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meant it to be. “But it’s too dangerous for her to be around us right now. We don’t want Addison getting hurt.”
    It had been a hell of a hard thing to unwrap his arms from around her and tell her to go. The sudden joy of her kiss, the taste of her sweetness, the feeling of her body the length of his had awakened a hope he’d not felt in a long, long time.
    Grief and pain had consumed him for years, and then Addison had smiled at him, her blue eyes warm. The hot promise of her body had made aching need, long-suppressed, spring to life.
    He had to send her to safety, away from the Shifters who’d turned on him, from humans who might find out she’d helped him. From himself.
    Zane nodded at Kendrick’s words, but Kendrick knew he didn’t really understand.
    Robbie, flipping through channels on the television, the sound muted, did understand. He said nothing though, only his hunched back betraying his unhappiness.
    Damn it.
Kendrick hadn’t meant for his cubs to be out in the wide world any longer than they had to be. He was supposed to find a new safe place for them, for all his Shifters.
    He was working on it, but slowly. Kendrick had hoped he’d find a new site for his Shifters quickly, far from here, possibly in Alaska.
    That plan had fallen apart as soon as Kendrick, trying to take his cubs to safety from the collapsing compound last November, had been found by Dylan Morrissey. Dylan was an alpha stronger than any other Kendrick had met, didn’t matter that Dylan had a Collar firmly around his neck.
    Dylan had decided that Kendrick, an un-Collared Shifter that Shifter Bureau didn’t know about, could help him with covert operations he was running. They were so covert, even the Shifters in the local Shiftertowns didn’t know about them.
    Dylan promised protection for Kendrick and his sons and for any un-Collared Shifter that Kendrick had led, as long as Kendrick stayed around and helped him. Kendrick saw no reason not to—he could keep looking for a new place while he assisted—but he knew deep down inside that Dylan wouldn’t let Kendrick go until he was ready.
    Dylan had not been happy that Kendrick had set up his “Shiftertown” in Dylan’s area of control, though Kendrick hadn’t realized until too late he’d violated Dylan’s territory, an unforgivable act. He hadn’t understood how far Dylan’s power reached.
    Kendrick sat down heavily on the bed. He should never have gone to Addison’s diner, never endangered her, or his cubs. But they’d clamored to go, happy to get out of the boring motel room and eat some real food.
    Addison
, her name tag read. Kendrick hadn’t been able to stop looking at the name, the label hung on her so all would know who she was. Humans so readily gave each other their most intimate names.
    The cubs called her Addie. Not the same thing.
Addie
was cute and bouncy.
Addison
was more remote, lovely, like coming upon a sudden beautiful vista after climbing through a dreary, desolate landscape.
    Addison had smiled at Kendrick and the cubs, her eyes warm. No distance. Addison was open, friendly, kind.
    Tonight, he’d found her in his arms, her mouth crushing his in that burning kiss . . .
    “Dad,” Robbie called in agitation. “Look!” He was standing up, staring at the television, his small fists balled. The younger boys, who’d been dozing at the end of one bed, sat up to see what had caught Robbie’s attention.
    Kendrick fixed his gaze on the screen, the picture playing with no sound. He saw Addison being led up the steps into a building in the middle of a dark town, two men in law enforcement uniforms on either side of her. Words and numbers poured across the bottom of the screen, stock quotes, game scores, and the highlights of the story unfolding.
    Shootout in Loneview. Suspected accomplice taken in for questioning.
    “Turn that up,” Kendrick said.
    Robbie, who’d figured out how to work every remote in the room five minutes after they’d checked