“I’m just saying,” Dane said, turning in his chair slightly to give his brother a warning look, "lay off the raids for a bit. When you attack blindly with no lead-ins—"

Brock met his stare, baring his canines. "What do you mean, blindly? We have humans in high positions of authority whose aim is to destroy us. They've hidden behind all these little guys too long."

"And it's the little guys that you've been attacking."

"Small steps will lead me to the big guys," Brock replied, dismissively.

"Both shifters and humans are talking to the cops about possible pack retaliation. I've warned our people and have been in contact with other Alphas from at least nine surrounding packs about watching their backs…especially those of our women and children. Just take caution, brother. Let's not get caught up in a mess before we can nail this creep."

Brock growled. "Or creeps."

A string of murders involving shifters from Dane's pack and other surrounding packs was what sparked their outrage. After evidence was either destroyed or swept under the rug by investigators, Alphas and commanders from all the surrounding packs began to take matters into their own hands.

It was disheartening to learn that someone wanted them out of the picture for good and would resort to killing them by cornering them like dogs and then shooting at point-blank range.

Dane's fingers gripped the arms of the chair as his blood grew hot just thinking about the travesty. He took several shallow breaths to try to calm his composure and looked out at the swarm of gyrating bodies on the dance floor of LIVE nightclub.

The shifter woman standing behind him kneaded his shoulders firmly. The massage was relaxing, but every time he and his brother disagreed on an issue or brought up a rather touchy subject, the tension would return. It was no mystery why Brock had picked this place to meet up. The blaring rock music matched his brother's irritation and the call girls he'd ordered to keep them company while they talked served as a mild diversion to the situation.

Just as Dane opened his mouth again to speak, a waitress entered their section with a selection of cocktails on her tray. She wasn't the same waitress who'd been serving them all along. This was a different one. She was very human. Very innocent looking. Very…very attractive. When he caught her fresh floral scent, his mouth began to water for more than just the beverages.

Dane sat straight up in his chair as she came to pause in front of her table. There was a tightening in the center of his chest and pulsing in his groin that he couldn't stop. He'd had his share, so it wasn't likely to have such a reaction to one of the call girls walking around under the guise of a waitress. Something was different about this one…

The woman kept her eyes on the ground and he caught a whiff of anxiety from the tempting scent she was giving off. Right off the bat, he could tell that she was new. Leo liked to hire them fresh, with no experience. It kept the males coming back for more since the pickings were varied night after night.

Goddammit! He hadn't come here tonight to satisfy his lust. He came to talk business.

She had relatively long hair, deep brown, either pulled back or braided. He couldn't quite see from her angle. Tendrils hung against her face and some of it even stuck to her temples where she'd perspired a bit. The black mini dress she wore clung to her like a stocking and the wide belt cinched in her small waist. Her legs appeared incredibly long as she balanced her weight on what looked like four-inch heels. He couldn't see her eyes because thick black lashes hid them completely, and she had yet to look up at any of them.

"Miss, we don't do fruity drinks over here," Brock burst out.

To Dane's surprise, the woman looked up with striking hazel eyes and gave his brother a death stare. Fuck, she was beautiful…even when she seemed to take offense to Brock's outburst.

"Cut it out," Dane said under his breath, hoping his bold, can't-hold-his-tongue brother didn't cause a scene he'd regret later on.

"I take orders too." She smiled sweetly. "Would you like another round of what you have?"

"Scotch," Brock said. "Straight."

The woman licked her lips and her gaze flickered on Dane for only a second. "And you?"

"Your name?"

"Excuse me?" She looked up with a blank stare.

"Give me your name," he said, slowly this time.

Her nose wrinkled as though she'd misunderstood his request. There was something quite not right about her. Sure, she looked the part, but she damn sure didn't act the part of a call girl…and her next statement proved this.

"No," she said, flatly. "But can I get you a drink?"

Dane's head reeled back in shock and he ignored Brock's chuckle beside him. He swallowed. Although he hated accepting no for an answer, he decided that it was most appropriate in this case. "I'll take the cocktail on the right."

He watched carefully as she slid the drink across the table to him. Her nails were cut short and painted a barely-there pink color. Her hands and wrists were small and dainty. Her full, lush breasts pushed against her top as she leaned in.

He slipped a Benjamin between her fingers. "Thank you." The pads of his digits glided along the inside of her wrist as he pulled back. Her skin was soft and he longed to hold her hand for a moment longer.

A heated blush reddened her face and neck. She averted her gaze once again. "I'll be back with the scotch."

"Leo seems to be hiring more and more human women these days," Brock said, as the waitress walked away. "I wonder why that is."

"Variety brings in more business," Dane said looking after her delicious body. Her hips swayed naturally as she walked away. "We shifters like to stick together. We see the same faces day in and day out. While keeping to ourselves works in the Aspen Valley community to a certain degree, the same reasoning doesn't work for Leo's business."

"I know…it's all about the money." Brock leaned back in his chair, letting the call girl perform her magic on his shoulders. "It all spends the same whether it comes from us shifters or those humans."

"You got that right." Something other than human money piqued Dane's interest at this moment and he shrugged his shoulders to stop the relaxing massage and stood. "Excuse me for a moment."

It didn't take Dane Magnus long to catch the scent of the waitress who held his immediate attention. Surprisingly she was not at the bar collecting the drink order she'd taken from Brock, but she'd retreated down a narrow hallway toward the back rooms. Her back was facing both the crowd and Dane, but she looked just as beautiful from behind as she was from up front.

The left side her body was pressed up against the wall and she had dropped her face in her palms. Her neck was slender and long and dark brown curls escaped the french braid at the back of her head. Some of the tendrils stuck to the damp skin on her nape. He had a nice view of her plump ass filling out the short skirt she wore. She was taller than the average chick, with sexy ass legs that went on for nights. Her thighs were just the right size, thick enough for his large hands to grip.

Dane bit his bottom lip and willed his hungry wolf to settle down. This woman wasn't your ordinary chick. He could easily tell that the moment she entered his personal space in the VIP section. And from the way she flat out refused to give her name told him that she was stubborn and possibly played hard to get.

Well…a challenge he didn't mind. Not at all. He grinned and advanced further down the hall toward her.