Covered in tiny cuts, dirt, and filled with so much adrenaline he was certain his body was pulsing hard enough to conduct a symphony, Zach pulled himself back up slightly, focusing on the shifter proposal ritual he’d read in the ancient text Sam had given him the other day.

Right knee.

Before her menfolk.

Seven generations back.

Frog tears.

Well… he had some of it right. The rest he’d have to improvise.

As he rested on bent knee, his hand holding Sophia’s, two shadowed figures came into view from the catacomb-like hallway to his right. A wall sconce’s light was blotted out by the enormous shoulders of Derry Stanton, his wife Jess tiny in comparison. Derry held a tumbler of amber spirits and wore a confused expression.

Zach ignored them and cleared his throat. Two brothers would have to be enough to meet the proposal ritual, he figured, speaking in a loud, confident voice. “Do you, daughter of Tobias, by the light of the—”

He frowned, struggling to recall the lunar cycle.

“—gibbous moon take me, Zachary Patrick Hayden, son of Paul, grandson of Howard, great-grandson of Martin…”

“What on earth is he doing?” Derry asked with a booming laugh, his frown deepening as Jess elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“Shhhh! He’s… proposing!” Sophia chided, eyes returning to Zach, who realized quite suddenly that she glowed. Warm brown and topaz, all golden love, she was his bundle of joy.

In more ways than one.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zach saw Asher Stanton cross his arms over his broad chest and—no. Impossible.

Was that a smile he saw on the man’s face?

“Zach, old chap! What are you doing?” boomed Derry.

“I’m proposing to Sophia. Am I getting the ritual wrong?” He patted his naked hips. “I don’t have frog tears or a torn pocket from a witch’s cloak, but—”

“That is not how you propose to a shifter,” Asher said, suddenly severe. Zach wasn’t sure whether the man was joking or not. “First of all, wearing clothing is generally recommended.”

“Would you all shut up and let the man ask for my hand in marriage?” Sophia said, exasperated.

“Shifter,” her brothers said simultaneously.

“And you are forgetting one very important tradition,” Asher said dryly.

“What’s that? The prenup?” Derry asked, earning himself another ineffective punch from his new wife.

“Asking the patriarch of the family for her hand,” Asher declared.

Sophia hip-checked him, making Asher’s opposite arm move, the rest of him remaining rigidly in place.

“Isn’t this the proper form for asking a shifter for her hand in marriage?” Zach asked again.

“For the 1400s, maybe 1500s,” Sophia whispered. “If you keep going, you might get two cows and a goat out of Asher as my dowry.”

“Three cows. Two goats. Anyone who will take her off my hands deserves more,” Asher declared, the room suddenly filled with joyous male laughter.

Zach didn’t care.

“It seems this is a more modern process than I thought,” Zach said, standing to look down on his love’s sweet, enraptured face. He opened his spare hand and placed it flat on her belly, the baby’s heartbeat quick and fierce. He was naked in a room filled with clothed shifters, a strange position to be in but one no more or less odd than any other he’d experienced over the past year.

This was his new reality.

And Sophia was his One.

Forever.

“I don’t have a ring,” he began.

“Or underwear,” Derry helpfully noted.

“And you’re bleeding!” Sophia’s voice went high with worry, her eyes darting to Morgan. “He needs first aid! Is there a shifter doctor nearby who can—”

Shutting her up with a kiss, Zach pulled her into his arms, weeks of frustration both diminishing and growing as the kiss quenched so much of his longing at the same time it stoked internal—and eternal—flames.

“Does this mean I don’t need to make a frog cry to convince you to experiment with the rest of your life and give me your heart?” he said against her mouth, Sophia’s thrilled laughter the only answer he needed.

Placing her hand over his, the two sets of fingers entwining over the baby growing inside her, she whispered, “I would like to see you convince a witch to give you a piece of fabric. They’re quite stingy.” She sniffed, then frowned as their eyes met, hers filled with more than enough love to last a lifetime.

“Will you do me the honor of being my wife, Sophia?” he asked simply, her hands reaching around him, fingertips resting lightly on his bare ass, the feel of her in his arms so grounding, so complete.

“Yes. Oh yes, Zach. I will!”

“Another human in the family,” Asher groaned under his breath as Jess gave him a raised-eyebrow look of astonishment.

“Zach’s not a human,” Jess flatly declared. “In fact, none of us are. The only person in our circle who is truly human is Sam.”

Asher reddened. “What does Dr. Baird have to do with Stanton family matters?”

Zach just shook his head.

Then lifted his future wife into his arms and walked into the hallway.

“Before you leave, Zachary,” Asher said, making him pause, Sophia rolling her eyes at her brother while also checking out Zach’s wounds on his chest, “I’ll need to be debriefed about your interaction with Tomas.”

“Of course,” Sophia interjected. “But first Zach needs a shower.”

Zach looked down at her. “I need far more than that.”

Her mouth stretched wide with an eager smile.

“Business first,” Asher said. “When you’re done showering and dressing, you can meet me in the—”

“Pleasure first,” Sophia and Derry said in emphatic unison.

Once again, Zach turned to leave, but the elevator doors opened, revealing Gavin and Sam, along with the shifter physician from the ranch, Dr. Santino.

“We came as soon as we heard— Oh my goodness!” Sam gasped, rushing to Zach, who glared at her. “You’re covered in scratches—and are those shards of glass in the dirt all over your back?”

This time Sophia firmly pulled out of his arms, dropped to the ground, and stood before him, walking behind to look. “Zach!”

“Nothing a few days in bed won’t cure,” he replied, grabbing her around the waist, relishing the feel of his nude skin against her clothed body.

“What did Tomas do to you?” Sophia asked, her attention shifting from reconnection to concern.

“I tackled him and we fell out a window,” Zach said simply, sighing. Information first, sex later, it seemed, even if he wanted the reverse. He gave her a gentle smile, stroking her hair off her face. She said yes.

Yes.

The Beat thrummed between them like it was all sound rolled into one rhythm, like it was a whisper, like it was breath. It just was, strong and ever steady, unlike before.

Asher pulled a buzzing phone out of his pocket, as did Gavin and Derry, all at once. Gavin’s eyes bounced from his phone screen to Zach’s body, inventorying. “We have video from a bystander, showing a wolf and a panther fighting in East Cambridge. Right on the street.”

Zach gave him a stark, challenging look, aggression filling him with a deep protectiveness, his hands not leaving Sophia’s waist. “He escaped. I could have beaten him, but I need more time.”

“Time?” Gavin gave him a tight look.

“To learn to shift. To recalibrate. I’m still not fully integrated.”

Now Sophia looked at him in confusion. “Integrated?”

“What he means,” Sam said, averting her eyes from Zach’s nude human body in a way that almost made him smile, “is that he needs to learn to move with ease from one form to another. You all grew up as shifters. Zach didn’t.”

Gavin, Asher, Derry, and Sophia looked at her, baffled. Zach felt alien, other, isolated and alone.

Until Sophia asked, “Is it like learning a new language? You’ll always have an accent if it happens too late?”

“I don’t think there is an analogy,” Sam said bluntly.

Dr. Santino tapped Zach’s arm. “If you shower in one of the guest rooms, I can clean and dress your wounds.”

“Wounds?” Zach asked.

A cold, painful finger traced a line down his back, along the spine. “You have a nasty gash here. Looks like a shard of glass ripped through you,” Dr. Santino said. “I require ten minutes of your time at most. You do want it treated properly.”

“Don’t worry, doc. I’ll clean him up.” Sophia’s eyes twinkled. “I am a nurse, after all.”

Asher made a distinctly male sound of exasperation.

“Sounds good to me,” Zach said, pulling Sophia closer, finally getting her out of the room again. He wouldn’t mind if she was a plumber. He only wanted to get her all to himself, if just for a little while.

And then forever.

* * *

Sophia followed Zach down the quiet corridor of private suites for out-of-town shifters who preferred to avoid human hotels. He seemed to be drawn there by instinct, which perhaps he was. So much remained to be discovered about his powers.

While they walked, she couldn’t stop looking at his injuries. “Maybe I should let the doctor treat you right away.”

“No. You and I are going to be alone for a few minutes first.”

He’d endured too much at the hands of shifters. She would have to make it up to him. “I’m going to kill Tomas myself.”

“Like hell you will.” His arm tightened around her waist. “You’ll stay safe. You’re going home to your ranch, where Tomas can’t get you. Do you understand? You can’t risk getting hurt.”

She rested a gentle hand on his back. Fragments of glass, gravel, and dirt clung to his skin. “You’re the one who can’t risk any more injury. My love, what if I’d lost you?” Her voice wavered. “I couldn’t bear it, Zach. I couldn’t. Do you understand? I’m going to take care of you, too. Starting now.”

She noticed that the floor in front of the last doorway had a dusting of rose petals. She guided him through the doorway into a warm, candle-lit bedroom and then into a luxurious bathroom tiled in green marble.

An elaborate first aid kit waited for her on a silver tray near the sink.

Morgan. He was the type of man who could sedate you with his venom one minute and then prepare a sterile medical clinic and romantic getaway the next. Whatever the Novo paid him, it wasn’t enough. Not that she’d forgiven him for what he’d done to her, but the rose petals and first aid kit were a start.

“First I wash and tend to your wounds,” she said.

“No,” Zach said, pushing her against the wall. “First I make hot, sweet love to my intended bride.” He bent his head and kissed her fiercely, desperately. As their mouths opened and tongues touched, the Beat thundered, celebrating its triumph.

Zach! she cried silently.

I hear you, Sophia, he responded, deepening the kiss. I hear you. My love. My One.

She welcomed his tongue into her mouth, her heart singing with the taste of him. Burning desire shot between her legs. She straddled his thigh, bore down, grinding against him. It had been so long. It had been an eternity. All of creation had waited for this moment, the moment they came together and vowed their futures to one another. The moment they accepted their fate.

He moved his lips away just long enough to say, “I love you. Sophia. I love you.”

“I love you, Zach.” She slid her hands up his hard, muscled abdomen, at first oblivious to the way he tensed, sucked in a breath, and hunched over. But then she realized she was hurting him. He’d almost made her forget he was wounded.

She put her fingers on his lips and leaned away. “First we clean and dress those wounds.”

“I’m… fine,” he said, flinching.

In less than two seconds, she’d removed her tailored black suit and opened the glass door to the shower. There were three showerheads, and she twisted each of them on—and then turned to him with a seductive smile. “This won’t be typical of the baths I usually give my patients,” she said, reaching for him, “but you’ll be just as clean.”

“Quite the contrary. I’ll be even dirtier when we’re through.” Lips curving in a predatory smile, he hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her inside with him.

Although her hands were trembling—she wanted him so badly, and the injuries infuriated her—she made quick work of washing him as best she could. As the dirt and dried blood came off, she was relieved to see more healthy skin than she’d expected. The deep gash on his back looked painful, but nothing else was so serious, and soon the fragments of stone and glass were washed away, leaving her One glistening and gorgeous under the spray.

And extremely erect.

“Are you through?” Sending water flying, he shook out his long, damp curls.

“I should bandage you now,” she said.

“Shoulda coulda woulda,” he said, and then went down on one knee—again—and then…

Went down.

“Oh, baby,” she groaned as he buried his face in her pussy.

He looked up. “We were interrupted before. Time to finish the job.”

She dug her fingers in his hair and held on. “Excellent. Work. Ethic.” Deep breath. No, forget breathing. Breathe later. He was devouring her. She flung a hand out to the tile wall to support herself. Not working. She sat down on the bench.

Oh my fucking—

Oh my, oh my.

Vaguely she worried about his unbandaged injuries. Vaguely she told herself he had superhuman—even supershifter—strength, and they were in a relatively sterile, therapeutic environment for flesh wounds.

Speaking of flesh… His tongue swept between her folds and then up and around and over, and then his fingers were there and his elbows were pushing her knees wider and…

With one hand, she clutched the edge of the seat and arched her back, pressing herself into his face, writhing against his hot, slippery skin. Her other hand slid up her ribs and stroked her breast, pinched her hard nipple, and then couldn’t resist any longer and reached out for him. She had to touch him, scratched and bruised, her hero, her love, her One. His muscles flexed under her hand, and she imagined him falling out of the building, fighting with Tomas, running to her side to claim her.

I love you, I love you, I love you, she thought wildly, teetering on the edge of climax.

Zach rose, kissing his way up her abdomen—a second kiss over the second heart beating there—and then over her breasts to her lips, where their mouths came together slowly, lovingly, deliberately.

I am your One, he said, as audible as a symphony in a cathedral.

She rose to meet him, and they embraced under the gentle spray, heedless of any difference between her body and his, air and water, flesh and spirit. He helped her lift a leg over his hip and then he was inside her completely, filling her with a hard, satisfying pleasure, pounding in and out with the Beat, driving them both up the spiral into climax, harder and tighter, faster, and then at long last, together, they came.

Together.

As One.

* * *

An hour later, after Dr. Santino had stitched him up and after they’d returned to bed to love and care for each other, stealing as much time for themselves as they could, Sophia and Zach walked hand in hand to rejoin the group in the library. This time Zach wore perfectly fitted but casual clothing—provided wordlessly by Morgan, of course. Zach’s injuries were not as bad as they had first looked, and the doctor had treated him well, but the last thing he wanted to put on was a suit like the Stanton men seemed to prefer. Cotton khakis and a loose polo were just fine.

When they walked in, Jess and Derry were cuddled on a small sofa, Sam and Gavin sat at a table with a laptop, and Asher—

Asher waited in an armchair with his eyes fixed on the doorway. The moment he saw Zach, he jumped up, strode over, and demanded, “Tomas tried to convince you to join him, yes?”

Zach resisted the urge to snap at his future brother-in-law. Would it be so hard for the man to say hello? He had just gotten engaged to his sister, after all. Zach’s impatience wasn’t driven by muscular fatigue but by emotional weariness. Eager to leave Boston and get Sophia to the safety of the Stanton ranch in Montana, he didn’t want to be bothered by Asher’s interrogation. But he had to get it over with.

“Tomas claims my lab accident was planned.”

Sophia gasped and looked at him with soulful eyes. “Planned?”

“He claims I was chosen. That stabbing me with the serum was intentional. I was selected to be Subject Number Two.”

“I thought as much,” Asher said.

“What, exactly, did Tomas say?” Gavin asked tersely.

“He claimed you were part of a project to turn me into a shifter on purpose,” Zach said, knowing the words would shock Gavin.

“He’s lying,” Gavin replied bluntly. “I’m not surprised, but good God, that’s cold of him.”

“Cold? He’s evil!” Sophia hissed.

“I know,” Zach said, but Gavin’s words gave him comfort. “He claims I’m his invention. He wants to stop letting humans be more important than shifters. Claims it’s time for shifters to take their rightful place and rule.”

“More of that nonsense?” Derry asked, shaking his head.

“It may be nonsense, but it’s Tomas’ mission, and that makes it a threat to everything we know. And he’s convinced other shifters—and humans—to join him. We must stop him,” Asher said, looking Zach over with a cautious scan. “You came straight to the Novo Club after your altercation to protect Sophia?”

“And to tell all of you what he’d said,” Zach clarified.

For the second time in one day, Asher Stanton smiled.

Sam saw the grin, her head moving slowly, turning toward Asher in amazement.

“I was wrong,” Asher announced, the smile turning wry on his face.

All motion stopped. Even Morgan seemed to hold his breath.

And then Sophia wrapped her arms around Zach and gazed up at him with more love than he’d ever seen in his life. “It’s a miracle. You made Asher admit he was wrong.” Her mouth curved in a wide smile. “You really are my true alpha.”