“Stay back,” Valiant threatened. He inhaled slowly, his gaze still locked on Tammy. He took another step toward her.

“Valiant!” Tiger, the man with the deep voice, shouted. “Stop now. Don’t get any closer. Damn it, don’t do this.”

Valiant snapped his head sideways to glare at someone at whom he flashed sharp teeth and snarled menacingly. He sounded downright evil before he focused back on Tammy.

“Go get her,” Ted demanded. “You’re almost as big as him. Save her.”

Tiger uttered a foul word. “I can’t. He’d kill me in a heartbeat. He’s one of the meanest sons of bitches we have on Reservation. It’s why he’s out here and why Justice bought this place. There are a few of our kind who aren’t exactly people friendly. It will make things worse if I go inside there because he’ll be able to kill two people instead of just one.”

“Shoot him,” a woman whispered softly, but her voice carried.

“Can’t,” a male explained. “They haven’t gotten any tranquilizer guns to us yet.”

“Use the guns in your holsters,” the woman ordered, louder. “Don’t allow him to kill her. My God! Can you imagine what this would do to public relations?”

“No one is shooting him,” Tiger ground out. “Valiant?” He paused. “Tell me why you’re so angry with the female. She’s a little thing. Is that it? Are you fighting your instincts because you’re seeing her as prey? Think hard, Valiant. This is an innocent human female. She didn’t mean any insult to you or to invade your space. Talk to me, damn it. Just tell me what is going on inside your head.”

Valiant turned his head, tearing his intense gaze away from Tammy once again. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. They snapped open. He glared at someone behind Tammy’s left shoulder. “I’m not going to kill her.”

“Thank God,” Ted said and groaned.

“You just wanted to scare her?” The relief was evident in Tiger’s voice. “Well, you did a good job. Can she go now?”

Valiant’s exotic gaze fixed back on Tammy as he inhaled again. He made a low, rumbling sound. He looked away from her to glare at Tiger. “No. She stays. You go.”

“You know we can’t do that,” Tiger explained calmly. “What is it, man? What’s the problem?”

Valiant growled again. He moved another step and then another toward Tammy. She stopped breathing. Those cat-eyes of his were back on her. He suddenly crouched on all fours, sniffed at her again, and made a sound she hadn’t heard before. It wasn’t a growl exactly, more of a gruff purr, but scary. He settled on his hands and knees in front of her.

“Oh shit,” Tiger cursed. “Valiant? Don’t do it, man.”

Valiant jerked his head up to shoot another threatening glare in Tiger’s direction. He was close enough for her to notice that he smelled of the outdoors and something masculine that was really nice. She took a breath and kept breathing since he wasn’t looking at her.

She lowered her gaze, taking him in, and decided he was big even crouched before her. He wore jeans and a T-shirt but no shoes. The guy had huge hands and feet. He inched closer to her until she could have touched him if she’d just moved her hand out toward him a few inches but she didn’t, still frozen on her knees.

“What’s he doing now?” Ted sounded panicked again.

“Don’t ask,” Tiger ground out. “Valiant, come on, man. What are you doing? You know better if you’re thinking what I suspect you are. She’s a little human thing and you don’t want to attempt this.”

Valiant blinked. “She’s in heat.”

“Oh f**king hell,” Tiger cursed.

Valiant growled.

“Son of a bitch!” Tiger cursed louder. “Ted, I told you to make sure none of your women were ovulating. We went over this, damn it. No wonder he’s acting crazy.”

“How was I supposed to know?” Ted sputtered. “Do you know how many sexual harassment lawsuits I could be hit with if I asked women who worked for me if it’s a certain time of the month? Come on. And how in the hell would anyone know anyway, Tiger? How?”

Tiger cursed again. “We’d know, Ted. I told you we can smell them half a mile away and I told you some of our men would react badly to it. I’m upwind from her but he’s not. If he says she’s ovulating—and trust me, she is—it’s a problem. No wonder he’s acting this way.” The man paused. “Who was on duty when they let her in?”

“Smiley.” A male voice spoke softly. “He’s primate and his sense of smell isn’t as keen. He obviously missed her scent.”

“What does it mean if she is ovulating? Is that why he wants to kill her?” It was the woman speaking. “Is it like a shark going nuts if they smell blood?”

Tiger was silent for a few long seconds. “She’s not bleeding. As a woman you should know the difference between menstruation and ovulation. She’s ovulating. He doesn’t want to kill her. He wants to breed with her.”

“Thank God.” The woman actually laughed. “I thought he would turn her into a chew toy and tear her to pieces.”

“Marcy!” Ted yelled. “How can you laugh about this? It’s not funny. We’re all relieved he isn’t planning on killing her but did you hear what Tiger implied? We have to get her out of there.”