Marissa dropped her bags, her face white with shock. Slowly she walked closer to the two males. She glanced at Mitch, shoved him out of the way, turning both barrels on Brendon. “How the hell could you fall in love with a She-wolf?”

The two brothers looked at each other…and grinned.

“You all right, darlin’?”

Ronnie Lee smiled at Sissy Mae as her friend walked over to her. She knew Sissy would eventually come looking for her. They’d been traveling buddies for so long, they knew each other’s moods as well as their own. Now the two friends stood outside a fancy New York hotel in the biting cold, their lives about to go around a new bend in the road—for better or worse.

“Called my momma tonight,” Ronnie admitted.

“Lord, girl. Why would you do that?”

“Glutton for punishment, I suppose.”

“I guess so.” Sissy leaned against the wall next to her. “She tell you your brothers are on their way here tonight?”

Ronnie sighed, big and long. “No. She failed to mention that.”

“Probably wanted it to be a surprise.” Probably. Ronnie could tell from their tense phone call her mother knew something was going on. Most likely hoped her brothers would ferret out the information and get back to her. Then she could really shove it down Ronnie’s throat.

Once her brothers got here, the party with Shaw would be over. She didn’t have to see them tonight, but they’d track her ass down by morning. In her estimation, she had one more good night with her lion, then she’d have to walk away. It gave her the perfect excuse. At least that’s what she kept telling herself.

“Did she tell you you’re hopeless and no good?”

“No. This time I didn’t care enough to call on Christmas and how could I be so mean to my daddy. Oh. And there was lots of sighing.”

“There’s always lots of sighing where your momma is concerned. Didn’t you know? The weight of the universe rests on those shoulders.” Sissy Mae nudged Ronnie’s shoulder with her own. “She does love you, Rhonda Lee. In her own special, mean-as-a-snake, everyone-is-against-her way.”

“Yeah. I guess she does.”

“What are you going to tell her about Shaw?”

“Nothing. Why?”

“What do you mean why? You gotta tell your momma something. The boy’s so in love with you, he can’t see straight.”

Ronnie had always been the rational one. The one who, unless seriously drunk, always said, “Are we sure we want to do this?” But clearly all that wonderful rationality went flying out the window when she swung her fist at Sissy’s face.

Sissy Mae caught that fist, too. In an instant, her eyes shifted from friendly human to Alpha Wolf as she shoved Ronnie back against the wall. Becoming Alpha Femalewasn’t any easier than becoming Alpha Male. You needed your wits and the ability to make split-second decisions. You also needed to be able to scare the bejesus out of people. When Sissy leaned in close to Ronnie and bared those pearly white fangs, brutally snarling, Ronnie knew she’d stepped over the line.

Turning her head away, she pressed back against the wall, cowering as Sissy came a hair’s breath from her face, snarling and snapping. Making it clear who was Alpha Female and who was just a Beta.

Ronnie kept her eyes down and her body submissive. If she had her tail, it would be tucked up between her legs. When Sissy Mae felt she’d cowered enough, she released Ronnie’s hand and stepped back.

“Someday you’ll have to tell your momma about Shaw. One, because your brothers will notice a big cat rubbing against you and purring. Second, the boy is not walking away from you anytime soon, Ronnie Lee. And you might as well get used to it.”

Ronnie didn’t know if she momentarily hated her friend more for making her cower…or for being right.

After five full hours of their arguing, Brendon lost his patience and stormed out of the suite. Mitch and Marissa didn’t even notice.

Sleep. A few hours of sleep and he knew he’d feel so much better and a damn sight less mean. Because after refereeing between those two, he felt really mean.

He stepped into his apartment and headed toward the kitchen. Pushing open the swinging door, Brendon froze.

She sat at his counter, a magazine open in front of her, a pile of M&M’s next to that. What he found most disturbing was how she’d separated the colors out. Black and reds in one small pile, in little pairs. Greens in another. Yellows and oranges in another. No blues, which made him think she’d put those back in the bag or ate them. Nothing like the slightly obsessive-compulsive wolf to make life interesting.

“You’re here.” Christ. Is that the best you can do, you idiot?

She didn’t even look up from her magazine. “Yup. Looks that way, now don’t it?” She turned a page. “If you want me to go, all you have to say is go. We both know it don’t take much to get me to leave.”

“Stay if you want to. Go if you want to.”

What the hell was wrong with him? Why the hell was he goading her? He didn’t want Ronnie to leave. Ever. Isn’t that what he just spent five hours shoving down his twin’s throat? So why push her out the door now?

Ronnie looked up from her magazine. “You gonna be an asshole the rest of the night?” she asked calmly.

“You know,” he responded sarcastically, “I think I might. So feel free not to be here for it.”

There. He’d given her an out. Now she could go and he could be even more miserable. Good plan, Bren.