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The tallest woman I’d ever seen came to stand beside Rafael and me. She was at least six feet six inches, broad-shouldered, and had the muscles that only serious weight lifting will give you. She was wearing a black sports bra across her tanned chest and a pair of faded black jeans. Her dark hair was caught back in a tight ponytail, leaving her face clean and startling with not a touch of makeup on it.

“This is Claudia. She’s going to be one of your enforcers for the night,” Rafael said.

I opened my mouth to protest, but he stared me into silence. His face so serious. “You have wereleopards, but only Micah has bodyguards. We can’t afford to lose you Anita, not for something stupid like this.”

“If I can’t take care of myself, then what good is my threat?”

“Richard will have his Skoll and Hati. I will have my guards. Micah has his. Only you are without escort. Raina kept the wereleopards as an adjunct to the werewolves. They never really grew into a full pard, not really. Even Micah’s people added to yours don’t have the right personnel for a working pard. You have too many submissives and not enough dominants. So tonight you will have Claudia and Igor.”

Zane said, “We can take care of Anita.”

“No we can’t,” Nathaniel said.

I stared at him. He touched my arm. “Take the help, Anita, please.”

“We can protect her,” Micah said.

Merle echoed him.

“And if you have to choose between saving Micah, or saving Anita, which one will you choose?” Rafael asked.

Merle looked away, but Noah said, “Micah.”

“Exactly.”

“Won’t your rats feel just as torn between you and Anita as my leopards would?” Micah asked.

“No, because I’ll have bodyguards. My rodere, my gang, runs high to enforcers and professional soldiers. Why do you think that Raina and Marcus agreed to the treaty when Richard brought it to them? They’d never have allied with us if we weren’t stronger than just our numbers.”

“I don’t . . .”

He actually touched my mouth with his finger. “No, Anita. When this is over, and you are truly Nimir-Ra, then you will need to advertise for enforcers of your own. Until then, I’ll share.”

I moved his hand away from my mouth. “I don’t think this is necessary.”

“I do,” he said.

“I agree,” Cherry said.

Finally, Micah said, “Agreed.” Merle and Noah both gave him a funny look, then exchanged glances with each other.

“I haven’t agreed to this,” I said.

Nathaniel leaned into me, and said, “If you don’t give in on this we’ll still be standing here an hour from now.”

I frowned at him.

He smiled and shrugged.

I turned to the bodyguard in question. She just looked at me, face impassive, as if it didn’t matter to her one way or another. A man moved up beside her. He was about two inches shorter than she was, broader through the shoulders, and had so many tattoos that for a second I thought he was wearing a colorful long-sleeved shirt. His tank top was small and strained over the swell of his chest. Jeans and work boots completed his outfit. He was bald, with a tattoo of a dragon curling around his ears and the back of his skull. Even by starlight you could see the design of the tat was oriental and well done.

“How do you guys feel about putting your life on the line for someone you just met?”

“You saved our king’s life,” the man said. “We owe you a life.”

“Even if it’s your own,” I said.

“Them’s the breaks,” he said.

I stared up at the woman. “You agree with that?”

“Like Igor says, we owe you one.”

It always made me uncomfortable when people were willing to put my safety ahead of their own. I just wasn’t really comfy with the concept of bodyguards, but, what the hell? I put my hand out. They exchanged glances between them, then shook my hand. Igor touched me like he was afraid I’d break, and Claudia tried to squeeze hard enough to make me cry uncle. I didn’t. I smiled pleasantly at her, because I knew she wouldn’t really hurt me. She just wanted to see if I’d squirm. My pleasant smile made her frown, but she let go of my hand. My hand actually ached just a little, and if my healing powers weren’t up to it, I