As soon as my limbs could move again, I raced back inside the cabin and slammed and locked the door. I grabbed all the knives from the block and lined them up in front of the door. Then I wrapped my hands around my knees and rocked back and forth, trying to stop myself from throwing up.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I grabbed it, nearly dropping it through my fingers. I checked the number. It was Caleb.

“Hello?” I whispered.

“Rosa, you won’t believe what we’ve discovered.” Caleb sounded so excited. “Apparently, the Lowe pack was in possession of an ancient ring—”

“Someone was here, at the cabin.” My voice trembled. Relief flooded me, just from hearing his voice.

“What?”

The lump rose up in my throat. Now that I had said it out loud, I was dangerously close to losing control. “I just saw someone outside. They spray-painted DIE, BLACK BITCH on the side of my cabin.”

“Wolf or human?”

“Human. He ran into the bushes. I–I–I didn’t get a good look at him.”

“Stay inside. Lock all the doors. We’re coming for you now.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I moved around the cabin on shaking legs, and gathered up some of my things – my laptop, a couple of books, some clothing and underwear. I crouched with my bag on the centre of the rug, the knives spread out around me like a rainbow of stabbing. My gaze flicked between the kitchen window and the window above the desk. Every hair on my body stood on end, every muscle tensed, ready to strike.

My cabin looked different now, all gloomy corners and no escape route. My space had been violated, tainted. I knew I could never write in peace here again.

It seemed like a whole day passed in strained silence while I waited. When the knock sounded, I was so wound up, I nearly jumped out of my skin. My heart hammered against my chest.

“Rosa, it’s me,” Caleb shouted through the door. “Open the door.”

I scrambled across the floor and unlocked the door. Caleb threw it open, and picked me off the floor, cradling me in his arms like a frightened child. I rested my head on his shoulder, and all the tension in my body poured out of my eyes. Great sobs wrenched from deep in my stomach, my whole body shaking as I poured it all out, all the fear and panic.

I felt strangely detached from the whole experience, as though I were standing behind myself, watching my breakdown. This isn’t you. This isn’t who you are. But it was. I was this hopeless, distraught human. I was losing it. The sting of the words against my cabin of freedom had cut too deep.

Caleb’s arms tightened around me. His hand cupped the back of my head. His voice cooed in my ear, a deep rumble that resonated right through my body.

“I’m sorry,” I sniffed, looking up at him. “I didn’t mean to …” The words failed me, so I just gestured to my tear-stained face. I’d smeared snot all over the other side of his collar now, but if he noticed, he didn’t seem to care.

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” His voice shook, and for the first time, I saw the raw fury in his eyes. “My stepbrother is the one who is going to be very, very sorry.”

“I thought you said he left Crookshollow.”

“He must’ve doubled back to do this.”

“I could deal with it when it was just text messages, but this is on my wall—”

“What text messages? Have you had more like that one from the other night?”

My face flushed. “Yeah, a couple more. He said he was watching me.”

Caleb growled. “He’s signed his own death warrant.”

“I don’t want you to—”

“Crossing a shifter’s territory after being forbidden is a declaration of war. I won’t tolerate this, Rosa. You deserve to live without this fear in your life.”

I snorted. “Caleb, I’m a black woman. As long as I live, I will live with fear in my life.”

“It shouldn’t be that way. I won’t let it.”

“I don’t even know if it was Angus. I didn’t get a good look at the guy, but he didn’t seem as big or brawny as I remember.” The more I thought about the blur I’d seen darting into the bushes, the more I was certain it wasn’t Angus.

“Who else could it be? Who else knows about your cabin?”

“My parents, my lawyer, and my therapist. That’s it.”

“And presumably none of them want to frighten you out of your wits. We’ll call them as soon as we get back to the village; check that they’re all right.”

A chill ran down my spine. “You don’t think they could’ve hurt my parents?”

“I fucking hope not. But if what we found out today is true, there might be more going on here than we think. You can show me where he ran off, and I’ll try and find the trail. That’ll tell us quickly if it’s my stepbrothers, or if they had someone do it for them. I didn’t think they have many allies down here.”

“Could they still be here, watching us?”

“The two of them had some serious wounds, and they know better now than to go up directly against Luke and I. I think they’ll go back to Aberdeen, if they aren’t there already. But when they return to Crookshollow, they’ll have reinforcements. Unfortunately, I think we might have made the situation worse. My brother Angus doesn’t like to lose.”

“What do we do?”

“I don’t think you should stay here,” Caleb said. “It’s too isolated, and harder to protect. Ryan’s in the car. He says we can stay at his place—”

I looked down at my packed bag on the rug, and a wave of anger shot through my whole body. I shook my head. “I don’t want to sleep on some guy’s couch I hardly even know, even if he is a member of your pack. I’m not giving up my cabin. This was my dream. I’m not calling it quits after only a few days. That means they’ve won.”

“If you die, they also win.” Luke’s voice cut in. I jumped. I hadn’t even seen him standing there. “I agree with Caleb. It will be much easier to protect Rosa from the hall.”

Caleb’s eyes focused on mine. He leaned forward, lowering his voice, so we were the only two people who could hear. He stroked my cheek with his thumb, and a wave of desire shot through me. “I don’t want you to feel as though you’ve giving up anything,” he said. “But for a few days, would you consider being a guest at our new friend’s house? I think you might like it.”

“I don’t know, Cale—”

“Did I mention that Ryan’s a billionaire?”

“Um … no.” Ryan, with the paint-splattered skin? “Doesn’t he paint houses?”

Caleb laughed. “He’s Ryan Raynard.”

Holy shit. I knew nothing about art, but even I’d heard of Ryan Raynard, the reclusive artist who had practically founded the modern impressionist movement.

“He owns Reynard Hall on the edge of the village. There’s a spa pool and a fully-stocked bar and a butler and some big comfy beds. Besides.” Caleb’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “It’s going to be hard to give you your reward for what you did to me the other day, with all these guys looking on.”

His other hand rested on my thigh, his fingers snaking closer, closer … he brushed a finger over the crotch of my jeans, and the ache sprung up inside me, as if he’d flicked a switch. I bit my lip to stop myself moaning out aloud. It would be much … nicer … to have a room all of my own. And if it’s only a few days until Caleb can sort things out with his father, then what’s the harm?

“All right,” I said, picking up my bag. “Take me to the fox’s mansion.”

* * *

Reynard Hall wasn’t just opulent, it was palatial. The gothic manor sprawled in all directions, as far as the eye could see. It had clearly been neglected for several years, as there were cracks along several walls, overgrown flower beds filled with weeds as high as the first floor balcony, and dirt and grime encrusting everything. But I could see work was being done to bring it back to its former splendour. There was scaffolding around the far end of the western wing, and some stone-mason’s tools lined up beside the front steps, with fresh paint along half the front wall. The hedges were freshly trimmed, and the garden beds around the steps were brimming with white and yellow flowers.

A beautiful blonde woman greeted us at the door, wearing a floaty maxi dress covered in baroque flowers. A paintbrush was tucked behind her ear. She introduced herself as Alex, Ryan’s fiancee.

“Welcome.” Alex embraced me. “Ryan’s filled me in on everything that’s happened. You’ll be perfectly safe here. This place is protected from all manner of supernatural creatures by some of Clara’s strongest charms.”

“That’s … that’s great.” As if werewolves weren’t enough, I was now hanging out with a billionaire vulpine in an enchanted manor. What was next, a vampire butler?

As if on cue, a willowy man with beady eyes and thick, demonic-looking eyebrows emerged from the shadows and held his arms out for my coat. “This way, ma’am,” he said.

I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing.

Alex grinned, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. “It takes a little getting used to,” she whispered, so the butler wouldn’t hear. “The first month I was living here, I was sure at any minute I’d stumble into some dark corner and find Simon’s sleeping figure peering out at me from an upright coffin.”

I grinned back at her. I think I’ll like this girl.

“I’ve had Simon prepare rooms for you in the guest wing.” Alex started up the grand staircase. “I’ll let you get settled. You look like you’ve had a pretty rough day. Ryan and I are going to have supper in the green drawing room in a couple of hours. Feel free to join us, but I thought you’d like some time to shower and freshen up.”

“You must be a mindreader,” I said, twisting a frizzy lock of hair in my finger. I wondered if psychics were another made-up phenomenon I was going to have to get used to being real.

“Close,” she grinned. “I’m a woman. I know these things. Good to have you here, Rosa.”

* * *

“Nice digs.” Caleb’s gravelly voice penetrated my thoughts. He stood in the doorway, staring around the room the vampire butler had “prepared” for me.

I couldn’t help but agree. Unlike other stately homes that were decorated with heavy antiques and stuffy drapes, this room was light and airy. I’d dumped my bag on a creamy Scandinavian-style recliner by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the back garden and the forest. I was now sitting on the edge of the bed, running my fingers over the smooth sheets and soft, downy duvet. Weariness washed over me, and I lay back, letting the soft bed float around me while I stared up at the industrial-style chandelier above my head.

Are these four-hundred count sheets? I bet they are. In a house like this, of course they are. They feel like butter. I’ve never slept in a bed made of butter before.

I thought of the hard, lumpy bed back in the cabin. I should get some nice sheets, and a decent mattress. Hell, I’ve got three-hundred thousand pounds in the bank. I could buy four-hundred count sheets if I wanted to.

I was debating whether it would be appropriate to ask Alex where she shopped, when Caleb stepped inside the room, casting a looming shadow over the edge of the bed.

Reluctantly, I dragged my body up into a sitting position, and was rewarded with a view of shirtless Caleb, the dim light in the hall throwing a shadow across the dark stubble running along his chin. He surveyed my bed with a satisfied smirk

“Where’s your room?” I asked.

“Just down the hall, but I don’t intend to spend much time there.” In a moment, Caleb was on the bed beside me. Two strong arms wrapped around my torso, rolling me over so I faced away from him. Caleb’s teeth grazed my earlobe.

Yes. All weariness forgotten, my body sizzled with desire once again.

“I missed you last night,” Caleb whispered into my ear, as his hands explored my body, cupping my breasts, skimming my sides, squeezing my ass. His touch left trails of fire across my skin.

The words hummed against my brain. Why does knowing he missed me make me feel so good?

It was probably that damn Scottish accent. It made everything he said sound like sex.

“Oh, yes?” My voice came out low, almost like a growl. “Why don’t you show me just how much you missed me?”

In response, Caleb growled low in his throat. His hands tightened around my thighs, and he shunted me further onto the bed. I turned around to face him, but he used his arms to stop me.

“Stop trying to take charge, woman.” He stroked a finger along my chin. “Let me drive you crazy first.”

“If you insist.” I sank back into the bed-cloud, as Caleb continued to stroke and kiss my body, his fingers everywhere at once – running down my back, curling around my thighs. He undid the buttons between my breasts and slid my shirt over my shoulders. My skin tingled with heat as he placed his lips on the back of my neck, kissing a line down my shoulders and pulling down the strap of my bra with his teeth.

My breasts weren’t even naked yet, and already the ache inside me was desperate for him.

Caleb wrapped his arms under my body, and flipped me over, so I was on top. I leaned back, straddling him, my whole body aching with need. He was still wearing pants, so I reached down and tugged at his belt. Caleb grabbed me around the wrist, holding my arm away.

“Not yet, wench.”

“Then what?”

“Sit on my face.” He grinned. “I want to watch you enjoying this.”

My face flushed with heat. I’d never done that before. But if Caleb asked … I would obey. I wriggled forward, planting my thighs on either side of his head, so that he was between my legs. He reached up and tweaked one of my nipples, and I gave a little moan.

“Keep your eyes locked on mine,” he said, his mouth so close to me that every word sent a waft of wind across me, teasing the ache growing inside me. I nodded.

Caleb reached behind me and grabbed hold of my ass with both hands, holding me in place. His tongue connected with my clit, and oh, the sensation of it nearly sent me over the edge.

He started slow, moving with deliberate care, dragging his tongue across all of me. The torture of waiting while his eyes danced over mine drove me wild. I growled low in my throat, begging him for more.

While he worked me, his eyes drank in my reactions. Watching him as he watched me made the whole experience more intimate than anything I’d ever experienced. I dug my fingers into his shoulders as the ache inside of me grew stronger, spreading out through my limbs, ready to take me over completely.

Caleb increased his speed, focusing all his attention on my clit, pounding it over and over with his tongue. My legs started to clench as I grew closer and closer. He took one hand from my ass and worked it between my legs, pushing a finger inside of me as his tongue licked and swirled.

My legs turned to jelly, and I collapsed as the orgasm claimed me. My legs convulsed, tightening around him, driving myself further against his face. He responded by sucking me into his mouth, sending another wave of pleasure through my body even before the first had abated. His eyes never left my face as the second orgasm tore through me. I lost sight of him as red welts appeared in my eyes, and the room swirled in a maelstrom of ecstasy.

I woke in a stupor of pleasure to find myself flat on my back against the sheets, Caleb leaning over me, now completely naked, his fingers trailing across my skin. My whole body tingled.

“So that was … good?” He lifted one eyebrow.

“That was … the most intense orgasm I’ve ever … I mean, wow.”

“I loved watching you,” he said, running his hands over my stomach.

“I loved watching you watch me. I loved everything about it. What do we do now? I don’t think I can even move.”

“I’ll take things from here.” Caleb rolled me over, so that once again I was facing away from him, his arms around me, with ample access to my body. His lips grazed my neck, and the arm under my shoulder bent at the elbow to play with my nipple, while his other hand fumbled for something in his discarded pants.

I heard the rustle of a foil package, and then Caleb had both hands on me, stroking my skin. His cock pressed against my ass crack, before working his way between my thighs and slowly, achingly, beautifully slowly, entered me.

I was so tight from the two orgasms that it took a few strokes for his whole length to be inside me. All the while, he continued to stroke my skin, his lips warm against the nape of my neck. A hand snaked down my body and pressed between my legs.

The ache inside me flared up again. My clit burned with all the attention it had received, but Caleb took it carefully, just brushing his fingers over the little bud, barely touching it at all. But the sensation coupled with his length sliding inside me grew the pleasure inside me once more.

This felt so different from the sex we had the other night. That was primal, animalian. This was intimate. It wasn’t really sex. It was more …

… making love.

Did I just think that? Did I just think the word love? Am I really starting to fall for this guy?

The thought didn’t fill me with dread, the way it usually did. Instead, it made a new warmth spread through my body. The ache rose higher, pressing against my skin. Caleb’s hand trailed over my stomach, while the other brushed me faster, working in time with his strokes.

“That’s it,” he whispered in my ear as the ache spread further. “Come again for me, you gorgeous woman.”

The ache burst forth, flooding my body with heat and light. My walls tightened around his shaft, and he started to thrust faster as he approached his own orgasm.

Caleb’s teeth sank into my shoulder, a sharp pain that only heightened the sensation of him hardening, shuddering inside me. His body tensed, then relaxed, collapsing against mine. One last, final thrust, and he too was spent.

I couldn’t move, didn’t want to move. His body against mine felt whole, complete, like we were two lost puzzle pieces that slotted together perfectly.

Finally, my limbs woke up enough that I thought I could move. I rolled over, so that I was facing Caleb. My hands cupped his cheeks. His stubble grazed my palms.

“That was pretty intense.”

“Yeah.” His heavy lidded eyes smiled back at me. “The intensist.”

I laughed. “That’s not a word.”

“You’d know better than me, Miss Writer.”

“Yes, I would. Hey, Caleb?”

“Mmmmhmm?”

“About this mate business … what exactly happens when a woman becomes your mate?”

His eyes bore into mine. “Why are you asking? Are you—”

“No, I’m not ready for that. But I have a right to know, don’t I?”

“Sure.” He trailed a finger over my shoulder blade. “Well, when I take a mate, I would place a bite on her to mark her as my own.”

“A bite? Does it hurt?”

“Yeah, but I’d be very gentle. Any woman who is strong enough to be the mate of a werewolf wouldn’t have a problem with the pain.”

“That’s … not very reassuring.”

“When I bite, my saliva mixes with her blood. Other wolves can smell that, even after the wound heals. They would always know that this woman belonged to me and my pack, that she was protected. The bite is a symbol of a pair, like a wedding ring in shifter society, but it’s also a form of protection. Any wolf who attacked a mate would bring the full fury of the pack down upon themselves. Is this scaring you?”

“Oh, no. Biting and wounds and werewolf wedding vows are perfectly normal, non-scary things. Is there anything else I should be aware of?”

He squeezed my arm. “No. I mean, there’s probably a bunch of stuff about pregnancy that’s a little odd, but you’d have to ask Anna about that. She’d know more than me. The only other thing I would say is that if you did become my mate, I would be the luckiest guy in the whole entire world.“

“Caleb?”

“Yes, Rosa.”

“I had an affair with the mayor.”

The words were out of my mouth before I knew it. Once they were out, I wished like hell I could take them back.

Caleb blinked. “Of your old town? So?”

I’d dreaded the words he might say, but his reaction did nothing to loosen the heavy stone that now pressed against my chest. This was exactly how I’d felt when I’d started seeing Nancy, like I was walking around with a boulder on my chest, weighing me down. The only thing that made it better was talking. And I didn’t want the boulder between Caleb and I any longer. So I talked.

“He was a white man.”

“So? I’m a white man.”

“That’s not a so. You can’t understand what it’s like for me.”

“I know what it’s like to be different, yeah. To feel like an outcast in your own family.” Caleb patted his chest.

“I guess, but it’s not really the same. You can blend in. When you walk down the street, people don’t stare at you like you’re an alien. When you’re good at your job, people don’t make comments about how you’re stealing work from true British citizens. When you go to buy toilet paper and are made to feel like your money isn’t as good as anyone else’s. It’s not the same,” I repeated.

“Okay.” Caleb kissed my nose. “It’s not the same. Keep going.”

“I was the other woman. He was married to a woman who was best friends with my boss at the accounting firm I worked for. His wife was white too, and my boss. In fact, pretty much everyone in the village was white. They could be rude sometimes; muttered comments behind me in line at the post office, overlooking me for projects at work even though I had the most experience, the usual kind of thing. Most racism is just that – thoughtless comments made by normal people. But it was my first job after university, and I wanted to make a success of it. I saved a lot of money – I didn’t exactly have friends to go out with – so I bought my little Tudor cottage and I was going to stay until I paid the mortgage down, then move on and keep it as a rental.”

“Sensible,” Caleb murmured.

“When it comes to money, yes. But that’s where my common sense ends, trust me. I got sucked in by Sam’s charisma. He was handsome in that old-fashioned, upper-class, Mr.-Darcy kind of way.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Caleb’s eyes glinted.

“He owned an estate and wore these snappy suits and was in line for a title and his eyes crinkled in the corners. He would come into the office and flirt with me, and it made me so happy. One day he asked me out, and things just spiralled out of control from there. He was easy to talk to. I told him everything about my life. He was such a great listener.

“When the affair started, I didn’t know Sam was married. I didn’t even know he was the mayor. Who really knows who their mayor is? One morning I was reading the paper and there he was on the front page at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new statue on the village green. His tall, blonde wife smiling beside him.”

Caleb looked appalled.

“I swear my heart fell into my shoes. I felt so betrayed. I hadn’t realised how much I’d opened myself up and let myself be vulnerable to him. And all this time, he was … he was …” I gulped, forcing back the tears that were threatening to spill over. “I confronted Sam with it that night. His whole composed façade broke down. He begged me to stay with him. He had tears in his eyes as he gave me all the usual sob stories – he was unhappy, his wife was a cold, heartless bitch, he loved me, and he was going to leave her for me as soon as he was re-elected. Like a fool, I believed him. That night, we went to a hotel together, and many nights afterwards.”

“I was so happy. Nothing could touch me, not even the stupid village and their increasingly racist interactions with me, fuelled by Brexit and all the political bullshit that’s been going on. My boss, Susan, was becoming an even bigger bitch, and she started palming Sam’s work off to other juniors, when she used to do it all herself. I should have been suspicious, but all I could think was that soon Sam would leave his wife and then we could escape together to his estate and I could tell Susan where to shove her job. But of course that never happened. It all fell apart.”

“The story came out.” Caleb squeezed my hand.

“Of course it did. They always do, don’t they? Susan told the wife her suspicions, and she went snooping, and found a dirty text I’d written Sam on his phone. She confronted Sam, and he stormed out, so she called another of her blonde friends at the local newspaper, and went public with the affair. They found an unflattering picture of me at a nightclub in London that a friend had tagged me in on Facebook from my university days, and that was the image they ran in the paper opposite Sam’s official mayoral photo and an portrait of his sobbing wife. A bunch of other papers picked it up. Why not, right? The upright English public servant led astray by the wanton black harlot? It fit perfectly with what everyone in the country already wanted to believe.”

“I’m so sorry.” Caleb’s hand cupped my cheek.

“Don’t be. I was an idiot. I should have seen it coming, how it would end. My therapist said that I stayed in Old Garsmouth for so long afterward because I was punishing myself, and there’s probably some truth in it. The town was stony toward me before, but now they were outright hostile. I couldn’t go out on the street without people calling me names or throwing things at me. My car got trashed three times, and the garage in the village refused to fix it for me. The wife’s blonde friends would follow me around the shops yelling at me to go back to Africa. People threw rocks through my windows and left cruel notes in my letterbox. But Susan was the worst. She made my life an absolute hell. She downgraded my job from accountant to secretary, cut my pay in half, dumped three people’s worth of work on me, and threatened to fire me for negligence if I didn’t step up. I should have quit, but I felt like I had to prove I wasn’t what they said I was.”

“But you did leave. Why?”

I sucked in a breath. Here it was. “One night, I came home from visiting my parents in Leeds. I rounded the corner of the street, and noticed a strange, flickering orange light. It was a house on fire. It was my house on fire.”

The words sounded hollow, like they weren’t coming from my mouth, like I was listening to someone else telling their story. But it was my story, and it really happened.

“Fuck.” Caleb’s fingers clenched on my shoulder.

“The firefighters were there when I pulled up, but they could only do so much. My beautiful little cottage burned to the ground that night, with my beloved cat and all my worldly possessions inside it.”

“Those bastards,” Caleb hissed, his embrace so tight it crushed my bones.

“Tell me about it.” My voice cracked. A single tear escaped from my eye and trickled down my cheek. I hope Caleb hadn’t seen it, but he reached up with a hand and wiped it away. The gesture made my eyes spill over, and more tears fell. “I get panic attacks about it.”

“Panic attacks?”

“Yeah. One minute I’ll be fine, and the next I’ll suddenly realise everyone around me is white, and my brain thinks they’re all closing in on me, like a mob ready to pounce. I get this overwhelming, paralysing fear, and my whole body shuts down. My head spins. I get dizzy and my brain turns to mush. Sometimes, I’ll even faint. My therapist said it would take awhile for them to stop, and maybe they never would.”

“That’s terrible. But what about the people who torched your house? Are they in jail?”

“They got away with it. The police investigated, of course, but the investigating officer is Susan’s husband’s friend. Draw your own conclusions. I have.”

“And the guy? What happened to him?”

“Sam? Oh, he’s still the mayor. His wife publicly forgave him. He made this really heart-wrenching speech about mistakes and re-dedicating himself to looking after the good of the town, and they re-elected him.” I laughed woodenly, remembering how remorseful Sam sounded, how his voice cracked when he talked about how he was going to turn over a new leaf. “His approval ratings shot through the roof. He’s still lording it over the whole county, with his forgiving wife by his side. The perfect family.”

“Fuck. No wonder you don’t want to be with a white guy. I don’t blame you.”

Caleb’s jaw was clenched, his expression stony. He looked furious on my behalf. I hadn’t realised how much tension I’d been carrying around about it, until I’d started talking. Seeing that Caleb wasn’t on their side sent all the tension away. My limbs slackened, the knot in my stomach starting to unfurl.

“I’m sorry, Caleb,” I sobbed with relief. It was out now. He knew everything.

“Why are you sorry? They’re the ones who—”

“I didn’t mean to paint you in the same brush as them. You’re not. You’re so nice to me, and I don’t understand why.”

“Hey, you’re pretty damn nice to me, too.” Caleb loosened his grip and resettled himself, laying flat on his back, his arm wrapped around me, stroking my shoulder. “You shouldn’t say things like that about yourself. You know why I’m nice to you. I like you. More than like you, in fact. And I know it’s only been a few days, but I can’t imagine my life without you now.”

“Caleb …” My voice croaked and my chest tightened again.

“It’s okay, Rosa. I know you need time. After what happened, I don’t blame you. I’m here for you whenever you’re ready. And in the meantime …” He raised an eyebrow suggestively. “We can always do more of what we just did.”

“I like the sound of that.” I nestled into Caleb’s shoulder. “Have you ever been with a black woman before?”

“Once.” He grinned. “We fucked in the bathroom at a shitty club in Aberdeen. She called out some other guy’s name. Her hair wasn’t nearly as cool as yours.”

I laughed.

“I don’t care what colour your skin is, Rosa. I think you’re beautiful, and clever, and funny, and amazing. And I wouldn’t have you any other way. If you can handle being with a werewolf—”

“I can.”

“—then I can take anything you got, you gorgeous woman.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say after that. The words I love you were dangerously close to escaping my lips, but I couldn’t say them. I couldn’t take that risk now, and potentially spoil the hard-won peace I could feel settling over me. Caleb was right, I needed time to figure things out between us before I made any kind of commitment.

Instead, I snuggled deeper into his embrace, breathed in his intoxicating scent, and fell into a vivid daydream about what it would be like to be married to a werewolf.