her burst on his tongue and raced through his system. It was as addictive as any drug; he couldn’t get enough of it. Couldn’t stop. He kissed her hard, feasting and gorging himself on her.
He shoved his hands into all that glorious, silky-smooth hair and pulled. She moaned, gripping his arms so hard he felt the prick of her talons. He wanted to lick and bite her neck, wanted to taste her skin, but he couldn’t bring himself to release her mouth. His cock was thick and heavy, needing more. Needing her. And as he shoved his cock against her and she moaned, he thought he might just fucking explode.
Somewhere at the back of her mind, Riley panicked. He’d done exactly what he’d done the night they were drunk—done the very thing she’d always suspected he’d do if they ever acted on the sexual tension that throbbed between them. He’d taken control, taken her as if it were his right.
There was possessiveness in every stroke of his tongue, every tug on her hair, every nip of his teeth. It scared her, but the fear was drowned out by the lust that was heating her blood and ignoring rational thought. His mouth was sheer fucking magic as it consumed and dominated. She arched into him, rubbing against him like a cat in heat and grinding against his cock.
With a growl he tore open her fly, shoved his hand inside her panties, and thrust one finger into her pussy. He groaned. “Ah, baby, you’re soaking. Stay still.”
He drove his finger into her pussy hard and fast, keeping his mouth pressed to hers so he could taste every moan. When her pussy began to quiver and tighten, he plunged yet another finger inside her and sank his teeth over her pulse. She came hard, rippling around his fingers. His cock twitched in envy, and it was a struggle not to lift her and bury himself inside her.
A little embarrassed by how easily and shamelessly she’d responded to him, Riley kept her eyes closed. “You can move your hand now.”
He could, but the feel of her inner muscles fluttering around his fingers as she came down from her orgasm was just too good to give up. Instead Tao licked over his mark. Masculine satisfaction fired through him, heightening the need that scorched him just as her hot pussy scorched his fingers. The possessiveness he’d already felt seemed to swell inside Tao until it filled every part of him. He figured he should probably worry about that, but it was hard to care while the scent of her need was playing with his senses.
He reluctantly withdrew his hand, almost groaning as her pussy sucked at his fingers, trying to keep them inside. “Look at me, Riley. Open those eyes, come on.” Glazed eyes met his, and he almost shoved his fingers back inside her. “Next time, I won’t stop there.” It was a warning and a promise. “I’ll fuck you in every way I can have you. And then I’ll do it again and again.”
She was not happy about the flutter of excitement in her stomach. “Oh really?”
“Really. I’m letting you go now because we have to leave. But tonight, that pussy is mine.” Her eyes narrowed dangerously. It had to make him weird that her anger made his cock twitch.
“Actually, it’s mine. As for whether or not I let you use it . . .” She shrugged. “It does help your case that you’ve got as much dick in your jeans as you have in your personality.”
Smiling, he watched as she went to pick up her duffel. “I’m going to fuck that attitude right out of you, Riley; trust me on that.” The look she gave him was hard as stone.
“You better hope you’re never on fire, Tao, because I’m more likely to relax and pull out some marshmallows than help you.”
Chuckling, he snatched the duffel from her and strode to the door.
Waiting in the gate terminal, Riley leaned her head against the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the luggage trains, the ground crew, and the planes speeding along the runways. Beside her, Tao was idly flicking through a newspaper that she doubted he was actually reading. Others lounged around, reading and chatting to pass the time.
Some were also passing the time ogling Tao—one human in particular was pretty obvious about it. Incensed, Riley’s raven aggressively flapped her wings at the little bitch. She was a territorial creature and she felt somewhat possessive of the male who’d marked her. Wasn’t that special.
Riley rolled the shoulder that was stiff with carrying her duffel. Tao had repeatedly snatched it from her, but she kept snatching it back just to poke at him. Honestly, being in an airport with Tao wasn’t so bad. She was used to being jostled, having wheels clip her heels, or having perfumes sprayed in her face the moment she stepped into the duty-free store. No one got in Tao’s way. They parted for him and, by extension, for her.
The only downside to having him there was that it was stopping her libido from cooling down. The damn bite seemed to throb almost as bad as her pussy. The memory of what had happened in her room kept replaying in her mind. She couldn’t believe she’d come that hard from just his fingers; it was almost embarrassing.
Catching movement in her peripheral vision, she noticed that the blonde ogler had angled her body toward Tao. A low guttural sound rattled up Riley’s throat before she could stop it—the warning came from the raven and made Tao’s head snap up. He glanced around, looking for the threat, sparing the blonde only a passing, disinterested glance. That kind of made Riley feel better.
“What is it?” he asked. His minty breath blew into her face, washing away the array of perfumes, colognes, and baked goods that felt like an assault on her senses.
“My raven’s just on edge,” she told him quietly.
Tao rolled back his shoulders. “I can relate.”
Riley almost smiled; he always looked so uncomfortable surrounded by humans. It was almost cute. “What is it about humans that bugs you so much? It’s not just the prejudiced ones that annoy you.”
“I don’t like what I don’t understand, and I just don’t get the human race. They do the weirdest fucking stuff. Dress their pets in little outfits. Lie that they walked on the moon. Vote for Donald Trump. None of that makes sense to me.”
Her mouth twitched. “I’ll bet we’re as strange to them as they are to us.”
Tao grunted, not bothered one way or the other. He didn’t hate humans or wish them gone from the earth, but he had no time for them either. “Tell me about the Exodus Alphas. I know about the flock, but I don’t know them.”
“What do you know?”
He stretched his legs out and crossed them at the ankles. “The Alphas are Sage and Ruby Everett. They’ve been mated for almost thirty years and they’ve run the pack for almost as long. They have twin daughters, Cynthia and Lucy.”
Riley nodded. “That’s right. Sage is a good Alpha. Fair. Wise. Strict without being too restrictive. Ruby’s good at her position. Supportive, compassionate, and a wicked fighter.”
“You like them a lot,” he sensed.
“I do. And I admire how tight a unit they are. Out of all the imprinted couples in the flock, they’re the most solid.” Shifters that weren’t true mates could still have a mating bond through the process of imprinting. Plenty of couples took that route, since there was no guarantee a person would find their true mate.
“Are there a lot of imprinted couples in the flock?” asked Tao.
She nodded. “The ravens in my flock believe in fate and destiny, but they don’t necessarily believe that their fate lies with their true mate. They believe that if they find someone else they care for or who suits them, it’s possible that their fate lies with them.”
Tao figured it made a strange kind of sense. Unlike most shifters, he wasn’t completely sold on the true mate deal. His brother had spent years searching for his true mate. Given what Joaquin had found, Tao often wondered if his brother had ever wished he hadn’t bothered looking. It perfectly showed not only that true mates could be unhappy together but also that sometimes a person could spend so long daydreaming about their intended mate—building them up in their head into the perfect person—that they were disappointed by the reality. Joaquin’s mate had expected a white knight and found herself with a guy who was almost as much of an asshole as Tao. And she never let him forget just how far from perfect he was.
Many of the mated pairs in Tao’s pack were deliriously happy and devoted to each other—perfect examples of how true mates complemented and completed each other. But Gabe and Hope were just as close and well suited, and they were an imprinted couple.
“Back to the Alpha family,” he said. “I’ve met Lucy; she seems nice enough. What about the other daughter, Cynthia?” He smiled as Riley’s upper lip curled. “You don’t like her.”
“We clash in a major way. She’s slightly below me on the dominance scale and she’s always hated that—probably almost as much as she hates me.” Riley’s chest tightened as two children ran past, making her think of Savannah and Dexter. Damn, she was going to miss the little buggers.
“So it’s fair to say that she won’t be so happy to see you.”
“It would indeed be fair to say that. Then again, she might relish that she can show me she’s now dating my ex-boyfriend. She always wanted Sawyer and she’s petty enough to be smug that she has him.”
“You jealous?” Tao rumbled, claws almost slicing out at the idea. Riley barked a laugh, and the tension left him.
“No. I was the one who ended the relationship. But Cynthia will believe I still want him if it makes her feel better about herself.”
“Personally, I doubt she’ll want you in his line of sight.”
“I’m not the only one in the flock that he dated.”
“Does she hate the other females as much as she hates you?”
Riley shook her head.
“Then it’s got to grate on her that you’ve had her male.” Tao didn’t want Riley near Sawyer either. His wolf growled at the idea. “What’s your favorite day of the week?”
She did a double take. “What?”
“Your favorite day. What is it?”
Baffled, she asked, “Why does that matter?”
“It just does. I told you, I want—”
“You want me to let you in a little, yeah, I know. I just told you all that stuff about my flock.”
“Yes, about your flock,” he pointed out gently. “Not you. It’s you I want to hear about. I’m not asking you to bare your soul, Riley. It’s just an itty-bitty question.”
She thought about it for a moment. “Friday. It’s the start of the weekend. I like weekends.”
Satisfied, he nodded. “So, do you think Cynthia will cause a scene at any point this weekend?”
Blinking at how swiftly he’d returned to their previous subject, she said, “I don’t know.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she does.”
“She might feel reassured by my bringing you along.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
“Well, you’ve left a mark on my neck where it’s easy to see. That’ll convince her I have no designs on Sawyer, won’t it?”
His eyes drifted to the bite. His cock, hard and heavy, throbbed at just the sight of it. “If you were my ex, seeing another guy’s mark on you would piss me the fuck off . . . but it wouldn’t stop me wanting you. And if she’s worried he might still want you, she won’t be reassured by my mark.” Tao gently fingered the bite, asking, “Coffee or tea?”
“Huh?”
“What do you prefer to drink, coffee or tea?”
She didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh or grab him by the throat. It seemed easier to just answer him. “Tea, but I like the smell of coffee better.”
He frowned. “Tea’s a girly drink.”
“I am a girl.”
“But you’re not a girly girl, so that surprises me.”
When the attendant announced it was time for them to board, Riley grabbed her duffel and got to her feet. Tao took the duffel from her, easily carrying both hers and his own, as they joined the line to board. Finally stepping onto the plane, she stayed behind Tao as they walked down the narrow aisle, passing rows of fabric seats and pausing while passengers shoved their bags into the white overhead compartments.
When they reached their designated row, she was grateful to see there were only two seats. She didn’t like sitting with strangers on airplanes, particularly since she always seemed to be seated by the chatty ones who liked to take off their shoes.
Having placed their bags in the overhead compartment, Tao turned to her. “You can have the window seat.”
“That’s okay. You have it.” She would prefer not to be stuck between him and a wall.
Shrugging, Tao took his seat. It was as he clicked on his seat belt that he noted her flushed cheeks and stiff muscles. “You don’t like airplanes?”
“I don’t like being cooped up, that’s all.”
Tao fussed with the controls overhead until the air conditioning was blasting down on them. “Better?”
Riley nodded. “Thanks.” She watched as he examined the fold-down tray, fingered the selection of in-flight magazines and safety manuals, tapped the TV screen on the seat back, and pushed the buttons on the armrests that controlled the channels and volume of the TV. He wasn’t fidgeting, she knew. He was studying. Getting a grip on his surroundings. Leaving his scent on everything—it was a dominant male thing.
Frowning at the sound of the seat creaking as he adjusted it, she glanced around and saw that the passengers finally seemed to be settling into their seats; most seemed to be reading, playing games on their iPads, or listening to music. Annoyingly, her sensitive hearing picked up their audio just as it easily picked up all the chatter, laughter, and rustling of bags. There was just too much sound in such a small, contained space.
“Since you lost your biological parents,” began Tao, “I need to know if there’s anything I should or shouldn’t say in front of your flock. I don’t want to hurt your family by bringing them up. But if there’s something it would be better for me to know so there’s no confusion, it would be best to tell me.”
She supposed that was true. “They died when I was four. My mom was killed by a bald eagle when in her raven form. My dad died a few days later.” Not many mated pairs survived the breaking of the mating bond, and her father simply hadn’t hung on.
Several questions leaped to the tip of Tao’s tongue. Did she remember them well? Had they been good parents to her? Did she think the trauma had triggered the insomnia or had that come first?
She was tense as a bow, as if braced for an interrogation. He snapped his mouth shut, holding his words inside. Piling sensitive questions on her all at once would only put her on the defensive. She was steadily opening up to him and he didn’t want to mess that up. So instead he asked, “What are your uncles like?” He knew he’d made the right decision when her shoulders relaxed.
“Ethan—he’s my mother’s brother—is reserved and taciturn, but he has a mushy center. His mate, Max, is more expressive and fun loving, but he also takes things as seriously as Ethan does. They’re both solid and reliable. They’ll like you. Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“You’re a wolf—you’ll lose points for that. But you’re walking onto raven territory just for me; they’ll like that.”
Tao stretched his legs out as far as he could, which wasn’t much. “Are any of your other family part of the flock?”
She shook her head. “My grandparents died before I was born; both my parents were only children.”
“If you had to survive on just one type of food, what would it be?”
“Would you stop that!” she burst out.
“Stop what?”
“Asking me dumb questions.” The repeated shifts in subject were throwing her off balance.
“Come on, Riley. Humor me.”
She sighed. “Peanuts.” A long pause. “What about you?”
He was insanely pleased that she’d asked him the same question in return. It felt like a game. Tao liked to play. “Pizza.”
“Awesome,” she said drily. “Will you stop this now?”
“I’m just trying to learn stuff about you.”
“You can’t honestly say you know nothing about me.”
“True. I know that you’re smart, confident, tough, and independent.” A combination that would draw any dominant male shifter. “I know you don’t sweat the small things or take yourself too seriously. Even though you’re fairly laid back, you brook no bullshit—something I like and respect. You sometimes come across as aloof because you’re not bothered by what people think of you, but you’re a person who cares deeply.” A person who would go to a place where she’d be distrusted just to protect two children she wasn’t even distantly related to.
Riley swallowed, taken aback by the glossy assessment.
“But I want to know more.”
With a growl of exasperation, she spoke quickly. “I like puzzles, Halloween, peanuts, rock music, and dragonflies. I seriously dislike bats and complications, and I think toupees should be outlawed—they’re just plain weird.”
“There,” he said with a smile. “Was that so hard?”
No, not really. Relaxing back in her seat, Riley closed her eyes. “Q time is now over.” She really hoped she slept through the need to pee, because she detested using the tiny bathrooms on airplanes. As Tao’s arm curled around her and pulled her close so that her head rested on his shoulder, she frowned. “I can sleep sitting up.”
“That’s just stupid. You’ll wake up with a kink in your neck.”
“Fine.” Against her better judgment, she relaxed into him. As his fingers toyed with her hair, she drifted off to sleep.
Neither the flight to Arizona nor the drive from the airport to Sedona was very long. However, given that Sedona was a place where traffic was heavy and slow, it took a little while to reach the outskirts, where the Exodus Flock resided. Tao would have lost his patience long ago if it hadn’t been for the picturesque view.
He wasn’t a person who was moved by scenery, but Sedona was truly a beautiful place. Surrounded by red rock formations, it was situated at the mouth of the Oak Creek Canyon. As he took in the rustic valley boasting cacti, pine trees, bushes, and rocks of various colors, he felt as if he were in an old Western movie or something. His wolf liked it.
“The town’s not very well lit,” he observed. There weren’t even any streetlights. If it hadn’t been for his shifter’s enhanced vision, he might not have been able to truly appreciate the scenery around him.
Riley kept her face angled toward the partially open window, enjoying the breeze on her skin. “No, but it makes the view of the red rock landscape look even better when the sun sets. We’ve missed it.”
“A lot of tourists here,” Tao noted. A lot of commercialized businesses too.
“Sedona is pretty popular. It’s considered very spiritual because of the vortexes; a lot of people believe that the energy fields can sort of heighten psychic ability and even raise their self-awareness. People often come here to ‘find’ themselves. Boynton Canyon, which isn’t far from where we’re heading, is thought of as the most sacred in the Red Rock Country. Sage told me that many American Indians consider Sedona so sacred that they won’t live here. The Exodus Flock, however, are regarded as guardians.”
He gave Riley a sideways glance. “You told me that you and Cynthia clash. Do you think there’s a chance you two will end up battling at some point?”
“If we did, it wouldn’t be the first time,” said Riley. “We’ve had plenty of fights over the years. They were battles for dominance, really. Our mutual dislike goes right back to childhood. We’re just very different.”
“Different how?”
“She’s smart and she always worked hard during lessons—the regular star student. I was never academic, I just wanted to be outside in the sun, so she thought she was very superior to me. She was also an awful snitch who cried whenever she didn’t get her way, even for simple stuff like if she wasn’t picked first for sports.
“Still, she wasn’t a major problem until she grew tits and boys started looking her way; then she turned into a complete nightmare. Brash, bitchy, fashion-conscious, and totally obsessed with the male gender. Seriously, she gave away more pussy than a cat rescue center.”
He chuckled. “You have a way with words.”
“There honestly wasn’t much she wouldn’t have done to get a guy’s attention. I would have felt sad for her if it was because she was secretly insecure and trying to compensate for it, but I once heard her tell her friend that she was going to have every boy in the flock so that whoever they later mated would always know she’d had them first.”
Tao shook his head. “Sleeping with them all was a form of domination to her.”
“Yes. She wasn’t just using them; she was marking every one of them in her own weird way. I think Sawyer knew that, because he never once touched her. Not until after I left, anyway.”
“Really?”
“I think that was part of his attraction for me. But enough about them.” Riley sat up straight. “We’re not far from Exodus territory. Two minutes away, at most.” That was a good thing, because, according to the text messages she’d received from Lucy, the party was in full swing.
“You nervous?”
“A little,” she admitted. “It’s been a long time since I was last here. I don’t really know what to expect, and I don’t like that I don’t know what to expect.”
“Your uncles will be happy to see you. That’s all that matters, right?”
She nodded. “Right.” Soon enough they reached the border of the flock’s territory. Riley smiled. “There’s Lucy.” Duncan was also there, obviously in on the secret.
At Lucy’s urging, Tao whipped the rental car into a mostly full parking lot.
Lucy immediately pulled open the passenger seat, smiling like a loon. “I’m so glad you’re here! Duncan will take your bags to the guest cabin—I’ve put you in the one near the waterfall. It’s the prettiest.”
While the two females hugged, Tao took the duffels out of the trunk and handed them to the male raven. His wolf took an instant dislike to him simply because he didn’t know him; Tao sensed the distrust was mutual. Still, the males managed not to snarl at each other.
When Riley grabbed a small gift-wrapped box and pink card and held them against her chest like a shield, Tao squeezed her shoulder and shot her an encouraging look.
Lucy opened the trunk of another car and said, “Tao can carry the card and gift. You need to carry this.” She picked a white box out of the trunk and lifted the lid, revealing a large, rectangular cake covered in white icing and some kind of edible photo—Tao couldn’t quite make it out. Obligingly he took the card and present from Riley, who then carefully took the cake.
Guiding Tao and Riley quickly toward a forested area, Lucy said, “The party’s taking place in the clearing.”
Tao didn’t need her to point it out; he could hear the music blasting.
Lucy paused. “I never thought to ask if you need to freshen up.”
“I probably should,” said Riley, “but if I hang around there’s a good chance I’ll be seen.”
“True,” said Lucy. “Then our efforts would have been for nothing.” Lucy paused midway through the woods. From there Tao could see lights twinkling up ahead. Balloons and streamers were tied to trees and bobbing with the breeze.
“How many people know Riley’s coming?” he asked.
“Me, my parents, Sawyer, our Beta, and Duncan. I couldn’t trust the others to keep it quiet. If Cynthia found out, she’d have told Riley’s uncles out of sheer spite.” Turning to Riley, she gripped her arms. “You ready?”
Riley took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
“Good. Listen for a cheer. That’s your signal to light the candle and get moving. By the time we start singing ‘Happy Anniversary,’ you should be entering the circle.” Lucy handed Tao a lighter and gave Riley a nod of approval. “You did the right thing.” The female then jogged away.
Tao blinked at Riley. “They sing ‘Happy Anniversary’?”
“In the same rhythm that they sing ‘Happy Birthday,’” she confirmed. “Cheesy, I know.”
Getting a good look at the family photo on the cake, he said, “It’s pretty.”
“It’s a picture of me and my uncles.”
“You were a cute kid. What happened to you?”
She huffed at him. “I’d ram my elbow into your ribs if I wasn’t worried I’d drop the cake.”
“Your heartbeat is racing. Calm down, it’ll be fine.” Tao wouldn’t allow anything less.
Hearing the cheer, she tensed. “Here goes nothing.”
“Happy anniversary to you . . .”
Tao lit the candle and followed Riley as she walked through the trees, singing along.
“Happy anniversary to you . . .”
Entering the clearing, he saw a happy couple smiling beneath a huge congratulatory banner. Their eyes landed on Riley. And they gaped.
“Happy anniversary to Max and Ethan . . .”
As the others finally spotted Riley, the singing, laughing, and cheering stopped. Her stomach churned, but she ignored it. Lucy, the Alphas, and Hugh sang along with her, drawing out, “Happy anniversary to you.” A little sheepishly, Riley then added, “Surprise!”