Reardon paced in the living room of Brandy’s cabin as Jaemus sat on the couch, feeling very much the scolded child and not loving anything about that feeling. Meredith was across the room, purposely not meeting his gaze. She’d tattled on him. So much for Dylan thinking they could trust his grandmother.

She’s just trying to protect everyone.

And he knew that. He did, but listening to Reardon call him reckless and foolish made him wish he’d never asked Dylan or Meredith for any help cleaning that damn barn.

“You absolutely cannot let people see you in wolfman form, Jaemus.” Reardon raked a hand through his black hair, but Jaemus didn’t miss the look his brother gave Brandy. “Only in very specific situations should we expose ourselves. And probably not even then. It’s too big of a risk.”

“Not if they all think it’s just a well-made costume, brother. No one will know I can actually change.” That secret would stay tucked away, most importantly from Nika. If he had any hope of being able to see her naked again, she couldn’t know he was a real beast.

Although…

She’d told him his Wolfman costume turned her on. She liked seeing him wild and untamed. She didn’t mind the fur. But if he told her it wasn’t a costume, would she feel the same?

He shook his head. How could she? He was an animal. She only liked the costume because she was certain there was a man under it. She had no idea how deep she’d have to dig to find that man.

No. She couldn’t know what he was. Not ever.

“They might figure it out if they see this.” Dylan handed a rectangular device to Reardon who tapped the screen.

Jaemus instantly recognized the mysterious and suspenseful music Carrie had chosen to accompany the video footage she and Zavier had spliced together for the trading post ad. He’d known that video could be a danger to him, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted The Wolfman Show to be the success Nika needed it to be.

He wanted to save her and her business.

He wanted her.

Reardon let out a groan. “You jumped like that in front of people? Gods be damned, Jaemus, what are you trying to do?”

Jaemus shot off the couch and got toe-to-toe with Reardon. His brother was an inch or so taller, but Jaemus had a bit more muscle. Right now, he considered using that muscle to knock Reardon into next week. Only the presence of the boy and the two women stopped him.

“What am I trying to do? I’ll tell you what I’m trying to do, big brother. I’m trying to live something that resembles a normal life. I’m trying to forget that I’ve been ripped from my home in Ireland, that I’m no longer a respected, feared, and victorious warrior, that I can grow fur, claws, and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth with a thirst for blood. I’m trying to grab onto whatever still makes me a human and not get lost.”

He stalked away from his brother and dug his fingers into his hair, holding onto his head as if his skull were about to break apart. He’d been bottling that rage inside him since finding out what Reardon had done to him. He’d been trying to deal with his situation. He’d been pushing aside the fury he felt about being changed, and now it all came tumbling out. He was unable to stop it.

“You’ve turned me into a monster.” He turned to face Reardon again. “And for some reason, Flidae thought it was a good idea to drop me here with you. What do you expect me to do? Hide here? Blend in with Brandy’s wolves like a good doggie? I need more. If I want to get back to Ireland, I have to do something worthy. I have to be outside the sanctuary gates to do that.”

“Is that the only reason you want to be beyond the sanctuary gates?” Meredith asked. “To earn your way back to Ireland?” Her raised eyebrow let him know where she was going with her question.

“I think Nika is my something worthy,” he said. “I can help her.” He turned back to Reardon. “With my wolfman, I can help her. I want to help her.”

“And what if she wants more than your help?” Brandy asked. “Nika is my friend. I won’t let you hurt her. She’s had enough hurt with her father passing away and the business suffering. Not to mention that greaseball Robert Senclair sniffing around her.”

Jaemus’s hands curled into fists at his sides, and he had to fight to keep his claws from coming out. “He doesn’t get to sniff around her anymore.” His voice was a low growl and the familiar tingle ran through him that came before a shift. Hearing Senclair’s name pushed Jaemus into fight mode. “I would never hurt Nika.”

“If you let her get close to you, then you earn your way back to the Ireland of our time and you go, you will hurt her.” Reardon folded his arms across his chest, but his face didn’t share the sternness of his posture.

“Then I won’t get close to her.” He didn’t want to hurt Nika and he wouldn’t. They’d had one fabulous afternoon. He hadn’t pledged his life to her nor had she promised him her heart. They could keep things friendly while he was stuck here, and when he got sent back home, no one would be hurt.

“That’s easier said than done, Jaemus.” Reardon walked over to Brandy and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Women of this time and this place are hard to resist.”

Brandy leaned back and dropped a kiss on Reardon’s bearded chin. “Never underestimate the power of a modern-day woman.”

Reardon squeezed her for a moment, kissing the top of Brandy’s head, then released her. “If you choose to continue doing The Wolfman Show at Nika’s, at least promise me you’ll be careful.” Reardon held out his hand toward Jaemus, looking to seal the deal. “No one can know what we are.”

Jaemus pointed to Meredith, Dylan, and Brandy. “They all know and nothing terrible has happened. In fact, you look downright happy among them.”

“That’s different,” Brandy said. “He turned me. I wanted this. This is a wolf sanctuary. It’s a good place to blend in.”

“I can blend in over at Nika’s. I need my own space.”

“Because you haven’t forgiven me yet,” Reardon said.

Jaemus shook his head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive you.”

A moment of silence hung in the living room before Reardon walked out. Brandy jogged after him, leaving Meredith and Dylan looking at Jaemus.

“I’m sorry,” Meredith said. “But I had to tell him, Jaemus. My daughter is like the two of you now. I need her to stay protected. I can’t have the wrong people finding out what you all are and wanting to hurt her or worse. You understand?”

“I do. Trust me, being in Nika’s show is safe. It allows me to try to come to terms with what I am now thanks to my brother. I need some space and time if I’m ever going to accept this change.”

Meredith patted his arm and left the living room. Somehow, he believed the woman was truly trying to keep everyone safe. What must it have been like to grow up with a mother like Meredith? A mother who truly cared for her children at all costs. He’d never know.

“You mad at me?” Dylan looked up at him.

Jaemus crouched down to the lad’s level. “No. I’m the one who got you involved in my… my lies.”

“I told you lying wasn’t a good idea.”

“I should have listened.” He ruffled the boy’s hair. “On the positive side, Nika was impressed with our cleaning job in her barn.”

Dylan smiled. “We kicked that barn’s butt!”

Jaemus laughed as he stood. He glanced out the window to see some of the wolves milling about. “Do they all like to run?”

Dylan walked to the window and leaned on the sill. “No, some of them have had injuries that don’t allow them to run anymore.” He pointed to the big brown one that hung around the house more than the others. “That one, Lug, he’s always good for a run though.”

“See you later, lad.” Jaemus pulled his shirt off. A run would let him release some of the aggression building up inside him. Before, when he was a normal human, fighting enemies with his sword and spear allowed him to get rid of pent up energy. He had neither sword nor spear nor a proper opponent in this time and place. Running with wolves through the woods would have to suffice.

When he got outside, Lug gave him a good sniff and galloped around him in a circle as if inviting him to play.

“Aye. That’s the plan, mutt.”

He dropped his T-shirt on the front steps and added his boots, socks, jeans, and underwear. Without hesitation, he shifted into a huge silver wolf and stretched out his hind legs then his fore legs, preparing the muscles. Lug poked his muzzle into Jaemus’s face and neck, urging him to hurry up.

Let’s go, friend.

Lug took off toward the large open field behind Brandy’s cabin and Jaemus dashed right behind him. The two wolves stirred up grasshoppers in the tall grass and tiger swallowtail butterflies took to flight as they passed. Darting into the forest, Jaemus pushed ahead of Lug and headed toward the sound of moving water to the east.

After a few minutes of fevered running, the woods a blur of brown and green all around him, Jaemus and Lug skidded to stops in front of a waterfall gushing into a pond. Tall cattails and grasses bordered the water and some frogs croaked as the sunlight of the day faded. Lug approached the water and after taking a drink from the edge, splashed right in and paddled out to the middle.

Jaemus had to admit to being hot from their running too, so he followed suit and took a running leap into the pond. Water flew up on either side of him, soaking his fur and cooling him instantly.

He and Lug swam for a while, playing seeking games with one another as they dove below the surface and emerged in different spots. This was the most relaxed Jaemus had felt in wolf form. Being with the natural wolf helped him get in touch with his own unnatural wolf.

Maybe it was time to stop fighting what he was. Reardon had changed him. There was no way to change back. All he could do was move forward and live this new life. He had no idea where it would take him, but maybe it didn’t matter.

He was alive. No enemies were coming at him with weapons sharpened to spill his blood on the battlefield. Maybe he could just enjoy this time. Get creative with The Wolfman Show and prove to Reardon that it was safe. Further explore his wolf abilities among Brandy’s wolves at the sanctuary.

See what developed, if anything, with Nika.

As long as she believed him to be only a man, what harm could come of kissing her, touching her, holding her after he’d pleasured her? And if she turned out to be his something worthy, he would achieve Flidae’s task and be sent back to Ireland.

Where he belonged.

****

The night was warm and cloudless so Nika walked to Silver Moon Wolf Sanctuary with Daisy by her side. She’d taken some of today’s earnings—which were up from yesterday’s—and bought a triple chocolate cake from Rosie’s Diner that would probably send them all into a coma after consumption. That was fine. She’d die happy today.

A gentle woodsy breeze ruffled the flowing black skirt she’d paired with a black tank top for tonight’s dinner. Her handmade silver crescent moon necklace adorned her throat and matching earrings dangled from her earlobes with silver bangles on her wrist and silver sandals on her feet. She’d wrangled her hair into a loose knot at the nape of her neck and allowed a few waves to frame her face. A light dusting of makeup and some gloss on her lips and she’d called herself ready for the evening.

An evening she wasn’t sure Jaemus wanted to spend with her. He’d stormed out of the trading post so quickly when he’d found out she’d told Meredith about his job and the barn offer. How was she supposed to know it was all super confidential? He hadn’t mentioned not telling his brother or the Wendons. She figured they’d know.

But they obviously didn’t, and Jaemus was clearly upset that her big mouth had spilled the beans. Maybe she should go back home and forget about dinner. Maybe she’d be walking into some family drama she had no business getting in the middle of.

Maybe lasagna wasn’t in the cards tonight for her.

“But I’m so hungry,” she said aloud as Daisy whined beside her. “I know, Daisy-girl. You want to play with your wolf buddies.”

So Nika kept walking toward Silver Moon. What was the worst that could happen? Jaemus could yell at her for opening her big, fat mouth. He could tell her to go home. That she was no longer invited to dinner.

That he wouldn’t be returning as her Wolfman.

Ugh. She couldn’t let that happen. After Zavier posted the video ad on as many social media sites as possible, she’d received fourteen calls about getting advance tickets to the show for tomorrow. Fourteen! She had to do whatever it took to keep Jaemus around. She had to pull in the money to push away Robert.

As she approached the gates of Silver Moon, a few wolves loitered in front of Brandy’s cabin. Nika had always loved the wolves. She and her father would frequently visit the Wendons and play around with the residents as if they were a pack of friendly dogs. Nika hadn’t stopped by much since her father’s passing, but it felt nice to see her furry pals again.

“Hello, pups.” She unlatched the gate and Daisy bolted in, tail wagging as she got reacquainted with Lug, Midir, and Nymph. The others slowly crowded around to greet their guests too.

Nika rubbed between Albi’s ears as Dylan ran over.

“Hey, Nika!” he called. “Is that chocolate cake?” The boy’s eyes widened and he licked his lips.

“It sure is. I brought it for dessert… assuming these fierce wolves allow me to make it to the house.”

He laughed. “Yeah, right. Fierce. They’re about to roll over and expose their bellies to you.” Dylan got to his knees and let Daisy lick his cheeks. “Aw, who’s a good girl?”

Daisy’s tail reached propeller level in her excitement over the wolves and the boy. Deeming her in good hands, Nika freed herself from the circle of canines.

“I’m heading to the house. Is your mom inside?”

“Yeah, everyone’s there. Tell Mom I’ll be inside in a minute.”

Nika saluted the boy and walked toward the front door.

Where Jaemus was waiting for her.

She stopped walking to admire the view. Blond hair was hooked behind his right ear, while on the left side it hung to his chin over the scar on his cheek. That short, stubbly beard encircled his mouth, reminding Nika how it had scraped along her sensitive flesh earlier today. His long, sturdy legs were covered in black denim, and a slate gray T-shirt showcased his biceps and chest muscles. Her memory filled in the abs she knew hid behind the cotton, making her fingertips itch to touch him again.

But would he let her, or was he still mad at her and her big mouth?

He pushed off the doorjamb where he’d been leaning and stepped outside to meet her on the path. “Good evening, sprite.”

“Is it a good evening?” Her voice shook a little over how much she wanted him to scoop her up and carry her off somewhere. What the hell?

When his lips turned up in a slow smile and he reached out a hand to cup her cheek, she sighed.

“You’re here, so aye, it’s a good evening.”

“You’re not mad at me for telling Meredith about—”

He put his fingers over her mouth to stop her babbling. “No. I should have told them all anyway. My brother has always been in my business. I don’t know why I thought I could keep him in the dark.”

“Why did you want to?” If she had some family around, she was certain she’d tell them absolutely everything that happened in her life. She and Tato had never had secrets. They’d talked about everything.

Well, everything except her mother.

Jaemus shrugged his left shoulder. “I don’t know why I wanted it to be a secret. I guess I wanted to make sure I was good at being your Wolfman before I announced it to them.”

Nika nodded. That made sense. No point in blabbing and then failing. “Trust me, you are good at being my Wolfman. Exceptional.”

“And you,” he stepped back to take in her appearance, “are lovely.”

Heat flooded her cheeks and points south. Why did such a simple compliment affect her so much? Why did this man affect her?

“I brought cake.” She took a small step back and held up the box she carried.

He reclaimed that space between them, fingering the waves of chestnut hair about her face. “I had another dessert in mind.”

“Oh, well…” Nika felt as if the sun were still out and beaming on her full blast. “I brought that dessert too.”

Jaemus chuckled and regarded her with amusement in his golden brown eyes. “Shall we, sprite?” He offered her his arm and she looped her free hand around it.

As they approached the house, Dylan ran past them. “Last one in has to wash the dishes!” He giggled and zipped up the front steps.

Nika made a move to catch up to the boy, but Jaemus squeezed his arm to his side, trapping her next to him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, a playful arch to his eyebrow.

Nika motioned to Dylan whose hand was on the doorknob. “We can’t let the kid win.”

“We can. I have a vision of playing with soap bubbles with you that I can’t get out of my head.” He leaned down and nuzzled the top of her head with his nose.

He inhaled deeply and Nika hoped to Christ she smelled like the peach-scented shampoo she’d used. He must have found her scent pleasing because he moved his arm and slid his hand down to take hers.

“So I guess we’re washing dishes then?” It’d be worth it. Totally.

“And some other items.” Jaemus dropped a light kiss on the back of her hand.

“We’d better get eating then, so we can get to the washing.” She edged him toward the door. “And the soap bubbling.”

Nika led him into the cabin where Brandy immediately greeted her with a huge hug after accepting the cake and setting it on the kitchen counter.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you, Nika. It’s been too long.”

“It has.” Nika squeezed her friend then stepped back to look at her. “Have you been working out or something? You look amazing.”

Brandy hesitated for a moment then waved her hand dismissively. “Just chasing after wolves all day.”

Jaemus cleared his throat as if he were fighting off a laugh, but Brandy elbowed him in the stomach before turning her attention back to Nika.

“You’re looking fabulous yourself.”

Nika thanked her friend, knowing it wasn’t entirely true. She’d lost weight, maybe a little too much with this no-money-for-food diet she’d been on the past couple of months. Some of her clothes were too big. Her cheeks were a little more pronounced than they used to be. She felt scrawny sometimes. Maybe a huge hunk of chocolate cake tonight would help.

She said hello to Meredith who was making a salad at the kitchen counter then accepted a kiss on the cheek from Reardon. She picked up on the look… well, perhaps it was more of a glare… Jaemus gave his brother after that harmless kiss. The smirk Reardon sent back didn’t go unnoticed either.

Oh, God. Do they know Jaemus and I did it?

Nika wasn’t one to have to sex with the first available man to happen by, but Jaemus had been irresistible earlier today. And she’d been aroused beyond belief by him. She’d been powerless to stop getting her hands on him and letting him devour her in any way he’d wanted.

That didn’t mean, however, she was ready for other people to know what they’d done. Embarrassment heated her face, and she desperately tried to think of something else, anything else, besides her huffing and puffing beneath Jaemus. Trying to not think of getting freaky with Jaemus only made her think of having gotten freaky with Jaemus and how much she wanted to get freaky with him again.

Get a grip, sister.

She wasn’t some hormonal teenager with no self-control. She was Nika Skarvinski, owner and operator of Maple Ridge Trading Post. She was a grown woman for crying out loud.

One with needs.

Needs Jaemus could fulfill.

Completely.

Ugh. Getting a grip was harder than it should have been.

“Lasagna’s almost ready,” Meredith announced.

“Good,” Jaemus and Nika said at the same time, causing Nika to look up at him. The fire in his gorgeous eyes as he studied her said perhaps he was experiencing the same internal struggle she was. Maybe he wanted to get to the portion of the evening where it was just the two of them as badly as she did.

Not that she wanted to rush through Meredith’s lasagna dinner. Hell, no.

“What can I do to help?” Busy hands might get her mind off carnal pleasures with Jaemus.

“Jaemus,” Brandy said as she handed him a bottle of wine and a corkscrew, “why don’t you open this, pour you and Nika a glass, and enjoy the patio while we finish up in here?” She gave Nika two wineglasses and herded them both out the door.

“Did we just get excused?” she asked.

“Appears so.” Jaemus grinned. “Do you mind being stuck with me out here?”

“Not at all.” She held the glasses while Jaemus opened the wine and poured.

“What shall we drink to, sprite?” He took one of the glasses after putting the wine bottle down on a patio table.

“Our successful business partnership?” Nika held her glass up to his.

“Aye. What else?”

“Barn renovations?”

“Aye. Anything more?” He stepped closer and lowered his head to catch her lips with his. His tongue sought entrance and Nika willingly allowed passage, loving the possessive strokes and the heat of his mouth. His arm came around her waist and pressed her against his chest as he deepened the kiss, making her heart pound against her ribs. She nearly dropped her wineglass.

When he ended the kiss, he gazed into her eyes. Nika didn’t care if the moment ever ended.

“Let’s drink to more of that,” she whispered.

“Aye.” He clinked his glass to hers, took a sip as she did, then pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’m glad you’re here, sprite.”

“Even if I have a big mouth that gives away your secrets?” She still felt terrible about that.

“This mouth,” he traced her lips with a rough fingertip, “can do whatever it wants as long as it allows me to taste it.”

“Deal.”

They finished their wine and went in when Dylan told them dinner was ready. Reardon sat at one end of the table and Jaemus took up the other with the rest of them filling the chairs between. Nika sat at Jaemus’s left where she could take peeks at that scar on his cheek and imagine running her tongue along it. Now and then his knee brushed against hers under the table and it was as if he’d touched her intimately. She’d never been this keyed up in someone’s dining room.

At dessert time, Reardon served coffee and Jaemus passed out cake. Though the brothers didn’t resemble each other in coloring, they had similar builds, and both moved like lithe wild animals, muscles rippling under their flesh.

Something about Brandy was like them too. As if she had an extra dose of graceful athleticism all of a sudden.

I have to have dinner here more often if it’s going to make my body look and move like theirs.

A little regular nutrition did wonders apparently. If Jaemus kept being her Wolfman, she’d soon have enough money to eat properly again. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

“So, I cleaned my room today, I helped Jaemus clean Nika’s barn, I read thirty pages of my summer reading book instead of my new comic book, and I did the laundry,” Dylan announced after every crumb of chocolate cake had been scraped off his plate. “Does that mean you guys will take me to the midnight show of the new Captain America movie?”

“Midnight showing?” Meredith said. “That’s waaay past your bedtime, kid.”

“But it’s summer, Gram. I don’t have to get up for school tomorrow.”

“Lad’s got a point,” Reardon said, eyeing Brandy then shooting quick glances to Jaemus and Nika.

Brandy followed Reardon’s gaze, a slight grin on her lips. “Okay, Dylan. Let’s do it.”

Dylan popped out of his seat and threw his arms around Reardon’s neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Nika wouldn’t have thought anything would soften a mountain of a man like Reardon, but he put a hand on the boy’s arm and pressed his forehead to Dylan’s. “I’m not sharing my popcorn with you though.”

Dylan giggled and bounced over to Brandy to hug her. “That’s okay. Mom will.”

“Don’t bet on it, my dear.” She kissed his cheek. “Help me clean up here and we’ll go.”

“We can clean up.” Jaemus stood and took his and Nika’s cake dishes. He gestured to Dylan. “The lad challenged us earlier to a race. We lost. We’re washing the dishes.”

Nika immediately grabbed their coffee cups. “It’s the least I can do for inviting me over and sharing your lasagna with me.”

Brandy looked as if she were going to protest, but Reardon stood and grabbed her hand. “C’mon, fairy lass. We’ve been released. Let’s take advantage.”

“Oh, brother,” Dylan said with an eye roll. “That means they’re going to kiss.”

“Disgusting,” Jaemus said with a grin.

“Nasty.” Nika crinkled her nose.

“Exactly,” Dylan said. “I’ll be outside with Daisy and the wolves when you’re ready.” He said bye to Nika and ran out the front door.

“He’s too cute,” Nika said to Brandy.

“Growing up too damn fast though.”

“Maybe not. He still thinks kissing is gross.”

“Yeah, but for how long? I saw him staring at Missy Timbell while we were at Rosie’s Diner the other day. I even said the words mutant and superpowers and that didn’t break the trance.” Brandy rolled her eyes.

“Beautiful lasses are hard to ignore.” Reardon sidled up next to Brandy and pointed to the clock on the stove. “We have approximately twenty minutes to make out. Let’s not waste it.” He tugged her away from Nika while Brandy waved goodbye.

“Guess you folks have this under control,” Meredith said. “The Hallmark Channel is a-calling my name.”

“Thanks for inviting me over, Meredith,” Nika said, hugging the woman.

“You’re welcome here anytime, Nika.” Meredith stepped back and rested her hands on Nika’s shoulders. “Having you around reminds me of your father and what a sweetheart he was. God rest him.” With a pat on Nika’s cheek and a wink to Jaemus, Meredith left.

“You certainly know how to clear a room,” Jaemus said as he deposited dishes on the kitchen counter by the sink.

“Me? They left because you said we’d clean up.”

Jaemus shook his head, his hair coming loose from his right ear, making him look roguish and sexy as he stalked over to her. “They left because they knew how badly I wanted to do this.”

He cornered her against the counter, putting an arm to either side of her waist and feasting on her mouth.

Nika was full after lasagna and cake but not totally satisfied.

Yet.