One minute he was looking at his beautiful sprite’s face. The next he was surrounded by total blackness. His chest felt hollow, as if someone had come along and scooped out everything that was supposed to be in there.

Slowly, light filtered in and he found himself lying on a stone wall, lush green hills on either side of him. The sky above was a deep blue, cloudless and perfect. A lilac breeze tousled his hair.

Where am I?

He sat up, but there was no one else around. Just a trail of stone wall that went ahead of him and behind him for what seemed like forever. The green hills also stretched to the horizons, bunches of leafy trees breaking up the expanse here and there.

Jaemus swung his legs over one side of the wall. Though the sunshine was bright and golden, something about it didn’t feel right. Its warmth didn’t penetrate his skin.

He was cold.

Turning his hands over in his lap, he recoiled when he found them to be covered in blood. Then his eyes fixated on his chest where a gaping hole of ruined organs and flesh stared back at him.

Gods… what’s happened?

“You’re dead, warrior wolf.”

He snapped his head up to see Flidae walking along the wall as if showing off her incredible balance. Her black hair and white robes undulated around her as she approached.

“Dead?”

“Quite.”

An image of Nika slumped over a large silver wolf on the floor of her barn flashed into his head. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, his name mixing in with her crying.

His chest no longer felt hollow. Now it felt as if someone had ripped his heart out with the reciprocating saw he and Reardon had used when renovating Nika’s barn. And the blade had been dull, cutting up his flesh in slow motion, leaving behind jagged bits of ruined skin.

“No.” He looked up at Flidae. “Please, let me go back to her.”

Nika’s crying wounded him worse than Senclair’s gun. He couldn’t stand to see her in pain.

“You’ve saved her from that man the other wolves cornered. You’ve done something worthy,” Flidae said. “That means I send you back to Ireland of your time anyway. Even if you weren’t dead, you would be leaving her behind.”

He shook his head. “I won’t leave Nika. She is my soul mate. We belong together. For more than a few weeks. Maybe I don’t deserve to be happy forever, but she does. She deserves everything good in this world.”

“And you think you’re something good?” Flidae raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her red lips.

“I’m something good… for Nika. I’ve never been anything good before. The bastard son of the town strumpet. The mercenary who killed for riches. The brother of a werewolf. A werewolf myself.” He jumped off the wall and stood tall as Flidae meandered toward him, still balancing on the wall on hooves that changed to feet every now and again. “I was a beast long before Reardon turned me. I realize that now. But Nika… she changed me. Changed me into something better, something that can love and be loved. By her.”

Nika’s crying echoed all around them and he knew Flidae heard it too because she winced at the sound and grabbed her own chest.

“I want to return that love,” he said. “I want to make Nika’s life the best it can be. I want to live for as long as possible, not for me, but for her.”

“These human women bring out the best in you wolves, don’t they?” Flidae scanned the horizon, squinting at the golden sunshine.

Jaemus followed her gaze to see the green hills slowly vanishing. The sunshine dimmed, but he could feel its warmth now.

“Like your brother, you don’t wish to return to Ireland of your time?” Flidae put her hands on her hips as she regarded him.

“I wish to remain with Nika.” Was he actually going to get the chance to be with his sprite?

“Then you must earn her.”

Flidae jumped off the wall and pushed him. Hard. He fell backward, unable to stop himself. He squeezed his eyes closed, bracing for impact with the ground, but instead found himself back in his wolf body.

In the barn.

With Nika.

Her tears had soaked his fur, but when he turned his head, she popped up and looked at him with wet, red-rimmed eyes.

“You’re breathing,” she rasped. “You’re not dead.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed until he almost wasn’t breathing again. “Are you healing?”

Aye, sprite. I’ve been given another chance to earn you.

“You have me, Jaemus. My God, you have me.” She wiped her eyes then pressed kisses to his muzzle.

He could get used to that.

Must convince Flidae.

Nika swiveled her head, searching the barn. “Where did she go? I’ll convince her. I’ll show her.”

My duty, sprite.

“But you’re still hurt.” She gestured to the wound still oozing blood on his chest.

Aye, but it’s healing. I can feel it. Just need a bit more time. And some food.

Nika looked to the corner of the barn where the Silver Moon wolves still had Robert surrounded. “I think they’re giving you the time you need.” She got up and went to his kitchen, pulling open the refrigerator.

Jaemus stayed as still as possible on the floor by his couch. Nika came back to his side, feeding him bits of fruit salad she’d brought over. Reardon stood sentinel in wolf form behind her. He couldn’t ask for a better circle of protection as his body mended itself. When Brandy bustled in with her vet partner, Parker, and a kit of medical tools, he knew they’d speed up the healing process for him.

“I’ll call the police to get Robert.” Nika pushed to her feet.

No.

“He needs to stay in wolf form if he wants to heal faster,” Brandy said. “Although…”

“Although what?” Nika wrung her hands as she looked at all the blood everywhere.

Parker leaned closer to Jaemus. “This appears to be healing way faster than Reardon’s gunshot wound did. As if…”

“Flidae is helping him,” Brandy finished.

“Right. Okay. Thank you, Flidae. Thank you.”

Aye, thank you…

Nika cast a wary glance toward Robert.

I will take care of him, sprite. He couldn’t see Robert, but could smell him and hear the other wolves growling. He doesn’t have his gun, does he?

Reardon pawed at something by the chair perpendicular to the couch.

Nika went over to Reardon and picked up what Jaemus assumed was Robert’s gun.

Set it on the table.

She did as he asked. He was surprised that she could hear him. Brandy and Reardon had explained that the psychic connection had happened for them after Reardon had turned Brandy. Maybe Flidae was cutting him a break with Nika… because he’d died and all.

Now sit by me, sprite.

Again, Nika heeded his request. Having her close made him stronger. When she gently lifted his head and put it in her lap, her loving fingers rubbing his ears, he knew her touch made him stronger too.

He closed his eyes, focusing his energy on the wound in his chest that Brandy and Parker had now finished tending. He willed the tissue to re-knit itself, to make him whole again. He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there with his head in Nika’s lap, but when he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in wolf form.

“Hi,” Nika said when his gaze met hers, a slight smile on her gorgeous lips.

“I changed,” he said. “In your lap.”

She nodded, her fingers combing his hair back away from his face.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” He made a move to get off her, but she stopped him with a hand to his chest—his healed, but scarred and slightly achy chest.

“I’m not.” Her gaze traveled down the naked length of him, her pupils huge and filled with desire. For him. “Do you have any idea how beautiful it was to see you heal then turn from wolf back to man? This man. The one I love with all my heart.”

He clasped her wrist and slid her hand out of the way so he could sit up and cup her face. Capturing her lips with his, he put everything he felt for her in a kiss. He didn’t have the words to tell her how much he loved her, but he hoped that kiss said it all.

When she wrapped her arms around him and deepened the kiss, he knew she understood the depth of his feelings for her. And he understood her feelings for him.

A snarl from the corner of the barn reminded him that he couldn’t enjoy Nika yet. He had more to do first.

“Can you get me some clothes?”

“I have some right here.” She got to her feet and went to the chair.

After he slowly stood, taking a moment to make sure he was fully healed, he put on the jeans and T-shirt Nika had given him.

“I had hopes of you staying naked.” Nika stepped into the circle of his arms.

He laughed into her hair then dropped a kiss on her forehead. “We’ll get back to naked. I promise. For now, go upstairs to your apartment. I don’t want you to see what comes next.”

She tried to take a step back and protest, but he held her tighter against him.

“Nika, please. I want to take care of this and put it behind us. I want you to be safe. Always. Go upstairs.”

With a quick squeeze, he released her, giving her a nudge toward the stairs. She hesitated, but when he grabbed the gun from the table, she let Brandy and Parker, who had come from the sanctuary, guide her up the stairs and into her apartment.

Jaemus nodded at Brandy and Parker when they took up a guard position outside Nika’s door. He then turned his attention to the corner of the barn where Reardon and the rest of the wolves were fencing in Robert. All the wolves’ fur was raised on their backs, all teeth bared, all claws ready. They moved slightly to allow Jaemus to enter the circle. He marveled over how they were willing to let him lead, especially because they were technically Reardon’s pack.

What’s mine is yours, brother. We’re always on the same side.

And wasn’t that nice to know? Despite the rift that had existed between them, forgiveness could unite them again.

Robert glared up at Jaemus then spat at his feet. “Nika deserves better than a… a monster.”

“I definitely agree. That’s why you can’t have her.”

“Me? I’m not the one who… who… can change. Into a feral beast. I saw what happened.” Robert darted his gaze to the other wolves. “Are they all humans under the fur too?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn’t matter to you either way because your memory is about to be erased.” Jaemus widened his stance as he glowered at the other man.

“You can do that too? Erase my memory?”

Jaemus shook his head. “I can’t, but this can.” He aimed the gun at Robert’s head then lowered his hand to study the weapon. “It’s not a fair fight with this gun though, is it?”

“It wouldn’t be a fair fight anyway,” Robert said. “You’re bigger than me, fitter than me, can whip out a set of claws and fangs apparently. All of that is in your favor along with all these wolves here. I can’t win. I’m going to die here. I know that, but at least I destroyed Nika’s precious trading post. She won’t have enough money to stay here. She’ll have to sell the land now. Maybe not to me, but to some other business savvy genius who knows what to do with a property like this. Knows how to triple its value. Nika learned that Robert Senclair is determined, willing to go to great lengths to get what he wants.”

“You never loved Nika, did you? You just saw dollar signs on her land.” Jaemus’s finger twitched on the gun’s trigger. The desire to shoot this bastard and be done with it was almost too much to ignore.

“Love her? No, but she’s a sweet little number who probably knows how to fuck a guy so he forgets his name. That would have been enough for me if it meant I could have her land.”

Jaemus raised the gun again as the wolves all took a step closer to Robert. “Nika is far too respectable to fuck anyone remotely like you, Senclair.”

“Is she?” He motioned to the gun with a jerk of his chin. “She’s about to fuck a murderer.”

Then you must earn her. Flidae’s voice vibrated in Jaemus’s ears.

Earn her. If he wanted to keep Nika, if he wanted to stay with her in her time, her place, he needed to earn her, be worthy of her.

He glanced down at the gun in his hand, wanting so badly to be rid of Senclair.  Instead, he ignored his baser instincts and reached to the phone hanging on the wall beside him. After dialing, he held the phone to his ear.

“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” the operator asked.

“The police are looking for Robert Senclair,” Jaemus said. “I’ve found him.”

****

Nika slumped against her apartment door. I should be down there. She wasn’t sure why she’d listened to Jaemus when he’d insisted she go to her apartment. Robert Senclair was her problem. Not Jaemus’s. She was the one who should be dealing with him.

Screw this.

She turned around, prepared to open her door and handle things, but something slammed her into it before she could.

“I think we’ll stay up here while those wolves are still downstairs.” The voice that whispered into her ear was scratchy, his breath hot and stinky at her neck. “I always hated dogs.”

Nika tried to turn around, but whoever pinned her to the door applied more force, making movement on her part impossible.

“Who are you?” She had seen six of Robert’s men tonight. They’d all been lying in a heap, unconscious or nearly so after their encounter with Jaemus. So who did that leave to be skulking around her dark apartment?

“I work for Mr. Senclair when his other men are busy.”

“Bloody you mean. I saw them.”

“Saw what your boyfriend did to them.”

She shrugged. “They started it.”

“Well, on Mr. Senclair’s word, I can end it.”

That made Nika sick to her stomach… and mad. Mad as hell. Robert had harassed her for months over buying her land. He’d made every attempt to get her to sleep with him. He’d burned her business down. He’d shot the only man she’d ever loved, killing him. Fortunately, she picked men who didn’t go down so easily.

She was done with Robert Senclair meddling with her happiness.

Balling up her hand, she rocketed it back, sending it firmly into Senclair’s lackey. His nuts squished against her hand. In the next instant, he was on his knees, cupping said nuts in his hands. Low moans of pain and hissed curses filled her apartment, but she didn’t stick around long enough to hear any more than that.

She ripped open her door, pushed past a stunned Brandy and Parker, and nearly fell down the stairs in her haste. When she spilled into the larger barn space, she skidded to a halt and took in the sight of Jaemus leveling a gun at Robert with the other wolves flanking either side of him. She’d sensed earlier that Reardon was the Alpha, but perhaps Jaemus had the potential to be Alpha too. His stance commanded power, his body rippling with strength and control.

If she wasn’t so afraid someone might end up dead, she’d be turned on by the sight of Jaemus right now.

As Brandy and Parker caught up to her, sirens grew in volume outside and before she could make her presence known, police officers were rushing into the barn, filling it, taking over. She grabbed one of them by the arm as he went by.

“There’s a man upstairs. In my apartment. He attacked me. He’s one of Senclair’s loyals.”

The officer motioned to two other officers and the three of them marched up the stairs and busted her door in.

“Freeze! Police!” echoed off the walls as they gained control of the situation. Four officers escorted a stone-faced Robert out of her barn. Hopefully, out of her life for good. 

Reardon and the Silver Moon wolves filed out of the barn after them, each giving her a quick nod. She’d need a truly spectacular way to repay them for their help. Brandy and Parker followed the wolves out, each of them giving her a hug.

Sheriff Olsen came in right after they left. “Wolves as allies? Not a bad idea, Nika.”

“I find friends in all kinds of places.” Like Ireland. Of the past. Her gaze drifted to where Jaemus spoke with an officer who was furiously typing on a tablet.

“Well, Senclair is cuffed and on his way to the station,” the sheriff said. “I’ve got an uncomfortable jail cell waiting for him, and two of his men admitted to setting fire to your post and theater on his order. They’re willing to tell us about a few other shady things Senclair’s been involved in as well. Turns out his money hasn’t been all that honorably earned. He’ll be trading in his fancy suits for a prison jumpsuit.”

Nika shook Olsen’s hand. “Thank you.”

He tipped his hat at her and followed the rest of his officers out. As quick as the police had arrived on the scene, they exited, taking her biggest problem—Robert Senclair—with them. For a long time, if there was any justice in the world.

Strong arms came around her as she stared outside at the nearly empty driveway. Brandy’s SUV was the only vehicle that remained. Nika leaned back against a hard chest and loved when Jaemus pushed her hair aside to press his warm lips to the back of her neck.

“You didn’t kill him,” she whispered.

“I’m not a killer,” he said. “I used to be. On the battlefield. In the past.” He turned her around and dropped the softest of kisses along her jaw. “That man is gone now. Your love for me turned me into something else. Something more. Something I hope you can continue to love.”

She slid her arms up his chest and squeezed him close. “I’ll love you forever, Wolfman. Forever. That’s a promise.”

“Aye. I promise the same, sprite. Flidae said I could stay with you if I earned you. Not killing Robert—not using werewolf strength to kill—earned her favor.”

“So you don’t have to go back to Ireland?”

He shook his head. “Not unless you want me to.”

“Do you miss your home?”

“Sprite, you’re my home. Everything I want is right here.” He squeezed her in his arms.

With tears in her eyes, Nika reached up onto her toes and kissed him, long and hard, her tongue caressing his, her hands wandering lower, lower, lower until she undid the button and zipper on his jeans. She peeled the denim away from his hips and slipped her hand inside.

“Then I definitely want you to stay,” she whispered, gently biting his earlobe.

“Thanks be to Flidae,” he said on a growl, lowering his head to kiss her.

You earned her, warrior wolf. Your choices did. Live well.

Nika ripped her mouth from his. “Was that Flidae?”

His brows rose. “You heard that?”

“Yes. As clear as if she were standing right here with us.”

“I think she’s always about, watching.”

“Great. Voices in my head. Just what I need.” She rested her forehead against his chest then looked up at him. “In order to be your true mate, do you have to… you know… turn me?” She wasn’t in favor of becoming a wolf herself. Not yet anyway.

“No.” He put his hands on her shoulders, the move putting her at ease. “I was never supposed to be a wolf. I got turned against my will, though I understand why Reardon changed us now.” He shrugged. “I would never change you against your will, sprite. Never.” He touched his lips to hers, a quick peck. “Besides, I don’t plan on being in wolf form often. Human, yes. Wolfman, yes.”

“You don’t need to be a wolfman anymore. The theater is ruined as is the post. There’s no show for you to be in.” Now that the tense moments of the night had passed, Nika’s thoughts turned to the fire and everything that it cost her, everything Robert Senclair had cost her.

“What’s the expression people in your time have?” Jaemus cocked his head to the side. “The show must go on?” He bent his knees to look her in the eyes. “You can rebuild, Nika. You can make this place better than it was. We can. Together.”

And when he said it, she believed him. Together anything was possible.

“You’re right, Jaemus. There will be insurance money, plus your Wolfman Show raked in enough that I was able to put some money away. We’ll make a new Maple Ridge Trading Post.”

“One that will make your tato proud.”

Oh, Tato. I wish you could have met this wonderful man. But maybe he had sent Jaemus to her. And maybe the trading post burning had set her father’s spirit free now that he knew she had someone who loved her. She warmed at these thoughts, somehow knowing them to be true.

“Maybe we can get Reardon to help us design it,” she said.

“Aye. I’d like to work with my brother again.”

“Excellent. We’ll begin plans tomorrow.” She grabbed his hand and led him to the stairs up to her apartment. “But for what’s left of tonight, I have other ideas.”

“If they’re anything like the ideas I have, we’ll be exhausted by sunrise.”

Nika pumped a fist in the air and let out a squeal when Jaemus chased her up the stairs, scooping her into his arms when they got to the open door. He carried her to her bedroom and that predatory look she had come to love seeped into his golden brown eyes.

His glowing golden brown eyes.

He set her on her bed, stripped her clothes off as well as his own, and draped himself over her. What he did to her mouth could only be described as absolutely amazing. When he trailed kisses along her entire body, ending with his tongue stroking her where she wanted him most, Nika was convinced she’d never tire of having this man touch her, love her.

He set her body on fire when he slid his hard arousal into her wet and ready folds, filling her, making her cry his name in ecstasy. She pulled him in deeper with her legs wrapped around him, wanting more of him, wanting him closer, as close as they could be.

She’d lost a great deal tonight, but she’d gained a perfect love tonight too. One that would last a lifetime.

Together, they climbed higher and higher, so high Nika felt as if she were outside her body, watching their pairing. She was weightless, blissful, satisfied beyond belief. From the sounds coming from Jaemus, he was having a wonderful time as well. At the peak, they tumbled, one after the other, on waves of euphoria. Nika was dizzy from the intensity of it all.

Panting, they both lay in her bed, a tangled knot of limbs she had no desire to unravel. Instead she pulled Jaemus closer, loving how he wrapped his muscled arms around her, letting her rest her head on his chest. His fingers lazily scratched her scalp, sending goosebumps over her entire body.

“This fire I like. This wolf fire.” She nestled closer to his warm, solid body, their lovemaking still heating her from the inside.

“It promises to keep you warm for the rest of your life, sprite.” He kissed the top of her head, his rough hand sliding over her breast and kneading it until she was getting wet for him again.

“Does it promise to overheat me now and then too?”

“Aye.”

He pulled her on top of him, his erection seeking entrance once again. She opened to him and shuddered as she accepted each and every inch he offered.

Sometimes a terrible night turned into a terrific night and she thanked God—and a Celtic goddess—for that.