»Can't you just get lost and let a desperate male wallow in self-pity?« Justice pleaded.

»Nope,« Breeze smirked. »Tell me why you're crying in your drink and you'll get rid of me.« She lowered herself onto the barstool next to him.

Justice dragged a hand down his face. »I'm trapped at a fucking dead-end. No matter what I'll do next, it's going to blow right up in my face,« he mumbled through his fingers.

Breeze frowned. »There's a solution to everything. You just need to sort things out.«

»I think I heard you say you'd leave me alone,« Justice grumbled, watching her from the corners of his eyes.

Wiggling her eybrows, Breeze gave him a mischievious grin. »I lied.«

»Apparently.«

»Now, go on and tell me. And quit snarling, Justice.«

»I shouldn't have postponed my decision on the bastard that held the Gift captive to go to Fuller in the first place.«

»Yet, you did,« Breeze pointed out.

»True.« Justice sighed. The information Robert Savage shared about that scum still made him shudder.

Breeze took a sip of her drink. »But that's not what's bothering you, is it?«

Justice massaged the bridge of his nose. »No... It's a long story.«

»I like long stories,« she grinned, resting her chin in her hand. »And you look like you need to get something off your chest. I'm a good listener.«

Justice couldn't help but smile. »You know you're a pain in the ass, right?«

»I love you too, pussycat,« Breeze purred, batting her eyelashes. »Let's get back to the point... What's going on?«

»The assault was aimed at Jaded.«

Breeze rolled her eyes. »Newsflash, Justice! That's the talk of the town.«

»I know that, okay?« he snapped. »But I need to start at the beginning!«

Justice was on the edge and she realized he had to do this at his pace. So, Breeze kept her mouth shut and patiently waited for him to continue. The silence stretched and after a couple of minutes had gone by she almost thought he'd forgotten about her. Suddenly, his hands curled into fists and he spoke.

»Carl Dravor is the mastermind behind the assault.«

»The asshole that held Baby captive?«

He frowned. She chose the name Baby? He really had missed a lot lately. »If you're talking about the new Gift – yes. The very same.« By the way... He turned his head to look at Breeze. »How's she holding up?«

Breeze grimaced. »So-so. She heard what happened to Ashley of course and assumes it has to do with her, which eats away at her badly. Honestly, we're hardly making any progress.«

»Tell her to stop worrying. She isn't responsible for anything. That son of a bitch is.« Justice took a deep breath. »Anyhow... Dravor and his Mercile buddies wanted dirt on us. And when it became public that the district attorney in authority for Dravor's case was about to get mated to a Species, it suited them fine. The plan was to drug Jaded.«

»There are rumors it was overdosed breeding drug mixed with the one that made Moon go crazy.«

»That's correct,« Justice nodded.

»But why drugging Jaded? That doesn't make sense.«

»Oh, it so does! Ashely's co-worker Robert Savage's been told that they wanted Jaded to go feral and rape and finally kill Ashley in his haze.«

Breeze's eyes widened. »Seriously?«

Justice snorted. »Pretty diabolical, huh?«

»Uh-huh,« she nodded. »It would've made us look like volatile animals.«

»Yep! Very much so.«

Breeze cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. »So, it's a good thing that those jackasses drugged Ashley instead.« Seeing Justice's eyes widen in shock, she raised her hands in defense. »Sorry! That didn't come out right. I mean instead of looking like unpredictable predators we're overrun with sympathy but... Why do I have the feeling that's not the end of the story and we're not off the hook?«

»Because we're not. They're after Hope now.«

Breeze blinked. »You lost me.«

A mirthless laughter escaped Justice. »Due to our contracts with human authorities, Hope isn't Species.«

»No way...« was all Breeze managed to say.

»Actually, it's quite simple,« Justice shrugged. »In the agreements between humans and us, children were never mentioned. As it is now, Ashley's Species, while Hope's human. We've had so many humans working on the contracts I'm not surprised they were leaked to Mercile at some point. And now they probably bribed someone in the childcare department to push this on. I don't know... I, for one already received a certified mail telling us to hand Hope over to them until her mother is healthy enough to take care of her again. Until then, they want to put her in foster care because being around adult Species might be dangerous for her mental health.« He rolled his eyes.

Breeze didn't respond. She stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. And by the look on her face, he assumed he probably had.

»Cool, isn't it?« he growled. »But there's more.«

»Seriously?«

Justice nodded. »This is where Robert Savage comes in with his information. As soon as Hope's in foster care, Dravor's minions are going to kidnap her and use her as pawn for the freedom of all those Mercile highrollers we're keeping in Fuller – including Dravor himself of course.«

Breeze swallowed. »Can't you just ignore the letter? I mean... Humans can't invade Reservation to get their hands on Hope, can they?«

»Of course they can't. But if we ignore the decree they'll very likely be accusing us of holding Hope captive. Which will probably end up in turning the public opinion against us.« He shook his head. »It's a fucking dilemma.«

Breeze bit her lip. »You're not planning on handing Hope over to them, are you?«

»No fucking way. We'll be fighting tooth and nail for Jaded's girl. Our law team's on it, negotiating.«

»What about your father-in-law?«

»Jessie immediately talked to him and he started to pull some strings and call in favors but...« Sighing, Justice shrugged. »Mercile's still way too strong. It's a fucking hydra!«

»Does Jaded know?«

»Nope! That's still on my agenda,« Justice growled. »Lucky me!«

An awkward silence greeted him and he was stared at blankly after he finished his speech. Justice's eyes wandered around the table. They'd all come. Fury, Slade, Brawn and all the other males with children.

»Honestly, brothers,« Justice carried on, »if you decide that the safety of our own kind comes first then I'll cave and hand Hope over to the humans. It's your call.«

He heard someone clear his throat. Every single male turned his head in the direction. He was surprised to see Smiley raising his hand to get the other's attention. Justice gave him a nod.

»You know we Primates don't imprint like the rest of you. But that doesn't mean I don't know what Jaded's going through. If it happened to my Vanny I'd probably gone insane by now. I can hardly comprehend how he's finding the strength to keep going.« Smiley paused and saw the males nodding in consent. »I don't know about you but I'd never be able to look Jaded in the eyes again if we sacrifice his daughter for our safety. When this reveals our secret in the progress – fine!« He shrugged. »So be it. It's going to come out anyway when we start building schools and hire teachers. So if you want my blunt opinion,« he pointed his finger at the door. »Let's go out there and rip those fuckers a second asshole for almost killing Jaded's mate and threatening to take his daughter!«

»Smiley's right,« Slade said. »And if I'd come home telling Trisha we'll give up on Hope she'll flay me alive.«

Fury grinned. »Sal's pestering me every fucking day to meet Hope. My Ellie's gonna bite my head of if I dare to break my boy's heart.«

»Same here,« Tiger chimed in, smirking. »Zandy would very likely dump my sorry ass in front of the men's dorm for good. But that's not really the point. I was present when Robert Savage filled Justice in. And it still pisses me the fuck off that Mercile's not above using an innocent little girl for blackmailing us.« He slammed his fist on the table. »We just can't let get them away with it.«

There were nods and murmurs of agreement in response.

»I know not everyone in here met Hope yet,« Valiant spoke up. »But let me assure you that girl's a real treasure. And I don't give a shit what the contracts say. Jaded loves his little one as if she was his own. When the humans succeed it'll destroy him. Not gonna happen! And since I'm authorized to speak for all the Wild Zone residents... I dare say as far as we're concerned she's family. If the humans want to take her from Jaded they have to go through us. Enough said!«

Taking a deep breath, Justice leaned back in his chair. »Thanks everyone. I really counted on you to stand up and fight for Jaded. I'd have lost my faith if that weren't the case. Next step for me is to fill Jaded in.«

Slade leaned forward. »Let me do it, Justice. You're not his favorite male at the moment and you know why,« he winked.

Justice smothered a grin. »I'm not going to argue.«

»They what?« Jaded hands clenched into fists, pacing Slade's office. He was ready to hit the roof. Of course he knew the assault was aimed at him. There'd been a laser pointed at his chest after all. But this? »How long does Justice know?«

Slade shrugged. »It's been a while, I guess.«

»Maybe he should have grown some balls and tell me?« Jaded shouted.

»Actually, he wanted to talk to you but I volunteered. I figured the stunt he pulled by controlling Vengeance didn't sit well with you.«

»Damn right!« Stopping his pacing Slade's desk, Jaded crossed his arms over his broad chest. »I don't want him to barge in! With Vengeance's help I've got the situation handled!«

Slade kept his cool. »Calm down. If your little one would happen to see you now, you'd scare the living shit out of her.«

Collapsing in a chair, Jaded closed his eyes for a few seconds. Slade was right though. No way in hell he wanted his precious little daughter to fear him. This helped to ease his anger. »I think I'm in control.«

»Good! I can imagine how hard this is for you to come to terms with but the law team's already on it. You know they're trustworthy. They'll find a solution. And come hell or high water... Hope's Species. We all have your back, brother!«

»Thanks.«

»Not for that.«

Grinning, Jaded met Slade's gaze. »Did you know you're son dropped the f-bomb in front of my girl and she then graced me with her new learned word?«

»Seriously?« Slade slumped in his chair. »Fuck!«

»Yup! That's pretty close,« Jaded nodded slowly.

»Why he's always picking up the cusswords so quickly is beyond me,« Slade said, shaking his head.

»Well... I'm not surprised,« Jaded smirked. »He's your son after all.«

Slade grimaced. »Thanks.«

»Not for that,« Jaded winked.