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     you will have to prove yourself worthy. If you are accepted, then your shifter here
     will have to prove himself, and even then he will only be considered an extra. Extras …
     don’t last very long.”
    The rogue’s insinuation struck a punch to Della’s nerves, but she focused on what
     was important. The whole “prove yourself worthy” comment.
    Was it going to be this easy? Was he just going to tell her right now what she had
     to do and they could leave? A tiny part of her hoped it wouldn’t be so simple. She
     already disliked this guy and wouldn’t mind teaching him a lesson.
    “Exactly how do we prove ourselves?”
    “Do you know how to fight?”
    Hell, yes. “I can hold my own,” Della said.
    His gaze shifted to Steve. “Looks like shifter-boy likes to fight,” he said, obviously
     referring to Steve’s black eye.
    “I can hold my own, too,” Steve said.
    “How strong of a shifter are you?” The rogue studied him as if assessing him.
    “Strong enough,” Steve answered.
    The rogue laughed. “Then why did you stay human to fight? You’re obviously not as
     strong as you’d like to believe.”
    “Don’t let a little bruise fool you,” Steve said, tilting back on his heels.
    Della heard the confidence in Steve’s voice, and while she’d assessed his ability
     to transform quickly, she honestly didn’t know his strength. Yet somehow she sensed
     that like her, he was holding his cards close to his chest. Not cowering down to them,
     but not letting them know exactly what they were up against if they picked a fight.
    The rogue laughed as if he didn’t believe Steve. “Well, follow us. We have a little
     game going and we’ll see how well you two do.”
    “What kind of game?” Della asked and cut her eyes around, taking in all the rogues
     circling them.
    “A little hand-to-hand combat. If you do okay, we’ll see about your pet. You game?”
    “Now?” Della asked, remembering in detail how Burnett told them not to be lured anywhere.
     Already the vamps had proven they weren’t good to their word because they’d stated
     only three of the gang members would meet them for a nonconfrontational interview.
    “Now,” the rogue said, pulling a knife from a side holster and wiping the blade on
     his dirty jeans. The guys to her left and right pulled out their knives as well.
    Della heard a low growl, and although she didn’t know shape-shifters growled, she
     knew it came from Steve.
    She also knew that refusing the rogue’s invitation wasn’t an option. It was go, or
     have some hand-to-blade combat right now.
    “Let’s go, then,” Della said, hoping whatever came next would provide a better escape.
    Steve glanced at her and in his gaze she read his mind. I don’t like this.
    Well, neither did she, but she didn’t see any other choice. She’d done a quick head
     count and there were twelve of them. She could probably take on five or six, but she
     couldn’t take on twelve. Not with knives.
    *   *   *
    They were led to an old abandoned warehouse. Steve transformed into a black crow and
     moved slower. The rogues muttered curses that they had to slow down.
    Della couldn’t help but wonder if his choice of form hadn’t been on purpose. Did shifting
     into a faster bird require more energy? And was he preserving it? Or was his ability
     to shift into certain kinds of animals a sign of power, and he was downplaying his
     abilities to the rogues? It occurred to Della that if she was going to work for the
     FRU, she needed to educate herself on all species.
    It would have been helpful to know exactly what Steve was up to.
    When they landed, she also noted Steve took several minutes to change. A hell of a
     lot slower than before. That’s when she knew for sure he was downplaying his power
     to the rogues.
    One of the vamps stepped close and said something about wringing the crow’s neck.
     Della moved between him and Steve.
    With Steve now in human form, they walked