Lenni closed the door behind the last detective. "Good riddance."

"It really has been quite a day," her father said.

The Scrabble Pack alpha had come to their house and apologized profusely. He'd asked Lenni over and over if she was going to press charges. She couldn't. There was no point. Ned was going to be banished from his pack and he knew that she wasn't his mate. He wouldn't be coming after her again.

She was more surprised Beckett hadn't pushed her to send Ned to jail. But after she said no he had let it go and had left soon after the police arrived. She was glad he'd come, but it didn't mean anything. It had been an even greater sign that he really was done with her. He hadn't even stayed to be sure that everything was taken care of. Once again, she was on her own.

It had taken her two hours to get the Scrabble Pack alpha to leave and to convince the detectives to go. They were going to have a car periodically come by her house for the next few weeks. She had a feeling that Beckett would be sending security too, but that was just a hunch. She would gladly take him up on the offer. It would make her father feel more comfortable and she herself would sleep better knowing someone was outside looking out for her. Just because Ned wasn't going to come for her didn't mean another of his pack mates wouldn't. He had a group of friends and she wasn't so sure that they were all going to listen to the alpha's law.

From the defeated look on Ned's face, she knew that he wouldn't be coming back, and that was a big weight off her shoulders. If nothing happened in the next few days, she would be sure that his friends were going to leave her alone too. Then, all she would have to worry about was finding a supplementary job. How strange her life was these days.

Only three months before, she had been dating one shifter and had been sure they were going to married. But they had broken up and she had been single and alone. Then, just three days before she was sure she was in love with another shifter. A handsome billionaire to boot. And now here she was—she was no one's mate. The only person she belonged to was herself. And the only man she belonged with was her father. Not that it was a bad thing. He would never let her down or break her heart.

"Are you going back to Beckett's tonight?"

"No. I think I'd rather stay here," she told him. "My contract is ending in just a few days anyway. May as well get used to sleeping in my own bed again."

"I hope it's not too hard getting used to this place again," her father said. "Did you get used to the big life living in the mansion?"

"Not really." More like she had gotten her heart broken and made a fool of herself.

"What's wrong?" Her father gave her a hug. "You look so sad. I know that this whole thing was scary, but Beckett would never let anything happen to you. I really think he has strong feelings for you. I hope I'm not stepping out of bounds here, but he really seems to like you as more than just an employee. He's gone out of his way to help you."

"Maybe he did once." Lenni's lower lip trembled. "He doesn't though. He's just my employer and he feels bad that a shifter hurt me. It was his family's app after all that got me in trouble with Ned. He feels guilty and is righting the wrong."

"There's way more to it than that." Her father held her by the shoulders. "I see the way you look at him. But do you ever see the way he looks at you? It reminds me of how your mother and I used to look at each other."

A single tear slid down Lenni's cheek and she wiped it away. "We're nothing like you and Mom. You two knew right away. Beckett and I aren't even a couple. I just got infatuated. You're reading it all wrong, Dad."

Her father shook his head. "It's more than that. He's a shifter, he doesn't get infatuated."

"Ned's a shifter too and he did. He was wrong. And so was Beckett. I was wrong too. Just like I was with Ned."

"This is nothing like Ned. You were wrong once, but you're not wrong this time."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm your father, I know these things. You have to give him a chance. Have you told him how you feel?"

"I don't need to. There's no chance of us being anything more than what we are now. My contract is going to end and I'm going to come back here and live with you. He's going to move away and he's going to forget about me."

Her heart ached saying the words out loud. She sobbed once. She put her hand over her mouth to stop herself but she couldn't. She bent over at the waist and put both her hands over her face. She cried into her palms until she thought she had no more tears to shed.

Her father patted her on the back. "You don't feel like this if you aren't in love. I think you love him deeply even if you don't want to admit it to yourself right now. Don't let him leave."

"He doesn't want me," Lenni sniffed. "He doesn't want me and nothing I can say will change that. He doesn't even want to be married. No shifter who thinks they've found their mate doesn't want to be married. Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"Who cares if he doesn't want to be married?"

"I do!"

"Do you want to be married or do you want to be with someone for the rest of your life?"

"Would you have been with Mom if she didn't want to be married?"

"I would have. I didn't need to be married. I just needed to be with her. Talk to him," her father urged. "It can't hurt to tell him, right? Even if he's going to go, even if he wants to forget you, it won't hurt you to tell him how you feel."

"I'm too embarrassed. I've made a fool of myself already. I don't want to make it worse."

"Would you rather be embarrassed or heartbroken? What if he feels the same way you do? What if you say how you feel and he returns all your feelings and more? What if you could have the man of your dreams? You could have everything or you could lose him. All because you're too scared."

What did she have to lose? He was going to go anyway. If she told him how she felt and then he left, it wouldn't even matter. She wouldn't have to see him again. Even if he came back to town, he stayed isolated up in his mansion anyway.

She might regret it never saying anything. Her father was right. One last chance. She would tell him everything and then leave it up to him.