Juliet closed her bedroom door behind her and groaned. Levi’s breakfast had taken the edge off her hangover, but Juliet still felt disgusting, exhausted, and ashamed of herself. Under normal circumstances, she never would have lost control and slept with a man on the second date.

As much as she wanted to feel Levi’s hands on her body, when he’d told her he’d never let her go, it terrified her. Quinn’s fears about shifters wanting a lifelong commitment came back to haunt her. Juliet had wanted Levi. Oh yes, she’d wanted him.

Juliet remembered the feeling of Levi’s arms around her, his warm chest against her breasts, and the feel of his erection pressed against her wetness. Her body quivered in remembrance. Last night had been the hottest, most erotic night of her life. Levi was a prince among peasants when it came to taking care of a woman in the bedroom. So why was she so confused?

She stripped off her clothes and stepped into the warm stream of the shower, thinking of Levi’s kiss and the feeling of his strong arms around her petite frame. He was everything she had always wanted. He was a man, responsible, intelligent, kind. There was a quiet strength inside him that Juliet knew was the natural alpha within him.

Juliet knew that each group of shifter males had a central leader who they called their alpha. It didn’t matter what kind of shifter it was. It could be a wolf or a mountain lion or a fox, for that matter, but each type of shifter formed clans or packs and each clan had an alpha who led them.

Usually the alpha was the strongest male among the group. And strength could mean almost anything, but usually it meant the virility of the shifter animal inside. Juliet hadn’t met Levi’s grizzly yet, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to.

As much as she liked Levi, she still wasn’t sure about the whole shifter thing. She was far from being a racist against shifters, but she had to admit that the idea of committing to a man who was part animal scared her. The idea of committing to any man scared her. She knew that it was possible for a shifter to turn a human into a shifter, which was even more terrifying. There was so much about shifter culture that Juliet could never understand.

She finished her shower, trying to push the thoughts of Levi aside for now. She seriously needed to get some things sorted before the wedding. But first, she wanted to get a short nap in to finish recovering from her beer hangover.

As she laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling, she contemplated what it meant to her that she was a shifter’s fated mate. As much as she didn’t want to think about it, she couldn’t help it. It was a big deal, really. To be someone’s perfect match was a lot to live up to. But at the same time, there was a strange comfort in it. She envied shifters that they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt who was perfect for them. She was perfect for Levi, but did that that mean Levi was perfect for her? If her body’s reaction last night was any indication, then he definitely must be. But she couldn’t make her human consciousness and hesitation completely agree. As wonderful as Levi might be, she had just met the man.

She closed her eyes with a heavy sigh and tried to relax. She felt much better after a shower and changing into her pajamas, but the swirling emotions inside her body would not let her rest easily. She knew she desired Levi. That was a plain and simple fact.

This morning, in those brief moments in his arms before she had become fully conscious, there had been a deep sense of satisfaction that she and Levi had been together. There was something so right about it that now, as she lay in bed trying to sleep, that feeling deeply confused her.

Juliet had had plenty of boyfriends in her life. She was in her early thirties, and even a woman as introverted and sensitive as her didn’t get through life without having couple of long-term relationships by her age. But never before had she felt as complete as she had in those brief moments before waking up in Levi’s arms.

Her body finally let her drift off to sleep. Juliet had only napped for a few hours when her cell phone began to ring. It took her a moment to wake up and find it. But it stopped ringing and quickly started ringing again. She found the cell phone in her bag under a chair and flicked the screen to answer the call from Charlotte.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Harry’s gone,” Charlotte said frantically on the other end of the line.

“What do you mean he’s gone?”

Harry wasn’t the kind of groom who would just disappear the day before his wedding. He and Charlotte had been together for a long time. They lived together. They were best friends. He wasn’t about to get cold feet and disappear.

“The groomsmen said that they’d been drinking and a few of them drove up into the mountains and hiked out into the woods. Harry was the only one who didn’t make it back to the car.”

“Where did he go?” Juliet asked, rifling through her suitcase to find something to wear.

“I don’t know exactly. But his friends said they took a rental car and drove up into the mountains.”

“Have you informed anyone?”

“We’ve already informed the lodge, and I know that a search party is being formed. It looks like your boyfriend, Levi, is the head of a search and rescue crew,” Charlotte said, her humorous tone belying the panic underneath it.

“Don’t worry, Charlotte, I know that Levi and his crew will find Harry. He probably just got drunk and got lost somewhere.”

“I know, you’re right,” Charlotte said.

Juliet told Charlotte she would meet her down in the dining room where the rest of the bridesmaids were having brunch. Juliet put on a warm, comfortable outfit and scurried down to the dining room. Everyone looked slightly hung over and Charlotte looked like she was about to lose it.

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Charlotte moaned.

Juliet slid into the chair beside her friend and patted her back.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Charlotte,” Juliet said.

Levi approached the table with a notepad and a pen, dressed as if he was ready to go out into the snow.

“I’ve taken the statements from your fiancé’s friends. It sounds like they drove up to the summit trail and were messing around up there.”

“They were pretending to be bad asses like they could hike the summit in the middle of the night,” Charlotte muttered.

“Night hiking the summit when there’s still heavy snow pack is not advisable for inebriated and experienced hikers,” Levi said.

“Will you be able to find him?” Charlotte begged.

“Don’t worry, ma’am, my crew is already on it. I wanted you to know that we are heading up to make our base camp at the trailhead.”

“How long do you think it will take to find him?” Charlotte asked.

“That all depends, ma’am,” Levi said.

“Why don’t you go with them, Juliet? You go up with your new boyfriend and give us updates.”

Juliet felt trapped, but she wanted to help her friend.

“You can come along if you’d like. I think it might be a little boring for you, though,” he said.

“Won’t you be hiking out into the woods?” she asked, trying to get out of it.

“I am the rescue coordinator. Usually, I stay down at Alpha Station to supervise the rescue and decide how to utilize Corey’s analysis.”

Realizing she couldn’t get out of it, she said, “I’ll get my coat.”

She wanted to get to know Levi better, but that didn’t mean this all wasn’t totally terrifying. Out on the rescue, she could see him in his element, doing his thing. Levi was a leader. He ran the entire lodge, and he had been the crew’s superior officer back when they were all Navy SEALs. There was something so sexy about a man in charge that made shy little Juliet prick with excitement. However, it didn’t make her any less confused about dating a shifter or the kind of commitment these men wanted from a date.

In many ways, she and Levi were complete opposites. She was a sensitive, shy artist while he was a business owner and a leader of strong men. She had never led anything. In fact, in her office, she was a low level creative, who took orders from middle management. But somehow, no matter how opposite they might be, they really did fit together. Juliet could see that, though she didn’t quite understand why.

She grabbed her coat from her room and met Levi back in the lobby before he showed her out to his crew cab pickup truck. It was a brand-new, silver Ford Ranger with heated leather seats that contoured under her when she sat down.

“I hope you won’t be too bored up at Alpha Station,” he said as he turned the key in the ignition.

“Are you sure you want me to come?” she said hesitantly.

“Of course. I love having you by my side,” he said with a grin, looking directly in her eyes.

She giggled softly and looked away, feeling her heart speed up at his words. He did want her there. He had told her the day before that she was his fated mate. The woman who was perfect for him. She was still having a hard time understanding exactly what that meant. Then he’d said he’d never let her go after they had sex. What was she supposed to do with all this?

“I’m sure it will be entertaining enough to watch you do your thing,” she said.

“I just don’t want to ignore you,” he said, driving out the lodge’s driveway and onto the main highway.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“It’s my job to worry about you.”

He drove down the highway into a national park and high into the mountains. As they ascended, the snow pack increased. By the time they made it to the turn off to the trailhead, the snow was several feet deep.

They parked in front of a canopy under which tables with computers had been set up and connected to a generator. Levi and Juliet got out of the truck and joined the technician under the canopy. Three other men were busy gearing up to go out into the woods. Juliet recognized one of the men as Drew, the man Quinn had gone off with the night before. She recognized the blonde man as Zach, the stripper called Rock Hard.

“Juliet, I believe you’ve met Zach and Drew, but my friend here at the computer is Corey and the big guy putting on his snowshoes is Angus,” Levi said. “Angus made the table in the gazebo.”

“Oh, that was so beautiful,” Juliet gushed.

Angus tilted up his bearded chin and smiled at Juliet. “Thanks,” Angus said.

“Guys, this is Juliet. I met her on Mate.com.”

Corey turned around and looked up at Juliet. “How is that working out for you two?” Corey asked.

“It’s working out fine,” Juliet said in a timid voice.

Corey went back to his computer and continued typing as maps and data flew across the screen. Juliet watched Levi give his crew directions and was impressed by his swift decisiveness and natural authority.

Zach, Angus, and Drew took off up the trail, giving status reports to Levi as they went.

“We really could use a fourth,” Juliet heard one of the men say through a walkie-talkie.

“I’m not bringing Shane on any rescue missions yet, Angus,” Levi said.

“I’m just saying, we could use him,” Angus said through the walkie-talkie.

“I hear you, Angus. And I trust your opinion. That’s why you’re my second in command. But I’m going to have to disagree with you on this one. Shane is a loose cannon. I’ve almost fired him twice since he started in my kitchen.”

“Have it your way, boss,” Angus said, his voice cutting out over the walkie-talkie.

Juliet felt like she was seeing the inner workings of the group’s dynamics, and wasn’t sure if she was comfortable being that intimate with their process. She hadn’t agreed to be Levi’s mate yet. It wasn’t her place to be so involved with Levi’s crew. But he didn’t seem to mind her witnessing the group’s interactions. She didn’t know whether or not to be flattered or nervous.