Ranger's Folly

Exiled  from  his  childhood  pack  and  hated  by  his
family,  Wolf  shifter,  Ranger  vowed  that  he’d
always  protect  others  from  sharing  his  same
heartbreak. He fulfilled his promise, first by taking
in  stray  shifters  and  then  later  on  becoming  a
soldier  for  a  feline  coalition.  So  when  he  finds  a
strange  Eagle  shifter  stalking  one  of  his  friends,
it’s  only  natural  that  Ranger  becomes  protective.
Especially  when  said  Eagle  is  in  the  company  of
two Ravens—the most evil of all shifters.

Eagle shifter, Xavier lost everything dear to him

when  tragedy  struck  his  family  years  ago.  Taken
in  and  raised in  extreme  seclusion  by  a  family  of
Ravens,  he’s  always  felt  as  if  a  piece  of  himself
was missing. When he finds that his twin is alive
and  living  with  feline  shifters,  Xavier  can’t  resist
his curiosity.

Fighting their mutual distrust, Xavier and

Ranger also find themselves becoming drawn to
each other. In a world that’s not always so black
and white, can they get beyond prejudices and the
taboo, or will their love be lost to hate?

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted  work  is  illegal.  Criminal  copyright
infringement,  including  infringement  without
monetary  gain,  is  investigated  by  the  FBI  and  is
punishable  by  up  to  5  years  in  federal  prison and  a
fine of $250,000.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions,
and do not participate in or encourage the electronic
piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the
author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents either are products of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.

Ranger’s Folly

ISBN: 978-1-55487-ARC

Cover art by Martine JArdin

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the
reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in
part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden
without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books

Look for us online at:

www.eXtasybooks.com

Chapter One

he punk was out and in full stalker mode, yet
again.

Ranger ducked behind a tree as he watched the

small figure sneaking up to the farmhouse. Going
by the build, the stranger was a male. It was also
painfully  obvious  he  didn’t  have  any  military
training  or  street  sense.  Instead  of  gliding  from
hiding  spot  to  hiding  spot,  he  lumbered  around
like  a  toddler  let  loose  in  a  china  shop.  The
intruder even stumbled and tripped at one point,
doing a grunt-inducing face plant.

That only further intrigued Ranger because he

didn’t  think  this  was  just  some  normal  human
who’d  turned  Peeping  Tom.  Ranger  felt  pretty
certain  Sammy  Stalker  was  a  shifter.  Ranger  just
couldn’t  figure  out  what  breed  he  was,  which
irritated  the  fuck  out  of  him  and  made  him  one
cranky Wolf.

All Ranger did know for certain was the

stranger had taken an unhealthy interest in Riley,
who happened to frequently visit the farmhouse.

Stephani Hecht

Since Riley was a good friend, Ranger decided
that just wouldn’t do. He wasn’t going to sit idly
by and let this perv ogle Riley. No, Ranger would
find out who the jerk was and he’d eliminate the
threat before Riley could be harmed. After all
Riley had been through, he deserved to have a safe
and happy future.

Ranger tilted his face up slightly, hoping his

heightened Wolf shifter sense would pick up the
stalker’s scent. When all he detected were the trees
and the nearby horses, disappointment slapped
him.

Damn, he was usually better than this.

Although,  he  may  still  be  considered  young  and
one of the few Wolves in the feline coalition, he’d
yet  to  have  his  skills  let  him  down.  How  some
punk  who  barely  knew  how  to  hide  properly,
managed  to  conceal  his  scent  perplexed  and
annoyed the hell out of Ranger.

Hoping to, at the very least, get a better look at

the jerk, Ranger carefully moved in closer. He held
back a growl of frustration when he noted the red
baseball hat the man had pulled down. Not only
did it cover his hair, but most of his identifying
features.

He cursed himself for not bringing along one of

the older members of the coalition. While Ranger
might match them in battle skills, they still were
better at certain shifter knowledge. Most of them

Ranger’s Folly

could ID breed simply by looking at a shifter.
Ranger on the other hand always had to get a
good whiff.

Ranger tried to placate his curiosity by taking in

other  information  on  the  guy.  Small  by  most
shifter  standards,  he  was  practically  too  thin.
Almost  like  he  missed  meals  on  a  regular  basis.
His clothes had seen better days, too. The tattered
jeans  had  tears  in  several  places  and  his  red,
button-up shirt looked faded and at least six years
out of date.

That still didn’t mean he couldn’t be a threat.

Ranger knew plenty of bad guys who were
fashion victims. Just because the man dressed like
he was still in the days of the Bush
Administration, didn’t mean a damn thing.

Off in the distance, Riley and his mate left the

farmhouse  and  made  their  way  to  a  car.  Ranger
tensed,  wondering  if  the  stranger  would  attack.
Instead,  he  did  something  that  struck  Ranger  as
both strange and…sad?

The man let out a whimper as he curled his

fingers around the tree trunk he’d taken refuge
behind. His small body even appeared to sag a bit,
taking on the posture of someone who was
defeated.

The stranger’s gaze seemed to be devouring

Riley as the Eagle kissed his mate, then climbed
into the car. When the vehicle drove away, the

Stephani Hecht

stalker let out a sad sigh, his shoulders slumping
in unmistakable disappointment.

Ranger wrapped his fingers around the butt of

his holstered gun and stepped out into the open.
“You could always just go up and introduce
yourself instead of sneaking around.”

The stalker let out a loud gasp as he spun

around, his back pressing against the bark of the
tree.

While Ranger could still only see the man’s

lower face, going by his gapped mouth, he hadn’t
been expecting company.

“I didn’t mean…I just got lost and didn’t realize

this was private property,” a soft, yet husky voice
stammered.

Ranger moved forward a couple of steps. “You

lost your way three times?”

He knew that he should have reported the

incident  to  the  head  of  the  coalition  sooner,  but
Ranger  had  wanted  to  make  sure  the  threat  was
real.  The  last  thing  he  wanted  was  to  be  labeled
the Wolf who cried…well, wolf. That would be the
very definition of irony.

He continued to prepare himself for an attack,

but the stranger just shrank tighter against the
tree. Emboldened, Ranger took the last few steps
that separated them. Once he got in close enough,
he reached out and flicked the bill of the hat up.

Startled green eyes blinked up at him as the

Ranger’s Folly

kid’s face was finally revealed. And there was no
question about it—this punk was a kid in almost
every sense of the word. While he appeared to be
in his early twenties, his gaze held an innocent,
vulnerable quality to it.

Ranger leaned in, buried his nose in the crook

of  the  kid’s  neck  and  breathed  in  deep.  What  he
found  made  his  heart  hammer in  shock. He even
took  another  sniff,  just  to  make  sure  his  nose
hadn’t been fooling him.

“Well, fuck a duck. You’re an Eagle, just like

Riley.”

For some reason that seemed to piss the kid off.

He pulled back with a snarl. “I’m nothing like
Riley.”

The familiarity in which that name rolled off

the  supposed  stranger’s  lips  sparked  Ranger’s
curiosity  further. He  reached  up  and  tore  the  hat
all  the  way  off,  not  too  surprised when  he  found
blond hair underneath.

Studying the kid’s face, Ranger did a quick

inventory. While the eye coloring may be
different, there were other things that were
damningly similar to Riley—the slightly upturned
nose, the high cheekbones, full lips, even the thin
bone structure.

“You’re more than just an Eagle, you’re

Xavier,” Ranger declared with certainty.

They’d only learned recently that Riley’s twin

Stephani Hecht

brother  Xavier  had  survived  a  tragedy  that’d
killed off the rest of their family. They’d both been
young  at  that  time  and  completely  defenseless.
While  Riley  had  been  taken  in  and  raised  by  a
human  female,  the  whereabouts  of  Xavier  had
remained a mystery.

Until now.
Xavier gave a jerky shake of his head. “I don’t

know what you’re talking about. I’m just a nobody
who happened to get lost in the woods and ended
up in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Okay then, tell me what your name is,” Ranger

challenged, calling his bluff.

Xavier stiffened, his breath hitching slightly.

After a moment’s reflection, he answered in a
halting voice, “Bob?”

“You want to try that again? And this time, I

suggest you don’t end it with a question mark.”

“What’s wrong with Bob? It’s a perfectly

acceptable name.”

Ranger planted his hand on either side of

Xavier’s head, trapping the Eagle in. “I never said
there was anything wrong with that name, but we
both know that it’s not what you’re called.”

A moment of silence stretched between them

before Xavier slightly tilted his head to the side in
a thoughtful manner. “I don’t think I’ll tell you my
name. After all, you haven’t even bothered to
introduce yourself, so why should I bother with

Ranger’s Folly

niceties?”

“My name is Ranger.”
For some reason that brought out a soft laugh

from Xavier.

“As in Yogi, the Ranger isn’t going to like that?”

Xavier asked, doing a dead-on impersonation of
Boo-Boo.

“You seem awfully cheerful for somebody

who’s trapped.” Ranger leaned in until their noses
were inches apart and growled. “Now, tell me
your name.”

A shiver went through Xavier. At first Ranger

assumed it was fear since the kid reeked of it, then
Ranger detected another underlying scent—one
that set off all kinds of alarm bells.

Holy hell in a bucket, Xavier was getting off on

this. Come to think of it, the whole situation did
have an erotic tone to it. In fact, Ranger felt pretty
certain he’d watched a couple of porn movies that
started out the exact same way.

“If I tell you my name, will you let me go?”

Xavier ventured, taking in a hitching breath.

Xavier slowly ran his tongue over his bottom

lip  in  a  nervous  gesture  and  Ranger  realized
something  else—Xavier  wasn’t  the  only  one
getting a hard on from this conversation. Ranger’s
cock  had  come  to  attention  and  it  wanted  one
thing and one thing only—Xavier.

At the same time, Ranger became aware of

Stephani Hecht

many other things. Like the way Xavier’s mouth
looked as if it were just made for kissing. Or how
his smaller body seemed to be custom built for
fucking. And how his hair appeared to be begging
for a good tugging, preferably while in the throes
of passion.

“No, I can’t let you go,” Ranger said, as he gave

his body a silent easy now, this really isn’t the time.

The slightest bit of alarm crossed Xavier’s face

before he schooled his features into a cocky grin.
“Why not?”

“Because I know who you really are. You have

to come with me to the safety of the coalition
before you get into some real trouble.”

“You must have me mixed up with somebody

else. Like I said, I’m just a nobody.”

“Now, we both know that’s not true. You have

two choices. Either you can come in willingly, or I
can cuff you and drag your sweet ass there.”

Xavier let out a startled sound, his eyes

growing  wide  with  alarm.  He  tried  to  run  away,
only  to  draw  up  short  when  he  nearly  ran  into
Ranger’s  outstretched  arm.  Muttering  a  curse,
Xavier took in several deep breaths, as if he were
trying to get control over his fear.

“Please, you need to let me go. They’re

counting on me.”

Ranger frowned, wondering who in the hell

Xavier referred to. “Who’s counting on you?”

Ranger’s Folly

Xavier opened his mouth to answer, but at the

last moment, brought his hand up. Ranger saw the
flash of black, but it was already too late. A sharp
pain hit his side right before a jolt of energy went
through his body.

Shit, the little punk had just used a stun gun on

him.

While the hit didn’t affect Ranger as much as it

would have if he were human, it still brought him
to his knees. Xavier took that opportunity to make
a break for it. He jumped over Ranger and took off
running.

It only took Ranger a few breaths, but it was

long  enough  for  Xavier  to  get  a  good  lead.  That
didn’t  mean  Ranger  couldn’t  still  take  the  brat
down. With a growl, he staggered to his feet.

It took him a few stumbling steps before he

managed to shake off the effects of the gun. Soon
enough he had his legs under him and ran at full
strength. Xavier looked over his shoulder, his eyes
growing wild with terror when he saw Ranger
closing in.

“Just let me go. We can pretend you never saw

me,” Xavier pleaded as he zagged around a tree.

“I can’t do that. You need to go in and see

Mitchell and explain why you’re sneaking around
his territory.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”
Xavier encountered a stump in the ground. He

Stephani Hecht

only hesitated a second before jumping over it, his
lithe body moving seamlessly. Ranger let out
another growl of frustration. The little punk ran
fast, which said a lot coming from a Wolf.

“Nobody will hurt you, I promise. We’ve been

looking for you ever since we figured you
survived the massacre,” Ranger tried to reason.

That earned him a one-fingered salute. Ranger

tried hard not to roll his eyes at Xavier’s juvenile
behavior as he continued to chase him.

“Come on, Riley is really worried about you,”

Ranger tried again.

Xavier snorted. “Yeah, I could tell by the way

he keeps sucking face with that Hawk. My brother
is just beside himself with grief for me.”

“You know, sarcasm is never a good trait.”
Ranger saw the glowing shimmer going over

Xavier’s  body,  but  once  again  his  observation
proved  to  be  too  late.  Xavier  quickly  and  easily
morphed  into  a  large  eagle.  Without  missing  a
step,  he  took  flight.  Ranger  cursed  loudly  and
lunged  forward,  his  fingers  coming  up  with
nothing but empty space. The front of his body hit
the ground hard, dirt kicking up into his mouth.

“Fuck,” Ranger yelled, the word somewhat

muffled because of all the debris in his yap.

Xavier gave a mocking screech as he circled the

air once and then took off.

Ranger sat up, another snarling curse escaping

Ranger’s Folly

his lips. Even though he still thought it was
juvenile, Ranger lifted his own middle finger at
the retreating bird.

“Thank God, nobody else saw this or else I

would never live it down,” Ranger mumbled as he
stood.

Retracing his steps, he went back to the tree

where their exchange had taken place. Xavier’s hat
still  lay  on  the  ground.  It  was  the  only  proof  the
man  had  been  there.  Scooping  it  up,  Ranger
brought it up to his nose. His brow furrowed as he
detected  not  only  Xavier’s  scent,  but  that  of  two
others. For the life of him, Ranger couldn’t figure
out  what  they  were.  He  would  almost  say  it  was
Raven,  if  it  weren’t  for  the  fact  it  smelled  clean
instead  of  the  normal  rotting,  rancid  smell  that
usually  accompanied  that  type  of  bird.  He  also
detected  the  smell  of  something  vaguely
medicinal.

Ranger decided that it was time to let Mitchell

and  the  others  know  about  what  he’d  found.  He
had  enough  information  now  to  know  that  he
wasn’t chasing a ghost. Not only that, but he owed
Xavier for both zapping him and making him look
like  a  green  idiot  who  couldn’t  take  down  one
untrained Eagle. Ranger vowed he’d find a way to
make the brat pay for both insults. Even if it cost
Ranger his very last breath.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Two

avier landed in front of the door to their hotel
room and quickly shifted back to his human

form. Glancing down at his body, he’d never been
more glad that whenever he shifted his clothes
managed to make it through unscathed. How that
happened still remained a mystery to him, but
then so did most other things that had to do with
the shifter world.

He dug his key out of his front pocket, trying

hard to ignore the sounds and foul smells around
him.  The  efficiency  hotel  they’d  been  staying  at
was in the worst area of Flint. Not only were there
several  abandoned  homes  and  businesses  that’d
been left to rot, but the streets were covered in all
kinds  of disgusting  trash.  Just  the  other  day  he’d
almost stepped on a used needle.

He opened the battered, filthy steel door and

quickly ducked inside. The room had the same
stale odors of mildew, cigarette smoke and cheap

Ranger’s Folly

beer, but Xavier didn’t mind. They’d come to
represent safety, much like the blue glow coming
from the television.

It did little to illuminate the grungy brown

carpet and yellow walls of the small space they’d
come to call home. Two beds took up the center of
the room, a small kitchenette stood off to one side.
The  sinks  always  backed  up  and  there  were
cockroaches  in  all  the  corners,  but  it  was  better
than  the  last  hotel  they’d  stayed  at.  Besides,  it’s
not like they could afford any better.

His adopted sister, Dulla, sat on the edge of one

of the beds, her face a few feet from the screen of
the  television.  As  always,  Yogi  Bear  played. Their
one  luxury  was  a  DVD  player  and  a  massive
collection of Yogi Bear cartoons. Still, if it made her
happy  that’s  all  that  mattered.  Even  though  she
was  three  years  older  than  he  and  Chance,
mentally she was much younger.

She didn’t acknowledge his presence, her dark

eyed  gaze  never  once  wavering  from  the  show.
Xavier still knelt down beside her. Reaching up, he
tucked  a  piece  of  the  black  hair  behind  her  ear.
The dim light made her normally pale complexion
look  even  more  sallow,  but  she  still  looked
beautiful to him. As far as he was concerned, there
wasn’t a girl out there who could hold a candle to
his sister. He stayed there for nearly five minutes,
studying her, before she started and turned to look

Stephani Hecht

at him.

“Xavier, you’re home,” she exclaimed in her

raspy voice, the one that always reminded him of
smoke and whiskey.

“Of course, I am.” He reached out and gave her

a hug.

As she returned it, she sniffed loudly. “You

smell funny.”

Alarmed, Xavier pulled back. “What do you

mean?”

“You stink like that guy who sold us the stun

guns.”

Shit, shit, shit. The dealer had been a Wolf. That

could only mean she detected Ranger on him. He
still couldn’t let on how much her observation
shocked him. He gave her a gentle smile.

“I forgot to tell you. I ran into him on the bus.”
She tilted her head to the side, her dark eyes

narrowing. “Why would he be riding a city bus?
When Chance and I met him, he had a shiny, red
car.”

Damn, Dulla may be slow but she wasn’t

stupid. Xavier didn’t allow himself to react. “It
must have broken down.”

Dulla still didn’t look as if she bought it, but a

new episode of Yogi came on and saved him. Once
her  attention  was  diverted,  Xavier  jumped  to  his
feet  and ran  over  to  his backpack.  Opening it,  he
shoved  aside  his  only  other  set  of  clothing  and

Ranger’s Folly

took out a spray bottle.

About the size of a hairspray can, it’d cost most

of their savings. It’d been worth it though, because
it contained the only thing that’d keep them from
being captured by slavers. A mixture of various
chemicals, it masked Xavier’s scent.

Eagles were very rare, and as such they brought

in a ton on the slave market. Xavier knew without
a doubt that if he ever stepped outside without the
spray on, he’d be captured within moments. He
only hoped the spray also masked the reek of
Wolf, too.

Although, maybe reek wasn’t the right word. In

truth, Ranger smelled nice—really, really nice.
Xavier brought his arm up and took a deep whiff,
inhaling the woodsy, musky scent of the Wolf. He
could have breathed it in all night long.

Unfortunately for Xavier, he didn’t have all

night. Chance would be coming in any second
and, unlike Dulla, he couldn’t be distracted. With
a regretful sigh, Xavier covered himself with the
spray.

His lungs burned as he inhaled some of the

junk. Soon enough the same headache that always
followed a dosing would hit him. He only hoped
that it wouldn’t be so bad that it forced him to
bed. He hated it when that happened.

He put the bottle away moments before the

door opened again and his brother, Chance,

Stephani Hecht

walked in. Since he was Dulla’s biological sibling,
he took on the same characteristics as her. His
dark hair was cut short in the back, the front being
just long enough to flop into his large, dark eyes.
His skin also had a pale tone to it, although at the
present moment, a large, purple bruise marked
one side of his jaw.

“What in the hell happened?” Xavier

demanded as he rushed over. He reached out to
touch it.

Chance shrugged him off. “It’s no big deal. I got

it on the job.”

Xavier didn’t even want to know what said job

entailed.  Since  they’d  been  raised  in  deep
seclusion, none of them had the education or work
experience to land a real job. It wasn’t like Xavier
could go out and find work either. While the spray
hid  his  scent,  it  wouldn’t  help  if  they  ran  into  a
shifter  who  could  identify  breeds  by  sight.  Dulla
was  out  of  the  question,  too.  She  was  prone  to
panic attacks whenever she went out in public, so
she stayed in their room nearly all the time.

That left Chance and all he could find was work

with  other  Ravens.  A  shiver  went  down  Xavier’s
spine  as  he  recalled  some  of  the  stories  his
adoptive  brother  had  shared  about  those
creatures.  While  Dulla,  Chance,  and  their  parents
had been kind and loving, if a bit odd from time-
to-time,  the  other  Ravens  obviously  weren’t  the

Ranger’s Folly

same way.

“I brought food,” Chance announced, holding

up a greasy bag of takeout.

Xavier grabbed it and went to the counter. He

dished it out, making sure that Dulla and Chance
got the bigger portions. He handed out the plates,
before taking his own food and settling down on a
bed.

Chance looked over with a frown. “Why didn’t

you take more food?”

Because it kills me to see you and Dulla wasting

away.

Outwardly, Xavier gave a shrug. “I’m not that

hungry.”

That wasn’t a total lie. Lately his appetite had

been crap and what little he took down often came
back up.

Dulla glanced up from her show. “I worry

about you. Are you still getting the headaches?”

“Not too often,” he fibbed again. “Besides, I

wouldn’t be too concerned. It’s not like shifters
can get sick or anything. It’s probably just stress.”

Chance studied him carefully. “We could

always try to go back home.”

Xavier shook his head. “No way. The Hyenas

could show up again and I don’t want to lose you
guys, too. It was bad enough they killed Mom and
Dad.”

As always, the mere mention of their parents

Stephani Hecht

was  enough  to  set  Dulla  off.  She  began  to  rock
back  and  forth  as  she  let  out  soft  whimpers,  her
food  completely  forgotten.  Feeling  like  an  ass  for
his slip up, Xavier scooted closer so he could put
an  arm  around  his  sister’s  shoulders.  The  close
contact worked and after a few moments, she sank
into his side.

“We’re doing fine right where we are,” Xavier

replied firmly.

The last thing he wanted was to take her back

to that nightmare. He would put up with a
thousand headaches before he let that happen.

Are you sure that’s the only reason you don’t want

to leave? A nasty voice taunted in his head.

Xavier gave a slight shake of his head, as if he

could deny that kernel of truth to himself. Like he
could fool himself that he didn’t want to leave
now that he’d just found Riley.

After all, Riley didn’t seem to give a fig about

him. While Xavier had been fighting for his life
and barely getting enough to eat, Riley had been
safe, fed and happily mated to some Hawk.

Maybe it wasn’t logical for Xavier to feel such

animosity toward his twin. After all, it wasn’t
Riley’s fault that he’d always been the lucky one in
life. Xavier just couldn’t help himself.

The strange thing was that at the same time, he

felt a strong connection to Riley—one he was
powerless to resist. That had led to him almost

Ranger’s Folly

being captured by Ranger.

“Fine, we’ll stay here,” Chance finally

conceded, although he continued to study Xavier
with a critical eye.

Xavier sighed with relief.
Chance asked, “So, what did you guys do

today?”

Heart racing, Xavier shot a worried glance

down at Dulla. “Ah, nothing. We just hung out
here.”

Anxiety flooded his body while he waited for

her to call him out on his lie, but she kept silent.
Xavier made a mental note to someday buy her a
whole new collection of Yogi DVDs as a reward for
not tattling.

Chance cocked a brow. “Oh, really? If you

stayed in, then why are your shoes covered in
fresh mud.”

Xavier froze as he scrambled for an explanation.

The only problem being, he never was good at
coming up with stuff on the fly. Besides, Chance
always knew whenever he lied.

“You went to spy on him again. Didn’t you?”

Chance challenged.

“Yes, I did.” Xavier lowered his head as guilt

flooded him.

He knew that his ventures not only put him at

danger, but it also risked exposing Dulla and
Chance. The feline coalition was strong in Flint,

Stephani Hecht

and if there was one thing the cats hated, it was
Ravens. They wouldn’t care that Chance and
Dulla were different either.

“I tried to stay away. I really did, it’s just…”

Xavier trailed off, too ashamed to go on because,
quite frankly, there really wasn’t any excuse good
enough.

Had it been anybody else, they would have

yelled or lashed out. Chance did neither. Instead,
he put a comforting hand on Xavier’s shoulder.
Locking gazes, Chance said, “I know it must be so
tempting, but you have to be careful. Not only
could they kill Dulla and I, but they may lash out
at you for associating with us.”

Xavier saw the flicker of hurt and self-disgust

that went through Chance’s eyes at those words. It
made a lump build up in the back of Xavier’s
throat, because he knew how much his brother
hated what he was.

“You’re nothing like the other Ravens. For one

thing, you don’t stink like they do.” Xavier gave a
soft laugh.

“Yeah, that’s because we never learned some of

their more disgusting habits. At least that’s what
Mom said.”

Even before Xavier came to live with them, his

adoptive  family  had  stayed  apart  from  the  other
the  Ravens.  When  the  rest  of  their  kind  learned
about  Dulla’s  learning  disability,  they  wanted  to

Ranger’s Folly

kill  her,  as  it  was  always  Raven  custom  to  cull
away  what  they  considered  weak  members.
Instead,  their  mother  had  taken  her  children  and
husband, then ran away.

Xavier tightened his grip on Dulla as a wave of

fierce  protectiveness  went  over  him.  Just  the
thought of anyone wanting to hurt his sweet sister
because  she  didn’t  fit  their  idea  of  perfect  made
him  angry.  While  Xavier  may  not  be  a  violent
person,  he  knew  without  a  doubt  he’d  kill  if
necessary  to  keep  her  safe.  For  that  reason  alone,
Xavier decided to confess the whole truth.

“A Wolf caught me spying on Riley.”
Chance sucked in a breath. “Did he hurt you?”
“No, I used that stun gun you gave me and

managed to fly away. Not before he told me that
he knew who I was.”

“Did he use your name?”
Xavier nodded. “He also claimed that they’d

been looking for me. He said that they didn’t
mean me any harm.”

“I’m guessing he didn’t know that you were

with two Ravens.”

“He didn’t mention it.”
A heavy silence filled the room. Chance looked

down at the bed. “You know you could always—”

“Don’t even suggest it,” Xavier interrupted

sharply.

“They would probably take you in because

Stephani Hecht

you’re Riley’s brother. Think about it, you could
finally be safe and have enough food.”

Anger and a bit of panic assaulted Xavier. “And

leave you and Dulla behind? No way! I could
never do that. We’re family and I love you guys.”

Chance gave a sad smile. “We feel the same

way, too. I’m just worried. You keep getting those
headaches and it looks like you’ve lost even more
weight.”

“I told you, it’s just stress. I’m fine.”
“I just wish I could take better care of you

guys.”

Tears built up in Xavier’s eyes, but he refused

to let them fall. Since Chance was taking on the
heavy load of supporting them all, the least Xavier
could do was be brave enough not to cry.

“You do take good care of us. You always have.

It was because of you that we were able to escape
that day the Hyenas came.”

“I wasn’t good enough to save Mom and Dad.”
“You can’t blame yourself for that. It would

have taken a psychic to know the attack was
coming. Mom and Dad were cut down before any
of us could stop it. Stop beating yourself up over
it. Dulla and I are damn lucky to have you.”

Dulla wrapped her slender arms around

Xavier’s waist. “And we’re lucky to have you,
Xavier.”

Ranger’s Folly

Chapter Three

anger

stormed

through

the

coalition

headquarters, his temper so high it was a

wonder  he  didn’t  have  steam  coming  out  of  his
ears  like  some  cartoon  character.  The  area  where
the  little  twerp  had  zapped  him  still  stung,  the
pain  beating  in  time  to  his  heart,  almost  as  if
mocking him. The ball cap was still in his clenched
fist and he soothed his temper some by imagining
that  it  was  Xavier’s  skinny  throat  between  his
fingers.

Along the way to Mitchell’s office, he ran into

Shane. A Leopard shifter, who was a semi-
reformed sociopath, he happened to be the perfect
man to help Ranger out.

Ranger paused long enough to ask, “Hey, can

you come with me?”

Shane cocked a brow, but as usual revealed

nothing. While he looked young and almost
innocent with his big brown eyes and mop of

Stephani Hecht

brown  hair,  underneath  lurked  a  coldblooded
killer.  Ranger  just  hoped  that  since  his  good
friend,  Trevor,  was  mated  to  Shane,  the  feline
would be inclined to help. He also banked on the
fact Shane owned the farmhouse Xavier had been
staking  out  as  an  aid  in  sparking  the  Leopard’s
cooperation.  Call  him  crazy,  but  Ranger  didn’t
think  Shane  liked  the  idea  of  a  stranger  hanging
out on his property.

“Where are you going?” Shane demanded, but

he began to walk with Ranger.

“I need to speak to Mitchell about something

that went down outside your place today.”

If that shocked or upset Shane, he didn’t show

it. He only gave a curt nod, his face as impassive
as  ever.  As  they  entered  Mitchell’s  cramped  and
somewhat  messy  office,  Ranger  wasn’t  overly
surprised  to  see  most  of  the  Jaguar  brothers
present.  He’d  called  ahead  to  tell  Mitchell  that
they had something important to discuss and the
Jaguar family always worked together. There were
even a few of the family’s closest friends present.
One  noticeable  exception  was  Riley,  although  his
Hawk mate, Colin, was there. Going by the scowl
on  the  dark-headed  man’s  face,  he  wasn’t  too
happy either.

Ranger gave them a quick rundown of his

encounter with Xavier, even going so far as to tell
how he got away. Even though it stung to admit

Ranger’s Folly

that some green kid with no training managed to
get the drop on him, Ranger didn’t want to let his
pride  get  in  the  way.  It  was  more  important  that
Mitchell  and  the  others  get  a  full  report  so  they
could get a feel for the situation. When Ranger fell
silent,  Mitchell  sat  back  in  his  chair  and  mulled
over the situation.

While Mitchell was about twenty years older

than  Ranger,  he  didn’t  look  it.  With  a  tall,  trim
build,  amber  eyes  and  brown  speckled  hair,  he
was actually damn good looking. Had it not been
for  the  fact  that  Mitchell  was  mated  to  Ranger’s
cousin, Ranger may have developed a heavy crush
on the guy.

Of course, that was before Ranger met Xavier.

Now he found himself wanting nothing other than
a  certain  blond-haired  Eagle  who  had  the  bratty
tendency  to  zap  unsuspecting  individuals.  That
showed  Ranger  had  either  lost  all  his  common
sense  or  was  now  being  ruled  by  his  cock.  He
couldn’t help it though, all he had to do was think
about how good it’d felt when he pressed himself
against  Xavier’s  thin  body  and  Ranger  became
stupid with lust.

“Are you certain that he’s Xavier?” Mitchell

finally asked.

“Yeah, he’s almost a dead ringer for Riley. Plus,

the kid acted like I bitch slapped him when I
called him Xavier. He tried to hide it, but it was

Stephani Hecht

obvious it scared the hell out of him that I knew
who he was.”

“If he was lurking about like you said, how

come we didn’t pick up his scent? We should have
smelled him all the way from the farmhouse,”
Colin demanded.

“I think he’s masking it somehow. I couldn’t

smell it until I was right on top of him.”

“Does that hat belong to him?” Shane nodded

at Ranger’s hand.

“Yeah.”
“Toss it to me.”
Once Ranger complied, Shane brought it up to

his  nose  and  gave  it  a  few  experimental  sniffs.
When  he  let  out  a  low  curse,  Ranger  knew  it
couldn’t be good. Shane never reacted to anything,
so  for  him  to  show  any  emotion  always  spelled
trouble.

“This Eagle is either very brave or very stupid.”
A jolt of dread hit Ranger. While he still wanted

to throttle Xavier, Ranger found himself strangely
protective of the brat. “Why would you say that?”

“He’s using Shadow.”
Ranger cocked his head to the side as he tried to

place where he’d heard that word before. “Isn’t
that something shifters can use to cover their
scent?”

It would explain how Xavier had managed to

conceal himself from Ranger so well. It would also

Ranger’s Folly

show that Xavier realized just how dangerous it
was to be an Eagle.

Ranger nodded. “Yeah, and it’s as illegal as

hell.”

“With good reason,” Colin cut in. “If used too

much that stuff can be toxic.”

“It must be pretty bad to affect us. Usually

we’re  immune  to  most  poisons.”  While  Ranger
knew he probably sounded the idiot for stating the
obvious, he was having issues wrapping his mind
around  the  fact  that  a  simple  spray  could  take
down a shifter.

Shane continued to study the hat. “One of the

ingredients is Castor, more specifically the seeds,
which is used to make Ricin. While we can fight
the affects longer, eventually even we succumb if
we keep exposing ourselves to it.”

“Do you think Xavier is aware of that?”
“I’m guessing that neither he nor his little

friends know much of anything.”

Ranger jerked in surprise. “Friends?”
“Yeah, going by the scents on this hat, I’d say

he’s  been  living  with  two  Ravens.  The  smell  is
pretty weak and not nearly as strong as most other
Ravens,  but  it’s  there.  If  I  wasn’t  such  a  good
tracker,  the  Shadow  would  have  hid  it
completely.”

“I thought that it smelled like Raven, too,”

Ranger said.

Stephani Hecht

“I’m impressed. Not too many would have

picked up on that,” Shane replied, tossing out a
rare bit of praise.

“Thanks.”
Shane breathed in again, his brow drawing

together. “That’s odd.”

“What now?”
“This scent really is very different from most

Ravens.”

Ranger nodded. “Yeah, it’s clean instead of the

usual stank.”

“Maybe it’s another type of bird?” Colin

suggested.

“No, I’m positive it’s Raven.” Shane paused for

a second before his trademark gotcha grin came
over his face. “Oh, this is almost too easy.”

Ranger exchanged confused glances with the

rest of the group.

Mitchell finally said, “Do you want to clue the

rest of us in?”

“I’ve been hearing through the grapevine about

a new Raven in the area.”

Colin shrugged. “So what? They come and go

all the time.”

“This one is different.”
Ranger found himself becoming more

frustrated with each passing second. He’d
forgotten how hard it was to get information from
Shane. The worst part was they couldn’t lose their

Ranger’s Folly

tempers either or else they risked the Leopard
shutting down completely. Taking a few breaths,
he forced himself to calmly ask, “Different, how?”

“Well for starters, this Raven supposedly

knows what a shower is. Plus, he doesn’t have the
stomach for any of the dirty jobs. Not that they
would take him out on something like that, since
the kid reportedly doesn’t have a lick of training.”

Mitchell crossed his arms over his chest. “How

is that possible? I thought Ravens drummed battle
skills into their kids’ heads from the moment they
could walk.”

“That’s true, unless, of course, the kid wasn’t

raised in normal Raven society. Just like felines
and Wolves have strays, so do Ravens.”

The room fell silent while they all digested that

information. Colin finally broke the quiet. “I have
one question for you, Shane. How is it you didn’t
know that Xavier was lurking on your property in
the first place? I would think that since you’re the
best assassin in the coalition, you’d be the first to
know that an intruder was on your property.”

“I knew about him from the very first time he

paid one of his little visits,” Shane informed them
casually.

Ranger sucked in a breath. “Then why didn’t

you do anything about it?”

“Because I assessed him and found him to be

no threat. If he had made any aggressive moves, I

Stephani Hecht

would have taken care of the problem myself.”

A shiver went down Ranger’s spine as he

recalled some of the ways Shane took care of
problems. “You could have approached him to see
if he needed help.”

Shane gave Ranger a probing look. “Did it ever

occur to you that maybe not everybody wants to
be saved?”

A burst of anger ripped through Ranger, but he

tampered it. Getting into a pissing match with
Shane wouldn’t help find Xavier.

“How long do you think we have until Xavier

gets  sick  from  this  Shadow?”  Even  as  he  asked
that  question,  Ranger  recalled  how  thin  and  pale
Xavier  seemed.  He  didn’t  even  want  to
contemplate  the  ramifications  of  Xavier  getting
really ill before they could get him help.

Shane sniffed the hat. “Going by how much is

on  this  hat,  a  couple  days  tops.  By  now,  he’s
probably  already  suffering  from  nausea,  muscle
tremors  and  headaches.  Lucky  for  him  though,  I
now know how to find him.”

Hope flared in Ranger’s chest. “How?”
“I’ll start asking around about his little Raven

buddy. Once I get a lead on the bird, I’ll follow
him back to Xavier.”

Ranger glanced at Mitchell. “Do you think it

would be okay if I was part of the team that went
in to extricate Xavier?”

Ranger’s Folly

Mitchell cocked a brow. “I thought your days of

taking in strays were over.”

It was way more than just a normal rescue for

him, but Ranger wasn’t ready to fess up to that
aloud. He could hardly admit it to himself. Like it
or not, something about Xavier had gotten under
Ranger’s skin and now it’d become one great big,
bratty itch that couldn’t be denied.

“I just think that it would be better since I’ve

already  had  contact  with  him,”  Ranger  reasoned,
not  willing  to  admit  to  having  feelings  for  the
Eagle.  For  a  moment  he  thought  Mitchell  would
deny him.

In the end, the Jaguar nodded. “I’ll do you one

better.  I’ll  let  you  lead  the  mission  and  handpick
your  team.  I’ve  been  looking  for  a  chance  to  test
you  some  and  this  will  be  the  perfect
opportunity.”

Ranger blinked a few times. He never expected

that kind of response. “Thank you, sir. I promise
not to let you down.”

Colin cleared his throat. “I have one request.”
“Go ahead,” Mitchell said.
“I don’t want Riley to know anything about

this.  While  he’s  been  doing  great  with  his  new
meds  and  hasn’t  had  any  episodes  lately,  I  don’t
want  to  stress  him  out  unless  it’s  absolutory
necessary.  Once  we  get  this  Eagle  into  custody
and discerned that he’s not a threat and is, in fact,

Stephani Hecht

Xavier, then I’ll fill Riley in on everything.”

“Fine, but he’s going to be pissed off when he

finds out you’re keeping secrets from him,”
Ranger warned.

“Better he gets mad than upset if Xavier ends

up  being  no  better  than  the  Ravens.  Since  he
seems  so  found  of  hanging  out  around  the
bastards,  there’s  no  telling  how  twisted  Xavier
may be. Stinky or not, a Raven is a Raven and I’ve
never met a kind one in my life.”

Colin did have a point. In all of history, Ranger

didn’t think there’d ever been a Raven who wasn’t
a murdering bastard. It seemed to be the only
thing the birds excelled at.

“There’s one thing that confuses me,” Colin

said.

Ranger grunted. “Just one?”
“Why are the two Ravens protecting Xavier?

They have to know that they could get a small
fortune for him on the slave market.”

“The only way we’ll figure that out is to ask

Xavier himself. Once we have him back here, then
we  can  interrogate  him  and  find  out  what  in  the
hell  is  going  on.”  Mitchell  ran  a  frustrated  hand
through  his  hair.  “Man,  this  couldn’t  come  at  a
worse  time.  Cassie  is  set  to  marry  Chris  in  just  a
couple  of  weeks.  The  last  thing  I  need  is  the
Ravens fucking things up.”

As always, a stab of pain went through Ranger

Ranger’s Folly

at the mention of Chris’s name. Not only was the
older  man  his  cousin,  but  he  also  led  the  largest
Tri-state area wolf pack. The same pack that’d run
Ranger  out  for  being  gay.  Granted  it’d  been
mostly Ranger’s father’s doing and Chris claimed
not  to  have  known  about  it  until  it  was  too  late,
but Ranger still didn’t have cozy feelings as far as
his cousin went.

To make the already sucky relationship even

suckier, Cassie was Mitchell’s younger sister. Add
in that Mitchell’s mate, Dean, was Chris’s brother
and it got so that there were so many connections
between their family trees that it made for a
jumbled mess. Lucky duck that Ranger was, his
sorry ass happened to be stuck in the chaos, too.

Mitchell turned to his brother. “Jacyn, I need

you to give Dr. Featherstone a rundown about the
Eagle’s use of Shadow. That way he can have a
treatment ready when we bring Xavier in.”

“Do you think he’ll be able to figure out

something to make Xavier better?” Ranger asked,
his gut clenching in worry.

Jacyn gave a slight nod. “I’ll bring Owen in to

help. Together I’ve seen them do some pretty
amazing things.”

Mitchell looked at Ranger. “Okay, since you’re

team leader, what do you think the first move
should be in tracking Xavier down?”

It set Ranger back some to have Mitchell asking

Stephani Hecht

his advice for once. Scrambling, he came up with a
plan, “I think we should go with Shane’s idea and
use the Raven connection.”

Shane gave a small smile of consent. “If you

want, I can start calling some of my contacts to see
what they can tell me. If I can find the Raven, then
I’ll hang back and trail him when he goes to where
they’re hiding out at.”

“Okay, then once you find them, the team can

go in and extricate Xavier.”

“What should we do about the Ravens he’s

with?” Jacyn asked.

Now if that wasn’t the million-dollar question.

Usually,  they  just  killed  any  Ravens  who  got  in
their  way  and  nobody  gave  it  a  second  thought.
But  if  Xavier  was  close  to  this  pair,  then  he  may
never forgive them. Still, it wasn’t like they could
just  open  their  arms  and  accept  two  known
enemies into their midst either.

Ranger felt conflicted, knowing this was the

first real test of his leadership skills. He mulled the
problem  over  a  few  moments  before  coming  up
with what he hoped was the best  solution.  “Take
the Ravens into custody and bring them to our jail.
They  may  be  able  to  tell  us  something  about
where  Xavier’s  been  all  these  years  and  how  he
managed  to  avoid  being  taken  by  slavers  long
before now.”

When approval flashed across Mitchell’s eyes,

Ranger’s Folly

Ranger knew he’d done the right thing. “I think
that you should be the one in charge of the
interrogation.”

Ranger blinked in surprise. “Because I’m the

team leader?”

“No, because this is what you’re best at. For

years now, you’ve been taking in strays and
making them feel safe. Just because they’re a
couple of Ravens, doesn’t mean that they won’t be
the same way. If anyone can make them trust us,
it’s you.”

Warmth pooled in Ranger’s stomach at the

words  of  praise.  Growing  up  with  such  a
judgmental father, before finally being rejected by
his  pack,  Ranger  wasn’t  used  to  getting
compliments.  He  never  knew  how  damn  good  it
could feel.

“Thank you, Mitchell. I promise not to let you

down,” Ranger replied gruffly.

“I know you won’t. I’ve never doubted you,

Ranger.”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Four

is head hurt so bad that if he’d had a gun
handy, Xavier would have gladly used it on

himself,  just  to  end  his  misery.  While  that  may
seem  like  a  bit  of  a  melodramatic  solution,  this
wasn’t  ordinary  pain.  The  agony  sliced  through
his head, making it hard to breathe as his stomach
rolled.  A  cold  sweat  covered  his  body,  making
him  feel  gross  in  addition  to  crappy.  He  moaned
as  he  buried  the  side  of  his  face  deeper  into  the
rank pillow.

“Here, you need to drink something,” Chance

urged.

Xavier cracked his lids open to see his brother

holding up a cup of water. Just looking at it made
his  stomach  lurch  in  protest.  He  groaned  as  he
shook  his  head.  The  slight  movement  made  the
pain  rocket  in  skull.  Letting  out  a  whimper,  he
quickly squeezed his eyes shut again.

“I don’t want anything, thanks,” Xavier forced

Ranger’s Folly

himself to say.

His body began to tremble, which didn’t

surprise him since it’d been doing that on and off
all day. It did make the ache spread from his head
to the rest of his body as his overworked muscles
protested. While he didn’t want to worry Chance
any more, Xavier couldn’t hold in the long moan
of pain.

“Shit.” Chance set down the cup, then reached

down to put a hand to Xavier’s brow. “You feel all
cold and clammy.”

“Always the critic,” Xavier teased between

clenched teeth.

“We need to be serious here for a second. I’m

really worried about you.”

“I probably just caught a bug or something.”

Xavier dared to open his eyes again, letting out a
hiss of pain when even the weak light of the room
bit sharply into his head.

“That’s just it, shifters aren’t supposed to get

sick.” Chance hedged, “At least I don’t think so.”

“Can’t you ask one of your work buddies?”
Chance bit his bottom lip, a look of pure shame

crossing his face. “I haven’t been dealing with
them lately.”

Something in the way Chance said that set off

alarms in Xavier. “Well, then who have you been
working with? You’re still bringing home food
and money.”

Stephani Hecht

In fact, now that he thought about it, for the

past couple of days, Chance had been bringing
home a lot more of both items. Chance ducked his
head, but not before Xavier caught the pain
lingering there.

“Damn, Chance, what did you do?”
“What I had to in order to take care of you and

Dulla,” Chance rasped.

Dulla climbed on the bed and curled up next to

Xavier. Murmuring a tuneless song, she began to
run her fingers through his hair. “We need to take
him to the felines.”

Xavier started. “Why would we want to take

Chance to them?”

She gave a soft giggle. “Not him, silly. You.”
“You want to give me away?” Xavier

swallowed hard.

“No, I never want you to leave us, but the

felines will know how to make you better.”

Xavier shook his head, immediately regretting

the move when pain pinballed around his skull.
“We stay together. Just like we promised Mom
and Dad.”

Chance settled down on the end of the bed,

crossing his legs in front of him. “I hate to say this,
but I think going to the felines may be our only
option.”

All that Xavier could think about was the

horrible things they might do to Chance and

Ranger’s Folly

Dulla. He recalled all the horror stories their
mother beat into his head, each one worse than the
last. He’d rather die than let any harm befall his
adopted siblings.

Leveling his gaze at Chance, Xavier said, “No,

I’m not letting anyone get their hands on Dulla.
Especially an enemy.”

He hoped his eyes spoke his additional fear. A

normal female wouldn’t stand a chance against a
room full of male soldiers. He didn’t even want to
think about how it would affect Dulla if she were
attacked in that manner.

Chance let out a soft curse before he nodded,

showing  he  got  the  message,  but  didn’t
particularly care for it. Xavier still held his gaze for
a  moment,  just  to  show  that  there  would  be  no
changing his mind.

As far as he was concerned, it would be better

for him to die than to have to stand by and watch
Dulla  get  hurt  or  worse.  Besides,  this  thing  that
was  going  on  inside  him  was  probably  just
temporary.  Once  it  passed,  he  vowed  to  himself
that he would take Dulla and Chance, then get the
hell away from Flint.

It would kill him to have to leave Riley behind,

but it’s not like they were in contact anyway. For
all Xavier knew, his twin wouldn’t even want to
speak to him, so it was foolish to continue to risk
their safety for wishful thinking.

Stephani Hecht

* * * *

Ranger sat down at  the cafeteria table and stared
down  at  his  food  without  really  seeing  it.  He
should be hungry, starved in fact since  he hadn’t
eaten in two days, but he was so jacked up that he
just didn’t have an appetite.

They still hadn’t found Xavier and Shane’s dire

prediction  about  Shadow  continued  to  nag  at
Ranger.  It  was  as  if  he  had  this  giant  time  clock
looming  behind  him  and it  was  quickly  counting
down.

He shoved the tray away from him and used

one hand to scrub his face. His eyes stung and felt
grainy because he hadn’t been getting much sleep
either. None of his team had. Shane continued to
comb the streets, while the others were doing their
best to help out.

Still for all that effort, they had nada in the way

of  information.  An  image  of  Xavier  popped  into
Ranger’s  head.  That  innocent,  yet  scared  face,
those  wide  green  eyes  and  his  quirky  comments.
Never  before  had  Ranger  felt  like  such  a  failure.
He  may  have  saved  so  many  others,  but  he  was
powerless  to  help  the  one  who  needed  him  the
most.

He didn’t know what it was about Xavier, but

never before had he felt this protective over a

Ranger’s Folly

stray. It’d gotten so Ranger couldn’t close his eyes
without  some  visual  of  Xavier  coming  to  him.
While  some  were  G-rated,  a  good  number  were
erotic  too.  He  wanted  to  hold,  protect,  scold  and
fuck Xavier all at once.

“You look like shit,” Shane commented casually

as he took the seat opposite of Ranger.

Ranger nearly let out an audible sigh of relief

when he saw the Leopard. If Shane was there that
could only be because he had news. Ranger just
hoped it was the good kind.

“Did you find the Raven?”
Shane nodded.
“Did he lead you to Xavier?”
That garnered a second nod.
“Is Xavier still alive?”
Yet another nod.
Ranger let out a growl of frustration. “Are you

going to actually go into some detail? Or are you
going to keep nodding?”

“Sure, you just need to stop asking closed-

ended questions.”

“Has anyone ever told you how frustrating you

can be sometimes?”

“Yes, Trevor makes it a point to inform me of

that nearly every day.”

Ranger could see his Panther buddy doing that.

While Trevor could be a bit of a flirt and a jokester,
he was the only one who could point out all of

Stephani Hecht

Shane’s character flaws and live to talk about it.

“Trevor is right.” Ranger leaned forward. “So,

please tell me in detail what you discovered.”

“First off, I found out the name of the Raven

who’s been trolling around. It’s Chance and he’s
beyond green. He’s so bad that the other Ravens
have refused to hire or work with him. That’s why
it took me so long to track him down. He wasn’t in
any of the usual Raven pits.”

“So where did you eventually find him?”
“He’s working the streets, hustling himself to

humans.”

Ranger cocked his head to the side. “Are you

sure about that? All the Ravens I’ve ever had the
misfortune to meet think humans are beneath
them so they sure as hell wouldn’t sell their bodies
to one.”

“Chance has and it’s a lot more than just one.”

Shane reached out and picked up Ranger’s
uneaten sandwich.

“I wonder why he’s doing it?”
Shane shot him a duh look. “Isn’t it obvious?

Chance is taking care of Xavier and the other
Raven.”

“That can’t be it. In case you forgot, Ravens

aren’t capable of empathy.”

“This one is. At least as far as Xavier is

concerned.” Shane took a big bite.

“I guess you have a point,” Ranger conceded.

Ranger’s Folly

“Otherwise, Chance would have sold Xavier a
long time ago. With the price he’d get for an Eagle
shifter, he’d never have to hustle again.”

Shane swallowed his food. “So when do we go

and fetch the birds?”

“As soon as I can alert the rest of the team. How

far away is Xavier’s location?”

“Only fifteen minutes from here. He’s in one of

those dive hotels. It’s so bad that even hookers
and drug addicts stay away. If the Shadow doesn’t
finish him off, the crappy neighborhood will.”

Ranger stood. “Okay, let’s do this then.”

* * * *

Damn it all, whatever was making him feel like
shit wasn’t going away.

Xavier rolled to his side and clutched his aching

stomach. Pain sliced through every inch of him
and he bit his bottom lip in an effort to hold in the
cries of agony. Dulla and Chance slept in the next
bed and Xavier didn’t want to wake them since he
knew they’d just worry more about him.

Another wave of pain slammed into him.

Xavier bit even harder on his lip, his teeth slicing
into the skin and drawing blood. Just that small
tangy taste sent him over the edge and his
stomach lurched.

Xavier lunged to his feet, desperate to get the

Stephani Hecht

toilet.  Their  room  already  smelled  bad  enough
without  him  yakking  up  in  the  middle  of  it.  He
only made it a few steps before he fell to the side.
He hit the dresser, his arm managing to catch the
lamp.  It  came  down  with  a  loud  crash.  Xavier
grunted  in  surprise  and  hurt  as  his  hip  slammed
into the corner of the furniture.

Chance leapt to his feet. “What’s going on?”
Putting a hand to his stomach, Xavier just

barely managed to get out, “Bathroom…please.”

His brother didn’t need to be told twice.

Moving quick, he put an arm around Xavier and
half-guided, half-dragged him to the toilet. Once
there, he gently helped Xavier to the ground.

As soon as his knees hit the tile, Xavier bent

over and emptied his stomach into the toilet. Since
he hadn’t eaten much in the past couple days,
nothing substantial came up. The resulting dry
heaves seemed to be twice as painful.

A cold sweat broke out over his body and his

chest  grew  tight.  In between  his  gags,  he  tried  to
suck  in  some  breaths,  but  his  lungs  just  didn’t
want  to  cooperate.  It  almost  felt  as  if  he  was
underwater or somebody was holding a pillow to
his face.

“Shit, Xavier. Your lips are turning blue,”

Chance exclaimed, his voice trembling.

Xavier tried to give him some words of

reassurance, but all that came out were some

Ranger’s Folly

funky sounding raspy noises. He clawed at his
chest in a desperate attempt to get some air inside
his impossibly tight lungs.

“Help,” he finally managed to gasp out, his

voice sounding like a cross between a frog and a
wet vac.

Dulla began to sob hysterically while Chance

yelled for help.

Xavier saw spots dancing before his eyes and

his hands began to tingle. Then that’s when all hell
broke loose.

* * * *

Ranger  heard  the  screaming  just  as  the  team
approached  the  door  to  Xavier’s  hotel  room.  His
heart  froze  in  fear  as  he  strained  to  hear  who  it
may be.

“If I were to guess, I would say it’s Chance and

some female,” Shane whispered from close to
Ranger’s right.

Ranger nodded to indicate he heard. Then

that’s when one scream broke through, the
message bone chillingly clear.

“Help! He’s dying.”
That’s all the motivation Ranger needed.

Raising one hand in the ready motion, he yelled to
his team, “Move in. Remember, I want them all
taken in alive.”

Stephani Hecht

Ranger took lead. Raising his foot, he kicked in

the door with one fast motion. Even though the
barrier was made of steel, it was cheap and easily
gave in to Ranger’s enhanced strength.

Very little light illuminated the interior of the

bottom-of-the-barrel  hotel  room.  It  didn’t  matter
because  they  could  have  seen  in  the  dark  if  they
had  to.  Ranger  quickly  swept  his  gaze  over  the
small  space,  his  gut  clenching  when  he  finally
spotted Xavier.

The Eagle was on his knees in the bathroom.

His lips were tinted blue and there was a
panicked, almost feral look in his eyes as he let out
loud wet-sounding gasping noises.

Two Ravens stood between Ranger and Xavier.

Ranger  tensed, waiting  for  one  of  them  to  attack,
but they both stayed in place. Chance kept darting
looks  between  the  female  Raven  and  Xavier,
almost  as  if  he didn’t  know  which  one  to  protect
first.  The  female  just  wrapped  her  arms  around
her stomach and began to let out keening wails.

Ranger stopped, then held up a hand to signal

for his team to do the same. While they could have
rushed  in  and  taken  the  Ravens  down  by  force,
one look at the posture told Ranger that would do
more harm than good. The female looked a couple
steps  from  a  complete  breakdown  while  Chance
only seemed to want to guard Xavier and the girl.
Ranger felt for the guy, but  at  the same time, the

Ranger’s Folly

sounds of Xavier’s labored breathing warned they
didn’t have much more time.

“Don’t hurt them, please,” Chance finally said,

his voice cracking in fear.

Several members of the team exchanged

surprised  glances.  Ranger  shared  their  confusion.
The  Ravens  acted  at  complete  odds  to  the  way
their  breed  normally  did.  Shane  had  been  right
when he said this pair was unique.

Ranger inched closer to Xavier and that finally

spurred Chance into motion. The Raven backed
up, putting his body between Xavier and Ranger.
At the same time, he motioned with a finger for
the female to come to him.

The female took a couple of steps before she

stopped and studied Ranger. “You were the one
Xavier talked to the other day. I know because I
smelled you on him.”

Ranger nodded, almost getting whiplash from

her complete behavior one-eighty. “Yes, I was. I’m
here to help him.”

She began to fiddle with a piece of her hair.

“He’s really sick. He’s been that way for a while
now, but it got worse a couple of days ago.”

“I know. We have a doctor waiting for him.”
“Why is he so sick? Mama said that shifters

can’t get stuff like people do.”

Ranger shifted his gaze over to Chance, only to

see the same question mirrored in the Raven’s

Stephani Hecht

eyes.

“It’s the spray he’s been using. The one to cover

his scent,” Ranger explained.

“But the guy who sold it to us told me it was

safe,” Chance burst out.

“Look, we can talk about this later. Right now

we have to get Xavier help, fast.”

Chance darted one more look at Xavier and that

finally seemed to convince him. With a short nod,
he stepped out of the way.

Ranger rushed to Xavier. Dropping to his

knees, Ranger reached out and tilted the Eagle’s
face in his direction.

“Sorry…about…zap…ping…you,”

Xavier

panted.

Ranger reached up and brushed his hair away

from his sweat-slicked face. “Shh…don’t worry
about that.”

Xavier sagged into him. Ranger wrapped an

arm around the younger man to keep him from
toppling to the ground. Alarm shot through
Ranger when he felt how thin and cold Xavier had
gotten in a mere couple of days.

“Don’t…let…them…hurt…her.” Xavier gazed

up at him with pleading eyes.

“No one will harm her. I give you my word of

honor on that,” Ranger declared loudly enough
for Chance to hear, too.

“Her…name…is…Dulla.”

Ranger’s Folly

“Okay, now just lay back and stop talking.”
Jacyn came in with an oxygen mask. “Hey,

Xavier. My name is Jacyn. Just lay back and let me
take care of you.”

Ranger pressed the mask to Xavier’s face, while

the medic quickly started an IV and connected his
patient to a portable monitor.

“We need to get him back to headquarters

immediately,” Jacyn said, his expression grim as
he studied the monitor.

Ranger scooped Xavier more fully into his arms

and stood. Carrying his precious cargo close to his
chest,  Ranger  rushed  out  to  the  waiting  vehicles.
By  the  time  they  reached  the  expressway  exit,
Xavier began to drift in and out of consciousness.
Jacyn  worked  frantically  on  the  Eagle.  Ranger
hovered  close  by,  all  the  time  praying  that  they
hadn’t been too late.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Five

t took them twelve excruciatingly long minutes to
reach headquarters. Once there, they pulled up to

one of the back loading docks, instead of using the
front doors. Not only did Ranger want to honor
Colin’s wish to keep Xavier’s presence a secret, but
they didn’t want to announce the arrival of two
Ravens.

Ranger carried Xavier inside. While he could

have  waited  for  a  stretcher,  he  was  loath  to  give
up  the  Eagle,  plus  it  made  things  go  a  bit  faster.
Once  he  stepped  inside  the building,  Ranger  was
pleased to find Doc Featherstone waiting for him.

A Native American, who was a bit older, the

Doc was his usually stoic, almost bored self. He
merely glanced down at Xavier before grunting,
“There’s a shower in the jail. I want both of you in
it right now.”

“A shower?” Ranger echoed.
“Yeah.”

Ranger’s Folly

“Both of us?”
“Yeah, are you a wolf or a fuzzy parrot? Now

get your hairy ass in the shower. We have to wash
the chemical off the Eagle’s clothes and body and
since  you’ve  already  been  holding  him,  you’re
going with him.” The Doc gave a snarky grin. “I’ll
need  you  both  to  take  off  your  clothes  and  bag
them. You’ve been touching him so much, it could
have  rubbed  off  on  you,  so  I’m  considering  you
both  contaminated.  Now  hurry  up,  so  I  can  start
treating this poor kid.”

Even if Ranger had wanted to continue to

argue,  the  choice  was  taken  from  him  when  two
medics  came  forward  and  not-so-gently  led
Ranger to the large shower. He noted that all the
medical  staff  were  wearing  disposable  yellow
gowns covering their scrubs. He almost thought it
was overkill until he looked back down at Xavier’s
way-too-pale face.

Off to the side, another group of medics

worked on Dulla and Chance, scrubbing them off,
too. The Ravens didn’t offer any words of protest.
They  just  stoically  took  it.  Ranger  did  note  that
Jacyn  made  sure  only    female  staff  worked  on
Dulla and for that he was thankful.

Ranger allowed them to take his and Xavier’s

clothes, but drew the line at their underwear. Not
only did he not want to parade around with all his
goods hanging out, he didn’t want anyone

Stephani Hecht

checking Xavier out either.

Ranger knew that thinking wasn’t rational since

nobody  would  have  any  interest  in  somebody  as
sick  as  Xavier,  but  he  couldn’t  help  himself.  Just
the  thought  of  any  other  man  looking  at  the
Eagle’s sweet body made Ranger want to lash out.

He held Xavier upright, chest to chest while the

medics moved around, scrubbing them both off.
Even though the oxygen mask was still strapped
into place, Xavier’s color hadn’t improved much.

Xavier’s eyes sluggishly fluttered open. When

they widened in panic, Ranger made gentle
shushing sounds. “It’s okay, they’re helping you.”

“What’s happening to me?” Xavier asked, his

voice muffled from the mask.

“It’s the spray you’ve been using. It’s been

poisoning you.”

“God, I’m so stupid.”
Ranger used one hand to smooth Xavier’s wet

hair away from his face. “No, you’re not. You just
didn’t know any better.”

Ranger allowed himself to feel a small measure

of hope that Xavier seemed to be having much less
trouble talking than when he’d been at the hotel.

“I just didn’t want my scent to put Dulla or

Chance in danger.”

“Are they your friends?”
Jealousy crashed into Ranger as he wondered if

Xavier and Chance were more than just friends.

Ranger’s Folly

“They’re my brother and sister,” Xavier

explained.

“Ah, sweetie, I hate to tell you this, but you’re

an Eagle. There’s no way you can be related to
them.”

A couple of the hospital staff exchanged

amused looks at Ranger’s endearment. He chose
to ignore them.

Xavier on the other hand, didn’t seem to notice.

He gave a tiny laugh. “I was adopted by their
parents when I was really young.”

While Ranger still had a million questions, he

decided they could wait until later, especially
when Jacyn gave him a concern look. “We need to
get him into bed.”

The medics quickly finished cleaning them up.

Once  they  were  finished,  they  took  Xavier  from
Ranger.  As  he  watched  the  Eagle  being  carried
away,  Ranger  had  the  intense  desire  to  reach  out
and reclaim the man, almost as if nobody else had
the right to touch Xavier.

Shane came over and thrust a clean uniform in

his  arms.  Ranger  was  touched  by  the  Leopard’s
thoughtfulness  until  he  caught  the  annoyed  look
on the man’s face. Ranger began to get dressed, all
the  while  wondering  what  was  happening  to
Xavier.

Ranger called in a report to Mitchell while

Shane escorted the Ravens from the room. It took

Stephani Hecht

Ranger around five minutes to get his leader up to
speed on the situation. He just hung up the phone
when Shane came back in.

“I put the Ravens into separate interrogation

rooms,” Shane said.

Ranger nodded, even if the last thing he wanted

to do was go chat with Chance or Dulla. “Fine, I’ll
start with the male.”

“That would probably be a good idea. The

female didn’t take it so well when we took her
away from her brother.”

“What did she do?”
Shane arched a brow. “She screamed, then

started to kick and bite.”

“How is she now?”
“She quieted down, but she’s still off.”
“Off?” Ranger echoed a bit incredulously. That

said a lot coming from Shane since he was the
poster child for strange, odd, weird and wacky.

“Yeah, she’s completely shut down. Last I

checked, she was sitting in the corner and
humming to herself.”

“Is the psychologist who works with Riley still

here?”

“Yeah, I heard that he’s thinking about moving

in permanently.” A lazy smile crossed Shane’s
face. “Between you and me, I think he’s got it into
his over-educated head that he can shrink me.”

“Tell him that we like you the way you are.”

Ranger’s Folly

“Ah thanks, Wolfie. That almost makes me like

you.”

Ranger decided to ignore the thinly veiled

insult. “Can you get him to come and check out
the female shifter? Just make sure he knows that
we’re not letting Riley know about all this yet.”

Shane nodded. “I’ll go get him now. I put the

male Raven in room two.”

Ranger thanked him before getting a new pair

of  boots  on  and  going  to  the  room.  A  couple  of
felines  stood  guard,  one  of  them  unlocking  the
door  for  him.  After  taking  a  deep  breath  and
forcing his best authoritative face on, Ranger went
in.

The room was just like most other interrogation

rooms with a large table and a few chairs taking
up the space. One wall was even covered with an
observation glass. Chance stood in front of it,
staring at his own reflection.

That gave Ranger a chance to study the Raven.

He had to admit Shane’s information proved to be
correct. Chance didn’t look like any other
members of his breed.

Most Ravens had thick, dark, greasy hair, black

soulless eyes and abnormally pale skin. They also
wore all black and tended to have a foul almost
rotting smell about them. The Raven in front of
him had almost none of those traits.

While Chance did have dark hair, pale skin and

Stephani Hecht

his eyes did have that same bottomless pit thing
going, the rest of him was at complete odds with
others of his kind. Chance wore his hair clean and
short, the front hanging over his brow. He wore a
pair of worn jeans and a faded, baseball style shirt.
Most of all, he didn’t smell bad at all. Instead, he
had a clean, crisp scent about him.

“Where is my sister?” Chance asked, their gazes

meeting in the mirrored glass.

“She’s safe. I meant what I said to Xavier.

Nobody will hurt her.” Ranger went to the table,
but didn’t take a seat yet.

“Dulla is probably terrified. Our mother always

warned her of what would happen if the felines
got a hold of her.”

“And what exactly were those warnings

about?”

“That the felines think Ravens are the lowest of

the low. How they love nothing more than to kill
and violate their enemies.

“Wow, that must have made for real cozy

dinner table conversation.”

Chance turned, but kept his back close to the

wall. “Our parents could be a bit paranoid at
times.”

“Were you raised with other Ravens?”
“No, my parents left as soon as they learned it

wasn’t safe for Dulla.”

“Why is that?”

Ranger’s Folly

Chance cocked his head to the side, as if

considering his reply. “Do you know that many
refer to a group of Ravens as a murder or an
unkindness?”

“I’ve heard that.”
“Funny how they can manage to get it so right

sometimes  because  that’s  exactly  the  way  most
Ravens  are.”  Chance  came  over  and  took  a  seat.
“Not  only  do  they  attack  all  the  shifters  around
them,  but  they  kill  each  other  for  the  slightest
reasons.”

“Did they want to murder Dulla because she

was different?”

A flicker of hurt passed over those dark eyes.

“Her  birth  name  was  Cassandra,  but  one  of  the
female  elders  changed  it  to  Dulla  when  they  first
realized  my  sister  wasn’t  as  smart  as  the  other
children.”

“Because she’s dull-witted,” Ranger surmised,

his heart going out to the female.

“Yeah, when we left the group, my mother tried

to  change  it  back,  but  by  then  Dulla  refused  to
answer  to  anything  else. That  same  woman elder
named  me  Chance  because  my  parents  were
taking  a  big  chance  having  another  child  after
they’d already produced one defect.”

“God, what a bitch.” Ranger sank into the seat

opposite of the Raven.

“Sad as it sounds, she was actually one of the

Stephani Hecht

nice ones. The rest of the elders were a million
times worse. When Dulla got a bit older and they
realized the true extent to her disabilities, they
ordered my parents to kill her.”

“You mean they expected them to murder their

own daughter?” The mere thought of that was so
horrifying that Ranger felt two seconds away from
puking.

“What can I say? Ravens can be real dicks

sometimes. Lucky for us, our mom and dad
weren’t the same way. Instead of killing Dulla,
they took us and ran.”

“Where did you go?”
“Iron Mountain, Michigan. “
“I’ve never heard of that place.”
Chance smiled. “Not many people have. Which

is why our parents picked it. They raised us in
deep seclusion.”

“How deep?”
“Until just recently, we never had contact with

the outside world at all. We didn’t even attend
school or go with our parents into town for
supplies.”

“If that’s the case, then how did you end up

with Xavier?”

“My mom’s sister died. While she couldn’t go

to the funeral, she did go visit her grave. It was on
her way back that she stumbled across Xavier’s
home.” Chance paused and gave Ranger a

Ranger’s Folly

speculative look. “Do you know what happened
there?”

“Yes, but why don’t you go ahead and tell me

anyway.”

It was a test and they both knew it.
“Xavier’s mom was a bit titched in the head. So

much so that she grabbed a shotgun and finished
her whole family off. Even though Xavier and
Riley were only four, she tried to kill them, too.”

“But she didn’t succeed,” Ranger finished.
“No. Somehow both twins managed to survive.

Riley  was  almost  immediately  rescued  by  the
neighbor  lady.  Xavier  wasn’t  so  lucky.  When  his
mother shot at him, she managed to hit him in the
chest.  Whether  he  was  too  hurt  or  passed  out
when  the  neighbor  lady  came,  he  wasn’t  able  to
cry  for  help.  She  didn’t  know  that  he  was  still
alive, too.”

Horror clawed at Ranger as he thought about

how much pain Xavier must have been in. How
he’d been so young and alone. “How long was he
there until your mother found him?”

“She never was for sure, but she estimated it to

be around two days.” Chance shook his head. “I
still don’t know how he managed to live that long
with that wound.”

“And how was she lucky to find him?”
“She was flying overhead when she smelled the

blood. At first it scared her and she started to

Stephani Hecht

leave,  but  then  she  heard  him  whimpering.  Say
what  you  will  about  Ravens  and  it’s  probably  all
true,  but  they  do  have  a  good  sense  of  hearing.
Good  thing  for  Xavier,  too,  because  that’s  what
saved his life that day.”

“So she went down, found him and took him

home with her?”

“Yes, she healed him and he’s been with us ever

since.”

“She never thought about finding his family?”
Chance shot him an incredulous glare. “Look, I

may not know much about other shifters, but even
I know that Eagle shifters are practically extinct.
My parents realized that the chances of finding
any of Xavier’s relatives were slim at best.”

“And besides, finders keepers. Right?” Ranger

shot back sarcastically.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Chance leaned

forward. “By then, the Ravens had bounties out on
both my parents’ heads. They couldn’t exactly go
running  around  asking  if  anyone  lost  an  Eagle
shifter.  Not  only  would  that  have  led  to  my
family’s  capture,  but  it  would  have  led  slavers
right to Xavier. Do you have any idea how much
they’d  love  to  get  their  hands  on  an  Eagle?  Plus,
by  that  point,  we’d  all  come  to  care  for  Xavier.
We’re the same age and before long, we began to
think of each other as brothers.”

“Did your parents treat him like a son?” For

Ranger’s Folly

some reason that point meant a lot to Ranger.

“Yeah.” Chance gave a small laugh. “My mom

almost instantly fell in love with him. My dad did,
too, although he tried to hide it. He didn’t like to
come off like some softy, even though he really
was.” Chance said that with a tone of endearment
rather than scorn like any other Raven would.

“What happened to your parents?”
“Six months ago some Hyena shifters found out

about  Xavier.  They  came  to  take  him,  so  they
could  sell  him  on  the  black  market.  When  they
attacked,  my  dad…”  Chance  trailed  off,  took  a
deep breath, then continued, “My dad told me to
take Xavier and Dulla and fly away.”

“Why didn’t your parents go with you?”
“My mother wasn’t able to shift anymore.”
Ranger waited for Chance to expound on that

one a bit, but the Raven didn’t. In the end, Ranger
let it slide since the Raven seemed to be so open
about everything else.

“So, your Dad stayed behind to protect her?”
Chance gave a sad smile. “In actuality, since it

was two against twenty-four, he stayed behind to
die with her.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Really? I would think that as a Wolf, you’d just

be happy that there were two less Ravens in the
world.”

“You told me yourself that they weren’t like

Stephani Hecht

any other Ravens. Besides, they saved Xavier and
that means a lot to me.” Ranger wasn’t sure who
was more surprised at that last sentence.

Chance narrowed his eyes. “I thought you just

met Xavier the other night?”

“That’s right.”
“Then how do you expect me to believe that

you care about what happens to him? I know you
don’t plan on selling him or else you and your
feline buddies would have sold Riley a long time
ago. So what other reason could there be for him
to be so important to you?”

Ranger racked his brain, trying to find that

answer, but all he came up with was an image of
the way Xavier had stared up at him while they’d
been in shower. The way he’d clung to Ranger for
support. Mostly, Ranger thought about how much
he wanted to be back by the Eagle’s side.

“I don’t know. He just is,” Ranger finally

admitted. He cleared his throat and quickly
changed the subject. “So, after you flew away,
where did you go?”

“We knew we couldn’t go back home because

the  Hyenas  would  be  watching  the  place.  I
decided that we needed to go someplace where I
could find work to support us. Flint came to mind
because  of  the  high  shifter  population.  I  figured
that  there  had  to  be  somebody  that  would  be
willing to hire me, even if I have no education or

Ranger’s Folly

job skills.”

Ranger decided not to let on that they knew the

desperate measures Chance resorted to in order to
support his surviving family. “Where did you get
the Shadow?”

“You mean the spray that masked Xavier’s

scent?”

“Yes.”
“Some Wolf shifter sold it to me. He thought it

was for me to use. I didn’t dare tell him it was for
my Eagle brother.”

“Did he warn you about what could happen if

it was used too much?”

Chance shook his head, his bottom lip

trembling some. “No, if I’d known it was hurting
Xavier, I would never have brought it home to
him. I swear.”

Going by the protective gestures he’d seen the

Raven display toward Xavier and Dulla, Ranger
was inclined to believe him.

“I have one more question for you. Why have

you been so forthcoming with me? Going by what
I’ve seen, you don’t trust us,” Ranger said.

Chance hesitated a few moments before saying,

“Because  you’re  helping  Xavier.  Plus,  I  saw  the
way  he  looked  at  you  when  you  promised  that
Dulla  would  be  okay.  He  trusts  you.”  Chance
fiddled  with  his  fingers  before  asking  a  question
himself, “How is Xavier doing?”

Stephani Hecht

“They’re working on him now?”
“Do they think he’s going to be okay?”
“We have some of our best men on the job. If

anyone can counteract the poisoning, it’s Owen
and Doc.”

“Please, you guys have to save him. I just lost

Mom and Dad. I can’t lose my brother, too.”

“I’ve seen Doc work miracles before. Plus,

Xavier is a shifter, so he has that on his side.”

“Is my sister doing okay?”
Ranger decided to be honest with him. “No,

she’s shutting down.  Now that I’ve talked to you
though,  I  can  bring  her  in.  We’re  going  to  be
keeping  you  guys  in  the  interrogation  rooms
instead of the jail.”

“Are we a dirty secret?”
“Something like that.” Like the guy or not,

Ranger wasn’t about to go into detail about Riley’s
mental illness.

“Can you get a TV for Dulla?”
“Sure, is she addicted to reality television or

something?” Ranger teased gently.

“No, we were so far in the middle of nowhere

that  we  didn’t  pick  up  normal  channels  or
anything,  but  my  mom  bought  Dulla  a  whole
bunch  of  Yogi  Bear  DVDs.  Dulla  likes  to  watch
them all the time. It helps soothe her.”

“Sure, are there any DVD s that I can pick up

for you?”

Ranger’s Folly

Chance shook his head. “I’ve never seen

anything else. My mom only brought home Yogi.”

“Why? Was she opposed to all other shows or

something?”

“Hey, what can I say? We’re Ravens. Just

because we don’t like to kill our own meals and
play around in the carcasses like the rest of our
breed, doesn’t mean we’re not weird from time-to-
time.”

Ranger laughed, before something in Chance’s

comment hit him. “Seriously, is that why other
Ravens smell so bad?”

“Yeah, that and because of some of the other

cultural practices. Mom only shared a few of them
with us, but they were just gross and wrong.”
Chance gave a shudder.

Ranger decided that maybe he was better off

not knowing what those activities might be. He
stood. “I’ll have them bring in Dulla right away.
I’ll make sure to get a TV and the DVD’s, too. I just
have one last request from you.”

“What?”
“I want to know the name of the Wolf shifter

who sold you the spray.”

“Why?”
A low growl rumbled from Ranger’s chest.

“Because he almost killed Xavier. I’m going to
make sure he never sells that crap to another
unsuspecting shifter.”

Stephani Hecht

“Miles. I don’t know where he hangs out

though. He got kicked out of the last bar I was
working at and I don’t know which one he
switched to.”

“Don’t worry, I happen to know of an excellent

tracker.”

Ranger got up and walked from the room.

Before the door shut, he had his cell out. As soon
as Shane answered, Ranger ordered, “I just found
out that it was a Wolf named Miles who supplied
Shadow to Xavier. I want you to find the mangy
bastard and take care of him in the way you do
best.”

Strangely, Ranger didn’t feel a bit guilty about

ordering  his  first  hit. His  only regret  was  that  he
couldn’t  be  the  one  to  do  the  job.  That  Wolf  had
dared  hurt  Xavier  and  as  far  as  Ranger  was
concerned, that was a killing offense.

Ranger’s Folly

Chapter Six

s soon as he finished talking with Shane, Ranger
moved Dulla to Chance’s room and arranged for

a TV and a set of Yogi DVD’s to be brought in.
Once that was taken care of, Ranger rushed to
Xavier. They’d converted one of the interrogation
rooms into a makeshift ER. When Ranger came in
and found Xavier unconscious and hooked up to a
bunch of machines, his heart lurched.

“What happened? He was talking just fine in

the shower?”

Jacyn glanced up. “He took another turn for the

worse. His lungs filled up with fluid and his blood
pressure dropped. We had to intubate him and
add another IV.”

“How long has he been unconscious?” Ranger

reached and lightly caressed Xavier’s hair.

“Almost from the moment we brought him in

here.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Ranger shook at the

Stephani Hecht

thought of Xavier possibly dying.

“It’s going to be touch and go, but Doc thinks

he’ll  pull  through.  There’s  no  known  antidote  to
Ricin,  but  Owen  managed  to  throw  something
together.”  Jacyn  let  out  a  low  whistle  of
appreciation. “That guy is a frigging genius. We’re
damn lucky to have him working on our side.”

“When do you think he’ll wake up?”
“We’re not for sure yet. Doc has only seen one

other case.”

“I talked to Chance, the male Raven. According

to him the Wolf who sold him that crap didn’t
even warn them about what would happen if
Xavier used too much of it.”

Ranger gazed down at Xavier. While his lips

were no longer blue, his skin was nearly as pale as
Chance’s. Ranger trailed the back of one finger
along Xavier’s cheek, his own breath catching a bit
in his throat.

Damn, if they’d only gotten there sooner.

Maybe then Xavier wouldn’t have gotten so sick.

“Do you always get this close to your strays?”

Jacyn asked as he stared down at Ranger’s finger,
which continued to stroke Xavier’s face.

Ranger thought about lying, but knew Jacyn

would see right through him. Since he’d joined the
coalition, Ranger had lived with the Jaguar family
and Jacyn and he were pretty close.

“No, I’ve never felt like this about anybody. I

Ranger’s Folly

don’t know what it is about Xavier, but he’s like a
sliver in my paw that won’t go away.”

“I thought so.”
Ranger let out a soft growl of frustration. “It’s

stupid. I’ve only talked to the brat a couple of
times so there’s no reason why I should feel
anything for him.”

“And yet you can’t get him off your mind.”

Jacyn gave him a sympathetic smile “Would it
help if I told you it was the same way with me and
Logan?”

“Not really?” Ranger gave a sigh of frustration.

“Look, we’re not like you guys. Xavier and I aren’t
going to be rushing out to sign up for a wedding
registry or anything. “

“Hmm…”Jacyn gave another pointed glance at

the way Ranger continued to caress Xavier. “If
that’s the case, then why don’t you go home and
get some sleep?”

“I’m not leaving until he wakes up,” Ranger

automatically protested. As soon as he realized
what he said, he pressed his lips together to hold
in an angry curse.

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that he doesn’t

mean that much to you,” Jacyn snarked before he
walked away.

Ranger debated chasing after him, but then

realized that he really didn’t want to leave
Xavier’s side. Instead, he pulled up a chair and sat

Stephani Hecht

by the bed, he even reached out and grabbed
Xavier’s hand.

“What in the hell are you doing to me?” Ranger

asked Xavier.

Of course, since Xavier was out of it, he didn’t

respond. Ranger used his free hand and stroked
Xavier’s hair, marveling at how soft it felt. “You
need to wake up. If for nothing else, because I still
owe you for zapping me.”

Xavier didn’t reply to that comment either.

* * * *

Xavier  slowly  blinked  his  eyes  open.  He  tensed,
waiting  for  the  all-too-familiar  pain  to  shoot
through  his  head,  but  it  didn’t  come.  Instead,  he
felt sluggish and disorientated.

He slowly shifted his head to one side, trying to

place  where  he  might  be,  but  the  white  room
remained  unfamiliar.  It  was  full  of  medical
equipment,  but  other  than  that,  he  had  no  clue
where he was.

Still moving cautiously, he turned his head in

the other direction, his heart skipping a beat when
he spotted Ranger. The Wolf sat, just feet away,
slumped in a chair. He was sleeping and there
appeared to be a few days’ worth of stubble on his
handsome face.

“Ranger,” Xavier croaked, his voice rough from

Ranger’s Folly

the pain in his throat.

Ranger jerked upright. “You’re awake.”
“Yeah, where am I?”
“At the feline coalition headquarters.”
Xavier nodded as memories from the other

night came crashing into him. “How long have I
been out of it?”

“A couple of days. How are you feeling?”
“My throat hurts.”
“Jacyn said that was to be expected because you

had a tube down there to help you breathe.”
Ranger grabbed a cup and held its straw up to
Xavier’s lips. “Here, see if this helps.”

Xavier sipped, the cool water bathing his

parched throat. While the pain didn’t leave
completely, it did help some. Xavier drank for a
few moments before he let the straw slip from his
lips.

“Thanks.” He sank back against the pillow.
“No, problem.”
“Where is Dulla and Chance?”
While Xavier worried about his siblings, some

part of him knew that Ranger kept his promise
and protected them.

“They’re in another interrogation room. Don’t

worry though. They’re together and we brought in
plenty of Yogi Bear for Dulla.”

“Thank you. All this is probably scaring her

and the show will help calm her down.”

Stephani Hecht

“I know, Chance told me.”
“Is that all Chance shared with you?”
“No, he told me about how you came to live

with them, what happened to your Raven parents
and when you came to Flint.”

That surprised Xavier. They’d been raised to

always keep everything in the family. If Chance
was sharing, he must really trust Ranger.

“Are we under arrest?” Xavier asked.
Ranger pressed his lips together. “I honestly

don’t know what you guys are. While you haven’t
done anything against the coalition, we can’t
exactly let any of you go either.”

“Why not? What if we promise to leave and

never come back to Flint?” Even as he asked that
question, Xavier’s heart screamed in protest. This
time it wasn’t just because of Riley either. Oddly
enough, Xavier sensed that he’d miss Ranger just
as much, if not more.

“That’s out of the question. It’s only going to be

a matter of time before the slavers get you. That’s
no place you want to be. I know that from
personal experience.”

“You were captured by slavers?” Xavier

couldn’t imagine anybody being able to contain
Ranger. The Wolf seemed so strong and capable.

“Before I joined the coalition, I lived with Riley

and a few other stray shifters. We stupidly drew
attention to ourselves and ended up as slaves.”

Ranger’s Folly

“How long were you captive?”
“It was a year before the feline coalition rescued

us.”

Xavier thought on that a moment, his mind

continuing to fixate on one point. “I know Riley
has a mate now, but how close were you to my
brother before that?”

Ranger let a long breath. “While we were never

exclusive or anything, we played around a few
times.”

Jealously and a bit of disappointment hit

Xavier. “When you say play, you don’t mean
cards or checkers, do you?”

“No, I don’t.” Ranger leaned forward in the

chair. “But Riley and I were always just friends. It
was nothing serious.”

Xavier shrugged, trying his best to act like it

didn’t bother him. “You don’t have to explain
yourself to me.”

Before they could get any more into it, the

doctor came over. “It’s about time you woke up.”

Despite his grumpy attitude, Xavier could tell

the man was genuinely glad to see his patient
conscious.

“I knew I shouldn’t have taken two sleeping

pills,” Xavier teased.

The corner of the doctor’s lips turned up into a

smile. “Instead, you nearly kill yourself with that
damn spray.”

Stephani Hecht

“I was just trying to make life more interesting

for you. Without patients like me pulling dumbass
moves, you doctors wouldn’t have anything to
do.”

“Lucky me, there are plenty of dumbasses

around here, so I never have a dull moment.”

The doctor began to check Xavier’s vitals. When

he finished, he said, “You’re doing much better
than when you first came in here.”

“Really? Does that mean I can see my brother

and sister?”

“Give it one more day and then I’ll let you out

of bed. You can go visit them then.” Doc wrote a
few notes in a chart before leaving.

Xavier wanted to ask if they could bring

Chance and Dulla to him, but knew that it would
probably be best for Dulla not to be moved around
too  much.  Besides,  if  she  saw  Xavier  lying  in  a
bed,  she  would  worry  too  much.  She’d  had
enough  of  that  over  the  past  week  without  him
adding more to it.

“Does Riley know I’m here?” he finally dared to

ask.

If his twin knew about Xavier, but had refused

to come see him, it would be a hard blow. While
Xavier  often  said  mean  things  about  his  birth
brother,  secretly  he  longed  to  have  him  by  his
side.  Be  it  because  they  were  twins  or  maybe  it
was an Eagle bonding thing, whatever the reason,

Ranger’s Folly

Xavier felt a near constant longing to know Riley
again.

“No, we haven’t informed him yet.”
Xavier tugged nervously at his blanket. “I

wouldn’t try to hurt him or anything. I promise.”

Ranger reached out and stroked Xavier’s hair.

Shocked by the loving gesture, Xavier almost
forgot about his crushing disappointment. He
even caught himself turning into the touch, like a
kitten seeking more attention.

“I know you wouldn’t. His mate is just really

overprotective of him because Riley…” Ranger
trailed off as his gaze slid to the side.

“What about Riley?”
“He sometimes doesn’t handle certain

situations very well.”

Xavier’s chest grew tight as understanding

dawned on him. “Is he like my birth mother?”

Even years later, Xavier could still recall her

screaming  fits,  how  she’d  go  into  a  rage  and
destroy  nearly  all  the  furniture  in  the  house.  The
one  time  she’d  used  a  red  marker  to  write
passages of the Bible on the living room wall. The
letters had been terrifying because they’d been so
tiny and uniform.

“No, he’s nothing like your mother. While Riley

sometimes has…spells, he’s never violent toward
others.”

That still did little to soothe Xavier. He let out a

Stephani Hecht

small sound of distress. “Oh my God.”

Ranger leaned down and placed a soft kiss on

Xavier’s  brow.  Xavier  held  his  breath  as  warmth
pooled in his stomach. That helped to ease some of
the  panic  coursing  through  him,  especially  when
Ranger  reached  out  and  linked  their  fingers
together.

“Riley is doing much better now. Doc is

working with a shifter psychiatrist and they’re
treating Riley. He’s on meds for the rest of his life,
but he’s happier than I’ve ever seen.”

“Does he even know I’m in Flint?”
“Colin didn’t want to tell him for fear of getting

Riley’s hopes up.”

“Oh.”
That little tidbit hurt way more than it should

have.  Emotion  clogged  Xavier’s  throat  and  he
turned  away,  not  wanting  to  display  his  moment
of weakness. When a tear slipped down his cheek,
Xavier  tried  to  discretely  wipe  it  away  on  his
pillow.  For  some  reason,  he  cared  what  Ranger
thought of him and Xavier wanted desperately to
come off as strong.

“Did you know I was exiled from my pack?”

Ranger asked.

“Why?” Xavier asked, still not turning back.
“Because I’m gay. Actually, it was just a few

members of my pack that ran me off. At the time,
Chris, our pack leader wasn’t the best Alpha and

Ranger’s Folly

the members kind of did their own thing.”

“What about your parents? Didn’t they fight to

keep you?”

Ranger gave a bitter laugh. “Are you kidding?

My dad led the group who kicked me out.”

Xavier let out a gasp of shock as he turned his

head to look at Ranger. “That must have hurt.”

“It did. The worst part was having to leave

behind my mother and Leia.”

Once again Xavier felt the angry bite of

jealously. “Was Leia your girlfriend?”

Ranger tweaked Xavier’s nose. “No, there has

never been any girls for me. I’ve been out for quite
a while. Leia is my sister.”

Xavier tried not to feel too much satisfaction.

For all he knew, Ranger might have a boyfriend.
“I’m sorry you were separated from them.”

“I’m sorry you and Riley were apart, too.”
“I just wanted to see him. That’s all. I never

meant to cause this much trouble. Now Dulla and
Chance are captured and it’s all my fault.” Xavier
took in a shuddering breath.

“Taking you in was the best thing that ever

happened to you three. While Chance was trying
his best, either the other Ravens or slavers would
have eventually gotten you.”

“Do you think the felines will kill Dulla and

Chance?” Xavier finally voiced his biggest fear.

“No, once I gave my report to Mitchell, the

Stephani Hecht

coalition  leader,  he  realized  how  unique  this
situation is. Now the only question is what we’re
going  to  do  with  them.  We  can’t  let  them  go  for
fear  of  them  being  attacked  and  we  don’t  know
where in the hell to place them. The closest breed
we  have  here  is  Hawks  and  there’s  really  bad
blood between them and the Ravens. I think they
will  have  trouble  accepting  even  a  good  pair  like
Dulla and Chance.”

Xavier smiled. “Did you just call them good?”
“Chance really impressed me.”
The urge to smile vanished. “Is that so?”
Ranger laughed. “You’re so cute when you’re

jealous.”

“Who said I’m jealous.”
“It’s written all over that cute face of yours.”
“Did you just compliment me?”
“Yeah, despite the fact you zapped me.”
A heat came over Xavier’s face. “I really am

sorry about that. I was just scared and wanted to
get away. This may come as a surprise to you, but
I don’t have the best fighting skills.”

A look of mock amazement came over Ranger’s

face. “No way! I would have never guessed.”

Xavier laughed. “It’s a good thing you don’t

have Jacyn’s job because your bedside manner
sucks.”

“I’ve never had any complaints before.” Ranger

bent down and lightly nuzzled Xavier’s neck.

Ranger’s Folly

Shivers of pleasure danced down Xavier’s spine

as his cock began to swell. “I probably stink from
being sick.”

“You smell perfect.” Ranger inhaled deep, his

tongue darting out to give Xavier’s flesh a quick
lick. “I’m in heaven because I finally really get to
breathe in your scent without that damn spray
masking it.”

“I still can’t believe that we were too stupid to

figure out it was the spray that was making me
sick. If there was an idiot award, I’d be taking
home top prize.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve had a lot

to take in so it’s understandable that you’re going
to make a few mistakes along the way. I’m just
glad I was there to save you.”

Xavier shivered as Ranger gave him another

slow, sensual lick. “Yeah, but what if you’re not
there the next time.”

Ranger lifted his head up a few inches.

Cupping Xavier’s chin, he forced him to turn until
they locked gazes. Another shiver went through
Xavier at the intense expression in Ranger’s amber
eyes. It was almost as if he were stripping Xavier
bare and licking every inch of what he exposed.

“Don’t you get it, yet?” Ranger demanded.
Xavier’s mouth grew dry. He swallowed a few

times in a desperate attempt to work some
moisture up. “No, I don’t.”

Stephani Hecht

“I’m always going to be there. Now that I’ve

found you, I’m never letting you go. And not
because you’re Riley’s brother or because you’re
an Eagle who needs protection.”

“Then what is it?”
Xavier’s heart began to pound wildly.

Somehow  he  knew  that  the  next  words  spoken
would  forever  change  his  life.  Ranger  shifted  his
hand  so  he  could  brush  the  pad  of  his  thumb
along  Xavier’s  bottom  lip.  Xavier  couldn’t  resist
darting his own tongue out, his cock jerking at the
salty taste of the man.

Still holding his gaze, Ranger said, “I’m never

letting you go, because you belong to me.”

“You’re crazy. How can you possibly know that

when we’ve only talked a few times?” Xavier
protested, even though deep down he knew the
intense feelings ran both ways.

“Fine, then if it’s not true, deny it. Tell me that

from the moment we met, you didn’t realize that
we were meant to be together. And not for a
casual hookup either. I want you as my mate and
I’m not going to accept anything less.”

Xavier opened his mouth to argue, but nothing

came out. While his brain screamed, This is crazy!
His heart bellowed, Who cares? You know that
Ranger is right. Funny thing was, the heart always
seemed to be louder than the brain, especially
when it came to love.

Ranger’s Folly

When Xavier continued with the silence,

Ranger gave a satisfied smile. Placing a soft kiss to
Xavier’s cheek, he whispered, “I’ll give you time
to get used to it, but make no mistake. You’re
mine and I’m never letting you go.”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Seven

hile Ranger wanted to sleep by the bed again,
Xavier insisted that he go get some rest. Ranger

almost argued, but decided that he could probably
use a hot shower and a change of clothes.

Despite being bone tired, Ranger tossed and

turned  most  of  the  night,  his  mind  constantly  on
Xavier.  Even  though  Doc  and  Jacyn  assured  him
the  worst  was  over,  Ranger  worried  that  Xavier
would take a turn for the worse, like the last time
they were separated.

When it got to be five in the morning, Ranger

finally gave up and dressed. He made his way
down to the kitchen, only mildly surprised to find
Mitchell sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal.
Since Mitchell was the leader of the coalition, he
tended to keep weird hours.

“I’m surprised you left Xavier’s side,” Mitchell

said by way of greeting.

Ranger shrugged, not bothering to deny how

Ranger’s Folly

the Eagle had become the focus of all his attention.
“Xavier wanted me to get some sleep.”

“Ah, so I’m guessing you were so worried

about him that you only managed to get in a few
hours of shuteye.”

“Try twenty minutes,” Ranger quipped, sliding

into a seat.

There was a carafe of coffee on the table,

Mitchell poured a mug for Ranger. “Have you
been thinking about where we should place Xavier
and the Ravens?”

Ranger nodded. At least his tossing and turning

hadn’t  been  for  nothing  because  the  perfect
solution  had  come  to  him  a  little  after  midnight.
“You know that small group of offices at the north
end  of  the  building?  The  ones  that  are  never
used?”

“Yeah.”
“I was wondering if you would allow me to

convert them into an apartment for Xavier and
me.”

If Mitchell was surprised that Ranger would be

moving in with Xavier, he didn’t show it. “Will the
Ravens be living with you, too?”

“Yeah, it’ll take a while, but I think the rest of

the coalition will get used to having a pair of
Ravens staying here. They may never fully accept
Chance or Dulla, but at least hopefully they will
learn that they’re not murderous, soulless bastards

Stephani Hecht

like all the other Ravens.”

“It’s not going to be easy for them. A lot of

families have been hurt by Ravens. Even though
Dulla and Chance are different, there are going to
be some that can’t look past what they are.”

Ranger grabbed an apple from the fruit basket

in the middle of the table. “What do you suggest?
That we turn them out just because they had the
misfortune to be born the wrong breed of bird?”

“No, we all know what will happen to those

kids  if  they  go  back  out  on  the  street.  Even  if
Xavier isn’t with them, they’re going to have huge
targets  on  their  backs.  Their  too  naïve  and
vulnerable  to  survive  in  our  vicious  society.  We
were lucky we managed to get to them before they
got killed.”

“Xavier almost did get killed,” Ranger pointed

out before he gave the apple a savage bite.

“I heard you sent Shane out to visit the guy

who supplied Xavier with Shadow.”

Ranger searched Mitchell’s face carefully for

any signs of disapproval. The only thing he found
was curiosity.  “As far as I’m concerned, the Wolf
is getting off easy. He never warned Chance about
what could happen if he used that spray. Instead,
the  asshole  was  more  concerned  with  the  money
he’d  make  from  the  sale.  I  wonder  how  many
other shifters he may have killed with his poison.”

“I agree with your decision. Shane does, too, or

Ranger’s Folly

else he would have never agreed to take the hit.”

“Has Shane ever refused a job?” Ranger

drawled.

“This will come as a surprise to you, but, yes,

he has. Shane has his own set of morals, however
odd they may be.”

Ranger felt bad for even asking the question.

Obviously, the Leopard must be a good guy,
otherwise Trevor would have never fallen in love
with him. Plus, they would have never found
Xavier had it not been for Shane’s tracking skills.

“I’m going to check and see how Xavier is

doing.” Ranger got up, apple still in hand.

He left the apartment and made his way

through  the  mostly  deserted  building.  Which
really was  a  blessing  since  he  didn’t  want  to  run
into his buddies and have to explain where he was
going.  He  realized  they  wouldn’t  be  able  to
contain  the  news  of  the  new  arrivals  for  much
longer.  Hell,  there  may  already  be  rumors
circulating around for all he knew. He just hoped
to  at  least  buy  one  more  day  before  everything
broke.  That  way  he  could  convince  Colin  it  was
safe to let Riley meet Xavier.

When he got to the hall leading to the

interrogation room, he paused long enough to
peek into the Ravens’ room. Chance was curled up
into a tight fetal position, apparently deep asleep.
Dulla sat on the edge of the bed, her face

Stephani Hecht

practically plastered to the television screen.

“Has she slept at all?” he asked the pair of

guards stationed outside.

One of them, a Tiger shook his head. “Not

really. She just takes small naps.”

Ranger looked closer, noting she had something

clutched to her chest. “What is she holding?”

A flush spread out over the young guard’s face.

“It’s a stuffed Boo-Boo bear. I hope you don’t mind,
but I bought it for her.”

Ranger studied the Tiger. With short, spiked

blond hair that had multi-colored streaks in it and
huge blue eyes, some would call him punkishly
cute. “I haven’t seen you around here much.
What’s your name?”

“Dominic. I just started serving at headquarters,

sir. I hope I didn’t mess up by giving Dulla a gift.
She just seemed really depressed so I thought it
would cheer her up. I wasn’t trying to come on to
her or anything. She just reminds me of my sister
and I felt bad for her.”

Ranger decided to have mercy on the poor kid.

“It’s okay. She seems to really like it.”

Dominic smiled. “She does. I know that Dulla

and Chance are Ravens, but I really like them.”

The other guard, a Lion shifter named Thomas

gave a derisive snort. “Don’t be such a green idiot.
All Ravens are the same. This pair is just dressed
up prettier and know what a shower is.”

Ranger’s Folly

Ranger wanted to lash out at the soldier, but

held back. Thomas had a bitter history as far as
Ravens went, first they killed his parents and most
recently, they were responsible for his younger
brother losing his mind. Ranger could understand
how the guy could be angry.

“Do you want me to have Mitchell assign you

someplace else?” Ranger finally asked.

While it wasn’t an out and out dressing down,

he  made  sure  his  tone  did  carry  a  tone  of
disapproval.  He  tensed,  waiting  to  see  how
Thomas would take it. While they technically did
carry the same rank, Thomas was much older and
more  experienced.  On  the  other  hand,  this  was
Ranger’s team and he was in charge.

Thomas arched a brow, but otherwise didn’t

challenge Ranger’s authority. “No, I promise to be
a good kitty and not eat the birds.”

It wasn’t the best olive branch Ranger had been

offered, but he’d take it, given Thomas’s past. He
nodded  at  the  guards  before  moving  on  to
Xavier’s room. As he unlocked the door, he made
a mental note that maybe it would be a good idea
to  assign  protectors  for  the  Raven  siblings. There
were  bound  to  be  others  who  shared  Thomas’s
animosity  and  they  may  not  exhibit  the  same
control as the Lion.

He dismissed Xavier’s guards before entering

the room and closing the door behind him. Ranger

Stephani Hecht

then paused to look at the Eagle. As always,
whenever he found himself in Xavier’s presence,
Ranger battled conflicting emotions.

Xavier sat up on the bed, his gaze riveted on a

television  set,  much  like  Dulla.  Unlike  his  sister,
Xavier  watched  the  Maury  Povich  show.  The
Eagle’s  full  lips  were  parted  in  surprise  as  his
green-eyed  gaze  seemed  to  be  devouring  the
images that were flashing before him.

Ranger’s chest grew tight as he recalled

Xavier’s expression when Ranger had declared his
ownership.  Ranger  still  didn’t  know  what
possessed  him  to  make  such  a  declaration. While
everything he’d said had been true, even he knew
that  it  was  way  too  soon  to  be  having  such
feelings.

Then Xavier turned and flashed such a sweet

smile  that  Ranger  suddenly  understood  his
motivations.  In  fact,  they  became  crystal  fucking
clear.  Xavier  was  so  innocent,  so  funny,  so
charming, so annoying, so bratty that nobody else
would  ever  come  close  to  comparing  as  far  as
Ranger was concerned.

Sure, Ranger wasn’t ready to drop to one knee

and declare his undying love. But he did know for
certain that Xavier belonged to him. He also knew
without a doubt, that with time, both he and
Xavier would grow to love each other.

“Why are you watching this junk?” Ranger

Ranger’s Folly

asked as he came over and sat on the edge of the
bed.

Xavier’s eyes somehow managed to grow

larger. “Right after you left, they brought in the
set. I stayed up all night watching it.”

“You should have gotten some rest. You need

to heal.”

“It’s okay. I’m doing great. In fact, I can’t

remember the last time I felt this good. Whatever
it was that Doc gave me really did the trick.”

“You still shouldn’t push it.”
Xavier ignored him. “Ranger, there are so many

things to see. I never realized how big everything
is. Did you know that human males date twenty-
five women at once? It’s really important that he
gives the right one roses, too.”

Ranger bit the inside of his cheek to hold in his

laughter. “What else did you learn?”

“That some humans like to live on islands and

eat bugs. While others fill their homes up with
garbage.” Xavier gave him an earnest look. “One
woman had hundreds of pigs…in her house! Can
you imagine?”

“I can see that we’re going to have to limit how

much reality TV you watch,” Ranger quipped.

Xavier turned slightly so he could wrap his

arms around Ranger’s neck, a small frown playing
on the Eagle’s lips. “But if I don’t watch, then how
will I know who gets voted off the island next?

Stephani Hecht

Besides, it’s more than just those shows. I liked
watching the documentaries on the Travel Channel,
too. I never knew that there were so many
beautiful places out there.”

Ranger put his arms around Xavier’s waist,

relishing at how nice it felt to hold the man in his
embrace. “Like what?”

“I would love to see the Eiffel Tower or go to

London or Italy. Think of how cool it would be to
fly over the pyramids in Egypt,” Xavier’s voice
took on a wistful tone.

“Where else would you like to go?”
Xavier’s eyes got a faraway look in them. “I

want to go crab fishing in Alaska, to ride roller
coasters in Florida and to see the Hollywood Sign
in California. Oh, and the Grand Canyon!”

“I’ll take you to all those places and more,”

Ranger promised.

All of the joy left Xavier’s face to be replaced by

a frown. “We both know that can never happen.”

“Why not?”
“Because just like Riley, I’ll have to be careful

every time I go out into public. I’ll certainly never
be able to go to far off and fun places like London.
I have to either be in the middle of nowhere, like
when I lived with my parents, or hiding out here.
It’s the only place where I’ll ever be safe.”

Ranger wanted to deny that, but couldn’t.

Every time Xavier left the safety of headquarters,

Ranger’s Folly

he’d be at risk of being captured. It wasn’t fair and
it sure as hell wasn’t right, but it was a fact that
they both had to deal with. Damn, if it didn’t
make Ranger pissed, too.

It wasn’t right that the rest of the world could

enjoy  so  many  things  while  his  mate  had  to  be
denied  even  the  simplest  of  pleasures.  Yet  at  the
same  time,  Ranger  knew  that  if  anything  were  to
ever happen to Xavier, it would destroy him. Now
he could understand why Colin was so protective
of Riley.

“Someday I’ll figure out a way to take you to all

those places,” Ranger vowed.

He would, too. Even if he had to recruit a dozen

bodyguards. He’d do anything to give Xavier that
one bit of joy, to let his mate feel normal, if just for
once.

Xavier’s mouth kicked up into a crooked grin.

“Really?”

Ranger found himself mesmerized by those lips

as he realized, not for the first time, that they’d yet
to share a real kiss. “You have to know by now
that I’d do anything for you.”

Xavier’s ran the tip of his tongue over his

mouth, unwittingly playing the tease. “Okay then,
where are you going to take me first?”

Ranger dipped his head down and briefly

brushed their lips together.

Even that brief taste set his body on fire.

Stephani Hecht

“How about we go someplace close, like Cedar

Point?”

“What’s that?” Xavier tilted his head back in a

silent plea for another kiss.

Ranger complied, this time lingering long

enough to slide his tongue over the seam of
Xavier’s mouth.

“It’s an amusement park in Ohio. I have a

feeling you’re going to love the roller coasters
there.”

Xavier let out a low moan as his body swayed

into Ranger. “I can hardly wait.”

“Me either.”
Ranger slanted his mouth over Xavier’s lips and

really  planted  one  on  him.  Xavier let  out  another
moan.  His  parted  lips  proved  to  be  a  temptation
not  to  be  resisted  and  Ranger  slid  his  tongue
inside.  The  sweet  flavor  of  Xavier  exploded  over
Ranger’s  taste  buds,  sending  spirals  of  desire
through his body.

“Where will you take me next?” Xavier asked

when they came up for breath.

Ranger’s head was spinning so much, it took

him a second to collect his thoughts. “I’ll take you
to Myrtle Beach so you can see the ocean.”

“I’ve always wanted to walk down the shore

and let the waves lap around my ankles.”

This time it was Xavier who moved forward for

a kiss, one that Ranger eagerly returned. At the

Ranger’s Folly

same  time,  he  reached  down  and  pushed  the
blankets  out  of  the  way  before  twisting  their
bodies around to lay down on the bed. He ended
up on top, Xavier’s smaller body underneath him.
Xavier  wore  a  pair  of  black  sweats  and  a  thin
white  t-shirt,  allowing  for  Ranger  to  feel  the  heat
emanating from the man.

“More,” Xavier pleaded.
Since Ranger didn’t know if he meant another

location or kiss, he gave both. “Then I’ll take you
skiing in Colorado.”

Ranger plunged his hand into Xavier’s hair and

forced the man to tilt his head in the perfect
position. Only then did Ranger begin kissing him
again. Xavier let out a loud moan as he arched up
against Ranger’s body.

“I love snow.”
Ranger began to rain kisses down Xavier’s

throat. “After that we’ll go to Hawaii.”

“I saw that on TV last night. It looked so

beautiful.” Xavier let out soft whimpers of
pleasure.

He thrust up, his erection rubbing against

Ranger’s thigh. Xavier must have liked it because
he  did  it  again,  his  mouth  parting  in  the  perfect
picture  of  passion.  Ranger’s  own  cock  screamed
for  relief,  but  he  pushed  his  own  needs  aside,
more intent on Xavier getting his pleasure.

“That’s it, babe, ride it out,” Ranger urged.

Stephani Hecht

Xavier began to grind against Ranger. At first,

his movements were clumsy and awkward, but
Xavier soon got the hang of things. Before long, he
established a fast, yet sensual pace.

“It feels so good,” Xavier declared, wonder

lacing his voice.

“Then don’t stop.”
Ranger buried his nose in the crook of the

Eagle’s  neck,  losing  himself  in  Xavier’s  scent.  He
smelled  like  rain  and  trees,  in  other  words,  all
Xavier.  It  made  Ranger’s  Wolf  howl  in  pleasure
while  at  the  same  time,  bringing  out  his  natural
Alpha instincts. While he wanted to pin his  mate
down and claim him right then and there, Ranger
knew it wasn’t time, just yet.

That still didn’t stop him from saying, “Mine,

all mine.”

Xavier thrust up one last time before screaming

Ranger’s name. It was so loud that there was no
doubt Thomas and Dominic heard it from two
doors down. Ranger didn’t mind though. It would
only let them know that Xavier belonged to him.

After taking in one last shuddering breath,

Xavier slumped against the bed. “That was…just,
wow.”

Ranger lifted his head and gazed down at his

mate. Xavier smiled, a look of utter satisfaction on
his face. Laughing, Ranger gave him a soft kiss.
“That’s just the beginning of what I have planned

Ranger’s Folly

for you.”

“If that was just a preview, I can’t wait to see

the other stuff.”

Despite his teasing, a slight blush covered

Xavier’s

cheeks.

Ranger

chuckled

understanding. “Do you want to go to the
bathroom and clean up?”

“Yeah, I think I’m going to need to change my

pants, too,” Xavier mumbled, the blush spreading.

Ranger got up. “Don’t be embarrassed. It

happens to all of us.”

Xavier sat, his gaze drifting to Ranger’s fly.

“Did you finish, too?”

As way of answer, Ranger grabbed Xavier’s

wrist, pressing the man’s hand to his still aching
cock, Ranger asked, “Does it feel like I came?”

“Oh,” Xavier’s eyes grew round. “I’m sorry. Do

you want me to take care of that? I’ve never given
a blowjob before, but Chance told me all about
them. I’m sure I could figure it out once I got
started.”

Just that almost innocent suggestion alone was

enough  to  push  Ranger  over  the  edge.  Damn  if
Xavier  only  knew  the  affect  he  had  over  Ranger.
He  had  the  power  to  drive  Ranger  to  his  knees
with a simple smile.

Ranger leaned in and gave Xavier another brief

kiss. “You can take care of me later. Why don’t
you run to the bathroom and get cleaned up so I

Stephani Hecht

can take you to visit Dulla and Chance?”

Xavier beamed with excitement. “I really get to

see them?”

“Doc did say you could go today.”
“Thanks, Ranger. You’re the best. I’m so lucky

to have you.”

Xavier threw his arms around Ranger and gave

him a tight hug. As he returned the embrace, he
couldn’t help but think that he was really the
lucky one.

Ranger’s Folly

Chapter Eight

avier rushed to the small attached bathroom
and cleaned up as best he could. While he really

would love to ask Ranger to take him to the
showers, Xavier was too anxious to see Chance
and Dulla.

He changed into another pair of sweats that the

felines had provided. They’d also given him a pair
of black sneakers, he put those on, too, before
going back out to Ranger.

As he looked at the Wolf, a wave of

embarrassment  hit  Xavier  as  he  recalled  the  way
he’d  lost  control  just  moments  before.  All  of  a
sudden,  feeling  both  awkward  and  shy,  Xavier
paused at the doorway, unsure of how he should
act.

Ranger saved him by crooking a finger at him.

“Come here.”

Happy to have some direction in his confusion,

Xavier rushed forward. Ranger opened his arms
and Xavier happily sank into his embrace. He

Stephani Hecht

even rested his cheek against the Wolf’s chest.

“I feel so safe when I’m with you,” Xavier

confessed. “But I’m confused, too.”

“About what?”
“Everything is just happening so fast. One

minute, I’m living in some dump with Dulla and
Chance and the next thing I know we’re shacking
up with a coalition.”

“I’m sure that’s a lot to take in.”
“It is, especially since we did everything we

could  to  avoid  you  guys.”  When  Xavier  felt
Ranger  tense,  he  added,  “Of  course,  we’re  not
scared  of  you  guys  anymore.  At  least  I’m  not.  I
don’t  think  it’s  going  to  be  easy  for  Dulla  and
Chance  here,  though.  I  keep  overhearing  the
guards talking and they really hate Ravens.”

“Yeah, Mitchell and I were just talking about

that.”

Now it was Xavier who tensed. “Did you guys

decide that it would be better to just send us
away?”

Ranger’s embrace grew so tight it made it

difficult to breathe. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“What about Dulla and Chance? We’re part of a

package deal,” Xavier warned.

“I would never dream of separating you. I

know how much it hurts to lose a sibling.”

Xavier nodded, recalling the lost look in

Ranger’s eyes when he’d talked about his own

Ranger’s Folly

sister. “What are we going to do?”

“Mitchell is allowing me to make up an

apartment right here at headquarters. We’ll move
in as soon as possible.”

Xavier pulled back. “Did you just say we?”
“Yes, I’ll be moving in, too.”
“Whoa there, big guy. Let’s just back up a bit

here. Aren’t we moving a little fast? We just met
and you already have us cohabitating?”

Ranger let out a low growl. “I told you that you

belonged to me.”

“Which sounds really sexy when we’re making

out, but any other time, it makes me sound like a
cookie or the last piece of pizza. If I wanted to be
owned like some possession, I’d just let the slavers
take me and be done with it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Outraged, Xavier took a couple of steps back to

put some distance between them. “I’m being
ridiculous? You’re the one who’s running around
growling and acting like the big, bad Alpha. Did it
ever occur to you that maybe you could ask me if I
wanted to live in sin with you? No, you just
assumed I’d jump when you snapped, just like all
your other strays.”

“What are you talking about?”
“I heard the guards talking about you, too.

How you love to take strays in so you can have a
convenient fuck buddy.” Xavier swallowed hard,

Stephani Hecht

100

hurt slicing through him.

Understanding dawned in Ranger’s eyes. “And

when I told you we were moving in, you just
assumed that it would be the same kind of
arrangement?”

“You told me yourself that you and Riley used

to fuck.”

Ranger did the growly thing again as he walked

forward. Xavier retreated a few steps, letting out a
yelp  of  surprise  when  his  back  slammed  into  the
wall.  Ranger  planted  his  hands  on  either  side  of
Xavier’s  head,  mimicking  the  same  position  from
the night they met.

Leaning in so their faces were inches apart,

Ranger said, “It’s not the same thing. It’s not like
that between us.”

“Why should I believe that?’
“Have I ever given you any reason to doubt

me?”

Xavier felt a tinge of guilt when he heard the

hurt in Ranger’s voice.

“No, you’ve never lied to me. But I can’t help

but wonder why you chose me as a mate and not
one  of  them.  I  know  I’m  no  catch.  I  can’t  fight.  I
can barely read. I’m so stupid that I almost killed
myself  by  accident.  Plus,  I  don’t  know  anything
about  this  world.”  Xavier  felt  his  eyes  watering
up,  but  held  the  tears  back  as  he  confessed  his
biggest concern.  “I’m just a pale  version of  Riley.

Ranger’s Folly

101

Why would you want to settle for that, when
you’ve already had the real thing?”

Ranger used one hand to cup Xavier’s face.

“You are not a pale version of anybody. Don’t you
realize how brave, smart and loyal you are?”

Xavier shook his head. “If I’m so brave, then

why have I spent most of my life terrified of never
being good enough?”

“Why would you ever think that?”
“My own mother tried to kill me and then Riley

left me behind,” Xavier’s voice cracked.

Ranger peppered his face with soft kisses. “That

had nothing to do with you not being good
enough. Your mother was sick, babe. Nothing
could have changed what she did. As for Riley, he
was only four at that time.”

Xavier let out a broken sob. “I know it doesn’t

make  sense.  It’s  stupid  actually,  since  we  were
both  practically  babies.  I  just  can’t  help  myself.
I’ve  always  felt  that  Riley  never  wanted  me  and
that’s  why  he  left  with  that  woman,  while  I  was
still lying there, hurt and bleeding. I even tried to
cry out his name, but he didn’t hear me. Once he
was gone, all I had to keep me company was my
mother’s  dead  body.  Her  eyes  were  open  and  I
was so scared she’d get up and start shooting me
again, but I couldn’t run away. So I had to lie there
in  terror  for  two  days  until  my  Raven  mother
showed up and finally rescued me.”

Stephani Hecht

102

“Oh, God. You remember everything that

happened back then?” Ranger gasped.

“Every second. I’ve never talked about it

because I don’t want to relive those memories. Not
even Chance or Dulla know the details. I don’t
even know why I’m telling you now.”

Ranger pressed a soft kiss to Xavier’s lips. “You

have never been a second choice, or a consolation
prize  to  me.  I  want  you,  nobody  else  can  ever
begin  to  compare  to  you  as  far  as  I’m  concerned.
Look,  I  know  it  doesn’t  make  sense.  Believe  me
when I say I’ve always been the most practical one
in  my  group.  All  I  do  know  is  that  we  belong
together.”

Xavier gave a slight shake of his head. “You’re

crazy. You know that, right?”

“I’ve been accused of that in the past.”
“I don’t get it, I’m a mess and you still want

me.”

“And I always will,” Ranger vowed before

going in for another kiss.

This time the kiss was long and deep. When

they broke apart, Xavier’s head was spinning from
desire. “I’m sorry I freaked out earlier. It’s just
going to take me some time to actually believe that
something this good is happening to me.”

“I can be as patient as you need me to be.”
Ranger gave him one last kiss before stepping

back. “Come on, I’ll take you to see Dulla and

Ranger’s Folly

103

Chance.”

As they reached the door, Ranger asked, “Do

you know the names of the guards who were
talking about us?”

“No.”
“Was it Dominic or Thomas?”
Xavier made a face. “Are you kidding? Thomas

and Dominic are both really nice to me. I don’t
think Dominic has a mean feather on his body.”

Ranger laughed. “Feather on his body?”
“It was something my Raven mother used to

say all the time.”

Ranger unlocked the door. “I think I would

have liked her.”

“I know you would have. She was great.”
They went two doors down and, speak of the

devils, Thomas and Dominic were standing guard.
As they came closer, Dominic grinned. “Dulla is
going to be so geeked to see you.”

“How is she doing today?” Xavier asked as he

smiled back at the feline.

“Pretty good. I brought her the new Yogi Bear

movie. She liked it, even though it’s not really a
cartoon like the other shows.”

“You’re spoiling her.”
“Nah, I’m just trying to keep her entertained. I

know how boring it can be to sit around with
nothing to do.”

“Which is why he failed most of his classes in

Stephani Hecht

104

school,” Thomas drawled.

Dominic wrinkled his nose. “Why should I sit

around learning about battle tactics when I can be
out living them?”

Ranger gave him a light cuff on the side of the

head. “Spoken like a young cub.”

Dominic grumbled good-naturedly as he

stepped aside to let them in. Chance was sleeping
on one bed while Dulla was perched in her usual
position on the other. As soon as they walked in,
she turned, a bright smile on her face.

“Xavier! You’re okay!” she squealed as she

jumped up and ran over to him.

Xavier barely had time to brace himself in time

to catch her as she attacked him with a hard hug.
He returned the embrace, taking comfort in the
familiar sensation of being in her arms.

“I missed you,” he said.
“I missed you, too. So did Chance. He even told

me so.”

“Hey, look who decided to get their ass out of

bed,” Chance quipped as he sat up.

“Well, I couldn’t just lie around and let you

have all the fun,” Xavier teased back as he pulled
away from Dulla.

They began to laugh until the sound of angry

voices came from the hallway.

“Look, I’m sorry. I was only looking out for

you!”

Ranger’s Folly

105

“I don’t care, Colin. You had no right keeping

this from me. Xavier’s my brother and I have
every right to know that he’s here!”

“I warned Colin that Riley would be pissed,”

Ranger muttered.

The argument continued.
“I’m sick as hell of you treating me like I’m

made of glass!”

“You’re my mate! Of course I’m going to be

protective of you.”

“That’s no excuse for lying.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“It’s lying by exclusion, you stupid Hawk!”
Xavier exchanged looks of confusion with

Chance. And yet everyone said Ravens were
strange. As far as Xavier was concerned, the
unseen arguers took the cake on weirdness.

The voice drew nearer as a couple entered the

room.  One  of  the  men  had  dark  hair  and  eyes.
While he was taller than his counterpart, he did all
the  cowering.  Not  that  Xavier  blamed  him,  the
blond  doing  most  of  the  yelling  seemed  to  have
one hell of a temper.

Then the blond turned to give Xavier all his

attention and some of the bits from the argument
locked into place, as Xavier got a good look at his
face.

“Riley?” Xavier croaked.
Riley gasped, his bottom lip trembling with

Stephani Hecht

106

emotion. “Oh, God. It really is you.”

Before Xavier could confirm or deny, Riley ran

over  and  threw  his  arms  around  him.  Xavier
grunted in surprise before his brain caught up and
he  returned  the  hug.  They  stayed  that  way  for  a
few moments. While it should have felt awkward,
strangely  it  didn’t.  Instead,  it  felt  so  comforting
and  oddly  familiar.  Xavier  felt  moisture  on  his
neck and realized Riley was crying.

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” Xavier soothed.
“I didn’t know you were alive. I swear.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“If I had, I would have never left without you

that day. I would have made her take you, too. I
feel so damn guilty. Like I let you down.”

“Don’t, it’s not your fault. Besides, I had a real

good  life.”  For  the  first  time  ever,  Xavier  truly
realized that he really had a wonderful childhood.
While  his  Raven  family  may  have  been  odd  at
times, they’d always made sure he felt loved and
accepted. Plus, he wouldn’t trade Dulla or Chance
away for anything.

“I heard that you were raised by Ravens.”
“Yes, and it was a very nurturing home. I never

wanted for anything.” Xavier felt himself tearing
up.

This time, instead of holding it back, he let them

fall unchecked. He even let out a couple of
muffled sobs. “I missed you so much, Rye.”

Ranger’s Folly

107

It was a nickname he used way back before that

terrible day and he found it easily rolling off his
tongue again.

Riley squeezed him tighter. “I missed you, too. I

don’t ever want to be apart from you again.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”
“We’ll take care of Chance and Dulla, too. It’s

the least I can do to repay them for watching out
for you.”

“Yeah, it was a fulltime job, too. Xavier has a

tendency to wander off when he’s not supposed
to,” Chance teased.

Colin cocked a brow. “How interesting. That

must run in their family because Riley does the
same thing.”

“It must be a twin mind-melding thing.”
Colin laughed. “Now isn’t that the truth. Next,

you’ll tell me that Xavier loves Ke$ha, too.”

Xavier pulled away as he wrinkled his nose in

confusion. “What’s a Ke$ha?”

Riley let out a gasp of horror. “Oh, Xavier. I

heard you were raised in seclusion, but I had no
idea it was that bad. We have so much to catch
you up on.”

Xavier smiled. “I have a feeling that you’re the

perfect shifter for the job.”

Xavier glanced up at Ranger. The Wolf was

smiling tenderly as he watched the emotional
reunion. Meeting his gaze, Xavier mouthed, Thank

Ranger’s Folly

109

Chapter Nine

week later, Ranger dashed into the cafeteria to
pick up some breakfast for himself and Xavier.

While  he  could  have  gone  back  to  the  Jaguars’
apartment,  Ranger  knew  that  since  Cassie  was
cooking  there,  it  would  be  safer  to  go  with
whatever  was  coming  from  the  headquarters’
kitchens.

He filled up a tray with fruit and some bagels,

then spotted Dominic walking in. As usual, while
off duty, he looked like a gay version of James Bond
because he was surrounded by a posse of beautiful
females. Each one of them were his best friend and
he never went anywhere without at least three of
them in tow.

A new face was in the group—Dulla. Ranger

blinked stupidly a few times, surprised to see the
Raven out of her room without one of her brothers
being by her side. What’s more, she seemed to be
enjoying herself. She was even laughing and

Stephani Hecht

110

actively engaging the rest of the group in
conversation.

They all took a seat at their usual table and,

since it was close to the food line, Ranger got to
eavesdrop on their conversation.

“So, I was thinking we’d take Dulla to the mall

today and get her a new wardrobe,” Dominic
announced to the group.

All of them eagerly nodded in agreement. One

of the females asked, “What store should we go
to?”

Dominic studied Dulla for a few moments. “I’m

thinking maybe H&M. I really believe that place is
going to be so her.”

“Are we going to get my hair cut, too?” Dulla

asked as she pulled at the long strands.

“No way!” another female exclaimed, reaching

out to finger Dulla’s tresses. “It’s so beautiful this
way. I would kill to have your hair.”

Dominic nodded. “I agree, I think we should

just blow it out some to give it that messy, just-
out-of-bed look.”

“You better not let her brothers hear you say

that,” Ranger drawled.

They all jumped and shot him guilty looks.

Dominic nervously cleared his throat a few times
before stammering, “I…I…we…it was just a joke.”

Ranger reached out and ruffled his hair. “I

know, I was just giving you a hard time.”

Ranger’s Folly

111

A relieved grin covered Dominic’s face.
Ranger pulled out his wallet and slid out his

credit card. Handing it to Dulla, he said, “Do your
worst. Just make sure to pick something up for
your brothers, too. They can’t keep wearing
Riley’s hand-me-downs forever.”

Now he got a bunch of happy grins as all the

girls looked at him like he was their new potential
sugar daddy.

Dulla let out a small giggle. “You guys can

forget it, he’s already taken.”

“I know.” A girl sighed. “But we can dream,

can’t we?”

“You better go. Now, before they decide to eat

you for breakfast instead of the Fruit Loops,”
Dominic teased.

Ranger chuckled as he took the kid’s advice. As

he walked through headquarters, Ranger couldn’t
help but feel pleased at the warm reception Dulla
was  receiving  from  the  coalition.  He  still  wasn’t
sure  how  they’d  react  to  Chance,  since  the  male
had  been  mostly  staying  in  his  room,  but  maybe
there  was  hope  that  his  transition  would  be
smooth, too.

When Ranger got to the room and found their

bed  empty,  he  was  only  mildly  disappointed.
Since  they’d  been  sleeping  together  for  the  past
seven  days,  he  knew  that  Xavier  always  took  a
shower as soon as he woke up.

Stephani Hecht

112

As he sat the tray of food down on the dresser,

Ranger reflected over the past week. While the
time had been special since he got the pleasure of
holding Xavier in his arms as they slept, it was
also frustrating because that’s all they did—sleep.

Ranger wanted to fully claim Xavier as his

mate,  but  had  been  holding  back.  He  wanted  to
give  Xavier  time  to  get  to  know  him  and  get
adjusted  to  his  new  life.  In  the  meantime,
however,  blue  balls  didn’t  begin  to  describe  how
Ranger felt most of the time. To be so close to the
sexy  Eagle,  but  only  get  small  tastes  was  sheer
torture.

Then he saw it, resting on one of the pillows—

the one Xavier used—a folded up piece of paper.
Opening it, Ranger smiled as he saw the words
scrawled there, Meet me in the shower.

Pausing only long enough to grab a small tube

of lube, Ranger obeyed. Since the secret of the
Ravens was out, there weren’t any guards around,
so the hallway and surrounding rooms leading to
the shower were completely empty.

As Ranger got closer, he could hear the sounds

of running water and Xavier’s soft singing. As he
entered  the  adjoining  locker  room,  Ranger  was
able  to  discern  the  lyrics.  He  almost  cracked  up
when he recognized it as a Britney song. It seemed
that  Riley’s  musical  teachings  were  expanding  to
other divas.

Ranger’s Folly

113

Now that he was near, Xavier’s scent called to

Ranger, only this time there was also the
unmistakable smell of desire. Letting out a moan,
Ranger made his way into the large shower.

He paused at the entrance to drink in the image

of  his  mate.  Xavier  stood  under  one  of  the
showerheads  situated  by  the  far  wall.  The  water
cascaded  over  his  naked  body,  the  droplets
seeming to caress every dip and ridge. In the past
week, Xavier put on some weight, in all the right
places, too. His ass now had the perfect swell to it
and his pecs were just the right size for biting.

Ranger must have made a noise because Xavier

turned to look at him. The instant their gazes met,
Xavier’s eyes grew turbulent with desire. He
stopped singing mid-word, his decadent lips
parted invitingly.

“You got my note?” Xavier breathed.
His hand trailed down to stroke his cock. It was

a damn nice cock, too. Long, but not overly thick,
it curled up toward his stomach. Keeping eye
contact with Ranger, Xavier gave it a few tentative
strokes.

“Are you teasing me?” Ranger growled.
“God, I love it when you growl at me,” Xavier

declared before he let out a soft whimper.

That comment shredded the last bit of control

Ranger had. Growling again, he slowly walked
into the shower. The water instantly soaked into

Stephani Hecht

114

his jeans and shirt, making them stick to his skin,
but he scarcely noticed. All that mattered to him at
that moment was getting to his mate.

Xavier let out a throaty chuckle. “You’re getting

your clothes all wet.”

“Fuck my clothes.” Ranger reached out,

snagged Xavier around the waist and brought the
man in close.

“Okay, I was planning on fucking you, but if

you want me to get frisky with your 501s, I can do
that instead.”

Ranger didn’t even bother replying to that

comment,  he  just  dipped  his  head  down  and
claimed Xavier’s bratty mouth in a hot, deep I’m-
gonna-screw-you  kiss.  Xavier  instantly  turned
compliant,  his  lips  parting  to  let  Ranger’s  tongue
in. At the same  time, he brought his hands  up to
clutch Ranger’s shoulders.

When they broke apart, Xavier didn’t stop. He

simply  transferred  his  attention  to  Ranger’s  jaw
and  throat,  peppering  his  skin  with  kisses,  licks
and  soft  bites.  Desire  coursed  through  Ranger’s
body, setting him on fire. He wanted to take over,
to  pin  Xavier  to  the  tiles  and  fuck  him  into
submission.  The  need  was  so  bad  that  Ranger
fisted his hands until his nails dug into his palms,
drawing blood. It took every bit of his self-control
and discipline to force himself to stand still and let
Xavier have control.

Ranger’s Folly

115

When Xavier got to Ranger’s shirt, he began to

tug at it, letting out an impatient sound when the
wet fabric didn’t want to cooperate. Ranger
moved to help him and between the two of them,
they managed to get all of his clothes off.

Ranger made sure to grab the lube before he

tossed his pants to the side. Xavier stared at it, his
eyes flaring with passion as he nervously nibbled
on his bottom lip.

“Don’t worry, babe, you’re going to love it,”

Ranger promised as he dipped to kiss the worried
piece of flesh.

By the time he pulled back, all the trepidation

was  gone  from  Xavier’s face. A look  of  pure  awe
replaced  it  as  Xavier  studied  Ranger’s  body.
Running  his  hands  over  Ranger’s  chest,  Xavier
breathed, “Damn, I don’t know where to start.”

“You can do anything you want to me.”
A wicked gleam came over Xavier’s eyes as his

gaze dropped to Ranger’s cock. Licking his lips,
Xavier asked, “Anything?”

Ranger nodded wordlessly. Going by the way

Xavier  was  running  his  tongue  over  his  mouth,
Ranger had a pretty good inkling what was going
through the brat’s  mind. Then Xavier dropped to
his  knees,  confirming  Ranger’s  suspicions  and
hopes.

Wrapping one hand around Ranger’s dick,

Xavier parted his lips to take him in, only to pause

Stephani Hecht

116

at the last moment. Gazing up at Ranger, Xavier
said, “Just remember, I’ve never done this before.
So if I mess up, don’t laugh at me.”

Ranger ran his fingers through Xavier’s wet

hair. “I would never make fun of you like that.”

Xavier gave him a shy grin before darting his

tongue  out  for  tentative  taste.  At  the  first  flick  of
wetness,  Ranger  let  out  a  moan.  That  seemed  to
give  Xavier  the  confidence  to  grab  another  taste,
this time he even swirled his tongue over the tip of
Ranger’s cock.

Pulling back, Xavier let out a soft hum. “You

taste so good.”

Ranger didn’t think he could take much more,

he even opened his mouth to say as much. But
then Xavier parted his lips and sucked Ranger in
and all thoughts of protesting vanished.

Xavier began to clumsily bob his head up and

down,  his  body  tense  as  he darted  worried looks
up  at  Ranger. Then  Xavier  finally  seemed  to  sink
into the passion and just let instinct take over. He
even  closed  his  eyes,  his  water-spiked  lashes
fanning his cheeks perfectly.

After a few moments of intense pleasure,

Ranger finally decided to take over. “Stand up.”

Xavier’s brow furrowed in confusion, but he

pulled back and then straightened up. “Was I
doing it wrong?”

Ranger brought him in for a kiss. “No, you

Ranger’s Folly

117

were doing wonderful.”

“Then why did you make me stop?”
“Because now it’s my turn to taste you.”
Before Xavier could respond, Ranger spun him

around and pressed him against the tiles. “Arch
your back for me.”

Xavier complied, the movement making his ass

tilt up perfectly. Ranger ran the palm of his hand
down one cheek. “You’re so damn beautiful.”

Ranger dropped to his knees. Giving the twin

globes another caress, Ranger parted them so he
could get to Xavier’s hole.

Xavier looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide

with surprise. “You’re not going to…”

He never got to finish the sentence. Ranger

flicked  his  tongue  out  and  traced  a  lazy  path
around the rim. Xavier let out a gasp that seemed
equal  parts  shock  and  passion  as  he  arched  his
back even further.

“I knew you’d like this,” Ranger crooned before

he began to lick Xavier some more.

“I do. I like it, a lot.”
Ranger speared his tongue inside a few times

before slowly adding a finger. Xavier gasped as he
was stretched, but didn’t protest. By the time
Ranger added a second finger, Xavier even began
to rock back, soft moans slipping past his lips.

Ranger opened the lube and squirted some on

his hand before adding a third finger. Since this

Stephani Hecht

118

was Xavier’s first time, Ranger wanted him really
slicked and stretched.

“Oh, wow. That feels so good,” Xavier moaned

slowly as he tilted his head back. “I can’t wait
until it’s your cock inside me.”

Never one to deny his mate’s wishes, Ranger

pulled his fingers out and stood. After urging
Xavier to bend over a bit more, Ranger pressed the
tip of his cock to the man’s opening.

“Take a deep breath in and then slowly let it

out.”

Ever the trusting one, Xavier obeyed. At the

same time, Ranger carefully slid inside him.
Xavier let out a soft mewling sound, but didn’t
seem uncomfortable. In fact, his cock never looked
harder. Ranger still asked, “Are you doing okay?”

“Fan-fucking-tabulous,” Xavier said, using one

of Riley’s favorite terms. “I can’t believe we
waited so long to do this.”

Ranger silently agreed as he began to slowly

thrust in and out of Xavier’s tight body. “If you
want, we can double up for a while to make up for
lost time.”

“Damn, this feels so good, I may make you

triple it up.”

Grabbing ahold of Xavier’s shoulders, Ranger

began  to  move  faster.  The  moment  was
perfect…or  rather  it  was  nearly  perfect.  The  only
thing  missing  was  being  able  to  look  into  his

Ranger’s Folly

119

mate’s eyes while he claimed him.

Pulling out, Ranger spun Xavier around, then

ordered, “Put your legs around my waist.”

Xavier didn’t even question the command as he

did  a  little  hop  and  wrapped  his  long  limbs
around  Ranger.  Once  he  had  him  in  position,
Ranger  lined  up  his  cock  and  thrust  up  into
Xavier.

“Wow, you’re really strong,” Xavier panted, his

cheeks flushed with passion.

Those were the last coherent words spoken

because Ranger finally gave in to his natural
instincts. Pinning Xavier to the wall, Ranger began
to make love to him in quick hard thrusts.

Xavier began to let out a string of whimpers, his

eyes  closed  in  bliss.  Then,  just  as  Ranger  felt  his
pleasure  crest,  Xavier  tilted  his  head  to  the  side,
baring  his  throat  in  the  ultimate  sign  of
submission.

“Mine,” Ranger snarled before sinking his teeth

into the offered flesh.

Xavier screamed Ranger’s name as he came, hot

spunk covering both their stomachs. The smell of
Xavier’s semen combined with the tangy flavor of
his blood pushed Ranger over the edge. Letting
out another muffled snarl, Ranger came, his cock
emptying into Xavier’s hot channel.

They stayed that way for a few moments, the

hot water beating down on them as they caught

Stephani Hecht

120

their breath. Finally, Ranger licked the bite wound
closed before he gently set Xavier down.

Letting out a happy humming sound, Xavier

grinned up at him. “Okay, promise me we’ll do
that every day from now on.”

Ranger brushed Xavier’s wet hair away from

his face. “If you insist, then I guess I can endure
it.”

Xavier laughed as he gave Ranger’s arm a

playful swat. “You enjoyed it just as much as I
did.”

“Yes, I did,” Ranger agreed with a kiss. “Now,

hurry up and get washed. I have a surprise for
you.”

They quickly cleaned up, then got dressed.

When Ranger saw that Xavier’s outfit consisted of
tight jeans and a t-shirt that read, I’m a cannibal. I
eat boys up! he knew the new clothes couldn’t
come fast enough.

Grabbing Xavier’s hand, Ranger led his mate

through headquarters. They didn’t stop to chat to
anybody along the way so it only took them a few
minutes to get to the new apartment.

Ranger opened the door and ushered Xavier

inside. “It’s not much. It still looks kind of plain
with the white walls and brown carpets. But it has
three bedrooms and two baths. Plus the kitchen
works so it’s a start.”

Xavier gazed around in amazement. “You did

Ranger’s Folly

121

all this in just one week?”

“Well, I had a lot of help, but yeah. This is all

for you.”

“I can’t believe it.” Xavier reached up and

lightly touched a wall.

“Now all you have to do is decide what

bedroom you want to claim.”

Xavier turned and looked at him. “I don’t

know. I guess that all depends. What room are
you sleeping in? Because that’s where I want to
be.”

Ranger sucked in a breath as hope flared

through him. “Are you sure about that? What
happened to you not wanting to rush things?”

“I realized something during this past week.”

Xavier came over and put his hands on Ranger’s
shoulders.

Ranger returned the embrace, his hands going

to Xavier’s hips. “What’s that?”

“That I need to stop questioning my good

fortune. I was so busy worrying about losing what
little I had that I almost didn’t realize I had
everything I ever wanted right in front of me.”

“What are you trying to say?”
“That I’m falling in love with you. In fact, I’m

quite certain I fell for you the instant you pinned
me to that tree.”

Ranger laughed. “You sure had a funny way of

showing it. I never knew tasering somebody was a

Stephani Hecht

122

form of endearment.”

Xavier wrinkled his nose. “You’re never going

to let me live that down, are you?”

“No, and you want to know why?” Ranger

leaned in until their lips were inches apart.
“Because, I’m pretty certain that’s when I fell for

you.”

“You are one strange Wolf.” Xavier gave him a

crooked smile.

Ranger kissed his mate, his heart soaring with

happiness. While he may be a strange Wolf, he
was also a damn lucky one. Not only did he find
his mate, but he also found hope again.

About the Author

Stephani  Hecht  is  a  happily  married  mother  of
two.  Born  and  raised  in  Michigan,  she  loves  all
things  about  the  state,  from  the  frigid  winters  to
the  Detroit  Red  Wings  hockey  team.  You  can
usually  find  her  snuggled  up  to  her  laptop,
creating her next book.

Contact her at:
Email Address:archangelwriter@yahoo.com

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/StephaniHecht

FaceBook:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=pr

ofil&id=1109353859

MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/stephanihecht

Blog:
http://stephanihechtauthor.blogspot.com