“Is this strictly mandatory?” Pierce sighed, standing on a street corner in the middle of Black Oak, his hands shoved into his pockets.

It was a sunny Sunday morning, the first real warm day of spring. Usually, that would have meant nursing a hangover, going for a hike, or maybe a hot date. As it were, Pierce was actually anxious to get back to the office.

It surprised him as much as it surprised everyone else in his life.

Will stood opposite him, rolling his eyes. Having met in first grade, they had been inseparable for most of their childhood, and beyond that. They had even been mistaken for brothers once or twice.

They were both built the same – tall and broad – with brown hair and brown eyes, so it wasn’t exactly a stretch. Will had a kinder face, though. Pierce had a sharpness to his features that he had inherited from his father.

But he’d rather not think of the old man.

“It’s just a dance lesson, Pierce,” Will said. “You’ll survive.”

“You can’t be sure of that,” Pierce replied.

“Now you’re just being dramatic,” Will laughed.

“Or you’re not being dramatic enough,” Pierce argued. “Look at these feet,” he glanced down. “Both lefts.”

“And that’s exactly why you need this lesson,” Will countered, drawing a circle with his finger.

Pierce was about to argue further when he spotted the bride-to-be walking up behind Will, trying to sneak up on the man. Her shoulder-length blonde curls bobbing, Joanne tiptoed closer to Will.

“You know I could smell you from across the street, right?” Will commented, not even turning around when she was still a good couple of feet out.

Joanne’s face fell, a pout on her glossy lips.

“Damn,” she sighed, walking over so Will could tuck her into his side. “I keep thinking one of these days I might actually get to surprise you.”

“Sneaking up on a shifter?” Pierce arched a brow at her. “Good luck with that.”

“A girl can try,” Joanne smiled at him.

“Pierce was just complaining about how he’s going to die of a dance-related injury,” Will chimed in, kissing the top of Joanne’s head.

By god they were mushy. Always hanging off each other, grinning like a couple of schoolkids. It would have been annoying, if Pierce wasn’t so happy for them. Finding your mate was a big deal, and Will had definitely found his.

That didn’t mean Pierce couldn’t still complain, though.

“This is cruel and unusual,” he said, turning his gaze to Joanne.

She just cocked her head at him, impassive.

“You know what’s cruel and unusual?” she countered. “Having a bunch of bears stomping on my bridesmaids’ feet.”

“Hey,” Will objected. “Not all bears are clumsy oafs who can’t dance.”

“Really?” Joanne drew out, turning her face up at her fiancé. “Name one of your friends that can actually waltz. Without injuring everyone in a five-foot radius.”

“Uhh,” Will muttered, his brow furrowing.

“Exactly,” Joanne huffed.

“All right, I get it,” Pierce said, throwing his hands up in defeat. “The dance class is not optional. I’ll keep my complaining to a minimum. At least when you’re around, Jo.”

“Thank you,” Joanne replied, giving him a smile. “Now where is everyone? I thought we agreed on a quarter to two?”

“Gage texted me and said he’ll meet us at the dance studio,” Pierce said. “Something about a cow giving birth?”

“Say no more,” Joanne quickly replied. “And I mean that. No further explanations necessary,” she scrunched up her face.

“What about your brother?” Will asked.

“Oh, Jason’s just parking the car. He’ll be here any minute,” Joanne replied.

“That leaves your bridesmaids,” Pierce commented.

“They know better than to be late,” Joanne frowned, checking her watch. “Well, they still have two minutes so…”

“And which one of them is going to be my dance partner today? Whoever it is, I hope you’ve given them enough warning,” Pierce said.

From the slightly panicked look on Joanne’s face, he could tell something was off. Will exchanged a glance with his bride-to-be, looking like he wasn’t sure what to say.

“Wait, I thought you were bringing Bonnie along?” Joanne asked, her gaze flicking between Pierce and Will. “She’s your date to the wedding, isn’t she?”

Pierce shuffled on his feet. Of course Joanne would ask about Bonnie. Why wouldn’t she? Hadn’t he loudly proclaimed how he was done with one-night stands and actually had a girlfriend to bring to the wedding?

Stupid, he sighed to himself. When will I learn to keep my mouth shut?

“You know, Bonnie and I kind of had a difference of opinion,” Pierce hedged, earning a knowing look from Will.

“Oh, no,” the man groaned.

Joanne blinked at Pierce, as she slowly put the pieces together.

“You broke up,” she stated, sounding so unsurprised that Pierce was almost offended.

“I forgot to mention that, didn’t I?” he replied.

Groaning, Joanne crossed her arms in front of her. She was a tiny woman, especially next to Will, but Pierce knew well enough – the little spitfire of a woman could be scary when she wanted to. And with the wedding fast approaching, beware anyone that threatened Joanne’s special day.

“I for one am shocked it lasted as long as it did,” Will shrugged. “Bonnie seemed a little too… intense for you.”

Now that’s an understatement, Pierce scoffed to himself.

The first weeks they had dated, everything had been nice enough. There was no great passion or adoration on Pierce’s part, but Bonnie seemed like a sweet girl and they got along well.

But as weeks had turned into months, Bonnie’s expectations grew. Especially after he invited her to be his date for the wedding. Suddenly, there was talk of them being the next ones to tie the knot, and Pierce had known he couldn’t let it go further.

Shifters knew almost immediately, instinctively when they met their mate. It was a primal reaction, a pull they could feel in their bones. There was none of that with Bonnie, and the last thing Pierce wanted was to lead her on.

They both deserved better than that.

Bonnie had taken the break-up very personally. Out of the blue, all sorts of unfortunate things started happening. Like Pierce’s car getting keyed. Then there were the incessant phone calls, from people calling to ask if his Pokémon card collection was still for sale or if his couch was still available for purchase…

But after a few weeks, things died down. And now, Pierce was just glad to have all that behind him.

“Well, you’re still going to have to learn to dance. We’ll just switch partners or something during the class, I’m sure we can work it out,” Joanne resolved. “Ooh,” she squealed a moment later, looking past Pierce like his relationship troubles were suddenly the furthest thing from her mind.

Glancing behind him, Pierce could see Cindy and Tina, Joanne’s bridesmaids, approaching, followed by Joanne’s brother, Jason. Joanne ran to greet them, leaving Will and Pierce to lazily catch up.

Rushed footsteps behind them signaled the arrival of Gage, and the burly man fell into step beside them, wiping sweat off his brow.

“You made it,” Will remarked, clapping the man on the shoulder.

“Don’t let him fool you into thinking that’s somehow a good thing,” Pierce muttered.

Gage just shrugged, his dark gaze fixed somewhere in the distance.

“Hey, beats birthing a cow.”

Neither Will nor Pierce could really argue with that.

Before long they were all arriving in front Black Oak’s first and only dance studio, opened only a month ago. The building used to be a butcher shop, so Pierce was actually looking forward to seeing how the hell the new owners had managed that particular transformation.

As they walked in through the doors, Pierce had to admit, he would have never pegged the airy, pastel space as having been anything else than what it was now. A cheerful young lady who Pierce knew to be from around town, but whose name he couldn’t recall, was sitting behind the reception desk.

“Oh, hey,” she called out. “The wedding party, I presume?”

“Hey, Sally,” Joanne chirped, reading the woman’s nametag. “Yeah, that’s us.”

“All right, let me lead the way,” Sally replied, getting out from behind the desk.

Pierce and the others followed her to a room marked Studio Three. Sally opened the door, popping her head in first.

“Tory?” Sally said. “Your group is here.”

With that, Sally gestured everyone inside, telling them to have a great time before disappearing back the way they came. Pierce filed in last, hands in his pockets, already dreading what was to come.

The hardwood floors gleamed, the mirrors on the walls shone, but none of that was what caught Pierce’s attention. Opposite their group, clad in a flowy, knee-length skirt and a simple, elegant blouse stood their new teacher.

And she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Glossy brown hair in a tight bun, her clear green gaze assessed everyone in the room. Pierce’s bear growled, low and possessive, blood starting to pump fast in his veins.

Ah, hell. I’m in trouble.