Ryenne woke hours later in her own bed, alone. Vague memories swam into her consciousness of stumbling to her room, Lucien’s arms around her waist, and him leaving her at her door with a sweet kiss.

Her head pounded. She hadn’t had enough wine to cause a hangover headache, so it must have been the shame.

She’d slept with a shifter.

With her partner.

With Lucien.

And damn if it hadn’t been one of the best times of her life.

Now, she couldn’t face him. She didn’t know how to feel about it. Or how he felt about her.

Normally, she tried to keep her life uncomplicated. Sleeping with her shifter partner while hunting for a vicious rogue, and with an innocent man missing, was beyond complicated.

She needed to talk to Gavin, but it was the middle of the night at home. And he wouldn’t be any help. He’d think it was great she’d had sex with Lucien.

Burying her head under the pillow, she muffled a scream. Memories of his touch, his kisses, his...oh, everything...made her core tingle and her face flush.

She sat up in a rush, threw off the covers, and stood. There was only one way to handle this kind of emotional turmoil and shame. With physical activity. She dressed for a run and headed out, tiptoeing past Lucien’s door.

No one was about and she made it out to the yard without being seen. Teddy jumped up from where he slouched inside the tiny guardhouse. “Miss Ryenne. Good morning. Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Why would he ask her that? Did last night’s events show on her face?

He scrambled to her side, put himself between her and the gate. “Where are you going?”

“For a run.”

“But it isn’t safe.”

Ryenne sighed and tried to step around him. Teddy wasn’t very big. She could send him flying into the gate or the guardhouse or sprawling on the ground with barely a shove. “Teddy, I appreciate your concern, but it’s daylight now and I’m a hunter. I can take care of myself.”

He frowned, but stepped aside.

“If I’m not back in an hour, you have my permission to sound the alarm and raise a posse.” She went out the gate and broke into a jog. She decided to head to the outskirts of the village and go in a circle. This way, she could check out all the ways in and out of the village, and take in the scenery.

An hour later, she slowed down outside the gate and knocked. Within seconds, it opened and a frantic-looking Teddy stood in her path. “Oh Miss Ryenne, thank goodness. I was about to call a posse, whatever a posse is.”

Ryenne laughed through panting breaths. “You’re a good man, Teddy. You should find another job.” She didn’t wait for his response, instead jogging into the house past the other guards and to her room for a shower. Again, she didn’t run into Lucien or Steven or anyone.

Where was everyone?

The shower finished the job the run had started. She felt refreshed and full of purpose. And, most importantly, she felt like herself again.

Once dressed, she strolled out to the yard, whistling a song Gavin was always sticking in her head when she least wanted it. Something about sunshine in a pocket and dancing. On her way, she stopped in the kitchen.

“Morning,” she said to the housekeeper, Eleanor. “Anything quick I can grab for breakfast? Sorry I missed the sit-down.”

“Oh, good morning, Miss Ryenne. There is some fruit left over and I just baked these rolls for lunch. Help yourself.”

She took a roll and a plate of sliced mango, thanked the woman, and went outside. The men gathered around, greeting her and all talking at once. She ate her breakfast and waited for them to stop.

Eventually, they seemed to notice she stood silently, a slight smile at the corners of her mouth, because they stopped talking one by one and stared at her.

“Great, so I decided I should teach you all how to be guards.”

They looked at one another, a few shifting their weight from foot to foot, a couple muttering. As usual, Teddy spoke up. “But we already know how. It is our job.”

In a swift move, Ryenne grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back and up as far as it would go without breaking something. “Really? Do you know what to do if you’re attacked?”

Teddy gasped and winced and she felt the resistance from him trying to pull his arm down.

She released him and stepped back. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she raised an eyebrow at them. They gawped back.

Taking the dagger from her back sheath and one of her smaller stunners out of its hiding place up her sleeve, she waved them at the men. “Do you know how to avoid getting hurt by these? Do you know how to use them?”

Most of the men stared at the ground. It was answer enough.

“Exactly. You know how to stand guard and act as a deterrent with your mere presence. But you don’t know how to defend yourselves or this compound. You don’t know how to keep the leopard out. And you don’t know how to fight it.”

The men spoke in rapid-fire Gikuyu. Ryenne let them argue while bringing her plate back to the kitchen.

“What are they so upset about?” Eleanor asked.

Ryenne shrugged. “I told them I want to teach them how to be like me.”

Eleanor stopped washing pots in the sink and stared at Ryenne. “Ooh hoo, now I understand.” She laughed and her dark face crinkled. “They are not happy about a woman teaching them anything.”

“I get that a lot.”

“Well, miss, with all that is going on, I might let you show me how to protect myself. I worry when I walk home at night.”

Ryenne went rigid. It hadn’t occurred to her that Eleanor might not live in the house. “You don’t go alone, do you?”

Eleanor lifted one shoulder and twisted her mouth. “Eh, most of the time, yes.”

“Eleanor, you can’t do that anymore. Please, promise me you won’t go anywhere outside the compound alone until we catch the rogue. He’s one of the most dangerous animals I’ve ever hunted.”

“Okay, sure, sure.”

“If the men won’t walk you home, then find me,” Ryenne insisted.

Confident she’d made her point, she returned to the yard to gauge the progress of the discussion. Upon her arrival, the men stopped talking.

“Ready for your first lesson?”

A couple of the men wandered away, one toward the guardhouse and one to the backyard. She didn’t mind. She didn’t know why there were so many of them here during the day anyway. They probably didn’t all need to officially work but didn’t have anything else to do.

Might as well hang out with their friends. And she’d bet her entire pay from this gig that Eleanor kept them well fed.

Those who remained looked at her with expectation shining in their dark eyes.

No pressure, Ry.

She had them line up with plenty of space between them. First, she led them in some basic exercises, sit-ups, push-ups, and jumping jacks.

When they began to grumble, she taught them basic kicks and punches. “Learning to fight doesn’t happen in a day,” she explained. “We’ll continue these lessons for as long as I’m here.”

They grumbled some more and she hid her smile.

Then she taught them a couple of tricks to get out of holds. “Remember, first you distract, then you go with the flow.”

“What does it mean?” Teddy asked, sweat dripping down the sides of his frowning face.

“Let me show you.” She approached him and his eyes went wide and he jumped back. The other men laughed. “I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

She had him grab her wrist in front of her, despite his obvious discomfort at touching a woman. “Now, you might expect me to try to pull out of your grasp, which is working against the force you’re applying.” She pushed in the same direction he was, but in a sudden movement twisted upward which broke his grasp. “See?”

The men muttered.

“By going with the flow, or using the attacker’s force against him, you take him by surprise and accomplish your goal with less effort. And it works even better if you do something to distract the attacker first. Like this.” She had Teddy grab her wrist again. This time, she pretended to kick him in the shin before breaking his grasp.

The men made “ah” noises.

“Let’s practice this in pairs until you become comfortable,” she said.

The men paired up and practiced breaking each other’s hold while Ryenne wandered among them, offering advice and showing them additional ways to break a grasp. By lunchtime, the men were sweating and exhausted, but there was a sense of hope pervading the group.

Lunch was a solo affair.

“Where is everyone?” she asked Jomo.

“Master Muteti is still locked in his room,” the young boy said with solemn grace. He poured her a glass of water and stood back. “John is out on an errand for the master.”

“And Lucien?”

“I have not seen Mr. Malraux.”

It was strange. He hadn’t yet missed an opportunity to spend a meal alone with Ryenne. Then the events of the night before hit her again and she flushed.

“Are you all right, miss?”

She shook herself. “Yes, of course. Maybe a bit too much sun this morning.”

He nodded and a small smile replaced his usual stern expression. “It was funny when you made Daniel fall on the ground at your feet.”

“Oh, so you were watching? Want to join us next time?”

“Oh no, thank you, but I have too much work to do inside the house. Maybe my brother will teach me at home in the evenings.”

She mentally kicked herself. Of course, Jomo must have a family. He was always so serious, always here at Steven’s house, and never talked about his personal life. “Who is your brother?”

A sly grin slid across his face. “Daniel.”

She laughed with him. “Keep watching us, then, Jomo. There will be plenty more opportunities for your brother to land on his butt.”

When he left her, she remembered her true reason for getting red. Lucien. Was he avoiding her? Maybe he didn’t care about her and thought last night had been a mistake. He didn’t have her issues, though, as far as she knew. It probably didn’t bother him to sleep with a human.

Did he know she was bothered by sleeping with a shifter?

She stabbed a piece of fish with her fork harder than necessary. There could be any number of reasons for his absence, but none made her feel good. If it didn’t have to do with her, it could have to do with their job. He’d never gone off to investigate on his own before, so she wondered if his motives were pure.

He was a shifter, after all.