David sat in stunned silence, trying to absorb what Michelle had just said; never in his wildest dreams had he expected her to make that announcement. By the time, he’d absorbed the idea that she was a witch, she’d slipped past him and gone into the bathroom.

He could hear the shower running and wondered how long he’d been sitting there in shock. At first, he felt angry and hurt that she’d hidden something so important from him, but then he realized that she still didn’t know that he was a wolf-shifter or that she’d landed in the middle of a community full of them.

The anger and hurt drained away, leaving him with a slight sense of guilt that he’d expected more from her than he’d been willing to give himself. They’d both been hiding something, and it was time to put an end to that, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about her being a witch.

Shifters and witches seldom mixed, but that wasn’t because they couldn’t; it was just the clannish nature of their lives that prevented it. Both lived secretive lives, but historically, witches had been persecuted more than shifters, so it was a risk to them both to be together.

But just thinking about not being with Michelle made his stomach hurt and he knew that it didn’t matter to him. That no matter what he discovered about her, he’d still want to be with her, still want to protect her and take care of her.

It was then that he realized that by telling them all her secret, she’d opened the door for her to hear theirs. He’d no longer have to live with the slight feeling of guilt he had been since he met her, that he could tell her the truth about Jessie and Kara and that she’d understand.

When she came out of the bathroom in a pair of pajamas that were much too short for her, her hair wrapped up in a towel, David knew that he had to say something and fast. But he had no idea where to start, so he did the only thing he could think of and got to his feet, pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Michelle gasped with surprise but didn’t push him away, so he parted her lips with his tongue and plunged it into her mouth. She was stiff in his arms for only a second before her body relaxed and he could pull her firmly up against his body.

She was soft in all the right places, and when she put her arms around his neck and began kissing him back, he knew that he was lost. When they were both breathless, he let her go and looked down at her.

Her blue eyes were full of passion, her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath, and he was sure that at any minute, she was going to kiss him back. But he needed to tell her that he was a shifter before things went any further, had to make sure that she knew before they did something that would change their relationship forever.

He hated to think that she might walk away from him when she found out he was a shifter, but he had to tell her. “Michelle, there’s something I need to tell you,” he said, leading her over to the bed.

He made her sit down on the side of the bed, then crouched down in front of her. When she didn’t look at him, he reached over and tipped her chin. But Michelle spoke before he could. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, David, but I didn’t know what you would think. If it bothers you, I understand; it’s a lot to take in.”

David smiled and shook his head. “You’re not the only one with secrets,” he said.

Michelle’s eyes got big. “Oh God, you’re married or something,’’ she said, jumping to her feet and walking away from him. “I should have known.”

He crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. “I’m not married, but you might wish that was it,” he said. When she looked up at him, he took a deep breath and said, “I’m a wolf-shifter, Michelle, and so is Sophie.”

When she stepped back from him, his stomach dropped, and he was afraid his worst fear was about to come true, but then she got this funny look on her face and her eyes glazed over for just a second. He was about to ask her if she was okay when her eyes cleared and she smiled at him.

“I should have known that, but I’ve been blocking my powers. What am I going to see when I look at Jessie? Is he a shifter?”

David shook his head, hesitated for a second, then blurted out, “He’s a black werewolf.”

“Am I surrounded by wolves?” she asked, her eyes big.

David nodded. “Danny’s a shifter, and well, Kara is Jessie’s sister so...” he trailed off.

“She’s a werewolf too?” she asked, then shook her head and began to laugh. “I feel like I’m dreaming.”

“I promise, you’re not dreaming; it’s true. There are other shifters in the area too, and Jessie has a twin brother,” David said, deciding that he might as well get the entire truth out now.

“So, there are three of them?” she asked.

David nodded. “But Jessie’s brother is a white werewolf.”

Michelle sat down heavily on the bed. “And I thought I was the strange one.”

David sat down next to her. “I guess we have a lot to talk about.”

Michelle nodded. “We do, but right now I’m so tired, I can hardly keep my eyes open.”

“Then I think you’d better get some sleep; it’s been a long day. I’m just going to sit over here in this chair for a while,” he said, knowing that he was going to spend the night in the chair next to Michelle, that there was no way he was letting her out of his sight.

Michelle looked over at him, and a blush spread across her cheeks. “There’s plenty of room in the bed.”

As tired as she was, it took Michelle a while to fall asleep; there was so much rushing through her head. Her experience at the gravesite, finding out that she was surrounded by shifters and werewolves, and the realization that she was in love with David.

When she’d come out of the shower and he’d grabbed her and kissed her, she’d known in that instant. Known that she’d found the man she’d spend the rest of her life with, and nothing he’d told later had changed that feeling. Feeling his arms around her now, she felt like she was right where she belonged, that she’d finally found the place she was supposed to be.

Her experience at the grave site that day had shown her that life was short and sometimes you just had to follow your heart. It wasn’t the right time to fall in love. Bryce was still unfinished business, and she had a thesis to write, but that didn’t mean that it hadn’t happened.

Thinking about Bryce made her understand that she’d never loved him, not the way you were supposed to love the person you were going to marry, not the way she loved David. She’d let her parents convince her that she loved him, but now she understood that what she’d felt wasn’t love.

Snuggling deeper into David’s arms, she fell asleep thinking about the life they might share together and slept soundly for several hours. But then in the deep of the night, the dreams began, dreams filled with the insane pastor and the gaping, swirling hole in the ground.

In the dream, the pastor was chasing her, trying to pull her into the underworld. Then demons began spewing out of the hole, overwhelming Molly and coming after Michelle, who couldn’t move. She tried to recite a protective spell, but nothing would come out of her mouth, and then just as the demons got to her, the dream started over.

She awoke with a scream to find David gently shaking her. “You’re having a bad dream,” he said, then gathered her into his arms.

Her heart was pounding, her breathing rapid from fright, but as he held her, she began to feel better. “I’m sorry I woke you,” she said, then shivered.

“That bad?” he asked.

She nodded, then listened to the steady beating of David’s heart until she was ready to talk about the dream. “The pastor was trying to drag me into the doorway, and then there were demons; they were coming after me, and I couldn’t do anything,” she finally managed to say.

David began to rub her back, long gentle strokes that instantly made goosebumps rise on her skin. “It was just a dream, and I’m not going to let anyone take you away from me,” he said, a fierceness in his voice she’d never heard before.

A thrill rushed through her and blossomed into desire, desire so intense she knew that if she didn’t kiss David soon, she’d wither and die. She looked up at him, her head swimming with emotion, then reach up and pulled his head down, then gently brushed her lips across his.

“I hope that’s a promise,” she said, then slid her tongue into his mouth.

She kissed him until he groaned and slid them down further on the bed. “Are you sure this is what you want, Michelle?” he asked, leaning up on one elbow to look down at her. “It’s been a crazy day, and then that dream, I just don’t…”

Michelle reached up and covered his lips with her finger. “I want you to make love to me David,” she said, realizing that it would be the first time someone made love to her.

This time, when his mouth came down on hers, it was his tongue entering her mouth. He kissed her until she was breathless, then slowly unbuttoned her pajama top until her breasts were exposed. Teasing her nipples with his fingers and thumb, he continued to kiss her, then lowered his head and sucked one taut peak into his mouth.

Michelle cried out as pleasure hit her like a lightning bolt, and arched her back, making David growl deep in his throat. Deep inside her, a tight knot of pleasure began to build, and when his hand trailed down between her legs, she opened them for him, anticipation thundering through her.

She’d never felt anything like what David was making her feel, and they’d only just begun to explore the passion between them, she realized. Desperate to feel his skin against hers, she began to pull at his clothes, tearing his shirt in her haste to remove it.

He pulled her pajama top off, stripped the pants off in one smooth movement, then reached for Michelle and covered her body with his. Looking up into his eyes, Michelle felt her heart melt, felt something deep inside her change. When his mouth came down on hers, she kissed him greedily, as if she’d never be able to kiss him again.

His hand found its way down her body and between her legs, and she gasped at that first touch of his fingers on her swollen nib. He stroked her until she was thrashing beneath him and crying out his name as her body exploded in pleasure so powerful that all she could do was hold on, her nails digging into his shoulders.

Wave after wave of pleasure washed over her, each wave stronger than the last until the final wave took her breath away and left her limp in David’s arms. He rolled between her legs and rested there, his bulging erection snugged up against her throbbing core until desire began to blossom inside her again.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, saw desire and passion in his eyes, and knew that she wouldn’t feel complete until he’d filled her fully. “Please, David, I need to feel you inside me,” she said, pulling his head down and kissing him.