Stubborn as a mule. The girl was stubborn as a mule. And reckless. Was she crazy? Walking around alone at night. Maybe the first time she hadn’t realized how quickly the sun would set. But now? It was completely dark out. Either she had a death wish, or she expected me to follow her.

Out of annoyance I didn’t want to follow, but if something happened to her I’d never forgive myself. I wanted to think my worry was about what my mom would say, or because I cared about everyone’s safety, but it was more than that. I cared about her, and that annoyed me more. I’d done a great job of blocking everyone out—and then this girl came along and slipped through.

I stayed back just enough that she might not see me if she turned around. I wasn’t looking for another fight. I was torn between knowing she’d be safer if she left Willow Harbor, and being hopeful she’d stay.

I was so focused on Mattie I let my senses relax. I didn’t sense Ty until I felt myself knocked to the ground.

I stood up, uninjured but annoyed. “What the hell do you want, Ty?”

“Have a fight with the new girl already?” He sneered. Even in his human form you could tell he was a wolf. His snarl made it completely obvious.

“No.” I tried to watch her, but she was getting too far ahead. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Yes, you do.” Bane, Ty’s annoying friend, showed up. “You have time for this.”

“What is it?” I watched Mattie disappear around the corner.

Ty stepped in front of me, blocking my view. “Keep your hands off her.”

“Excuse me?” I hadn’t seen that one coming.

“You know how long it’s been since there’s been a new human in town.”

“And?” I waited for him to elaborate. Despite his annoying short-comings, Ty had never been lacking in female attention.

“And, she is off limits to you.”

“Is that your way of trying to say you are interested in her?” Did he notice something special about her too? Was I reading too much into my attraction?

“I don’t have to tell you any of that. What you need to do is continue to keep your nose out of things.”

“Stay away from her.” Anger swelled inside of me.

“Nope. Not going to work that way.” Bane grinned.

“Why not?”

“Because we out number you. We get a say.”

“I can destroy you.” I embraced the shapeshifter inside of me.

“Oh yeah? Like to see you try.” Ty smirked.

I shoved his chest, sending him flying. He crashed down onto the grass a few feet away. There would be a dent when he got up, but it wasn’t my problem. He was the one who’d started it all.

Bane grabbed for my shoulders, but I shook him off. I knew better than to really hurt them. Fighting among supernaturals was frowned upon in Willow Harbor, and my mom would kill me if I got our family in trouble again. My shifter side begged me to pick a fighting animal though, to finally give these jerks what they deserved.

He lunged for me, but I tripped him, biting back the smile that wanted to slip out.

I started to walk away. I had to find Mattie. Now more than ever I knew just how much danger she was in, and it was quite possibly all my fault.

“This isn’t over!” Ty yelled.

“Yes, it is,” I called over my shoulder as I hurried back toward the library. Hopefully Ty and Bane were the only dangerous creatures out tonight. It was an unlikely hope, but it was all I had.

I ran the rest of the way, throwing open the door to the library. It was unlocked, but that didn’t mean anything. Delpha would have kept it open to allow party guests in. I still couldn’t believe she was throwing one in Mattie’s place her second night there.

I ran up the three flights of stairs and burst through the apartment door. Like the downstairs door, it wasn’t locked either. I stepped inside and then stepped back in surprise by the massive crowd inside the small apartment.

I pushed through the crowd. Was everyone in town here? I guess news of the new girl had spread quickly. It usually took a lot to get most of these types to show up at a party anytime before midnight.

I searched around, looking for a flash of her dark hair. I didn’t see her anywhere. Had she gone straight into her room?

The door to her room was closed. This was the moment of truth. If she wasn’t in there, I had to worry. If she was in there, she was going to get pissed I was knocking and bothering her.

Better safe than sorry.

I knocked on her closed door and heard a muffled sound inside.

“Mattie? You in there?”

“Go away.” It was a male that answered.

A guy? There was no chance Mattie had invited a guy into her room that fast.

I tried to turn the knob, but it was locked. Without taking a moment to consider the possible explanations I kicked open the door. There was a couple on the bed. I didn’t know the girl’s name, but I recognized Greg’s older brother. Everyone was connected in this town.

“What the hell, Pierce?” he screamed.

“What the hell? This is Mattie’s room. Get out!”

“You destroyed her door. You think she’s going to like that?” He sat up in bed.

“Have you seen her?” By their state of undress I knew the answer was likely no. Unless Greg moved really fast.

“We’re talking about the new girl, right?”

“Yes. Mattie. The new librarian. Have you seen her?” I was impatient. Wasting time wasn’t an option.

“No. Well, I don’t know if I’ve seen her. I don’t know what she looks like.”

I groaned. “You are no help.”

“Would you lean the door up please? A little privacy.” The girl had the blanket up to just under her chin.

“Privacy?” I wanted to rail on about how disrespectful they were being, but finding Mattie was way more important.

I searched around for Delpha. She was hosting this party, the least she could do was know where Mattie was.

Were we even gone long enough to have filled up the entire apartment in that space of time? I would say it was unbelievable, but this was Willow Harbor. Nothing was unbelievable here.

Finally I saw a flash of pink hair. “Delpha!” I yelled her name over the loud music.

“Oh, hey. Pierce.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Where’s Mattie?”

“I was about to ask you the same question.”

“Wait. You lost her?” Her smiled faded.

“I lost her?” She had to be kidding me. “I wasn’t aware she was my responsibility.”

“But you went after her.”

“Because you told me to.” Besides, she easily could have come with me instead of hosting the stupid party.

“No. Don’t put this on me.” She puffed out her chest. “You wanted to go after her.”

“So what?” I was too worried to care about arguing. I liked Mattie. Delpha already knew it. “We are wasting time. You are positive she hasn’t come in here?”

“Yes. I’ve been waiting.”

“Where else could she have gone?”

“Didn’t you find her? How hard could it have been?”

“I had a run in with Ty.” I went with the simple explanation.

“Go find her.” She pointed to the door.

“What about you?”

“Am I supposed to leave all these people in our apartment?”

“You could make them leave.”

“And send them out there?” She didn’t need to say more. I knew exactly what she was saying. Many of them were dangerous when not in a public setting.

“Ok. Call me if she shows up.” I ran back down the stairs and into the lobby. I noticed something I hadn’t when I first walked in, mostly because I had been so focused on running upstairs. The door to the lower level was open. Why would anyone go down there at night? Unless they were doing what Greg and his girl were doing. I doubted Mattie would have gone down there either, but it was worth a shot.

I undressed and left my clothes behind a bookcase before shifting. I chose a cat. It wasn’t my favorite form to shift into, but it worked well for situations like this where I needed to be stealthy, quiet, and blend in. Plus, theoretically a cat could be in the library. A panther not so much.

I slipped into the stairwell. If all went well, I’d be back for for my clothes in minutes. Likely there was no one down there at all.

Halfway down the stairs I was proven wrong. There was someone down there. That was for sure. I could hear him or her breathing. Quickly I realized it was a her and a human. That narrowed things down quite a bit.

Mattie sat on the floor reading a book. I stayed back for a moment, watching her through my cat eyes. At least I could watch without getting caught, but there was no real reason to stay long. She was safe. I could wait upstairs. There was no other exit from the basement. Unless someone else was down there already. That was a good enough reason to stick around. I couldn’t see what she was reading, so I moved closed.

Achoo. She sneezed. Achoo. She sneezed again. “What?” She moved to her feet, still holding the book.

I slipped behind a book case.

“Is there a cat down here?” She sneezed again. “Great. And I thought I could spend the evening down here.” Achoo. “I guess I can’t catch any kind of break tonight.”

She was allergic to cats? Seriously? I should have picked another animal. I slipped back toward the stairs.

“Ah ha!” She sneezed again. “I see you, cat.”

I ran up the stairs and though the doorway. She ran after me, but by the time she reached the main lobby I had transformed and was quickly getting dressed.

“Where are you cat?” She yelled.

I stepped out of the shadows.

She screamed and nearly fell down the stairs.

I grabbed her just before she tumbled down. “Hey, it’s just me. What cat are you looking for?”

“The one that was in the basement. Is there a library cat here? I wish someone told me so I could have taken my allergy—”

“There’s no library cat. If you saw one, it was a stray.” I smiled to myself. A stray was a pretty good word to use to describe myself. As the last of the true shapeshifters in town, I didn’t quite fit in anywhere.

“Ok, good.” She stepped away from me.

“But why were you downstairs?” I closed the door behind her. We didn’t need anyone falling down there.

“Huh? How did you know?”

“The door.” I gestured to the now closed door.

“Oh. I was looking for a place to wait the party out.”

“The party isn’t ending anytime soon.” Parties rarely did around here.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”

“I would suggest you lay low at my place, but—” I didn’t even finish my sentence. Her expression said it all.

“Yeah, no.” She gave me a stern look.

I shrugged. “As I was trying to say, I figured that wouldn’t sound right.”

“I guess I should go up there.”

“I’m sorry about your door,” I blurted out.

“My door?” She narrowed her eyes.

“I was worried about you. I kicked it down. I’ll replace it tomorrow.”

“Why in the world would you have kicked down my door?”

“Because I was worried,” I admitted.

“Worried about what exactly?” She stepped around me, away from the doorway.

“About you. Like I said.” I followed, not looking to broadcast my feelings any louder than they had to be.

“That doesn’t tell me anything. I’m asking why you were worried about me.”

What could I tell her? The truth would be the hardest, but I wasn’t interested in lying. I wanted to explain it all to her even if when she left town she’d never remember. That was the weird part of Willow Harbor—the supernatural rules that controlled everything. Unless a human was meant to stay, they forgot everything important the second they stepped out through the gate. That reality scared me more with Mattie. Would it mean she’d also forget me?

“Are you going to answer?” She pulled me from my thoughts. “Stare much?”

“I’m sorry. This town isn’t a safe place for someone like you. That’s all.”

“Someone like me?” She put a hand to her chest. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“If I could explain, I would.”

“But you can’t? Is this kind of like the card catalog I can’t have access to? The books that are off limits? Oh, and I bet that’s what you are going to tell me about all those locked rooms downstairs? They aren’t for someone like me? I assume you don’t mean a girl, because Delpha seems to know everything. Is this a New Yorker thing?” She leaned against a book case knocking off a plastic display rack. “Darn it.” She started to pick up the broken pieces.

I picked up the pieces and books. “No. It has nothing to do with where you are from. It’s what you are.”

“Excuse me?” She pulled the books from me.

“How did you hear about this job? What made you apply?” I set the broken pieces of plastic on top of the bookcase.

“I didn’t apply.” She set down the books. “The career director at my school got a call and said I fit what they, your mom I guess, were looking for. So I took a call with your mom a few days ago and went for it.”

She really must have been desperate. A few days was a really quick turn around. “Do you normally take jobs without visiting the place?”

“No, but I am not normally this desperate.”

“Because your boss screwed you over.” Without thinking I brushed a few pieces of hair away from her face.

“Good choice of words.” She didn’t seem to mind my fixing her hair. I wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m going out for some fresh air.”

“No!” I shouted louder than I meant.

“You can’t stop me.”

“I already told you it’s dangerous.” I looked out at the dark night. I could see well enough thanks to my night vision, but that didn’t mean there weren’t things lurking out there that even I couldn’t see.

“But not why. I’m not going to just take your word for it and huddle in my room. That’s right, I can’t even huddle in my room. The door is gone, or so you say.”

“If I prove to you this town is dangerous, will you be careful?” My question might lead to some serious complications, but if it kept her safe, it would be worth it.

“Or maybe I’ll leave.”

“Don’t do that.” That would defeat the whole purpose.

“Why not?”

“Because I kind of want you to stay.” I really wanted her to stay, but I wasn’t ready to tell her the truth about my feelings—the truth might scare her worse than anything else I had to say.

“Kind of want me to?” She narrowed her eyes.

“I want you to. Okay?”

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to go. Other than back to my parents’ house, and that can’t happen.” Her face fell.

“No, it can’t.”

“Says the guy who works for his mom.” Her lips twisted into a smile.

“I don’t just work for her. I do the IT for everyone around here.”

“You technically work for her even if she’s not your only boss.” Her lips twisted into a smile.

“Fine, point made.” I liked the smile. She needed to do it more.

“Ok, where to? I’m ready for you to show me the danger.”

“Ok, let’s go back downstairs.”

“Wait.” She eyed the door warily. “Were you downstairs before?”

“I was.”

“I didn’t see you.”

“You did.” I started down the stairs, glad when I heard her following.

“I only saw a cat.”

“Exactly.”

“Exactly what?” She glanced over her shoulder.

I stopped when I reached the mostly dark room. She’d left the dim overhead light on when she’d followed me up.

“Listen, I won’t do the cat again because you are allergic, and I want to show you the dangers. Plus a cat isn’t scary.”

“What are you talking about?” She wrapped her arms around herself.

“Just remember I won’t hurt you in any form, but there are others who would.”

“You’ve lost me.” Her brow furrowed.

“I am going to look dangerous because I want you to listen to me, but I am not actually dangerous. Everyone else is though.”

“Yeah, that didn’t help.”

“Ok. Promise you won’t run off until I shift back?” I pulled off my t-shirt.

“Shift back?” Her eyes widened. “And why are you taking off your shirt?”

“If my taking my shirt off bothers you, you might want to avert your eyes for the rest of this.” I didn’t waste anymore time as I took off my pants and reached for the best animal I could think of—a grizzly bear.

Her eyes widened, she paled, and she fell backwards onto the floor.