The next morning, I was back at my law office in Bond bright and early. There was so much work to do for the case, and our court date was drawing ever nearer. Aidan was terrified for me, especially since I was going against Dominic’s orders by representing Chase Reynolds. But nothing would stop me. I wouldn’t let Dominic intimidate me into silence: not when so much was at stake.

With each passing moment, I felt stronger. Even my transition from human to shifter had been better than expected. Aidan was concerned that I’d experience rejection of his shifter antibodies, but so far everything had been gradual and seamless. Still, Aidan wouldn’t leave my side for a second. He tagged along to my work, for my protection. I loved that he cared so much and I certainly didn’t mind his company.

As I sat at my desk thumbing through legal briefs, I heard Aidan’s phone buzz inside his pocket. He silenced it, but the person called back.

“Persistent,” I raised my eyebrow.

“Yeah, it’s work. I have to take this.”

“The Café?” Even though Aidan had employees helping him run the Silver Eclipse Café, they knew they could always call him in case of an emergency.

He nodded and then stepped out of the room to take the call. When he returned, the look on his face could only mean one thing: something terrible had happened.

“You need to leave now? I’ll go with you.”

“No, you stay here. Jameson says there’s been a fire.” Aidan threaded his arm snuggly around my waist.

“A fire?” My heart leapt into my throat.

“I have a feeling this has to do with Dominic. I don’t want you walking into a trap if that’s what this is.”

“Of course not. But I don’t want you walking into a trap either. Why do you have to go?”

“All of my employees are pack members, not to mention there were customers when the fire started. I can’t abandon them.”

“No, of course not.” My heart wanted to tell him to stay. But I knew he’d do anything to save a pack member, even risk his own fate.

“You stay here. Distract yourself by getting as much work done as you can on the case. I’ll be back before dark.” Aidan looked out across the horizon. The sunlight had already begun to fade.

He lifted my chin and kissed me softly. His warm breath sent a sensation of exhilaration and comfort through my body.

“I don’t want you to go,” I whispered.

“I won’t be long.” His lips pressed gently between my eyebrows. A knot tightened in my stomach, and I couldn’t help but worry for his safety. I’d do anything to protect Aidan. Was this what shifter love felt like?

* * *

It was hard to concentrate on work with Aidan gone. And let’s face it, it was hard to concentrate on work when he was close, too. I wanted to go to the Café to be near him and help out, but I knew that I’d only be in the way.

A fire? Had there really been one at the Café? That far out of town, the fire department wouldn’t be able to make it in time. Not to mention, it was almost dark and the weather was windy and well-below freezing. If shifters were stuck out in the elements, they might freeze. Even if they shifted into their wolf form, they wouldn’t endure for long in the bitter cold without adequate shelter.

My phone rang loudly against my desk.

“Aidan?” My voice trembled as I picked up the line, but there was only static on the other side. No answer. I hung up and returned the call, but no one answered. I tried to dig back into my work, but it was no use. How could I concentrate when Aidan’s life had gone up in flames?

I searched the front desk drawer in the law office’s lobby, and found Percy’s spare set of keys. He had a sweet four-wheel drive SUV, and he told me I could use it in an emergency. This felt like an emergency. Within a few minutes, I’d taken it out of the covered parking area, and started towards the Silver Eclipse Café. In good weather, it would take fifteen minutes. But with the storm brewing, and the ice on the road, it could take an hour for me to reach Aidan.

As I drove through the snow and ice, my mind mulled over the facts of the case. Chase Reynolds, my client, had been seen with a Charlotte Smith, who’d later turned up dead. Chase, a wolf shifter, was the only suspect. He’d been arrested almost immediately after Charlotte’s body was found, and he was quickly thrown into jail. For some reason, Dominic didn’t want Chase’s case to go to trial. There had to be a link between those facts. The answer to how this puzzle fit together seemed so close – almost within reach – but not quite.

The smoke from the Café fire was visible from three miles away. It lit up the purple and blue sky, casting an eerie gray glow across the cold, arctic landscape. There was no way this fire was mere coincidence; it had to be intentional. Who would have done this, and why? It seemed too obvious a move for Dominic.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I immediately saw Jameson at the scene. A big group of shifters were helping out by shoveling snow onto the fire, although it was no use. The whole restaurant was a total loss. Over in the corner of the parking lot, behind the giant blaze, I caught a glimpse of someone. It was Dominic; he was easy to spot. He was the biggest shifter in the group, with translucent white hair and a menacing, sour expression smeared across his face.

I rushed out of the SUV, searching through the smoke for Aidan. There was no sign of him anywhere. I looked back to search for Dominic, but he’d disappeared, too. The flames burned higher and the smoke surrounded me, making it almost impossible to breathe. I wrapped my thick scarf around my nose and ran towards the back of the building – the only place I hadn’t looked yet.

When I rounded the corner, I gasped audibly. I spied Aidan pinned up against the brick wall of the covered parking area. Dominic had him in a choke hold. I crept closer, taking great care that Dominic wouldn’t notice me. The sooty black smoke obscured my scent, and it also provided excellent cover. When I’d almost reached them, I ducked behind the tall metal trash dumpster and listened.

“I swear, I had no idea,” Aidan pleaded. “I didn’t go to the police. I didn’t…”

“You didn’t tell them what Chase was doing on the night the human girl died?”

“Of course, I didn’t. I didn’t even know anything about it.” Fear gripped Aidan’s eyes. Then, I saw the rage growing inside him, overcoming the fear. It wouldn’t be long before Aidan let loose on Dominic. The built-up anger was inside him, ready to be unleashed. I hoped he’d be able to control it and back down. Dominic was too formidable for any one shifter to fight alone.

Dominic shoved Aidan harder against the brick wall. Aidan struggled to break free, gasping for breath as he yelled hotly at Dominic.

“You’ve already taken my restaurant and now you’re taking my status in the pack. What the hell did I ever do to you?”

I crouched down low behind the dumpster and inched closer. I slid my cellphone out of my pocket, hit record on the video, and pointed it straight at Dominic.

“What did you do to me?” Dominic’s eyes narrowed at Aidan. “You sided with the humans. You helped them. Hell, you mated yourself with one. Disgusting. The most important thing for our safety is for us to remain a pure race. Don’t you understand that?” He paused as his nostrils flared. “Do you really want to know why Charlotte Smith was killed?”

Aidan nodded and his eyes widened further.

“She was killed because she was pregnant with Chase’s baby, and she was going to keep the child and raise it as her own.”

“What do you mean? That’s impossible.” Aidan shook his head in disbelief.

“The first half-shifter, half-human baby,” Dominic scowled. “I didn’t think it was biologically possible, but apparently, nature finds a way.”

“She was pregnant…” Aidan’s voice trailed. “Did Chase know?”

“Of course, he knew,” Dominic scoffed. “And he also knows that if he tells anyone, we’ll kill Charlotte’s whole family. It might come out in court, which is exactly why the case can’t go to trial.”

“But why not let her raise the baby as her own?”

Dominic seethed. “Humans destroy everything they touch. We start breeding with humans and the next thing you know, we’re extinct. They’re like a virus that takes over everything. If she was allowed to keep the baby, it would dilute the shifter lineage. It would be a scourge on our way of life.”

“So, you killed Charlotte Smith and her unborn baby? You murdered them, Dominic?”

“They deserved to die. Nothing but low-life humans.” Dominic gritted his teeth. “There are seven billion other ones on the planet. What’s one or two less?”

“You disgust me,” Aidan spat at him. “Would you dare to do the same thing to my mate? I can’t believe…”

““How dare you speak to me that way,” Dominic snarled. He reared up and slashed Aidan directly across the face. Blood spurted from the open gash, and poured onto the white snow surrounding them. Aidan snarled, unfurling a fierce, menacing growl.

Within seconds, Aidan transfigured from his human form to an aggressive, protective wolf. He was enormous, with soft gray fur and powerful, vicious jaws. No wonder he’d been made alpha. Aidan sprang towards Dominic and attacked him, lunging straight for his jugular.

Dominic quickly shifted to his animal form. As a polar bear, he was ten times the size of Aidan. There was no way Aidan could beat Dominic in a physical fight. Aidan had been right all along about that. Dominic swatted at Aidan’s face like he was a child’s plaything, and then he picked Aidan up by his hind leg. Aidan yelped audibly, as his blood trickled down his neck and into the virgin white snow. If someone didn’t do something quickly, Aidan was going to die right in front of my eyes.

“Stay away from my man.”

I shut my eyes tightly, as I felt something burning within my chest. An overwhelming sensation consumed me, and I couldn’t hold it back. My body stretched and morphed as I tried to fight against the change. I felt my face, and then my body, as I transformed into something else entirely. A wolf.

Overcome by pure instinct, I charged towards Dominic, not caring if he was ten times my size. My one mission was to protect Aidan, my mate. I jumped on Dominic from behind, and bit into the back of his neck with my long, pointed teeth. He hadn’t seen me coming, and he whipped around in surprise.

Aidan, wounded but still strong, attacked Dominic from the front while I dug into him from behind. Spurts of blood covered Dominic’s white fur as we snapped at him, out pacing him with our speed and agility. Although we didn’t have the advantage of Dominic’s size, we had something better: love and teamwork.

We danced around, snapping at him, and cutting him to ribbons with our sharply pointed teeth. He tried to attack us back, but we were too fast together. At last, suddenly, Dominic gasped his last breath and fell to the ground with a thud. His glassy eyes stared blankly off into the distance, and his white fur-coated body was completely still. I nudged Dominic’s paw with my nose, and checked his pulse. All was silent. His heart had beat for the last time. Dominic laid bare in the snow, his body still in his shifted polar bear form. All his menacing danger dissipated when his soul lifted from his body.

I gasped. We were finally free. A crowd rushed towards us, just now noticing the fight between us and Dominic. Their eyes widened in shock when they saw Dominic, and then me, and then Aidan… Oh no, where was Aidan? I looked around and I didn’t see him.

“Oh God,” I cried. “Aidan.”

“Olivia.” I heard a faint cry in the distance.

Dominic had thrown Aidan’s body during the last moments of the fight. Aidan laid in a crumpled pile on the other side of the out-building. I rushed towards him and burrowed my head into his side. With the peril behind us, and Dominic dead, we both shifted back to human form.

“Aidan, thank God. Are you okay?” My hands searched his face; he was bitterly cold and covered in blood. His hair smelled of soot and sweat. Deep cuts covered his body, and blood oozed out of his limbs and his torso. His crimson life-blood pooled in the snow and flowed freely across the glassy ice around us.

Until that moment, I’d never known how deeply I cared for Aidan. My heart ached for him, and I could feel his pain course through my body as if it was my own. This must be what being mated for life meant.

“Olivia, are you okay? You didn’t have to…”

“Shhh.” I placed my fingers over his lips. “Everything’s going to be okay. I know the truth now. Dominic killed Charlotte Smith and framed Chase. He was blackmailing Chase so that he wouldn’t talk.”

“I know, it all makes sense now,” Aidan whispered faintly. His eyes fluttered as he dipped in and out of consciousness. Although he was still bruised and cut, the blood had stopped spilling from his skin and he’d started to heal. It must have been part of the magic of his shifter soul.

“Dominic is dead now. We killed him. What does that mean for us?” I forced back tears, gripped by emotions too overwhelming to handle.

Aidan stayed silent for a moment before he spoke. His voice was quiet, but it was clear.

“Since we killed Dominic, it means that we’re the head of the High Council now. We will be alpha over all the lower alphas. We will be the one true king and queen of the shifter realm. That’s what our laws say, anyway.”

“Did you say we?” I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Yes, I did. We both killed Dominic. And besides, we’re a mated pair. Our fates are interwoven for eternity.”

I shivered. “I don’t know how to be an alpha, or whatever you call it.”

Aidan stroked my arm lovingly. “I can protect you; I can keep you safe. No one can ever harm you as long as I’m in charge.”

“Being head alpha sounds more like a target on our backs,” I sniffled.

His eyes softened. “Maybe, but it’s our law and it’s my sworn duty. I understand if it’s too much for you. It’s a lot for anyone.”

“If it means being with you, then I know where my rightful place is. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than by your side.”