“I shot him,” Chase replied matter-of-factly. “I’m sorry the dude was hurt, but I had to protect myself and my wife. He attacked. What else was I supposed to do?”

Dan nodded, slowly. “I’m not a fan of firearms, but I get why you had a weapon with you. Still, it’s highly unlikely a shifter would be that deep into his animal he loses human cognizance. The only time I’ve heard of shifters becoming more animal than human was when they choose to live raw. That means being in his animal form for months if not years. If the guy you saw is the same guy, then perhaps he was involved in something he shouldn’t be, and you two were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, you were very lucky.” He lifted a questioning hand. “I’m surprised your fight or flight response didn’t trigger a shift. It’s unusual.”

“Oh, it triggered all right,” Chase replied. “She fought it.”

Dan looked incredulous. “Why?”

“I didn’t trust my instincts.” Her answer was truthful, but somehow disappointing and she knew it showed on her face.

Dan put his hand on her arm. “Honey, we may joke around a lot, but one thing the shifters on this mountain don’t joke about is safety and maintaining shifter standards. Never distrust your instinct, Cecily. You’re a shifter. Your body and your inner animal know what to do. You won’t lose yourself, trust me.” He gave her arm a soft squeeze, but then paused, glancing toward the others. “I’m going to have to tell them about this. Until we know more, others might be in danger.”

“Listen,” he continued. “Linda and I were going to ask you anyway, but now I think it best if we all stick together. At least until we know more. Charlie and Louise have a small claim up the mountain. We’re supposed to hike to the site tomorrow. Look for gemstones, just for fun. You two should come with us. It’ll get your mind off what happened. Plus, if anything else happens, there are at least four wolves, me included, along for the ride.”

“I don’t know,” Cecily replied, hesitating.

Chase put out his hand, resting the other on Cecily’s shoulder. “We’d love to. You’re right, it’ll be fun. Who knows, I might find an aquamarine big enough to put in a ring for my lady.”

“Great. Linda will be thrilled.” Dan gave them a close-lipped smile and shook Chase’s hand. “I’ll let the others know what happened. That way, we’ll all be on the alert.”

Cecily chewed on her lip, watching Dan walk back to his wife. “You answered for me.” She turned to face Chase. “Without even discussing it. What if I didn’t want to hike the mountain to look for gemstones? What if all I wanted was to pack up and head back to Boston? You can’t just decide things for me, for us, without talking to me first. Between this shit with Jackson and my father’s will, and my…my…hesitation on the mountain this afternoon, I know I must seem like I need rescuing or handling or whatever.” She glared at him, knowing her voice rose an octave even while whispering. “I don’t. I’ve been running Montgomery Holdings for months, alone. My shifter abilities may be rusty, but I am perfectly capable of making decisions, with or without you.”

“Cecily—” He reached out, but she slapped his hand away.,

She shook her head, anger making her face hot. “Don’t Cecily me.” She shoved at his chest. “You were the one who stressed we were a team. Was that a lie? Or maybe you’re all talk.”

“That’s not fair.”

She snorted. “No? I’ll tell you what’s not fair. You thinking you know what’s best for me. I won’t have it, Chase. If these are shades of what’s to come, then maybe this was a mistake.”

He blinked. “Wow. One fight and you’re ready to bail. Your family really did a number on you, didn’t they?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she ground out, wet eyes stinging.

Chase didn’t reply, but he didn’t turn and walk away like she half-expected. Anger made her chest tight and her throat dry, but he stayed, waiting for her to reply and for a moment the breath locked in knots in her lungs relaxed. Why?

You know why.

Shut up.

You’re picking this fight for no reason and you know it.

SHUT UP.

You’re mad at YOU, Ms. Fortune 500. Not Chase. You failed.

I did not.

Really? Then explain why you’re ready to rip the man’s face off for suggesting you do something for fun?

Because.

You got that right. Because of YOU. You hesitated this afternoon. Not Chase. You gave up control, and that’s got you so nuts. Team shmeam. You want to call the shots because deep down, you don’t trust anyone.

She blinked. Was that really at the heart of why she was so nuts over something so small? She lifted her hands to her face, shaking her head.

“Cecily, whatever this is, you need to calm down so we can talk.”

She shook her head harder. This was the Krakatoan explosion Malcolm warned about. Keeping offenses and disappointments and all that went with them packed so deep, while keeping the rest of her world in its proper sphere with all moving parts in order had finally reached critical mass. And who was her whipping boy today? Chase. The one person willing to let her be her and take a chance with nothing to gain.

“I’m sorry, Chase. I…I…I’m not used to sharing the driving with anyone. My entire life has been an exercise in control, a balancing act between trying to win my father’s approval and keeping my sanity.”

He turned her around to face him, slowly peeling her fingers from her face so she had to look at him. “I know all that, Cecy. You may have a shifter’s sixth sense, but I’m a pretty good judge of what makes people tick. Reading between the lines isn’t quite as much fun as being between the sheets with you, but I’m working on it.” He wiped the wet from her cheeks. “Team work, right?”

With a stifled hiccup, she walked into his arms and buried her face in his wide chest. “I’m sorry, Chase.”

“It’s okay. My father taught me to never question the workings of a woman’s mind. He said it was more complex than code written for the International Space Station.”

She grinned against his tee shirt. “Smart man.”

“He was.”

Looking up, she craned her neck to meet his gaze. “Like father, like son.”

Chase brushed her lips with his, nipping her bottom lip. “C’mon. Let’s go home. I’ll light a fire and you can tell me what’s got you tied up in knots.”

“Now that sounds promising,” she teased with a sheepish smile.

“Talking?”

She shook her head. “Tying me up. If there was ever a way for me to practice giving up control, why not have a little fun while at it?”

“Oh, baby. Dan was right,” he groaned, fixing his jeans.

“Meow.” She laughed.

They walked arm in arm toward the parking lot, waving to Dan as they got to the Jeep.

“Hey, you two! Don’t forget, eight am tomorrow. The Yellowknife trailhead,” he called from the beach.

“Eight in the morning?” Cecily exhaled. “Is the man a sadist?”

Chase laughed. “We could always ask Linda.”