“It needs to be a public reveal.” Caleb slammed his pint down on the table. “Some event where millions of people are watching worldwide. There needs to be enough eyewitnesses that the evidence can’t be argued with.”

“Like a football game?” Luke suggested. Beside him, his wife Anna sipped her ginger ale and checked her mobile phone again. It was one of her first nights out since the birth of their son, Colin, so she was nervous about leaving him with Ryan’s mother Clara. Clara was kind of a surrogate grandmother to the pack, and she was thrilled to be on babysitting duties. Even though Clara was sharp as a tack, Anna seemed to think something could go wrong at any moment.

Speaking of wrong, I glanced toward the door again. No Willow. Where is she?

I thought for sure she’d be here.

“Something smaller, I think.” Cole – the pack’s resident raven shifter – tossed his waist-length black hair over his shoulder. “I’d hate to cause a panic and have so many people in danger of trampling each other.”

“Agreed. What I want to know is, how do you think this ‘reveal’ will go?” Caleb’s fiancée, Rosa, asked, tucking a strand of her frizzy black hair behind her ear. It bounced right back out again. “Aren’t you worried security at an event like that will just pull out their guns and shoot you all down?”

“It absolutely cannot be seen as any kind of attack,” Caleb said. “That’s how the media will portray it anyway, so we need to make absolute sure we give them as little fodder as possible. Ideally, it would be an event where we had control over the security, which means major sporting events are out, unless anyone has any contacts.”

“Agreed, but with the Wulfrics and Irvine’s pack on our side, we could probably manage a small security crew.” Luke shovelled a handful of chips into his mouth. “We set up our own security firm and win the contract for whatever event we decide to do. I think the Wulfrics have already got uniforms and a website and everything.”

I remembered what Rolf had said about the Wulfrics plans to become high-priced bodyguards and security as their “legitimate” business.

Caleb was nodding. “I think, a three-pronged approach. We start with a smaller event with a crowd we can control, but one that’s trending on social media or whatever it is … where thousands of people are watching online. We want this to go viral. Then, as soon as the news starts to hit the media about the reveal, we need as many shifters as possible to march on Westminster. We’ll camp outside until we get a voice. The occupation needs to be strictly non-violent, but we’ll need to demand our rights loud and clear. The whole world needs to be aware that there’s no going back from this.”

“And the third group?” Luke pushed him, knowing he was heading off on a tangent.

“The third group needs to make sure the word gets out among the shifter community and encourage others to rise up and join us. The more supporters – human or shifter – we can get to occupy, the better, but it all needs to be done without violence. If we start hurting people, they’re going to round us up and shoot us all—”

I tried to pay attention to all of the talk around me, but my mind kept flitting back to Willow. Why wasn’t she here? It wasn’t just that I wanted to see her, or that I was dreaming of being inside her, it was that she’d fit so perfectly in our little group. I imagined her nestled against my arm, sitting around the table, nursing a G&T while she laughed at Caleb’s stupid jokes and contributed her own ideas to the effort.

Willow doesn’t drink, remember?

I amended my vision to replace the G&T in her hand with a ginger ale, like Anna’s, and that made me imagine the Willow in my vision as being pregnant, her beautiful stomach swelling with a new life.

I’d have a baby with you, Willow Summers. I’d have a whole brood of them, and they’d all have your gorgeous smile—

“ … earth to Irvine.” Caleb waved his hand in front of my face. “Are you awake in there?”

Yikes. I jerked upright. “Aye, I’m here.”

“Good. No, look lively, because we’ve a new addition.”

He nodded toward the door, where Willow stood awkwardly, her gorgeous lips set in a thin line and her dark curls spilling over her shoulders. Even though it was a cool night, she wore trousers, and a black top that left one shapely shoulder naked. Her hands clutched a tiny leather purse like it was the only thing holding her upright. My breath caught at the sight of her. My mate.

Already, the connection drew me to her, shrinking the huge room so that the only people who existed were her and me. Her eyes swept the room, and when they fell on mine, her whole body shuddered. But it wasn’t desire in her eyes, it was terror.

Instantly, I ken something was very wrong. Willow stood rigid, her whole body frozen in place. Her eyes begged me to come to her, to catch her before her terror overwhelmed her. Was her fear of werewolves that intense? But then, why had she been able to have a conversation with Caleb and I at the bakery, let alone thrust her tongue into my mouth at the wedding?

No, this is something else.

I pushed my chair out, ready to pull her to me, but Elinor beat me to it.

“Oh look, Willow’s here!” Elinor raced to the door. She took Willow’s hand and pulled her over to our group. Trust the girls to make Willow feel welcome. “You have to come join us. We’re celebrating. I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Elinor went around the table. When she got to me, I gave her a wave and a secret wink, as if we’d never met before. Willow’s face turned scarlet. Caleb gave me an odd look.

“Nice to meet you all. I … I’ll come sit down in a moment.” Willow smiled at Elinor, but her eyes locked meaningfully with mine. “I just need to go to the bathroom.”

“No problem. I’ll get you something to drink. Non-alcoholic, right? Lemon, Lime and Bitters?”

Willow nodded. With one last lingering glance at me, she headed off toward the bathrooms.

I counted backward from thirty, then excused myself and followed her. Both men’s and women’s bathrooms at the Tir Na Nog were down a narrow hallway accessed by a single swinging door. If I’d read Willow correctly, we would have at least a few private moments to talk.

As soon as I pushed open the door, I saw her waiting at the end of the hall, leaning against the wall and gripping her elbows so hard, she was leaving welts on her own skin. I took her hands in mine, and found them shaking.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know … maybe nothing, but I am so freaked out right now.”

“Why? Because of all the werewolves in the room?”

She shook her head. “No. I mean, partly. There was this guy outside the flat when I left, and he kind of chased after me.”

“That bastard,” I growled.

Willow nodded. “I was just inside getting some things together to go out, and through the window, I saw a shadow in the trees – a very human-shaped shadow. It was only a moment, and I thought I’d imagined it, but then when I went out to the car, he rushed at me. He tried to block me from leaving and he was yelling at me!” She shuddered. “I managed to get in the car and lose him, and then I came straight here … I … didn’t know else to do.”

I wrapped my arms around her and drew her close. Her body trembled against me, and she buried her face in my shoulder. My whole body lit up from her touch. The warmth of her breath against the side of my neck drove me crazy.

Willow stiffened, and pulled back. She stared at her shoes. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?”

“Because …” She switched and started staring at the ceiling instead. “Because I’m so confused. I know I should be afraid of you, but I’m just not. And when we’re together, there’s this feeling … like I don’t want to let you go. It’s weird.”

The bond. I ken I should explain about fated mates, but her face was so stricken, I couldn’t bring myself to give her any more cause for fear. She came here, where she ken all the Lowe pack would be, and that is a huge step. Monumental.

Willow shrugged. “It’s fine. It’s not a big deal. He was probably just drunk. We should go out there and socialise.”

“Come home with me.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“If there’s some guy hanging out at your place, you cannae go back there. I think you should come home with me tonight. Did you see his face? Should I take you to the police?”

Willow shook her head. “Yeah, I saw him, but it doesn’t matter. It’s probably nothing—”

“You dinnae ken that.” I squeezed her hand. “If you’re scared, then it’s a big deal. You shouldn’t have to be afraid at your own flat. Come home with me. I’ve got a cabin out in the forest. No creepy stalkers for miles around. I’ll protect you, I promise.”

“You don’t even know me. Why would you offer that?”

I searched for the words. “Because you’ve dealt with enough. You deserve not to be scared. Now, come on.” I yanked her toward the door.

Willow shook her head, more vehemently this time. “No, I don’t want to leave. It took a lot of guts for me to be here tonight. I’m not leaving just because of this.”

“So what do you want to do?”

“I want to have a drink with you and your friends.” Willow set her mouth in a determined line. “I want to chat and laugh like a normal person.”

I dared a grin as I ran my finger over her knuckle. “And what about after? Where will you be sleeping tonight?”

Her cheeks reddened, and she bit her lip. Damn, but she was driving me crazy already. “I … I have to think about it.”

I linked my fingers in hers, and pulled her toward the door. “While you think, let me provide you with a list of my most winning attributes. Get ready to take notes, because it’s a long list.”

---

Willow sat next to me at our big table. Apart from a boring conversation with Elinor and Alex about wedding dresses, we pretty much ignored everyone else. I supplied Willow with an endless stream of Lemon, Lime and Bitters, and she provided me with endless radiant smiles and adorable breathy laughter.

We found so much to talk about. I hadn’t felt this instantly comfortable around someone since my father was alive. We loved the same films, books, and TV shows. I told her stories about living in Aberdeen, and she did an impression of her crotchety history professor from university. Every word out of her mouth made me fall deeper for her.

After the first half hour, the tension in Willow’s shoulders fell away. She smiled and drank and talked and teased, and only stuttered a little when one of the others asked her a direct question. Her brown eyes sparkled with so much joy. Caleb said something ridiculous, and Willow tilted her head back and laughed with her whole body, and I had to dig my fingers into my thighs to resist the urge to pull her against me and assault her mouth with mine.

Who would've thought that just sitting at the pub would bring someone so much joy? Willow Summers was a total mystery – a mystery I wanted to unravel.

Time passed too quickly, and before I ken it, the others had left, and Willow and I were the only two at the table. After I plonked down another drink in front of her, Willow reached across and squeezed my hand. “I haven’t had this much fun in years.”

“Even surrounded by all these monsters?”

She nodded. “Everyone’s nice. I am glad I trusted you.”

“You should always be able to trust me, Willow Summers.”

She looked thoughtful. “I barely know you.”

“Aye. That’s why we’re having drinks. It’s how we get to ken each other. Well,” I raised my pint to my lips, “I can think of some other ways.”

Willow’s cheeks reddened, and she stared down at her lap. Her fingers tightened against mine. “Um …”

She bit her lip.

My cock strained against my jeans. I’d been hard since my third drink, but now I was practically throbbing. Every touch between us was driving me crazy. The connection sizzled around us, the tension in the air so thick, everyone in the room must’ve sensed it.

But now our friends were gone, which meant I could ask the question that had been nagging at me since the wedding. “Willow, how did you ken I was a werewolf?”

“I … I guessed. You’re friends with Robbie and he’s a werewolf, so it just makes sense. Werewolves and humans don’t tend to mingle.”

“You didnae guess. You should’ve never ken Robbie was a wolf, either. Go on, you might as well tell me.”

“Um …” Her eyes darted around the room. “You can’t tell the others.”

“I promise.” I placed my hand over my heart.

“You’re going to think it’s weird …”

“I’m a werewolf. I think I can handle it.”

“Right … yes … well, um, I can smell you. Not that you stink or anything,” she said quickly. “You have this woody, heady scent … all werewolves do. When I smell it, I know someone’s a werewolf.”

“Can you smell non-werewolf shifters, or only wolves?”

Willow’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. “There are non-wolf shifters?”

“Of course. Foxes, lions, tigers, even some domestic cats. In America and Russia, there are a lot of bear shifters. I even met a squirrel shifter once. They’re not tied to the moon like we are, but some species have their own unique conditions.” I thought of Cole, who was a Bran – a raven-shifter whose species primarily served as slaves and messengers to human masters. Luckily, Cole had been freed thanks to his woman, Belinda, and members of the Lowe pack.

“What do you mean, tied to the moon?”

“All shifters can control when we transform into animals. When we’re in our animal form, we’re still us inside. We can still think and remember and make decisions as a human. But during the full moon, we werewolves transform whether we want to or not. It’s a different kind of shift – we lose our base layer of human reasoning. We’re dangerous to be around, so we usually head into the forest. It means that in a few days’ time, you’re going to have to do without my charms while I’m out communing with nature.”

She smiled. “I think I can manage. I’ve got my Rabbit.”

At the thought of her playing with a vibrator, my cock hardened. “Willow Summers, if that’s you flirting, I warn that you could do some serious damage to a man.”

She bit her lip, and that adorable flush reddened her cheeks once more. “So … um, what does it feel like? Being a wolf during the full moon, I mean. You said it was different.”

“Aye. The whole world narrows, and all deeper concerns fade away. Everything becomes instinctual – we operate out of animal desires to find food, dominate our territory, and protect our mates.”

“Mates?” Her tone was sharp.

“Most shapeshifter genes pass through the male line. We find our partners – called mates – among humans. Like Robbie and Bianca, well, sort of.”

“And Alex and Ryan?” Willow’s face flashed with recognition. “She said that word at our meeting the other day, but I’ve never smelt the wolf scent on him.”

“Good guess. He’s a vulpine – that’s a fox shifter.”

“Oh. I never knew there were … special names.”

“Now you do. Dinnae go spreading it around.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.” She made a zipping motion across her lips. “I’m good at keeping secrets.”

That makes two of us, I thought, but didn’t say. Instead I gestured to her empty glass. “Another Lemon, Lime and Bitters?”

Willow shook her head. “That’s probably enough sugar for me tonight. I’ll stick with water, thanks.”

“Aye, a real party girl.”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder, a flirtatious smile playing across her lips. “I am tonight.”

My lips tingled at the idea of kissing her long, elegant neck. My cock stirred as I thought of what I wanted to do to her. But I still had questions, and she was clearly feeling like talking. “So you really cannae smell non-werewolf shifters?”

“I don’t know. I don’t see many shifters in their animal forms, just as humans.” She looked away again. “You’re looking at me like I’m a freak.”

“You’re nae even remotely a freak. It’s odd, is all. I’ve nae heard of a human being able to discern this werewolf ‘scent’ before.”

She shrugged. “My father was a werewolf, so maybe I inherited some kind of gene from him that’s extra sensitive to these things.”

“Your father was a werewolf?”

“Yeah. He was the one who …” Willow flicked her wrist toward her legs.

Realisation dawned on me. “Shite. Your father was the one who attacked you?” Rage boiled inside me. The idea that someone who was supposed to protect Willow would be the one to do that to her …

“It’s fine.” Willow pulled a strand of hair in front of her face. She didn’t look fine, but I wasn’t about to argue with her. “I was very young, so I don’t really remember him, or the attack. I don’t even really remember having a leg.”

“Is he still alive?” Did someone tear his throat out for doing that to you? If a wolf in my pack had done that to his own daughter, he’d be lucky to escape with his manhood intact.

“I don’t know. He ran away, didn’t he? My mother went to the police but all they did was search the neighbourhood for some rabid dog.”

“What about his pack?” Most wolf packs had some kind of crude justice system of code of honour to prevent these kinds of things happening.

“I don’t think he had one.”

“But every werewolf lives in a pack. Your mother must’ve been pursued by other wolves looking for a mate—”

Willow made a weird snorting noise. “No werewolf would dare go after my mother, trust me. Look, I was only three when it happened, and I haven’t seen my father since and I really, really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Is that why you dinnae want anyone to know about your leg?”

“I just … I’m not ready for that. You understand, right? Some things just need to stay secret. It’s like you, with … what you are. You had to adapt to living in the human world, and keep your identity a secret, because to be public with it would bring you no end of trouble. Which is good, because if shifters were in the open, I’d have to go somewhere far away. So I get it. I don’t want people to know about that,” she jabbed her thumb at her leg again, “because it’s brought me nothing but trouble.”

Shite. Okay, this just got more complicated. Willow had no idea that I was working with the Lowes to reveal the existence of shifters. I wanted desperately to explain everything that was going on, but the stricken look on her face told me this was not something she wanted to hear.

It’s probably also not a good time to mention the whole fated mates thing. Perhaps it was better to keep that to myself for now. Time to move back to a safer and much less complicated topic of conversation: flirting.

“Um … yeah, sure.” I shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “A secret it is.”

She bit her lip. “Thanks, Irvine.”

I leaned in close to her, my breath just dancing over her ear. “Do you ken how fucking crazy you make me when you bite your lip like that?”

Willow’s breath caught, and she bit her lip harder. She didn’t move away. I ken she wouldn’t flirt back, not yet, so I went for the direct approach.

“Let me take you home, Willow Summers. I’ll ravish your body until you forget all about stalkers and werewolves and secrets.”

“I—”

I stroked her hand. “What say ye?”

Willow slid her hand out of mine, and clutched it in her lap. Her body tensed. “You should know something,” she whispered. “You’re wasting your time on me. I don’t have a lot of experience with guys.”

“You are many things, Willow Summers, but you are nae a waste of time.”

She shook her head, staring down at her hands. Her face was red. “No, I don’t think you understand. I mean that I have no experience with guys. With … sex.”

I growled low in my throat. A virgin. Willow seemed to think it was a bad thing. Little did she ken the thought drove me even more wild for her. To be the first person inside her, to be the first to touch her the way she deserved to be touched, the first to make her come, the first name she screamed in ecstasy …

“Do you want to change that?” I whispered, flicking my tongue on the edge of her earlobe. She shuddered.

“I don’t know.” She glanced up at me then, and I saw the battle in her eyes – her emotions torn between her fear and her desire. “I need to think, but it’s so … you’re so …”

“The offer is still open. Come back to my place.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“That’s fine. If you’re not ready, then you’re not ready.”

“You wouldn’t …”

“Dinnae even ask that question. I’d never force you to do anything that made you uncomfortable. I make no secret that I want you, Willow Summers. I want to taste every inch of you. I want to feel your hips tighten around me as you come on my face. But I winnae lay a finger on you until you’re ready, until you’re begging for it. Anything else is unacceptable. But I still think you should come home with me.”

“But—”

“That guy who followed you could still be waiting for you. He kens where you live, and the security on Bianca’s building is shite. Come back with me and I’ll keep you safe. We dinnae even have to share a bed.” I kissed her earlobe again, loving the way her lips parted as she gasped.

“Irvine—” she moaned.

I kissed a trail down her neck, savouring the sweetness of her skin. My cock ached with need of her. I had a distinct feeling that even if she said yes, I was going to end up with blue balls, but I wanted her to feel safe. I wanted her to trust me.

Willow gulped, wringing her hands together. “Yes,” she whispered. “Let’s go.”