Morning arrived all too quickly. Since it was winter, the sun rose late, and I could sleep in a little longer than usual. I pushed a pillow over my face to keep the light out of my eyes and drown out the sound of footsteps…

Oh wait. What?

I bolted upright in a panic as I suddenly remembered all that had happened last night. I heard strange, loud footsteps shuffling through my apartment. I looked next to me on the couch, and then down to the blankets on the floor to see if Aidan was awake, but he’d already left. His blankets were folded into neat squares next to the sofa.

I tightened my bathrobe around my waist and looked for a weapon. I didn’t own a gun, and I didn’t even have a baseball bat. A cast-iron poker leaned against the stone fireplace in the corner of the room. I grabbed it and stalked out of the living room, towards the stairwell. I almost bumped into three strapping young guys, each one more buff than the last. They were hauling the bear’s body down the staircase. The bear shifter didn’t have one trace of human features anymore. He looked like a gaunt, brown grizzly bear. Still, it was sad.

Yes, he’d attacked me and he would have killed me if Aidan hadn’t intervened. But I still felt bad for him. What had happened to him to make him hate humans so much?

“Thanks for…um…taking care of things,” I said to the guys.

They nodded back at me as they hauled the bear down the hallway. They’d wrapped him in plastic so my light beige shag carpet wouldn’t be ruined. I made a mental note to thank them for that. I had to repay them somehow for dealing with the bear, and for helping to make sure I got my security deposit back from my landlord.

The smell of fresh coffee wafted through the apartment, luring me into the kitchen. I pushed my hair from my face and stumbled to the back of the apartment, intent on grabbing a cup of fresh java to wake me up. I was pleasantly surprised to find Aidan in the kitchen, clad only his silk boxer shorts. His muscular legs strained as he leaned over into the bottom of the fridge and pulled out a few thawed salmon steaks. When he heard me come into the kitchen, he turned around and shot me a sexy grin. I could get used to looking at that beautiful face every day. He looked even better this morning than he did last night. How was that possible?

“I’m making you a real breakfast.”

“You’re making me fish for breakfast? I’ll pass, thanks,” I wrinkled my nose.

“You’ll like this.”

“Says you,” I rolled my eyes.

I settled into the metal folding chair at the kitchen table and sipped my coffee. Wearing only my bathrobe, tied tightly around my waist, I felt naked. But I wasn’t going upstairs when the hot young shifter guys were still cleaning up after the grizzly.

The salmon sizzled in the pan, and Aidan added a scoop of butter on top with lemon and herbs. He was right; it did smell good.

Just then, the three muscular shifter guys entered the kitchen. It was hard to tell they were shifters, but there were signs. First of all, they were incredibly fit, without an ounce of fat on their lean physiques. They all had the same brooding, expressive eyes. And their movements were quick and decisive.

“It smells amazing in here,” one them said as he sniffed the air.

“Guys, this is Olivia. Olivia, this is Sawyer, Silas, and Shepherd.” They each extended an awkward handshake. It was almost like they’d been taught to do that, because it certainly didn’t come naturally.

“Nice to meet you guys. Shepherd, you said your name was?” I looked at the smallest guy of the bunch. “That’s an interesting name for a wolf shifter.”

“My parents had a sense of humor,” he laughed.

“Guess so,” I smiled. I hadn’t been in the company of four good looking men like this in…forever. “Take a seat. There’s plenty of salmon to go ‘round.”

“We’d love to, but we’ve gotta shove off. Somebody might be lookin’ for the bear, and so we can’t linger,” Silas explained.

Sawyer walked over to the stove and whispered something in Aidan’s ear. I faintly heard the word council and the mention of Jameson’s name. Aidan’s face fell, and his eyebrows knitted into a deep V. He looked worried or angry. Maybe both.

“They can’t do that,” Aidan said through gritted teeth.

“They are.” Sawyer arched his eyebrow. “Unless you want to challenge them on it.”

Aidan shook his head. “Damn it, I knew this would happen.”

I tried to focus on my coffee and pretend I wasn’t eavesdropping on their conversation. After a moment, the trio of guys said goodbye, and I was left alone in the kitchen with Aidan.

He was so sexy, it was hard to look at him. His dark hair fell casually over his piercing blue eyes. His long, lean musculature flexed as he worked in the kitchen. His taut, juicy ass was a delicious treat all by itself.

The mouthwatering salmon sizzled in the pan. I inhaled the rich scent of it, and giggled to myself.

“What’s so funny?” Aidan leaned against the counter, with his spatula poised in one hand.

“Nothing. I just never knew fish could smell that good,” I smiled. I saw a trace of worry still written across his face, so I had to ask. “What did Sawyer say to you? I mean, if you don’t mind me prying.”

“It’s none of your concern.”

“Oh, now, I really have to know.”

“Nope, not telling,” he said with an edge to his voice that told me not to push it.

Aidan scooted the salmon off the pan with his stainless-steel spatula and slid it onto a simple ceramic plate. He picked up two forks from the cutlery drawer and the stick of butter, and set them on the kitchen table.

“This looks divine,” I said.

“Thank God you’re not a vegetarian,” he winked at me.

We dug into the food, but I wasn’t letting him off the hook so easily.

“You’re going to tell me what Sawyer said, aren’t you?”

Aidan sighed. “It’s complicated. I don’t think you’d understand, and even if you did, you might think less of me.”

“I wouldn’t think less of you. I can’t pretend to know what you go through.”

“It’s nice of you to say that.” He paused. “It’s more council stuff. The council members were informed that I tracked the bear here and defended you. They think I’ve been compromised by my feelings for you, and they want me to be challenged as alpha.”

“Oh my,” I said. “Wait, what does that even mean?”

“Someone will come forward, a young guy in his prime. I can accept his challenge, or walk away without a fight. But it always comes down to a fight.”

“I’m so sorry. That sounds terrible,” I said.

“It’s just my life. But that’s not the part that really pissed me off.” He paused, as his hands drew smooth circles along my forearm. “They want you to agree to drop the Chase Reynolds case.”

“Excuse me?” I blanched. I was most certainly not getting pushed off the most important case of my career just because the council told me to back down.

“They’re spooked because of what happened with the grizzly shifter. And they think that Chase’s trial being so high-profile will give our pack a worse reputation. It’s better if we handle things ourselves, if you know what I mean.”

“But even if I don’t defend Chase, it’s not going to stop the DA’s office from prosecuting him.”

A shadow fell across Aidan’s eyes. “I know that. But the case will go away much faster if he doesn’t have anyone defending him.”

Damn. He really meant to throw Chase to the wolves. I bit my lip. Bad metaphor.

“Well, you’re still alpha. Certainly, you have some control over all this,” I sighed.

“I wish that was the case. The pack wants all this contained, especially the Reynolds case, to keep our good standing in the larger shifter community. If it got out that our pack was the reason that humans distrusted shifters, the rest of the community could turn on us and destroy our pack.”

“Throw you under the bus for the good of all shifters?”

“Something like that,” he shook his head.

I smacked my lips. “So basically, you want Chase Reynolds sent back to the pack so he can be punished by the council. You’ll bust him out of jail before the humans in Bond even know he’s gone. Is that your plan? Because that’s a fairytale.”

Aidan drew his index finger leisurely along his brow, clearly frustrated with me.

“First of all, he wouldn’t be punished. He’d be set to trial on our terms, according to our customs. There’s a difference.” He paused. “Second, if Reynolds were to escape and somehow get lost or killed out in the arctic tundra, no human’s going to think twice about that. They’ll say he had it coming, especially if we can produce a body.”

“And since shifters go back to their animal state when they die, you could just give the humans the body of any old dead wolf, and they wouldn’t know it wasn’t a shifter.” I sighed. It was actually a fairly decent plan, except for the fact that it went against everything I stood for.

“So, you understand, then, that you’re going to have to leave Bond and get out of town. You can’t be here, otherwise the humans will think you were involved.”

“I’m not leaving my job and hiding. No way. Can’t your pack protect me?”

“They won’t protect you because they want you dead, too.” Aidan’s eyes searched the floor.

“You have to be joking.”

I ran my fingers through my long, auburn hair and shut my eyes. It was too much to think about, and too many complications for my mind to handle in one twenty-four-hour period.

“Please explain to me, Aidan, why your pack cares a hoot about whether I live or die?”

Aidan grimaced. “For starters, you know about the rogue bear shifter. You saw me kill him. Then, you saw three of my pack members dispose of his body. Oh, and you’re a human who knows we’re going to bust Chase out of prison.”

“What you’re talking about is criminal. This is the worst idea I’ve ever heard. I’m calling the police.” I stood up and pushed away from the table. With fire in my eyes, I stormed out of the kitchen.

Aidan caught my shoulder with his strong, capable hands and pulled me back towards him.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”