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“Your brother is downstairs talking things over with Pete. The others are on standby in case we need them. What do you think?”
    Steve grimaced. Where the protection of his mate was concerned, there really was no alternative.
    “We need them,” he confirmed with a suppressed growl.
    While he wanted to be near Trisha, Steve knew he needed some distance to get a grip on his reactions. Two people had just gotten the drop on him. Slade could almost be forgiven. The man shared his soul with the most magical of cat shifters and had spent most of his life as a covert operative. He had serious skills.
    But Kate had no stealth skills to speak of. The fact that she’d walked openly up to him and he hadn’t registered her presence told Steve he was dangerously off his game. Better to go away for a few minutes and regroup. He had to see his brother anyway and he trusted Slade to keep an eye on things up here for the moment.
    “I’ll go talk to Grif.” Steve watched the two women enter one of the rooms, already chatting like old friends. “One of the women is half-fey. She’s hiding it. The rest of them probably don’t have a clue,” Steve warned Slade as he turned to go.
    “And the one with my mate?” Slade delayed him by asking.
    “My friend’s sister. The one I was asked to keep an eye on.”
    Slade frowned. “That makes it more complicated,” he said cryptically. “I take it your friend doesn’t know about us.”
    “He probably suspects. He saw a lot while we were deployed, but he’s never come straight out and asked,” Steve admitted.
    “He’s going to try to kick your ass when he finds out you’re sweet on his sister,” Slade observed as if it was obvious Steve had a thing for Trisha. Maybe it was. Slade could literally see magic. Maybe the bond between mates was something visible to him.
    “Yeah, I know.” Steve ran a hand over his short hair in frustration. “But there’s nothing I can do about it. She’s—”
    “Your mate.” Slade’s tone was knowing, unambiguous.
    Steve wanted to curse, but he also wanted to crow. After all these years, there was a woman for him. He’d given up hope. He’d made his life about his family and his Clan. He’d never expected to add a mate to that equation, but it looked like the Mother of All had other plans for him. Only he had no idea how it was going to work.
    “She’s human.” He spoke his thoughts aloud.
    Slade was silent for a long time. So long, that Steve looked over at the other man.
    “What? You sense something about her?”
    Slade’s icy blue eyes narrowed at the spot down the hall where the women had gone. “Could be. Go talk to your brother. I’ll check on my mate—and yours—and I’ll let you know what I find out.”
    With those cryptic words, Slade prowled down the hall on silent feet. He shared his soul with two separate creatures—a black leopard and a Himalayan snowcat that came out to play only rarely because its appearance caused such a ruckus. Snowcats were considered holy beings among most other kinds of shifters, and Slade had a lot more magic than most. For one thing, he didn’t have to disrobe in order to shift shape. That was a talent reserved for the most magical of creatures.
    But Slade had also been—and still was, Steve privately thought—a highly placed covert operative for the Company. Steve didn’t think Slade was still interested in going on missions, but Steve had little doubt the man kept his hand in. He had an information network that was as far reaching as it was well informed.
    Steve stopped delaying and hustled down the stairs to see Grif. No doubt the Clan Alpha would have a few things to say about the guests his brother had brought home tonight. Steve wasn’t looking forward to explaining any of this because he was as confused as he’d ever been. He’d have preferred a little alone time to think things through, but there was no help for it. Grif was here. It was time to face the music, even if he