We hurried to our vehicles, undressed, shifted, geared up and met at the edge of the parking lot.

Lead the way, I said. Cooper was the one with the location, after all.

I ran by his side for a few minutes and suddenly, it seemed like the perfect time. Just me and him, in the woods together, working. I would tell him and see what happened. Then, I’d decide if I would tell Kylie.

Except that as we ran, several other voices echoed in my head. Often, more than one of us in our clan were in bear form and used the mental link we shared. Kind of impossible to have a private conversation with Cooper when others can listen in.

We got to the designated spot and sniffed around. The area was secluded, but popular because of the large pond nearby, where visitors liked to fish. Hidden by high cliffs of ice and thick with evergreens, it would have been the perfect spot to abduct someone without being seen, if that’s what happened.

The police had already come and gone, and Glacier Bay’s wolf clan’s Search and Rescue team had been deployed, but they wanted all shifters to be familiar with the scents around the scene so there’d be that many more noses to sniff out the cause of the disappearance. I picked up on the scent of at least one female. Possibly two.

Just one missing? I asked.

Yes, he confirmed.

Either someone else had been out there with the MP or it was a coincidence and someone unrelated had been in the area as well. We weren’t too far from the area tourists visited the most, Bartlett Cove. A hiking trail ran just a half mile from us, and the camping area wasn’t too far away. Only adventurous hikers would wander out much further from the set trails to where we were.

Are you picking up on two? I asked Cooper. Two females?

I only smell one.

The other had been fainter. Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe I was so out of my mind with the Kylie thing that I couldn’t concentrate. I felt like a live wire was running through my veins instead of blood. It had been a perfect night, even if I’d messed it all up and made a huge mistake.

I tried to focus, remembering that we were facing a major issue. I took note of what I thought was the second scent just in case something came of it. But after I went back and sniffed again, it was much more faint than the newer smell. Those two people hadn’t been there at the same time.

When we had gathered any evidence we could find and completed our task for the time being, I stopped. Can we shift back for a minute? I asked.

Instead of answering, Cooper shifted. I followed his lead and we did the awkward naked stance where we tried to cover ourselves, sort of.

“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” I started. “It’s been going on for a while now, and I think it’s time to bring it up.”

Cooper took in a breath and narrowed his eyes. “Okay…”

“I…” Dammit, there was no better way to say it than to just spit it out. “Cooper, I’m in love with Kylie. I have been for a while. When she was in that accident, it terrified me. I thought I was going to lose her, and I couldn’t stand it. I realize now that she’s the one for me. I… I think she’s my mate.”

Cooper shook his head, then laughed. “Kylie? Your mate? You’re kidding, right?”

“Not at all. This is the most serious I’ve ever been in my entire life.”

“Exactly. Because you’re not serious, Jace. You screw everything that will let you.”

I glared at him and gritted my teeth. “I know what it seems like, but it’s not like that.”

“You are not going to date my sister. Is that even what you’re asking? To date my sister? Because there’s no way. I’ve seen what you do with women. What’s your longest relationship anyway, Jace?”

I answered proudly, “Six months.”

“With the exchange student that was back home for four of those six months?”

I let a low growl rumble in my chest. “It’s not what you think. There’s a reason I do that.”

“It doesn’t matter why; you’re nothing but a player. I’m sorry if you’ve fucked your way through all the women up here or have gotten lazy. Whatever your reason for going after Kylie is, the answer is no. Don’t take this beyond friendship, emotionally or physically. And that’s an order. You hear me?”

It was too late for both. I swallowed hard, hoping he couldn’t see the guilt on my face.

His eyes grew full of rage. “Wait. Did you sleep with my little sister?” He was in my face, gritting his teeth.

How could I answer that? “Look, man, I made a huge mistake, but it sounds worse than it is. Just let me—”

Cooper appeared to have torn his own chest open as he exploded back into his bear form. He took off running before his paws even touched the ground.

Great. That went well. I would have to convince Cooper I was being truthful before I could even think of telling Kylie.

I wasn’t thrilled about Cooper being a dick about the whole thing, but he’d have to settle down eventually. I decided to walk in human form for a while. Let Cooper bear it out and get home, talk to the clan or whomever he was going to discuss it with. Would he tell anyone?

The afternoon sun was bright in my eyes as I walked. We’d run to a part of the park where the forest floor was still coated in ice. My footsteps made a sharp crunching sound as I walked and took in the way the sunlight reflected off the bits of frost and shone through the pine needles.

I laughed at myself. Appreciating the sunlight and sounds of nature was not something I normally did. It must have been Kylie; there was no other explanation for it. I was in love, and my inner bear let out a low purr in satisfaction. It felt amazing. I just needed a way to get Cooper to be okay with everything and figure out how to talk to Kylie about it. I wanted to make it special. Almost like a proposal would be. Something that grand.

I had some time to think and plan. I’d need to wait at least a day or so until Cooper calmed down. I’d talk to him the following day and try to smooth it all out, maybe even run my plan by him when I had one. He’d see that Kylie and I were perfect together—as long as she had some sort of feelings for me in return, that is.

But the kiss—and everything that came with it—was enough evidence for me.