By the time West woke up, it was dark outside. Winnie was right there next to him in bed, rolled up in the sheets and dead asleep. Her smoked-honey smell was comfortingly thick in the air.

He sighed, watching her breathe. What was he doing?

This girl couldn’t stay here with him. They couldn’t be together. He knew that. But he had still gotten lost in her . . . and he had still slept with her.

He couldn’t resist. There was something magical about her.

I can’t fall in love with this girl. I can’t. I need to fight it.

He got up, looking for some clothes to throw on. He could see very well in the dark, so he didn’t turn on the lights. It would just wake her up before she was ready.

Once he was dressed, he went out into the hall, shutting the door very quietly. Hopefully, Amy had already started dinner. It was fairly clear that he and Winnie wouldn’t be going out to eat tonight.

“Sir?” Annika had materialized from nowhere. “You have visitors.”

“Visitors?” he asked, surprised. “Who? Asher?”

“No . . . well, yes,” Annika said, looking worried. “You always say that Mr. Cole is to have free access to the apartment, as well as any guests he brings. He’s brought some. Four of them.”

There was a long pause.

“I see,” West finally said. “Annika, is Amy here?”

“Yes. She’s making dinner.”

“Enough for all these guests?” West asked coolly.

“Yes, I think so. She thought it was prudent.”

“It was. Thank you, Annika. I want you to stay here, right outside my bedroom. If Winnie wakes up, keep her from leaving it.” Annika looked concerned, so West patted her shoulder. “It’s all right. I just sense that these guests and I will have some . . . private matters to discuss. Very private. Keep her away from the receiving room.”

Annika nodded, so West left her, buttoning his shirt the rest of the way up. What was about to happen would be unpleasant. He could sense it. The cold electricity of the air told him so, and as he got closer to the receiving room, he could smell his “guests” with perfect clarity. All of them were shifters. And some of them were bears.

“West,” a deep, bass voice said when he turned into the receiving room. “I see the rumors are right. You’ve done well for yourself in this world.”

“A financial education and an immovable will make all things possible,” West said frostily. “It’s good to see you, Elder Stone.”

“Don’t lie, boy,” growled Elder Stone. He was a powerful older man with a shock of grey hair and a short, grizzled grey beard. He wore a mantle of polecat fur over his poorly-chosen human clothes, and he carried an oaken stick. “It’s not good. We’re neither of us happy to see each other. But a visit is necessary to remind you of who you are.”

West shot an accusing look at Asher, who was unhappy. He flinched when West’s eyes bored into him. You bastard, West thought, even though he knew this was probably really Hyssop’s idea. Ash couldn’t really refuse her anything. She was his elder, and he hadn’t broken with his clan as fully as West had. West shot a chilly look at her next. She was sitting impassively on the piano bench. Next to her was Betony, the fox girl.

“I know who I am,” West said coolly.

“I don’t think so,” Stone said, stumping closer to him. “You smell like a human.”

“I live in New York City. It’s full of humans. I have their smell on me.”

“More’s the pity,” Stone said shortly. “I smell meat cooking, boy. Are you going to feed us?”

“Of course,” West said because he knew what his responsibilities were. “I haven’t forgotten my manners, Elder. I wouldn’t let any guest of mine leave hungry.”

Stone snorted. “Hyssop of the Wolves tells me you’ve taken up with a human girl.”

“She exaggerates,” West said, buying time.

Stone arched a heavy brow. “Is it? But I smell a woman on you. A woman with a human smell.”

“There’s no law against tumbling with humans,” Ash offered quietly.

“Quiet, boy,” Stone snapped. “Listen to me, West. I’ve heard the whole story. You were looking for a shifter woman, which is right and good, but you were given a human woman by that . . . that computer site. Now you’re attached to her and you won’t give her up.”

This was accurate enough, end-of-the-day, so West said nothing.

“Well,” Stone said, seeing that what he had been told was the truth. “I have a cure for that.” He thumped his stick on the floor, and the last guest, someone West had barely noticed, stood up.

He knew instantly that she was a bear—a grizzly, like him. She was smaller than Winnie, but she had wide hips and thick, luscious thighs. Her tanned skin was heavily freckled, and her eyes were caramel-and-gold. Her features were naturally pretty, her face healthy, clean, and glowing. A brunette, she was dressed in very plain, secondhand clothes, although she also wore a wooden ring and a rabbit-fur scarf.

“This is Cattail,” Stone said firmly. “She comes from the Hazleton clan, up British Columbia way. I put out a word to them and they sent her.”

“Sent her for what?” West asked softly.

“For you,” said Stone shortly. “You’re a fool if you won’t mate a girl like that. She’s a sow and she’s in her flower. Send that human girl away and pair with this one.” He pointed a gnarled finger at Cattail, whose gorgeous eyes were fixed on West. She was evaluating him, he realized. “Take. Her.”

“Well,” West said, unintimidated, “we can discuss this more later. I hear Amy setting the table for dinner. Please.” He gestured them all toward the dining room.

Thankfully, Amy had made a meat meal. It was salt-battered prime rib, and it was perfect for a shifter’s dinner. Everyone sat and was served. Stone had no table manners to speak of—he was more animal than man—but Cattail did, West noticed. They were a little clumsy, a little unrefined, but she wasn’t just eating with her hands like Stone did.

There was very little conversation over the food, except for the rapid-fire exchange of looks between West and Ash.

I can’t believe you brought these people here, West thought, glaring at Ash. He knew his feelings showed on his face. He wanted them to. I trusted you.

I had no choice, said Ash’s expression, and he glanced at Hyssop. It was her idea. Then he looked at Cattail, and back at West. What do you think of her?

West frowned. He had never let the elders control his life before, and he wasn’t about to start now. No. He wouldn’t mate this girl just because he was told to.

Once they were done eating, Stone and Hyssop stood slowly, purposefully.

“Cattail will stay here,” Stone declared. “If you have any respect for your clan, for your people, you’ll allow this and host her.”

“It will be my pleasure,” West said coldly. “But I won’t promise anything else.”

“I hope you will consider how far Elder Stone has come, and at what cost and what difficulty,” said Hyssop mildly. “A reasonable man would consider his message very carefully.”

“I will,” said West, the smallest bit chastened. “But I—”

“The girl he’s brought is a fine girl,” Hyssop continued. “Don’t ignore her, Mr. Croft. Asher,” she added quietly, “you should stay awhile and help him see sense. Betony, let’s be off.”

Stone grunted impatiently, and then he, Betony, and Hyssop left for the lift. After a few minutes, during which everyone left at the table heard the elevator doors open and close, West sighed.

“Cattail, wasn’t it?” he asked the girl. She nodded.

“You’re from Hazleton?” Asher asked her. “I’m from Manitoba—Selkirk. Not that far away.”

“I’ve heard it’s pretty there,” she said politely. “You’re a wolf?”

“Yeah.” Ash nervously fingered a button on his leather jacket.

The girl nodded, gazing at him. “You smell like a wolf.” She turned her eyes to West. “You two’re good friends?”

“For years,” West said stiffly.

“There aren’t many shifters in the city,” Ash explained. “For obvious reasons, I think. So it doesn’t matter that he’s a bear and I’m a wolf. We needed to stick together and—”

“Cattail, how did you get in the country?” West asked abruptly. “I doubt you have a passport.” Ash winced.

“Fake papers,” Cattail said, unbothered. “Is there really a human girl here?”

“Yes.”

She gazed at him for a long moment. “But you’re a bull in your prime. How can she satisfy you?”

West didn’t answer that. He didn’t fully understand himself. “How were you chosen for this?”

“I didn’t pair with anyone at the last Gathering,” she said, shrugging. “I can’t find a mate at home. My clan elders thought you might make a nice match for me.”

“I see. Ash, can I speak with you in the other room?” West asked, standing. “Amy!”

Amy appeared in the dining room’s classically-molded doorway. “Sir?”

“Will you show Cattail to the south guest room, please? She’ll be staying with us for a while. I think it will suit her nicely.”

“Certainly, sir. And after that, I’ll clear the table, shall I?”

“Please.”

Cattail threw West an unimpressed look, but she followed Amy. West gripped Ash’s arm and practically dragged him into the receiving room.

“You’re my best friend,” he said thickly, “but you need to explain how this happened and what your part in it was or I’m throwing you out for good.”

“Look, man, it wasn’t my idea,” Ash said, recoiling. If he’d been in wolf-form, his ears would have flattened back. “Hyssop doesn’t approve of you shacking up with that human girl. She thinks it’s bad for you, and no matter what you think, that it’s bad for your clan. You’re putting their secret in jeopardy.”

“She asked you to contact my clan, didn’t she?” West asked, struggling to suppress the bearish instinct to growl and bare his teeth. “And you did. And then she and Stone decided to import a proper girl for me, and what I want be damned. Ash, they’re dropping this girl into the middle of my life!”

“That human girl was dropped into the middle of your life,” Ash said, frowning. “You seemed fine with it.”

“I knew she was coming!”

“Look, brother. Cattail is the kind of girl you should’ve gotten from MeetYourMate. Winnie—it’s Winnie, right?—was a mistake. She isn’t meant for you, okay? She’s human. Do you understand? Human.”

“And? So what?” West asked stubbornly. “I can make her happy. I work with hundreds of humans. I like them. I understand them. They don’t suspect a thing.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you keep them at arm’s length,” Ash said wisely. “You’re not sleeping in the same bed with them or–or having candlelit dinners with them! There’s no way you can hide what you are from a human partner. No way.”

“Maybe,” West conceded, frustrated. “They shouldn’t have brought Cattail while Winnie is still here, though.”

“I don’t know,” Ash said slowly. “I think we caught you just in time. You like Winnie.”

“Is that a crime?”

“No . . . but it’s not right, either.” Ash sighed. “You like her way too much. Have you slept with her?”

West didn’t answer.

“Oh, so you have.” Ash sighed again, more deeply. “You can’t be romantic about this, man. Send her home tomorrow. Give Cattail a chance instead. It’s like Elder Stone said. She’s a sow and she’s beautiful and she’s ready to mate, just like you are.”

“I doubt she wants to live in New York,” said West, sitting in one of the chairs and rubbing his forehead. “And I’m not ready to leave.”

“No . . . dude, that’s part of why they chose Cattail to bring to you,” said Ash, sitting too. “She’s curious about the city. She’s curious about the States. She told them she’d live in New York if she liked you.”

“Did she?” West asked, a little intrigued despite himself. “Well . . . that’s interesting, but it doesn’t change anything. I won’t be handled like this. Besides, why would the Hazleton clan want their daughter living in a city? No one even approves of me living here.”

Ash hesitated. “Because it’s like she said, man. You’re a big, powerful bull. You could be an Alpha when you go back to the Coast. You’re strong enough, smart enough, fierce enough. I’m pretty sure the Hazleton clan is willing to let her live in the city for five years if she brings back a leader when she comes home.”

West sighed. An Alpha. He’d always rejected a future as an Alpha. An Alpha was a bull massive enough, willful enough, and powerful enough to dominate other bulls in combat—a bull strong enough, in short, to claim leadership of a clan.

Every clan needed an Alpha, and every shifter man felt the raw animal urge, at least once in his life, to fight for leadership, but only the truly strong, the truly masculine, the truly red-blooded ever won. He knew he was Alpha material. But he’d turned his back on that path.

Cattail was here to push him back on track, to bring him back into the fold, to make him into an Alpha. He had no interest in that.

“You’re right, Ash,” he said somberly. “It all becomes too clear.”

“It wasn’t my decision, brother,” Ash said gently. “I’m on your side. But I had to respect my elder, right? Had to follow her wishes. And I do think you should think about what you’re doing.”

West leaned forward to put his hand on Ash’s shoulder. “I know you’re on my side. You always have been. And I understand the pressure you’re under.”

Ash nodded gratefully. “I’m still sorry. But I’m worried, man. You’re my closest friend.”

“I just wish this situation hadn’t gotten so complicated,” West sighed. “This is a fucking mess.”

“Amen,” Ash agreed, nodding. There was a long, thoughtful silence.

“What about you, Ash? Hyssop is trying to get you to come home, isn’t she? What is she saying?”

“That the government cull took too many of the clan’s young men. That they need me at home.”

“How do you deal with it? Are you going to leave?”

Ash shook his head slowly. “Not yet. Someday, I will. I told her that.”

“She’s not trying to force you? Like I’m being forced?”

“No, because what you’re doing is worse. I won’t come home, but I’m not trying to mate with humans, and I’m not risking our secret. You’re being forced because they can’t understand why you’re acting this way.”

“I don’t fully understand it myself,” West admitted. “She’s special, Ash. I like her.”

“The human girl?”

“Yes.”

Ash ran a hand through his hair. “She’d better be.”

West smiled slightly. “You should meet her.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to get attached. Like you.” Ash winced, then stood. “Listen, I have to go.”

“Now? Why?” West asked, standing too.

“Betony wants me to take her outside the city this weekend. I’m not working tomorrow, you know, so . . . Anyway, I thought I’d take her to Harriman State Park. Make a long weekend of it. We’ll shift, run loose, hunt a little.”

“You. Fucking. Hypocrite,” West said, dangerously and slowly. “You’re here telling me not to get involved with Winnie because she’s human, and all the while, you’re riding Betony—a fucking fox.”

“It’s not the same,” Ash said defensively. “She’s still a shifter. And we’re not going to mate or anything crazy. It’s casual. It’s just studding!”

“Whatever you say. But I know Betony,” West said, “and lots of other foxes, too, and I know how charming they are. You’ll fall for her.”

“I won’t. I can’t.”

“Does Hyssop know about this?”

“She does, actually. She doesn’t care if we stud. She knows I’ll mate a wolf girl when it’s time for me to pair.”

West shook his head pityingly. “You’re as stupid as I am.”

Ash half-smiled. “I guess our friendship’s a meeting of equals after all, then.”

West rolled his eyes, then slapped Ash on the shoulder. “I’ll walk you to the lift.”

“Listen, will you please give Cattail a chance?” Ash asked as they walked. “She’s a cute girl. And she’s smart. I know you like that.”

“I’ll be good to her,” said West, which was the extent of what he was willing to promise. The elevator dinged open. “Don’t worry about that.”

“What will you do tomorrow?”

West cursed inwardly. “I have a meeting I can’t skip in the morning.”

“The girls, though . . .”

“I know.” He put his hands in his pockets. “I’ll have to sort it out when I get back. Goodnight, Ash.”

“Night, man.”

The elevator doors shut. West went back to the door of his room, where Annika was waiting, reading something on her phone.

“Annika,” he said, surprising her. “Thank you very much for waiting here. Did she wake up?”

“No, Mr. Croft. I think she’s asleep for the night.”

“Good. Let’s hope she sleeps late tomorrow, too.” He sighed. “Annika, before you leave, could you please place a call to the women’s department desk at Bergdorf Goodman? They’ll still be open. Go to the south guest room, look at the girl staying there, take care of her, estimate her size, and then call them and order some dresses. The style doesn’t matter.”

“Of course, sir.” Annika looked puzzled but asked no questions. “Will that be all?”

“That will be all,” he confirmed wearily. “Good night, Annika.”