“Yes, you do,” Lola countered.

  Maddie scrunched her face up briefly. “That’s fair. I do.” Then she wrapped an arm through Lola’s and latched onto her. “Honestly? I’m terrified, and a little confused, but we’re not going to discuss what I’m confused about. It’s not important. What is important is I’m trying really hard not to freak out.”

  “You know that the whole ‘don’t freak out’ order I gave you is now null and void. After everything that’s happened tonight, I’d be more concerned if you didn’t freak out. I mean, seriously, Mads. Katy is gone. We have no idea what’s happening to her or where she’s being taken. And snap.” Lola stopped walking and groaned. “We’ve got to call her dad. What are we going to tell her dad? And your mom.” The wheels in her brain turned at a speed that couldn’t be healthy for her overworked synapses. “What are we going to tell your mom? You have to go home. You can’t just not go home. Then there’s Sal. How can we leave him high and dry without three of his waitresses? I swear I’m going to beat the supernatural hell out of Antonio when I get my hands on him.” She glanced up at Callon, who didn’t look nearly as concerned as he should. Note to self: do research on psychopathic behavior in crisis. She turned back to Maddie. “Thank you.” Lola breathed out.

  “For what?” Maddie pulled her arm out of Lola’s and ran her hands through her blonde hair.

  “For looking like the world is coming to an end and not like you’re trying to figure out what to eat for dinner.”

  “Don’t be offended.” Roan came around and stood a few feet in front of Lola, Callon, and Maddie. Bane, she assumed, was still behind them. “That’s Callon’s normal face.”

  “RBBF,” Maddie said flatly and nodded as if it made total sense.

  Lola frowned. “What?”

  “Resting Beast Bitch Face.” Maddie shrugged. “Totally what he looks like.”

  There was a coughing sound behind them that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, and Roan bit his lip in a failing attempt to keep from smiling.

  Lola looked back at Maddie.

  “What?” She lifted her hands. “You know how I get in a crisis. I say weird shit while inwardly I’m in a corner rocking and drooling.”

  Lola started moving again, Callon’s hand still firmly wrapped around her own. “Well, you can call Katy’s dad and say weird shit to him. Maybe he won’t ask a bunch of questions if you just say something so bizarre that he thinks you and Katy are just pranking him.”

  Maddie strode alongside her. “That’s probably a good idea, even if I don’t want to be the one to talk to him. You’d totally crumble under any pressure he might push against your story.”

  “Maybe just text him, pretend to be Katy, and say her phone died. Use some big, fancy words and say she’s going on a road trip with us. And we’ll tell our parents the same thing. Spur of the moment, completely irresponsible nineteen-year-old thing to do.” She nodded frantically, as if that would somehow make her idea more plausible and less ridiculous than it sounded.

  Maddie gave her a flat look. “Because we don’t have a car.”

  “We’re borrowing Callon’s,” Lola countered.

  “A guy you’ve known all of five minutes.” Maddie held up a finger, stopping Lola from speaking. “Though, considering you might be pregnant with his child, it would be more probable that he would let us use his car. Okay, carry on with your hole-riddled plan.”

  Lola held up her own finger. “First, unless kissing is what it takes to make a baby these days, I am no more pregnant with Callon’s child than I could be with Roan’s.”

  “Whoa, do not bring me into this conversation. You and I have never kissed.” Roan snapped. “I’m lucky to have made it out of your bedroom alive in the first place.”

  Callon growled and pulled Lola closer to him, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders as they walked.

  Lola bowed her head. “Sorry about that. For a few seconds, I forgot that he’s a psycho, berserker lion. The point I’m trying to make is I’m not stinking pregnant.”

  “You’re awfully defensive,” Maddie said as they reached the elevators.

  Lola pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m just going to ignore that entire part of the conversation and remind myself that you’re under a lot of stress at the moment. Let’s refocus on what we’re going to tell all of our parentals so they don’t go to the police and report us missing.”

  Maddie blew out a sharp breath and jammed the elevator button with more force than necessary. “Deal.” She growled while stabbing the button again. “Why are these things so freaking slow? And why are we here instead of on a plane bound for New Orleans? That’s where you said the girls are being taken, right?”

  Roan placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. “We’ll figure this all out.” Though his voice was gruff, the gentleness in it was unmistakable. “We will have her rescued as quickly as possible, so hopefully a swift road trip won’t make your parents suspicious. But we must be smart. A reckless mistake could risk Katy’s life.”

  Maddie bit her lip but gave a tight nod, conceding his point. Lola didn’t miss the way her friend sidestepped around Roan so that his hand dropped from her shoulder. She watched Maddie’s glare as her friend’s eyes shifted between Roan and the elevator doors. Lola couldn’t help but feel that something had happened between Maddie and the Shaman while she and Callon had been away from them in her room. Something that seemed to be unfinished, though both of them were attempting to ignore whatever it was.

  Finally, the doors slid open, and they stepped inside. Lola leaned into Callon’s strength as his muscled arm tightened around her. Now that her mouth was closed, and she was no longer having her own panic attack, she could feel his emotions. He wasn’t as unaffected as she’d first thought. Though his face remained impassive, the rage coming off him was stifling.

  The elevator opened directly into Taras’s spacious office. Lola glanced at Maddie to gauge her reaction. Her eyes were wide, but she was focused on the large windows. To be fair, they were an impressive sight. But if Maddie were able to see past the glamour in the Prime’s office, her attention would have been on the textured terracotta walls, the rough stone floor, and the expensive-looking, exotic woven rugs. It looked nothing like a modern business office.

  The Prime stood behind his massive oak desk, concern etched into his leonine features—a mixture between man and beast. Again, Lola looked at Maddie, but she didn’t get the impression that Maddie was seeing anything other than a handsome man who didn’t look quite old enough to have a son Callon’s age.

  “My son.” Taras came forward to grip Callon’s shoulder firmly. “Congratulations on your mating. I only wish it were under better circumstances.”

  Lyra, the Prima, and Taras’s mate, stood at his side, regal and beautiful despite the late hour. She was in her fully human form. Her brow was pinched with worry, and after looking everyone over, she focused her gold eyes on Lola. Her features softened as she quickly walked over and wrapped Lola in a tight embrace. Callon kept a firm grip on Lola’s hand throughout the hug.

  “I am so sorry, sweet Lola.” Lyra’s voice was as gentle as a soft breeze. “This should not have happened. We should have considered that since you’ve become of interest, they might target your friends and family. Typically, an animus is treated with utmost respect and reverence, but the Kingdom of Venom seems to have forgotten the blessing of an animus can only be fully realized if they choose to be with a beastwalker instead of simply being forced into our culture.”

  Lola’s body stiffened at the Prima’s words. Her friend was quicker on the draw as Maddie’s voice filled the quiet, tension-filled room.

  “What do you mean, ‘forced into our culture’?”

  Lyra stepped back, her hands sliding to Lola’s shoulders. She gave them a final squeeze. “We aren’t cruel or evil. But not too long ago, all of our kind made bad choices.”

  Lola could see the pain in the Prima’s eyes as they filled with tears. “We’ve all done bad things. No one is perfect. I mean, I’ve done bad things. Maddie, you’ve done bad things, right?” When her friend didn’t answer, Lola turned her head and nodded frantically at her. “Right?” she said again, more sternly.

  Maddie blinked several times, looking from Lyra to Lola. “Right,” she said, though it sounded like a question. “I mean, of course. But you know, there’s bad things and then there’s baaaaad things. I feel like the beautiful, yet scary-looking woman is saying they, I’m guessing she means the collective whole of her people, have done baaaaad things. I haven’t buried any dead bodies lately, soooo…”

  Lola huffed out a breath and turned back to Lyra. “Not to call your integrity into question or anything, but we’re not talking the ‘burying dead bodies’ kind of bad, are we?” She held up a hand. “Not that I’m judging. I’m totally not judging. It’s not like I haven’t ever thought, ‘Man, I wish that so-and-so would drop dead.’ We’ve all had those kinds of thoughts, right?” Lola nodded. Again, her head was moving a little too fast and, as usual, her mouth wouldn’t stay shut. “But, even if it is that kind of bad, sometimes there’s a good explanation.”

  “Okay, that’s totally true. There are some people that just need to be un-alived.”

  “Un-alived, Maddie?” Roan asked, his tone dry. “Is ‘murder’ one of those words that’s been canceled?”

  “I was thinking it was nicer than saying made dead. And I wasn’t going to touch the M word. But now you’ve done and gone there. So let’s just get the elephant out of the room. Who’d you guys kill? But don’t tell us where the bodies are. Then we can truthfully say we don’t know anything.”

  “But you’ll know who we killed,” another voice said.

  Lola turned to see who’d spoken.

  Wyatt gave her a wink. “Hey, Beautiful.”

  A rumble began to build in Callon’s chest.

  “Easy, Cal.” Wyatt didn’t look worried at all. “I was just about to wish you both congratulations. I’m not hitting on your mate.”

  “Back to the murders,” Rafe, who was sitting next to Wyatt, said. “It would take a really long time to list all the names for the body count. There’s really no point going down that dark hole.”

  “Agreed. How’s the tat, Lo?” Kian asked as he walked over to her.

  “Her name is Lola.” Callon growled. “And you don’t need to worry about her tattoo. I worry about her tattoo. You worry about me not un-aliving you.”

  “There’s the prince we all know and love,” a male that Lola didn’t recognize said.

  Callon’s body tensed, and the emotions that had held excitement at what Lola assumed was the idea of taking out his enemies shifted to something more sinister. She placed her hand over his, which was pressed firmly to her stomach. She looked at the guy who’d just spoken. “Who are you?”

  “My apologies.” The man’s light skin was a bright contrast to his pitch black hair that he wore slicked back. His face had severe angles with sharp cheekbones and a defined jaw. Piercing, ice-blue eyes held hers as he spoke. “We’ve actually met, but you met me while I was in my fur.” He motioned to the beautiful female next to him. She too had jet-black hair, which was piled up on top of her head in a messy bun. “I’m Tack, and this is my mate, Faith.”

  Lola’s memory surfaced from the day before. Good grief. Has it only been a day? “You’re the white tigers.” She heard the awe in her own voice. How could she not be in awe? She’d seen the pair in their animal form, and they were magnificent.

  “It’s nice to meet you in person.” Faith smiled. “Where I can actually speak back.”

  “You two change into white tigers?” Maddie shifted on her feet, and her eyes were as big as saucers. She looked like she might jump into a happy dance at any moment. “That is so freaking cool.” She turned to Lola. “Why do you and Katy get superpowers? I want superpowers.”

  Lola gave her a dry look. “So you want to be the target of a supernatural trafficking ring? Because, I’ll be honest, Mads, that’s not something I thought you’d ever aspire to.”

  “Can we please focus?” Callon’s voice was low and held a hint of a growl.

  “Right.” Lola gave a quick nod. “Bad things. Care to elaborate?”

  Taras stepped forward and motioned toward the chairs in his office. “You should both probably take a seat.”

  “That bad.” Maddie gave Lola a sidelong glance as she took one of the empty seats.

  Lola sat in a chair next to her. Her butt had scarcely hit the cushion before she was plucked up by Callon. “Dude, what are you—” She closed her mouth when he took her seat and then put her in his lap. What the ever loving… Lola mentally choked. “What are you doing?”

  “Making sure you can’t run away.” A guy Lola remembered from NNP as Drystan was smirking at them.

  “You’re lucky there’s not a rope around,” Rafe added. “He’d tie you to him.”

  Bane stood across the room with his shoulder resting against the glass of one of the large windows. “Wouldn’t you?” he asked Rafe. “If she was your female?”

  “Still eager to die,” Callon bit out. Fur rippled across his arms before disappearing.

  “All of you need to keep your mouths shut,” Roan snapped. “Especially you, Bane. You saw what he turns into when provoked.”

  “I would like everyone in the room to remain quiet until I am done explaining our sordid past to Lola and her friend Maddie.” Taras’s sharp gaze roamed around the room. “Is that understood?”

  There was a collective, “Yes, Prime,” from the others, though Callon only grunted.

  Taras lowered himself onto the love seat across from Maddie and Lola. Lyra sat next to him. She rested her hands in her lap, though Lola saw a slight shake in them. Taras leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled back on his forearms, revealing different tattoos of many animals, all in the feline family.

  “For a very long time, our kind has had problems procreating,” the Prime began. “And even when our females can conceive, all of the offspring are males.”

  “Uh-oh.” Maddie breathed out softly. “I think I see where this is going.”

  Lola frowned. “You do?”

  Maddie nodded. “Yep,” she popped the ‘p.’ “Breeding program. You guys were snatching up women in hopes of knocking them up. But you haven’t been able to reproduce with humans, so now you’ve got all these women that are useless to you. And what do people do with useless things?” She made a slicing motion across her throat.

  Lola closed her eyes briefly and shook her head as she breathed out slowly. “They don’t have a breeding program.”

  The room was silent for several heartbeats.

  Lola opened her eyes and looked at Taras, then Lyra, and finally turned her head so she could see Callon. “Right?”

  “Not exactly,” Wyatt said slowly.

  “Called it.” Maddie snapped her fingers at the same time Lola said, “What!” while trying to jump from Callon’s lap. But his arms were like steel bands holding her down.

  “Wyatt,” Lyra hissed. “We do not have breeding programs.”

  “We took those women hoping they would eventually want to breed with us,” he said nonchalantly. “What would you call it, Prima?”

  Lyra’s sharp gaze stayed on him for a hot minute, and then she looked at Lola. “When we learned of the animi, we realized that it was possible for our kind to mate with humans. Not only bond with them to bring out our beast form but also have children with them. Male and female.”

  “How did you figure out that animi existed?” Lola’s hand was wrapped tightly over the top of Callon’s, and her fingernails dug into his flesh. Lola hoped the truth was less horrific than Maddie had guessed, but she didn’t know how that could be.

  “One of our males met a human female, and they fell in love,” Taras answered. “Their mating produced a female cub. The first in fifty years.”

  “So in all the time your kind have been in the human realm, no one got together with humans until that couple?” Lola couldn’t imagine how that could possibly be, especially when, so far, all of the beastwalkers she’d seen were extremely good looking. Her eyes jumped to Faith and her mate Tack. Both looked as if they could be straight off a model shoot. Then she looked at Wyatt, Rafe, Drystan, Kian, and finally Bane. Yep, all hot as Hades.

  “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Lola looked at Maddie as the blonde’s brow bounced up and down. “There’s no way human women haven’t been trying to hit that.” Maddie nodded toward all the good-looking men.

  Lola bit back a groan. “Can you not speak like a fifteen-year-old boy?”

  Maddie rolled her eyes. “Fine. There’s no way human women haven’t been trying to make love to those guys.”

  This time Lola did groan, while the males in question all choked back laughter.

  Taras interrupted the sounds as he regained Lola’s attention. “To answer your question with more decorum…” He gave Maddie a sharp glance. She managed to actually look sheepish as she dropped her chin. “Our kind did intermingle with humans. But up until ten years ago, none had ever bonded or produced children together.”

  Lola leaned in, her eyes wide with curiosity and a hint of skepticism. "So, tell me, how exactly did your members manage to discover more animi?" she inquired, her tone laced with both humor and disbelief. "What was the strategy? Did your guys dive into a frenzy of speed-dating with human females, hoping to strike a match? Or was it something more... drastic, like abductions and coercion?"

  “No,” Lyra snapped, her sharp tone cutting off Lola’s words. “We would never allow our males to force themselves on females, human or otherwise.”

  Lola felt a twinge of guilt. “Of course not.” She could feel disappointment radiating off Callon. She turned so she could look at his face. His golden eyes were narrowed, and his jaw clenched tightly. “What was I supposed to think?” she asked softly. “I mean, a breeding program, Callon? You never mentioned anything like that.”

  “You didn’t have to think the worst about me or my people,” he said gruffly.