I grabbed the next crumbling wooden trunk from the stack, and prised the lid open. A great dust cloud rose from inside and hit me in the face. I staggered back, holding my mouth as another coughing fit took hold.

My throat was already raw from inhaling all the dust I’d disturbed in the attic, and so far, it was all in vain. I’d already torn the three servants bedrooms apart, in case Hattie had squirrelled away the ring along with the rest of her horde, but no such luck. Now, I was finishing the search of the attic – I found an ancient camera, several moth-eaten trunks of clothing, boxes and boxes of glass preserving jars, and a creepy porcelain doll I’d had to turn to face the wall because her eyes kept following me around the room. All this, but no Benedict ring, and no other clue where it might be.

Caleb’s angry face flashed before my eyes. I rubbed the back of my head, raw and aching from all the times I’d stood up straight and banged it on the ceiling.

Downstairs, the front door slammed. I leapt up, banging my head on the rafters. Again.

“Honey, I’m home!”

It was Bianca. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and checked the time. 4:15. She was early. I dusted off my clothes as quick as I could, and scrambled down the steep staircase.

Bianca grinned up at me from the entrance hall, her arms laden with a heavy box of groceries. “The shop was empty except for Iris’ clients, so Elinor and I decided to call it quits for the day. I even stopped by the supermarket and got us some real food. Why are you so dusty?”

“Oh, just hunting around in the attic,” I said, meeting her at the bottom of the stairs and following her into the kitchen. “You’d love it up there. There’s all sorts of crazy old things. I’m thinking of using some for my art project.”

“You still doing that?” She stacked boxes and tins on the bench in the kitchen.

“Of course. I want to contribute something to the house.”

“You’re already contributing, Robbie. You’ve fixed up so much already. Without you, there wouldn’t even be a house. The Prim wouldn’t exist.” She flashed me that beautiful Bianca smile. “I am seriously so grateful.”

“Grateful enough to make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner?” It was my favourite. Bianca made her meatballs extra spicy.

She held up a packet of mincemeat. “Already started, my friend.”

“Can I help?”

“Not covered in dust, you can’t.” She shoved me toward the door. Her hand against my chest sent a shiver through my body. “You’d better get cleaned up before Rolf gets here.”

“Rolf?” My heart plummeted to my chest. Did she just say that Rolf was coming here?

“Yeah. Sorry, I thought Caleb would have told you. He came to chat with me at the shop today. Apparently, the Wulfric pack are going to become our allies, but only if they can keep someone here to represent them in all our decisions.”

“Caleb would’ve loved that.”

“Oh yeah, he looked real thrilled. But it was either agree or lose the Wulfrics. So he’s agreed that Rolf will stay here and work closely with the pack until the time we are ready to make a bid for a new parliament. And apparently, he wants to stay here.”

I shook my head. This can’t be happening. That bastard can’t be moving in with Bianca and I. “That’s crazy. Caleb can’t do that. Does he even know what the Wulfrics have done over the years? They’ve assassinated major German politicians in order to get their own alphas inside parliament. They’re ruthless. They’re not going to let Caleb tell them what to do.”

“I’m sure Caleb knows what he’s doing. Anyway, he and Luke are bringing Rolf over soon and—” There was a sharp knock at the door. Bianca dropped the meat on the bench. “That must be them now.”

My heart sank as I followed Bianca into the hall.

She flung open the door. Caleb and Luke stood on the step, their arms folded across their chests. Rolf stood behind him, his arms folded and feet spread – his body language exuding dominance. I spread my own legs and folded my own arms, resisting the urge to bare my teeth. My inner wolf scratched against my skin, desperate to chase this interloper off my territory. But one look from Caleb and I knew that wasn’t going to be how this went down.

Bianca outstretched her hand. “Rolf, hello. It’s great to meet you.”

Rolf stared Bianca up and down, licking his lips like she was a rare steak fresh off the grill. He turned to Caleb, and slapped him on the shoulder. “You didn’t tell me you’d organised a mate for me. Thank you for your consideration. She’s perfect. She’s exactly my taste.”

Back the fuck up, Rolf. My hands balled into fists.

Bianca’s face froze. “Excuse me?”

Caleb shot me a pained look. I bared my teeth, making for the door, but he held up his hand. He turned to Rolf. “Bianca’s not for you. Remember, you saw her get married just the other night. She’s just the owner of The Prim. She’ll look after you while you’re here, make sure you have everything you need.”

Rolf leaned forward, grabbing Bianca under the chin, tilting her head up so his eyes bore into hers. “Oh, I think I’ll get everything I need from you, and more.”

My blood boiled in my veins. Of course he thought he had a right to Bianca. But she was mine.

I growled, low in my throat. Rolf turned, noticing me for the first time. He tossed his head back and laughed. “Oh, didn’t see you there, little Robbo. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt your friend … much. From the looks of her, I bet she likes it rough—”

I expected Bianca to flare up, but instead she gave the wolf a salacious smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she purred, holding the door open and ushering Rolf inside. As he whipped past her, he leaned in close, his hand groping for her arse, his long nose sniffing her face. She giggled.

Anger flared inside me. How dare he come here, to my home, and speak to my mate like that?

And why was Bianca allowing it?

As Rolf and Bianca stood in the sitting room, pointing to one of the paintings and laughing at some joke, I took a long, hard look at Rolf, trying to see him through Bianca’s eyes. I hated to admit that I liked what I saw. At well over six foot, Rolf towered over Caleb and I, his long legs striding through the house with the utmost confidence. His chiseled features and broad shoulders belonged on a men’s swimwear commercial. Most importantly, he oozed confidence. His power practically sizzled against his skin. His presence filled the room, leaving no space for me.

This can’t be happening. He can’t be staying here. But he was. Bianca was hauling Rolf’s backpack up the stairs, explaining in breathless tones that he’d have the Hummingbird Room, the first in the hallway leading up to hers.

Rolf glanced over to me, grinning like the cat that had just found the cream. He must have read something of my anger in my face, because he elbowed me in the ribs and said, “She’s a fine woman. She’ll make a great mate.”

“She’s mine,” I growled. “She’s my mate.”

“Ah, yes. I can smell your claim on her. But I know something you don’t know, little Robbo. You’re on shaky ground with your pack.”

“What are you going on about?”

“Your fearless leader Caleb is getting very impatient that you haven’t located a certain artefact.” Rolf laughed at my stricken face. “Yes, the secret is out. He was a fool to think a fake ring would fool me for this long. Without that ring, he can’t move forward with his grand plan, a grand plan that now includes me and the Wulfric pack on a high level. The thing is,” he rubbed his chin, like he was deep in thought, “I am a handsome wolf with high status in my pack, who will have a vital role in reshaping the world. You are a piece-of-scum criminal who can’t even read—”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I growled.

“Oh, yes? You mean, I do not know that when you were at the library, you were writing out the text in big, loopy, childish handwriting? I do not know that you took an entire day to read three pages of a medieval document?”

I grabbed for his throat, but Rolf was too quick. His fingers tightened around my wrist, and he yanked my arm down, drawing our faces so close, I could see a tiny vein on the edge of his eye pulse as he spoke.

He tsked. “Now, now, we are not animals here. At least, not at this moment.”

“Get out of this house,” I growled.

“I cannot do that, and if you force me out, your alpha will drop you for certain.”

“He wonnae dare if he knows you are trying to take my mate.”

“Ah, but is that the truth? Remember that only a few months ago, you did the exact same thing to him. You kidnapped his precious Rosa and took her back to your scumbag father. You tried to manipulate him into doing what you wanted.”

I glared at him, boiling rage coursing through my veins. How did he know about this? Did Caleb tell him? Caleb knows that I was only acting under Angus’ orders, and I helped set Rosa free and stood up to Dad in the end. But Rolf wasn’t anywhere near Aberdeen at the time, and no one in the Maclean pack would have told him a thing. The only way he could know about Rosa was if Caleb told him. Why would he speak about me like that to someone outside the pack?

Unless, the thought turned my veins to ice, unless he doesn’t really trust you after all. Unless he’s getting ready to cut you out completely. He waited until you had given up everything, so that when he cast you out, you’d have nowhere to go. Maybe it’s his way of punishing you for what you did to Rosa.

Rolf grinned. “I see that you are starting to understand. Allow me to be clear and simple, because I know that big words confuse you. I control you, Robbie Maclean. You back off from Bianca, and do everything I say, and I won’t destroy your precious second chance. But if you don’t do as I ask, I’ll make sure you’re cast out quicker than you can say ‘dead pure brilliant.’”

“Bianca’s not some piece of meat we’re fighting over,” I growled. “You may be able to control me, but you can’t tell her what to do. She’ll make up her own mind.”

“Indeed she will.” Rolf’s grin grew wider. “And who do you think she will choose? Bianca may be with you for now, but she didn’t have any other options then. I am a powerful alpha who will be one of the world’s shifter leaders, and you are an illiterate criminal who will soon be without a pack. You can offer her nothing. It’s just the truth, I’m sorry to say. A girl like that, she’ll never stay mated with a pussy like you.”

I wanted to protest, to haul him out of the house by the scruff of his neck. My inner wolf pressed against my skin, desperate to come out and tear his throat out. But I gulped back the rage. Because I knew he was right.

I’d had Bianca for one incredible night, but I’d been a fool to think I could keep her. She deserved a man like Rolf, and as soon as she realised that, I’d be cast aside, just like always.