Gravel kicked up to ping off the undercarriage of his truck. A dust cloud chased him all the way to Ty’s house.

His Itan sat on the porch with Sophia bouncing on his knee. Once the dusty cloud dissipated, Finn slid from the truck and trudged his way to Ty. He knew why his Itan had summoned him. He had given him forty-eight hours to figure out what Mack was. In that time all he figured out was she was his.

“I don’t have the answers you want.”

“You still don’t know if she’s a shifter?”

Finn nodded his head. “She’s a shifter.” He moved his tongue around his mouth. He could still taste her. “I know that for sure. What I don’t know is if she knows it. I’m convinced she doesn’t because if she did, she wouldn’t be tagging bears.” Finn reached up and rubbed his ear. It was healed but his pride ached. She’d bested him. His guard was down and she took advantage of the situation.

“She’s tagging bears already.” His voice rose an octave and took on a deadly tone. “I warned you.”

Mia rushed out of the house and grabbed Sophia. “You’re going to scare her with that tone.” She plopped the little girl on her hip and went back into the house.

Ty pushed himself to a standing position. He walked down the steps of the front porch. Finn followed.

“She tagged me.” It killed him to admit it, but better him than someone else in the clan.

“How the he…” He looked back toward the house. His voice lowered to a whisper. “How the hell did she get away with that?”

Finn could feel the embarrassment heat his cheeks. “It’s a long story, but I approached her as my bear.”

“You what?” He hollered so loud the trees shook.

Just kill me now. “I went to the lake on the other side of the bed and breakfast. I was checking up on her.”

“What part of that has you approaching her and her tagging you?”

Finn could tell that Ty was warring with himself between anger and humor.

“She was sitting on a rock, and before I knew it I was in front of her.” He closed his eyes and remembered how her fingers felt in his fur.

“You like her.” It was a statement of fact, not a question. The truth must have been written all over Finn’s face because seconds later Ty was howling with laughter.

“Stop.”

“I can’t. It’s too funny. You let a woman tag you.”

“Okay, laugh at my expense, but at least she’s not on clan land. I took her up into the national forest area and let her have at it.”

“She’s alone up there?”

“Ty, it’s not clan land. She’s a forest ranger. She has a right to do her job. I have an obligation to assist her.”

“It’s fine, just keep her off our land.”

“Will do, and I’d ask that you keep the clan out of the forest.”

A rustle came from the tree line and a half shifted wolf skidded to a stop in front of Ty. It wasn’t any wolf but Reid Bennett and he was pissed.

Reid’s fangs were still elongated when he growled out, “There’s a woman in the forest tagging animals.” He stood naked in front of Ty yanking at the plastic tracker in his ear.

Finn rushed to his truck where he kept a change of clothes just in case he had an unexpected shift. He tossed a pair of jeans to Reid. “Put these on.”

The alpha wolf slipped into the pants, but continued to tug at the tag in his ear. Finn understood the frustration. Anything unnatural didn’t sit well in a shifter’s body. It’s why he ripped the damn thing out of his own ear.

“Hold on.” Finn returned to his truck to grab a pair of wire cutters. It was the only thing that could pierce through the metal tag.

“If I run into her anywhere in town, I don’t know what I’ll do to her.”

A growl ripped from Finn’s throat. “She’s doing her job. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Reid looked over to Ty and the Itan replied, “He’s right. She was on public land. I suggest you let your people know she’ll be here for a bit.”

“What the f—”

Ty slapped his hand over Reid’s lips. “You want to owe the jar? That seems insult to injury.”

The alpha rolled his eyes. “What is she doing here?”

Ty crossed his arms over his chest and looked toward Finn. “I’ll let him explain.”

While Finn clipped the tag from Reid’s ear he spoke. “The forestry department believes we have an animal control problem, so they want to watch migration habits of certain species.”

“You know this woman?” He pinched his ear until it stopped bleeding. “She’s a real pain in my as…phalt.” Reid’s eyes went to the front door of the big house. Everyone feared the Itan, but it was Mia, his Itana, who terrorized them more. She’d give a good tongue lashing for cussing. First she’d empty your store of self-respect, then she’d empty your pockets with a fine. The woman had swear jars all over the place. “Seriously, she shot a dart in my… back end.”

Both men turned to look at Finn like he had the solution for this issue. There was only one answer. “Stay out of the forest. She’ll be finished in a few days.”

“Asking us to stay out of the forest is like telling a man he can’t sleep in his own bed.” Finn had never known the Redby alpha to whine, but he supposed getting darted in the ass and tagged in the ear was as good as any reason to start.

“I’ll keep her near the ridge.” It had been hours since he’d left her alone. How many other shifters would be racing down the mountain to voice their displeasure?

If Finn wasn’t careful, there would be a mutiny in Grayslake, and he wasn’t certain he could protect Mack from the entire clan.

“You need to find out what she knows.”

Reid’s head shifted between Finn and the Itan. “What do you mean?” He asked.

“The ranger is a hybrid,” Finn said.

“What?”

Finn wanted to hibernate just so this situation would bypass him. “I’m certain of it.” Both men looked at him. “That’s not the biggest problem I have though.”

Ty lifted his brow until a wrinkle furrowed his forehead. “What else can there be?”

Finn shifted back and forth in his boots. He knew the minute the truth was out, he’d catch hell. Not the kind of hell that a man caught when they did something stupid, but the kind of razzing a bear would hear for the rest of his life.

“She’s my mate.” It was as if the entire world stopped spinning. Even the cicadas halted their annoying buzzing.

Finn looked from Reid to Ty, but his declaration had stolen their tongues.

A minute later, Ty scrubbed his face with his hands. “You need to claim her before someone kills her. I’m giving you a day.”

The thought of anyone doing anything to Mack made his skin prickle. He tamped down the rage that built inside of him. It wouldn’t serve anyone well if he pissed off his Itan.

“I’m heading back up to the ridge. I’ll take care of it.”

All the way back to the ridge, Finn tried to figure out how to broach the subject about half-breeds or what he liked to refer to as hybrids. He had to get a clear idea of what, if anything, Mack knew about herself.

When he pulled up to the building, he knew she was inside. He could feel her presence. Hell, he could almost hear her heartbeat.

The door was cracked open, and he watched her sleep on the twin mattress. Her hair cascaded around her head like a halo. Finn’s heart leapt in his chest. His bear came alive and clawed at him to come out.

Control was important at this point. He didn’t want to shift and scare the living daylights out of her. He’d rather broach that topic gingerly. Ease her into the truth about who he was and what he knew her to be. That was when he decided that maybe a field trip was a good idea.

The Left Bank Bar would either be a genius move or a terrible disaster, but by the end of the night he’d know for sure if she had any connection to her bear.

Until then, there was nothing wrong with having a bit of fun. The animal inside him roared with approval. Finn’s dick was as hard as stone.

She lay there with her ass facing him. Its fine round shape begging to be squeezed. Without much thought, he lay down beside her and snuggled up to her bottom. She fit perfectly against his body. Even in her sleep she sought him out by pressing her soft curves into his hardened edges. She knew as well as he did that at a cellular level they were a perfect fit.

“Mackenzie, sweetheart. Wake up.” He nuzzled her neck and nipped at the soft flesh below her ear. He kept his bear just tethered under the surface. His teeth itched to claim her. He wanted her in so many ways. He wanted to be beside her, over her, and inside her. That’s what he craved the most. He wondered if he could have her and not claim her.

His hands gripped her hips and pulled her into him. In her sleep, she moaned. The woman was definitely half bear. Only a bear could sleep this deep. The heat coming off her body was also a telltale sign.

“Mackenzie, you’re mine.” He ran his hand over the flare of her hip to her thigh.

“Yours,” she whispered. Her voice held the sleepy sexiness of a seductress. “Finn?”

“Hey, love. I missed you.” She turned in his arms and pressed her face to his chest. She was scenting him. It was a mating ritual as old as time itself, and it made his chest swell. Even though she was unaware of her heritage, she still had the instincts.

“I fell asleep waiting for you.” Her hands caressed his chest, and his bear began to growl inside him. He wanted more.

“Finding you in bed was the nicest surprise.” Her temperature shot up a few degrees. It was cute the way she heated at his words.

“Are you seducing me again?”

“I think you’re seducing me. You’re lying here with that fabulous ass just begging to be bit.” Inside, his bear was nodding his head. “I want you, Mackenzie. I want you bad.”

“Then have me, Finn.” She rolled back and started to unbutton her shirt.

“If I have you. I’ll never let you go.”

Mack laughed as if it were a joke, but Finn knew better. Once he sank his cock into her, regardless of whether he sank his teeth into her, she would be his forever. “You need to understand what this means.”