Luna arrived at the club at four p.m., dressed in a short, black cocktail dress with open shoulders. It dipped at the bust, revealing enough soft cleavage to satisfy any horny shifter seeking an eyeful. It was her shortest, tightest garment; one that she’d bought a few years earlier when going through a brief and regrettable period of one-night stands.

Any normal woman would have dated many men by now. The average Wolf shifter would likely have found herself a mate by the age of thirty-one, but not Luna. Oh, she’d been with this man and that one, had the odd slightly-drunken fling. She’d never been with anyone in her Pack, of course; the submissive males of Warkshire had never managed to excite her enough.

But in spite of a few pleasant nights out with some very attractive men from neighbouring Packs, no one had ever interested her enough to persuade her to commit to them. On top of that, Luna knew that Ripper wouldn’t approve of any of the men she’d been with. For some reason he seemed quite happy to keep her single. Perhaps it was his way of ensuring that she stuck around. Or maybe his reasons were more selfish than that.

Whatever the case, it didn’t much matter to Luna. As long as Silver remained in the Pack, and as long as she couldn’t figure out a way to break him free, she would remain by his side. She would never run away with any man if it meant deserting her brother.

Which basically meant that she lived the life of an abstinent, sexually frustrated nun, for all intents and purposes.

When she strolled into the Underground Club, Silver was already standing behind one of the bar areas in a t-shirt and jeans, his assigned bartender’s uniform. He looked good. Luna could see why Ripper wanted him back there. If any young women walked in looking for a drink, no doubt they’d be delighted to find themselves face to face with such a handsome devil. Of course, they’d be lucky to get two words out of him.

She wanted to march over and talk to him, to apologize for her behaviour last night. It wasn’t right to yell at a man so damaged as he was, and she’d been an idiot to lose her cool.

But as she stepped towards him, a low whistle sounded from somewhere behind her, halting her in her tracks. She spun around, ready to face the arsehole who led their Pack.

“Well, aren’t you looking gorgeous?” asked Ripper, who was moving towards her at a fast pace. He sidled up next to her, pressing his hand to her lower back and giving her a far-too-lengthy kiss on the cheek. She made a mental note to swab that cheek with alcohol as soon as possible.

“Where do you want me?” she asked, her tone cold.

Ripper threw her a sly glance that amounted to little more than a pervy narrowing of the eyes. “Hmm. Where do I want you? Oh, on a bed, on my desk, behind the bar?” he replied, letting out a stupid, far-too-loud laugh at his own completely inappropriate joke.

“You know that’s not what I mean,” she growled.

“Fine. When the patrons come in, I want you moving about as much as possible,” Ripper replied, raking his eyes down her body like he wanted to tear through the dress. “I want you visible at all times. I want that body of yours on display, and those ears of yours alert.”

“Alert? For what? Drunken arseholes who are looking for a quick shag?”

“Details,” said Ripper, leaning towards her and breathing the word in her ear. As the Alpha spoke, Luna looked over at her brother, whose jaw was clenched. She knew he didn’t like when Ripper got too close to her.

“Yes, yes,” she said. “I know you want information.” Ripper was still too close, and now his right hand had slid over to her waist. Well, it seemed that her vile boss approved of her choice of wardrobe, anyhow.

She pulled away, wrenching her body free of his grasp. There was only one man she wanted touching her, and he’d pushed her away in the early hours of the morning. The last thing she wanted was for Ripper’s hands to replace Kirith’s.

“I’ve just found out that there’s someone in London,” Ripper said. “A Dragon shifter who’s of particular interest to me. Some Wolves saw him last night. You might remember him from Warkshire. His name is Kirith.”

A tremor pulsed its way through Luna’s body, and she did her best to fight it back and conceal her reaction. “Kirith?” she said. “Yes, I seem to recall that name.”

“He should be called Psycho, really,” said Ripper, who’d pulled back to draw his gross gaze to Luna’s breasts. “He’s rather dangerous, and I want to know where he is. They said they saw him in Hyde Park. I want all the information you can get me on him. So when our customers come in, use your feminine wiles. Wander among the men, ask questions, would you? It’s a matter of protecting the Pack, you see.”

“Why’s that?” asked Luna, doing her best to sound like she’d forgotten about the Dragon’s alleged crimes.

Ripper leaned in again and whispered the words into her ear. “Because Kirith is a nasty piece of work, and I mean to kill the fucker.”

A ripple of dread wove its way through Luna, a deep, protective instinct rising up in her chest. Kirith had saved her from harm. He’d patched her up. He’d taken her clothes off, his mouth had made her head spin, his fingers had taken her possessively. For a brief moment in time he’d been her lover.

It would have been a lie to say that any part of her believed anymore that he was a cruel and evil beast of a man, that his Dragon was all fire and brimstone. No. His Dragon was a watcher who’d saved her from harm against all odds. He was no devil. As cold as he could be, as distant and stone-hearted, Kirith was the good guy in this scenario.

The leader of the Warkshire Pack was fighting for the wrong side.

“I’ll do whatever you say,” she assured Ripper, issuing a quick smile. “I’ll keep an ear out for any news on this Kirith fellow.”

“Good,” he replied. “I know I can rely on you.” With those words, the Alpha shot a glance at Silver, who was standing behind the bar with a beer stein in hand. His eyes were narrowed angrily, but the moment Ripper looked at him, he dropped his gaze in submission.

Some day, thought Luna, I’ll learn what’s going on between these two.

* * *

By seven p.m., patrons were beginning to arrive at the club.

For the bulk of the evening, Luna wandered about the club, taking drink orders and glaring at shifters who stared at her hungrily. She knew that they could tell by her scent that she was unclaimed. A single, available She-Wolf ripe for the taking.

Hands occasionally reached for her, caressing her when they shouldn’t have. Usually it was a shifter who’d had a little too much to drink who grabbed her, and it didn’t take more than two minutes for her new job to grow tiresome.

She heard conversations about territories, about claims laid to London’s districts. The Denholm Pack was taking over Chelsea, they said, while another group was claiming Soho. But no real talk of Dragons, and certainly no chatter about Kirith, to Luna’s relief.

It was only when two a.m. approached that she heard the first talk of his presence.

“Massive man,” someone was saying, “Seven feet if he was an inch.”

Her ears perked up, and she turned to see who was speaking. Some dark-haired man was chatting with another male. “It seems he likes to protect the lady-folk. He wouldn’t let us at her.”

Luna immediately turned away. Crap. It was the greasy, scarred man who’d led her assailants the previous night. It had been dark in the park, but if she recognized him, chances were pretty good that he’d know her face, too.

She pulled behind a stone column and listened.

“I’m not sure where he lives,” the man was saying. “But he was in the park; it was like he was watching over it. Said it was under the jurisdiction of the Dragons’ Guild.”

“They say it’s where the Alpha lives,” the other man replied. “That’s why.”

“Well, it’ll be ours soon enough, given what Rip has planned.”

“Oh? Who the fuck is Rip then?”

“You haven’t heard? They call him the Dragon Slayer. He’s the Alpha of the Warkshire Pack. Nasty piece of work, he is. Knows how to bring down the king of all shifters.”

“You’re telling me the guy has killed Dragons.”

“Don’t know. All I know is what I’ve heard. And I’ve heard rumours,” the fucker said. “He means to take down the Guild’s Alpha. He’s out of London, but Rip has some info on his whereabouts.”

“You’re taking the piss,” the other man replied. “He can’t kill a fucking Kindred leader.”

“Maybe not, but he can break him. Rumour has it that the leader’s mate is human. And his child is half-human.”

“Fuck me. That’s something, innit?”

“Can you imagine what would happen if a sodding Wolf managed to destroy the entire Dragons’ Guild by driving its leader mad?”

“He’d run this town.”

“I know it.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Luna spun round, looking to see where Ripper was, but she couldn’t see him. Good. She needed to get out of there, and fast. Needed to find Kirith and warn him.

She’d never met Lumen, but something told her to protect him, to look after his interests. If Ripper hurt the Dragons, if he hurt Kirith…

She would end him.