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Shepherd cut a dangerous glare at his lieutenant "What is your point?"

Intense blue eyes sat static in a face devoid of eer tightened on the trigger I had a measure of rapport with her; you did not"

The slight flare of Shepherd's nostrils, the intake of breath, was nothing corowl that stained his reply "Her entire plan hinged on distracting us with the ploy She did not pull the trigger, she ran"

Jules did not baulk "Her success will give her confidence, and er in order to fulfill her agenda Shall I create a situation she'd want to resolve? We could draw her out on our terms Miss O'Donnell could potentially be captured before any more trauma accumulated"

Shepherd estion before he shook his head in the negative "She is too clever for that"

"Where do you think she'll strike next?"

"I do not think she will strike at all Not one of her bombs killed a Follower; she could have executed all our comrades trapped inside Casualties were kept to a minimum As far as we know, she never fired the pistol or pointed it at anyone but herself No matter the show she put on, Claire O'Donnell is a pacifist Her ideal would be to inspire, just like she threatened"

"If she exposes herself to the public, they will bring her in," the Beta assured

"Her faith in the scuun If they knew of our bond, the people of Thólos would not deliver her hoether like kittens in Maryanne's bed, Claire slept with one hand over her belly and a troubled frown on her brow Maryanne watched her fitful sleep, certain again that she'd lost herthe obstinate fool away

After witnessing the shoith Shepherd, watching as the hulking killer spoke as softly as he could even though he was clearly furious, Maryanne couldn't wrap her head around it When she'd been forced to work for hi compared to the cautious demeanor he displayed to his mate

TheBut just for a moment there, Maryanne had seen it He'd been desperate

Pair-bonds were strange things, a condition Maryanne had purposely chosen to avoid until the day she died Who would want to give up their freedom and be tied to another person forever? The very idea was repulsive Sex was sex—and Maryanne loved sex—but the urge to forge a tie, to bind oneself… no thank you!

As an Alpha feed far and wide, and fear of getting knocked up was basically non-existent The only way to ovulate required the use of hora in heat to inspire such an event Maryanne didn't have a thing for scrawny guys, which was good, since the likelihood of finding a a was pretty disirl now and then had been fun, too

Being born an Alpha had been a boon She was stronger, aggressive, quick, and able to h society in a position people like Claire coveted The s in her arms had always resented her dynamic, even when they were little Maryanne couldn't blaan to fill the room with sweetness instead of just little kid stink, the world started treating her like she was ed her intopursuits

Childhood shenanigans had been good for Claire

Or were, until Claire began to hide what she was under the practiced mask of a Beta—the pills, special soap It was sad to see so else

Considering the alternative of being bonded in a heated stupor with no real protection if the Alpha went against the Oa's wishes, it was understandable

After all, look what had happened to Claire's on of the downside It was no surprise Claire had never e at her now, Maryanne wondered if the dark-haired woman even knew the absolute finality of her bond with Shepherd, and the lengths to which he would go to recapture his mate

Or he would just kill her… he probably would kill her after tonight, at least

Grinning stupidly, Maryanne thought back on Claire's taunts and the burning veheiant Maryanne would have paid good money to watch that show If she wasn't so anxious that Shepherd was going to rip the wall off the side of her den and come to fetch back his very unbalanced hed at how perfectly Claire had owned hiainst the Followers, she'd even threatened to kill herself and probably would have… sih with the second half of the plan