For five days straight, Carter and I get up and go to the fields. And I find myself putting off calling the attorneys and realtor, wanting to spend more time with Carter.

Everything is perfect—going to the fields, coming home and having dinner, then going to bed in Carter’s arms. The only thing that can be better is if Carter took the step to have sex with me. We fool around and each get off, but he’s holding back. Every time his veins pop out on his neck and muscles strain, it kills me, but I don’t know why he is. It’s something we need to talk about. That’s what I set out to do over breakfast.

Making my way down stairs, the smell of bacon frying has my stomach growling. One thing about Carter is, the man can cook, and boy, does he eat.

As we sit at the table, I ask, “Why do you hold back on me?” I don’t want to be that self-conscious woman, but it unfortunately is a bit hard. I’m practically throwing myself at him, yet he refrains. I know I’m not hard on the eyes, but Carter is drop dead gorgeous with a personality to match. He could have anyone. Anyone. So, why me and why hold back that part of himself?

“What do you mean?” he responds, popping a piece of bacon in his mouth.

I push my plate back and rest my elbows on the table. “We kiss, we touch, but you don’t take it any further. Why? What’s wrong?”

He rises from the table, scoops me up bridal-style, and moves us to the couch where he sits me on his lap. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“But you …” I start, but he places his finger over my lips, stopping me.

“Let me finish.”

I nod, and he removes his finger.

“I need to know you’re ready to hear me and be open to everything I say.”

A pit begins to form in my stomach at the uncertainty his words leave behind. Not him; he’s very certain. For me. Am I ready to know whatever this is that’s implied in his words?

My feelings for this man are growing each day we’re together. Simple touches he gives me while walking by me in the kitchen send my heart aflutter. If this is a barrier between us, then I want to know. I want to figure out if what we have is just lust or if it’s something that’s buildable, lasting.

“I’m open.”

He kisses me softly on the lips. “When we get to the field today, I’ll tell you everything. You trust me, right?”

“Yes.” He’s never given me any reason not to. Even with the wolves, he proved his knowledge of them. There is definitely trust there.

The drive out to the field is quiet. I’m not sure if it’s me or him, but the tension is so thick. I hate it because it’s never been like this.

When he reaches over and squeezes my hand, I know it’s me. I’m the one feeding the monster.

I let out a huge breath and focus on the man beside me. His loving touches. The way he is with his family. The way he takes care of me. The way he helped me move in. The way he’s right about the wolves. How he says he’d die before anything happened to me. All of it flitters through my thoughts, causing a bit of the tension to seep out.

When we get there, he opens my car door, holding out his hand, which I take. We’ve sat in the same place every day. I find comfort here as Carter holds me and we look out over the field. No wolves in sight yet.

“Talk to me,” I whisper, cutting through the quiet.

He tightens his arms around me. “What I’m about to tell you cannot be shared with anyone. Ever. I’m trusting you with it.”

I nod in agreement.

“I’m a wolf-shifter.”

My body jolts as my mind skips a few times. “A wolf-shifter?”

“You know I’m not going to beat around the bush. I’m going to be straight with you. My family and I turn into wolves, and then back into human form. The wolf you’ve seen—the black wolf—that’s me.”

Shock doesn’t even cut it. So many thoughts roll in my head as I try to pull away from him, though he doesn’t let me, so I say, “Please, I need to look at you for this.” He releases me, and I turn so I’m facing him. “You want me to believe that you shift or turn into a wolf? Like the movies?”

He chuckles. “Those movies are shit. But yes, I can turn into a wolf.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, baby, I’m fine. The best way for you to know is for me to show you.” He begins to rise.

I swallow, knowing the next words out of my mouth are some of the strangest ever. “Wait, you’re going to change?”

Carter takes off his clothes, making me hot as he does, which is crazy considering he just told me that he shifts into a wolf.

I should run, right? I should take off and pray I get away.

The fear builds, but it’s like I can hear Carter in my mind, soothing me and telling me that I have to be fearless to keep their respect.

I fight to breathe and calm myself.

“I’ll never hurt you, Izzy. Swear it on my life.”

Stunned, all I can do is nod and watch.

Carter removes his jeans and underwear, and I gulp at what’s between his legs. I’ve seen it, played with it, had it in my mouth, but every time, it puts me in awe.

“Izzy, there’s no reason to be scared.”

That’s when it happens. He rocks my world on its axis.

Carter’s body changes. His face elongates as his nose forms a snout, his black covered furry ears standing up to attention. His body sprouts fur as he develops paws with very sharp claws and lands on the ground with a thump.

I jump up and back, not knowing what the hell to think. The black wolf—my black wolf—gets down on his belly, paws out in front of him, head down on his paws. He looks up at me, and that’s when I realize it’s Carter’s eyes staring back at me.

My knees crash to the ground. “Holy crap, you’re a wolf.” There isn’t fear there, just wonder and amazement.

Carter’s wolf crawls over to me, setting his head on my lap. Lifting my hand and putting it on his fur, he gives a low growl, but it’s the same one that Carter gives me when I do something he likes.

We stay just like this for a very long time, me petting my wolf, knowing that deep inside there is Carter. Knowing that the man I’m living with shifts back and forth between human and wolf. Not knowing what in the world I’m going to do next.

A rustling behind me has me turning and Carter standing up, getting in front of me, protecting me. The brown wolf and the twenty-something others from the past few days all come out.

Carter shifts back immediately, and I hear his bones breaking and twisting. That has got to hurt.

Soon, a very naked Carter stands in front of me, hands on his hips, ass turned my way. Damn, it’s a fine as hell ass.

“Shift!” he orders, and suddenly, my mind is blown again.

One by one, the wolves in front of me turn into humans; my brown wolf turning into Owen.

“Holy shit,” I breathe, taking in their forms, their very naked forms.

“Cover up,” Carter orders, and hands go to lower regions, while the women cover their breasts, yet Owen has a cocky smile.

I take a step back and my feet falter. As I’m heading down on my ass, Carter shows up quick as a flash and grabs me before I hit the ground.

“You’re a wolf.”

“Yeah, baby.”

“But, I thought those were only on TV and books.”

“Books?”

“Yeah, I read books about shifters all the time. Wolves, panthers, tigers, lions … and more.”

Carter growls, “Only animal you have is the one holding you.”

“I just … What does this mean?”

Carter turns to the other wolves. “Leave.”

Silence hits as they move farther away from us. Part of me is sad to see them go.

Carter sits in the grass with me on his lap, staring up into his beautiful eyes.

“What this means is that you’re my mate. This is why I haven’t had sex with you. I want you to know exactly what you’re getting when we do.”

“I feel like there’s more to this you’re not telling me.”

He smiles. “Love that you’re so damn smart.”

I say nothing, just continue to stare at him, waiting for some answers. Lots of them.

“Wolves have a very keen sense of smell. When we met in the store, you instantly hit me, and I knew you were my mate.”

“How?”

“It’s in our blood to know exactly when the one shows up. It’s like you have a place embedded deep in my soul, my heart, and my brain. When I inhaled you, there was no question.”

“But how can I be your mate, lover—whatever—if I’m not a wolf?”

“According to the Ancients, one’s mate can be anyone—human or wolf. You happen to be mine.”

“So, what does this mean? I’m your mate, so we start officially dating or something?”

A grin plays on his sexy lips. “We have been ‘dating’ for a week now.”

My mind reels as I play back the past week. He’s right. It may not be a traditional way of dating, but still, we’ve gotten to know each other, he’s made me fall for him in several ways, and I love his damn wolf. Tricky man. Or wolf. Shit.

“So, you planned this? The house with you contracted with it?” I narrow my eyes at this thought as fire bumps through my veins.

“To an extent. Knew you were my mate, knew you were human, and I needed a loophole in the contract. In doing that, since we met after you signed the contracts, we had to do some calculated maneuvers with the paperwork.”

“What?”

“The contracts you signed first didn’t have the arrangement clause in them. It was after the fact. We replaced those and the ones you had in your closet.”

“I knew it!” Relief floods me because I read that damn thing several times and didn’t see Carter as part of the deal. Surprisingly, it doesn’t piss me off like it probably should.

“I had to get to know you the human way, because the wolf way would have scared the living shit out of you.”

“What? How?” I feel like a damn broken record as I keep asking questions, but I need answers.

“If you were a wolf, I would have taken you outside at the store, threw you in my truck, and taken you away from prying eyes. I would have mounted you, bit you, and we would be mates.”

“Wait. Mounted me? Bit me?”

“Yes. The traditional way to take one’s mate is from behind, in human form. Then I’d bite your shoulder, sealing us together for all eternity.”

“Holy shit.”

“With you being human, it’ll be different.”

I say nothing; just sit there in stunned silence.

“Once we consummate the mating and I bite you, you’ll go through the change.”

This jolts me. “Change?”

“You’ll change into a wolf.”

“What?” I screech and quickly move from his lap. “You want me to turn into a wolf?”

He sighs deeply, standing up. “Would I love for you to? Yes, because that means we’ll be side by side for hundreds and hundreds of years. I’d love to have you by my side. I need to have you by my side.”

“Wait. What happens if I don’t agree to this?”

His face turns solemn. “Then that is your decision, and I’ll go away.”

“What happens to you?” I begin to pace back and forth, the grass crunching below my feet.

“You don’t need to worry about this.”

I stop at his words, my eyes turning into slits. “Tell me.”

“I’m Alpha of my pack, the leader. Since I know who my mate is now, it changes things. If we do not become full mates, my power will slowly diminish. Therefore, someone from my pack will eventually challenge me. When they do, I have to fight to keep my position.” His eyes fill with pain. “But chances are, I’ll be weakened to a point that I’ll lose. It’s fight to the death, Izzy.”

I suck in a breath, my hand coming to my heart as it beats erratically. “You’ll die?”

“Eventually. We all do at some point, anyway, Izzy.”

“This is too much. Way too much.”

“I know, but you need to know this is the reason I haven’t taken your body. Once I do, Izzy, there’s no going back. Ever. Wolves mate for life. There are no divorces. The only thing that separates mates is death.” There’s a bit of trepidation in Carter’s tone, as if he fears I will turn this all down.

My mind whirls as I try to process everything he’s just laid out on the table for me.