Free Fast and the Furriest by Celia Kyle

PR rep was definitely a surprise.
    One reason was because she was a wolf on tiger land—in their den. Oh, a few canines had come to town but very few ever crossed the threshold.
    Then there was the knowledge of where exactly she fell in the werewolf hierarchy. Or rather, where her father fell.
    He led Zoe down the wide stairs, gratified to see that most of the tigers from the previous night were gone, only the weakest still hanging around in their fur. The rest were strong enough to shift back to two feet and head off to work while he dealt with the legalities of coming out. It was past time to deal with Cadman and DoPE.
    They stopped at the base of the stairs, him turning his attention to the kitchen and the slap fight that was about to break out. Chicks fighting could be hot, but he didn’t think his mate would be keen on him getting off on what was about to go down.
    “Baby, there something you wanna tell me?” he murmured and pressed a soft kiss to Zoe’s forehead.
    She nuzzled him and breathed deeply, releasing her breath with a soft sigh. “Huh?”
    “About your friend being a wolf? Her daddy?”
    “Hmm…” She stilled and jerked away from him. “Oh, right.” She shook her head. “Ronnie’s here. Where is she?”
    “Touch me again, and you’ll be pulling back a bloody stump.” The words ended on a growl and were followed up by a hiss from Darcy.
    Zoe chuckled, and the scent of her happiness tickled his nose. “There she is.”
    Ronnie changed her tune on a dime, switching from threatening violence to… bacon? And flirting with Braden. With bacon ?
    “And this is some delicious bacon . I really wanna taste more of your… bacon .” What she did to the bacon should be illegal. And he definitely didn’t want to see any of it. From the look on Braden’s face though, he wanted to see it all and more.
    “Ronnie! Quit sucking the bacon like a dick. I heard you fighting with Darcy. You can’t pretend you weren’t.” Zoe wiggled free of his grip and shuffled toward the kitchen.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, I’m a like a Hoover, baby. Don’t be hating on my game.” Ronnie smiled at Ares, winked at Zoe, and then focused on Braden. “A super deluxe model, at that. Don’t be jealous.”
    Ares shuddered. Definitely not a visual he wanted to have. Ever.
    Apparently Darcy didn’t like being ignored because that woman—the world’s biggest idiot based on what she did next—grabbed at Ronnie once more. He shoulda stopped it, coulda stopped it, but didn’t. After her behavior last night in the middle of trying to keep the pride safe, along with her loudly voiced opinions about Zoe… Darcy needed to be put in her place.
    Darcy wrapped claw-tipped fingers around Ronnie’s bare forearm and tugged. The thing was, Ronnie didn’t move an inch. She did slowly tear her attention from Braden, the smile falling from her lips as she focused on the fingers digging into her flesh. Her attention followed the length of that arm, slowly raising her gaze until the wolf’s eyes met the tiger’s.
    A better alpha would step in.
    Ares just wanted his cup of coffee.
    Ronnie sneered. “Listen, little cunt—”
    “Ronnie,” Zoe hissed, but Ares moved forward and tugged Zoe out of harm’s way.
    “What?” Ronnie glanced over her shoulder, meeting Zoe’s gaze and then transferring that stare to him. Her amber eyes traveled over him from head-to-toe before focusing on his mate once more. She wiggled her eyebrows, a smile on her lips. “Momma likes.” That had Zoe truly hissing like the feline she was becoming. “Touchy this morning. Coffee’s brewing. Lemme get rid of this, and then we can chat, m’kay?”
    Zoe sighed, and he realized he liked this side of her. The one that was laid back and relaxed even though surrounded by growing tension. “We agreed not to use the C word.”
    “Only if it wasn’t appropriate and pertinent to the conversation.”
    Ares fought his smile. Hell, he