Chase grabbed his second Blue Moon beer from the fridge and settled into a chair at the kitchen table.

“You’re taking her to the morgue on your first date?” Luke took a swig from his bottle. “Wouldn’t be my first choice.”

Drumming his fingers on the wood, Chase took a long drink, savoring the way the citrusy effervescence danced on his tongue, tickling his throat as it made its way down to his stomach. He could imagine what Rain’s plump, pink lips would taste like…sweet like the beautiful cakes she created, maybe with a hint of strawberry to match their color.

He’d had the chance to taste them at the park that afternoon. Then he’d hesitated, and he’d dodged a bullet. His lips didn’t need to get anywhere near the witch.

He set the bottle on the table with a thud and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s not a date; it’s business. Anyway, she’s a suspect. I’m not getting involved with a possible enemy.”

Luke chuckled. “Is she really a suspect? Do we need to find another bakery?”

Chase grumbled. “No. She should be a suspect, but…”

“You trust her.”

“I’m more afraid she’ll be a target.” The mere idea of finding Rain in the morgue with the life drained out of her had his beast begging to come out. He’d stalk the perimeter of the bakery, making sure nothing could harm her. Hell, if he had his way, he’d bring her to his house and keep her there until they figured out whether the murder was a one-off thing or they caught the bastard who killed the witch.

Luke nodded. “You feel a deep, primal need to protect her, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” It didn’t mean anything. Ever since Emma was born he’d felt the need to protect his own. His family. His pack. Rain may not have been a werewolf, but the alpha had put Chase in charge of the witch, and he took his job seriously.

Luke clapped him on the shoulder and strolled to the fridge for another beer. “I know that feeling, my friend. Sounds like you found your fate-bound.”

Chase stopped mid-swallow, choking and spewing beer across the table. “Bullshit.” Fate-bound, his ass. She was beautiful, with a feisty personality. Independent. Strong. There was something inherently sexy about a woman who ran her own business. Who wouldn’t be attracted to Rain? She was a witch, though, and that fact would never change.

And Chase would never trust a witch again.

A knock sounded on the door before James, his hunting buddy, let himself in. “What did I miss?” He strode straight to the fridge.

Luke grinned. “Chase was telling me about how he’s met his fate-bound.”

James grabbed a beer and paused, shaking his head before shutting the fridge door. “Not you too.” He plopped into a chair at the table. “I’m going to have to find new hunting partners. Hanging out with a bunch of mated men cramps my style. You’ll be slow.”

Luke straightened his spine. “Mating does not make you slow. If anything, it makes you stronger.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” James raised his beer in a salute and drained half the bottle.

Chase had just met the woman, and his friends already considered him mated. This nonsense had to stop. “I will not bind my fate with a witch.”

Luke laughed. “You don’t get a choice. Believe me.”

“You’re mating with a witch?” James’s eyes widened in surprise. “You hate witches.”

Chase chewed on the inside of his cheek. Luke was wrong. This was not happening. “I don’t hate them; I just don’t trust them.”

“Except for this one.” Luke tossed his empty bottle into the recycle bin. “Which proves my point.”

Chase groaned.

The front door opened, and Emma darted to the table. “It’s hunting night! Can I go this time? Please?” She hopped from man to man, batting her lashes and tugging on their arms.

Chase’s heart swelled with love for the feisty little squirt. She’d be devastated if her witch genes turned out stronger and she didn’t inherit the ability to shift. Of course, that was mostly his fault. He’d built up being a werewolf in her little mind and not done a thing to let her know it would be okay if she couldn’t shift. That needed to change.

He pulled her into his lap. “You can’t hunt gators unless you’re a wolf.”

“I am a wolf.” She squirmed out of his arms and dropped to the floor.

“You might not be, squirt, and that’s okay too. You’ve got magic in your blood, and that’s all that matters.”

Bekah dropped her purse on the counter and mouthed the words thank you. “Go get ready for your bath, Emma. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Emma let out a dramatic sigh, slumping her shoulders as if the request pained her. “Yes, ma’am.” She trotted through the doorway into her bedroom.

Bekah crossed her arms, giving him a questioning look. “Where did that comment come from?”

“His fate-bound is a witch,” Luke said.

“Wipe that shit-eating grin off your face, man. It’s not happening.” He rose and tossed his bottle into the bin. “Let’s get this hunt started.” At least in their wolf forms, he wouldn’t have to listen to them run their mouths. Letting his beast take over for a while would help him clear his mind.

“Hold on.” Bekah stepped toward him and grabbed his hand.

He tried to yank from her grasp, but she held a firm grip. Grinding his teeth, he muttered, “I don’t need you to read me.” His sister’s empathic abilities came in handy occasionally, but not now.

She pressed her lips together, fighting a smile as she released his hand. “How about that. My brother has bonded with a witch.” She shook her head. “What an unlikely turn of events. Finally letting go of your grudge?”

“I…” He rubbed his forehead. Damn it, why was this happening? “After what happened to me, and what Tommy did to you, I can’t…” He couldn’t what? Follow his fate? Trust his instincts and make the woman his? None of this made any sense.

Bekah rolled her eyes. “Tommy did what he did because he’s an asshole, not because he’s a witch. Same thing for your little school friends. They were jerks; you took the fall.”

“If they weren’t witches, they wouldn’t have wanted my blood.”

“I don’t know what your friends were up to, but I believe that Tommy wanted it for your healing abilities. Healing is his gift.”

He scoffed. “And then when I refused, he left you.” He’d trusted the guy. Hell, he’d even liked him. But for a supernatural being to ask another for blood…especially to ask a werewolf…was unforgivable. His sister’s ex-boyfriend had expected him to break an ancient, sacred law. Shit, it was one of the first and most important laws were-children learned. Rule number one: never fight a human while in wolf form, unless it’s a fight to the death. Rule number two: blood is sacred and can never be shared.

Chase ground his teeth. “Witches are assholes.”

Willingly giving his blood away would’ve landed him in the pit for the next twenty years. He’d have been middle-aged by the time he’d served his term in the werewolf prison. And that was if he received the lightest sentence. The national congress condoned death as a suitable punishment for giving blood to a witch.

No way. Not for anyone.

Bekah sighed. “I think his leaving had more to do with Emma than with you. Get over it. You can’t fight fate.”

Luke stood and cracked his knuckles. “Welcome to the club, man. You’re in for a wild ride.” He jerked his head toward the door. “Let’s hunt.”

“Have fun, boys.” Bekah grinned as Chase followed Luke and James out the door.

They loaded into Luke’s truck and then headed down Interstate 10 toward their favorite hunting grounds. The massive swamp area was ripe with gators, wild boar, and plenty of other animals to satisfy the cravings of a wolf. Unfortunately, the beast inside Chase craved a lot more than the thrill of a hunt and the satisfaction of a meal. He craved a mate, and it seemed only one person would do.

He cranked up the AC, but it did nothing the cool the fire building in his core. “What if I date someone else? Find another mate? Surely this feeling will go away.”

“I’m happy to play wingman if you want to hit the bars tonight.” James raised his eyebrows, looking way too hopeful. “It’s been a while.”

Luke laughed. “Good luck with that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chase cut him a sideways glance, but he had a feeling he knew exactly what Luke meant.

“If Rain is your fate-bound, being with anyone but her will be unthinkable.” He shrugged and pulled off the highway. “Might be a good test though. If you can pick up another female, then it’s your hormones making you hot for the witch and not fate.”

They bounced down a dirt path, heading deeper into the woods before rolling to a stop next to a massive cypress tree. Chase hopped out of the truck after his friends and gazed up at the half-moon brightening the night sky. Two more weeks, and it would be a blue moon, the second full moon of the month. He could almost feel the extra boost of magic pooling in his blood. Every first-born in the pack would be hunting beneath the blue moon. Their magic would be undeniable that night; the beast would take over whether they wanted it to or not.

Maybe that was what all this was about. His wolf’s extra strength and his intense desire to mate had caused him to obsess over the first female he’d found attractive.

A test. That was exactly what he needed. Then he could prove to his friends, and to himself, that his fate was not bound to a witch…or to anyone for that matter.

“What do you say?” James cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, his anticipation for the hunt evident in his posture. “Want to hit the bars after this? See if we can get you laid?”

“Hell ye—” A lump the size of a baseball formed in Chase’s throat, and the yes he’d tried to answer got lodged beneath it. Shit. Hell yeah, he wanted to sleep with a woman. But the thought of climbing into bed with anyone but Rain Connolly made his skin crawl. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the moon.

“Can’t do it, can you?” At least Luke wasn’t laughing anymore, but his tone turned too serious. The last thing Chase needed was a therapy session.

“No.” He called on his beast, letting the vibrating energy consume him, transforming his body into his wolf. He took off into the trees, putting space between his friends and him. His beast had the instinct to hunt with the pack, but the man needed to clear his head.

Why did he have to find his fate-bound? And why did it have to happen now? He liked his life the way it was. He was busy. Between his position as Luke’s second, his job at the bar, and taking care of his niece, he barely had time for a social life, much less a girlfriend. And now he’d met the woman he was supposed to spend forever with, and she was a witch?

Fate had a sick sense of humor.

A rustle in the brush to his left yanked him from his thoughts. A shadow darted from behind a tree and disappeared as quickly as it had formed. What the hell was that? It had the silhouette of a man…sort of…but it’s movements were more fluid, its shape seeming to roll and reform with each step.

He searched his mind for Luke and James. Though they couldn’t speak in wolf form, they had a sort of telepathic connection. His friends hunted half a mile away, giving him the space he’d craved. He’d have to handle this one on his own.

Crouching low, he belly-crawled to the clearing where he’d spotted the shadow. It could have been a hunter, which would mean trouble for them all. Though werewolves were exceptionally fast healers, even he wouldn’t recover from a bullet to the brain.

Dry leaves crunched beneath his paws as he dragged his body across the ground. Crickets chirped, and a sultry breeze rustled his chocolate fur, but the shadow…and whatever creature it belonged to…had vanished.

He stood and shook the dirt from his coat. Maybe he’d imagined it. He’d been caught up in his thoughts, not paying attention to where he was running. It was probably a trick of the moonlight. He needed to get out of his head and into this hunt before he drove himself crazy.

A high-pitched wail grated in his ears, making them twitch as something splashed into the water a few yards away. Instinct took over, and he dashed toward the sound, skidding to a stop at the water’s edge. An air pocket covered in thick, green sludge bubbled to the surface, releasing a putrid steam as it popped.

The ground beneath his back paw crumbled, and he slipped, his right leg sinking in the sludge. He scrambled to grip the deteriorating soil with his left paw, digging his nails into the dirt for traction.

Something grabbed hold of his leg above the paw, and piercing pain shot straight to his bones. Chase yelped and clawed at the ground, but he couldn’t get his footing. His other leg slipped into the muddy water, and jerking his head around, he clamped his jaws down on whatever animal had bitten him. Another sludgy air pocket bubbled from the surface, and the creature released its grip.

Using his front paws, Chase dragged himself from the water, letting out a howl he hoped his pack mates would hear. He collapsed on the bank as a throbbing pain spread from his leg, up to his haunches, all the way to his chest.

What the hell had bitten him? A venomous snake? Whatever it was, the poison spread quickly, making his entire body ache like he’d been hit by a truck. As the alpha howled his response, the world went black.

The trill of transformative magic surged through Isaac’s veins, half-healing the puncture wounds from the animal’s fangs before his own cursed blood vanquished the magic. Had he known it was a werewolf, he’d have put more energy into his tulpa and lured the beast farther into the water where it couldn’t have gotten away so easily. The energy he could have gained from draining the creature dry would have more than made up for the amount he would have had to expend.

Even at optimum health, he’d be no match for a werewolf, though. Without his magic as a weapon, the beast could have ripped him to shreds before he had the chance to drain him.

Prying his lids open, he lifted his head above the murky water to peer at his victim. Matted, dark-brown fur covered the wolf’s limp body, and it shimmered as he lost control of his magic and transformed into a man.

In the werewolf’s current state, Isaac might’ve been able to take him, but the pain he’d endure dragging himself from the water wouldn’t be worth it. He’d focus on his tulpa instead. Stick to the plan. Another week of recovery and he’d exact his revenge. He’d bide his time until then.

Two more wolves appeared in the brush. A light-brown one, the biggest of the three, nosed the body, rolling the man onto his back, while the gray one sniffed around the area. Its enhanced sense of smell led it to the water, and Isaac held his breath, sinking beneath the muck to hide his scent.

His lungs burned for oxygen. His blood barely carried enough to his cells as it was, and his entire body screamed with the need to breathe. Unable to stand another second without breath, he slowly rose from the muck until his nose broke the surface. He stifled a gasp and sucked in a breath as two men carried his victim away.