Early morning sunlight streamed through the kitchen window as Sin poured a mug of coffee. With her guest still asleep, she had a few minutes to enjoy her brew in peace. It had been a rough night and she needed to get at least one cup of coffee into her system before she could even try to make civilized conversation. She had never been a morning person but add in the lack of sleep and splitting headache, it turned into a mixture for disaster and she had no desire to take her bad mood out on Garret. He didn’t deserve that.

Sitting down at the table, she wrapped her hands around the mug and tried her best to chase away the chill that had settled over her. It had nothing to do with the wet hair that hung around her shoulders. The chill settled over her every time she thought about going home. While Crimson Hollow had some great memories for her, especially ones of Jase, it also held dark ones.

No matter how hard she tried, she had never been an accepted part of the tribe. She had always felt like an outsider. Jase and Swift were her only companions while growing up and Jase had done his best to protect them. Swift needs you and so do I. After all he had done for her, she wasn’t about to turn her back on him when he needed her. Swift…well, she wasn’t sure how things were going to be between them. When she’d left, their friendship had taken a hit, one that she hadn’t been able to fix over the years.

“You’re just going to turn your back on all of us?” Swift sat on a log near the fire pit, staring into the flames.

“Come with me. We can do this. I’ve got everything in order—a job and an apartment. There’s nothing I’d like more than to have you come with me.” Sin pulled the sweater tighter around her and swallowed back the tears that tightened her throat. She didn’t want to leave Swift and Jase behind, but she knew her brother would never leave their tribe. With Swift, there was a possibility, because she was as much of an outcast as Sin. That was what made their bond so strong. “Please.”

“We’ll be eaten alive out there. I just can’t.” Swift shook her head, sending her wild red curls through the wind. “Don’t do this. Sin, you’re like a sister to me. Please, I don’t want to lose you. Without Jase’s protection, we’d never survive out there.”

Sin sank down onto the log next to her friend. “I thought that once too, but now…”

“Now what?” Swift pushed.

“There’s so much out there, so much I want to experience. I’d rather end up dead than live like this any longer. I’m tired of having to defend what I am. This tribe has more different species than any other group, yet they choose us as targets. Well, I’m done.” With a deep breath, she rose and looked back at the woman she considered a sister. “I have to do this and I wish you’d come with me, but I understand you’re scared. If you change your mind, my door will always be open to you. I will miss you.”

“If you leave, there won’t be a door to open. You’ll be dead within the year.” Tears rolled down Swift’s cheeks.

She shrugged. “Then so be it. At least I’ll have a chance to live before I meet my demise.” She strolled away, her heart breaking into pieces with each step. “I wish you luck because you’re going to need it.” Without her there, the tribe’s hatred would be focused on Swift.

“Morning,” Garret’s deep voice pulled her from her memory.

She glanced up to see him standing before the table in jeans and a shirt that molded to his body, showing off the deep contours of muscles hidden beneath the thin material. He was a fine specimen of manhood, but she had to remind herself that he was off limits. Wolves were not for her, no matter how attractive. “Morning. There’s coffee in the pot. I have sugar and milk, but no creamer. I wasn’t expecting company.”

“Do I look like a man who takes fancy creamers in my coffee?” he teased, making his way toward the coffee pot. “I take it just how it was intended, black and piping hot.”

“Typical wolf,” she muttered under her breath. She hovered over her mug, letting the heat seep into her body. She refused to acknowledge the demands of her fox. He was here to do a favor for her brother; he was not hers. No matter how much her body called to him, she had to remind herself he was off limits. He’s not the mate for me.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” He poured himself a mug and came over to the table to sit across from her.

Guilt tugged at her as she glanced up to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry. I’m not a morning person and well, with everything that’s going on, it doesn’t have me in the best of moods.” She took a drink and leaned back against the chair. “I’m positive this is a bad idea, but if you’re still willing to accompany me, then I guess I’m willing to do this. It’s insanity, but I think you might be the more foolish one. I have to go, but you made the choice to go. I’m not sure anything is worth the hell I know awaits me there.”

“I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think it will be. We have a tendency of making things worse in our mind the longer we push them off. Jase assured me it wouldn’t be a dangerous situation, so I don’t believe any harm will come to you.”

One corner of her mouth twitched up into what she guessed was somewhat of a smirk. “Harm comes in more ways than just physical.” While she didn’t doubt there could be physical confrontations, she was more worried about the emotional and mental aspects of this trip. “How well do you know my brother?”

He sat his mug aside and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Well enough to know that he cares for you and wants you protected.”

“I’m going to assume that you’re aware he’s a bear shifter, but did he make you aware of our tribe’s dynamics?” When he shook his head, she continued. “Unlike wolves who live in a pack of their own species, we are open to anyone. There are bears, lions, tigers, panthers, and leopards. However, Swift and I were the only foxes within the tribe. We were taken in by the Crimson Hollow tribe when our skulk—group of foxes—were killed off. We were young and had no one else. Granddad knew that we couldn’t be dropped into the state’s care without someone finding out what we were, so he took us home.”

“Then, Swift and you are siblings?”

She shook her head, sending a strand of her wet hair into her face. “No, cousins, but we stuck together because we were the only ones left.”

“But you’re Jase’s sister.” He stated it as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying.

“I am.” She paused as she remembered arriving at the tribe’s land and how utterly terrified she had been. Jase and his mother had been the first people they met and she and Jase had instantly taken a shine to one another. While the adults talked, she and Jase played in their animal forms. She’d slip into places he couldn’t fit and would taunt him by flicking her tail at his face, teasing him because his big cub body wouldn’t shrink small enough to fit. Swift had sat in the corner, silent tears streaming down her face and her thumb in her mouth. Another wedge between us. “His family took me in because we bonded together and Mom couldn’t bear more children. They raised me as their own.”

“They are in control of the tribe so that should have kept you safe.”

“Oh, they kept me safe from harm as much as they could, especially Jase. It was the teasing and horrible things people said that made me want to leave. No matter what I did, I always felt like an outcast. For centuries, there had been multiple species living within the tribe, but never before had there been foxes. Foxes had always kept to themselves, staying in their skulks. It was hard for the tribe to adjust to the new animals.”

For years, she had tried to do whatever she could to earn acceptance, but nothing worked. When Jase, her parents, or Granddad weren’t around, the torment she suffered proved too much. At nineteen, she decided she’d had enough and left. It was a decision she hadn’t really regretted but at the same time, she missed being around others of her own kind. Even if they weren’t foxes, they understood the shifter lifestyle. Out here in the world, she had to keep that side of herself boxed up.

“Jase was the one hurt the most when I told him I was leaving. We were best friends, but this was something I had to do for myself. I knew he wouldn’t leave, but I did try to get Swift to come with me. I thought she would because she had it even rougher than I did, but she was too scared of the world outside of Crimson Hollow. Afraid of what it would be like without Jase to protect us. I’ve always wondered what her life has been like since I left. I hope she found a way to be accepted.”

“Well, we’ve got a few hours’ drive ahead of us but you’ll know soon enough.” He polished off his coffee and leaned back.

“The bite?” Heat rushed toward her cheeks. Her stomach churned with the thought but if they were going to leave, it had to be done. Mating was supposed to be something special and intimate, and yet they were about to deceive her tribe by using it to their advantage. She just hoped the act wouldn’t come back to haunt her later.

Nodding, his gaze sharpened on her. “We should do it before we leave. It will be easier than on the side of the road somewhere and it will allow time for my mark to circulate through your body. If we stop on the way, it might appear too fresh and raise questions we don’t want.”

“Then let’s do this.” She polished off the rest of her coffee and pushed back from the table. During the night, she had made her decision and there was no going back from it now. She’d return home to Crimson Hollow, at least for a few days, and if he was willing to deal with the shit that was waiting for her, then she’d gladly have him by her side. Right then, it didn’t matter if he was a wolf or not; she needed that extra support to deal with the coming days.

Jase, you better be right about this and about him.

* * *

Garret sat on the sofa, waiting as if he had all the time in the world while his wolf clawed at him, wanting so much more than he was about to get. The idea of marking a woman as his mate excited the wolf, because normally the act happened in the middle of or following sex, making the claim absolute. Only this time, the wolf would be denied. There would be no sex, and no mating union. No matter how drawn to this woman he found himself, this was just for show—a precaution to get them through their time in Crimson Hollow.

“You can’t be serious.” She stood before him with her hands on her hips, looking at him as if he had lost his mind.

“I need you to sit on my lap and straddle me,” he repeated. “It needs to be an intimate position so that my wolf musk will tease along your skin. It will also give me a good position to access your neck, while holding you close so you won’t squirm away.”

“Why would I squirm away?”

“Fighting me will be a natural instinct. Most times the bite happens in the middle of sex, because the ecstasy makes it easier to take and the endorphins mute the pain. We’re doing it this way for our own reasons.” He patted his thighs. “Why don’t you climb onto my lap and we can get this done? Jase needs us there before five this evening.”

She stared at him long enough that he questioned whether she was going to go through with it, before finally closing the distance between them. “Don’t try anything, wolf.” She placed her legs on either side of him and straddled his thighs.

“I wouldn’t think of it.” He slid his arms around her, rubbing his hands slowly up her back until his fingertips touched the ends of her hair. “Could you push your hair to one side? I wouldn’t want to accidently tug on it.”

She reached up and coaxed the long strands to the side, tipping her head to arch her neck toward him. “I know it’s going to hurt, so just do it.”

“If you’d like I can make it so it doesn’t hurt.” He shot her his best cocky smile. It was doubtful she’d take him up on the offer, but he could make sure they both enjoyed it.

Don’t get involved. One week and she’ll be out of my life. You’ll find another woman who excites your wolf.

Even as he reasoned within himself, his wolf growled. He wanted the woman before him. Her scent called to him but more importantly, it called to his wolf.

“I’m not a human who has no clue of our ways. You’re not going to convince me sex will make all the pain go away. I know if we join in that way, the mating would be complete and that’s not happening. You don’t know me so trust me when I say you don’t want to be saddled with me for the rest of your life.”

“You have no idea what I want,” he murmured. He caressed along her back, gently pulling her closer to him. “Don’t put yourself down because of your tribe’s belief. You’re not worth less because you’re a fox instead of something bigger. Foxes have advantages that larger shifters don’t have. It’s much harder for me to crouch down to camouflage myself in the terrain than it is for you. That gives you an advantage when it comes to hunting.”

“Hunting small game, that’s it. When it comes to protecting ourselves, we’re easy prey.”

“Not any longer.” He leaned forward, nuzzling his face against the curve of her neck.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

His tongue flicked across her cool skin, causing a soft moan to escape her throat, and she pressed into him. Licking small circles, he drew out the process to keep her in his arms a little longer. After a night of her in his thoughts, to now feel her against him was better than anything he could have dreamed of. Giving into his wolf, he bit down just below her collarbone until the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. His wolf howled both in victory and in frustration for being denied the rest.

“Ahh!” Her voice held pain as he pulled his teeth back and licked the wound.

She tasted so sweet and felt so right in his arms that he didn’t want the moment to end. His wolf demanded he pick her up and carry her into the bedroom to complete what they’d started. Rather than do that, though, he pulled back enough to look at her. “Well, my fiancé, I hope that was good for you, but I promise if you let me do it again, it will be so much better.”

She blinked at him as if trying to focus. “In your dreams, wolf.” Even as she said it, her voice sounded soft and dreamy.

“In my dreams and soon, it will be reality,” he whispered more to himself as she slipped from his embrace. This had started out as a way to clear a debt, but now he didn’t care about it. He’d rather have her and still be indebted to Jase than be without her. There was something he knew from the moment she opened the door and he could no longer deny it.

My mate.