And a quick excerpt:

 

“Mr. Ellery!”

 

Marlin Ellery turned his face toward the voice, as if there was some chance that the leather blindfold some fool had tied over his eyes would conveniently disappear. Of course, it didn’t. Ellery remained surrounded by darkness and an unknown number of men.

 

Rough hands pressed down on his shoulders, forcing him to his knees. A thick rug softened his landing. A second pair of hands wrapped around his right arm and stopped him from falling flat on his face. Neither of those facts provided a great deal of consolation.

 

He was bound, blindfolded, naked and now he was on his knees in front of a room full of men. The sudden realization that the men weren’t all strangers to him, wasn’t a blessing.

 

The voice finally matched itself with a name in the back of his mind. “Marrick?”

 

“You know him?” one of the men who’d led Ellery into the room demanded.

 

“Yeah. From the clubs. He’s a…dominant.” That was Marrick’s voice again, stumbling over the term as he tried to make the title fit the man kneeling before him.

 

Ellery’s hackles rose. His hands tightened into fists behind his back. After so many visits to those local clubs, the boy should have more sense than to think the trimmings could make so much difference to the man.

 

Holding back a string of curses, Ellery did his best to console himself with the knowledge he was definitely in the right place. This was definitely the lions’ den that the local subs kept disappearing to. All he had to do now was keep his temper, and everything would be fine.

 

“He’s a what? How do you know him?” One of the men who’d dragged Ellery into the room demanded, from his left.

 

“Um…are you two sure you got the right guy?” someone cut in from the far side of the room.

 

“How many men do you think land on our doorstep dressed like this by accident?” Marrick’s friend snarled.

 

“He’s not very like the other sacrifices…” That was Mr. Worried from the corner again.

 

And suddenly everyone was talking at once. Voices chased each other back and forth above Ellery’s head. He did his best to build some sort of mental map of the room, but there were too many people, and they moved around too damn much. It was impossible for him to even be sure of the number of men present, let alone calculate which really were men and how many were actually werelions.

 

“He’s older than most of the other sacrifices…

 

“Bigger…”

 

“Stronger…”

 

“Not very pet like…”

 

“He’s beautiful…”

 

The last two words were softly spoken, yet they seemed to catch the attention of everyone present. Silence fell over the room until a log crackled in the fire.

 

Nothing else was said, but Ellery still got the distinct impression that someone was creeping cautiously closer to him.

 

Fingers stroked very softly down his cheek, caressing Ellery’s skin more gently than he’d ever have believed possible. Against all logic, he found himself remaining still and simply accepting the other man’s touch.

 

“Kefir?”

 

The man in front of Ellery spoke up in response to the query. All he managed was a hesitant little “I…” but it was enough to confirm a name at least.

 

Kefir snatched his touch away from Ellery’s face. The dominant sensed him retreat.

 

“You know what you need to say?” It was the same voice that had said Kefir’s name.

 

The speaker sounded older than the men who had been arguing with each other a few moments before, his voice was deeper, richer. Even though he seemed to be making an effort to speak gently, his voice was still strong and confident—a natural inclination to dominance still came through loud and clear.

 

Ellery’s spine straightened, as he realized he’d just met the leader of the pride.

 

“You can’t be serious!” Marrick’s friend cut in from Ellery’s left, before Kefir had a chance to speak again.

 

“Are you declaring an interest in him, Blaine?” the leader demanded.

 

“No, but—”

 

“Then be silent!” The older voice made no attempt to speak gently to the dissenter in his ranks.

 

“But—”

 

A roar echoed through the room. Primal instinct kicked in. A shudder tried to run through Ellery’s body, but he stopped it in its tracks, unwilling to show any such weakness before the assembled lions. Anyway, he could hardly blame the lions’ leader for losing patience. Marrick obviously belonged to a brat.

 

“Let him go, both of you.”

 

The hands that had led Ellery into the room disappeared. He sensed the lions they belonged to stepped away from him. Bare skin brushed against Ellery’s knee as Kefir crept closer again.

 

“You know what you need to say?” the leader asked Kefir again.

 

“If you say ‘shield’, you’re free to go,” Kefir whispered, making no attempt to make his voice sound deeper, or more dominant, the way Blaine had.

 

Ellery was so focused on the beautiful, submissive quality in his tone, it took a moment for the meaning of the shifter’s statement to sink in. The lions knew about safe words, then?

 

An answer appeared to be required. “I understand.”

 

“Neatly done, Kefir.” The leader sounded very pleased with him. “He’s yours for the night.”