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so strong that he’d start dry heaving at any moment. He slammed his fork down. “Shit!”
    “Don’t worry, bro,” Rob said. “You’ll get used to it.”
    As if that was supposed to make him feel better.
    Lillian tilted her head to the side, watching him. She’d already picked up her fork, but Jack’s little outburst had startled her. “Get used to what?”
    Ariel leaned over and whispered, “He can’t start eating until you do. It’s something about the mating bond.” She shrugged, then scooped up some potatoes and took a bite.
    Lillian chuckled, looking at him now. Hell, that didn’t sound good.
    “You mean you can’t eat until I do?”
    “That’s what she just said, wasn’t it?”
    Lillian dropped her fork and crossed her arms. “Oh, I’m not hungry.”
    Jack growled. “You just said you were starving not ten minutes ago.”
    “It’s passed.”
    “You’re fucking lying, Lilly. Quit being childish and eat.”
    “Lilli an . And I think I have every right to be however the hell I want to be after you did this to me.”
    “Why do you have to be so difficult? Just pick up your fork and eat, for Christ’s sake.”
    “Jack.” Thomas’s low voice didn’t distract either of them.
    “You can’t tell me what to do, Garfield. I don’t have to eat if I don’t want to.”
    “You’ll starve, Lilli an .”
    “So will you, Jack son .”
    “Lillian, please.” Thomas tried again, this time with her and not Jack. “I apologize for what has happened. I know this has to be incredibly difficult, but if we’re going to figure this out, we need to stay focused. And strong.” He looked pointedly at her plate.
    She sighed, looked at her plate, and picked up her fork. “Can you only eat what I eat?” she asked Jack with an eyebrow raised.
    “I can eat whatever I want as soon as you start to eat.”
    “Too bad. Would’ve been fun killing you by making you eat something you’re allergic to, sugar booger.”
    She took her first bite, and Jack felt the tension ease from his shoulders as he glanced around the room. His brothers, all his brothers, had smiles plastered on their faces.
    God, what a mess.

Chapter Five
     
    “Remember, you have to do exactly as I say.”
    Lillian glared at Jack as they stood in the woods. She was tired of his damn orders. She wasn’t a toddler. Just because Jack pissed her off didn’t mean she didn’t know how to follow directions. She just wanted to reserve the right not to follow said directions.
    Eating with his family hadn’t been too horrible, though she didn’t really care to carry on any major conversations. She’d heard them all hypothesizing about how she hadn’t attacked Jack after the mating. Yeah, that was a new experience. Never had her sex life been a topic for dinner conversation. At least the chatter had never veered into positions or technique used. That would’ve definitely been cringe-worthy. But Thomas had seemed genuinely concerned that an attack could still happen. Josh believed the worst of the danger had passed. The others hadn’t known what to think about it, and they’d all agreed that Jack should stay armed with a sedative in case she got her panties in a wad over something.
    Just what she needed, a pissed-off kitty armed with a needle.
    After dinner, her newfound lover had decided she should run with him in cat form, said some crap about it helping her adjust to her new way of life. She’d refused at first, but he’d been determined. She’d threatened to neuter him, and he’d spouted off something about her just trying to find an excuse to touch his balls. She would find his relentlessness funny if it wasn’t about her, so it just made her even madder at him instead.
    “Yes, yes, my liege.” She twirled her arm and bowed. “Stay at your flank. Don’t run off. We’re only running to the border of our properties and back. Don’t run off. Don’t attack the animals. Don’t run off. Don’t attack you. Don’t run off. I think I