Jules is waiting for us in a spacious living room, decorated with leather furniture, a fireplace, and a gothic chandelier. He’s not alone, either. Rune and Shade are with him.

Rune is dressed in the same combat-style outfit as Shade and is sharpening a knife. Shade has his feet kicked up on the coffee table and is flipping through the pages of an old book. Jules is peering out the window, but his gaze instantly finds me the moment I step over the threshold. He offers me a small, yet concerned smile.

“Everything okay?” he asks, turning away from the window.

I nod, forcing a smile.

“Good.” He crosses the room with his hand outstretched. “Ready to go see the kingdom?”

“Or, do you want to go up and hide in your room some more.” Shade winks at me as he lowers his feet to the floor.

“I wasn’t hiding.” Well, I was while I was in the shower, but he doesn’t know that. “I was talking with my friend.”

“Sure, you were.” Shade jumps to his feet and strolls past me, giving me another wink.

I throw up my hands. “I don’t even know what that wink was for.”

“Sure, you don’t.” Shade winks again.

Jules sighs, lowering his outstretched hand. “Just ignore him. Shade thinks everything is a joke.”

“That’s because it is,” he says, then calls over his shoulder, “Except protecting you two, of course.”

Rune groans as he pushes to his feet. “Great, he’s in a mood.”

“When isn’t he?” Jules remarks.

“Good point.” Rune tucks the knife he was sharpening into an ankle holster then nods his head at me. “Good afternoon, Lake.”

“Afternoon?” I question. “Is it that late already?”

Rune nods then walks past me, striding for the front door. Legend follows him, fiddling with a pocket watch he fishes out of his pocket.

“Man, I feel lazy,” I mutter as Jules tangles his fingers through mine.

I start to pull away, but then stop myself. I don’t even know why, other than part of me wants to hold his hand. Perhaps all those years in foster homes has me starved for human connection. Then again, neither of us are human.

“You’re not lazy,” Jules insists as we stroll out the front door behind Shade and Legend. Rune remains walking behind us. “You’ve had an intense forty-eight hours.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been asleep for a lot of those hours.” I squint against the sunlight as we trot down the stairs and step onto a dusty road. “Seems like I should be more awake than I feel. Maybe I have jet lag or something.”

“Jet lag?” Jules questions.

“It’s a human term for a tired spout that comes usually after flying on a plane.” I glance at him. “You know what a plane is, right?”

“Those things that fly in the air?”

“Do you have them here?”

He chuckles. “No, we have teleportation.”

“That sounds way better than flying,” I admit, my gaze roving along the quaint homes and stores lining the street.

“It is.” He gives my hand a squeeze. “See, it’s not so bad here, right?”

I waver. “It’s not that I think it’s bad here. It’s just scary and unfamiliar.”

“You don’t need to be scared.” Jules hitches his thumb at Rune walking behind us and then at Shade ahead of us. “They won’t let anything happen to you.”

I smile, but the move is forced. My uneasiness only increases as werewolves wander out from their homes and stores to gawk at us, some appearing mildly curious, others pissed off.

“Why are they staring at us?” I whisper low to Jules. “And why do some of them seem pissed off?”

“They’re just curious about you,” he tries to reassure me. “None of them are pissed off.”

Yeah, tell that to the group of male and female werewolves standing on the corner of the street near Silver Death Bar.

I look away from the group as we near them. “Do they know who I am?”

“Some do, but don’t worry; no one here is going to hurt you. This is your pack, Lake. And packs protect their own.”

I hope he’s right; otherwise, the werewolves who attacked me could be living here.

My pulse rapidly speeds up. Why hadn’t I thought of that before?

My gaze darts around the street, searching for my attackers. But there are so many werewolves around.

My head begins to spin with anxious dizziness. Luckily, Jules leads me off the main road and down a small, isolated dirt path that snakes into the forest.

As we near the trees, we pass by a bush of thorny vines. Jules maneuvers me to the opposite side of the path and positions himself between me and the ill-striking bushes. His protective nature is so instinctive I wonder if he acts this way with everyone.

I suddenly become more on edge as the feeling of being watched over comes me. The same feeling I had the day I was attacked.

Right before we venture into the trees, I notice short, shadowy, faceless figures creeping through a cluster of rose bushes.

“Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you,” Jules says, tracking my gaze.

“What are they?” I whisper, unable to tear my eyes off the moving shadows.

Sadness consumes Jules. “They’re a group of wolf cubs that wandered into the vines.”

“That’s what the poison does?” My heart constricts when Jules nods. “Those poor cubs. And your mom.”

Jules looks away, his hand tightening around mine.

I keep my eyes on the shadow cubs until we enter the forest. Then they disappear from my sight. But the images of their poor faceless figures haunt my mind.

Maybe I should help Jules find a cure?

Yeah, how are you going to do that, Lake? You’ve known you were a werewolf for a whole couple of days and you know nothing about this world.

I blink from my thoughts, unsure what to do.

“Where are we going?” I ask as we hike farther into the trees.

“To the fighting pit,” Shade throws over his shoulder. “I need to pick up a few weapons.”

Fighting pit? That sounds … violent.

“It’s where we train to fight,” Jules explains, as if reading my mind.

“Oh.” I trade a glance with Legend, and he gives me a pressing look, urging me to ask Jules to train me. “What do you train to fight against?”

“Other paranormals.” Tension ravels in his shoulders. “Honestly, our biggest threat is other werewolves. But only from different packs.” His fingers stiffen in mine. “My father has a way of pissing off other werewolves.”

“Because his father is a prick,” Shade adds, slowing down to walk beside Jules and I.

Jules winces, his free hand curling into a fist. “Careful. That’s our king you’re speaking about.”

“I’m not afraid of your father, like everyone else in this kingdom is.” Shade draws out a knife and carries it at his side. “Besides, one day he’s going to be our ex-king.”

“When he dies,” Jules stresses. “Which could be decades from now with how slow he’s aging.”

“He’s aging slow? Is that normal for a werewolf.”

Jules shakes his head, frowning. “No. And more than likely he’s doing something to slow down his aging process, probably so he can rule for longer. Paranormals do that sometimes. Find spells and potions to chase immortality.”

“But Jules’ father isn’t the kind of werewolf you want to become immortal.” Shade raises the knife up in front of him, the silver blade glinting in the sunlight. “If only we could find a way to end his reign.”

My hand spasms in Jules’. “You’re going to kill him?”

As birds scurry from the trees, I inch closer to Jules.

“Shh …” Shade hisses at me. “That’s not what I’m saying at all.” He exchanges a wary look with Jules. “You should probably warn her about him.”

The veins in Jules’ hand bulge as the silver rings char his skin. “I’d rather not tell her just yet.” Smoke funnels from his skin. “Tell her about … him.”

The scent of burnt flesh stings my nostrils. My eyes begin to water, my stomach twisting with nausea.

“Okay, I can’t take this anymore.” Slipping my fingers from his, I swing around in front of him and snatch ahold of his hand.

His eyes pop wide as his metal rings blister my flesh. “What’re you doing?” He attempts to yank his hand away, but I wiggle a ring off his index finger.

“I’m tired of the smell of burnt flesh.” I toss the ring into the trees and pry another ring off his thumb. “And I’m tired of you hurting yourself.” I chuck that ring, as well, then remove the remaining rings on his fingers. “I may not know you very well, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to stand here and let you hurt yourself. It’s not right.” I hurl the rings into the trees and wipe my healing palm against the side of my leg. “And don’t try to feed me that bullshit about you wearing them to gain respect. I know there’s more to it than that.”

Jules smashes his lips together forcefully as his eyes illuminate violet. “I think I need to talk to you alone.”

“And that’s our cue to go.” Shade nods his head at Legend and Rune, jogging backward down the path. “We’ll be at the pit,” he tells Jules. “Try not to take too long.” A smirk quirks at the edges of his lips. “And yell if you need anything.” The last part is directed at me. Then he spins on his heels and runs up the path.

Rune follows, whizzing by us, his long legs taking hurried strides. Legends starts after them, as well, hurrying past me.

“Wait. Where are you going?” I snag his sleeve.

Jules lets out a deep growl, but I ignore him, focusing on Legend, waiting for him to answer.

Legend pats my arm. “I’m pretty sure Jules is about to answer one of your many questions.”

“Why can’t you stay here with me?” I sound pathetically weak, but I’m afraid. Afraid of what Jules is going to say. Afraid of what I might do when we’re alone.

“You’ll be okay by yourself with Jules,” Legend assures me. “You don’t need to be afraid of him.”

“I’m not afraid of him,” I insist. “I just don’t want you to go.”

“I won’t be very far away.” He casts a glance at Jules, then wiggles his arm from my grip and backs away from me. “Like Shade said, just yell if you need anything.”

I glare at him as he turns his back to me and hikes farther down the path and into the shadows of the trees.

My heart thunders in my chest as he vanishes entirely out of sight, along with Rune and Shade, leaving Jules and I alone.

“I don’t want you to be afraid of me,” Jules speaks softly from behind me.

I twist around and meet his now cautious gaze. “I’m not afraid of you. I’m just confused why everyone thinks we need some alone time.”

He studies me for an unsettling handful of seconds before his gaze descends to his bare hand. “You know, you’ve done that to me before.” He flexes his hand. “Taken off my rings.”

My lips part in shock. “I did?”

He nods, his gaze colliding with mine. “It was a few months before you die—went to the Common Realm. You were bugging me about why I wore them, always getting irritated when I burned myself, kind of like you just did now.” His sad smile makes me want to cry. “Finally, after you wouldn’t let it drop, I told you the reason.” He stares off in the direction I threw the rings. “After I did, you pinned me down, pried the rings off me, and chucked them into the trees.”

“I pinned you down?” What?

He nods, his focus returning to me. “You were very strong for how young you were. A lot of the trainers said you had great potential.”

“I’m not very strong anymore.” I fold my arm over my waist where my scars are hidden, proof of how weak I’ve become.

“That’s because you’ve been out of touch with the Midnight Realm for so long. Not to mention, you haven’t been training in over a decade.” His brows furrow. “Unless you were training in the Common Realm to fight? I’m not sure if they train fighters there.”

“They don’t train fighters in the same sense. But there are classes that you can take to teach you how to defend yourself.”

“Defend yourself from what?” He notes my arm wrapped protectively around my waist.

I struggle to remain composed. “Other humans and the few imprisoned paranormals who manage to break through their binding spells that keeps them from attacking humans.”

“Does that happen a lot?”

“No, but it happens enough that people do sometimes get hurt by the hand of a paranormal.”

Again, his attention zeroes in on my abdomen, question marks filling his eyes.

“You said you told me why you wore those rings,” I try to distract him. “Will you tell me again? I want to know why you think you need to hurt yourself.”

He closes his eyes and breathes in unevenly. “It’s painful to talk about, and I don’t really do well with talking about … painful things.”

I interlace my fingers with his, a move that’s becoming strangely and increasingly natural. “But you told me once before.”

“I know.”

“Can you trust me enough to tell me again?” I replay my words. “Well, I guess trust probably isn’t the right word since we barely know each other.”

“But we do know each other.” His eyelids open, his eyes glowing brighter than before. “And I do trust you.”

I don’t know if his words carry any truth, but I latch on to the opportunity to discover why he feels the need to self-inflict pain. “Then tell me.”

His gaze lowers to our interlocked fingers. “I think you’ve probably already caught on that my father isn’t very kind. And he’s not. Not to my mother. To my sister. To his pack … To me.” His throat muscles bob as he swallows. “He’s always been a little worse with me, though, He likes to put me through vigorous hours of training to the point where I nearly bled to death a couple of times. And he was always the one I was fighting against during those training sessions.” His hand twitches. “And if I cried, the sessions would always end with more pain. Pain and pain and pain. Physical pain, that’s what I grew up knowing. It’s how I learned to handle things.”

He rotates my hand over, brings my palm to his nose, and breathes in my scent with eyes shut. “When I was seven, he gave me the silver rings and told me to wear them all the time. To use them to block out my emotional pain because, according to him, emotions make werewolves weak.” He moves my hand to mold around his cheek and lays his hand on top of mine. “At first, I didn’t believe him, so the first time you threw the rings into the trees, I let you. Then you disappeared, and I …” He pauses, gathering a breath. “I didn’t want to deal with the pain of losing you, so I put the rings back on. It seemed easier at the time to deal with things.” He tilts his head, nuzzling into my hand. “Maybe it was, too. But now …”

My broken heart breaks a little more. Not for myself, but for him.

“And now what?”

His eyelids lift open, his shimmering eyes basking me in violet light. “And now I think I’ll let the rings stay in the trees.”

“Good. I’m glad. No one should intentionally hurt themselves.” I chew on my bottom lip as his eyes alter between violet and blue. “Jules, I want to know—need to know—why your eyes keep glowing violet? Is it a werewolf thing?”

He hesitates. “Sort of.”

“Will you explain it to me?” I ask as he positions my knuckles in front of his lips.

“I’m not sure you’re ready to hear that story just yet.” His lip rings graze my skin as he kisses along my knuckles.

The softness of his lips is extremely distracting and conflicting. On one hand, the sensation of his lips caressing my skin sends wonderful tingles across my skin. However, below the scars, in the pit of my stomach, nausea burns.

He’s a werewolf.

A wolf.

Just like those werewolves who hurt you.

“Jules, I think maybe we should …” A soft whimper fumbles from my lips as his mouth trails up my forearm, kissing, touching, branding my skin.

“You smell just like you used to. Do you know that?” he whispers as his lips reach the curve of my shoulder. “And you threw the rings into the trees, just like you did when we were younger.”

I’m not quite sure what he’s getting at, nor do I care at the moment. All I care about—can comprehend—is the way his lips trace over my shoulder, across my neck, along my jawline. When he reaches my lips, he pauses, his breath dusting across my mouth.

“Lake.” He struggles to breathe steadily. “I want to … I think …” His eyelids lower as his lips inch toward mine.

Maybe I should run. Perhaps if I were smarter, I would have. Instead, I remain frozen where I stand, half-panicking, half-wanting.

Desire.

Desire simmers through my veins in a way I can’t even grasp. A foreign feeling, I realize then. I’ve never felt anything like this before. The heat so intense. Or so I thought. Then his lips connect with mine in a featherlight kiss and my body erupts in flames.

I groan as Jules parts my lips, tangling his tongue with mine, digging his fingers into my waist. When he pulls back an inch, I gasp.

“Good fucking wolves, this is better than I ever imagined,” he whispers shakily, then moves in for another kiss, this time with far less control.

Our teeth clank together as his lips crash into mine, and he entangles his fingers through my hair as he draws me closer. My chest presses into his as he bites my lip, the metal of his lip rings cutting my skin in the most wonderfully confusing way ever.

A pathetically needy whimper flees my lips as he bites at my lip again, rougher this time, a shudder rippling through his body. Then he kisses me deeper, fiercer, while backing me into a tree.

When my back hits the trunk, the bark scrapes through the fabric of my shirt. Then he presses his body against mine, and heat sparks from somewhere inside me, my knees knocking together, a haziness webbing through the inside of my mind, a ghost of a whisper telling me this is okay. That I should be kissing Jules.

Okay, this is okay.

Is it?

I grab his shoulders as confliction dances inside me, an internal tug of war.

Would he be kissing you if he knew the truth?

Should you be kissing him when he’s the same kind of creature who ruined you to begin with?

You’re broken.

He won’t want you.

You don’t want him.

You’re broken.

Broken.

Broken.

I wrench back, the back of my head smacking against the tree.

Jules’ eyes fly open, the violet flashing wildly inside his pupils. “What’s wrong?” he chokes out, his fingernails clawing at the bark of the tree as he breathes profusely.

“I just … I don’t …” I suck back the tears threatening to come out. I feel ashamed for almost crying. Ashamed for kissing him. Ashamed for wanting to kiss him. “I’m just not ready for this.” I motion between the two of us. “Not when I just learned that I’m a werewolf. There’s so much to take in.”

He nods, his eyes flickering like little fireflies. “I get it.” He pushes away and turns his back toward me. “Can you do me a favor? Can you hike down the trail until you find Shade, then wait there for me? He won’t be that far away.”

“Are you okay?” I reach out and touch his shoulder.

Tension steams off him as he steps away from me. “I’m fine … Just go find Shade, okay?”

Is he mad at me because I stopped the kiss?

Anger and humiliation simmer under my skin. “Yeah, okay, fine.” I turn and hurry up the path with my hands balled at my sides

By the time I find Shade, I’m beyond embarrassed, resting somewhere between enraged and confused as fuck.

“Where’s Jules?” Shade asks, straightening from the tree he was leaning against.

“Back down the path, having a fit.” I stop in front of him. “Where are Legend and Rune?”

He hitches his thumb over his shoulder. “They headed farther down the path toward the pit.” He searches my eyes. “What is Jules having a fit over?”

“I don’t know.” Lukewarm heat flushes across my face as the kiss replays through my mind. No, that was more than a kiss. Way, way more intense than just lips brushing against each other.

“I think you do,” he nudges. “So, fess up. What’d you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” I snap. “Well, anything he should be pissed off about, if he was a good guy, that is.” I guess he’s not, though. I don’t know why I’m surprised—he’s a werewolf, after all—but I am mad. Jules seemed so different from those guys in the alleyway. Then I saw the same uncontrollable anger as I did in them.

Shade’s brow meticulously arches. “What’d you do?”

“I already told you. Nothing.”

“Obviously, you did something. Why else are your cheeks cherry red right now?”

I grit my teeth. Fuck. I’ve always hated that I blush so easily. Hate that I feel embarrassed about this at all!

I cross my arms. “Fine, you want to know what I did? I let Jules kiss me, and then stopped it when things became too heated and I became a little overwhelmed. And if Jules was a good guy, he would’ve been okay with it. But he got all pissed off and told me to leave.”

“Well, first off, Jules isn’t a guy—he’s a werewolf—and you really should stop referring to him as one.” Shade folds his arms across his solid chest. “And secondly, he’s a werewolf.”

“Yeah, I got your point the first time. I don’t know why you had to point it out twice. I’m not stupid.”

“No, you’re not, but you don’t understand a lot about our kind.”

“Okay, then explain it to me. Stop tiptoeing around whatever it is you don’t want to say.”

He gives me a cocky grin. “I’m trying to keep that pretty blush on your cheeks from getting more out of hand.”

I carry his gaze despite the increasing temperature of my face. “Just tell me.”

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He shrugs. “Jules sent you away so he could calm down his wolf that your little kiss unleashed inside him. He’s probably beating the shit out of a tree right now to get rid of all the sexual tension bursting inside his body.”

Yep, flames, flames, flames burning hotly across my cheeks.

“That seems like a stupidly barbaric thing to do just because I asked him to stop kissing me.”

He gives a shrug. “Like I pointed out a bunch of times, we’re werewolves, which means we’re part animal and more barbaric.”

A cold trickle shoots up my spine, and Shade more than notices my squirrely-ness.

“Lake, he would never hurt you,” he promises. “Jules isn’t like that. Most werewolves aren’t.”

“But not all.” It’s not a question.

“No, sadly not.” He doesn’t even bother lying to me, and I’m kind of grateful for his honesty, even if his words make me want to puke. “But we do have laws in our pack that protect werewolves from hurting others.” He offers me a small smile. “I promise you, you’re safe here.”

“I hope so.” I picture Jules back down the trail, bashing his bloody fists against a tree after I just convinced him to get rid of those damn rings. “Maybe Jules and I shouldn’t kiss anymore. I mean, if it’s that big of a deal, he should probably just kiss another werewolf.” Who’s a bit more mentally stable.

“Yeah … that’s not going to happen.”

“Why not? I’m sure there’s a ton of other werewolves who’d love to kiss him without stopping.” Although, the idea of him kissing another werewolf does make my heart sting.

“You’re blushing again,” he teases then sighs when I scowl at him. “Look, I’m glad you’re concerned for him, but Jules isn’t going to find another werewolf.”

“I highly doubt that. There’s no way he’s only going to want me forever.”

“Doubt it all you want. You’re just living in denial.”

I shake my head, doing exactly what he implied. “I’m not living in denial. I just know that Jules is attractive and seems pretty sweet when he’s not having a temper tantrum.” Plus, he’s a really good kisser, but I’m not about to say that aloud. “And I’m sure, if he tried, he could find someone way better to kiss than me.” The broken werewolf princess who fears her own kind.

“And again, I stress: you’re living in denial,” he says. I open my mouth to protest, but he talks over me. “Because what you’re saying can never happen, will never happen, and hasn’t ever happened.”

“Do you know that werewolves love forever, too? We’re not immortal or anything, but we love just as fiercely as vampires do. Maybe even more so,” Jules had said to me.

“Wait. Are you saying Jules has never …?” I can’t even finish the sentence.

Shade nods. “Jules has never been with anyone else. Never wanted anyone else. Never had one of those drunken nights where you get faerie wine goggles and end up going home with what you think is a werewolf. But come the next morning, you realize you’re snuggled up in bed with a pixie.” He hisses the last part with astounded shame.

“I thought pixies were supposed to be pretty?”

“Wolves no. They’re not even close. And they have a lot of strange sexual fetishes that …” He shudders, eyes wide. “Anyway”—he clears his throat—“never sleep with a pixie. Not just for Jules’ sake, but to protect your innocent mind from very dirty things.”

“Okay.” I try not to think about the alleyway, but the memories consume my mind. “You do have me really curious what a pixie looks like.”

“Curiosity killed the wolf,” he warns. “If you want a good idea, just picture an ogre’s face on a snake demon’s body.”

“I don’t know what either of those look like.”

“Lake, Lake, Lake.” He clucks his tongue. “We really need to start teaching you more about our realms and the paranormals who live in them.”

I raise my brows. “Maybe you could start with why Jules has never been with anyone else. And why his eyes glow violet sometimes.”

“Um … yeah … I’m not sure if I should tell you—”

“Tell her what?” Jules appears by my side like a stealthy ninja wolf.

I press my hand to my racing heart as I whirl around. “Holy shit, I didn’t even hear you walking up.”

“Sorry I scared you. Although, I’m kind of glad I did.” His eyes, which I notice are now blue and dull of light, shift to Shade. “It lets me know that my so-called guard isn’t doing his job.”

“She distracted me,” Shade gripes, his fingers wrapped around the knife tucked in his shoulder holster. “And I was about ready to draw, but I smelled your scent.”

“Your draw would’ve been too slow,” Jules growls out. “If it hadn’t have been me approaching, she would’ve been dead.”

“No, she wouldn’t have.” Shade releases his hold on the handle of the knife. “You know as well as I do that, slow draw or not, no one can move as quickly as I can, except for you.”

“Fine, maybe not dead, but she could’ve gotten severely hurt.” His chillingly cold gaze bores into Shade. “Don’t ever be too slow to draw again. At least when you’re protecting her.”

Shade bows his head. “I’m sorry it happened. It won’t ever happen again, I promise.”

Jules nods once, the stiffness in his muscles gradually unwinding. “And I’m sorry I had to go there. It’s just really important to me.”

Shade raises his head and fleetingly steals a glance in my direction. “I know.”

What Shade and I were talking about earlier, about Jules not being with anyone else and how he won’t be with anyone else but me, crosses my mind.

Why am I so important to him?

“We good?” Shade asks, sticking out his fist.

“Of course.” Jules bumps his knuckles against Shade’s then turns to me apologetically. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you back there. It’s just …” He massages the back of his neck sheepishly. “I needed to take a breather.”

“It’s okay. Shade explained …” I drift off as Shade shakes his head and puts his fingers to his lips.

“Don’t tell him I told you,” he mouths. “Not right now. Not when he’s still …” He clasps his hands together and makes dreamy eyes at me. Whatever the hell that means. “Or else he’ll …” Then he pretends to punch himself in his manly parts.

“Shade explained what to you?” Jules starts to turn his head toward Shade.

Shade pulls an oh shit face “Nothing. I told her nothing at all.”

Jules stares him down hard. I can almost feel the amped up adrenaline pouring off him. Apparently, Jules worked off some of his tension, but not all of it.

Deciding to help Shade since he did tell me more than anyone else has, I step between him and Jules, then ask Jules, “What happened to your cheek?” as I cup his cheek and tenderly brush my fingers along a diagonal cut below his eye.

He instinctively leans into my palm. “A tree branch cut me.”

“So, you got your ass kicked by a tree, huh?” I attempt to joke, but his consuming gaze is giving me a breathing complex.

Jules’ lips quirk. “That’s not quite how it happened.”

This time, my smile is genuine. “Yeah, yeah, I’d be saying that, too, if I got my ass kicked by a tree branch.”

He chuckles, shaking his head, and I feel like I’ve won a secret prize.

“Hey, do you remember that one time she actually tried to hit us with tree branches,” Shade muses from beside us. “She could be so sweet sometimes, but other times, watch out.”

My head darts in his direction. “You knew me, too?”

“Yep. And sometimes, it had its downfalls.” He rolls up his sleeves, showing me a gnarly scar on the bottom of his arm.

“I didn’t do that,” I deny. “There’s no way.”

“Oh, there’s totally a way.” He tugs his sleeve back down. “You were a mean, little wolf cub.”

Feeling awful, I look back at Jules. “Was I really mean?”

“You weren’t mean.” Jules sketches his finger along the brim of my nose. “You were feisty and passionate, and you wanted to be the best fighter there was, so you played dirty. But only in training. Outside of training, you were the sweetest wolf cub in the entire pack.” His gaze glides to Shade. “And he knows that. He’s just teasing you because that’s what Shade does.”

I give Shade a dirty look, but then smile at him sweetly. “I’m sorry if I gave you a boo-boo. It must have been awful getting your butt kicked by a female wolf cub.”

Shade dismisses me with a wave. “Like I care if I get my ass kicked by a female werewolf. Seriously, some of them are way tougher than any male werewolf I’ve fought.”

“Was I one of them?”

Shade nods. “When you were younger, yes.”

“But not now.” It’s not a question. Just a depressing statement.

“Not until some training.” Jules is the one to answer. “You have royal blood, so you have more power in you than most average werewolves and paranormals. You just need to relearn how to channel that strength.”

“So, you’re going to teach me how to fight?” I cross my fingers he’ll easily say yes, that I won’t have to tell him about the attack yet. I know Legend said I should, but I’m not ready. Don’t know if I’ll ever be ready for that.

He effortlessly nods. “Of course. It’s part of our pack’s rules that everyone learns to fight. And I want you to be able to protect yourself.” He dithers, bobbing his head. “Although, Shade and Rune will probably have to do most of the training.”

I toss a glance at Shade, who shrugs, then look back at Jules. “Why?”

His fingers magnetize toward mine again. “Because I’d go way too easy on you.”

“Oh.” I let the last few hours of information sink in, wondering how much more I can take. “Did I used to know Rune, too?”

Strands of Jules’ dark hair fall into his eyes as he nods. “When you weren’t with your parents, you spent most of your time with me, Shade, Rune, and Liberty.”

“Who’s Liberty?”

“I am.” A female werewolf a few years older than me with hair as black as the night sky and eyes as blue as Jules’ strides up the trail toward us. She reminds me of a warrior goddess in her leather pants, black tank top, and rows of leather holsters winding around her legs and arms. “And you must be the best friend I lost and who apparently can’t remember anything, at least from what I’ve been told.” She stops in front of me with her head tipped to the side. “Elora?”

“Lake,” I correct automatically.

“So, that’s what we’re supposed to call you now?” She ponders the idea thoughtfully. “Okay, it’s doable, I guess.”

“Glad I have your approval,” I quip, resisting an eye roll.

She grins. “Glad to know you still remember you need my approval.”

Now I do melodramatically roll my eyes. “Glad to know you have such a high opinion of your approval. Makes me want to change my name to Jane.”

She flicks her wrist dismissively. “I disapprove. Jane’s too boring of a name.”

I tap my finger against my lips. “Yeah, I’m definitely going to go with Jane.”

The conversation is so smooth, so natural, as if we’ve done this before.

She slaps Shade in the gut. “She’s exactly the same!” she exclaims as Shade lets out a grunt, hunching over.

“And that required you to hit me in the stomach, why?” Shade arches a brow at her while rubbing his abdomen.

Liberty simply shrugs. “It seems as good of a reaction as any.” She smiles warmly at me. “You and I have a lot of catching up to do.” She seizes my hand and yanks me with her as she marches with determination up the path.

“Liberty,” Jules calls out, chasing after us. “Slow the fuck down. You’re going to overwhelm her.”

Liberty rolls her eyes. “No, I’m not. I’m just not going to coddle her like you are, little brother.”

So, they’re brother and sister. That explains why their eyes look alike.

“I’m not coddling her.” Jules rushes around and barricades the path, forcing Liberty to stop. “She’s been through a lot, and I don’t think it’s wise to dump everything on her at once.”

Liberty pokes Jules in the chest. “Maybe you should let her decide.”

“I …” Jules tugs his fingers through his hair, making the strands go askew. “Lake, do you want to go with her? She’s more than capable of protecting you and she has her own guard. I’d prefer it if you stayed with me, but it’s up to you.”

They both look at me, and I feel like answering is picking a favorite.

I’ve definitely been in this situation before.

“Um …” I glance between the two of them, wondering where her guard is since I don’t see one anywhere. “Honestly, I kind of do want to go with her. But not to get away from you or anything.” Lie. Being around him makes my brain dizzy and too unclear. I think a small break might be a good thing … Maybe. Besides, I’d really like to learn more about these werewolf traditions no one will tell me about, and Liberty seems like the wolf who will spill the beans. “It might be nice to catch up with an old friend.”

“Old best friend,” Liberty adds, smirking at Jules.

Jules glares at her, but then sighs. “If you want to go with her, you can,” he tells me. “I’d never make or force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

His words trigger a strange wave of sadness.

Before I can even process what I’m doing, I wrap my arm around him and give him a quick, one-sided hug. By the time I pull away, worry has crammed into Jules’ eyes and Liberty is staring at me with her forehead creased.

“Anyway, yeah, we can go hang out or whatever.” I cough a few times, clearing my throat.

“Awesome.” Liberty snaps her fingers at Jules. “And you need to go clear the forest of any stray pixies. Dad’s coming home a few days early and wants them all gone before his arrival.”

Jules grimaces. “Why is he coming home early?”

Liberty gives a rigid shrug. “I don’t know. He didn’t say.”

Jules bobs his head up and down, staring at the ground. “Okay, I’ll take care of the pixies.”

“You should take Shade with you.” I cover my mouth as I snicker the words. “Shit, I didn’t mean to say that aloud.”

“So, you’ve heard the story?” Liberty asks, and I nod, lowering my hand from my mouth. “I bet he didn’t tell you the whole story, though, huh?”

I shrug. “Probably not, since his version was about thirty seconds long.”

“Good. Then I’ll tell you while we walk.” She drags me with her as she dodges around Jules, but he folds his fingers around my arm, stopping me.

“Why did Shade tell you that story?”

“Um, because we were bored and waiting for you,” I lie, and not very well.

His gaze burrows into mine. “What did you two talk about while I was …” He squirms.

“While you were what?” Liberty prods curiously.

Jules targets a dark look in her direction, but his eyes soften as he concentrates back on me. “What other stories did Shade tell you?”

“Maybe you should talk to him about that.” I stumble as Liberty yanks on my arm.

“Be careful!” he shouts after us as I trip down the path after Liberty.

I throw him a wave. “Tell Legend where I am, okay?”

He nods. “And Liberty, don’t take her anywhere else except my house. No going downtown to any bars. And don’t go to the castle. I don’t want her anywhere near Dad’s place.”

She salutes him then rolls her eyes as she faces forward. “Man, glad to see he’s still as overprotective with you as ever.”

“Why is he like that?” I wonder as she loops her arm through mine.

“Well, right now, he’s being that way because our father’s coming back to the kingdom and he’s not a good werewolf. Not at all. The longer you stay away from him and that stupid torture chamber he calls a castle, the better.” She slows down as the trees around us become sparser. “As for his general overprotectiveness of you, that comes from you being his alterum dimidium animae.”

I swat some branches out of the way as we near the end of the path. “Yeah, here’s the thing. Everyone keeps throwing that term around, yet no one will explain it to me. And while I can tell it’s something big, the dramatic effect is lost on me.”

“So, he hasn’t told you yet, huh?” She lets out a wicked cackle of delight. “This is going to be a lot of fun, then.”

“What is?”

“Telling you things my brother and his little guard wannabe friends don’t want you to know.”

“You act like you don’t like them,” I say as we emerge from the trees. My gaze travels to the rose bushes where the shadow cubs were, but either they’re hiding or took off somewhere.

“No, they’re my friends, and I love them and everything, but it’s been a pain in the ass being the odd one out. Ever since you left, I’ve been the butt of their jokes and tricks. And they all like to play the role of my big brother. Do you know what that’s like? To have three cocky werewolves who, FYI, are younger than you, trying to tell you what to do all the time?”

“I can honestly say that I don’t.”

“Well, consider yourself lucky, because it’s fucking annoying.” She drums her fingers against the side of her legs. “But, as much as I want to be the one to out the little alterum dimidium animae, I think we need to do it the right way.”

A frown tugs at my lips. “So, you’re not going to tell me, either?”

She shakes her head, grinning. “No, no, no, no. I’m totally going to tell you. It’s my duty as your old best friend. But I want to do it the proper way.”

“Which is?”

“Oh, you’ll see.” Then she hauls me forward, leaving me no choice but to trust her.