“So he whipped you and your father instead.”

“Any member of a pride has the right to take a punishment for any other, but it has to be voluntary. Dad and I could take the lash; Connor never has. And I wasn’t wrong about Fergus wanting to punish me instead. Connor gave him the excuse.”

“This is one of those Shifter things I don’t understand, isn’t it?”

Liam let himself grin. “You’ll get used to it. You’ll get used to all things Shifter.”

“No, I won’t.” Kim pulled her knees to her chin, shaping her body into delectable curves and shadows. “We can’t date right now, Liam. Not until after the case is over and Brian is free. Then, I won’t lie, I wouldn’t mind getting to know you—much better. What we did today will have to be a one-off.”

Liam laced his fingers through hers. “We’re not dating, love. We’re bonded for life.”

Kim gently disengaged her fingers and scooted a few inches away. Liam let her go; this was new to her, and he had to ease her in a bit at a time. “That’s what it means for Shifters to be mated.”

“That’s not the human way,” she said. “I’d only be bound to you if I married you. Signed a piece of paper saying so.”

“Shifters aren’t allowed to get marriage licenses. Not under the current laws.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Fergus pronounced us mated, in the Shifter way, under the light of the sun. In a few days, my dad will pronounce it so under the light of the full moon. Then it’s you and me together forever. Because you’re human, I’ll seek a Fae to bond us as well, increasing your lifespan to match mine.” He grinned at her. “Think of how many cases you can defend that way.”

“The Fae can increase lifespan?” Kim’s eyes widened. “Why isn’t everyone out to find a Fae and stay youthful?”

“Because the Fae are bloody elusive to humans, and it only works if the human is bonded to a Shifter. That happens rarely, for obvious reasons, and only the Shifter can seek out the Fae. The Fae have certain obligations to Shifters, as much as they hate it, and this is one favor they grant us if we ask for it. Your natural lifespan will lengthen to match mine. When I grow old and die, so will you.”

“Great, what if you get hit by a bus?”

“I said natural lifespan. It would be like a human relationship but longer.”

Kim half smiled, shaking her head as though she thought he was talking nonsense. “That’s not how it works.”

She still didn’t understand. She would in time, though; Kim wasn’t stupid. And then—she’d kill him.

“It is working, love. Anyway, you’ve taken my seed. What will you say to the wee one that comes if you haven’t bound yourself to me? It’ll be embarrassed.”

“Wee one? Oh, you mean if I have a baby. Don’t worry about that. I take contraceptives.”

“Contraceptives?”

“You know, birth control. I don’t know if Shifters have that.”

“I know what it is, Kim.” Humans bred like rabbits, and they were always looking for ways to keep babies from coming. So few Shifter babies were conceived and so few survived that Shifters wouldn’t dream of preventing them. Shifter women knew how dangerous it was to give birth, and yet they sought it with everything they had.

“I was taking it because I was going out with Abel,” Kim said in reasonable tones. “It would look bad if he and I had a child together. No, let’s be honest—it would be a hell of a complication if we’d had a child together.”

“And if you had one with me?”

“You’re a Shifter.”

Liam lay back on his elbows, eyes narrowing. “This makes a difference?”

“Please don’t be offended. If I had a half-Shifter baby, that would be the end of my career. I researched this when I took up Brian’s case, because he was dating a human. There haven’t been many hybrids since you took the Collar, but the woman in question gets shunned by human society every time. In fact, my theory about Michelle’s death is that her ex-boyfriend killed her because she’d betrayed him with Brian, a Shifter. I imagine that made him crazy.” Kim sighed. “Proving it is a bitch, though.”

Liam heaved himself to his feet and stalked to the medicine cabinet over her pristine pedestal sink. He opened it and started pulling out bottles.

“What are you doing?” Kim asked.

“Looking for your birth control pills. I want to flush them.”

“I don’t take pills. I get injections from my doctor.”

“Then stop.”

“Excuse me?” Kim stood and planted her hands on her naked hips. “How is this your business?”

“Everything you do is my business.”

“Liam, if you want someone to breed little Shifters with you, you have plenty of Shifter women drooling over you. I saw the waitress at the bar—what’s her name?—Annie. She’d have gone to bed with you in a heartbeat.”

“And she has.”

“Oh.” Did Liam dare hope that was jealousy in her eyes? “Did you throw away her contraceptives?”

“She’s Lupine. I told you that the chances of conception in those cases are low, remember?”

“How lucky for you.”

“You say lucky like you’d never want a child.”

“I do want one.” Kim threw him an exasperated look. “I like kids. But not right now.”

“And not with a Shifter.”

“If I decided to pick a Shifter, it would be you.” Kim smiled her beautiful smile. “Maybe later, when I have a solid career, and if you’re still available…”

Liam moved across the floor and had her in his arms before she could turn away. “Understand me, Kim. We are mated. That means I go to no other female unless I lose you to death, and even then it will feel like betrayal. I protect you, I take care of you, I bind myself to you, and you alone.”

Her face lost color. “That’s your custom?”

“It’s not custom. It’s Shifter law. It’s magic that runs deep inside us. This mating brings you into my pride. Even Fergus can’t touch you without going through me. That was the point of me claiming you.”

Kim squirmed away, and Liam let her go.

“It was necessary,” he explained. “If I hadn’t made the Challenge, Fergus would have taken you as mate whether you liked it or not.”

“How could he?” Kim asked. “I’m not bound by Shifter law.”

“He could because we’re animals. We look like humans and you

put Collars on us, but we’re born animals and only learn to become human later. The leader of the clan can claim whatever unmated female he wants, and we have to step back and let him unless we want to Challenge. It’s his right. But Fergus is hellaciously strong, and most in the clan don’t want to fight him, so he takes the mates he wants.”

“But I’m not Shifter…”

“Do you think Fergus gives a damn about that? He wants to control you, needs to control what you tell the humans about us.”

“Wait a minute.” A look of horror moved over Kim’s face. “Are you telling me that if I hadn’t agreed to do this mating thing with you, Fergus might have taken me off and raped me?”

“Very likely.”

“But he’d go down for that. A human court would crucify him.”

“Would they? Or would they say it was your own fault for hanging out with Shifters? You just said that having a child with me would ruin your career, that you think Michelle died for associating with a Shifter. Shifterwhore is the term.”

Her face went white, and she sat down hard on the edge of the tub. “Shit.”

Liam came to her, crouched in front of her. “Don’t be afraid, love. I’ll never let Fergus hurt you. Ever. The mate claim overrides clan hierarchy. He can beat up on me, but never you. Even if he kills me, you’ll still be protected by my family, my pride.”

“But why would Fergus still want to kill you?” Kim asked in confusion. “He seemed to back off all of a sudden, like he didn’t care about the mate thing anymore.”

“Because he knew he’d won. He got me to promise to control you, for the good of all Shifters. If he’d pursued it further, for nothing but self-satisfaction, the clan wouldn’t have approved, and even though he’s leader, he can’t afford to lose the clan’s respect. Besides, Dad was there. Fergus has never been one hundred percent certain he’s dominant to Dad, and he didn’t want to put that to the test, especially not in front of the whole clan.”

“So why doesn’t your dad fight him, then? It’s obvious none of you like him.”

“To tell you the truth, love, I’m not sure,” Liam said, troubled. “Dad won’t talk about it. Maybe he knows he isn’t dominant to Fergus, and if Dad were killed, he couldn’t protect the rest of us from him. But I don’t know. He’s never said and gets pissed off when anyone brings it up.”

Kim frowned, rubbing her arms. “But when Fergus came at me with the whip and you almost attacked him, Dylan stopped you, said it wasn’t your ‘right.’ What did he mean? I thought you were supposed to fight.”

Liam remembered the surge of adrenaline rising white hot, searing him like a brand on flesh, when he’d seen Fergus focus on Kim. Only Dylan’s harsh voice had stopped him from making a fatal move, or this day would have ended differently.

“Because at that moment, I wanted to kill him. The Fae-cat in me wanted to go after Fergus in a clan dominance fight, to take him down for good. The mate Challenge isn’t to the death—at least, not anymore—but fighting for clan leadership usually is, unless the clan leader surrenders before the fight. Dad stopped me from making it a clan dominance issue, thank the Goddess.”

“Why? It seems like you could have saved him a step.” She let out her breath. “Not that I want to see you in a fight to the death. I’m happy he stopped you too.”

“Shifter politics.” Liam tried to sound offhand, but something subtle had changed during the moot today, and he wasn’t yet certain what. “Only Dad, as pride leader, has the right to fight for clan dominance. If I want to take out Fergus, I first have to take out Dad, and I won’t be doing that anytime soon.”

Kim gave him a faint smile. “Because you know he could kick your ass?”

Liam laughed. “No, because he’s my dad, and I love him.” Another laugh. “And yeah, he could probably kick my ass.”

Kim hugged her chest. “I thought I researched Shifter law down to the last degree. I don’t remember any of this.”

“Because it’s not written law. It’s passed down through the generations, and it’s based on instinct and what you call custom.” Liam laid his hands on her shoulders. “It’s complicated even for us. I’m going to protect you, Kim. Believe that.”

She looked up at him with anguished eyes. “Liam, I can’t be your mate. I only came to Shiftertown to get help building my defense for Brian. I’m fine with you keeping Fergus off my back, but I can’t move into your house to become a Shifter baby-making machine. You’re crazy if you believe I’ll agree to that.”

He traced circles on her shoulders. “I’d never believe you’d do anything you don’t really want to, Kim Fraser.”

Kim broke his hold, got to her feet, and reached for her clothes. “You got that right.” She pulled on her jeans in short jerks. “Now if you’ll take your family and go home, I really have a lot of work to do. I’m seriously behind.”