The van carrying Payne kicked up gravel and dirt as it screeched to a halt beside me. The shifter named Owen got out and slammed his door. His wolf eyes shone with bright menace as he charged to the back.

“Let that maniac out,” he called. “That is if the damn doors still open.”

Callum raised a suspicious brow but didn’t stop me as I moved to the back of the van. Two huge dents in the perfect shape of feet bowed out the side of the vehicle. The backdoors twisted on their hinges. Somehow, Payne had done it all without raising an alarm in me.

“He’s lucky his ass didn’t fall through the floor,” another of the shifters said as he yanked the doors open. Wrapped in chains from his shoulders down to his knees, Payne rolled and spilled to the ground. His hair stuck out in wild peaks. His green wolf eyes blazed hot as he still managed to get to his feet. He let out a fearsome growl that blew my hair back. He locked eyes with me and I felt his pulse quicken. I went to him, putting a hand on his cheek. His skin felt white hot as his wolf strained to get out.

His nostrils flared with hard breaths as he looked from one Wild Lake shifter to the other. “If you hurt her…” he said with a low growl.

“They didn’t,” I said quickly. “Payne, look at me. I’m okay. We’re both okay.”

I tried to transmit calm to him even though my own heart fluttered as we touched. A rising heat made my knees weak. Even here. Even now.

“What the hell’s all this ruckus?” A sharp, feminine voice cut through the air. I took a cautious step away from Payne as he twisted toward the sound. The heavy, dragonsteel chains clanged together. The weight of them would have dropped a human man.

“Sorry, Pat,” Callum said, clearing his throat. He’d been fierce and in charge the moment he stepped out of the shadows in Banchory. In the span of a moment, he turned sheepish.

Pat stepped around the van and my mouth dropped. I’d never seen anything like her. She was at least a foot shorter than me with wiry gray hair flying in all directions. She had piercing green eyes that drank me in with hard intensity. Still, something danced behind them and the corner of her mouth twitched as if she were holding back a smile. She had to be close to eighty years old with doughy white arms and bare legs poking out from her yellow housecoat. She was human, and yet, every shifter but Payne immediately dropped their heads in deference to her.

“We didn’t have a chance to call ahead,” Callum said, though even I knew it was a thin excuse. The drive from Banchory had taken over seven hours. With a caravan of three vehicles, not one of them thought to whip out a cell phone?

Pat came to me, lifting her chin as she eyed me up and down. She stood with her hands on her hips and set her jaw to the side.

I cleared my throat and extended a hand. Even that drew a warning growl from Payne. Pat didn’t flinch though. She kept her eyes locked on mine and shook my hand with an alarmingly firm grip.

“I’m Lena,” I said. “Lena Morris. Uh...my brother Mac sent me here to talk to Derek Monroe.”

Pat finally dropped my gaze and fixed hers on Callum. “No time to call ahead, eh? Well, Miss Morris, you’ll have to forgive these dogs. They get on about something and they lose their manners. Don’t take it the wrong way, but you look like hell. Nothing a hot bath and a clean bed won’t cure. You come on up to the house. We’ll get acquainted. Oh, I’m Pat Bonner. Welcome to Wild Lake.”

My mouth dropped. I had no idea what to make of this woman. She hooked her arm through mine and started to lead me down to the house. Payne went nuts. His chains rattled as he twisted toward me.

“She stays with me!” he shouted. “Lena, don’t take another step.”

Pat turned to him. She was no shifter, but she could muster a withering gaze just as potent. She let go of me and went to him. With that same hands-on-hips posture, she raised her chin and met Payne’s stare.

To a casual observer, Payne looked like an absolute monster compared to Pat Bonner. He towered over her by nearly two feet and green fire practically shot from his eyes as he stared at her. If it weren’t for the dragonsteel, I had no idea what he would have done. He seemed half-crazed with worry for me. Instinct told me that worry was misplaced, but it wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong. My arrival at Birch Haven still burned in my mind.

“Is he yours?” Pat said, throwing her voice over her shoulder as she kept her eyes locked on Payne.

“Uh...he...we...yes,” I said. “But, he’s not Pack. I mean, he’s not with the Kentucky Pack.”

Pat nodded. “So you say. That’s not for me to figure out.”

“Payne,” I said, coming to Pat’s side. Payne himself seemed beyond speech. The corded muscles in his neck jumped as he strained against the bindings. His hands clenched at his sides and his claws came out right along with his fangs.

“Son,” Pat said. “You’re in Wild Lake now, not Kentucky. Whatever you are, whoever you’re allied with, that’s something you’re going to have to take up with the pack Alphas of this territory. But, the Bonner farm is neutral turf. They’ll decide what’s to be done with you.”

“Mrs. Bonner,” I said. “We’ve come a very long way. You don’t know what we’ve...what I’ve been through…”

She put up a hand to silence me. Her eyes were kind when she finally drew them away from Payne and looked at me. “Honey, I know more than you think I do. And I’m glad you’re here. But we need to leave the wolves to their business. Tell your man to stand down. It’s going to be all right.”

I turned to Payne. The look of desperation in his eye squeezed my heart. Practically immobilized by the dragonsteel, I could feel the battle raging inside of him. His need to shift threatened to pull him apart at the seams. His mind flared with alarm for me. If something happened, he was powerless to stop it.

And yet, I felt safe here. I couldn’t explain it. I wasn’t naive enough to take everything Pat Bonner told me at face value, but there it was.

“These are strangers,” Payne whispered, clearly sensing my train of thought if not the specifics. “More shifters than I can fight alone even if…”

I put a hand on Payne’s cheek again. He squeezed his eyes shut. My touch calmed him; there was no denying it.

“You’ll have your chance to speak your piece,” Pat said. “Callum, what’s Derek’s status?”

Callum stepped forward. He kept a wary eye on Payne and came to Pat’s side. “Word’s out to the Wild Lake Alphas. When there’s news, you’ll be the first to know. For now, you stay with us.” Callum jabbed a finger in Payne’s chest. Payne’s jaw morphed, growing longer. But, he got control of himself as I put a hand over his.

“I stay where she stays,” Payne said through his teeth.

Callum and the others closed ranks, moving to surround Payne again. He snapped his jaw and tried to pull me behind him. I felt Pat’s cool hand on my shoulder, drawing me away. Undaunted, she pushed herself in front of Callum.

“Put him in the barn,” she said. “He can’t do any harm in those chains.”

“No way,” Callum said. “Alec wants him. We’ve got the largest pack in the region. We’ll make sure he’s under guard until the Alphas figure out what to do with him.”

Payne lost his mind. He thrashed against the chains, trying to launch himself at Callum.

“He’s not going be any good to anybody if you take him away from his mate,” Pat said. “Cameron, what does Derek say?”

Cameron dropped his eyes. “He says he knows Mac Morris, the girl’s brother. He wants to hear what she has to say. No promises though.”

“Fine,” Pat said, jutting her chin. “Then he goes in the barn. Loosen those chains around his legs but string him up over the rafters. Last stall on the right. The hay’s clean, son. Even if it isn’t the most comfortable to sleep on. We’ll get to the bottom of all of this soon enough. In the meantime, I give you my word Lena is safe with me. She hasn’t asked for it, but I’m offering her sanctuary.”

There was weight to the word sanctuary when she said it. It caused a stir through the Wild Lake shifters. For Callum’s part, he wasn’t happy. He let out a hard breath and shook his head.

“Pat…”

“Never you mind,” she said, shaking a finger at him. “It’s mine to offer and I’ve offered it. We do things different here in Wild Lake than you’re probably used to.” She turned and pointed that shaky finger straight at Payne. “But no wolf in Wild Lake will dishonor my word on that. Lena’s probably safer here than anywhere else in the world. Even if your Chief Pack comes a-calling. The Wild Lake shifters are honor bound to defend this farm with their lives if it comes to it. And anybody invited to stay under my roof. You understand?”

A heavy silence fell as Payne considered Pat Bonner’s words. He didn’t seem able to form his own words anymore. But, he exhaled slowly and dropped his head.

“Fine,” Pat said. It seemed she did know her way around shifters. “I’m taking a risk here myself. But, let’s just say I’ve seen a few things. You behave yourself and I’ll take care of Lena. She looks like she needs some tending to.”

My heart dropped when Pat put a motherly arm around me. No one touched me like that until Payne. Not even my brother. And yet, with Pat, I felt an instant kinship. It was as if she understood something about me without me having to say it. I just prayed I was right.

“Fine,” Callum said, defeated. “But we won’t be far. You do anything destructive...and I mean anything...we’ll dump you back over the Kentucky border while you’re still in chains. You hear me?”

Payne trembled with rage, but he didn’t act on it. My heart broke as they led him away from me. He tried to stay on his feet, but the chains were wound tightly around his ankles. Callum and two of the others ended up half carrying him. They took him into the barn and slammed the door shut behind them. I felt hollow inside.

“Come on,” Pat said. “We’ve got a lot to talk about and I’m sure you’re exhausted, honey. But, I’m glad you came. It’s going to sound a little strange, but I had a hunch you were coming.”

“How?” I asked as she looped her arm through mine and led me down to the house.

“Hard to say,” Pat explained. “Let’s just say there’s been something in the air lately. Plus, we’ve got a seer in our midst. Alec Martel’s mate. He’s Callum’s Alpha. Olivia’s got a thing or two in common with you, I think. I hope you get the chance to meet her.”

My heart twisted with both hope and fear as we walked up the porch steps and into the house. It opened to a long hallway with the kitchen in back. As we headed for it, my mouth instantly watered as the scent of freshly baked bread and fried chicken hit my nose. My knees practically buckled from hunger.

“Well, I was gonna draw you a bath and get you set up in the guest room first, but maybe lunch is the better plan.”

I felt my face redden as I mustered a smile. “I’m sorry. I don’t really want to put you out.”

“Nonsense,” she said. “I live for this kind of shit, honey. You come on in and make yourself at home.”

Tears welled in my eyes. Who was this woman? She may not have been a shifter, but she seemed to have some magic power all her own. In the span of thirty minutes, she’d managed to get me to do the one thing I’d resisted for so many years. I almost felt as if I could let my guard down with her. In the back of my mind, I knew how dangerous that could be. Had I any doubt, I could feel the rumble of Payne’s distress all the way from the barn.

“He’ll be all right out there,” Pat said. With lightning speed, she’d plated a heaping pile of chicken, lobbed some mashed potatoes with gravy next to it, and set a place for me at her kitchen table.

“Thank you,” I said. I folded a checkered napkin on my lap and took the fork she offered. My stomach betrayed me, letting out a shifter-like growl that made Pat’s smile widen. I couldn’t have been dainty with that food if I tried. I was starving. I wolfed down the first bite and the sinful pleasure of it shot straight down to my toes. I also felt instantly guilty. Payne had to be starving too.

“Would you mind if I took a plate out to Payne a little later?” I asked as I reached for the pitcher of lemonade Pat put down.

“Best I let Harold handle that,” she said. Before I could ask who Harold was, I got my answer. A figure crashed down from the stairwell off the kitchen. Pat had a row of hanging pots on hooks and an old, thin man crashed his way through them, staggering into the kitchen, all bluster and flying curse words.

“You trying to kill me with those things?” He hollered.

Pat waved a dismissive hand and took a seat across me.

“Forgive my baby brother,” she said. Though the term “baby” seemed incongruous. The old man had only wisps of white hair left on his head. I dropped my fork as he faced me straight on. In an instant, I knew he was blind. His eyes had a pearlish, opaque quality and fixed on a point somewhere over my head. The cause of his blindness sent ice racing through my veins. I put a sympathetic hand to my own right cheek. Harold Bonner had three jagged lines of an old scar running across his cheek like I did. Though his went straight through his eyes. There could be no mistaking the scars for what they were. Just like me, Harold bore the marks of a shifter attack.

“Harold, meet Lena Morris,” Pat said. She put a comforting hand on mine. She seemed to understand the shock I felt at seeing Harold and the instant kinship between us.

Harold let out a harrumph and followed the smell of the fried chicken. “You to blame for the ruckus in my barn?” he asked.

“I’m afraid so,” I said. Harold brought his own plate to the table and sat beside me. I did something so bold then, it startled me as much as it did Harold. I took his hand and brought it up to my face. He spread his fingers out as I rested them against my cheek. His lips quivered as he felt the scars I bore.

“My brother is Mac Morris,” I said. “He sent me here with my friend Payne. He’s the one out in the barn.”

Harold sat frozen beside me. His rough fingers played along my cheek. He broke into a slow smile, then drew his hand away.

“Mac Morris,” he said. “I suppose Derek will definitely want to talk to you. Patsy, you better ring up Tinker Lyle while you’re at it.”

“Tinker? What the hell’s old Tinker got to do with any of this?”

“Just do what I say for once without questioning me, woman. Tell Derek to bring his father-in-law with him.”

Even sightless, Pat and Harold Bonner had some unspoken sibling bond running between them. He seemed to sense the exasperated expression on his sister’s face and he shot her a devilish wink that made her smile. I felt like an intruder. I guess I was.

“I’m sorry,” I said, pushing my plate away. I’d gorged myself so quickly, I felt like my stomach might burst from it. “What am I missing?”

Harold bit into a drumstick and tossed his napkin aside. “You’re from Mammoth Forest, right?”

My heart stopped. How in the hell did he know that? “I’m not sure I…”

Harold put his chicken down and turned to me. “We hear things,” he said. “Wild Lake might be a ways off from Kentucky and all the bullshit you’ve got going on down there, but it’s in our interest to keep tabs. Plus, that bastard Chief Alpha of theirs has caused plenty of trouble up here. But our boys keep sending him back.” Harold let out a bark of a laugh and shot a wink in Pat’s general direction.

“Old Patsy’s got a story or two about him, don’t you?”

“Oh, you shut your hole,” Pat said. “Ancient history and nobody’s business but mine.”

“Anyway,” Harold continued. “I’m saying have Derek bring Tinker Lyle with him when he comes. It’ll save time. Now, I can’t make you any promises about what’ll happen, but it’s better everybody just lays their cards on the table all at once.”

Harold Bonner might as well have been talking in tongues for all the sense he made. Pat interjected a few more times while Harold finished his lunch. Then, he rose and tipped an imaginary hat at me. He made some excuse about needing to do work out in the north pasture.

When he left, Pat insisted I take her up on that offer for a hot bath. I did. She showed me to a claw-footed tub in the guest bathroom across the hall. It adjoined a bedroom facing east. She told me I was welcome to that too. She set out a change of clothes in roughly my size.

“How?” I asked as she handed me a stack of towels.

Pat’s face crinkled as she smiled. “Oh, honey, let’s just say our shifters have a habit of showing up here with women needing some mothering. It’s not the easiest life for us...running with them...I mean. But we do it anyway. Don’t we?”

A hard knot formed in my throat. It got hard to breathe. She had no idea what she was saying. Did she? She smiled, but didn’t offer any further explanation.

“When you’re through,” she said. “I’ll leave a picnic basket on the front porch. Callum won’t like it, but this is my farm, my barn. Why don’t you go down and pay your shifter a visit? Those howls of his are going to spook the horses if he does it all night. But, you keep him where he is. It won’t hurt him any and it’ll keep the Wild Lake boys from having to drive him off.”

“Thank you,” I said. She had me nearly speechless. Pat shot me a wink and waddled down the hallway.

I couldn’t think. I could barely breathe. As the afternoon sun faded into evening, I shut the bedroom door and pressed my back against it.