Harper used her hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the morning sunlight. She squinted at the little boxes that dotted the distant hillside, bringing them into focus.

"Whoa. How many houses are there?"

She remembered West saying there were something like sixty domiciles at The Steppes, but when she'd pictured them she'd imagined them being spaced far apart, with each family having its own little patch of territory. The alternative, having dozens of mated wolves living in the close quarters of a small town, had seemed too bizarre to contemplate.

"One hundred and ten," Shan said after a brief pause. "Not counting commercial and municipal buildings. There could be a few more that popped up since I've been gone. Autumn and spring are the busiest seasons for mating ceremonies."

Shan had gotten dressed that morning, donning a pair of well-tailored buckskin pants and boots. His white cotton shirt looked like it could have been purchased off a rack in a mall, except that its buttons were carved from small pieces of bones. Seeing him dressed, with his pelt flung over his shoulder, Harper couldn't help but ogle him every chance she got. It made no sense. She'd seen him naked in all of his muscular glory, yet the sight of him fully clothed put her hormones in a frenzy.

"I thought you had to ordain all mated pairs?"

"Only the human matings," Shan explained. "If two wolves want to become mates, they just have to get approval from their betas and register at the town hall."

She remembered Rosa mentioning that shifter matings were common in his pack, which was another oddity. She'd never heard of two shifters becoming mates, and she was curious to find out what it was about Shan's pack that fostered such relationships.

"And then they have a mating ceremony?" she asked.

"Usually, yes."

She cast him a sideways glance. "You're not planning anything like that for us, are you?"

She'd focused her gaze on his face, so as not to be distracted by the triangle of bare skin beneath his neckline, but when he gave her a slow, sexy smile, Harper's mouth went dry and she had to lower her gaze. 

"Do you want me to?" he asked.

"No," she said quickly. "I don't know anyone in your pack. It would be weird."

She looked up to see if her response had disappointed him. His smile was gone, replaced by his usual look of cool neutrality. 

"It'll probably be out of our hands," he said. "I wager that no matter what I say, they'll be planning the festivities while we're away."

"Away?"

"We won't be able to stay here while we're mating. It wouldn't be safe."

Harper frowned. She'd spent the better part of a month traveling from one place to another, and she was looking forward to staying put for a while.

"But your den is miles from the town. Which is super inconvenient, by the way."

"I don't know how I'll react to the mating when I'm in my wolf form. Or how you'll react, for that matter. It's better we don't chance any interactions with our pack mates."

She remembered what Shan had said about their wolves mating, and given how frisky hers had been the last time she'd shifted, she realized that he hadn't been joking. 

"I can feel her more strongly today," she mentioned. "Does that make sense?"

As she spoke, she ran her hands along the inside of her pelt. Though Shan had warned her not to try to bind the pelt to her skin, she'd attempted it as soon as they'd set foot outside that morning. She must have been a fast learner, because this time she was able to discern the stopping point between sealing the fur and fully shifting, and she'd managed to bind it to her shoulders. The effect was that it cascaded down her body like a cloak, though she still couldn't quite figure out how to get it to wrap around her arms.

"You're probably feeling the urge to shift," he explained. "This evening, we can go somewhere nearby where you can let your wolf out for an hour or so."

"But I just shifted yesterday. Am I going to have to do it every day?"

"Not necessarily," he said. "My father shifted only once or twice per month. Personally, I can go about a week, though I try to shift at least every other day. It's going to be more enjoyable, now that I'll have someone I can run with."

He gave her another one of his stupidly handsome smiles, and Harper felt her pulse begin to gallop. She wondered what he'd do if she just started rubbing herself against him.

"If I were you, I'd refrain from running anywhere with my wolf," she said. "She's liable to lead you off a cliff."

As she spoke, he put an arm around her waist. They were almost to town, and she enjoyed the possessive gesture, even if it did put her a little on edge.

"Where are Ian and Jo staying?" she asked.

Translation: 'Are they going to see us like this before I have a chance to explain things?'

Granted, they'd probably be more curious as to why her hair had turned white than about her relationship with Shan, at least when taking things at face value.

"They were held up a few days. They're in a nearby town and should be here by tomorrow evening."

Harper was kind of relieved. She still hadn't had time to rehearse what she was going to say to them. They deserved nothing less than the truth, but there had to be some version of the truth that wouldn't make her a hypocritical liar. 

"There were issues while I was away," Shan said. "I'll have a lot to do today and I'd rather not drag you around."

"Are you saying you're going to ditch me?"

The thought of being separated from him made her feel a little ill.

"I'm going to introduce you to one of my scholars," he said. "You wanted to learn about our laws and the scope of our pack, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

Translation: 'I did before, but right now I'm uninterested in anything that doesn't involve having you inside of me.'

"I'll be nearby if you need me and I'll check in when I can. We can have lunch together."

Her chest swelled and she managed to resist the impulse to turn her nose up and tell him that she didn't need him checking up on her. 

"Are you inviting me on a picnic?" she asked wryly.

"I'm inviting you to a restaurant."

Harper laughed. "Right."

* * *

"Holy crap, you have restaurants!"

"Keep your voice down," Shan said. "Most people are still sleeping at this hour."

Harvest had passed and with it, the stringent schedule that dictated that the pack rise with the sun. Most of the townspeople would still be in their beds, curled up with their mates.

"Shan, you have restaurants," she said again in an excited whisper. "Oh my God, is that a barber shop?"

Since they'd entered the town some ten minutes ago, Shan had been torn between pleasure at her excitement and annoyance at it. He'd told her several times that his territory wasn't just some hole-in-the-ground den. It was a thriving community comprised primarily of expats from human towns and cities. Though most had fled under duress, they still clung tightly to their human customs and had sought to replicate their former lives as much as possible.

They were walking down the commercial thoroughfare, which stretched on for a quarter mile along one panel of the terraces. The streets were cobbled and fringed with buildings on either side. The wood buildings were older, made from the trees that had been cut down as the town had been founded over a decade ago. Most had been rebuilt over the years, as the early construction had suffered from a lack of expertise and the buildings had either been worn down or outright destroyed in harsh winter storms. 

The newer buildings looked indiscernible from what might have been found in a regular town. Constructed from quarried limestone and with the oversight of a talented architect, they were sturdy and well-designed. Most of the limestone buildings on the commercial level had two stories, with the upper level being residential and the bottom level being the shop or service space that the owners operated.

"Where else would they get their hair cut?" Shan said.

Harper spun around, a huge smile stretched over her gorgeous face. "When I was a kid, Cain would do all of my haircuts."

"Not Sarah?" 

She wrinkled her nose. "No. She was terrible at haircuts. She gave Caim one bowl cut and Cain never let her hold the haircutting scissors again." She stretched her arms out. "This is a real town."

It was difficult not to get swept up in her enthusiasm. He'd known that the transition from her human life back into a pack would be difficult, and he'd been concerned she might find his pack lacking. That clearly wasn't the case.

"And glass windows! How do you make glass? Don't you need a factory?"

"They didn't need factories to make it in ancient Mesopotamia." He hooked an arm around her waist to keep her from drifting too far from him. "It's forged in a kiln from quartz shards. I can arrange for you to tour the forges sometime, if you're interested."

"Are you kidding? I want to see everything." 

She broke away from him to admire a display case in one of the tailor shops. Shan had to suppress a growl at the sudden loss of contact. 

Last night, before heading back to his den, he'd made arrangements for Harper to spend time in the atheneum, thinking it would keep her busy while he worked to unwind the mess Kalla had made. When he'd made the plans, he hadn't accounted for how much stronger the pull would become overnight. Even with only a few feet separating him, he felt uncomfortable not having her at his side.

"That's so beautiful," she said, pressing her hands up against the glass. "Do you think it would fit me?"

Shan came up behind her, resting his hands on her waist. The simple contact was enough to make his shoulder sag with relief. Resting his chin on her head, he examined the dress she was admiring, which was made of fringed buckskin. 

"You might be too tall for it, but I can have one made to order. Georgia, the owner, has a catalogue you can browse. We can come back this afternoon, once she's open."

She tilted her head up to beam at him. "Does she make shoes, too?"

"No, but there's another shop for that, farther down the street."

Harper turned and put her arms around his neck. Pulling herself up by his shoulders, she kissed him full on the mouth. Far from being chaste, her tongue came out at once and Shan instinctively let her in.

A strange rush of heat overtook him. His surroundings grew hazy, and for a moment it felt like nothing existed except her warm body pressed up against his. His heart began to hammer, and he could feel the blood fleeing his extremities to gather in his groin. 

When Harper began rubbing against his erection, Shan gained enough sense to pull away from her. The street may have been empty, but he had no illusions about them having privacy.

He was pleased to see that she looked equally dazed. He'd been starting to feel a little jealous with how enthralled she was by the town. In his current state, he didn't want her to be captivated by anything that wasn't him.

"Later," he told her.

"How much later?" she asked with a pout.

Any amount of time felt like too long, so he decided not to torture either of them with an answer.

"I promised you coffee this morning, didn't I?"

Her eyes lit up. "You did!"

Like most of the shops and restaurants in the area, the cafe was named after its proprietor. Erin's Cafe was in one of the older buildings in town, though over the years it had undergone multiple renovations. A steepled roof crowned its first floor, as Erin and her family owned a large home on the upper residential level of the town.

A bell rang as Shan pushed open the door. He let Harper enter first, and then stepped inside the warm dining area. There was no one behind the counter, but he could smell Erin beneath the scents of ground coffee and fried bacon.

"Be out in a minute," Erin called from the back room.

Shan watched Harper as she turned in a circle, taking in the room. Shan's father had been an avid lover of coffee, and Shan had been inside many similar establishments as a boy. Compared to those, Erin's Cafe was decidedly minimalist, with seating built for function rather than comfort and no music playing in the background. Despite this, Harper appeared on the verge of crying with excitement.

"There's a menu!" she said, waving her hand at the countertop chalkboard. 

'Coffee: Regular and Dark, 3s. Food made to order, 6s2lt and up.'

"What are these?" she asked, pointing at the prices.

"Sugar and salt vouchers," Shan explained. "They're the primary currency. The numbers are for ounces. We've tried switching over to fiat currency several times, but it never sticks."

Her eyes widened with interest. "How are the vouchers distributed?"

"Seasonally, with a flat rate per member. Workers earn significantly more. The value of the vouchers tend to rise and fall with the season. Right now, the sugar market is flooded because the growers just received their annual bonuses. Salt is scarce because it's being used to store meats for the winter. As winter progresses, you'll notice the prices change significantly. Sugar will have much more buying power, while salt will fall out of favor towards the end of winter."

"That's so fascinating. What were the other currencies that you tried? Why didn't they work?"

Her interest in the subject matter reminded him of her field of study, and he imagined that from an anthropological viewpoint, the intricacies of currency fluctuation must have been quite intriguing. Between her age and her frequent bouts of immaturity, he sometimes forgot that she had such academic interests.

"I'm sure Amethyst can tell you more about our currencies. She's the scholar you'll be meeting with later."

Erin must have recognized his voice, because she quickly scuttled from the back room and gave them a breathless greeting.

"Shan! It's so good to have you back." She looked between the two of them, her green eyes bright. "And you must be Harper. I'm Erin."

She wiped her hand on her apron and thrust it at Harper, who accepted the handshake with a faltering smile.

"You know my name," Harper said, glancing at Shan.

Erin laughed apologetically. "Small town. Word gets around fast when there's a newcomer. Did you come here to see Gil? He's off on a morning run to the den."

Shan answered, "No. Harper came for a coffee, and breakfast, if you can."

"Absolutely!" Erin said with a little too much enthusiasm.

Erin had been in his pack for eleven years, since mating with one of his then-betas, Gil. She was more comfortable around Shan than most of the human females in his pack, though that wasn't saying much. Whether intimidated by him or outright frightened by his size or the authority he had over their mates, they tended to avoid interacting with him whenever possible. For Shan, the limited interaction was preferable, as he had no desire to be friendly with another male's mate.

"Do you have milk and sugar?" Harper asked, leaning over the counter.

"I do, yes."

"Do you know how to make a latte?"

Erin leaned on the other side of the counter, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I can make you an iced one, if you want."

"No shit."

A genuine smile broke across Erin's face. "The menu's more for the afternoons when my mate Gil is manning the shop. I was a barista before all this. I know how to make all the fancy stuff."

"And you have ice?" As she spoke, Harper looked up, noticing the light fixtures for the first time. "You have electricity."

Shan put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around, so that she could peer out the window. He pointed to the rooftop of the floral shop across the street, which was lined with solar panels.

Erin said, "It's great, isn't it? There's a guy in Battle Creek, human but he has a shifter sister that lives here, him and his team have done all of the solar installations here. All of the stores have them, and most of the houses, too."

Harper put a hand to her chest. "Wow. Next you're going to tell me you have WiFi. Wait, do you have WiFi?"

"No," Erin said, frowning in commiseration. 

"It's not for lack of ability," Shan said. "We've had the option to have it installed for about two years now, but there are a lot of factors we have to consider before taking that leap."

Harper nodded her understanding. "I guess that makes sense. You wouldn't want to draw too much attention to the area."

Shan was sure that they were already past that point. With each innovation added to the town, he worried to what degree they were attracting the attention of outsiders. Already, the human contractors who troubleshooted their plumbing and electricity would inquire about residency within the town, as if they were some sort of suburban development and not a refuge for a disenfranchised population.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Erin asked.

Harper was still brimming with excitement. "What do you have?"

"Just eggs, bacon, and potatoes right now. I have some bread, too, but it's from yesterday. Fresh bread doesn't go in for another hour. We don't get customers this early, at least, not so soon after the harvest."

Erin disappeared into the back room again. As soon as she was gone, Harper gave Shan a covert look and whispered, "How are we going to pay for this? Is it on your tab?"

"Generally, pack members pay with the vouchers, but for us and the betas, shop owners get to write off our purchases on their taxes. You'll just have to sign the expense log before we leave."

"You have taxes, too?"

Shan spent the next hour regaling her with the fundamental workings of his pack. With each new thing she learned about, her surprise and interest never waned. 

They left much later than he'd intended, and the street was already filling with people. Most of the males knowingly gave him space, but a few of the females changed course to walk with them and make conversation. 

Everyone seemed to have rebounded from the drama of the past few days, and in a way, he had Harper to thank for that. His pack mates observed her with open speculation, far more interested in her than in Kalla's mishandling of their laws. Whether it was because she was a shifter like Shan, or because she would be Shan's mate, he wasn't sure. He hadn't been in town long enough to know what gossip had spread.

"This is the atheneum," Shan said when they arrived some time later. "Some people call it the library, but it doesn't keep books for pleasure reading. You'll find those in the library on the upper residential level."

The atheneum was reserved primarily for public records, though it was also a repository for instructional guides and legislative documents. At three stories, it was one of the taller buildings in the region, with a wide row of cement steps that led up to its ornate double doors.

The doors opened as they were ascending the steps. Amethyst stood in the doorway, smiling in an effort to mask her anxiety. It was unusual to see her looking so nervous, but given how he'd just deposed their beta the night before, Shan figured all of the scholars would be on edge.

"I was worried you weren't coming," Amethyst said, ushering them in. She exchanged introductions with Harper, though his mate seemed more interested in looking around than interacting with the other female.

As soon as Harper walked past them, Amethyst murmered, "They're saying you made Kalla supplicant so that your new mate could take her position."

Of course, they were.

Shan wanted to tell Amethyst that he wouldn't trust Harper to manage a cleaning crew, let alone an entire faction of his pack, but he didn't want to give a negative impression of his mate. She was likely to do that all on her own.

Conscious of the fact that Harper might be able to hear them, Shan said, "Even if she had an interest in the position, she would have to work her way up, just like everyone else. But that is beside the point. Anyone who believes Kalla was unjustly treated can submit their grievances to me directly."

Amethyst shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "It was just a silly rumor. I don't think anyone really believes it. There's just a lot of insecurity, with Kalla being gone so suddenly."

"I know. But you have Merry to defer to until I've decided on a suitable replacement." He lowered his voice. "It won't be my mate. She has enough to concern herself with."

Amethyst gave him a wan smile and placed a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. I'm really happy for you, you know? It's just difficult, with everything that's happened in the past few days. You should know that we thought Kalla was acting on your authority. Until she started talking about ousting all of the humans, we had no idea she'd gone rogue. Before you returned, we were making plans for an intervention, I swear."

"You don't have to apologize," Shan said. "Just be more critical in the future."

He could feel Harper's eyes on them, and he gently removed Amethyst's hand from his arm. Unlike the human females of his pack, the shifters were sometimes overly familiar with him. Amethyst, in particular, could be very tactile with him and while it had never bothered him in the past, he knew he'd have to begin drawing a line now that he'd have a mate. He knew that if the situation were reversed and another male was touching Harper with such familiarity, he'd be incensed. 

Harper was standing in the center of the main wing when he approached her. Her excitement had evaporated and her posture was stiff as he put his hands on the side of her face.

"I'll be back in a few hours," he said, before placing a kiss on her forehead. 

Harper didn't soften one bit.

She was practiced at deception, so when she didn't smile or say goodbye, he knew that she was being deliberately cold. He didn't like it, but he certainly wasn't going to stand there and explain away her jealous concerns. It would set a poor precedent. No matter how much he empathized, they were likely to end up in this situation again, as it would be a while before the females of his pack adjusted to him having a mate. 

"I'll be nearby if you need me."