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growing more tense and tired.
    She didn’t have the patience to hide under both their prides. “Daddy picked you. And it was final.” And Dina realized she was okay with that decision. “I’d never challenge you for it, even back then.”
    Her brother gave her a long look, as if gauging how far to trust. “You have one hell of a left hook,” he finally said and had her grinning. If nothing else, this one part of her life turned out right.
    “Better remember that.”
    “Roguell is on your case.” Man changed the topic, as this new and fragile peace bloomed.
    Dina dabbed astringent over her shoulder, let herself wince in front of him. As far as truce, this was a small and yet giant step to let her brother see a weakness. “Rogue is the last thing on my mind.”
    “I can smell that.”
    She whirled around. “Excuse me?”
    “I smell a male on you.” No judgment—not yet anyway. “Have him kick Roguell’s ass and he’ll back off.”
    “I kick my own ass.”
    “Sure.” He rocked back on his heels, as if not sure how to proceed.
    “Listen.” Dina took another step along the newfound peace. “With you and Valoelle…” She trailed off when he frowned, but then pushed onward. “Did she mark you?”
    His gaze suddenly sharpened—she figured he looked for a bite mark on her neck. Another sign of that fragile peace—he didn’t demand for her to show it. Not that she had something to show.
    Man’s eyes stayed calm. Dina imagined that he forced himself to keep his hands inside his pockets. “Yes.” A single word that held a world of implication. Valoelle had left him, and though Dina couldn’t comprehend how that was possible, maybe she had a chance to just get over Luke and end this crazy notion that she’d marked him.
    “How… How does it work?”
    “She took my blood, I hers. We were complete.” Man shrugged and flatly spat out the answer. The topic of his mate was not one most could broach.
    “Didn’t it bother you to go all vamp on her?”
    He winced now, clearly in pain thinking of it. She should have simply shut her mouth.
    “It didn’t matter.” He never said her name, as if the sound of it brought back memories. “It’s a wolf mating thing.” And it had run its course. Dina wanted to ask when he stopped feeling it, but judging by those dark gold eyes she figured now wasn’t the time.
    She almost felt him push away the pain where she couldn’t reach it. “Why all this interest?” Again his arms were crossed over his chest.
    “Just wondering. Maybe Rogue got me thinking.” She didn’t flinch at the small and vicious tug of pain, and wondered if Man saw right through her.
    “If you want me to twist off his ears…” he paused to give her a small smile, “…remember, I am the alpha bitch.”
    “Yeah. Right.” She wondered how alpha he would get if he ever found out whom his sister marked. Not that it mattered. Nothing would come of it.
    Maybe she’d have the magic back. Pain was supposed to unify the mind and body, and with Luke’s scent so close, her clenching gut did a good imitation of it.
    “Shouldn’t you be in Isla Vista?”
    Her brother studied her with a probing quiet gaze. “You want to talk, you know where to find me.”
    It was her turn to give him a small smile. “Yeah.”
    The scars were already fading when Dina turned back to the mirror and looked at herself in the dark shadow of night. A tall and muscled woman with a strong jaw and wolfish ears, with tired amber eyes and badass attitude. She knew nothing about art, but she remembered the face Luke had drawn, the softened features, parted lips, full luscious mouth.
    He didn’t know what he was dealing with. She was still brooding in the mirror when something crashed through glass.

Chapter Five
    She knew that he would smell her fear. Even as something hammered in her throat, Dina forced her blood to calm. Maybe she couldn’t fight him, but she’d be damned if he would know she didn’t have her