While the wolves took their full moon shift in the forest, Elinor and I hunkered down in Marshell House, watching out the windows for my stalker. Before he left, Irvine told everyone in the pack that I’d been attacked by a werewolf as a child, and that the attack had cost me my leg and also given me this weird ability to sense werewolves. I wasn’t there when he did it, because I couldn’t handle their pitying stares when they realised that Willow Summers was a broken person.

Strangely, it hadn’t been as bad as I expected. It was actually a relief to have my knowledge of them out in the open. They were good people, and I hated deceiving them. I expected them to cast me out of their social circle when they found out, but instead, they’d embraced me like one of their own pack.

And that made me feel even worse. Because they only knew half the truth. And the other half … it would hurt them all, especially Irvine.

Irvine hadn’t left my side in the last few days, and perhaps because of that, we hadn’t seen the stalker again. He was hiding in the woods behind Marshell House, taking shifts with Robbie, Caleb, Luke, and Rolf, and I caught fleeting glimpses of them patrolling the gardens. Just seeing them out there made my stomach sink with dread.

They were worried my stalker might be trying to sabotage whatever they’re planning. If only they knew about the true devil in their midst.

I missed Irvine. I missed his touch and his sexy Scottish accent and the way he couldn’t say “couldn’t” properly. I missed sitting by the stove in his cabin. I missed the comfort of being near him. He was the first person who knew that I was broken, and who treated me like … a normal person. In fact, he treated me like a goddess.

This fated mates thing still made me nervous, but he’d proven time and time again that he would put my safety and my feelings before even his own. The way I thought about him … I wasn’t sure what we had could be described as “casual” anymore – at least not to me.

As the hours and days went on, my desire to see him only intensified. But I had to wait until the full moon waned.

Waiting sucks.

Okay, it didn’t completely suck. Elinor and I ate a lot of takeaways, drank several bottles of wine (I can’t believe I’d been avoiding wine for so long – it tasted so sweet and delicious, and I trusted that Elinor wouldn’t take advantage of me), and talked until the early hours. We had more in common than I ever realised. She too had fled London to follow her heart in Crookshollow. She too had overbearing parents who’d practically disowned her when she gave up her law career to become a tattoo artist. We both loved extra-spicy food and Midsomer Murders.

On the third day, I was cooking eggs for brunch, while Elinor thumbed through the local paper. “Hey look,” she said, pointing to the moon diagram above the astrology section. “The full moon is over. It looks like your man will be back today.”

I nodded. I had the moon’s phases memorised. I’d been awake since 4 a.m., waiting for Irvine to knock on the door or clamber up to my window. He’d done neither of those things, and my stomach was in knots.

At 5 a.m. this morning, I’d caved and sent Irvine a text, telling him that I missed him and suggested some naughty things we might do together when we were alone. I hoped he’d see it as soon as he shifted back and come racing over here, but so far, nothing.

Elinor must’ve seen something in my face, because she dropped the paper and ran around the counter to embrace me. “Don’t worry. He’ll come back for you. He probably just hasn’t come out of his shift yet. He’s out there protecting you, isn’t he? Trust me, guys like Irvine get off on being the strong silent protectors.”

“Yeah.” I twisted a tea towel in my hands. “I just wish he were here now, so I could say all the things I wanted to say. How do you stand having Eric away so much?”

“Hey, when your fiancé used to be a ghost, you kind of trust the universe is going to look after you—hang on a sec.” Elinor’s phone started buzzing. She picked it up from the counter.

Elinor had explained to me the extraordinary story of how she and Eric had met, when she’d come to Marshell House as a probate lawyer to settle his dead mother’s affairs and discovered his ghost haunting the house. After solving Eric’s mysterious murder and battling some drug dealers who were trying to kill her, Elinor, Bianca and Clara had managed to bring Eric back from the dead. If I didn't already have all the evidence I’d ever needed that werewolves existed, I’d never have believed it.

“Caleb, welcome back to the land of the unfurry … omigod, no way, that’s awesome! ” Elinor slumped into a stool, her face radiant with happiness. “I knew Robbie would come through for us … Of course I want to be there. A little grave robbing is right up my alley … okay, I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

Elinor flipped her phone shut and did a merry little dance right there in the kitchen. “He found it! He found it.”

“You seem awfully happy for a phone conversation that just contained the word ‘grave robbing,’” I said, grinning. “Who found what?”

“Robbie found the Benedict Ring, of course. We’re going to go dig it up today. You’re welcome to come along, but I figure you and your man will be otherwise occupied.” Elinor winked.

“I’m sorry, the what?”

“Geez, you and Irvine really don’t do much talking, do you? The Benedict Ring is only the whole reason he’s here in Crookshollow. It’s an ancient ring infused with powerful magic that’s been entrusted to Caleb’s family for centuries. It was lost around a hundred years ago. And now Robbie’s figured out exactly where it is.”

“Which is?”

“In the grave of a maid, Hattie, who used to live in the attic room at Bianca’s house. Apparently Hattie was having an affair with Bianca’s young ancestor, Silvia, and when an accident killed Hattie, Silvia buried the ring with her as a symbol of their love. We knew that a few months ago, but we had to find the grave, which wasn’t easy because it's so old. A lot of graves get moved or destroyed. But he found it! This is awesome. Don’t you think it’s awesome?”

“Forgive me, but I don’t think grave digging is quite as exciting as you do.”

Elinor wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, that part’s not so great, but it’s necessary. The ring is an integral part of Caleb and Irvine’s plan.”

The plan. The secret project that Irvine and I had danced around the edges of. He didn’t want to tell me, and I didn’t want to know. But that was before I knew about this ring. What could a shifter pack possibly be planning that required the use of an ancient, magical ring? A niggling feeling at the back of my mind urged me to ask the question I swore I’d never ask.

“About this plan.” I tried to keep my voice casual, as if I discussed such things every day. “What is it in a nutshell? Irvine was always a bit terse when it came to explaining what they’re doing.”

“You mean you don’t know?” Elinor’s eyes gleamed with pride. “They’re working to lift the veil of secrecy that surrounds shifters. Soon, humans and shifters will exist side by side, on an equal footing.”

What?

Elinor continued. “None of our friends will have to live in secret or fear any longer. Caleb needs the ring’s power to help unite the shifter packs across the world and make it easier for humans to accept them into society.”

The room span. Sickness welled up in my stomach, and red welts danced in front of my ears. A shot of searing phantom pain jolted through my leg. They’re using this ring to reveal the existence of shifters.

If that happened, Willow Summers would be no more. The press would hunt me down and drag my story up for everyone to devour. Only this time, it wouldn’t just be a tiny article on the fourth page of some shitty tabloid. I’d be splashed across the front page of every major daily in the world. My mum’s videos would go viral. I’d be ‘peg-leg’ again.

Irvine knew about this. He knew all along. He let me believe he was looking out for me … and all this time …

My stomach turned. Bile rose in my throat. I rushed from the room, cupping my hands over my mouth in an attempt to stop myself from throwing up.

Shifters will be free. They’ll be out in public. And all the freedom I’ve worked so hard to find for myself will come crashing down.