The shock of cold fingers coming to rest on my bare abdomen snapped me unwelcomely out of my sleep. I turned my head and my face fell into a mess of tangled brown hair that was not my own. A beam of morning sunlight shone through a gap in the curtain, somehow managing to spotlight just my eyes. I squinted, cringing. In the confusion of my rude arousal, it took me a moment to remember just who it was that I was sharing my bed with, and with some hesitation, I carefully parted the frazzled curtain to take a peek at her face.

As the fog of sleep cleared from my mind, the memories of the night before returned to me. Ah, that’s right. Miss Melany Dewall, heiress of the Rose Claw Clan.

The very first time I’d met Melany, I was six years younger. It was at a family function, my parents had invited all the biggest wolf clans to attend, and I’d told myself I would have her—at least for a night. Certain circumstances ruined those prospects that night, so when she contacted me two days ago and told me she’d be coming through Wolfheart for a charity function, I’d nearly forgotten who she was. Seemed I’d made more of an impact on her than she had on me, but six years could do that, especially when there were so many other brunettes in between…

Melany snorted in her sleep. I was awake, fog cleared. Now that the chase was over, the thrill and all existing desire was fading at breakneck speed. I just wanted her out of my bed. I reached up to tap the touch panel on the headboard above my pillow, and electronic motors began to whirr, drawing open the curtains and flooding the room with light. I shifted my body to pull myself out of bed when Melany stirred, pushed her hair out of her face, and smiled at me.

“Good morning, darling,” she said, and I cringed. Darling? No, no, no. Then I felt her fingers make an unwanted approach to my morning erection. I gasped, not out of pleasure. Why the hell does she have such cold fingers?

I pulled my hips back, withdrawing my package from her clutches, and slid out from under the covers. I walked over to the window, the sunlight prickling my naked skin, and pulled on a shirt and pair of slacks that were hanging off the back of a chair. Melany’s bra lay strewn across the seat of the chair, her panties and skirt crumpled up on the ground next to it. She sat up in my bed and stared at me, holding the sheets up to cover her chest.

“I can arrange for a car to take you back to your hotel,” I said, looking out the window. In the gardens down below, I saw my five-year-old nephew, Kota, sprinting around in his wolf form as my brother Christophe chased him. I smiled. His paws still seemed too big for his body and he was clumsy, but the little sprout was growing fast. Even after five years, it still was hard for me to believe my older brother was mated with a kid. Hell, it was hard to believe that all of my brothers were mated with kids. I was the last Luna standing. As the second eldest alpha, I wasn’t used to having this kind of attention turned to me. The pressure had always been on Christophe, for being the eldest and the heir to our family name; and on Vander, because he was the sole omega of the family. There weren’t many expectations placed on me, and unlike my youngest brother, Loch, I knew how to keep my parents satisfied.

Loch and I were similar in a lot of ways—at least before he’d gotten married. We had similar appetites for girls, though I may have been a little bit hungrier than him. We both had disdain for the rules of highborn life, but the difference was that I at least acknowledged the game and how to play it to my advantage. I’d been a diligent student. I followed our customs and, for the most part, kept my reputation clean. Most knew about my ways with women, and though I’m sure it wasn’t approved of by a lot of the hoity-toity types in the highborn circle, I at least would never do anything dishonorable.

“Aren’t you going to at least offer me breakfast?” Melany asked with a smile.

“I would, but I’ve got commitments.” Breakfast was out of the question. Anything that would imply or encourage any emotional involvement was out of the question. And I did have a commitment.

“Oh,” she said flatly, and slipped out of bed. I watched her move through the room, gathering her clothes, the morning sunlight hugging the curves of her naked body. She was beautiful, with the kind of slender frame that I liked. Last night, the thrill of seeing her naked would’ve given me a hard-on right away. Right now, I felt nothing. The thirst had been quenched. The want was gone.

“Would you like some coffee?” I asked. “I can have some ready for you in the car.”

“That would be nice,” she said, stepping into her clothes. “Help zip me up?”

I did, and then picked up the house phone on my desk and hit the number to dial Stephen, our head of staff. “Stephen, have a car readied for my guest, please? And have a cup of coffee waiting inside, too.”

“I’ll let you know the next time I’m in town?” she said as I walked her down to the front door. Stephen was waiting by the car, and he opened the back door for her.

I smiled and nodded. “I had a wonderful time with you last night,” I said. I could see she wanted to kiss me, but she restrained herself and left a light peck on my cheek before getting into the car. Stephen shut the door behind her, and the driver pulled the car away. I watched until it had disappeared from sight down the long driveway out of the Luna estate.

I exhaled, and rolled up my sleeves. “Don’t give me that look, Stephen,” I said. I could see he was looking at me with a sliver of amusement. Of anyone in this house, Stephen knew my triumphs the best. Being the head of house staff, he’d helped me hide enough of them back in pre-academy when having a girl overnight at the house would’ve been a horrible offense. Now I was thirty-two. Having a woman over wasn’t such a breach in family protocol, and Stephen had seen all the faces who’d come through.

“I don’t have any idea what you mean, sir,” he said, smiling.

“Sure, you don’t. Do I have time for breakfast before the ceremony?”

“Of course. There’s food waiting in the dining room.”

A shrill howl of excitement pierced the air, and little Kota sprang around the front of the house, still in his wolf form. He sprinted at me as fast as he could and then jumped, shifting mid-air back into his little five-year-old human form. I caught him in my arms and lifted him up high.

“Woah there, kid.”

Kota giggled, kicking his legs in the air. “Spin me around, Uncle Arthur!”

I did as I was told, and did a quick twirl on the ball of my foot with Kota held over my head. He laughed and squirmed, and I set him back on the ground. Christophe jogged around the corner, and Kota toddled over to him, wrapping an arm around his leg. My brother was only a year older than me, but it’d always felt like he outpaced me in maturity and grace by a decade. He’d grown up with the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, and two years ago he’d assumed his right as leader of our clan, the Crescent Moons, after our father abdicated.

It was a natural transition for Christophe. I knew he had some doubts about it, but it was obvious that leading was what he was meant to do. I’d graduated from the same school as him, the Dawn Academy’s Alpha Leadership College, but I was far less suited for the work than him. I’d chosen the Leadership College simply because it sounded better than the other options. The healing arts were beyond my level of intelligence, and I wasn’t cut out for the fighting arts. How could I be? I was a lover by nature.

“Good morning, Arthur,” Christophe said, picking up his son under one arm. “Was I seeing things, or did you just whisk someone away into a car? Who was it this time?”

“Melany Dewall,” I said plainly. “Do you remember her?”

“Of course. Rose Claw Clan. I had a clan meeting with her father last month. She’s a smart girl. She’d be a good match, Arthur.”

“Smart, but boring,” I said. “And she has cold hands.”

Kota squirmed out of Christophe’s arms and shifted. He dropped to the ground in his wolf pup form and sprinted back towards the gardens.

“Hey!” Christophe called after him. “Don’t get too worked up, Kota. You’ve got a Teller ceremony to attend to, remember?”

The little boy didn’t seem to hear him, and bounced around in the grass and bushes, snapping at leaves with his jaws.

“Come on, Arthur. Isn’t it time you met someone? Settled down?”

“I meet plenty,” I said, smiling. “I haven’t got any interest in settling down. What’s the point? It’s not for me, and I don’t have any obligation to. The Luna brothers who need to settle are settled, and Mom and Dad are happy.”

“Oh, I think they’d be a little happier to know all of their sons were mated,” he said.

I laughed. “Is this what the head of the clan wants me to do?”

“No,” he shrugged. “Just a brother looking out for his younger brother’s happiness.”

“Christophe. You don’t think I’m happy? I’m living exactly the way I want to. You should know that.”

“Feelings change. I mean look at me. A father, mated to the love of my life, and never been happier. You’re telling me you don’t want the family life? You could have this.” He gestured over to where his boy was playing, and his expression changed as Kota did a circle around one of the rose bushes, lifted his hind leg, and peed. “KOTA!” Christophe shouted.

“I’m weeing, Dad!” Kota yelled back.

“I’m good,” I told my brother, and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m going inside to grab some breakfast.”

“The others should be here soon,” he said.

“The Luna clan, all together again!”

With all of my brothers mated and living their own lives raising children, it’d become rare for us to all come together. In fact, it’d been a year since the last time the entire family had gathered. That time had been for Kota too, his first shift ceremony. Today we were taking him for his Teller ceremony, a tradition for a five-year-old where he would be blessed and have his future read by the clan shaman, or “Teller”. I went back inside. Stephen was waiting at the entrance to the dining room, and he pulled open the door for me as I approached. Mom and Dad were seated at the long table, chatting over plates of breakfast.

“Good morning,” I announced before diverting my attention to the buffet table. After filling my plate with a healthy portion of food I took a seat. My parents stopped their conversation and turned to me.

“Did you have someone over last night, Arthur?” Mom asked.

I looked up in surprise, swallowing down my mouthful of pork chop.

“I did,” I said.

“And?” she said.

“And…?” I repeated. I wasn’t used to having my parents, much less my mom, ask about the women I brought over. It wasn’t exactly proper of me to be sleeping around so much, but given I did it discreetly and within the confines of the Luna estate, there’d always just been an unspoken understanding.

“How did it go?”

“It went fine, Mom,” I said. “Everything’s working as it should, thank you for asking.”

“Anyone notable?” she asked. “The potential of something more?”

Dad looked at me with interest, waiting for my answer. I looked back and forth between them, feeling slightly perturbed by the sudden and unusual probing into my bed life. I cleared my throat. “No.”

“You won’t at least tell us who it was?”

“Out of respect for her privacy, no. Mom, you and I both know you can’t keep anything to yourself.”

“Oh,” she said, “So, she’s highborn, then?”

I sighed. “Yes. And nothing is gonna come of it. I’m not interested in a serious relationship, you should know that by now.”

“It’s going to become a problem,” Dad said. “Bringing so many different women home, it’s going to affect your reputation eventually. As prodigious as you are.” He winked.

“Basch!” Mom shot him a look.

“I’ve already got a reputation, Dad. I wear it with pride.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Mom said. “It’s going to affect your chances at finding a mate. All your brothers are married, and you—”

“And I’m living my life exactly how I want to,” I interrupted. “Marriage, children… It’s not for everyone, and it’s definitely not for me. We’ve gone over this.” Mom and Dad exchanged another look. I was beginning to feel a little irritated. “My work with the clan is enough to keep me occupied. And my racing. Not to mention looking after you two old farts, now that everyone else has moved out.”

“That’s what the house staff is for,” Mom protested. “You don’t want to live the rest of your life alone, do you?”

“I’m not afraid of being alone, Mom. Besides, I’m highborn in one of the most powerful clans in Wolfheart. Time alone is a gift.”

At that moment, the dining room doors opened and in flew my young niece Alexis, chasing after Kota. Behind the two children followed Christophe, his husband Mason, my youngest brother Vander, and his husband Pell. Mom scooped Alexis into her arms as Kota ran over to Dad and hid behind his chair.

“Let me down, Grandma!” Alexis squealed. “We’re playing ‘wolf and fox’! Kota’s gonna get away.”

“I’m the fox,” Kota announced, and Dad picked him up and plonked him onto his lap.

“You’re cheeky like a little fox, aren’t you?” Dad said, pinching his cheek. I had to smile—Dad was a serious man, a grizzled old wolf worn down by the years as Crescent Moon leader. He only let this side of himself out around the grandkids.

“Grandpa, stop!” Kota laughed.

“I’m starving!” Vander said. “Good morning. Mom, Dad, hello.”

He went around the table and gave hugs. Pell followed, hugging Mom and shaking Dad’s and my hand.

“How’s things at the clinic?” I asked Pell.

“Busy, as always. We’re getting a lot more wolves coming into town now.”

“You’ve gained weight,” Mom said to Vander.

“It’s all that bear food,” Vander replied, laughing as he and Pell went to the buffet table to get breakfast. “It’s delicious, and I swear we eat till bursting almost every night. Where’s Loch and Tresten?”

“They just called,” Christophe said. They’ll be meeting us at the temple.”

“Good morning,” Mason said to me, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“Not hungry?” I asked.

“Christophe and I already ate. We’ve been up for a few hours getting Kota ready.”

“I’m going to give him a bath,” Christophe said. “He decided to go rolling around in the grass.”

“I don’t need a bath,” Kota protested.

“Yes, you do,” Christophe said. “This is an important day for you, son. C’mon, let’s go.”

“Aww… I want to keep playing with Alexis. I want to show her the puzzle Aunt Jennifer gave me.”

“You’ll have plenty of time for that later. Let’s go.”

“Better listen to your father,” Dad said, setting Kota back on the floor.

“So,” Vander said, grinning at me. “How’re things in the life of you? Still chasing tail?”

I groaned. “What the hell is with all the prying today?”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Vander said, and everyone laughed.

It was nice having family back home. Admittedly, things could get a little quiet with just the three of us and the house staff in this gigantic complex that was our estate. I’d missed our family breakfasts, with all of my brothers here and Christophe fussing over us all, playing the family whip.

We ate breakfast and talked about our lives. Vander and Pell told us about the new healing clinics they were going to open in downtown Wolfheart, and Mason talked about the non-profit organization he’d recently started to offer assistance to lowborn neighborhoods. I updated them about my work with the clan, assisting Christophe with official duties and negotiations with other clans. It was challenging and necessary work, but not anything I enjoyed. I did it out of duty as the second eldest, not because it offered any kind of major enrichment to my life. What I really cared about was motorcycle racing—wolf-cycle racing, to be exact.

What was the difference? Speed and ferocity. A regular motorcycle could be raced with human response times, but a wolf-cycle required the reflexes of a shifted form. The rider rode immersed inside the vehicle, fore and hind legs stretched out as if in mid gallop. They were operated with delicate controls at each paw, and maxed out at a speed three times faster than regular human sport bikes. The racing courses were filled with treacherous obstacles that required split second reactions and heightened senses. There was nothing like the thrill of the race, not even chasing a new woman. My brothers were curious about my racing, but my parents were less than thrilled about it so I tried not to bring it up around them. Still, it’d been a long time since I’d seen them so it was hard not to get carried away when the conversation turned to bikes.

“You should’ve seen that race, Van,” I said, my voice trembling slightly with excitement. “Insanity. Red Stallford and Vivian Elfang were leading the pack, I was right behind them. We hit four hundred miles an hour in the straightaway. The obstacles were coming at us like snow in a blizzard—so thick there wasn’t a single inch for error. Red clipped his side on one of the pillars; thankfully it wasn’t bad, but he was sent to the hospital with three broken legs. Vivian and I were muzzle to muzzle by the end. I remember everything was just a blur, I was so damn focused on that finish line. But, in the end, I was a better racer than her. Edged her out by one millisecond.”

“I gotta admit, since becoming a healer, your racing became less thrilling and more nerve-wracking for me to hear about,” Van said.

“Our team treated Red Stallford at the downtown clinic, actually,” Pell said. “I saw the race. Hell of a finish, Arthur.”

“Thank you, Pell. Someone who understands me.”

“It was terrifying,” Mom said. “And I can barely even keep track of what’s going on, it’s so fast. I die a little bit every time you race. I wish you’d give it up.”

“Can’t give up what I love most,” I said.

“If only you’d divert that passion to a nice girl,” she said. “Or boy. We know lots of eligible omegas.”

“No, thanks,” I said.

“You don’t go for omegas, do you, Arthur?” Pell said. “Why not?”

“Not true,” Christophe said, coming back into the room with Kota, who was all dressed up in his formal robe. “I remember when we were younger, in pre-academy, there was one. What was his name?”

I blinked. “Perichor,” I said, a strange lump rising in my throat. “Perry.”

“Perry. That’s right.”

Vander, Christophe, and Mom then began to argue about the most eligible highborn omegas in Wolfheart. Perry’s name hung in the air like vapor, slowly dissipating after its momentary mention. Now I was recalling memories of Perry Houndfang, or when I knew him, Perry Windhelm. Funny that Perry be mentioned now—it was because of him that I’d discovered my passion for wolf-cycle racing. I’d immersed myself in it to escape the memory of him over a decade ago. I guess it’d worked. I hadn’t thought of him in years. Funny how someone who meant so much could fade to the back of the mind. At one point in my life, he’d been all I wanted to think about. He’d been all I wanted. But he was gone from my life. Gone from this city. Gone for thirteen years.

Christophe’s voice pulled me back to reality. “Arthur?”

I looked up. “Huh?”

“I asked, will you be taking the car with us to the ceremony, or…?”

“Oh. No, I’ll take my motorcycle. I’ll be going to the track afterwards.”

“Well, we’d all better get going.”

The wait staff came in to the dining room and started to clear the tables, and we all made our way towards the garage, where two cars were waiting, drivers standing at attention. Stephen came up and handed me my riding gear. The family piled into the cars, and I got onto my motorcycle and followed the caravan out of the garage. I drove alongside them for a while, waving at my niece and nephew, who made faces at me through the windows of the cars, before gunning the engine and taking off. Our family had access to a special, private highway reserved for highborn clans, and being completely empty of traffic except for our group, it was perfect for gaining some speed on. I roared ahead, zooming down into a subterranean tunnel that traveled directly into downtown Wolfheart. The orange tunnel lights flitted by in an increasing rhythm as I opened the throttle. The engine’s cry rose to a fever pitch, and it felt like I was flying. This was speed—but it was human-limited speed. Later on, I’d climb into my wolf-cycle and get the real fix that I was craving.

I took an exit ramp that brought me out of the tunnel and into the city, and I was greeted by the insanity that was downtown Wolfheart. Just what I liked. I pulled off the private road onto the main one that led to the temple, threading around traffic like it was a wolf-cycle obstacle course. The temple appeared out of the concrete jungle like an enormous stone fang, a stark contrast of ancient architecture against modern skyscrapers. The entrance to the temple was flanked by two enormous stone statues of the legendary wolves who founded the city thousands of years ago. I swung my bike between them and entered the parking lot. I was early, of course.

After packing away my riding gear and putting on something a bit more formal, I made my way up to the entrance of the temple. The place used to creep me out as a kid. It was dingy and dark inside, lit with candlelight and thick with haze from all the incense being burned. The priests only made it worse—they walked around in half-human, half-wolf form, their gnarled old snouts protruding from beneath the darkened shroud of hooded cloaks.

I looked back over my shoulder when I heard the sound of a car rolling into the lot. I smiled—it was my brother Loch and his family.

“You’re here early,” I said, pulling him into a hug.

“Where’s everyone else?” he asked.

“On their way. I took the bike.”

“Ah, right. Should’ve guessed.”

“Hello, Arthur,” Tresten, his husband said to me, giving me a tight hug. Their ten-year-old son Ian hovered next to Tresten’s side, his nose buried into a book.

“Hey, kid,” I said, leaning over. Tresten nudged him.

“Ian? Your uncle is speaking to you.”

“Hi, Uncle Arthur,” he said, and gave me a quick hug before returning his focus to the book.

“Sorry,” Tresten said. “We can hardly get him away from his books.”

I shook my head. “No, that’s great. He’s passionate.” I ruffled his hair, and he glanced up at me from the corner of his eye and smiled. I winked at him.

“Let’s go inside?” Tresten suggested. “I’d like to make an offering in the temple before the ceremony.”

As we walked into the temple, Loch told me about his position at the Dawn Academy’s Fighting Arts School as an assistant master. “Can you imagine that? Me, as a teacher?”

“You’re more than qualified,” Tresten said. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Loch’s got a point,” I teased. “Would you really want a guy like him teaching students?”

Loch laughed. “Oh, young me probably would hate me as a teacher. I don’t cut anyone any slack. I’m strict as hell.”

“Really? Guess Dad rubbed off on you after all. You must be happy, Tresten, to have your husband working alongside you.”

We entered the main hallway of the temple, lit by rows of hundreds of candles. Ian finally emerged from his book, sticking close to Tresten’s leg, his eyes wide as they looked around the cavernous space. Tendrils of incense curled from golden wolf skulls, and the priests shuffled around paying little attention to us, murmuring prayers to themselves.

“Actually,” Tresten said, “the reason why Loch was asked to teach is because I’m going to be taking a leave of absence.” We turned a corner towards an alcove where several shrines were held; three small trees growing out from the stone, with chains of gold hanging from their branches—the shrines for omega fertility and healthy childbirth. Tresten shifted into his wolf form, stepped up to the trees, and lowered his nose to the bark in tribute. I connected the dots.

“Hounds of Hell. Tresten, you’re pregnant again?”

Loch grinned proudly. “We’re having another kid,”

“Guys, that’s fantastic! Congratulations to the both of you.”

“It was completely unexpected,” Tresten said. “But a welcome surprise.”

We walked back towards the entrance to the temple to meet the rest of the family that would be arriving at any moment.

“Another kid,” I said to my brother. “Loch Luna, family man and Dawn Academy master. Never could’ve seen that coming ten years ago.”

“Hey, I was always an awesome fighter. Just not the most disciplined student.”

“Things change, I guess.”

He smiled. “You haven’t changed much, Arthur. From what I’ve heard, you’re still up to no good. Breaking hearts. You sure you don’t want to settle down?”

“Ah, Hounds of Hell. Not you, too. Everyone’s on my ass today about my damn love life.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’m not interested in that shit, you know that. Mom started even started suggesting omegas… No offense, Tresten.”

“What’s wrong with omegas?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I said.

“Nothing,” Loch said, “except he won’t date them. You had a bad experience with an omega, didn’t you? That old thing from when we were in pre-academy. You know he’s back, right?”

I hadn’t expected to hear those words, and my heart jumped so hard it was in danger of bursting out of my throat. I coughed. “Who told you that?” I said, trying to sound unaffected.

“His younger brother studies at the Academy. Overheard it.”

At that moment, the rest of the family entered the temple, and Loch, Tresten, and Ian went to go greet them. What had been just a bit of throwaway information to Loch had completely rocked me. I was stewing in my thoughts as my body ran on autopilot, moving my legs to follow the group as we moved to the room where Kota’s ceremony would take place. Everything around me seemed to be moving in blurs and echoes.

It was like a hole had been torn into the wall I’d set up in my mind, and all the thoughts and feelings I’d blocked away were gushing out of it. My heart was pounding. I was in shock. How could those words affect me like this? I’d gotten over all of this a long time ago. I’d gotten over him a long time ago. But I’d believed that I would never see Perry again. We promised each other that we would break contact forever. He was married. He lived far away. I’d never see him again, never have to think about him again.

But now, apparently Perry was back in Wolfheart.

Of course, I was sure he came back occasionally to visit, but I’d never known about it. I’d remained in blissful ignorance for these past years, believing that I’d never have to think about him again. Now, suddenly, his presence was back in my mind, like an ember rekindled.

I stood in the darkness of the Teller’s chambers as Christophe walked his son towards the blind old priest. A thick haze of incense and candle smoke surrounded me, and I found myself falling into my memories, drifting back in time thirteen years to the time when Perry Windhelm was still in my life, and when I was in love with an omega.