Brannon couldn't believe his ears. She was in the shower, masturbating to him. It took all he had not to open that door and make it a reality. He was debating keeping the knowledge to himself and going back to the living room with the rest of the gang, but before he could decide, the door opened. She took his breath away.

“What are you doing here?”

He didn’t even hesitate, he stepped closer, backing her into the bathroom and closing the door with a soft click.

“Your eyes are glowing.” She sounded breathless and he could still smell her desire and need, and it was driving his wolf insane. “What are you doing?”

Brannon smiled. “Finally getting a taste of what I’ve been craving.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply, just pulled her into his body and kissed her with all the pent-up lust he’d been holding back.

Her fingers dug into his back as he took advantage of her gasp. Their tongues dueled for possession as he allowed his hands to glide down her curves to her ass. He wasn’t sure there was a force on earth that could have stopped him from palming her luscious curvy ass in his hands and pulling her tightly against his aching erection.

“Wrap your legs around me, baby. Let me feel your heat,” he whispered as he hoisted her up and smiled in wicked delight as he felt the towel part. He ground his pelvis into her and she moaned. “Yes, baby. Imagine how hot we’d be together without any clothes. I’d worship every beautiful inch of your body.”

“Kasey?” Layla called from outside the door. “You have some guests, in case you didn’t already know.”

Her words were like ice water being doused on Kasey’s need. Brannon felt her push at his chest to be let down. He hated to do it but gave in and let her legs drop to the floor. “This isn’t over, mate. You’re going to be screaming my name soon. Very soon. And I’m going to be balls deep in your heat when that happens.”

Brannon leaned forward and kissed her lightly before winking. “Get dressed, love. Meet us in the living room. There’s a lot of things we need to talk about.”

He turned and walked out of the bathroom, shut the door, and leaned against the wall, taking deep gulps of air. Fuck. She was going to kill him. Never had he had to fight so hard to keep his wolf under control like that. He wanted to claim her. And he didn’t care if she was ready or not.

His animal pushed at his skin in agreement, demanding they finish what had begun. His human half knew he’d already pushed things farther than he’d intended. One look at her in that towel, still damp and smelling of lust, and he’d forgotten everything but the need to touch her. To taste her. To be in her.

Only when he heard her stirring in the bathroom did he head back to the living room.

“Everything okay?” Bastien asked with a smirk.

“Shove it, Little Bear,” Brannon growled back.

“What he meant to say was,” Carly said with a mock glare at her mate, “is she coming out to see us?”

Brannon rolled his eyes as his friends snickered at her choice of words. “Grow up, you fucktards, but yes, she’ll be out here in a minute.” He glanced around and frowned. “Where’s Caelan?”

“He’s in the parking lot on the phone. Said he’d be a minute,” Kira replied.

Layla stood. “I’m going to check on her. I’ll be right back.”

Brannon felt like an ass. He hadn’t even considered how nervous Layla would be with all of them there and not knowing what was going on. She was involved, too—she was related to the Mercado family.

They sat in silence, waiting. Caelan came in and paced, casting furtive glances down the hall before finally asking if anyone had seen her yet. Which just made everyone snicker all over again and point to Brannon.

“At least I didn’t maul her in the bathroom of a restaurant unlike some people.”

Toni scowled at him. “But you did in a bathroom, knowing she was going to have to come face us nervous anyway.”

“All right, I get it.” Brannon shrugged. “What can I say? I couldn’t help myself. Your mates get what I mean. They’ve all been there.”

They got quiet as they heard footsteps coming down the hallway. As soon as she entered the room, Caelan was there pulling her into his arms for a giant hug.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Brannon smiled. Caelan was probably the only guy he and his wolf could handle hugging his woman like that. And only because they both knew he loved her like a sister and had been extremely torn up about this whole situation. Hell, Caelan had been working to hook the two of them up. He was the best friend any guy could ask for.

“Kasey, we…” Kira began before trailing off to wipe tears from her eyes.

“What she’s trying to say is you’re an idiot. . .” Luke supplied with a smile.

Brannon growled and began to sit up, but his next words made him relax again. He could see his mate was embarrassed. If her face got any redder, she’d look like a tomato.

“. . .for thinking that we wouldn’t have understood or accepted you for who your father is.”

That was more like it, Brannon thought with a smile. Who knew his friend could be so eloquent even if it was delivered in a half insult first. It was working, too. He could see her relaxing a bit. Their friends were one of a kind. Now if he could just get her to give in and be with him so he could put a smile on her face all day.

“Yes,” Carly piped in. “We’re hurt you didn’t feel you could be honest with us, but we also understand why you felt that way.”

“Just promise from now on, you’ll talk to us and stop hiding who you are,” Carly added. “We love you, not because of anything other than you.”

Kira smiled. “Where’s Layla? She’s included in this, too. We want her to feel comfortable around us and we want both of you to come back to work.”

“Also,” Garrett said with a clap of his hands to get everyone’s attention. “We need to clear the air. Anyone else have any secrets they want to confess?”

For a minute, no one responded, until finally Toni raised her hand. “We finally decided on a name for our baby girl. It’s Makayla.”

Once everyone quieted down, Brannon looked to Kasey and winked. She smiled and nodded. “I told you all earlier that I’d heard something, but I wasn’t sure if it was related or anything. I didn’t want to tell you earlier in front of my father because…well, let me explain and you’ll see.

“My mother died when I was teenager. She slowly got sicker and sicker, and the doctors couldn’t figure out why or how to help. It took its toll on my mother's body until it gave out and she died.”

“I’m so sorry. I know what it's like to grow up without a mother. I’d never wish that on any child,” Carly said sadly.

“My family always had people around—it was part of my father’s business, I guess. One lady always made me feel uneasy. She didn’t like me, and I didn’t like her. She’d make comments and innuendos that at the time I was too young to understand but looking back makes me wonder if she wasn’t the reason for my mother’s condition.

“Anyway, a couple years after my mother died, my father proposed to this woman. I knew I couldn’t live with her comments and snide remarks about my weight and my mother, so I convinced my father to let me go to a boarding school far away from her. I stayed there until I graduated and then went on to college. Eventually, I had to come back. I always knew that day would come. This woman didn’t get better in all the years I was gone, in fact, she became more spiteful and…evil.”

“Your dad didn’t see any of this behavior? He couldn’t see what type of woman was around his daughter?” Toni asked with anger tinging each word.

“She was very different when he was around, Toni. I don’t blame him. He really was a fantastic father to me in every way. My point in telling you all this is not for your sympathy, because, in spite of it, I really did have a great childhood. I was sheltered from my father's world. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized the things he was accused of being involved in. I’m digressing again. One day when I was home visiting my father a few months back, I overheard her talking about the mountain and taking control of it.”

Luke cocked his head and studied Kasey for a minute. “So you think she’s the one doing this to the teenagers?”

She glanced around at all their faces before meeting Luke’s gaze. “Yes. I do. She didn’t give specifics, but with her history, it makes sense.”

“Her history?” Kira asked, her tone confused.

“She believes herself to be a witch. I have no doubt she’s doing this for some nefarious purpose. I just don’t know why or for what reason. I’ve been trying to find out, but my father wasn’t lying. He nor any of his people are involved in this. It’s her. I know it is.”

Brannon sighed. “So if it is her, how do we stop her?”