Cammie resisted the urge to squirm and stared straight ahead, but she wasn’t really seeing the scenery flashing by through windshield of the truck. Alex shifted against her, and she shut her eyes briefly at the rush of desire coursing through her veins. Shit. This was the opposite of avoiding him.

They always came to the fights in one vehicle, but she assumed they’d take two now that Alex was with them. She assumed wrong. Ian insisted all five of them squeeze in his oversized truck. He said Cammie was small and didn’t take up much space, and they’d put Seth and Alex in the back with her, leaving the bigger men up front.

It resulted in her spending the ten-minute drive squished between Seth and Alex like a sardine in a can. Seth was no big deal, but her side that was pressed against Alex’s was tingling, the warmth of his touch seeping into her, making her want things she had no business wanting. She didn’t think she’d survive the drive home. She’d go up in flames, and all that would be left was a Cammie size pile of ashes.

Blowing out a relieved breath when they turned into the driveway at the Anderson’s ranch, she relaxed a little in the seat, jerking when Alex’s arm brushed the side of her breast. Pulling away, she fought to control her breathing and her body’s instant reaction. Motherfu—

“You okay?” Alex asked, interrupting the string of curse words she was mentally spitting out.

She nodded, not looking him in the eye. “I’m fine.”

They parked by the barn the fights were held in, and she waited impatiently for one of the men to get out, so she could, too. Alex was the first, and she shot out as fast as she could, gulping in the cool night air, hoping to clear her head.

She hurried toward the barn, hoping to put distance between her and Alex, but it was a lost cause because he easily kept up with her pace. Damn her short legs, and damn his long ones. But she was still going to ignore him. She could totally do that.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

They reached the old barn where the fights were held, and Ian pulled her to a stop away from the others.

“Listen, I need you to keep an eye on Alex. Stay close.”

“Are you serious right now?” she said with a groan.

“Yeah. Me and the boys need to go warm up, and we still don’t know enough about him to trust him on his own.” Ian frowned as he searched her eyes. “Why, is there a reason you don’t want to be near him?”

“Nope. Not at all,” Cammie lied cheerily.

“We both know I heard the lie in your voice, Cammie,” Ian said, frown deepening. “Has he done something to offend you? Cause I can take care of him if I need to.”

“Oh, please,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “I can take care of myself, and you know it. If he did something to offend me, do you really think he’d still be standing?”

His frown eased as he nodded. “Okay, you have a point there. It’s not escaping my notice you didn’t really answer the question, but I’ll let it go. For now. We’ll come back to this when I have more time.”

Ian headed into the barn, and Cammie slowly followed. Damn nosy cats. And damn shifter abilities. They could hear lies, so she knew he wouldn’t believe her when she told him there wasn’t a reason she didn’t want to be around Alex. But she still hoped he wouldn’t call her on it. Should have known better.

Exhaling, she walked to where Alex was hovering by the doorway. So much for avoiding him. While she talked to Ian, Alex pretended to look at the fight space with intent focus, but she saw him sneaking quick glances her and Ian’s way. Luckily, he was too far away to hear their conversation. He had to know he was being watched closely by the fighters, but she didn’t want him thinking there was a solid reason for her ignoring him this week. She was hoping he just put it down to her being bitchy and flighty.

“You ready?” she asked briskly, already walking into the barn.

“Absolutely.”

Smiling a little at the boyish enthusiasm in his voice, Cammie led him up the bleachers to her preferred spot. There was a big crowd tonight and, once again, she found herself sitting far too close to him. Easing away as discreetly as she could, and already missing the warmth that had been penetrating her body, she pretended to be interested in watching the spectators.

“How many fights are there?” Alex asked.

Looked like she wasn’t going to be able to completely ignore him. Rubbing a hand over her chest where her dragon was perking up at his proximity, she answered, “Four. Two regulars are up first, then two out of towners, and then our boys have the last two fights. Seth and Ian drew each other, and the winner will fight Jax later.”

“So our guys only fight themselves?” he asked with a frown and what she thought was relief briefly flashing in his gray eyes.

“Every now and then one of the more proven regulars steps up and asks to be paired with them, but it doesn’t happen too often. The regulars know all too well how good our boys are, so it’s pretty rare.”

“Don’t they get tired of only fighting each other?”

“Nah. A fight is a fight. It’s what they need, so it doesn’t matter who they’re fighting, as long as they are.”

“They need it? How, exactly?”

“It just helps keep them steady,” she replied, wishing she hadn’t brought it up. It was true of some human fighters too, but it was dangerous territory, all the same.

“And what about you? Do you need it to keep you steady?”

She glanced over and locked gazes with him. The look in his eyes was breathtakingly intense, like he was trying to see into her soul. Uncomfortable with the thought, and not willing to risk that he really could see right through her, Cammie turned her head and watched as old man Anderson walked toward the ring.

“No, not like they do. I like to fight. I enjoy it, and I think it’s always a good idea for a person to know how to defend themselves. But I don’t need it.”

Alex took a breath to reply just as Anderson walked into the ring and began to announce the first round. Cammie blew out a silent breath, relieved. The timing couldn’t have been better.

They settled in to watch the first fight. These were the regulars, and while they were really good fighters, for humans, it still felt too tame. She’d watched her boys for too long to find anything the humans did very interesting. Although, the thought made her feel a bit like a shifter snob. The next fight was probably going to be a snooze fest. Out of towners were almost always way too watered down to be of interest.

She forced herself to watch. She was always on the lookout for new tricks, and sometimes the humans had some good ones. But not tonight, apparently. It was a good fight, but she didn’t learn anything new, and she was honestly a little bored by the time it was over.

“That was…” Alex paused, pursing his lips. “Well, it was…”

Cammie laughed. “Not like our boys, right?”

Chuckling along with her, he shook his head. “Nothing like them. I can see why they usually keep the fighting to their group. That would have been over in ten seconds with our guys.”

“This next one might be even tamer,” she replied. “Out of towners are usually the lightweight fights. I’m not sure why Anderson put them up second. They’re usually first to fight.”

They fell silent as Anderson announced the out of towners, Zane and Kian. They walked up to the ring from the back of the room, and Cammie frowned as she watched them. A trickle of unease crept down her spine, and she straightened, looking closely. There was something about them… their graceful, fluid movements, the power they exuded when they walked.

“Hey, are you okay?” Alex asked, placing a warm hand on her arm.

She looked down at where his hand was resting, barely able to keep in her gasp as a zing of awareness raced up and down her skin from the contact. Her dragon sat up alert in her chest, and Cammie squeezed her eyes shut, her desire to bask in the warmth of his touch warring with her desire to flee.

Easing her arm out from under his hand, she shot him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. Just interested in seeing if these fighters have anything new to offer.”

“Okay. I’ll look for new things, as well,” he replied, shooting her a wink as his hand fell to his thigh.

Cammie laughed as she returned her attention to the ring. “Yeah, because you’d be the best at knowing what’s right and what’s isn’t, much less looking for new techniques.”

“I’m pretty good at being able to tell you the best way to get taken out by the punching bag.”

She snort laughed, barely resisting the urge to cover her mouth as heat crept up her cheeks. Gah, she didn’t need to know any more little tidbits about him. Knowing he had a sense of humor, one he could direct at himself, was just one more item piling up on her Like Alex, Don’t Like Alex scales. The scales were quickly tipping in his direction, and that was the last thing she needed.

Luckily, the fight started, and Cammie did her best to put him out of her mind as she focused on it. But it was an almost impossible endeavor. Alex watched the fight with intense focus, fascinated. He liked this. Liked the fights. Another thing she didn’t need to know. She had to find something else to add to the pathetic Don’t Like Alex side of the scale, try to get it more balanced out somehow.

Determined to ignore him, she turned her gaze to the fighters, her unease growing as she watched them. There was something so familiar about their fighting style, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Then, stifling a gasp, she jerked upright, staring at them more intently.

They were shifters. She was sure of it.

Unknown shifters in Eagle Creek was bad. Very bad. She fought to control the panic eating at her insides. This could be totally innocent. There were a lot of shifters here, and more said to be thinking about returning to the old town. Maybe these two were just some of them. It didn’t mean they were dragons, come to snatch her away into a forced mating.

She breathed deeply, trying to be subtle about it. The last thing she wanted was for Alex to notice. She couldn’t answer any questions he threw her way about this. She calmed slightly at the thought of Alex. Even her dragon relaxed a tiny bit in her chest.

Feeling disturbed about her dragon relaxing at the thought of Alex, she nevertheless felt a little calmer and able to think more clearly. These weren’t dragons. Dragons wouldn’t lower themselves to fight it out in front of a human crowd. They had others do that for them. So even if these shifters were here for her, the dragons weren’t. She had time to search around, try to see what they were up to.

This fight was far more entertaining than the last, although they weren’t good enough to beat her boys. Still, while they were good, she couldn’t make herself focus on the fight itself. Her mind was still racing, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when Alex put a hand on her knee, squeezing tightly for a moment.

“Seriously, Cammie, are you okay?”

“I said I was fine,” she snapped.

He slowly lifted his hands. “Sorry. You just looked worried, and I wanted to see if anything was wrong.”

Inhaling deeply, she smoothed all expression from her face. “I’m sorry I snapped at you like that,” she said with genuine remorse. “I really am okay. My mind was just wondering for a moment. Everything is fine.”

Lie.

Alex frowned at the thought, full of certainty as it floated through his mind. Really weird. It was like something sounded off about her voice, but he wasn’t sure what. How could he know for sure she lied? But somehow, he was positive she had. He glanced at her, and saw she was wound up tight, and her face was pale. Something was wrong, obviously, but it was just as obvious she wasn’t going to tell him what it was.

Frustration coursed through his veins as he forced himself to look away from her and watch the fight again. He wanted to earn her trust in the worst way, but with a nonexistent past and no way of knowing why he was here with the fighters to begin with, it was a long shot. He didn’t think she trusted easily, and he could give her no reason to take a chance on him.

He cocked his head as he watched the fighters in the ring. They were clearly shifters. He’d bet money on it. They had the same fluid grace, the same powerful and effortless moves that the Rocky River fighters did. There was something, some instinct inside him, shouting that they were shifters.

Shooting a quick glance at Cammie, he saw her watching them with eyes that practically burned, and he had to wonder if this was what had her upset. Brow furrowing, he looked from her to the shifters again. If she was bothered by them being here, then it was clear no one had known about them. His hands clenched as he remembered his thought about her hiding from something. If that was true, and he felt like it was, and she was this concerned about unknown shifters showing up…

Eyes narrowed, he looked at the shifters again, and something inside him sensed something familiar in them. Something dangerous. A crushing need to protect her welled up inside him, and he frowned as he rubbed a hand over his chest. The thought of trying to protect her was a little absurd. She could take the fighters from Rocky River down, so he knew she could take care of herself. And even if she couldn’t, he had no fighting experience. That he was sure of. None of it felt familiar to him, and he sucked at throwing punches, even against inanimate objects.

But knowing all that didn’t stop this overwhelming need he had to protect and take care of her, and he had no idea how to tone it down. So he did his best to focus on the fighting in front of him, and nothing else. Maybe he could learn a thing or two before the night was over.

After a tension filled ride home in Ian’s truck, where hardly anyone spoke, Alex got out of the truck. He turned around, intending to help Cammie, but she was already out. She took off toward the woods, walking fast, and he frowned as he started to follow, but Jax stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“It’s best to give her some space when she’s riled up like this. Trust me on that.”

Alex grunted as the quiet man followed the others inside. Running a hand over his face, he opted to go on his own walk in the opposite direction, maybe try to clear his head a little. He felt on edge, like every instinct he possessed was on high alert. Hopefully, a walk would at least take the edge off.

Blanking his mind of thoughts took most of his willpower, but he managed it as he walked. By the time he neared the house again, he was feeling a little more in control of himself. He paused as he heard voices coming from the direction of the barn. He wanted to know what they were talking about, but the decent part of him said he should just walk away, go to the house. If they wanted him to be a part of the conversation, they’d ask.

But curiosity won out over common decency, and Alex found himself moving in the direction of the barn. He crept up and held himself still as he listened.

“Well, what were they? And how did we not know there were other shifters in the area?” Cammie spat.

“We don’t know the answer to either of those questions,” Jax answered low.

“How can you not know? You warm up in the same area as they do. You had to have smelled their animals.”

“They didn’t have a smell,” Ian replied reluctantly. “Now, don’t look like that, Cammie. We saw their eyes when they were done with the fight. They were clearly shifter eyes, but no elongated pupils. There has to be some other animal out there without scent markers. We just don’t know what it is.”

Alex frowned to himself, trying to figure out what elongated pupils meant. He didn’t think he bought the idea of a snake or lizard shifter, but he wasn’t sure what else they could be talking about. Cammie spoke again, and the defeat in her voice snapped his attention back to their conversation.

“Fuck, they’re probably here for me. And somehow masking their scent, or hiding their pupils. My kind’s eyes can change quickly. You know that as well as I do. Either way, whether they’re my kind or other shifters, their presence doesn’t bode well for me.”

“Whoa, slow down, Cammie,” Seth urged. “We don’t know they’re here for you. Maybe word’s just gotten out about so many shifters being in Eagle Creek, they heard about us fighters and came to check us out. That could be all it is.”

“Then why hide what they are? At the very least, they should have introduced themselves, told us beforehand before letting us find out like that,” she snapped.

“Some shifters are just jackasses like that. We all know one shifter in this barn who would pull something like that, thinking he was either showing off or being funny,” Ian said with a laugh.

“I resent that,” Seth answered, not sounding like it bothered him at all.

“Look,” Ian said. “You’re not the only one who has a past out to get them, Cammie. If they’re here with bad intentions, it might not be for you.”

“Oh, gee, you just made me feel so much better,” she shot back.

“It’s just the truth. We do nothing until we know what their purpose of being here is. We wait, and we watch. And I know what’s going through that head of yours, Cammie. You’re not taking off. No running. We handle it, if it even it’s about you, as a team. Promise me.”

Alex took an involuntary step backward at Ian’s words, wincing as his heel snapped a twig. It was a quiet sound, but he had no doubt the fighters would hear it. He immediately began easing away from the barn, stealthily blending with the shadows as Seth poked his head out of the barn.

He walked through the woods back to the house, his mind whirring. He’d disappeared into the darkness so easily, like it was second nature to him. It made him anxious, because he didn’t know why it came so naturally to him, or why his mind whispered rookie mistake when he stepped on the twig.

As unsettled as it made him, that wasn’t what his mind couldn’t let rest. Ian sounded positive that Cammie’s next move would be running, and something inside him was violently rejecting the possibility.

He didn’t want her in danger. That was a given, and the thought that she could be was tearing him up inside. And if danger was here, knocking on her back door, he absolutely wanted her to run. But he also knew the fighters here wouldn’t let anything happen to her. They were more of a family than anything, and they’d lay their lives down for her, he was sure of it. But they might not be enough.

Alex reached the back door and went inside, nodding and smiling at Shelby when she looked up from a drawing she was making on the table.

“Did Hannah leave?” he asked. Hannah was a friend of the fighters. Her and Shelby bonded quickly after the little girl came to live with Ian, from what he was able to gather, and Hannah came over to stay with her when there was a fight.

“Yeah, not too long after you guys got back. Are you okay? You look upset,” she replied, watching him with inquisitive bright blue eyes.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. You okay down here if I head up to my room?”

“I’m eight. I think I can handle it,” she replied, lips curving upward, eyes twinkling.

“Minx,” he said affectionately, ruffling her hair as he walked past her.

He walked upstairs and went to his room, laying down on the bed without bothering to kick his boots off. Stacking his hands behind his head, he stared at the ceiling as his mind raced. He was worried for Cammie’s safety. Like Ian said, they didn’t know what those two shifters were here for, but he wasn’t willing to bet her safety on a might not be. He needed absolutes when it came to Cammie.

Leaving, and being alone and vulnerable, wasn’t the answer. But he wasn’t sure staying here was either. Because who knew what they wanted from her and how far they were willing to go to get it, or if they’d send off to wherever for reinforcements. Maybe he could help protect her. He was shit at fighting, and he was just a human. But he could learn to fight, put more effort into becoming better at it. He wasn’t sure how effectual he’d realistically be in a fight, but he had to do something.

Nodding his head in determination, Alex pushed himself back off the bed so he could get his boots off, resolve filling him. He could do this. For Cammie, he was positive he could do anything, especially if it helped keep her safe.