Ian refused to acknowledge how much the phone inside his pocket had irked him all day. So what if a woman didn't answer his text? He'd waited until the following morning to contact her, and she had to wait at least a few hours to get back to him. It was common male-female protocol. But still, every time the damn device beeped, he pulled it out eagerly, and stuffed it right back in his pocket with a frown. An employee. A spam. A cold call. Ace, asking if he wanted to stop by for cupcakes. Stupid question. Of course he did. 

He was in the main house, gobbling leftover icing, when the phone rang; properly rang, announcing a call rather than a message. None of Ian's acquaintances called him; they knew an enforcer was supposed to be silent on the job and could rarely take calls. A good excuse he was sticking to. Expecting someone wanting to install a solar system on his property, he glanced at the phone, and cursed out loud. 

"Holy shit." 

His screen displayed her name. 

"Hey there." 

"Hi! Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I was slammed all day."

"That makes one of us." He'd caught up on an action TV show while stuffing his face with junk food. "Is it usual for you to get busy on Fridays?"

"There's no quiet days, really. My uncle is off with a broken—well, everything. He had a car accident a couple of months back. And one of the other vets is on maternity leave. That means it's just me and Kenneth, plus the nurses. They can see the simple cases—you know, post-op check-ups, stuff like that, without complications, but we're still swamped. Today was a mess. Wait, you don't want to hear about my problems." 

Ian found that actually, he did. 

"No, feel free to share. I'm curious. It's not like I know many vets." 

Shifters didn't often keep pets. 

Tania didn't question his remark. 

"Well, one of the ranches we cover called because their mare went into labor. They normally take care of things themselves, but there were complications. Poor girl needed a couple of hands. Literally. Up her..."

"You're right. I probably didn't need to know." 

She laughed. Ian liked the sound, but he also caught the small sigh at the end of it. Something was wrong, and his animal wanted—no, demanded—to know what it was. 

He could have asked, but the tiger inside him wouldn't have been satisfied with words. He needed to check her; her eyes, her expression, her scent. 

"Listen, are you free tonight? I'm off today, so I figured we could do dinner now, if you want." 

She hesitated. 

"Or not. No pressure." 

Ian bit his lip, playing with the icing gun in his hand. 

"I'm not sure it's the best time. Things got a little complicated at home." 

He knew it. He'd known something was wrong. 

"Anything I can help with?" Remembering they were strangers, he added, "I mean, I do owe you for those plates. They're amazing." 

She laughed. "Not unless you know someone open to doing a short-term rental around the area." 

Ian tried to connect the dots. "Things didn't work out at your father's?" 

"You could say that. I left yesterday. I looked on Airbnb and sites like that, but it's not like we're in a popular destination. The few places I could find were only free for a couple of nights at a time." 

"Give me two secs, putting you on hold." 

He was glad his virtual PA had shown him how to do that. Pausing the call, he lifted his head to meet Ace's gaze. The alpha female's attention was fixed on him anyway. 

"Can I have the lake house for a friend?" he asked, without elaborating. 

Her acute hearing had, no doubt, caught both sides of the conversation. 

Ace watched him closely, before nodding once. 

"Thanks." He returned to his call. "There's a place you can use in our territory for a few days if it helps. We just finished renovating it, so it's sitting empty." 

The house had once been Ace's home, but when they'd bought the large modern home in town, she'd moved in there with Rye and the rest of the pack. It was old, charming, and with a lot of character. The newcomers, Ari and Theo, lived in the lake house at first, but last summer, the pride had renovated the cabins they owned in the woods surrounding the lake. Ari and Theo each claimed a cabin, leaving the house empty, so they took the opportunity to revamp it, stripping the old-fashioned carpets and wallpaper the previous owners had chosen. Now there were hardwood floors with underfloor heating and fresh paint or open bricks on the walls. The place rocked. They'd decided to use it for their occasional guests; some of the Wyverns did get along with their family, after all. Ace, Daunte, Christine, and Rye's parents occasionally visited. Same for Ava's brother. Ian had invited his cousin numerous times, although Roxanne always claimed to be busy. Ian knew better. 

Mostly, the lake house stayed empty. That didn't diminish Ace's kindness, or her trust in him. Shifters were territorial. A born alpha like Ace didn't easily accept a stranger on her property. 

"Oh, I couldn't..." 

"No worries. The offer's there if you need it. How about you come for dinner and see the place?" 

He wasn't going to insist right now. Tania needed to come and see with her own eyes that he wasn't trying anything shady. When she met the pride, and saw the house—a good mile away from his own cabin, entirely empty—she might change her mind. 

After a short silence, she asked, "What time do you want me over?"