The sound system screeched, wrecking my eardrums, before settling down to a low buzzing hum. “If you’d look to your right, you’ll see the mountains of Heartsridge, where most of the dragon shifters have chosen to make their homes. Over to your left, you can just see the beginning of the forest that surrounds Heartsridge, beyond the fence.” The tour guide tapped her microphone with a glossy red talon, sending another shriek of static bouncing around the humid coach.

Ignoring her, I pressed my face up against the window, blinking out into the waning sunshine at the metal fence that stretched for miles in each direction. According to my quick internet search, it had been the shifters who’d insisted on the fence, though I couldn’t even begin to understand why. As the coach sped down the road, dodging potholes and shooting a cloud of dust into the air, I couldn’t drag my eyes away from the view out of my window. It was beautiful. Rugged and majestic, untouched by man and left to grow wild. Lush green stretched out into the distance, climbing the mountains and swirling across trees that reached up to the sky blue and infinite in its vastness.

I let out the breath I’d been holding, forcing my fingers to uncurl from where they’d dug into my legs. It was foreign. Strange. Too open. I was used to the hustle and bustle of a city; crowded and loud and never dull. Though only a couple of hours drive away, this was a whole other world.

The coach chugged to a stop, brakes squealing as the hydraulics let out a big whoosh of air. Tottering on ridiculous high heels, the tour guide made her way to the front of the coach and down the steps. From my vantage point, I watched as she made her way over to a large man, smoothing her skin-tight skirt and fluffing her hair until it was a voluminous cloud of platinum blonde.

But, she didn’t hold my attention. A man did. Shifter. Had to be; he was huge. Worn, sun bleached jeans clung to thick muscular thighs, a shirt tucked loosely into the waistband and unbuttoned to show a tantalizing glimpse of tanned skin and a broad chest. Thick dark hair topped his head, curling and hiding his eyes.

Eyes I was suddenly desperate to see. Green? Brown? My nose squished against the window, my breath fogging up the glass.

The man straightened from where he had been propping up a fence post, a lazy smile stretching his lips.

When the tour guide reached out and brushed an imaginary piece of lint from his shirt, I sucked in a breath, biting back a wave of disappointment. Of course; a man like him would be interested in a woman like her.

Peeling my nose off the window, I flopped back into my seat, refusing to watch him tug her in for a tongue tangling kiss. Why the hell the thought even bothered me, I didn’t have a clue. Hooking up with someone should be the last thing on my mind; it wasn’t what I’d come to this god forsaken hole for.

Okay, that was a little uncalled for. Heartsridge wasn’t a hole. It was perfectly fine, from what I’d seen so far. But it wasn’t my idea of a vacation resort.

“Everyone needs to wear one of these while they’re staying in town.”

I glanced up. Tour operator slut was waving wrist bands in the air as she pranced down the aisle, handing them out one by one.

“Remember, the rules of Heartsridge are simple. Don’t leave the main town without a guide. Don’t incite violence. No means no and have a good time!” She reached the front of the coach and patted the driver on the shoulder. We lurched forward, inching through a set of gates that stood open to receive us. “The coach will be back in one week to take you home. Your reservations are…”

Tuning her out, I tried not to look for the man—and failed miserably—but he was nowhere to be seen. It was probably a good thing. Probably. Had to be. I had seven days to find my sister and get us both out of here.

A flash of black caught my eye, flitting between the trees in a blur of fur. Then another, and another, until there had to be three or four of them, running flat out parallel to the coach.

Bears.

Shifters.

Oh, yes. This was a whole other world.

* * *

“No time like the present,” I muttered under my breath, as though by giving myself a pep talk I could find a sliver of courage. I’d arrived, checked into the hotel, and unpacked over an hour ago. Then I’d proceeded to sit on the bed and stare at the wall. It was a perfectly good wall, as far as walls went, but it wasn’t exactly going to tell me anything.

For the first time in my life I was nervous. Always the sensible, driven sister, I’d never been one to jump at shadows or squeal at a rock star. Armed with plans up to my ears and enough research to sink a tug boat; that was me. Or, it used to be.

I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. Or where to start. Sure, I’d whipped myself into an internet frenzy on the journey out here, and I was pretty sure there wasn’t another person in the world who knew as much as I did about Heartsridge, without actually living here.

But … where to start looking?

Not inside your room, dimwit!

Harper had arrived in town eight days ago. Yesterday, I’d been waiting for her at the bus depot, ready to threaten all kinds of sisterly violence for making me worry, but she hadn’t got off the coach. No Harper. We never went a day without talking, even when she went off on her crazy trips to explore the world and capture it on camera. This time she’d been gone four and then communication had stopped.

So, I’d bought a ticket and climbed on that coach. Screw having a plan; Harper needed me. Or she’d better need me. If I found her curled up around a warm man, there’d be violence, that’s for sure.

She wouldn’t do that to you. She knows what you get like.

So … leave the room. That’d be a fine start. Pushing off the bed, I strode to the door and yanked it open.

* * *

Twenty-four hours later my feet were killing me and my stomach was doing a pretty good job of convincing me I was going to die if I didn’t feed it. I’d checked the main touristy areas; bar, gift shop, information center, and restaurant. Crept through lush gardens and almost gotten lost in the maze of hedges and trees. A short sleep and I’d been back on my mission, marching up to the municipal building with a craftily made up a story about meeting a friend. The woman at the desk had regretfully informed me Harper had left Heartsridge yesterday, that her wristband showed as having swiped out. I’d brushed off her concern, muttering something about getting my dates mixed up.

Assholes. Maybe they were in on it. Maybe they all were? Kidnapping humans; the dark side of Heartsridge.

I’d snooped around the swimming pool and bowling alley. Backtracked and rechecked everywhere I’d visited yesterday, hoping that I’d missed something. But, so far, nothing. The light was fading, taking with it my fragile hope.

Brushing aside branches, I marched off the main street and into the jungle. Okay, forest. Whatever. It was dark and creepy looking with a lot more nature than I was used to. Harper was here, I knew she was, and it was up to me to find her. Twigs caught in my hair, tugging at the topknot I’d hurriedly piled it into earlier, the cool summer breeze sending shivers dancing up my bare arms. Wishing for the first time in my life that I’d worn jeans to protect my legs rather than one of my flimsy cotton dresses, I was at least grateful that I was the kind of woman who thought sensible shoes were the only sane option. Ignoring the scratchy branches, I soldiered on, feeling my way in the rapidly falling dusk.

“Harper?” I hissed, feeling like an idiot, but what if she was out here in the forest? Hurt. Alone. Waiting for someone to find her? I couldn’t just sit on my ass and do nothing and I was running out of ideas.

Space widened up around me, a well worn path forming in front of me. I was on the right track. During my frantic research, I’d studied aerial maps of the area, knowing that the A4 maps with the pretty tourist destinations marked out given out on arrival couldn’t be the whole picture. Hidden in the forest had been small clusters of dots—buildings—spread out throughout Heartsridge. I had six days and a pair of feet; I was going to search out each one and check for myself, starting with wherever this path was taking me.

Cursing under my breath, I caught myself before I went head over tit into a tree, giving an offending tree root a swift kick, then giving myself a swift kick for being an idiot. I fished my phone out of my pocket and swiped on the flashlight. The shadows sank away, driven into a thick wall of black surrounding my bubble of light, but at least I could see any darn trees that might try to attack me. Another swipe of my phone and I was peering at the saved screenshot of a map of the area, zooming in and pushing it around until I was pretty sure I knew where I was. There was a building up this way, and not too far from the looks of things.

Waving my phone in front of me, I set off again, ignoring the insects buzzing around my ears and the prickling sensation that was creeping up my spine and drying out my mouth.

What felt like fangs sunk into my forearm. “Son-of-a—” I bit off the curse, swatting the mosquito and leaving a smear of blood.

I head butted a wall.

“Who the hell are you?”

A talking wall. Putting out a hand, I patted the wall. Warm. Muscled. Clothed. I took a breath; big mistake. The air was filled with some sort of an earthy musk, with an undercurrent of citrus soap. My insides melted into a big pile of feminine gloop. I could literally feel myself succumbing to whatever pheromone this strange man was putting out there. I bit back a breathy sigh, the thought of making that sound enough to piss me off. “Excuse me.” I tried for a sidestep; the wall moved with me.

“What are you doing out here, human?”

Oh, he so didn’t just pull the human card! Didn’t he know I had better things to be thinking about… I jerked my head up, ready to chew this mountain of a man out. Blue stared pack at me, sparkling with ice and flecks of silver. Oh! It was him. The man from the gate.

Blue. I’d been right, his eyes were mesmerizing.

And right now, they were furious.

At little old me.