“Welcome to the 10K Pink Road Race!” I greeted. “Your number is 1372. Will you be running this race in your animal form?”

The petite redhead, a fox shifter, her scent told me, bounced on the balls of her feet, clearly excited for the race. With an eager nod, she accepted the collar I offered her.

“Make sure you have your collar on before you shift. And don’t worry. It’s been specially designed with shifters in mind. You’ll have no problems. To your right,” I pointed, “you’ll find the bathrooms, as well as a place to shift in privacy behind the pink curtains. Any questions?”

“Will there be food available?” she asked. “Tacos in particular?”

“Actually, yes. Over there you’ll find the food trucks. And I’m pretty sure I saw a taco stand.”

Placing a palm over her heart, she said, “Thank you,” with such relief I laughed.

“Have a great race and good luck!” I told her as she trotted off.

“You’re doing a great job, Linnea.”

I smiled my thanks at Sherri, my registration team buddy and friend, but she didn’t see it. Her attention was on the next registrant in line. Slammed since the moment we opened the booth, neither of us had taken a break in hours. Which was exactly what we’d hoped for.

This was my first year working the race. Sponsored by the charity organization Pink Strength, the run was held annually in Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. It was also the first all shifter charity run. To be fair, humans weren’t excluded. Yet, most stayed on the sidelines to cheer on their friends and family.

The proceeds from the run went to mobile breast cancer clinics. Breast cancer was a rarity among our kind. However, there were very few of us who hadn’t been affected by cancer one way or another. The old pain from my own loss caused me to blink rapidly, my eyes prickling with tears. But when I looked out at the sea of people, all here to help raise money and awareness, my lips lifted up in the corners. Grief was a natural part of life. But how we coped with our grief was what set us apart.

I laughed to myself. The words had come straight from my therapist’s mouth. But they were the truth. Working for Pink Strength and helping women without means was how I’d found the courage to survive. If only that courage would expand into other parts of my life.

I sighed, thinking about my almost date with Brandon. I wasn’t satisfied with how things had ended. And although he wouldn’t appreciate it, I needed to apologize. It was time I quit running. I left a message for him on Alpha Singles, inviting him out for coffee. So far, there’d been no reply. But I was proud of myself for at least reaching out.

“Hey, Linda? Right? You’re still here?”

The sound of the man’s voice had me grinding my teeth together. But I fixed my expression with a polite smile before facing him. “Linnea,” I corrected him. “And yes, Dale, I’m still here. Doing my job.”

Sherri snorted as she drank from her water bottle. I couldn’t blame her. This wasn’t the first time this guy had stopped by our table. The word “no” apparently wasn’t part of his vocabulary.

He wasn’t a bad looking guy. In fact, he’d caught my attention when I first looked up. But the saying was true. Beauty comes from within. And this guy was a total dick.

“I thought your name was Linda,” he argued, though he didn’t stop talking long enough for me to correct him again. “When the race starts, you wanna get out of here? You have to eat, right? I’ve heard you wolves have appetites to rival even us boars.” His brows bounced above his eyes, looking like chubby, furry caterpillars.

Looking away from the disturbing sight, I said, “Won’t you be running the race? You’ve already registered.”

“Nah, this isn’t really my kind of scene.” He sniffed while scanning the busy park. “I thought there’d be more attractive women at these things.”

Sherri stopped talking to a runner mid-sentence and turned to Dale with a snarl. I lifted a hand so she’d know I had this handled. From the look on her face, whatever the lion shifter was about to say would possibly get us kicked out of here. This guy wasn’t worth our jobs.

“I’m sorry, Dale, but I need to help the next person in line.”

Dale stepped aside, allowing the man behind him to move forward.

“Hi, welcome to the 10K Pink Road Race…” My grip on the clipboard in my hands tightened in surprise. “Um, Brandon, hi.”

“Hi.” He didn’t smile, but his eyes held more warmth than the last time I saw him.

“Hi,” I repeated. Sherri snorted beside me, raising an eyebrow in my direction. Yeah, I was lame. She didn’t need to tell me.

“How are you?” I blurted out.

“Good,” he replied, his gaze moving over my face.

I did the same to him, memorizing his features. His hair was mussed and it looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days. Had he just woken up? It was early. Maybe he’d rolled out of bed and threw on some sweats. Damn, he looked good in sweats. They fit low on his hip-bones, and if he lifted his arms, his shirt would ride up—

“Linnea…” His brows lowered, his mouth quirked to the side in amusement. “Is this where I register for the run?”

“Yes,” I murmured.

Brandon’s full lips parted as he smiled. He stepped closer to the table, his hand closing over mine to gently remove my death grip on the clipboard. I let it go and watched, mouth agape, as he filled out his own paperwork.

When he finished, he handed it back to me and I finally snapped out of it.

“Will you need to collar me now?” he asked.

“No,” I murmured, reading over his paperwork. “You do that yourself before you change.”

“That’s too bad. I’ve always wanted to be collared by you.”

Startled, I looked up into his smiling eyes and realized he was teasing me. My mouth opened and shut as I floundered to come up with a response. Then he winked at me and my insides burst into flames.

“I got your message, by the way. I’m sorry I haven’t responded yet. I’d planned to today, actually,” he said, surprising me. “If you’d like, we could grab that coffee after the race?”

“Oh, sure. I’d like that.”

“Good. Good,” he repeated, his gaze trapping me once again. “I want to apologize for the other day. You took me by surprise, but that’s no excuse for my behavior.”

“It’s okay.” I waved a hand as though to erase the whole incident. If only that worked for all past mistakes.

“No, it’s not okay. I want…” Brandon’s eyes cut to the side and narrowed. I followed his gaze and found Dale behind the registration desk.

Teeth clenched, I gave a low growl of frustration. “What are you doing, Dale?”

Ignoring my question, he threw an arm over my shoulder and leaned in to sniff my hair. “What time should I pick you up for our date? Damn, you smell good. Mmm,” he hummed, and I shuttered with revulsion.

He dug his fingers into my shoulder to keep me still when I tried to jerk away. But when his hand settled on my bum and squeezed, I shoved him off of me.

Sherri swung around with a snarl. “Hey! Get your nasty hands off of her.”

“Dale, I’ve told you no. Multiple times today,” I reminded him. “Now, get out of here before I call the cops.”

His bottom lip poked out, but his eyes were mocking. “Come on, baby.”

“I’m not your baby,” I growled.

“You heard the lady,” Brandon interrupted in a smooth voice. “She said no. Time to back off.”

Dale stepped around the booth and into Brandon’s personal space. “Dude, mind your own business.”

The light tint of red crawling up Brandon’s neck was the only outward sign of his anger. But if I knew my ex as well as I used to, then that tranquil expression he projected was all for show.

“If you’re going to handle this, then do it,” Sherri whispered in my ear. “Otherwise, I’m going to call security. They’re causing a scene.”

I looked around at the gathering crowd and groaned. “Listen, guys. Save the testosterone for the race, huh?”

Crossing his arms, Brandon looked the picture of ease. “She is my business.” His declaration had me suddenly breathless. My gaze moved over his face, searching for what it could mean. But he hadn’t taken his eyes off of Dale to notice my state of shock.

It hadn’t surprised me when Brandon stepped in. But I didn’t believe it had anything to do with me in particular. He was a caring guy and would have stepped in for anyone who was being harassed. He’d saved me more times than I could count.

The day I bought my first car came to mind. I’d been intimated, and later realized sexually harassed, until I’d left the dealership in tears. Of course, I’d immediately gone to the one person I’d trusted most. Brandon had dried my tears and had spoken softly his reassurances that all would be taken care of. I never knew what he’d said to that sleazy car salesman, and I’d never asked. But the next day, I’d woken up to a shiny new Mini Cooper sitting in my driveway. And with it had been a note of apology as well the title to the car. I still had that car today.

Brandon had been my hero that day. Come to think about it, he’d been rescuing me one way or another my entire life.

As a brown skinned girl living in a predominately white town in the South, I’d had my share of run-ins with ignorant people. Thankfully, I hadn’t been alone. The pack I’d been adopted into had done their best to protect me when they could. But it had been Brandon who had fought my battles alongside me. Every time.

And here he was, trying to rescue me once again.

“Enough.”

The two turned as one to the man striding towards us. Everyone did. One look into his silver gaze and even my eyes were on the ground. Alpha.

“The race will be starting soon. And I’m sure Ms.…”

I looked at his strong chin and back down again. “Carver. Linnea Carver,” I told him.

“Ms. Carver.” He nodded. “I’m Locke Winfield, Alpha of the Wild River Pack. Nice to meet you.” Then his attention was on the men once again. “I’m sure Ms. Carver would appreciate if you both would stop holding up the line. Brandon, can I speak with you a moment.” It might have been worded as such, but there had been no request in his tone of voice.

At his pause, I glanced up to see Brandon staring at the Alpha’s chest, jaw clenched. An obvious sign of rebellion. I froze, fear skating down my spine. I recognized the name of Locke Winfield’s pack immediately. This was Brandon’s Alpha. Depending on the Alpha, punishments for disobeying orders could be severe.

I let out a relieved breath when he finally replied, “Yes, Alpha.”

Locke’s eyes flashed silver, a sure sign his wolf was at the surface, but he turned to Dale. “And you. Get out of here.”

Dale growled something vaguely threatening in my direction before scurrying off, but I paid him no mind as my attention was cast elsewhere.

With a big sigh of relief, I gave the Alpha a smile. “Thank you.”

The lines around his eyes deepened, softening his expression as he smiled. “No problem. I’ll be back to register my daughter and me in a few minutes,” he said, gesturing to the girl I hadn’t noticed next to him. She was definitely a teenager. She had that attitude thing going, with a hip cocked to the side. But her eyes held kindness and curiosity as she stared at me.

“Excuse me,” Locke said. Then the smile fell from his face as he looked at Brandon, giving him a nod before walking away.

Not wanting Brandon to keep his Alpha waiting, I gave him his number and collar before wishing him luck. The entire time, he refused to look me in the eye. And when he finally spoke, it was only to thank me.

I watched him as he stalked away to meet with Locke and his daughter next to the changing area. “She’s pretty,” I heard the teen girl say to Brandon. He reached over and rubbed the top of her head, causing her to yell out in outrage. The scene had me smiling.

“Well, that was interesting,” Sherri said. “Who the hell was that guy?”

“Which one?” I asked, eyes still on the small group.

She grunted. “I was talking about that Brandon guy you were drooling over. But if that Alpha hadn’t been wearing a wedding ring, I would’ve been all over that.”

I shook my head at her comment on the Alpha. “He’s just an old friend.”

As if they’d heard me, all three of them looked over their shoulders. I turned away, but not before I witnessed Brandon’s expression. It mirrored mine, a mixture of confusion and lust.

Sighing, I helped the next registrant, all the while thinking of what to do next. An accidental run-in with Brandon Scott was more than I could hope for. Now that it had happened, twice mind you, what should I do?

“Girl,” Sherri whispered, catching my attention. “You’ve got it bad.”

Truer words had never been spoken.