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Her blow grazed his chin as he danced back. Sasha went for a body shot, aiming for his ribs. He caught her fist and spun her around, engulfing her in a reverse bear hug.
    Her honeysuckle scent surrounded him. “Who are you really mad at, my mate? Me or yourself? First we sleep. When Loubel or Armand comes to pick us up we’ll go talk to Marree. If you won’t believe me maybe you’ll listen to her when she tells you there is no reversal. You are the woman the Goddess chose for me and I find you…refreshing.”
    “How would this Marree know? Who is she?”
    “The vet, of course.”
     
    ****
     
    Sasha spent a sleepless night walking around the yard and porch, raking her brain for a solution to her dilemma. Etienne of course had no problem getting some shut eye, so deeply asleep he snored and it dawned on her he trusted her. No shifter ever slept so soundly they wouldn’t hear if someone was sneaking up on him. Crap, crap, crap . How could she let this happen? If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he put a spell on her. Wasn’t that what some Cajuns did? Voodoo? Sasha wiped a hand down her face. Who was she kidding? She was caught in the thrall of a claiming and she had no one to blame but herself.
    Loubel showed up bright and early at the crack of dawn, flicked out his tongue, then smiled like a loon. How she hated some of the extra senses shifters had. Etienne appeared in the doorway of the shack and looked refreshed. Damn gator. They all piled into the front seat of the monster truck. She sat between them in the massive vehicle that could probably be heard two counties over every time the snake revved the engine.
    High above the road, she had a good view of her surroundings. As soon as she could, she’d shift and take a run. She needed to clear her head. But before that, she needed to talk to her partner, Eivan. Surely he’d heard of a way to reverse a claiming. He had to. The man went through women like some people drank water. If he didn’t have a way to stay single, surely he would have been mated by know.
    “We need to visit Marree,” Etienne spoke as they reached a fork in the road.
    “Why didn’t you say that sooner?” Loubel took a sharp turn, forcing two wheels off the ground and Sasha toppled over into Etienne.
    He wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
    Loubel glanced over and snickered. “Never mind, I know why. Smooth move, son.”
    “You two are about as country as you can get.” Sasha huffed.
    Loubel snorted. “Then you should meet my Texas cousins.”
    “Isn’t Tee from Texas?” she inquired.
    “Yeah, she’s the smart one.” Loubel sighed before continuing. “Well, her and Marree.”
    “I thought Marree was a vet. A human?” Confusion muddled her mind.
    “She is and she isn’t. She is part of a pit viper clutch and a distant family member.”
    “So why doesn’t she live in Betaille?” Sasha sensed she was missing something.
    “Well Marree is a snake at heart but she can’t shift, so she prefers to stay with humans,” Etienne answered. “She had a few issues with the anaconda clutch and sought refuge with us here in Betaille.”
    Loubel hissed before he spoke. “Jamison troubles, more like it. That idiot wouldn’t know a good thing if it bit him on the underbelly.”
    “Loubel, can we keep our clan squabbles to ourselves for a while?”
    “Why? You’re mated. She might as well hear about the skeletons in our closets.”
    Sasha straightened in her seat. “Secrets? Talk to me, Loubel. I’m all ears.”
    “It’s no big mystery, just a little bad blood between clans. They’ll work it out,” Etienne interjected before Loubel could speak.
    They rode in silence. Loubel hung an arm out the window and inquired. “Are we going to see Marree because the claiming didn’t work? I mean I smell her all over you but you’re not on her.” He angled his head toward Sasha. “If there’s a problem that means she’s a free agent, right?” He glanced over at her and winked.