No. No way! She’d never let that happen. Not while she still had blood in her veins.

With a snarl that shook the females holding her, Sissy twisted and snapped and dragged herself out from under the She-wolves. They tried to grab at her again, and she spun and snapped at them, ripping into someone’s snout and making them back away from her.

With a growl, she turned around and faced Gil. She bared her fangs and motioned for him to come to her.

He took a running step, and Sissy braced her body for the on-coming fight, but a large body jumped in front of her so she stepped back and to the side.

Gil stumbled back in shock as he faced something that he feared more than a Smith female—a Smith male.

Bobby Ray bared his fangs and lowered his body as he moved around Gil. The rest of the New York Smith Pack surrounded them, easily batting away the She-wolves still holding on to Ronnie. But the Reed boys went after the males holding on to Dee since they probably didn’t feel right tearing up the little girls holding down their sister.

Sissy didn’t know why Bobby Ray was back from his honeymoon so soon, and she’d kick whoever the hell told him to come home, but that would be later. At the moment, she was just damn glad to see him.

Gil tried to maneuver away from Bobby, but Sissy moved to his flank, blocking him from making a run into the small stand of woods behind the bar alley.

Now that they had him trapped, the siblings looked at each other over Gil’s suddenly trembling body.

They waited. One. Two. Three heartbeats—then they tore into him. Fur and blood and flesh flew across the back alley, and Gil howled in pain.

As always, Bobby Ray and Sissy moved as a synchronized pair. It was why they made such good Alphas. They didn’t stop hurting Gil until Bobby Ray had him on his back with his maw wrapped around Gil’s throat.

He bit down, and Gil’s body went limp, paws up, eyes downcast. Gil Warren would never recover from this. He’d never be Alpha in any Smith-run town. Knowing that, Sissy threw her head back and howled, her Pack joining her.

But she stopped short when that blur of gold shot past. Sissy stumbled back as Mitch snatched Gil up in his mouth and proceeded to shake him back and forth like a rag doll. He slammed Gil’s body against a wall and then tossed him to Brendon. It was then Brendon’s turn to shake Gil and bang him into the wall a few times.

Gil got tossed back to Mitch, and Mitch held him by his back and stared at Sissy. She was tempted—Lord, was she tempted—to let Mitch finish Gil. But that wouldn’t be today. She shook her head, and Mitch nodded.

He tossed his head, mane flipping up, and Gil flew across the alley, slamming into the wall and landing on the ground.

They all heard it, too. That sound of a spine snapping in half.

Of course, Mitch could have done worse. And in time—years, really—Gil’sback would probably heal, and he’d walk again. But for now…

Well. It wasn’t Sissy’s problem.

Mitch walked up to Sissy, those gold eyes watching her. He wanted to know she was all right. Sissy nodded, and Mitch brushed his forehead against hers, rubbed his mane against her neck and snout. He’d marked her, at least temporarily, and walked off, Brendon right behind him, the rest of the team following, including Travis.

Bobby Ray stared at his sister, and Sissy, not really in the mood for this particular conversation, turned and trotted back to her parent’s house and her aunts’ banana cream pie—which she’d hidden from Mitch only that morning—Ronnie, Dee, and the New York Smith She-wolves right behind her.

Chapter 26

“Well, I always knew that boy had no sense.” Francine placed a slice of pie down in front of Sissy. “But I never knew he was that stupid.”

Sissy nodded in agreement and dug into the pie, more intent on feeding than discussing Gil Warren. Dee had headed back to her parents and told her mother everything. That led to a call to her sisters, and they’d rushed right over. By the time Sissy realized Mitch had tracked down the hidden pie and devoured it, the other aunts had shown up. With more pies in hand.

“He figured Sissy would eventually accept it.” Ronnie pulled her legs up, resting her bare feet on the seat, her arms around her calves. “He had the nerve to bring up her daddy and Miss Janie.”

Francine opened another cardboard box and pulled out one of her chocolate cream pies. “That was Bubba’s fault. He let that rumor grow ’cause he and his damn brothers are so competitive. The way they describe it, they were Vikings descending on Smithville to take the Lewis females by force.”

Sissy and Ronnie laughed at that until Francine placed that chocolate pie in front of an empty chair and put a fork next to it. They glanced at each other, then around. When they’d first gotten home, they’d spent most of their time cleaning blood and dirt off their faces and arms while the other She-wolves were cluttering up chairs and couches or laying on the living room floor. To be honest, they hadn’t bothered to check the house to see who else was there. Besides Mitch and Brendon, who would warrant a whole pie to themselves…?

“Is that for me?” Jessie Ann raced down the stairs like an overeager puppy and threw herself into the chair, the pie in front of her. She looked at Francine with undisguised adoration. “I have so missed your chocolate cream pie, Miss Francine.”

“Then you dig right in there, darlin’. Can’t have that baby starvin’ to death now, can we?”

Sissy sipped from her glass of milk before saying to Jessie, “I’m real sorry about your honeymoon, Jessie.”