“WILL YOU COME OUT INTO the forest with me?” Piper asked Carter one day as they were preparing breakfast. “It’s been months since I last shifted, and now that I’m no longer pregnant, and Theo is getting bigger, my wolf is starting to get restless.”

He grinned at her, that grin she had come to love. “I can’t think of any way I’d rather spend the day. What about Theo, though?”

“I’ve already asked Anna if she’ll watch him for a couple of hours, and she said she’d love to.”

He caught her around the waist and planted a kiss on her mouth. “So that’s a date, then.”

She laughed. “Do you ever think that we did this all the wrong way around?”

“Yeah, but who gives a shit? I never much like conformity, anyway.”

“Nah, me either.”

The doorbell rang. It was Anna.

Theo was smiling now, and rewarded his new babysitter with a big, gummy grin.

“You sure you’re going to be okay?” Piper asked.

“Absolutely. We’re going to have a ton of fun, aren’t we Theo?” Anna had slipped into baby-talk, just as most of them did when they were talking to the boy.

“Great. We’ll be two hours, at the most. There’s a bottle of expressed milk in the refrigerator, so it just needs to be put in hot water to warm it up, and his diapers and wipes are all in the change bag.” She tried to think if she’d forgotten anything. “Oh, and you can find all his changes of clothes in the nursery.”

The other woman flapped a hand. “I think I could have figured that one out for myself, Piper,” she said, laughing. “Now go, before I change my mind.”

“You’re an angel. Thank you.”

They left the house, hand in hand, and Carter dragged her over to his motorcycle. She climbed on the back, and he kicked it to life, the machine roaring beneath her. Piper felt like a completely different person than the one she’d been when Carter had first found her. That terrified young woman had nothing in common with the woman she was now. A mother. A mate. A viable member of the Silver Creek pack. She’d never believed she deserved such happiness.

Carter rode the bike the short distance to the edge of the forest, where he’d left his bike on the first day they’d met. They climbed off, and she grinned up excitedly at him. It was the first time they’d gone into the forest with something other than rescue on their minds.

“Now you’re going to get naked, and I can’t even have sex with you,” he said reproachfully.

She gave a little shimmy as she peeled off her top. “I never said that was off the table, but you might have to catch me first.”

“Now, that sounds like a challenge I can’t refuse,” he growled.

Piper threw her top to one side and got to work on her jeans, stopping to hop on one leg to pull them off, kicking her shoes off as well. Then she was moving again, ridding herself of her underwear as she went, knowing she was putting on a show for Carter and loving every minute of it.

As she threw her bra away, she finally allowed her wolf to rise to the surface. She sprang forward, and as her feet hit the ground, she’d morphed into the silver wolf that lived within her. From the growl behind her, she assumed Carter had also shifted, and she swung her head around to see the big, black wolf right on her tail. He darted forward and gave the backs of her legs a playful nip.

Then they were running, following scents and chasing rabbits. Two powerful animals, shoulder to shoulder, her noticeably smaller, but with him reducing his pace so they could run together.

Euphoria raced through her as the wind tore its fingers through her fur, and she ran with a freedom she’d never experienced before. She’d never been allowed to do this in her old life—just give in to her wilder side—and she loved every minute of it.

With their breath heaving, the two of them slowed to a trot.

Carter bumped up against her side, letting out a whine, and then nuzzled her mouth, licking at her nose, and she knew he was inhaling all the pheromones she gave off. He nipped at her fur, and Piper returned the gesture. She knew what he wanted, and slowed her pace again, coming to a standstill.

Carter moved up behind her and mounted her as a wolf, his front paws on her back, pressing her down with the weight of his body. He bit at the back of her neck, claiming her for his own.

The moment before he penetrated her, they both morphed back to human form, so the fur became the warm skin of his chest, which pressed against her smooth back. The sharp teeth became blunt as he bit the side of her neck, his erect cock pushing between her folds and spearing her. She took a gasp of breath in response to both the pain from him biting her, and the rough penetration, but quickly the pain morphed to pleasure. God, she didn’t think she’d ever get bored of the feel of him inside her.

Still in animal mode, Carter growled above her as he thrust hard. There was something primal about them rutting on their hands and knees in the dirt, and she knew how this would be—rough, fast, satisfying. His arms wrapped around her, one across her breasts, his fingers clamping one of her nipples, and the other between her thighs to press on her clit. The feeling of him all over her sent her wild, and she gave voice to her pleasure, knowing they were in the middle of nowhere and only forest animals would hear her.

Her orgasm hit her hard and fast, making her toes curl in the dirt, and her fingers claw into the mud. Her inner muscles clamped down hard on Carter’s cock, and he gave a primal grunt as he slammed into her, riding her climax. Then she felt his cock jerk, and heat pooled at her core as he emptied his cum deep inside her body.

They both fell still, breathing hard, Carter’s sweaty chest still pressed against her back. He kissed the spot right behind her ear, sending a shiver through her. “We need to make this a regular thing,” he said.

She smiled. “Absolutely.”

He slipped from her body, and the hot spill of semen wetted her inner thighs. There was no point in cleaning up or even getting to her feet. They’d told Anna they’d only be a couple of hours, and Piper didn’t want to be late on her first time away from Theo. She shifted to wolf, and beside her Carter did the same. They nuzzled each other, whining their affection, and then started to run back to where they’d left the bike.

***

BACK IN THE SPOT WHERE they’d abandoned their clothes, they both got dressed and climbed on the bike. Piper sat up close to Carter, pressing her face against the spot between his broad shoulder as they rode into town. She had a stupid grin on her face that she knew she wouldn’t be able to wipe, even if she tried. She felt as though her happiness might cause her to explode, leaving only a bubbly little mess on the seat.

They reached town. On the street, one of the pack members waved down the bike, and Carter pulled over. Piper recognized the older man, but couldn’t remember his name.

“Hey, Carter,” the man said. “We’ve got a dispute going on about that house swap you signed off a few weeks ago. Seems one party has changed their minds, and the Farmer’s aren’t too happy about it. James is looking for you to try to sort it out. Can you stop by?”

“Sure. I’ll just drop Piper home.” He looked over his shoulder to her. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Of course. Someone’s got to get back for Theo.” She climbed off. “But you go. I can walk from here.”

“You sure?”

“Of course. It’s only a couple of blocks.”

He leaned in and kissed her. “I won’t be long. Hopefully.”

“Take your time.”

Piper walked the couple of blocks home, still smiling privately to herself. She pushed open the front door and walked in.

“Hi, Anna,” she called, “I’m back. Everything okay?”

No one answered, and she paused in the entrance hallway, frowning. Maybe Anna was upstairs, changing Theo. The house was big enough to not hear someone entering.

“Theo?” she called, even though it wasn’t as if the baby could answer. “Anna?”

Something wasn’t right; she could feel it in the air. If Theo was taking a nap, surely Anna would be down here. Maybe she was trying to get him to sleep, or she’d only just gotten him down, and didn’t want to call back in case she woke him again. Though she was trying to reassure herself, Piper’s heartrate had stepped up a notch.

She ran from room to room downstairs, double checking she hadn’t missed anything, and then raced for the stairs. Using the banisters to haul herself up faster, she ran up the stairs, two by two.

“Anna? Theo?” Her voice came out frantic, and a cold fist of fear had clamped in the middle of her chest. She hadn’t experienced this kind of fear for a long time, not since she’d made that fateful decision and run from her abusive husband. She wanted to believe Anna might have taken Theo on a walk, but she was sure Anna wouldn’t have left the door unlocked without telling them, and the stroller had still been folded up in the hall.

Then it came, the thin wail of a baby. The sound a part of her had somehow both anticipated and dreaded all at the same time.

Adrenaline surged through her veins. “Theo!”

She pushed open the door to the room she now shared with Carter. Theo’s crying immediately grew louder.

The first thing she saw was a crumpled form on the floor.

“Anna!”

She stepped into the room. Had the other woman passed out? Or had there been an accident? Where was Theo? Had she been holding him when it happened?

Piper took a couple more steps, fully intending to check that Anna was okay, but something across the room made her freeze.

Horror crawled into her throat, her eyes widening, her breath locking in her chest.

Standing in the window was Finch Morgan. Her estranged husband.

And in his arms was Theo.

Oh, God.

A slow smile spread across her husband’s face. Finch was almost twenty years older than she was, but he wore his age well. She hated how someone who looked so presentable hid such a dark core inside. He was the sort of man who could smooth talk anyone. The sort of man who would look at you as though you were crazy if you so much as suggested he was anything other than the attractive, charismatic man he portrayed.

“Hello, Piper. I thought I would introduce myself to my son, as it certainly seems as though you weren’t intending to do so.”

She broke her paralysis and took a step forward, her arms out. “Give him to me.”

“I don’t think so.” He shifted the baby in his arms. Theo’s cries grew louder, his face scrunching up into a red knot. The movement wasn’t to make the baby more comfortable, but to expose something to Piper.

A knife pressed against his tiny side.

She snatched a breath. “No, Finch. Please. He’s just a baby. He hasn’t hurt anyone. It’s me you need to blame.”

“Oh, I do. Don’t you worry about that. But I heard about the baby, and I started to think, ‘what would be the best way to punish Piper for being so damned disobedient?’ And I couldn’t help but think that taking away the thing you’d been hiding from me all this time would be a pretty good place to start.”

“He’s not a thing,” she managed to blurt. “He’s a little baby. He’s your son.”

She hated admitting it out loud, but she’d have said anything at that point if it meant saving her son’s life. She dared to cast a glance down at Anna. Was she still alive? The thought that Finch might have killed her made ice harden in her veins. She’d brought Finch into their lives. In a way, she was responsible, too.

“He was my son,” Finch snarled. “But you’ve tainted him now, just like you tainted yourself. Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been up to. You’ve had another man all over you—I can smell the stink of him from here—and you’ve allowed him to raise the baby.”

“He’s still your son,” she insisted, praying if Finch could make an emotional connection to Theo, maybe he wouldn’t hurt him.

“We’ll see about that.”

She didn’t know what that meant.

“How did you find me?” she asked, trying to distract him from thoughts of wanting to kill Theo. The baby’s cries had subsided into sad snuffles as he tried to push his little fist into his mouth, gumming it in desperation. The sight made Piper’s heart ache. He was hungry, and she was desperate to feed him, but she knew Finch would never allow her to give her baby that comfort.

“That doesn’t matter.”

When would Carter be home? He’d said the thing he’d needed to deal with wouldn’t take long, but how long had it been now? Twenty minutes since she’d climbed off the back of his bike and walked the rest of the way home, only to encounter her worst nightmare?

She put up her hands. “I’m sorry. I’ll come back with you now. Both me and Theo.”

He frowned. “Theo?” And then his features softened as he must have realized she was talking about the baby. “So that’s what you called him.”

“Yes, it’s a good name. It suits him.” She didn’t want to have a conversation with him about her choice of names—she didn’t want to have a conversation with him, period. But she was trying to buy time.

He gave his head a slight shake, as though throwing off whatever emotions or softening he might have experienced at hearing his child’s name.

“I don’t give a shit what his name is. He belongs to me now, just like you, and I’ll do whatever the hell I want with both of you.”