corny dog s. No one can resist one of those,” Ian told her seriously.
Maybe they could go while David was here. He then let Devlin know that Melanie’s brother would be here tomorrow.
“On that note, I think I’ll fire up the grill. All this talk of food has made me hungry. Rafe already has the steaks thawing in the fridge,” Devlin said, rising.
“Thank God you’re not frying the steaks,” Melanie said, grimacing. “Can I do anything to help?”
“Nope, you just relax. I’ll take care of it,” Devlin said. “Now , sometime soon, Ian’s going to have to take you to the diner in town for their chicken fried steak. Trust me on this one, you’ll love it. Smothered in country gravy with mashed potatoes on the side. Nothing better.”
Melanie crawled back between Ian’s legs and leaned against his chest. “Just curious, how high is your cholesterol level? Guess it’s a good thing I know CPR.”
Ian laughed, “We’re shifters, babe. We burn right through it.”
“Must be nice, Fido,” she said.
Devlin was scrubbing the grill while listening to them and laughed quietly. Melanie was going to be good for Ian, he thought.
Melanie settled back in Ian’s arms, enjoying herself. “Hey Devlin, if I throw a stick, will you bring it back to me?” she asked.
“Nope, but if you scratch behind my ear, I’ll thump my leg,” Devlin said, going inside to get the steaks.
Melanie was laughing at the mental picture she now had.
“If you rub my belly, I’ll rub yours,” Ian whispered.
* * *
After dinner, the three of them settled in the great room to watch some TV. Devlin told them he would watch anything so Ian and Melanie played a round of rock, paper, scissors. Melanie was not a graceful winner. She gloated.
“Best of three,” Ian said.
“Nope. I won fair and square. I think we’ll watch, ‘Say, Yes to the Dress,’” she told the men.
They both groaned.
“How about ‘The Dog Whisperer’ instead?” she asked innocently.
Around ten, Melanie started yawning. “I’ll skip the news. I’m going to shower and go to bed. Night guys.”
Ian patted her bottom as she rose to leave. “I need to make the rounds with my pack. I’ll be up in a couple of hours, babe.”
“Okay Rex,” Melanie said, leaving the room.
“So how long are you going to keep calling her babe?” Devlin asked.
Ian grinned, rising. “Until she runs out of dog names.”
Devlin shook his head. “Pitiful. Go run, I’ll be here on watch.”
“Thanks bro,” Ian said.
Melanie climbed into bed after her shower, crawling to the center and curling up on her side. She couldn’t wait to see her brother tomorrow. They certainly had a lot to talk about. She hoped David got along with Ian. Since he had always played the part of big brother so well, she hoped he understood that it was time to let her go.
David was just as intense as Ian. She figured they would either hate each other on sight, or band together to gang up on her. She hoped for the latter , since she knew how to handle them both.
No longer sleepy, Melanie scooted over to grab the remote off the nightstand. Scanning the channels, she decided to watch Jimmy Kimmel. He always made her laugh.
* * *
Ian’s stepped outside and met with one of his enforcers. He gave him a quick synopsis about Melanie’s run in with a wizard, telling him to pass it along to the pack. After hearing all was well, he quickly stripped and shifted to run with the pack. They ran for miles, checking the borders of their property once again for any intruders.
After the problems they’d had with Ciar, Ian had some of his enforcers patrolling while the others were camouflage d. He’d placed his best snipers in the trees, knowing with their enhanced eyesight, they would alert him of any trespassers. Since these men had been trained to sit for hours, he had every confidence
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