Zac checked his reflection in the mirror one last time. He was glad he always traveled with a tux, just in case. It came in very handy this time around.

He thought it would have been difficult for him to somehow get an invitation to come to Vail, but it turned out easier than he thought. The day after the attack, he had overheard his father, the Alpha, and Lucas discussing Adrianna’s arrangements for the conference. Nick was getting ready to be her escort, but Zac stepped in and volunteered instead. “You need to stay here and start making plans for our defense against the mages,” he had said. “You were one of the few that fought them, and the Alpha will need your expertise.”

Astrid was obviously not happy to see him step on that plane, so he did enjoy watching her squirm in jealousy around Isabelle. Of course, he couldn’t stand being around the girl. It really was uncomfortable, the way Isabelle flirted heavily with him. Besides, his inner wolf was annoyed with her and with him, and it would not stand for Astrid being unhappy. He had thought Astrid had been serious about Steve, but when he saw the steward checking him out and sending heavy-lidded glances his way, he knew he had nothing to worry about, and his own jealousy had been tampered down.

After a final check, Zac left his room, jiggling the knob just to be sure it was safely locked. As he looked up, he stopped at the sight that greeted him across the hall. He stood there, transfixed at the vision before him.

The last time that he had seen Astrid that afternoon was when they arrived at the hotel. He was pulled into another last-minute conference call and by the time he was done, the ladies had all checked in. Adrianna had messaged him the details of what time he had to be ready to come by her room, but nothing else. He had assumed that only he and Adrianna were going to be at tonight’s party.

Astrid looked nothing like she did before; well, except maybe the first time he saw her again a few days ago in that ridiculously sexy robe. Red was obviously a good color on her. The crimson off-the-shoulder dress she wore showed off an expanse of creamy skin and just a hint of cleavage. The fabric clung tight around her torso and rest of her body and would have probably been constricting were it not for the high slit on the side. She turned around to make sure her door was secure, exposing a long, slim leg.

His mouth went dry, thinking of the last time she had those legs wrapped around him. She was like a flame, drawing him in like a moth, and he found himself standing inches from her. When she did turn around to face him, her beautiful whiskey-colored eyes lit up in surprise.

“Zac.”

The mere sound of his name on her lips was enough to make him hard as steel, and he was glad he had thought to button his coat. “Astrid.” He took one step closer to her, and while he saw her nostrils flare, she didn’t cower or look intimidated, which drove him even wilder. “You look beautiful.” She only wore a touch of make-up, maybe something to make her lips glossy, but that was about it. Her hair was swept to one side and tumbled in waves down her left shoulder.

He half expected her to brush him off or say something rude, so he was surprised when she said, “T-thank you. You look nice too.”

“Zac. Astrid. Good, you’re both here.”

He whipped his head around and found Adrianna standing next to one of the doors behind him. “Adrianna,” he greeted. “I didn’t know Astrid would be joining the party as well.”

“She’s supposed to be my assistant.” Adrianna walked toward them, her long, green gown flowing behind her. “Don’t you look lovely, Astrid,” she greeted. “I’m glad my dress fit you.”

“Thanks,” Astrid answered. “It’s a little, uh, revealing. Maybe I should change or something—”

“Maybe you should.” Zac frowned. No wonder that slit was so high, seeing as Adrianna was much shorter than Astrid. He could practically see Astrid’s tonsils, which meant all of the men downstairs would too.

Adrianna laughed, her mismatched eyes sparkling. “Don’t be silly, we’re going to be late.” She hooked her arm around Zac’s. “In fact, we should get going.” As they started down the hallway, Adrianna shook her head. “Oh, come on now, Zac, be a gentleman.” She gave a pointed look toward Astrid, who was trailing behind them.

“Of course.” He extended his free arm toward Astrid, and though she hesitated for a moment, she took it anyway. From this close, he could stare down at Astrid and get a good view of her cleavage. When her hair brushed his shoulder, he got a whiff of her intoxicating scent and nearly stumbled.

“Everything okay, Zac?” Adrianna asked with an amused smile on her face.

“Why, yes, Adrianna,” he answered back. “Why don’t we head downstairs.” Inwardly, he groaned. This would be a long night.

They went down to the hotel ballroom where the reception was taking place. Once they were signed in, they all walked in together. He let Adrianna lead him around as she networked and hobnobbed, but Astrid had somehow broken away from them. By the time he realized this, it was too late.

He and Adrianna were across the room and Astrid was standing by the bar, sipping on a drink. The predators were already circling, and he noticed a few of the men checking out Astrid, waiting to pounce. He gritted his teeth when he saw a distinguished older man he recognized as a judge from some British cooking reality show strike up a conversation with her.

When he volunteered to help keep Adrianna safe from the overly amorous men at the conference, he didn’t think he’d have to worry about who would protect Astrid.

“Zac, did you hear me?”

He frowned and then turned back to Adrianna. “Could you repeat what you said?”

Adrianna smiled slyly at him. “Oh, it was nothing important.”

He grimaced. “Sorry.”

“You seemed distracted this evening. Got something on your mind?”

Did Adrianna know about him and Astrid? She looked amused, and there was no doubt about his friend’s intelligence. Of course, he didn’t know himself what was happening between him and Astrid. “No, I’m fine.” But he couldn’t help himself as he looked over to Astrid again. The reality show star was now leaning over her, his eyes fixed on her chest. His inner wolf, normally silent at public gatherings like this, made its displeasure known with a snarl.

Adrianna followed his gaze. “You should go over there and rescue her.”

“Huh? I mean—” he cleared his throat, “I’m here to keep you safe.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why do the men in my life think I can’t take care of myself? Most of the people here know me already. Now,” she shooed him away. “Go. Ask her to dance.”

He didn’t have to be told twice. And if Adrianna suspected something—so what? He was an adult and so was Astrid. They could make their own decisions. And right now, it looked like Astrid was making a bad one as she moved closer to the man whose eyes were so far down between her breasts, they might as well have detached from their sockets. His wolf pushed him on, urging him to get that other male away from her.

“—how about we go up to my suite?” Mr. Reality Show star whispered. “I can have champagne brought up to my room.”

Astrid smiled up sweetly at him as she sidled closer. “Now, Mr. Brown, as I said—” she brushed her hand up the lapel of his tux. “I. Am. Not. Interested!”

Mr. Brown’s eyes crossed as she put a well-placed knee between his legs. He let out a muffled cry and doubled over. Zac signaled to one of the Lycan bodyguards who had been watching over Adrianna—a man he recognized as Keith Johnson— as he quickly made his way to Astrid’s side.

“Let’s go and dance,” he whispered in her ear. She sounded like she wanted to protest, but let out a small squeak when he slid a hand around her waist and pulled her away. Meanwhile, the stern-faced Johnson wrapped a meaty hand around Mr. Brown’s mouth before pulling him out of the room.

Zac brought them to the middle of the dance floor, twisting her around so she faced him. “That wasn’t very nice,” she said. “Having Johnson drag that poor man away like a sack of potatoes.”

“What you did wasn’t nice either,” he pointed out. He brushed a lock of hair away from her face.

“The things he said …” she frowned.

“What did he say?” he asked, gripping her waist tighter.

She huffed. “Let’s just say, I understand why Adrianna needs an escort to these things. Hey—what are you doing?”

He held up her right hand, which he had taken in his. “Dancing.”

“Dancing?” She looked confused. “With whom?”

He swayed her back and forth. “With you, of course.”

“But I can’t dance. I—”

Before she could say anything else, he released her waist, twirled her around, then pulled her back. “See? You can dance.”

She smirked at him. “I think you’re the one dancing. I’m merely swaying along with you.”

“And you do it so well.” He pressed her body just a bit closer, wondering if she would try to wiggle away or worse—give him the same treatment as the unlucky Mr. Brown. What he didn’t expect was for her to relax against him. She seemed almost contented. “Did you learn to dance?”

She guffawed. “My mom tried to send me to dance lessons. You could probably guess how that turned out. Where did you learn to dance, anyway?”

“My great-grandfather insisted on it. He said it was one of those ‘Old World social graces’ that everyone had to learn if he was going to be a respectable man.” The music changed to a song with a slower beat. So, he changed their rhythm, and moved his hand to her lower back, just above the curve of her ass. He pulled her forward so she brushed up right against him.

“This doesn’t feel very respectable.” She looked down between them, where their bodies touched. “Haven’t you heard of ‘leaving room for Jesus’?”

“I never said I was respectable,” he whispered in her ear. As they danced, he looked around them and saw a door that probably led to the balcony outside. Perfect. No one would be out there because of the freezing temperatures. He maneuvered her backward, away from the dance floor and the other people.

“Zac?” She looked up at him with curious eyes. “Where are we—” She took in a deep breath when the balcony doors opened behind them, the cold wind rushing in. He wrapped an arm around her as he walked her back, then closed the doors behind him. “It’s freezing out here!” she exclaimed.

“Here.” He took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. It was a useless gesture as Astrid’s body would warm up on its own, but he couldn’t help it. She was beautiful in her dress, but even more so with his tuxedo jacket covering her up. It would also mean she’d be covered in his scent, which pleased his inner wolf to no end.

“Thanks,” she said, pulling the jacket closer around her. “Care to tell me what we’re doing out here?”

“It was getting stuffy in there,” he said. “And I didn’t get a chance to warm you up that night on the balcony.”

“Because you thought I was making out with someone else,” she pointed out.

“Well—”

“My brother,” she added.

“He did just show up out of nowhere. But now that it’s just us—”

“Zac.” She placed her hands on his chest. “Please. Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t do this.” She swallowed visibly. “You know this can’t work between us.”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because it’s true!” She pushed him away. “I don’t know what you want from me. We have nothing in common, and we’re worlds apart. I’ve done nothing to make you want me, and you’re not being fair.”

Her words made him freeze. Aside from the consuming attraction between them, what else was there between them? What would happen if they did give in? “Do you want a relationship? Is that it?”

“What?” She seemed horrified at the thought, which wounded his pride even more. “No, I … I’m … You’ve ignored me for years, and now I’m supposed to believe that you’re attracted to me all of a sudden?”

He grabbed the lapels of the jacket and brought her closer to him. “Wait, what do you mean ‘ignored you’? I’ve barely seen you.”

“That’s it,” she sighed. “You haven’t seen me at all.”

She turned away, but he pulled her back to face him. “What are you saying, Astrid?”

“I want to go back to my room, Zac,” she said.

“Not until you tell me what this is about.”

“What are you going to do? Keep me hostage here?” she challenged.

It sounded real tempting right now, though he wished they were somewhere warmer and more private. “Astrid, talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Zac.” She wrenched free of him, then took off his jacket and laid it on the railing. “I’m tired. I’m going to head back to my room. And you should go back to Adrianna.”

He stood there, frozen to the spot, and not just because of the temperatures. What in God’s name had Astrid been talking about? What did she mean he didn’t see her at all?

When he finally shook himself out of his reverie, he gathered enough sense to head back inside. Astrid was nowhere to be seen, as she probably did head upstairs. The need to go there and bang on her door was great; his wolf was clawing at him, furious that he let her go. However, if there was anything he’d learned in the past few days, it was that the more he pushed Astrid, the more she would fight him. Somehow, he had to let her come to him. But how?

It was another sleepless night, but then again what was new? Ever since that night Zac saw Astrid, he couldn’t get a good night’s sleep. He lay in bed, wondering what it was he did to her. It was obvious it was something, but what? He was determined to find out.

He was supposed to go back home this morning, but if he wanted answers, he had to stay. So, he called the pilot and told him to cancel their flight back home, telling him that it didn’t seem practical to have the jet fly him back to New York today, only to then come back and get Adrianna the next day.

After sending emails and a long call to his assistants back in London, he got dressed and finally left his room. Just his damned luck, Isabelle was also on her way out.

“Zac!” she called, running down the hall toward him, dressed in her designer ski suit. “Oh, Zac, good thing I caught you!”

“What is it, Isabelle?” He couldn’t even bring himself to be nice to her this morning.

“I thought you were supposed to leave this morning?”

“It seemed like a waste of fuel for the jet go back and forth in twenty-four hours,” he explained. “So I decided to stay until tomorrow.”

“Oh great!” She clapped her hands together. “That means we can go skiing!”

He shook his head. “I’m too busy for skiing, Isabelle. Can’t you go on your own?”

“Please, Zac?” She batted her eyelashes at him. “I don’t want to go alone. Neither of my bodyguards know how to ski. What if something happened to me? Those mages are out to get us, right?”

He gritted his teeth. Spending the day on the slopes with Isabelle was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had no doubt that she would insist on going out anyway without her bodyguards. Besides, Adrianna and Astrid would be busy at the conference today and he didn’t have a ticket to attend. “Fine,” he said. Maybe some exercise would do him good and release some of the tension he’d been feeling. “I’ll meet you at the gear rental place in half an hour, after I call the office to let them know I’ll be out.”

“Yay!” she squealed, then jumped up to kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks, Zac, you won’t regret this!” She ran down the hall, humming happily to herself as she went into the elevator.

As promised, Zac showed up at the ski rental hut half an hour later. Isabelle was already there waiting for him. “I knew you’d come,” she said smugly. “Oh, I can’t wait to get out onto the slopes.”

He gave his shoe size to the clerk behind the counter. “We’re not spending the whole day skiing, Isabelle,” he said. “I have to get back after lunch.”

“Boo.” Isabelle pouted. “You’re no fun.”

“You should listen to your friend,” the clerk said as he handed Zac a pair of boots. “They’re saying there might be a freak storm coming in later today.”

“See, Isabelle?” Zac said. “We’ll take a couple runs and then head back.”

“Ugh, who cares? I’ve been skiing double black diamonds since I was thirteen.” She grabbed her gear. “C’mon, Zac, let’s go.”

He followed her out to the slopes and lined up for the ski lifts. While he let her chatter on incessantly as they made their way to the top of the slope, he had to admit, it was beautiful out here. It reminded him of one vacation they had over the winter break when he was fourteen. They had gone to Switzerland, all of them, even his great-grandfather. The hurt lessened after all these years of him being gone, but it was still there.

“Zac!” Isabelle called as she hopped off the lift and scooted away.

Lost in his own thoughts, he nearly missed the jump. “I’m right behind you.”

“You’re such a head case today,” she said, walking over to the first slope. “Well, forget about whatever’s bothering you. Let’s go!” Isabelle pulled her goggles over her face, planted her poles onto the snow and then pushed herself off. Zac huffed and then followed the younger woman down the slope.

The resort’s intermediate course was challenging, even for an experienced skier like himself. Isabelle didn’t seem to have any trouble navigating the steep slopes, zooming down with ease. When they reached the bottom, Isabelle insisted they head up again right away to the more difficult runs. He had to admit, he was having fun, and it had been years since he’d done anything so exhilarating. It was almost like having the freedom to shift and run in his wolf form as he pleased. When was the last time he did that anyway? Too long.

Though he was enjoying himself, Zac knew that they couldn’t stay too long. The dark clouds were already coming closer, and flurries had built up around them as they did their last descent. Zac told Isabelle it was time to head back.

“But we’ve only done a couple of runs!” she whined.

“Isabelle, I told you I can’t stay too long. Besides,” he pointed to the gray skies in the distance. “I think that guy at the rental place was right. There might be a snowstorm coming.”

“Oh, boo!” She made a face. “I’m going one last time on the double black diamond course. You can join me or not, but if something happens, then you’ll have to explain to my father, your Alpha, why I was alone.” She marched off in the direction of the ski lifts.

Zac considered letting the brat just go off on her own, but he knew if anything did happen to her, he would no doubt feel guilty. With a deep sigh, he followed behind her.

“I knew you’d cave in,” Isabelle said as he sat down on the lift chair. “All this snow … this last one is going to be great, I know it.”

“One last run and then we’re headed inside, okay?”

“You’re so grumpy and serious, Zac.” She rubbed his arm. “C’mon, when was the last time you had fun?”

“I have plenty of fun.” The chair lurched forward and he grabbed the side to prevent himself from falling over. As they ascended up the mountain, he couldn’t help but wonder about Astrid. The physical exertion helped keep his mind off her, but when it was quiet like this, his thoughts drifted to her.

“Ready?” Isabelle said as they neared the top of the most advanced slope in the resort. There was no one else there, and the snow was now whipping around them.

“I think we should take the lifts back, Isabelle.” There was a feeling in his gut, and it wasn’t good.

“Don’t be a sissy!” she taunted. “C’mon!” With a loud whoop, she pushed herself off and disappeared down the mountain.

Zac let out an exasperated sound and put his goggles on. He followed her down the mountain, zooming down the powdery slopes at top speed. The wind was really coming in fast now, blowing snowflakes around him. Good thing Isabelle was easy to spot in her hot pink ski suit, so he was able to follow, but she was so fast that eventually, he could no longer see the bright blur in front of him.

They had done this run a couple of times now, so he knew the course well enough. However, he knew there were a few dangerous curves, even for seasoned skiers, plus the weather seemed to get worse and worse by the second. The bad feeling in Zac’s gut grew and he bent down lower, trying to pick up speed. When he heard the loud whump sound behind him, he knew he was in deep trouble. That sound meant only one thing: snow dislodging from the side of the mountain. An avalanche.