The physical evidence of the vandalism was long gone, yet much of the damage remained. It lingered in the tension that stiffened Miguel's spines every day Alejandro drove them to work, wondering what they might find waiting for them. It lingered in the way Ralph and Yolanda no longer bickered, too preoccupied to take playful jabs at each other lest stress sharpen their words.

Worst of all, it lingered in the silence that swallowed the restaurant after any loud or sudden noise. Something as simple as a fork hitting the floor sent all eyes to the source of the sound, with a collective sigh rippling through the restaurant once everyone realized nothing was amiss.

Near the end of the evening, Miguel had just finished helping Alejandro prep the last entrée order: a platter of their ever-popular sausages. "I swear those spit more than an angry cat," Miguel said as he dabbed at the specks of grease shining on Alejandro's skin.

"Not nearly as much as Pepita. That little monster is going to bite my toes off one of these days, but as far as Diego is concerned, she's an angel." Alejandro leaned closer to him. "I think you've got some on you too."

"I don't...oh!" Miguel grinned as he realized what Alejandro actually meant, a soft rumbling building in his throat. "Sure feels like it. Mind helping me out?"

His heart fluttered as gentle lips pressed against his neck. Nuzzling the top of Alejandro's head, Miguel lost himself in a sea of soft brown curls.

"And here I was worried he was going to cast you aside like shed skin someday." Rosa snorted as Alejandro's little jump of surprise smacked his head against Miguel's jaw. "Do you two ever stop?"

"Not really," Yolanda said. She'd given up on prying the two of them apart, instead taking the long way to the pass with her jello salad. Ever since Miguel had convinced her to add jalapeños, it had grown from being their least popular dessert to their most popular, not that she'd ever admit how much his suggestion had improved her dish.

"Let them have their fun." Ralph loaded the last of his pots into the dishwasher, closing it with a firm thud. "I'm just glad they're enjoying themselves."

"You guys still up for hitting The Iron Cactus tonight?" Alejandro asked. "Wings are on us."

Us. That word filled the kitchen with Miguel's thrumming.

"I swear anything you do makes him purr like a cat in heat!" Yolanda said. "But yeah, sounds good. I need a freaking drink."

"You're going to need an even bigger one when I eat more wings than you again," Rosa said with a smirk. She still hadn't mastered the art of smiling with her lips instead of her fangs, but none of them minded.

"We'll see about that. I've been going easy on you, but now that I know you can handle some heat—"

Shouting echoed through the restaurant.

Ralph grabbed a knife. "Stay back. If those fuckers want to hurt any of you, they'll have to get through me first."

Rosa's spines rose. "Nonsense. I used to hunt coyotes for a living. If anyone can handle a bunch of hooligans, it's me."

"Let's all go." Miguel slipped his hand into Alejandro's before he could protest. "They might be able to handle one or two of us, but only a fool would challenge all of us."

Only one customer remained to witness the commotion. Huddled beneath a table, he hid behind José as the young chupacabra crouched in front of him with his spines raised, ready to defend him despite trembling like a leaf in a hurricane.

But the yelling wasn't coming from inside the restaurant.

Luis bared his fangs at the humans standing outside. "I said get lost!"

"We're just finishing what her old pack started." David towered over the chupacabra sprawled across the pavement in a heap of bloody scales.

"We don't normally serve knuckle sandwiches, but we're going to make an exception if you don't get your sorry ass out of here!" Ralph yelled.

"I'd like to see you try, lizard lover." David's friends clustered around him with quivering fists raised as he curled his lips into a sneer. He aimed his boot at the chupacabra lying at their feet and kicked. Hard.

The force of the blow knocked a gasp out of her, but the chupacabra didn't scream. Instead, her plea came as a hoarse whisper. "Don't."

Miguel knew that voice.

The same voice that had fearlessly answered challenges, murmured soft reassurances as he'd relearned how to walk on his bad leg, and welcomed him when he'd emerged from his egg was filled with pain.

"Get away from her!" Miguel charged at the humans circling his sister. A throaty growl garbled his words, leaving only his fury and fangs to speak for him.

David leaped backward with a yelp as Miguel snapped his jaws together. Footsteps echoed down the street as his cronies fled. "Damn cowards," he muttered.

Rosa and Luis flanked Miguel, their lips peeled back in snarls dripping venom. Alejandro moved to join them, but Ralph held him back. "We'd just get in the way."

Miguel couldn't spare a glance at his Moonbeam. He was too busy staring at David, lowering himself into a hunter's crouch. His muscles ached not just from the unfamiliarity of his stance but from suppressing the urge to rip apart anyone who dared to hurt his sister. "Leave."

David's fingers crept toward his holster but froze as a chorus of growls rippled like thunder. His eyes darted from one chupacabra to the next, meeting bared fangs and twitching claws.

The human staff held their breath.

David fled.

Alejandro rushed to Miguel's side, wordlessly wrapping him in a trembling embrace. Only when he was sure David was well and truly gone did Miguel flatten his spines. "It's alright, Moonbeam. I'm okay."

But Isabella wasn't. Slashes littered her scales, many still oozing blood. A trail of crimson footprints led up the sidewalk, handprints marking where she'd been forced onto all fours.

With the adrenaline that had fueled his charge gone, Miguel was left with rasping breaths and pain stabbing his leg as he crouched next to Isabella.

Her nostrils twitched as she sniffed the air, eyes squeezed shut. "Are they gone, hermanito?" she asked in a faint whisper.

"They won't be coming back anytime soon." Miguel offered her his hand.

She tried to rise on her own, only to stumble forward and grab Miguel's arm with such desperation that she nearly sent them both falling to the concrete. "Damn rotten egg. He and his friends came after me as soon as they found out I'm..." She swallowed, the words catching in her throat like a jagged piece of bone. "I'm packless now."

Miguel's spines bristled. "He has no right to force you out of the pack. Andy knows that! If we tell him—"

"He had nothing to do with it." A sigh rattled out of Isabella as Miguel led her inside. She eased herself into one of the dining chairs with a groan, averting her eyes as José ushered the last customer out the door. "Martha beat me fair and square, and she banished me."

Miguel's stomach dropped. After everything she'd done for the pack, they'd cast her aside as if she was carrion. All those years leading hunts and giving others her portion of their kills, and this was how they repaid her?

"They let her do that?" Yolanda let out a low whistle. "Some pack."

"Not a good time," Ralph hissed.

"It's fine." Isabella gratefully accepted the makeshift icepack Alejandro handed her, pressing the napkin full of ice cubes against the blackened scales around her throat. "Esmeralda made quite a fuss, but even she couldn't convince Martha to let me stay."

"Please tell me you at least had Dr. Wilkins look you over." Miguel dabbed at the dried blood crusting her side, careful not to reopen the wounds.

"Not yet. I needed to warn you first. With how Martha has been acting, it would not be wise for any of you to go near Saguaro Pack's territory. Stars know it would not be wise for me." She let out a long, slow breath. "I also wanted to ask if any of you know any good packless shelters where I can spend the night."

Miguel and Alejandro shared a look. After his partner gave him a silent nod of approval, Miguel said, "You can stay with us if you want."

Isabella's eyes widened. "After everything I've done, you still want me in your life?" She shook her head and blinked back tears. "Haven't I caused you enough trouble? I can't even give you the acknowledgement you need to form your own pack anymore."

This was not the response Miguel had expected. Where was his proud, confident sister who could stand her ground against a rabid coyote without batting an eye? Did she really think he'd turn her away just because he and Alejandro would have to find someone else to make their pack official?

She meant so much more to him than the power her status as leader had given her.

"I'd feel a lot better if I knew you had a safe place to stay," Miguel said, "especially while you're recovering."

"Besides," Alejandro said, "we can't exactly call ourselves a pack if it's only the two of us, can we?"

"You definitely can," Isabella said. "Sometimes two is all you need to make a pack. A mated pair, siblings, it doesn't matter as long as all the members look out for each other."

"I'm not exactly an expert on how a pack can or should work, so we could use all the help we can get in that department. Besides, I need help making sure a certain someone doesn't do anything too dangerous." Alejandro looped his arm around Miguel and pulled him closer to his side, his smile strained. "Like charging a drunken asshole while his leg is still in a brace."

"You have a point," Isabella said with a laugh. "He can be quite a handful. Our handful."