It was dark as we stepped up to the front door to The Love Knot. There was a pretty big line waiting to get in, which struck me as odd for the size of the town we were in, but I guess when there’s only one shifter bar in town, it’s going to be pretty popular.

There was an imposing alpha at the door letting people in. He was almost as gorgeous as my alpha, standing at least six feet tall, with great bone structure and a dark brown beard. He skipped the line and stepped right up to him. I followed.

“Martin working tonight?” He asked the bouncer, who gave him a questioning look.

“Who wants to know?” He asked. I could see his nose working us over, looking for clues as to our purpose.

“Bryce,” he replied. My heart jumped and it was then that I realized I hadn’t even learned my fated mate’s name until now.

Bryce, I thought, mulling his name over in my mind. It sounded like sweet music I could fall asleep to every night.

“Martin’s an old buddy of mine. Need to talk to him if he’s working here still.”

The bouncer twisted his lips and then nodded.

“Yeah, sure,” he replied. “Wait here.”

The bouncer vanished through the front door of the club and Bryce spun around and shouted under his breath, “Yes! Thank God.”

He took me into his arms and squeezed me tightly. The warmth from his body was so comforting, and his scent wrapped me in a sweet embrace of safety and comfort.

“Bryce,” I whispered to him, looking up into his eyes. “Your name is Bryce.”

He smiled down at me.

“Yes,” he told me. “Clarence and Bryce. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

“I prefer Bryce and Clarence,” I replied, correcting him with a smile. “You’re the alpha after all. Your name should come first.”

It was even colder up here in Maine. The air smelled different and the chatter unfamiliar. I heard accents I wasn’t used to hearing and looked around at a town I’d never been to before. But I had my alpha with me, and for the time being, that was enough.

The door to the club opened, and another alpha stepped out. He was blond with blue eyes and very pretty.

“It can’t be,” he roared. “Is that Bryce?”

“Martin!?” He exclaimed, whirling around. “Is that you, you son of a bitch!?”

The two threw their arms around each other and embraced, laughing like a pair of old friends who had finally reunited.

“What brings you to this dump?” Martin asked with a laugh, his eyes flicking over Bryce’s shoulder to me.

“Got a bit of a situation,” Bryce told him. “You got somewhere we can go to talk?”

“Yeah, sure,” Martin said, leading us around the building to the back alley. Empty beer bottles clinked at my feet. The whole place smelled like wet and stale booze.

“Listen, Martin,” Bryce said. “This is Clarence. Clarence, Martin.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said with a nod. I knew we were doing better than we were back at the motel – Jeremiah’s stare still lingered in my mind, reminding me of his touch against my legs – but we were still in trouble, and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next.

“We’re in a bit of a situation here, Martin,” Bryce told him with a deep breath. “So – Clarence is my fated mate.”

Martin looked at me, then to Bryce, then back again.

“No shit?” He said, raising his eyebrows.

“My old pack leader, Jeremiah, tried to claim him. But I stepped in. We literally just broke him out. I killed two of his betas on the way, and we need a place to stay.”

“Shit!” Martin gasped. “You kidding me? They track you up here?”

“I doubt it,” Bryce said shaking his head. “Took the bike here. Five hours.”

“Yeah, you’re probably in the clear,” Martin said. “Shit. Fated mates, huh? You guys are lucky.”

“Tell me about it,” Bryce smiled. “So look – I need a place to stay. I need a job. The club hiring?”

“We actually just lost a bartender last week,” Martin replied. “Think you can learn to make drinks?”

“Shit, how hard can it be?” Bryce replied.

Martin grinned. “You can crash at my place until you get your feet under you. I gotta finish up the night, but you guys feel free to head back and get situated.”

He pulled out a key and handed it to Bryce.

“It’s over on Pine Ridge,” he said. “Number twelve. The lock’s a bit sticky, just kick the bottom of the door and it’ll open.”

“Can’t tell you how much we appreciate it, Martin,” Bryce said, taking my hand in his. I sighed deeply, feeling relieved, like all this might actually work out. Bryce pulled me away, heading back up the alley toward his bike. I heard Martin call after us.

“Just don’t fuck on my bed, huh!?”