Alphas on the Prowl by Anna Lowe, Catherine Vale, Jami Brumfield, Bethany Shaw, Tasha Black, Lashell Collins, Gina Kincade, Phoenix Johnson, Annie Nicholas, Sarah Makela, Amy Lee Burgess

think I…?”
    “You, your response. I must tell you that you don’t have a very good poker face.”
    “Poker faces aren’t necessary skill sets for my kind.”
    “Ah, but they are for exotic dancers.”
    “What business is that of yours?”
    “You seem awfully defensive for someone in your line of work. You might want to get a tougher skin if you expect to flourish.”
    “I’m only doing this to pay for my tuition,” she spat back. She didn’t mean to say anything, but the words just tumbled from her mouth. For some reason she cared about what the oaf thought of her.
    He didn’t respond, just went back to his pizza and drink.
    “I had some family issues to deal with, and now I’m two months away from going back to school,” Kensi told him. “They want me to become an assassin, and I want to be a dream psychiatrist so they’re refusing to help me pay for the schooling, and have given me two months to make it happen. Otherwise, I’m expected to conform to their ruling and join the family business.” She couldn’t believe she was spilling her life story for the man, but she wanted him to know the reasoning behind her decision.
    “It’s your choice.” Trey couldn’t help but respect her a little more for going after her dreams no matter the cost.             
    “Is this how it’s going to be?”
    “What?”
    “The veiled responses, the vague and passive-aggressive comments, the silence. You know, the whole avoidance complex?”
    “I suppose so since this is me. What you see is what you get.”
    Typical. She meets a guy she’s attracted to, and not only has he kidnapped her, he wants to bring her sister in to the authorities. And now she wants to change him. She shook her head, focused on the pizza, and decided her best bet at this point was to keep quiet.
    After painful minutes flew by in silence, he finally spoke. “Do I need to be prepared for a visit from a family member? I really don’t have any desire to hurt anyone tonight.” He wanted to relax.
    “If you did, I’d probably not tell you.” She couldn’t help but point out.
    Trey sighed. “Look, Kensi, I get that you’re dangerous. I really do. I mean, the idea that you can kill me in my sleep is something of nightmares. But you need to hear me now. I’m a dragon shifter, a very strong, resourceful shifter who has druid magic at his fingertips. I won’t need to sleep for days. Whoever you called to rescue you isn’t going to be able to get past me and my siblings. You’re not going to be able to escape when I fall to sleep because it won’t happen. And while you’re attempting to wait me out, someone else, a meaner someone else, is going to be searching for your sister. The bounty on her head is high. I’m not the only one seeking her head, but I’m one of the few that promises to make sure that pretty head is attached when I deliver her. You understand?”
    Kensi stared at him, aghast at his words, terrified they may be the truth, as she processed his meaning. “And I’m supposed to trust you?”
    “Probably not.” He finished off his soda, “but I’m the best option you’ve got right now.” His dragon snarled, ‘tell her!’ He continued to ignore the beast. He wasn’t sure, and this wasn’t the moment to be revealing such an intense truth.
    Kensi’s thoughts whirled around like a tornado in her mind as she attempted to determine the best path. Dream weavers weren’t warriors in the waking realm, but they were intelligent. They observed, processed, and made decisions quickly. It was one of the few ‘powers’ they held in this world, and she valued it immensely. “Okay, I need to meet with the Tribunal.”
    Trey snickered. He couldn’t help it. She was naïve, and he’d need to make sure she learned the ways of the supernatural world once they were mated. “People don’t just meet with the Tribunal.”
    “You’re taking my sister to them.”
    “Because she is being investigated. Don’t get