Charlotte glared at her friend, and Saffy hid a smile, instead putting on her most suspicious and protective face.
“Oh really?” Saffy said. “And just who is this Ethan Johnson? Do I need to have a word with him?”
When her sister’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head, Saffy decided to put her out of her misery.
“I’m only messing with you. I wouldn’t really say anything to him. Where is he, anyway? Is he a looker? I bet he is.”
Saffy glanced around at the boys in the party and her gaze landed on a particularly rowdy trio. “He’s not one of those boys, is he?” she asked, nodding in their direction.
The girls burst out in fits of giggles. “No,” one of her friends said. “They arehawkshifters.”
Saffy snorted. “Right.”
“No, really,” Charlotte said. “They gatecrashed.”
Saffy froze. “What? Why didn’t you come and tell me?”
Charlotte shrugged and scuffed her feet.
“Damn it. I’d better throw them out before your brother finds out they’re here. He’s had a lot to drink and you know how much he hates the Miguel family.”
Charlotte frowned. “He wouldn’t hurt them, would he?”
Saffy sighed. “Um, probably not, no. Nothing to worry about. I’ll sort it.”
Saffy strode across the yard with purpose, hoping that Leon didn’t turn around and make a beeline for her. She hadn’t exactly been telling her sister the truth, because if Mason found out there were hawk shifters present, he would lose his shit. And he most definitelywouldhurt them, even though they only looked about sixteen and Mason had over a decade on them. They weren’t called aprideof lions for nothing, and much as she loved her brother, his ego had led him to cause trouble more than once. And tonight was most definitely not the night for bloodshed. Once, just once, it’d be nice if the family could have a normal, peaceful party.
She stopped in front of the three boys and inhaled deeply to double check. Yep, they were hawk shifters alright.
“All right, boys, you’ve had your fun,” Saffy said. “Now it’s time for you to leave.”
The tallest boy puffed out his chest. “Yeah, who’s going to make us?”
Saffy glared at him. Her father was the dominant male of their pride which made her incredibly dominant, too. She let her guard down a little and let a little of that alpha power color her voice when she replied.
“Iwill.”
All three boys widened their eyes and either consciously or unconsciously leaned away from her. Unfortunately, they recovered from her display quickly and a mask of teenaged bravado covered their faces again.
“Yeah, you and what army?”
Saffy ground her teeth together. She’d have to try harder to put the fear of God into them, before Mason sent them tomeettheir god.
“You see those three men over there?” she asked, pointing to her brother, Leon, and Jason, and uttering a silent prayer that they didn’t turn round and see her confronting the hawk shifters before they took the hint and left of their own free will.
The hawk shifters nodded in unison.
“Well, that’s Mason Brown, the dominant’s son, with his two best friends. You heard of him?”
They nodded, their eyes wider still.
“Good. Because I’m here to tell you that everything you’ve heard about him is probably true. Mason is meaner than a snake and trust me, you do not want to get on the wrong side of him. Understand?”
All three boys studied him closely, then a smirk slid over the lips of the tallest.
“I could take him,” he said.
The boy’s two friends guffawed loudly, drawing the attention of a few shifters nearby.
