Why the hell had she asked?

The human was the polar opposite of her. She was a small shifter but that still made her bigger than most humans. Her hair was black, her eyes dark. Tiffany had nothing in common with the other female.

Why did she even care?

“We should get back to work,” she said, as she moved back towards the clearing. She could hear the vampire following. “I need to go soon or I’ll be late for my date.” She turned to face the male. “You have a ton to organize before tonight as well, so let’s do this.”

Brynn clapped his hands together. “That sounds like a fantastic idea. I’m going to come at you. I want you to practice those defensive techniques I taught you.”

Tiffany nodded. “Fine!” She motioned, with both her hands, for him to start.

Brynn turned his head. It looked like he had heard something in the bushes to the right. Damn! Had someone followed her out there? Maybe it was a—

Brynn ploughed into her, his big body knocked the air right out of her. She landed on her back … hard. Brynn was on top of her. His weight should have crushed her but … didn’t. He was holding himself off of her even though they touched.

Her eyes were wide.

Brynn smiled. The bastard smiled. Blood rushed through her veins. White hot anger along with it. Tiffany worked at schooling the emotion. What was it she needed to do? Count? Think about her body position? Under him. Think about his position? On top of her. His grin widened. “You fell for it. I distracted you and you fell for it.” He shook his head. “Stay focused. You need to …”

She stopped listening. He didn’t play fair. Not one little bit. Brynn had told her a couple of times that she lived inside a neat box. That she needed to break free and think laterally. Do whatever it takes to win. Feign injury, redirect focus, he’d even recommended throwing sand. Play dirty and win at all costs. Do whatever it takes. You are the underdog, Tiffany. His words played through her mind.

“Stop being so damned nice. This is war,” Brynn said. He laughed as she finally sucked in a breath. Her starving lungs grabbing onto the oxygen molecules. She sucked in another hard breath. Brynn’s chest vibrated against hers as he chuckled some more. His silvery blue eyes twinkled in amusement. Asshole!

She lived in a box, did she?

Needed to think laterally.

Needed to stop being so nice.

Needed to play dirty.

She’d give him dirty. Tiffany kneed Brynn right between the legs. The male thought he was being nice by giving her some room. Mistake. It was just enough space to get the job done.

His face crumpled and he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. His skin went from normal to bright red in an instant.

Using all of her strength, Tiffany pushed him off of her. Brynn landed on his back. One of his hands clutched between his legs. He groaned again, the tendons on his neck standing out.

Do not feel guilty. Do not feel bad.

Swiping her leg out, she straddled him, grabbing his hands and holding them above his head. “Got you,” she growled, putting her face an inch or two above his.

Brynn was breathing hard. There was a light sheen on his forehead and two hard lines between his eyes. Despite his pain, he half groaned half choked out a laugh. “Yeah, you do.” His eyes opened and caught hers. Held them hostage.

Her own heartrate increased. Her breath caught in her throat. Her gaze moved to his mouth. The male had beautiful lips. Kissable. Brynn’s nostrils flared and her eyes locked with his once again. They had darkened, more blue than silver. His gaze roved her face, her mouth, her throat.

Her heart was just about beating out of her chest. Her breasts were mashed against him. Her thighs spread.

He was going to kiss her. Brynn leaned up towards her. Tiffany swallowed hard. She wanted him to kiss her. Wanted to feel those lips on her, wanted to feel his strong hands. She wanted … things she couldn’t have.

She pulled in a shuddery breath and sprang to her feet. “I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly.”

Brynn made another groaning noise. It sounded different to the others. More husky. Deeper maybe. He ran a hand over his face and then through his hair as he pulled himself into a sitting position. “I’m fine.” Even his voice was deeper. He gave her a half smile. “I have balls of steel.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Sure you do.”

His smile widened. “You did good. Really good. I’m impressed.”

“I need to go now.” Tiffany pulled her shirt over her head.

His gaze moved to her breasts and heated. Then he averted his eyes. “Let’s meet back tomorrow.”

“Same time?”

“Yeah.” He moved to his feet and dusted himself off. “Enjoy your picnic.”

She smiled. “I will. You enjoy your date and please, whatever you do, think up something special.” Tiffany turned. She removed her shorts.

She could hear how Brynn’s breath caught in his throat. Could hear his heartrate skyrocket. She couldn’t help but smile to herself. The male was attracted to her too. Whether he liked it or not.

Then she frowned. It wasn’t something to be happy about. It complicated things. One or two more lessons and they were done.

“Yeah, I will. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.”

Tiffany glanced back at him. His eyes were on her ass. She folded her clothes and tucked them into a hole in a nearby tree. Then she shifted and made her way back to her village.

She felt invigorated. Giddy with happiness and excitement. She was seeing Brynn again tomorrow. No! That wasn’t it. She was meeting Sebastian shortly for lunch.

Once she got back, she showered and changed and was just brushing her hair when a knock sounded.

“Coming.” She finished brushing her hair, and gave herself a once over before heading for the door. Her dress was yellow. It fell to just above her knees.

Sebastian’s eyes widened as she opened the door. “Wow!” He took a step back, pretending to be knocked back. “You look amazing.”

“Thank you.”

Sebastian held out his free arm. He was holding a big basket in the other hand.

She linked arms with him and they headed for the forest.

They chatted about their day. Tiffany didn’t mention Brynn. She hadn’t told anyone about meeting with him. Her brother had wrinkled his nose at her when she’d arrived home before asking what she’d been up to. Thankfully, he hadn’t put two and two together.

The last thing she needed was to have one of the others find out about Brynn. It could spell trouble for both of them. Then again, their species were no longer at war. There had even been some interspecies relationships. She still needed to be careful. Her parents would not approve.

Sebastian spread out the blanket and laid out the food. He wore a pair of jeans. The male was nothing short of gorgeous. There was a slight wave to his hair, which was thick. His eyes were a thing of beauty. Not nearly as stunning as a certain vampire’s but …

Wait up.

She couldn’t think like that. Oh shit! He’d asked her a question. How many kids she wanted. “Um …” It felt like she had a mouth full of teeth. “I hadn’t really given it much thought. Two, maybe three.”

“I’ve always wanted a bigger family. I hope that we can compromise?” He raised his brows.

Her heart picked up speed. Shit! This was moving way too fast.

“Um … let’s not think about that. We’re on our first date. We haven’t even kissed yet.” She shook her head, trying not to sound like a complete idiot and failing.

“That can be easily rectified.” His gaze was on her mouth. Zoned in. Sebastian cupped her cheek with one of his giant paws. Her heart beat just about out of her chest as he inched closer.

You can do this.

You can.

Tiffany lowered her gaze to his mouth. His lips were full. Fuller than Brynn’s. Not as appealing. Her heart beat even faster. It was panic, not anticipation. What was wrong with her?

You can do this.

You can.

Sebastian inched even closer. She could feel his breath against her lips. He was sweet, he was sexy, he was the right male for her.

Tiffany pulled away at the last moment. “I never kiss on the first date,” she blurted.

He looked down for a second before pulling his hand away. A look of disappointment crossed his face, then he smiled at her. “I look forward to our next date then.”

She forced herself to smile back. “Me too.” Tiffany tried really hard to believe it but she couldn’t. She would try harder. Once she got to know the male better, things would change. They had to.

It was so confusing. She needed some advice. There was only one person she trusted enough to speak to.

* * *

Her grandmother refilled her glass with lemonade and sat down next to her. “Alright, dear. Out with it.”

Tiffany swallowed her last bite of pie. “I don’t know what you mean.” She knew exactly what her granny meant but she still couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Maybe talking about this was a bad idea.

“Well …” her granny sighed. “You’re not here for the wild berry pie or the lemonade. You’re not here to hear all about my arthritic hip either, so there must be another reason.”

“I don’t need a reason to visit with you, granny.” It was true.

“Not normally, no, but today is a different story.” She put her hand over Tiffany’s and gave it a rub. “You can tell me. You know I’m here for you, dear.” Her eyes were a dark brown, resembling her brother’s more than her own. Her hair was mostly grey. Her grandmother had a face that was open and honest. Her eyes shone with concern.

Tiffany took a deep breath. “There’s this male.” She stopped there. She didn’t really know which male she was referring to. “Well, actually, there are two males.”

Her granny nodded, she gave a small knowing smile. Wait a minute … knowing?

Tiffany licked her lips. “Um … one of them is perfect for me. Mom and dad approve. He’s an alpha and …” she shrugged, “a really nice male.”

“Right, but you don’t have feelings for him in that way.”

Tiffany shook her head. “I don’t understand it, gran. What’s wrong with me? Any female would give their tail to be with him and he’s interested in me. He made it clear that he wants to mate me. He was asking me all sorts of questions today. How many kids I wanted? If I would prefer to live in his village or if I would prefer to live in the valley for more privacy? He’s already planning out our whole future together.”

“How does that make you feel?”

“It’s stifling. It makes me want to run away and hide. It’s too soon for that.”

Granny made a humming noise. “What about the other male?”

Tiffany couldn’t help the smile that formed. “I don’t know him much at all. I’ve only seen him twice. He’s the opposite of Sebastian, he’s completely wrong for me. Like so wrong that we could never be together. I don’t even think he likes me in that way. I think he’s attracted to me, but …” She let the sentence die. She let out a breath and felt her shoulders slump. “It doesn’t matter. He’s helping me with something. Within the next week or two we’ll be done and I’ll never see him again. I guess I just need to get through the next few meetings with him. I’m hoping my feelings for Sebastian will … develop … once I stop seeing this other male.”

“You do realize that if you felt that way about Sebastian, you probably would’ve experienced some sort of a reaction to him. Does your heart beat faster at the sight of him? Do you feel butterflies in your stomach when he takes your hand or when he smiles at you?”

Yes. And yes. Only, it was true of Brynn and not Sebastian. “I do feel that way, gran. But, I feel it for the wrong male. The one I can’t possibly have.”

“Sometimes things that seem impossible are not as unattainable as you think.”

“You don’t understand, gran.”

“I bet you I do. Your grandfather was from another pack and back in my day, mating between packs was not the norm. It only happened on occasion and then only when the alphas agreed. It was done purely to strengthen ties between the packs and to introduce new blood. Arranged matings were the only way and matings between different shifter kinds was not an option.”

She sighed heavily. Tiffany could see that her gran was deep in thought. “We tried to fight it. The pack leaders were angry. My father damn near disowned me but here we are. Love is a powerful thing, child. I would never have had the happy life I have led if I had ignored my feelings. I would’ve ended up with a male I didn’t love and … I don’t want to think about it. Taking the easy path is not always the right thing to do. Sometimes taking the difficult road leads to the biggest rewards. At the end of the day, you need to follow your heart.”

Tiffany took a sip of her lemonade and put the glass back down on the coffee table in front of her. Her hand shook slightly. “If only it was a case of a different pack or a different shifter type. If only it was a case of a lower ranking beta. Daddy wouldn’t be happy but he would get over it. There is no way Brynn would be accepted though. I doubt he would want to be with a shifter anyway.” She looked her granny in the eye. “He’s a vampire, gran. I don’t even know him. I’m being silly. Forget I said anything.”

“You’re not being silly. I knew from the first time I saw my Leonard that he was the male for me. Of course he knew that our relationship would not be accepted so he tried to ignore our connection. In the end he had to acknowledge what was right in front of him and gave in.” Gran laughed softly. “Oh that male could be so stubborn.” Her eyes teared up but she blinked them away. Grandpa had been gone for four years.

“Oh my word, gran,” Tiffany smiled. “You chased after grandad?”

“If I had left it up to him, I’d still be waiting. Sometimes a male doesn’t know what’s right in front of him. I’m going to give you something. It’s a secret passed on from generation to generation. There are a handful of our females who know about it. I want you to use my gift to get to know your vampire.”

Tiffany frowned. “Okay. What is it?” She sounded as skeptical as she felt.

Gran ignored her question. “You need to promise me that you will follow your heart. Maybe neither one of these males is right for you in the end but there is only one way to really find out. Be brave, be strong and be honest, not just with the males but with yourself. Remember that you need to live your life. That means that no one else can tell you how to live it or who to love.”

Tiffany nodded. “I will do my best, gran.”

“Okay then, child. Follow me.” She grabbed Tiffany’s hand. There was a strange look in her eyes.