The knock outside her door was insistent, unforgiving, and she was pretty certain she growled. Someone giggled outside her door, before opening it. Dammit. She should have locked herself in.

“You’ll thank me for waking you up, and never question my judgement again, trust me on this.”

She had serious doubts, on both accounts, especially when the intruder pulled her blackout curtains open, making her groan and hide under her pillow.

The traitor then went after her comforter. She yelled and kicked out, delighted when her feet hit something. She hoped it hurt.

“Dude, it’s one in the afternoon.”

“I was up until five in the morning.”

Drinking Brandy. With Daunte.

As she was a lightweight, Clari never drank enough to pass out or be confused by what had happened; she remembered it clearly. For once, though, she wondered if her mind had played tricks on her. Because last night had been… nice. They’d talk about everything and nothing, like old friends. Daunte supported the Jaguars, while she preferred the Arctic Bears - because there was something poetic about seeing super duper hot grizzly shifters in tight sports gear. He liked to listen to jazz, while she had a thing for pop. They both liked stupid movies featuring super heroes, rather than serious stuff. And when he was growing up, his sole purpose had been annoying the shit out of his big sister, because he loved when she was grumpy. He’d also been fiercely protective of her, getting into a fair amount of fights with those who talked shit about her for what she was.

“Then,” he’d said, “when I was ten and hated by every kid in the pride, I met Rye at a Gathering. The Prince. I know you don’t get our culture, but as far as we were concerned, he walked on water. He didn’t have a lot of friends, even in his pride, and he rarely spoke to anyone; but he spoke to me. He friended me on social media and included me in his group. When we came back home, I was the cool kid, and they finally left Ace alone. I couldn’t stand the hypocrisy of it all, but at the end of the day, no one bothered her.”

She hadn’t known anything about Daunte, except the fact that he was hot as sin, and hated her guts; now she saw his defining quality was how protective he was of his family; which explained why he was Beta.

They’d drunk some more after that.

But Tracy didn’t seem to care about the fact that Clari’s head was pounding like it harbored a herd of Elephants running from a T-Rex.

“I wasn’t going to tell you anything,” the female Enforcer said, “because I didn’t want to ruin the surprise for you. But there’s a dozen GQ model worthy shifters sparing in the gardens. Sweating. And mostly naked.”

Oh. Right.

“In that case, I need clothes and an aspirin.”

In under two minutes she was out the door, and blessing Tracy’s devilish soul.

The entire Pride stood under their gazebo, Ace and Rye standing at the front. They were all observing as a group of shifters were tearing each other apart before their eyes.

As Tracy had said, there were a dozen men, all of whom did seem to belong to the cover of a shiny magazine; sculpted, defined bodies glistening in sweat. There also were four women, just as beautiful.

“Rye has invited the top potential recruits today,” Tracy whispered to bring her up to speed. “These are the fighters. The others are coming in a few weeks.”

“Tracy, I owe you. Big time.”

The Wyvern shifters were hot, of course, but Clari was used to them - and except for Daunte, none of them made her feel all tingly. These new guys though; every single one of them was drool worthy. Probably because she hadn’t heard them speak, yet.

Her eyes danced from one Adonis to the next, before settling on the tallest one; a larger than life blond hunk with long hair that fell down his shoulders, and tribal tattoos on his back, making him look like a damn Viking. He stopped two guys from launching at him by holding their heads back; when a third attacked from his side, he effortlessly lunged in the air and dropped kicked him, before shifting mid air. She’d spent enough time googling different breeds of wild cats since the Wyvern’s arrival to recognize his spotted fur and his facial markings immediately. He was a Cheetah, although his body was larger than the standards in the wild, there was no mistaking the features.

“Luke Hall. And yes, his family originates from Scandinavia,” Tracy whispered to her ear. “I got Ian to online stalk him as soon as he got in.”

“He’s in, right?”

“It takes more to be included in this pride than a set of muscles,” Ian replied haughtily.

Most of the guys acquiesced.

“Well, maybe but he still has my vote,” Ace piped in, making every male groan and Rye bite her earlobe. “What?” she shrugged. “Being mated doesn’t stop me from having eyes.”

“Behave if you don’t want me to start using my eyes to look at other females,” Rye teased, earning a growl.

After a few minutes, Rye stepped forward, calling, “Enough.”

The fighting ceased gradually. One of the guys who’d ganged up on Luke Hall puffed his chest and carried on advancing towards him, but another one held him back, and he dropped it, with a sigh. The women were the last to stop. As for the hot giant, he’d stopped immediately, and dropped to his knees. His crouch was fascinating; one knee folded under him, another one against his chest, and the tip of his fingers pushing against the ground. It could almost have looked like a submissive stance, but he actually seemed ready to pounce within seconds, in any direction.

“Look at everyone, try to get an impression on them,” a low voice whispered in her ear.

Daunte. He’d been up front with Rye when she first arrived, but although she hadn’t seen him move, here he was, right behind her.

“The Pride will speak about each potential later. You might see something we’ve missed.”

“I’m not exactly part of the Pride,” she reminded him.

A dozen pair of eyes turned to her, cautioning her.

Oh. Maybe she couldn’t speak about her predicament in front of strangers.

“Nevertheless. You’ll be there tonight, so look. At everyone.”

He didn’t need to say and not just that hot Viking out loud.

She wasn’t sure what possessed her to say, “Hey, I’m not mated, and I have eyes. I’m doubly allowed to leer.”

She wasn’t sure what reaction she’d been hoping for; a laugh, perhaps. But she really, really hadn’t expected Daunte to pull her arm, bend forward to reach her, and nip at her ear, just like Rye had done to Ace a few minutes ago.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Clari was glad her voice came out badass and menacing.

“Making you blend in. You stand out like a sore thumb.”

Protests died on her lip at the annoyingly flawless reply.

“Well, as long as it is understood that I hated every second of it.”

She felt his chest move as he chuckled against her back.

“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”