By the time Silas reached his brick bungalow, Logan was waiting on the porch.

“You could have let yourself in.”

“After last time, I thought I’d play it safe.” He rubbed his chest where Silas had stabbed him. “Actually, I just got here. What’s in the bag?”

Silas looked both ways and let him in the front door before answering. “Nickelova’s heart.”

“You’re kidding. How did you manage to pry that from Ryker’s demon fingers?”

“I didn’t. Soleil did. She traded herself for the heart.”

Logan whistled through his teeth. “Ryker was the demon she was seeing.”

“Yeah.” Silas rubbed Maggie’s ears. “So, I need you to protect the heart while it’s here. Do you think Polina can put a stronger enchantment around the house?”

“I’ll make sure of it.”

Silas scratched behind one ear. “No exception for Soleil this time, okay?”

“Afraid she’s going to change her mind?”

“Or he will.” He sighed. “We’re obviously not on the same page anymore.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

With a nod of his head, Silas handed Logan the heart and moved into the kitchen to feed Maggie.

“About that protective enchantment…” Logan leaned against the doorjamb. “Do you want an exception for Meredith?”

Silas glanced at the clock. “Oh fuck, Meredith! I gotta go.” Silas ran his hand through his hair. “I was supposed to meet her.”

“At Valentine’s?” Logan gave him a pitying look. “She was in earlier. Hate to tell you, but she was pretty upset when she left.”

“Fuck!”

“I would have called, but I had no idea it was about you.”

“I need to go to her. Can you watch the heart?”

Logan held up the bag. “I’ll take care of it. What else do I have to do? Just run a restaurant and help Polina with her duties as an immortal witch. Babysitting your heart is exactly what I wanted to do with my night. “

“You’re the best.” Silas slapped his friend on the shoulder and jogged for the car.

* * *

Meredith blotted under her eyes with a tissue. “Stupid. I’m so stupid. Why did I think this would work out?” She poured herself a glass of wine and tried to forget how beautiful Silas’s ex-girlfriend was. He was probably there now, laughing at how dumb she was to believe she might have a date with the alpha.

She dialed her mother and was relieved when she picked up on the first ring. “Mom, it’s Meredith. You won’t believe what I did tonight. Total foolishness on my part.”

“This isn’t a good time, honey,” her mother said. Her voice sounded subdued, depressed even. Meredith had hoped she’d have snapped out of the funk she’d been in by now, but instead, the depression she’d suffered since Alex murdered her father only seemed to grow deeper by the day.

“Mom, did you eat today?”

“Of course I ate.”

“Oh, good. And you got out of bed, right?”

“Seriously, Meredith, I don’t have time for this. I simply have other things I need to do.”

“Okay.” She frowned. It sounded like her mother wanted her off the phone. Maybe she did have somewhere to be. “I was thinking of coming home to shift this month during the full moon. I don’t want to shift at Rivergate.”

Her mother blew out a deep breath. “I won’t be here.”

“What?”

“I’m taking a trip. You know, it’s time for me to move on. Maybe I’ll visit the ocean.”

“A trip? With who? When did this happen?”

“Oh, just some friends. Don’t worry if you can’t contact me. We may be out of reach for a few days.” She paused. “It’s time for me to do this.”

“Mom, I’m so happy. I think this will be good for you.”

“I certainly hope so. Now, I really have to go.”

After a hasty good-bye, Meredith hung up the phone. Great. Even her mother had better things to do than talk to her.

Still weeping, she undressed and wrapped herself in her fluffy pink bathrobe. Why couldn’t she stop crying? Was it because she was thirty-four, never married, and desperately wanted to be? Was it the fact that her dreams of having a family were drifting away on the tide of estrogen that flowed daily from her body, leaving her with one more wrinkle, one more potential gray hair? She didn’t have any yet, but she could feel them, right below the surface of her scalp, ready to burst forth and transform her from Spiderman’s Mary Jane to Aunt May overnight.

Or was it because she liked Silas? He was strong, sometimes gruff, but ultimately kind. His loyalty to the pack and his family was something any woman would want to be part of. He was honorable and intelligent, all wrapped up in a tight ass and broad chest. Goddess he was attractive. The kiss they’d shared had seemed so authentic. But then, why had he stood her up?

She tucked a box of tissues under her arm, grabbed her wine glass and the bottle, and headed for the bathroom. A long soak in the tub and a few glasses of chardonnay and she’d be as good as new. She turned on the water in the bathtub, then rested her wine on the sink while she blew her nose. She refilled her glass.

Maybe she’d get a cat. She’d been thinking about getting a cat. A rescue. One that no one else wanted—like her. She drank again. Blew her nose again.

She was about to refill her glass a third time when a strange sound made her turn the water off and listen. The sound came again. Doorbell. Oh fuck. Someone was at the door.