After the FBI agents left, Zoe felt a massive weight slide off her shoulders and barrel to the ground. She was free. She was finally free. All those years under Dima’s thumb, all these months of being terrified she’d be killed or imprisoned, she was now finally free. Gratitude and relief spilled over inside her, and she could barely contain her emotions.

Rollo kissed her hard on the mouth and all the guys in the station made teasing kissy noises at them. Rollo looked up at the men and smiled, still holding her tight.

“You are all just jealous I found my mate,” he said.

“We are,” Knox admitted with a good natured grin. “But we’re happy for you too, Commander.”

“I should go,” Zoe said, suddenly realizing that she was at Rollo’s work in the middle of the day.

“I’ll give you a ride back to the Institute,” Rollo said. “Then we can get you moved into my place.”

As they drove up to the Institute, Zoe couldn’t help but think about her life. Now that she didn’t have Dima and his gang to worry about, her relationship with her brother came into full resolution at the forefront of her mind.

She’d been a serious bitch to Corey yesterday. Maybe she’d always been a bitch to him. Maybe he deserved it, in a way. But she didn’t want to be on bad terms with her brother any more. She loved him more than anything. She was his flesh and blood, and he’d taken care of her for years. She couldn’t just leave things the way they’d ended the day before.

When Rollo parked in front of the dorm, she gave him a kiss and climbed out of the car, saying goodbye before he drove off back to work.

She went to her room and looked around, realizing that she had no idea what she was going to do next. This place wasn’t really a home. She’d just come here to study woodworking so she could break into Caitlin Somerset’s Louis the Fifteenth chest. Now she had an apprenticeship with Angus, a mate, and a family.

That’s when she remembered she hadn’t showed up to her job in days and hadn’t given Angus any word as to why. Great. Had she ruined her chance to learn from one of the top woodworkers on the West Coast?

She picked up her cellphone and gave Angus a call.

“Zoe Bright. I’ve heard you’ve been up to no good,” he said in a stern tone.

“I’m sorry,” she stuttered.

“I’m just teasing. I hear congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you, Angus. I’m sorry I ditched work without giving you a call.”

“You’ve had a lot on your plate. The job is still here for you if you want it. You’ve got a knack for this work, Zoe. I hope you decide to use it.”

“I definitely plan to. I never would have suspected I’d love working with wood so much, but I do. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I have to go talk to my brother about some things today, if that’s all right.”

“You do what you need to. I’ll see you in the morning.”

They hung up the phone, and Zoe suddenly felt a thousand times better about everything. Angus was as sweet as they came, and she couldn’t wait to learn everything he could teach her.

Now that she’d smoothed things over with her mentor, she had to figure out what to do about her brother. Zoe paced around her room for a few minutes, memories of every time Corey had ever made her feel small flashing through her mind. Finally, she decided to just go over there. It was better to get it over with, like ripping off a bandage.

“Okay, Zoe Bright, you can do this,” she said, taking a deep breath as she opened the door.

She walked over to Corey’s house, noticing that his and Willow’s cars were both in the front driveway. She climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. No one answered at first so she rang the doorbell. A moment later, Willow answered, looking a little perturbed.

“Did I interrupt your work?” Zoe said apologetically.

“It’s fine. I’m glad you came. Come in,” Willow said, her face moving into a bright smile.

Zoe stepped into the front room of their house, and Willow led her through the front hall into the kitchen.

“Are you hungry?” Willow asked, opening the fridge.

“I came to talk to Corey,” Zoe said. “I feel terrible about yesterday.”

Willow closed the fridge and crossed the room, taking Zoe’s hands in hers.

“Corey feels terrible about it too. You know he loves you. That goes without saying. But I know my mate as well as anyone, and he can be difficult. He doesn’t share his feelings readily and when he does, it often comes out all wrong.”

“I know,” Zoe said, looking down at her hands. “I don’t know how to get through to him.”

“Don’t let his sharp edges bother you so much. He doesn’t mean to be unkind. He just wants you to be happy.”

Zoe heaved a sigh, knowing that Willow was right. She’d known her brother all her life. He was more like a father than a brother in a lot of ways, and she knew his strengths and his weaknesses. Willow let go of her hands and stepped back behind the kitchen island.

“Why don’t you go talk to him while I whip us up some lunch. Do you like turkey sandwiches with lettuce and pickles?”

“Heck yes,” Zoe said, smiling at her kind-hearted sister-in-law.

Someone as emotionally expressive as Willow was exactly the kind of women Corey needed to balance him out.

“Good,” Willow said. “Corey is in his cave. I mean office. Don’t get scared if he growls at you when you go in.”

“Hmm. Maybe I should wait for a better time.”

“Believe me. There’s never a better time,” Willow said, giggling as she pulled a bag of fresh sandwich rolls out of a cabinet.

“Point taken. Here goes nothing.”

“Good luck, Zoe. I’m rooting for you.”

“Thank you, Willow,” Zoe said, stepping out of the kitchen. She went back to the entrance hall and climbed the stairs to the second floor. All the way up the stairs, the view of the outside from the front windows expanded out before her. Her brother had a kickass house, and it made her wish she had a home of her own. And maybe she did, now that she had Rollo. Anywhere he was, she belonged too. He’d even asked her to move in with him.

She came to Corey’s office door, and rapped her knuckles on the door. There was a grumbling response from inside so she just swung open the door and stepped in without stopping.

“I thought I smelled your scent,” Corey said. “What are you doing here, Zoe? I’m working.”

“I just wanted to talk about yesterday,” Zoe said, running her index finger along the top of a discarded computer monitor on a table next to the door.

She moved further into the room and collapsed on an armchair, feeling like a kid annoying her big brother. He gave her a look that said ‘what the hell?’ and raised an eyebrow at her.

“What did you want to say?” he asked, swiveling his office chair toward her.

He was wearing khaki shorts and a polo shirt with a pair of trendy sneakers. He looked very much the image of the downplayed creative class billionaire he was. Zoe had to keep herself from rolling her eyes at him.

“Corey, I can’t stand things being so shitty between us.”

“There’s no reason for them to be,” he said dismissively.

“That is where you are wrong, Corey. Don’t you understand why we’ve had such a bad relationship for so long?”

“You and I are very different people, Zoe. I’ve never understood your motivations.”

“That’s exactly my point, bro,” she said, keeping her irritation contained as much as possible.

“Wait a minute, I’m confused.”

“Look, Corey, I love you. You’re my brother, and I’ll always be grateful for what you’ve done for me and for Mom before she died. But like you said yourself, we are very different people. What works for me isn’t what works for you, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

“I’ve never suggested that it does.”

“Actually, you have. Constantly. My entire life… Don’t you get it?”

“Zoe, I had a lot of responsibilities very young and you were a wild kid. You never did what you were supposed to. It drove Mom crazy, and I had to bear the burden of making sure you didn’t self-destruct.”

“I understand Corey, but that was a long time ago. I’m not twelve anymore.”

“Sometimes you act like you are.”

“See? That is exactly what I’m talking about. I do not act like a twelve-year-old. I’ve been traveling the world for seven years, Corey. Seven years. Money or not, the world is a big, dangerous place, and I’ve survived it on my own.”

“Tell me why you came here, Zoe. You’ve always hated small towns and small town people. Isn’t that what you said when you left?”

“Yes. I did say that. And I meant it at the time. But things change and so have I. I came to Fate Mountain to go to the Bright Institute for Shifters to learn woodworking.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“And so I could steal jewels from Caitlin Somerset’s Louis the Fifteenth chest and give them to my psycho ex-boyfriend the mob boss.”

“Oh. Well, that sounds more believable.”

“I’m glad you finally believe something I say.”

“How did you get involved with the mob?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

“It’s a long story. But I just want you to know that I didn’t get involved with crime to be a criminal. I had real feelings for Dima when we first got together. I was just part of his entourage for a long time. When he found out I was a shifter, that’s when things changed.

“He wanted me to start using my abilities for his benefit. After I lost a million dollars’ worth of jewels in an airport, he held me like a prisoner, with the threat of death hanging over my head every day.

“Then he told me to come to Fate Mountain to steal the jewels. Enrolling in the Institute and studying woodworking were all my ideas. He stopped giving me money so I needed a way to pay my way while I studied for the heist. Caitlin didn’t even store her jewels at her Oregon estate until a week ago when I was finally able to break in.”

“So this was all just preparation for a heist?” he asked.

“Yes. It was.”

“I should have known.”

“But since I’ve been here, I’ve realized there’s been a huge hole in my heart. I finally see what I’ve been missing all along. Now that I have Rollo in my life, everything makes sense.”

“What about your apprenticeship with Angus?” Corey asked. “Was that just part of the heist too? Because Angus thinks you are really talented.”

“Angus is the best. And I’m going back to work at the woodshop tomorrow. I never would have imagined myself as a woodworker, but I love it. I can’t wait to learn everything Angus can teach me.”

“I’m glad, Zoe. I’ve worried about you for a long time, but it seems like you’re finally finding your way after all.”

“I am Corey. I really am.”

“I’m glad we had this talk,” Corey said.

Zoe stood up from her chair and threw her arms around her brother, giving him a tight squeeze. He returned the hug, and patted her back like she was making him uncomfortable.

“Me too,” she said, letting him go. “Come downstairs. Willow is making us turkey sandwiches.”

“I love her sandwiches,” Corey said with a gleam in his eyes.

They walked downstairs together and found Willow finishing up lunch in the kitchen.

“How do you find time to take care of this guy and write all those books, Willow?” Zoe asked.

“By making time for two of my favorite shifters,” Willow said, smiling at the Bright siblings.

They all took their lunch out onto the deck and ate in the fresh air at a dining area on the massive porch. As the cool breeze blew up from the lake and swept through Zoe’s hair, she finally felt like she was part of a family again.