Page 23 of Juneau Heat (Urban Heat 1)

He laughed, a harsh sound that grated on her ears. “You fight me? That’s funny.” He held up his other hand, and she just caught the glimpse of a picture. He jerked her head around to see it clearly. “Look at it and remember who you are, bitch.”

Shiya cried out again, and tears sprung to her eyes and spilled down her face. “Why do you have that?”

“To remind me,” he snarled in her ear, “that the things we’re dealing with aren’t to be tolerated or made into friends. They aren’t potential fuck buddies. They are the enemy.”

Shiya lowered her gaze from the picture, but her brother gave her hair another yank.

“Look at it! See in detail what they did to our mother, how they ripped her body to shreds and left her for dead. Animal attack, the police said. Yeah, it was an animal attack, all right, a calculated murder. He hunted her for days, and when he caught up, he killed her. Not right away, though. No, he made her suffer for a while, bleeding to death.”

“Stop.” Her voice came out hoarse.

“Why? So you can keep the rosy picture you have in your head of those two polar bears? No, you’re going to do what you came here to do, and me and my men are going to do what we do.”

Shiya had had enough. She drove the side of her fist into her brother’s testicles and stomped on his instep. His hold loosened, and she moved out of reach, both hands up to defend herself if need be.

“Damn it, Shiya,” he roared, bent over and holding his junk.

She glared at him. “Oh, you can hurt me, but I can’t hurt you?”

“You’re going to pay for that.”

“Why don’t I ask Dad if it’s okay for you to manhandle me, no matter what decisions I’ve made.”

He paced back and forth a few steps, limping and muttering. When the pain seemed to have lessened, he straightened and then spotted the picture of their mother lying on the ground. Shiya averted her gaze from it without taking her eyes off Kasen, but he didn’t attempt to approach her. She knew she didn’t stand a chance against him in a normal fight. Hell, getting the drop on him when he least expected it had proved unsuccessful every other time, but she figured the subject itself—their mother’s death—got to him as much as it did her, maybe more.

“It’s over. Since Birk and Kotori know I’m a Keith, and they know we’re hunters, I don’t see any reason to continue this farce.”

Her brother’s nostrils flared. He tucked the picture into his coat. “You wouldn’t. Nothing’s over. You’re going to continue as you were.”

Shiya’s eyes widened. She could not believe him. Did he care so little about her that he didn’t mind Birk and Kotori killing her? He didn’t get to burst in when they least expected it. So what? Kasen needed to get over himself.

“I guess you don’t see how much they hate me? They’ll kill me on sight.”

“This is why men use you, Shiya.”

She flipped him off, and he jerked her closer, his fingers biting into her arm.

“Kasen.”

“You will respect me, Shiya.”

She said nothing, and he shoved her away from him.

“If they wanted you dead, you already would be. Ever think of that?”

She blinked at him, and he swore, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“The one thing in common among all shifters, no matter their species, is what?”

“High sex drive?”

“That, and?” he demanded.

She searched her mind for information. Rubbing the spot where her brother had grabbed her, she ran through everything she knew, but none of it applied to her.

“Why don’t you try spelling it out since I’m not getting it?”

“A mate.”

---