Rygan and Coveney sat down behind the hacker’s laptop and researched rental properties in Lakesides, Oregon, expecting a big fat nothing. Their requirements were rarely met - to be comfortable, the pride needed a ten bedroom, minimum, and they also preferred homes that were fenced in. A decent territory to run around wouldn’t hurt either.

As per usual, there were zero results matching their exact criteria, but before Coveney clicked away to broaden their search, Rygan stopped him, “Wait a second, what’s that?”

He pointed towards an ad underneath their non-existent search results.

The main picture showed a modern home - one of those weirdly shaped buildings that seem to have been made of square wooden boxes, with large windows; Coveney clicked on it and they scrolled through pictures of elegant stairs without banisters, antique chandeliers fitted around modern lighting, plush rugs, and marble countertops. The house was made to impress; the kind of thing an actor might have bought.

“Fifteen rooms. There’s a large garden and fences all around. It says it’s just outside of town.”

Clicking on the map to locate the property, Rygan felt a smile playing on his lips.

Oh dear. The pretty kitty wasn’t going to like that; not one bit.

“It’s just outside the forest, right?”

Rygan nodded.

“If Aisling doesn’t mind, we can ask to run in her territory.” Running was essential for their animals’ wellbeing. “We can offer to patrol for her in exchange, maybe?” Coveney, sounding hopeful, turned to Daunte, who’d just walked in, his hair wet. He was wearing the dark grey clothing he liked to put on when he patrolled at night.

The Beta joined them and looked at the computer screen.

“Oh, I know that house. It was under construction last year; the mayor built it for his daughter, but she got married and moved away. Ace mentioned she might buy it.”

Well, that complicated things.

“Would she rent it to us? Or let us buy it?”

Daunte grimaced, walking away, phone in hand.

“Hey lady. Look, we saw the house we talked about last time was on the market…” the Beta’s voice faded as he went out, heading to the gardens. When he walked back in a few minutes later, he was smiling and nodding.

“We can buy. We can also run in her woods - as long as we stay away from her.”

Rygan narrowed his eyes; it was too easy. Catching his suspicion, Daunte explained, “Ace spent a pretty penny when she moved here, between the land and her business. She would have bought the house, rather than letting it go to just anyone - it’s too close to her territory. But she’s fine with us having it. She trusts me.”

That answer cleared things up, and should have made Rygan happy. It didn’t. It showed too much familiarity between his Beta and the loner he had no business feeling possessive about.

---

When they announced their find a few hours later, the response wasn’t quite unanimously favorable.

“Oh,” said Ola, her tone curt.

“We were going to rent, but it’s too good an opportunity to pass up. We’ll try to snatch that up.”

Shifters liked to own their territory, but the healer still frowned, concerned.

“I thought we were only welcome here for a week? A house completion will take longer than that.”

Ola, like the majority of his pride, was in a hurry to leave the strange house, so that they could protect the cubs on their own turf, but Daunte didn’t feel the same need.

And nor did Rygan, if he was honest.

Overnight, he’d thought about the way Ace had jumped and directly attacked. If she’d wanted, she could have drawn blood. She hadn’t.

Shifters were often guilty of letting their human counterpart do all the thinking, but, if he ignored that, if he wondered about her actions as a wild cat, they made sense. She’d made a very clear point: don’t fuck with me, I can take one of your strongest.

The more Rygan thought of it, the more he was convinced that it hadn’t been hostile. Not really. No pretty words could have achieved what that display did, so she’d just cut the shit. Otherwise, the dominant females in his pride might have confronted her; now, they were wary of her, happy to stay at a distance - which, Rygan assumed, was exactly what she wanted.

“Ace will let us stay,” his Beta assured them. “But, in exchange, the least we can do is make her some dinner. She goes to work early; if we pack some leftovers and leave it on the kitchen counter, she’ll be very pleased with us.”

“I’ll make something nice then,” Ian replied, his expression determined.

A lot of pride members cooked, Rygan included, but, on special occasions, Ian took over; unfortunately, it didn’t happen often. Just because the man was amazing in the kitchen didn’t mean that he liked cooking.

He made a chili that had everyone shamelessly demanding seconds, and most of the pride retired for the night after finishing their food.

Rygan stayed up until the last member of his pride had gone to bed, still on edge. Things had changed too quickly for his liking; they hadn’t prepared their exit, barely taking a few hours to pack their belongings. And now they depended on her hospitality.

If he was entirely sincere, she was his problem. He was wary, and with good reason. Being loners went against the nature of most shifters; it wasn’t as bad for felines as it was for wolves, but they were still naturally inclined to live in prides. If she’d been cast out of hers, she’d done something really bad to deserve it. If she’d chosen to leave, it said a lot about her character - none of which was good. But, at the same time, she was a friend of Daunte’s. That was a recommendation on its own - he didn’t think he knew one man half as loyal as the Beta. And while reason might say otherwise, his guts told Rygan he could trust Ace.

But his problem with her didn’t end there. The way he was drawn to her made him want to take more precautions, unsure he could trust his instincts on the matter. It was hard to tell whether he was listening to his little head or the one he should pay attention to. Perhaps he should get Coveney to run a search on her - although, without a last name, he wasn’t sure they’d find much. The fact that Daunte might be pissed also made him consider it carefully. Rygan and his Beta had never really clashed about anything; he didn’t want that to change. The commanding part of a pride ought to present a united front.

If he just took the facts, the answer was clear. He needed to fuck the woman, and soon. Getting it out of the way would mean he could see things with more perspective once the deed was done.

Right?

A noise pulled him out of his reverie; lifting his head, he found the object of his conflicted thoughts in the kitchen, opening her fridge.