By the time she shuffled into the front room, she was able to stand up straight again. And that’s when she got her first glimpse of Adam’s Eva.
She was tall, more than eight inches taller than Tabby’s respectable 5’3”, and that was in her sock-covered feet. She had thick mahogany-colored hair that swept halfway down her narrow back, eyes that reminded Tabby of the forest, a sprinkling of freckles across the slope of her nose—oh, and a bump slung low on her belly that belonged on a woman more than eight months pregnant.
Okay, then.
When a soft growl split the air, Tabby’s attention immediately jumped to the bigger threat in the room. Jesus, he was so big that, when he stood next to the women, she actually seemed to appear tiny.
Tabby figured she probably would look like a doll next to him. Good thing she was standing with her Nightwalker.
“Maddox Wolfe,” the big bastard barked out. “Alpha of the Eastern Pack. And this is my mate.”
Her green eyes glittered, one part amusement, the other part in welcome. “Hi. I’m Evangeline.”
“Tabby Winslow.”
Wolfe shot her a nasty, knowing look. “She’s a slayer. You brought a slayer to my house, Wright? I knew I should’ve coded you out of the wards.”
“How did you know that she’s a slayer?” Adam asked, ignoring Wolfe’s muttered comment. He turned to look at Tabby. “I didn’t tell him. I wasn’t sure you’d want me to.”
“The Slayer’s Code is big on secrecy,” she said, “but most Paras who have been around can tell that I’m different. Nightwalkers have a sense about it which is why it surprised me when you didn’t know when we first met.” She jerked her chin over at the big shifter. “You’ve met one of my kind before?”
“Yeah. A slayer visited me when I first got put in the Cage. Wanted me to change my mind about the choice. No fucking way. I’d rather be locked up than let one of the killers take my head.”
Tabby didn’t lose her smile, but it was rough. “Not a killer. Just doing my job, sport.”
“‘Sport?’” growled Wolfe. The shifter’s fangs punched out, obviously annoyed.
Adam laughed. “It if makes you feel any better, she calls me ‘champ’.”
With one hand cradling her baby bump, Evangeline leaned into her mate, laying the other on the top of his bicep. “Mad, stop trying to scare Adam and his friend.”
“Friend?” Wolfe’s nostrils flared. Suddenly, he didn’t seem so big anymore. Still built like a linebacker with an animalistic beauty to him, but he stopped looming as he slung an arm around his mate’s waist. “Nice to see you finally moved on, Wright.”
That wiped the last of Adam’s humor away. “Keep your nose to yourself.”
Oh.
Oh.
Tabby realized what was going on. With his enhanced shifter’s senses, Maddox Wolfe must’ve realized that Tabby and Adam were wearing each other’s scents. Obviously, he’d figured out they were sleeping together.
Shooting a glance at Evangeline, she wanted to see the woman’s reaction. When Evangeline smiled encouragingly back, Tabby lost the chip that had been firmly lodged on her own shoulder.
She smiled back. “Anyway, Adam said you had something to talk to my mate about.”
Oh, right.
“So you know I’m a slayer. The Society’s been trying to get in touch with the Alpha of the Eastern Pack for a while now. It wasn’t so bad when it was just a couple of
targets in the area, but lately the number of rogue Nightwalkers and other Para threats keeps climbing. Especially in Grayson. I know you know,” she added, “since the last Alpha agreed to let one of your pack members work with the Grayson PD last year.”
“That was my dad,” Wolfe told her unnecessarily. “My brother got put on the task force with Wright here. Poor Colt.”
Under his breath, Adam muttered, “Poor me. I still haven’t forgiven him for stealing my car.”
Tabby tucked that nugget in the back of her mind for later. While she knew that Adam was on the task force—it was how he ended up being turned in the first place—she was super interested in hearing the story about the stolen car.
“My point is, now you’re Alpha. Don’t you want to start your time in charge by building a relationship with the slayers? My handler is interested in a meet. He wants you to back us up, especially if we have to head into your territory for a hunt.”