It was the sound of shuffling feet and hushed masculine voices that shook her awake.

Those sounds were unusual, not only in the middle of the night, but also up in the mountains. Here, where there were few modern conveniences, Violet could only hear the breeze or the chirping of the birds in the evening. Or, when she tuned in using her enhanced hearing, a cow mooing sadly in the distance or a rabbit rustling under some bushes, digging around for its next meal.

And of course, the laughter and cheer of the children—the little girls—living in the compound where she stayed.

Her tiger raised its hackles, and Violet shot to her feet. Instinct kicked in. Danger, it said. As she exited her tent, little did she know she wouldn’t be hearing laughter again …

Violet’s eyes flew open, her heart beating in her chest like a drum. The sheets were stuck to her skin, the sweat making it slick. It was a dream. At least, today it was.

She sat up and took a deep breath, then got up and walked to the window. The early morning light filled the room and from her hotel, the view of the Blackstone Mountains was magnificent. She should feel grateful to be here. But instead she only felt guilt. It was supposed to be the start of her new career. Then, it happened.

Violet shut the drapes closed, the room going dark. She just had to make it through the next few weeks. Then the funding would come in and she could go back to what she had left behind. She checked her email; no news yet. Not from the university and not from Antonia back in Eritana. No news should be good news, she supposed.

Checking the clock by the bedside, she realized it was nearly eight a.m. Ben said they’d stop by around eighty-thirty, so she had to get ready now.

Violet showered and put on a pair of khaki shorts, a black tank top, and flip-flops. She didn’t have much nice clothing; most of the stuff she had was functional and her nicer clothes were in storage back in New Orleans. The shoes and suit she was wearing for her interview the other day had been bought off-the-rack when she got to Colorado.

This will have to do, she thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. Why did I even agree to go? She could have argued she didn’t have anything to wear, or she was far too jet lagged. But when Ben said it was also Dr. Philipps’ retirement party, she couldn’t very well have said no.

To say she was shocked when Nathan walked into the office was an understatement. She wanted to quit on the spot. Ben did tell her she would be working with their Chief Engineer, but not who he was. Did Ben know? Probably, but she couldn’t prove it.

It was a good thing she was used to being in control, of her animal and of herself. She was determined to ignore him and treat him with cold, professional indifference.

And that cad. The way he teased her and asked about her animal. It was rude and unprofessional. Exactly what she expected from a crude wolf like him. Who cared if he was handsome as sin and his smile made her feel warm all over? And the way he said he wanted to see her—

Mine, came the satisfied purr from her throat.

She laid a hand on her chest in surprise. “Shush!” Her tiger had never done that before, not with any man she had met or dated. “We can’t do this. Remember why. Remember.” She shut her eyes, the vision in her head clear as day.

And then silence from her tiger.

She had to stay focused and couldn’t afford any distractions. And Nathan Caldwell was certainly the biggest distraction of them all.

After brushing her long dark hair and tying it up with a rubber band, she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.

As she exited the elevator, she saw Ben and his wife waiting in the lobby. They seemed a mismatched couple—with Ben being so tall and Hulk-like and Penny so small and delicate like a china doll. But even Violet could see they adored each other.

He had his arm around her protectively and leaned down to whisper something in her ear that made her face as red as her hair. The way he looked at her, it was like there was no one else in the room.

“Violet,” Penny greeted as she approached them. “You look nice.”

“Thank you,” she replied. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

“Not at all,” Ben said. “It’s going to about a two hour drive to the picnic site. We can stop and get coffee and breakfast to go if you want, though I’d save some room.” He chuckled, patting his stomach. “Lennox tends to overdo these things and there’ll be lots of food and drink throughout the day.”

“That’s fine.” She followed them outside, where Ben led them to the large black Jeep parked by the door.

“Wait,” Ben said as he opened front passenger-side door for his wife.

“Ben,” Penny said with a giggle as he picked her up and put her into the front seat. “I told you, I’m fine.”

“But you might slip and fall, and I’d never forgive myself.” His large hand went to stomach.

Ah, so Penny was carrying a cub. It was normal, then, for Ben to be protective.

As Ben turned to Violet, she put her hands up. “I’m fine. I can get up on my own.”

Ben chuckled. “I wasn’t going to offer.” He did, however, open the door for her.

“Thank you,” she said and climbed inside.

They drove out of town and up the highway that led to the mines, but after a couple of miles they veered off to the east side where the road forked. Ben explained the lake was actually in the valley in the middle of the mountains, and they would be driving for another hour to get there. They stopped to fill up on gas, and Violet and Penny went into the little convenience store to grab coffee and snacks.

An hour later, Ben pulled off on a side road covered with a thick canopy of trees. Violet wondered if they were going to the right place, but a few seconds later, the Jeep pulled onto a dirt road that led to a large clearing.

“It’s beautiful,” Penny said as they drove closer to the shore.

Ben looked up ahead. “I shouldn’t have waited so long to bring you out here, but the weather hasn’t exactly been great until now.”

Violet stared out the window at the breathtaking sight. It was gorgeous—the green mountains surrounded the sparkling waters of the lake. There was already a large crowd there—men, women, and children—swimming, kayaking, playing on the giant bouncy castle, or just sunning themselves on the sand.

The blue skies seemed endless, and it was like the puffs of white clouds dotting the horizon had been hand-painted by an artist. She squinted as she saw a bird flying in the distance. No, wait. What in God’s name was that? A hawk? An eagle? It was much too large to be any of those.

As the figure came closer, Violet realized how gigantic it was. The dragon was twenty—no, fifty—feet tall. The golden scales that covered its body glinted in the sun, and the wingspan of its bat-like wings was twice its height. She couldn’t help it and let out a gasp.

“Is that—”

Penny and Ben looked at each other. “Jason,” they said in unison.

Ben pulled the Jeep into an empty spot in the makeshift parking lot by the tree line. As they headed to the shore, the dragon flew overhead in circles before landing. The earth shook as its enormous clawed feet dropped to the ground.

“Let’s go say hi.”

Violet’s natural instincts kicked in as they drew closer. The dragon was massive and dominant, and her tiger cowed and became uneasy. Calm down, she told the tiger. It was normal, of course. The dragon was Alpha around here, and she was a stranger in its territory.

The dragon began to shrink, and the scales disappeared into human skin. As it reduced in size, a blonde woman ran up and tossed it some clothes. Human hands caught it.

“Show off.” The woman smirked as she came up to the man who was now hopping into swim shorts.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, then gave her a quick kiss. “You know I do it for the kids,” he said with a grin.

Indeed most of the children had stopped what they were doing and stared at him. When he waved at them, they all cheered. With dragons being so rare, Violet imagined this was a treat for them to see such a creature up close.

“Hey Penny, Ben,” the blonde woman greeted.

“Christina, Jason.” Penny waved at them, then gestured to Violet. “This is Dr. Violet Robichaux. Violet, this is Jason and Christina Lennox.”

“How do you do?” She held out her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Robichaux,” Christina said, shaking it.

Human, she sensed. “Please, call me Violet.”

“You’re Dr. Philipps’ replacement,” Jason said.

“Temporarily.” When he gave her a blank look, she frowned. Maybe he wasn’t involved in the day-to-day stuff, but still, she would have thought the position of Chief Geologist would have been important enough to him to know the details.

“Er, I’ll explain later,” Ben said quickly. “Where’s Matthew? He didn’t feel like putting on a show like you?”

Jason jerked his finger behind him. “Over there, of course, with Catherine.”

“You should meet him, too,” Ben said to Violet.

They walked over to the group of people chatting as they stood around a table laden with snacks and drinks. As they came closer, Violet did a double take. The man and woman standing in the circle of people looked exactly like Jason and Christina.

“You’re not going crazy,” Penny laughed. “Matthew and Jason are identical twins and so are their mates.”

“Mates?”

Penny nodded. “Yup. Crazy, huh?”

Crazy indeed.

They approached the couple and Violet was introduced to them, plus a few other people from Lennox Corp.

“Oh, so you’re replacing Dr. Philipps?” Matthew said.

“Tempora—”

“Penny, sweetheart,” Ben interrupted. “I think I see Sybil and Kate over by that table. Didn’t you say you needed to talk to them? Maybe you can introduce Violet.”

“Huh? Uh, yeah, sure. Let’s go Violet.”

Hmm, that seemed rude, Violet thought. After all, Matthew was the CEO. “I was hoping to ask Mr. Lennox more about the mountains.”

“Well, if you want to know more about the history of Blackstone and the Lennoxes, you can ask Sybil,” Ben offered. “She’s Matthew and Jason’s sister, and she knows everything about the mines and the town.”

“The female dragon, right?” she said. Though she didn’t keep up with shifter news and lore, she knew female dragons were rare.

“Don’t worry; she’s super nice,” Penny said. She grabbed Violet by the elbow. “Let’s go.”

Violet allowed Penny to lead her away, her mind already whirling with questions for the youngest Lennox dragon.

The two women sitting by themselves at a picnic table looked as different as night and day. The one on the right had dark hair that hung down her back in a braid. She was wearing a one-piece suit and a long skirt that covered her legs. The woman across from her, on the other hand, wore a bright pink bikini that matched the ends of her dark blonde hair. A small nose piercing sparkled in the sun as she turned to them. Why did she look familiar?

“Penny, my girl!” She waved them over.

“I like your new hair and the piercing, Kate,” Penny said as she sat down next to her.

“Yeah, I was tired of the old me. I was thinking of getting some ink done, too.” She turned to Violet. “Who’s this?”

“Oh. This is Dr. Violet Robichaux.”

“Vi! I like it!” She stood up. “I’m Kate.”

“It’s Violet,” she corrected.

“But Vi is so much cuter and efficient,” Kate said, then pulled her in for a hug. Violet stood there awkwardly, her arms stiff at her sides, unsure of what to do. When she took a deep breath, the scent of fur filled her nostrils. Wolf, definitely. As soon as she felt Kate’s limbs loosen, she disentangled herself as fast as she could.

“Er, I suppose so—”

“Great! It’s settled then, Vi.”

Violet wasn’t sure what was settled, but she shrugged it off.

“I'm Sybil Lennox,” the other woman said, flashing her a bright smile. With her sweet face and sunny expression, Violet wouldn’t have guessed this young woman turned into a giant fire-breathing dragon. “I’ve never seen you before. Which department do you work at?”

“I’m Dr. Philipps’ replacement,” Violet said.

Sybil scooted over and motioned for her to sit down beside her. “Ben told me he was retiring. He’s such a nice guy; he’s been working for us since I was a little girl. So you’ll be Chief Geologist now? That’s awesome!”

“Finally, more girls in the mines. Yes!” Kate raised a fist in triumph. “Let’s take down the sausage fest. And you’re a shifter too, right?” She sniffed at Violet. “You don’t smell like any cat I know. What are you? Cougar? Lynx?”

“You work in the mines as well?” Violet asked, quickly changing the subject.

“As a consultant. I don’t do the 9-to-5 thing. I like the freedom of freelancing,” she said. “I do software for the computer systems there and at Lennox. Unfortunately that moron Chief Engineer couldn’t program his way out of a paper bag.”

“Excuse me?”

Kate laughed and looked around. “Where is my brother, anyway?”

Brother? Violet looked at the other woman closely. No wonder she seemed familiar. She and Nathan had the same eyes, nose, and chin, though Kate’s features were softer.

“Oh, never mind. Of course that’s where he is.”

Violet’s gaze followed where she was looking. There he was. Nathan was standing in the water, beer in hand, wearing only swim shorts. He was surrounded by three women in bikinis, all laughing and giggling as he pretended to splash them.

Mine! The tiger’s claws came out. Mine!

Shut it!

But Violet’s stomach tightened, even as she forced herself to look away. Damn her enhanced hearing. She could make out Nathan’s laughs and the girls’ cries of Stop Nathan! And You’re getting my hair wet, Nathan! Jealousy began to seep through her veins. She huffed. No, she was going to put her foot down. This was not jealousy. Why the hell would she be jealous of those vacuous women?

“Oh brother,” Sybil rolled her eyes.

“At least he’s not your brother,” Kate said.

Penny gave Violet a sheepish look, but remained silent.

“I swear, he lets his dick do the thinking all the time.”

“Kate!” Penny admonished.

“What? It’s true.” Kate tossed her hair. “You know he’s got a revolving door on his bedroom.”

Penny let out a small eeep! and went pale.

“Penny!” Sybil exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

“Is it the baby?” Kate reached over and placed a hand on Penny’s stomach.

“I … uh, would you guys mind getting me some water?”

Kate stood up and winked at her. “No prob, mommy. I’ll grab a bottle from the table.”

“I came prepared with crackers in my cooler!” Sybil got up. “Be back in a sec.” The two women walked in opposite directions, leaving Violet and Penny alone.

Penny let out a breath and the color of her face returned to normal. “I’m s-sorry,” she said in a quiet voice.

“For what?”

Her eyes lowered. “About what they’re saying about Nathan. And just to let you know, I won’t be telling anyone what I heard the other day. About you guys being mates.”

Violet straightened her shoulders. “First of all, you shouldn’t apologize for something that’s not your fault. I already knew Nathan was a cad, so it’s not news to me.” Of course actually seeing it was entirely different, but she swallowed the feeling that was not jealousy deep inside. “Second of all, why would Ben ask you not to mention us being mates?”

“Ben told me, but it was Nathan who asked us not to tell anyone.”

Violet’s nostrils flared, and she felt heat creeping up her neck. Her tiger roared in outrage, furious at its mate's denial.

“Uh, Violet?”

Before she could say anything, Kate and Sybil returned. An indignant shriek caught their attention.

“Nathan! Stop that!”

Nathan and one of the girls were now in the deeper end, and she was pushing him and giggling over God-knows-what he was doing under the water.

Kate turned to Violet. “You’ll be working closely with him as Dr. Philipps’ replacement, so I apologize in advanced for my brother’s actions. He’s going to try to get in your pants at some point, but I know you’re smart enough to avoid that train wreck.”

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. “Don’t worry, I’ve already said no. I simply told him I wasn’t in need of a mate at the moment.”

Shit.

The silence at the table would have been deafening had it not been for the sounds of the picnic around them. Still, Violet’s ears were ringing.

That damn tiger.

“Kate, flies are going to go into your mouth,” Sybil said in a droll voice.

Kate’s jaw shut. “You’re. Freaking. Joking.” She looked at Penny. “This is a joke, right?”

Penny’s red face said it all.

Kate’s head turned to Violet. “Oh. My. God.” Then she let out a hoot and started laughing.

“So, you’re Nathan’s mate?” Sybil said. “Like, for real? How did you know?”

Violet straightened her spine. “My animal seemed to recognize him, but I shut that down quickly. Mates and the mating bond have never been scientifically proven. In fact, we already know the so-called mating bond is not a prerequisite for procreation nor can we prove that children born from that bond are superior to offspring of non-mates. My own parents weren’t mates as is the case with many shifter couples. It’s not a big deal.”

“Hold on. So you don’t think mates have to end up with each other?” Sybil asked.

“It doesn’t make sense. Scientifically,” Violet said in her most authoritative voice. “If a species wants to survive, they simple can’t wait around for their supposed fated mate to show up. Shifters and humans wouldn’t have been able to propagate for so many centuries if that were the case. I simply believe that while Nathan and I may be mates, it’s not necessary for us to bond and procreate.” The argument sounded logical and based on science. But why did she have a strange knot in her stomach?

“My parents weren’t mates,” Kate said in a sober voice, wiping the tears from her eyes. “But Sybil’s were and so are Ben and Penny.”

Violet cursed at herself silently, wishing she had known that before she had gone on and on. Her bluntness tended to alienate people, and she was used to it. But for some reason, she didn’t want to do that to these women. And she knew she might have, seeing Penny shift in her seat uncomfortably and Sybil’s brows draw into a frown.

“I meant no offense,” she said to the two women. “Like I said, I’m sure Sybil is a fine specimen, er, woman, and Penny, you’ll have a healthy and wonderful child. But, Sybil, you don’t consider yourself more superior to me and Kate just because our parents weren’t mates, right?”

“Uh, I guess not.” The younger woman seemed mollified.

“But Violet,” Penny began. “I’m human, but being mates … I can’t explain it, but it’s just special. Not that I think you’re not a great person on your own … or anything. But, aren’t you at least curious about what it would be like? It could be wonderful for you too."

Three pairs of eyes stared back at her, waiting for a response. For a brief moment, she thought about it. What it would be like to be held in his arms and kissed by him. But reality washed over her as she remembered his words.

“He agrees with me,” she stated.

“So, you’ve talked with him?” Sybil asked.

“Not exactly. But I overheard him tell Ben he doesn’t want a mate.” Or rather, he didn’t want her. The knot in her stomach grew tighter.

“What?” Penny exclaimed. “They were standing twenty feet from us!”

Violet tapped at her earlobe. “Big cat hearing.”

“Shit, that sounds like my brother. He’s never had a serious relationship.” Kate shook her head, but then her lips curled into a smile. “I mean, whatever, right? You guys are free to do what you choose. Fuck fate!”

“Er …” That wouldn’t be quite how she would say it.

Sybil and Penny looked dismayed, but said nothing.

Kate looked around. “So, Violet, what do you say we go for a swim?”

Violet shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“What? Are kitties like you afraid of the water?” Kate goaded.

Her tiger reared up and bared its fangs as if to say How dare this wolf say I’m afraid? “Uh, it’s not that. I didn’t bring anything appropriate for swimming.”

“Oh, you can borrow one of my suits,” Sybil offered. “I brought extras.”

Kate guffawed. “No thank you; she doesn’t need one of those circus tents you call a swimsuit, Sybil.” She grabbed something from under the table. “Here. I bought this bikini the other day. It still has tags.”

“Thank you, but—”

“Great!” Kate stood up, placed the suit in Violet’s hands, and grabbed her by the elbow. “Let’s go.”

Sybil groaned. “Kate, what are you planning?”

“What?” she asked, an innocent look on her face. “Violet and I are going to get changed. This’ll be fun. Trust me.”

Violet could hear Sybil and Penny’s protests, but she couldn’t extricate herself from Kate’s firm grasp, not without using her own enhanced strength. She glanced over to the water, where Nathan and that girl had been, but they were gone. At least she didn’t have to listen to them anymore. Besides, when was the last time she had gone swimming or even done anything to relax? Too long. The weather was perfect, and the view was phenomenal. She even bet the lake was just the right temperature, and it might prove to be a good distraction for her and her tiger.

“Here you go.” Kate shoved her into an empty changing room. “Put this on. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Where are you going?”

Kate bit her lip as if trying to stop herself from laughing. “To get some popcorn for the show.”

“What show?”

“Er, you’ll see.” The door shut before she could ask Kate any more questions.