A male approached them and smiled at her. “I’m Jonas. We met briefly during the elections, though I didn’t have the pleasure of speaking with you.”

She gave the Prime a polite smile and simply said, “Yeah, I remember.” Tall, dark, and charming, he was a good-looking guy. But then his kind always were.

Jonas gestured to the female that then came forward. “This is my sister, Alethea.”

Harper did her absolute best not to snarl, but it was kind of hard when her demon was urging her to pummel the little bitch. Alethea was almost painfully beautiful – a symmetrical face, perfect bone structure, exotic features, and one of those hourglass figures. Knowing that this female had touched Knox, kissed him, and had him inside her… Yeah, Harper totally despised that and her. But she loved the bitter gleam in the encantada’s eyes.

Alethea looked down her nose at her. “You’re very small.”

“But so shiny,” said Jonas. “I’ve never seen eyes that color before. They’re a sort of opal shade.”

“Now they are.” Knox breezed his thumb across her cheekbone. “Harper’s eyes change color often.”

Fascinated, Jonas said, “Really?”

“Change color?” Alethea sniffed. “How odd.” She looked at Knox. “She’s not your usual type. Far from it, in fact.”

Harper gave her a winning smile. “Maybe that’s why I got claimed and the others didn’t.”

Alethea’s eyes flared and her mouth set into a hard line, which made Harper’s demon laugh wickedly.

“Harper and I are done for the evening,” declared Knox, taking her by the wrist and beginning to lead her away, but she dug her heels in to say a quick goodbye to her friends.

“Don’t forget the meeting, Knox,” Jonas called out. “It’s important.”

Harper shot him a questioning look, but Knox gave a quick shake of the head. They’d talk about it later. Now, he just wanted to take his mate home.

CHAPTER SIX

Striding into the living area, Harper plonked herself on the sofa. She was tired, and her feet hurt after hours of walking around the mall, but she was also feeling pretty energized after the rodeo. “Are you finished brooding yet?” she asked Knox. “Because I’d like to know what meeting Jonas was referring to.”

Knox stood in front of her. “I don’t brood. But I am angry that you put yourself in danger like that.”

“It’s not like I threw myself in front of a bus.”

“You were riding a bull.”

“At least I didn’t fuck a dolphin.”

Knox double-blinked. “What?”

“You and Alethea.” Harper raised a finger. “For the record, I don’t like the way she looks at you. There’s something proprietary about it. But I suppose it’s natural that, given you’ve known each other for longer than I’ve been alive, she’d feel like she had some rights to you.”

He frowned. “She doesn’t have rights to me.” The only person who had and ever would was Harper.

“I know that.”

Knox sighed. “You’re trying to distract me from the matter at hand.”

“Of course I am. But you did fuck a dolphin.”

“She shifts into a dolphin.” Not that he’d ever seen it happen, but it was typical of her kind.

“Dolphins are seriously twisted, you know.”

Knox’s frown deepened. “Dolphins are twisted?”

“They’re the only predators that kill their young for fun. And the males are rather fond of gang rape. Oh, they might look cute and seem charming, but that innocent exterior is quite an act. They’re like the sea-world’s version of Ted Bundy.”

Knox closed his eyes and let out a long breath. His demon was laughing. “I’m not sure why we’re having this conversation.”

“Then maybe you can instead tell me what meeting Jonas was talking about.”

He opened his eyes. “We’ll talk about that once I’ve said what I have to say. I don’t like that you mounted a two-thousand-pound bull, I don’t like that you did something you knew full well could get you badly hurt, and I don’t like that you dismissed my concern. But I do understand why you did it.”

“You do?”

Knox pulled her to her feet and into his arms. “Your life is changing and you’re finding it hard to emotionally keep up. That’s natural. I want you to come to me when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Talk to me. Let me help you. Don’t jump on the back of a wild animal.”

She smoothed her hands onto his shoulders. “Sorry if you thought I was dismissing your concern. I genuinely wasn’t trying to patronize you when I assured you that I’d be okay. I just didn’t want you to worry. You’re so extremely overprotective that you don’t trust my judgement when it comes to my own safety.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust your judgement. It’s that I don’t trust wild bulls.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re deliberately missing the point, but whatever. Now tell me what Jonas was talking about.”

Knox cupped her hips. “This year, he’s hosting the annual meeting wherein the US Primes get together and discuss any issues. It takes place in two weeks. Tanner and Levi will come with us.”

“Why did he come to your office?”

“He heard about Crow. Apparently Roan is walking through the Underground with a picture of Carla, asking if anyone has seen her.”