Luca held tight to Natalie’s hand as one of the council assistants, Dara, took them through the large entryway of the ranch house and led them to the council members’ private wing. He wanted to hold on to Natalie forever. And never let her go. It was confusing and wonderful, and scary as hell. She wasn’t pack, but she was the single bright spot in this whole mess, and the idea of losing the opportunity to get to know her better, was killing him.

He had no idea of what the council would do. Especially now, with the entire country on the lookout for victims of Lycanthroism. Bringing her here was a gamble, but it was one he had to take. He knew they had to do this, but his fear for her, and for their future, was immense.

“This place is huge.” Natalie’s head swung from side to side, checking out the large logs running up the walls and supporting the soaring vaulted ceiling. “By the number of buildings you have here and the size of this place, let alone all the cars and trucks, there have to be more people here than we’ve seen.”

“Rico called ahead and had the main area cleared for us. Things are kind of tense, today.” Luca led her.

As he reached for the door, she pulled them to a stop. “Am I the reason things are so tense?” She had a tiny furrow between her eyebrows that he wanted to kiss away but before he could they were interrupted.

“No, young lady, you are not the reason things around here are tense.” Anna Truewater came up behind them. “It’s been a surprising day all the way around. And while you are one of the last things I thought I’d be dealing with this morning, you are not the worst.” She led them into the small sitting room and pointed to a table with delicate cups, a teapot, and a plate of cookies. “I thought we’d have tea.”

Luca’s stomach growled and he suddenly remembered he hadn’t eaten all day. “Thank you, Ms. Truewater.”

“Call me Anna.” She smiled, but Luca saw the gleam in her eye.

This woman was the power behind the council, behind the entire pack. While there were nominally thirteen members of the Pack Council, when it came down to it, Anna Truewater was the alpha bitch.

He nodded back cautiously. “Thank you...Anna.”

She gave him a crisp nod and they sat down. Anna poured tea, offering the plate of cookies to each of them. He only took two, but he could have devoured the whole plate, despite the apprehension crawling along his skin.

“Now that the niceties have been taken care of, let’s get down to business. I’ve interviewed both Rico and Gabe, and Sergeant Bertolf. You certainly did a number on that one, my dear.” Anna gave Natalie a sharp nod. “One would think you were a wolf with that kind of fighting spirit.”

“Thank you.” Natalie flashed a nervous smile. “I think.”

He wanted to take her hand again and reassure himself and his wolf that she was okay. Now that they were facing the councilwoman his need to touch Natalie had increased. His wolf was restless and uneasy at the strain. Luca stretched his neck out, trying to rid himself of his anxiety.

“Oh, it’s a compliment. We pack women have to be strong.” Anna sipped her tea. “I don’t know how much Luca has told you—”

“Very little, ma’am.”

“Good. Nice to know you are still loyal to the pack.” She stared him down, her expression razor sharp.

His neck and face burned.

She waited several beats, before leaning back in her chair. “Alright then. I think I’m ready to hear your side. From the beginning, please.”

In stops and starts, finishing each other’s sentences and adding things each other had forgotten, Natalie and he told her about the last two days.

“So, Luca. You know where you went wrong.”

It wasn’t a question and he knew the answer. He’d known the answer from the moment he’d seen Natalie.

“Yes, ma’am. I should have reported her right away to Chief Howler.”

“Absolutely right. And I’m not sure exactly why you didn’t.” She eyed him over the rim of her teacup.

How was he supposed to explain the inexplicable need to protect Natalie. The urge to keep her safe that he’d had from the first moment he’d seen her wounded at the bottom of the ravine? How to explain that, even now, his first instinct was to take her and run. Leave his home and the pack, anything to save her. Anything to be with her.

His wolf howled inside, why was he so far away from the woman?

“I—” He shut his mouth and gave in, reaching for Natalie’s hand. A rush of peace filled him at her touch, and his wolf settled back down. “She needed me. I’d do it again.” He stared Anna Truewater, alpha to the pack, right in the eyes.

“Well that explains it.” Anna turned to Natalie leaving Luca extremely confused. “Now, young lady—”

“Wait.” He cut her off. “I don’t understand. I should have called it in. I hid her from the pack. I put us all in danger. Why aren’t you angry with me?”

“When you get to be my age, young man, you’ll realize that anger is a useless emotion. Am I frustrated that you put her first. Yes. Am I surprised?” She shook her head, looking suddenly tired and much older than he’d realized. “No. Not surprised. Your wolf’s main drive is to reproduce and we have a ratio of males to females that makes looking outside of the pack very tempting. You aren’t the first alpha to go off of the reservation, and you won’t be the last. We can’t keep you all single when you don’t find the right mate.” She put her teacup down on its saucer and leaned forward. “I’ve seen too many men and women pushed to do things by their wolves. Things you would be extremely shocked at. One wolf shifter falling for a human woman at first sniff? A problem? Maybe. But shocking? No. Definitely not.”

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

She laughed. “Oh, don’t think you’re off the hook. I’ll let your Chief deal with you later. That’s her responsibility, not mine.” She turned back to Natalie. “Now, where was I. Oh yes, I’m going to share with you some secrets that young Luca here doesn’t even know. And then you and I are going to come to an understanding.”

Natalie’s hand was cold in Luca’s and he held it tight.

“First of all, we knew about your friend’s murder and disappearance a few days well before you showed up. Almost as soon as it happened. The sheriff is an old friend and he keeps us up to date, so when you first reported her missing and called up here to Wolf’s Peak—we knew. Chief Howler and I sent a special team to investigate.”

“That asshole. He knew she was murdered and he treated me like I was a hysterical woman.” Natalie’s entire body tensed. “I’ve been hunting for clues, trying to find anything that proved that she was really gone and he knew all the time.”

“His loyalty to the pack is unquestionable.” Anna gave Luca another hard stare. “But, he’s also loyal to the law. We’re doing our best to find out what’s happened. But you have to see our side. If the media found out they’d be all over the ranch. In this day and age we are struggling to protect our privacy. If there was a shit-storm of TV coverage, we’d be outed.”

Natalie tore her hand from his and stood up. “Well, maybe you should be outed if this is the kind of thing that happens here.”

Luca wasn’t surprised about the sheriff. He was a dormant—he carried the DNA of the pack, but hadn’t manifested a talent like shifting, when he’d been exposed to the virus. There were many dormants out in the world, holding positions that kept the pack safe.

But the news that the council and the chief had kept a crime from the other enforcers had him out of his seat and right next to Natalie. “A girl is murdered on the ranch and you don’t tell anyone? Why the hell didn’t you tell the rest of the pack?”

“Settle down. Both of you.”

Natalie crossed her arms over her chest. Anna gave her a look, but let the disrespect pass, turning to him and staring until he’d eased back into his own chair.

“We’ve had to keep it a secret.” Anna looked first in Luca’s eyes, and then in Natalie’s. “Because she’s not the first.”

Luca’s wolf rose to the surface. “There were others?”

“Luca!” Anna glared at him and he fought for control. “We are trying to catch a very smart killer who is bent on trashing our way of life.” She gave him a hard look, checking he was in control, then turned back to Natalie. “I can’t tell you the details of the investigation, either of you. But I can tell you we are working with the sheriff and others on this—on the quiet.”

Natalie’s whole body radiated tension and his wolf responded, wanting to shift and take out the threat.

“You act as if you’re the only ones that count, but what about Yvette? What about my friend? She deserves more than to be swept under the rug. She deserves justice.”

“Yes she does. And I promise you, we are going to find who did this. And we are going to make sure they pay. But I’m not sure you understand.” Anna reached out to Natalie. “If the media finds out about us, the government will want to study us. Look at what’s happening now with this Lycanthroism scare.”

“What are you talking about?” Natalie’s brows shot up. “That stupid werewolf disease that’s all over the internet. That’s real? That’s about you guys?”

“It’s complicated. You have so much to learn about us, but the threat to our people is real. The government is trying to hunt us down. We’re not just adults, Natalie. We’re a full community of babies and toddlers and old people. We have children at school, and pregnant mothers and disabled.” Anna’s hands on her teacup shook as she rested it in its saucer. “Natalie, I’m begging you. Please let us handle Yvette’s disappearance. We will find out who is doing this and who is exposing the pack to discovery. But we need time. If they find out about us, they’ll lock us up. And they won’t care about Yvette. They’ll only care about the science.”

Luca wanted to touch Natalie, to calm his disquiet yes, but also to show her how much he cared about her. But she needed to make this decision on her own and instead, he wrapped his hands around the seat of his chair.

She stared at Anna. “Alright. I’ll give you some time to figure things out. But I want to be kept up to date on the case.”

“You have my word.” Anna nodded, the tension on her face relaxing. “Thank you, Natalie. And in return, I’d like to give you something.”

“What’s that?” The little furrow was back between Natalie’s brows.

“I’d like to ask you to stay with us for the rest of the summer. As our guest. You’ll have time to get to know us as a people. You can stay here in the ranch house. Ride the horses. Swim in the creeks. We have some lovely hot springs.” Anna smiled. “Maybe Luca could show you?”

“So you can keep an eye on me? Make sure I don’t tell?” Natalie’s scent grew more stressed and his wolf responded with a growl. “Maybe you’ll even make me disappear, like Yvette?” She headed for the door. “No way.”

Anna laughed. “No, my dear. So you can see we aren’t the bogeyman. And maybe, you could use the time to get to know Luca a little better.” A sly smile crossed her lips. “I think there’s more to you than meets the eye, Natalie Fisher. If you can turn the head of one of my loyal enforcers and make him hide things from his pack, I’d love to get to know you a little better too and see what that is.”

Luca held himself in his chair by sheer force of will. Would she stay? Could he have both worlds? The pack, and the opportunity to find out if what he felt for Natalie was real?

“How about it? Do we have a deal?” Anna held her hand out to Natalie. “The world is changing—the packs can’t hide forever. We need people like you, human people, who know who we are. So that when the government comes for us, we have friends.”

Natalie shot a questioning look at Luca. “Can I take a night to think about it? You’ll let me leave?”

Anna dropped her hand, looking disappointed. “You’re free to go, Natalie. I won’t keep you here. But I will ask you not to doom an entire group of people to what’s sure to be a horrific experience. Think about how government agencies treat people who are different. How the world treats people who are different. I’m asking you—please keep our secret.”

“I’ll keep your secret. For now. But I want updates. Frequent updates.”

“Of course.” Anna stood up and walked past Natalie to the door. “Thank you.” She reached out and the two women shook hands. Anna, looking cool and professional, but older than when she’d entered the room by at least ten years. And Natalie, suspicion making her face hard. “You’re free to go anytime. Luca, you’ll have to face Chief Howler, but she’s too busy to deal with you today. Make an appointment for tomorrow and you can drive Natalie to town.” She smiled and nodded at Natalie. “Nice meeting you, my dear. I hope you choose to stay.” And she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Natalie came back to the table and sat down into her chair. “Well, that was crazy.” She went to pick up her cup, but her hands were shaking and tea spilled all over her saucer. She put it back down and picked up her napkin instead, shredding the paper into strips.

“Natalie.” His voice was hoarse. He coughed, trying to clear it. “I need to know. Is it because of me that you don’t want to stay?”

“If it was just the vacation on a dude ranch, and time to get to know you, of course I’d stay. Who wouldn’t? But it’s not a vacation. And it’s not just you and me.” Her big brown eyes were serious. “I have to wonder, would I really be safe?”

“If she wanted to kill you, you’d be dead,” he said slowly. He wanted Natalie to stay because of him. He wanted it so badly, he had to push it aside and focus on what she was saying, what was really her concern. He had to see it from her side.

What would it be like to see the pack not as support, but as a danger?

She sank back into her chair, as if the weight of her decision pulled her down. “That’s not very reassuring.”

“Anna can’t just think about what I want. Or you want. Or what’s best for any one individual. She has the entire pack as her responsibility. I think she sees a time when we’re not going to be able to hide from the satellites and the internet and the drones. What happens when we’re caught on video and posted for everyone to see? And with the way the virus is being portrayed, she’s right. It will be a witch hunt.”

“So you want me to stay to be a friend to the pack?” She avoided his eyes, staring at the pile of napkin shreds as if it held all the answers.

“I want you to stay because I want to find out more about you. ”

He couldn’t stand not touching her anymore. The space between them was too far. He reached out, touching her arm, seeing if she’d let him do more. When she let his hand stay, he ran it up to her shoulder, then pushed a stray curl off of her face.

“I want to taste you, and kiss you, and show you how much I love your wild, crazy hair. I want to see you riding on your own horse across an open meadow. Take you camping under the stars.” He slid off of his chair and onto the floor, kneeling in front of her, showing her how he felt. Hoping she’d see. “You’re not pack. I can’t mate with you like I could with someone with the right DNA, but shifters take dormants as mates all the time. I want to find out more about us. I want to know you, Natalie. Please stay. Stay for me.”

“You’ve done everything for me, Luca. Even though we’ve just met, I feel like I’ve known you forever. I want the chance to see if I’m right. But not here.” She pulled him to his feet. “Let’s go.” She looped her fingers into his and waggled her eyebrows up and down. “I have a hotel room.”

Excitement, relief, and anticipation all poured through him, leaving him shaking.

“Does that mean you’re staying?”

“It means, let’s go back to my place and find out.” And she led him out the door.