“Oh hell no, I’m not marrying anyone.”

Jordan folded her arms and gave her most defiant stare at Tristan, the Silver Wizard. Clad in all black, his shoulder-length black hair fringed with silver, he looked intimidating. The wizard, judge and guardian over all shifters, including Lupines like herself, could fry her with a flick of his finger.

But Tristan didn’t look angry, only resigned.

“Aiden found a suitable candidate willing to take you as his mate.” Tristan perched on the edge of the balcony, never mind that it was four stories in the air. “I suggest, strongly suggest, you take the offer. Shifter prison will break you, Jordan.”

They sat outside Aiden Mitchell’s lodge in Montana, her temporary quarters after Tristan had snatched her away from the crime scene in Wyoming. For three days she’d lived on the Mitchell Ranch under close supervision while Tristan decided upon her punishment.

Shifter prison was bad. But marriage? Worse.

From the time she ran from her pack at age 17, Jordan had vowed to never bind herself to a male. Not even prison would break that vow. “Can’t be worse than mating with a male, having him order me around.”

Tristan snapped his fingers and a translucent ball floated in the air, showing a scene of a Lupine trudging around a dirt yard, chains dragging on his feet. “One hour of fresh air and sunshine permitted.”

She shrugged. “A day? I can take it.”

“Per week for crimes such as yours. Per month for those who have committed worse crimes.” Tristan closed his fist and the image vanished.

Her stomach somersaulted. Without her beloved outdoors and the chance to release her wolf, she might as well be dead. She tried to keep the horror from her face, and the fear from her eyes. “So? I’ve had worse.”

“Which is why I’ve gone to the enormous trouble of trying to find a mate for you instead of sending you to prison.” Tristan narrowed his eyes. “You’re only 23, Jordan. Much too young to rot away in darkness. But your transgression warrants it.”

Guilt flickered through her. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

“You set fire to the wood pillars of that Skin house and showed your wolf form running away. The boy saw you, Jordan. If I hadn’t been watching you closely, the fire would have burned the house down and the Skins would have known your secret.”

Never let humans, or Skins as Others called them, know of the existence of shifters and Others. But the humans who lived in the house were cruel.

“I had good reason. It was only to smoke them out, so I could snatch the boy and take him to the Skin authorities.”

“Regardless, you will suffer punishment.” Tristan’s voice softened. “I know you meant well, but arson is a serious crime and there were alternatives to saving him. You should have called me.”

And there was the problem. For six years she’d been self-sufficient, surviving on her own, refusing help from anyone. Always on the road, never settling. When she’d passed by in the woods and glimpsed through the window the Skins beating the young boy with a leather belt as he screamed and begged for mercy, her entire soul cried out for justice.

She walked over to the hummingbird feeder suspended from a bracket on a railing. “What happened to the boy?”

Jordan had been magically transported away by Tristan directly after her crime, held here at the Mitchell Ranch.

“The boy is with the police, awaiting arrival of his real parents. He had been kidnapped a year ago. If not for you finding him, he would have remained with his abusers.” Tristan sighed. “I erased any memory of you shifting into a wolf. The Skins who abducted him are now in prison.”

That made her feel better. At least the child had been saved. “Who’s the lucky male who wants me?”

“Nolan Mitchell, Aiden’s cousin.”

Now she actually felt nauseated, her stomach curling in dread. “You’re joking. Nolan would never agree to that.”

Tristan glanced at the door. “He just did. The wedding will be tonight, if you give your consent.”

Her heart fluttered. “Nolan hates me.”

After leaving his pack, she’d made certain of it.

She’d needed to vanish into the shadows, never seen by anyone who knew her.

The Silver Wizard traced a symbol into the air, and the symbol sparked, a sign of powerful, pure magick. “He needs a strong female for a mate, one who knows about the vineyard and wine, and he has verbally agreed.”

Nolan. Six years ago, she had told him to go to hell and laughed when he confessed he loved her. Oh, she had her reasons. Good ones. Drive him far enough away so he’d never look for her, never would want to see her again, never guess the real reason she’d left his father’s pack…

The door opened and Aiden Mitchell strode outside. Tall and muscled, with a short black beard and inky hair to match, the pack alpha looked as intimidating as Tristan. Yet last night she’d seen him coo to his baby girl as he rocked her to sleep.

The scene had turned her heart over, though she’d been careful not to show it. Never show your soft side.

That’s when assholes seized the advantage.

Aiden nodded at Tristan, and braced his hands on the porch railing. He resembled his cousin Nolan with the strong chin and well-defined cheekbones, but Nolan had caramel-colored eyes where Aiden’s were onyx.

“She decide yet?” he asked the wizard.

Annoyed, Jordan waved a hand. “Hello? I’m over here. Unlike the Silver Wizard, I can’t turn invisible.”

Aiden didn’t look at her. “Wasn’t addressing you, Miss Baxter. I did Tristan a courtesy because we’re blood now. He’s my brother-in-law and asked this favor. But if it were up to me, I’d toss you in prison in a heartbeat rather than sending you to my cousin.”

“Prison might be better. Your cousin Nolan isn’t a prize.”

Even though he was, and deep in her heart, she knew he deserved better than her.

Now he did look at her, scowling like a thundercloud. She raised her chin and glared right back.

“Nolan is good people and if you hurt him, know this. We may not be close, but he’s blood and I will come after you. Myself and my whole pack if you even say ‘boo’ to him.”

Her own blood chilled at the thought. She laughed to hide her fear. “Why? He’s not male enough to defend himself against a lil ole female like me?”

Aiden looked over her head. “Nolan’s too good for the likes of her. She’s undisciplined, a rogue and not a pack wolf.”

And there was the real reason Aiden disliked her. Alphas distrusted and regarded her with wariness because she owed no loyalty.

Tristan didn’t answer, only watched the door. It opened and Nia Blakemore Mitchell walked outside, juggling baby Peyton in her arms. Despite her resolve to appear fierce, Jordan couldn’t help a smile. The baby was adorable and Nia was a good mother, and a strong, independent female who hadn’t let marriage to the overwhelming Aiden shadow her.

Jordan softened at the sight of mother and child, sighing with a flash of envy. I wish I could have the same.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tristan give a satisfied smile. Damn. She’d forgotten the Silver Wizard’s ability to read her emotions. He knew what she secretly longed for. Jordan scowled to hide her feelings, but it was too late.

Aiden narrowed his eyes. “I let you stay here, Jordan, out of courtesy to Tristan. Otherwise, I’d never tolerate a Lupine who doesn’t follow rules. Around here, we respect pack order. And everyone answers to the alpha, just as they do in my cousin’s pack. Nolan won’t put up with any lone wolf antics.”

“I’m so scared,” she told him, rolling her eyes.

“You should be.”

Aiden growled and in an eye blink, shifted. A huge, muscled wolf stared her down.

Fine. Two can play this game. Jordan shifted into a wolf. She growled right back at Aiden, her hackles raised. Aiden was far larger and outweighed her, but she’d sharpened her teeth on a few wood fence posts, and one or two despicable males who’d gotten in her way.

“Stop it, you two. You’re scaring the baby,” Nia scolded.

The baby chortled and waved her hands, obviously unafraid. But Jordan shifted back, waved a hand and clothed herself by magick. She didn’t want to upset Nia, whom she truly liked.

Her mate, on the other hand… She looked at Aiden, who stood once more in Skin form, wearing jeans, a checked shirt and a wide scowl.

“You sure this is a good idea, Tristan? She’ll never follow orders,” Aiden said.

“I’m sure,” Tristan said quietly. He walked over to Nia, removed the baby from her arms and cooed to her.

Then he tossed her into the air and Peyton floated there, laughing. Nia laughed as well. Aiden scowled again.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” he muttered.

Tristan gestured and the baby floated down into his arms again. He handed her to Aiden, not Nia. The big alpha cradled his daughter, who grasped at his beard.

“I have to get back to my family.” Tristan turned to Jordan. “Your final answer? Will you mate with Nolan?”

Lupine matings were for life. She thought about what she had escaped, and dread filled her. “His father won’t agree to it. And his brother…”

“Both are dead,” Aiden cut in. “Craig died two years ago, leaving control of the pack to Nolan. He’s the new alpha. Bryce was killed in a bar fight shortly after.”

Relief filled her. Craig had been strict, and up until that night, somewhat fair. Bryce, however…

“I’ll do it,” she finally said. “Where is the wedding? Here?”

Glancing at Aiden’s glare, she decided that might not be the best idea.

“No. On Nolan’s property.”

“When do I leave?”

“Immediately.” Tristan jumped off the porch railing. “Say your good-byes.”

She looked at Aiden, whose frown had returned, and Nia, whose gentle face was filled with sympathy. On impulse she went to Nia and shook her hand.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” she told her.

Jordan looked at Aiden. “Have a nice life. I’ll try not to make your cousin miserable.”

Before he could answer, she walked up to the baby in his arms, and clasped her tiny hands. “I left you a gift in my room, cutie pie. Make sure you listen to your mama. As for your papa, well, listen to your mama. She knows best.”

Aiden growled. The baby looked up at him, babbled something. He smiled at her.

Jordan never knew if the baby smiled back because in the next minute, Tristan had waved his hand, and she felt herself hurling through time and space.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she fought to control her nausea. Then she felt solid ground beneath her feet and a cool breeze against her cheek, and smelled freshly mown grass and pine.

Home. Once it had been home.

“Open your eyes,” Tristan ordered.

Maybe that was a bad idea. Maybe she could leave them shut and the past four days would dissolve like a bad dream. But her pragmatic side, the one that kept her alive, disagreed.

Jordan opened her eyes.

They stood on a hillside, the steep slope marching down into a valley. To her left was the wooden lodge where Nolan lived. She craned her neck and saw the third floor, second window from the far left. Once it had been her bedroom, her refuge. Until that terrible night…

Stop thinking about it or you’ll never be able to do this.

Tristan studied her. “Recognize it?”

She shrugged. “I’ve tried to purge it from my memory.”

She thought he’d take her up to the lodge, dump her in Nolan’s care. Instead, the wizard kept scrutinizing her. “When I brought you here as a little girl, you were frightened, but quickly adapted. You seemed happy later when I checked on you.”

There was a surprise. “You brought me here?”

At his nod, Jordan shrugged again. “I was five. Don’t remember much.”

But she did remember a year later a visit from a tall wizard with black hair, clad in black, who visited the pack, gave her a stuffed wolf to play with. It hurt to think of how she’d lost that toy.

“Bryce snatched away the gift I gave you.” Tristan stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

Jordan blinked. “How did you know… oh wait. Of course. You’re the Silver Wizard.”

“Last time I checked,” Tristan said dryly. “Let’s go meet Nolan.”

She’d much rather remain here, on the hill, away from the gangly, tall and shy Lupine she once loved. But no choice now. Onward.

The walk up the steep hill made her huff and puff. Jordan paused a minute to wipe sweat from her brow. Always this place seemed to drain her slightly, as if being in a pack muted her wolf instead of strengthening it.

“Sheesh.” Jordan bent over, bracing her hands on her knees. “I’ve climbed mountains in Colorado and didn’t get half this winded.”

Tristan said nothing, only waited. She sucked down several deep gulps of air. It made no sense.

She blamed it on the emotional trauma of her past.

When they cleared the hill and walked to the front of the lodge, their steps crunching the gravel drive, Jordan’s heart banged against her chest. Not from the altitude or the exercise, but the fear mingling with anticipation. Would Nolan recognize her?

Tristan opened one of the double oak doors and held it for her. “After you.”

Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside. Everything looked the same – the comfortable sofas sprawled before the river rock fireplace, the moose and deer heads hanging from the wall near the staircase. She and Nolan had whimsically named them Ma and Pa, and she’d asked MeeMaw, Nolan’s great-grandmother, to show her how to knit a hat.

The faded pink results of her childish labor still sat upon Ma’s antlered head.

Tightness settled in her chest. This living room with the stacks of magazines, bookshelves and rag rugs had been the only real home she remembered. Six years of being on the road, hitchhiking and being on her own all fled.

Then she remembered the real reason she’d left. Her gaze sharpened on Tristan. “You sure he’s not here?”

“Bryce is dead. He will never return to bother you,” Tristan said gently, his expression kind.

He knows. He knows what happened to me. Panic squeezed her insides, but she forced herself to calm down. Silly. Of course he probably knew. He knew everything.

Suddenly she wanted to ask him why he hadn’t done anything, hadn’t prevented her from running off. But there was no time, for Nolan appeared at the top of the oak staircase.

He looked far taller than she remembered. As he descended, Jordan realized the good-looking boy had been replaced with a striking man with good looks, a man’s muscled body, strong cheekbones, an aquiline nose, his ash brown hair cut short.

For a moment her heart leapt in eager anticipation. Nolan had always loved her, treated her well…

He reached the landing. His caramel gaze looked far colder than she remembered, his expression unsmiling. Not welcoming. Nolan was as icy as his distant cousin, Aiden Mitchell.

My reluctant groom. She swallowed hard. “Hi Nolan. Good to see you again.”

“Jordan.” Nolan gave a brusque nod. He inclined his head to Tristan. “Tristan, thank you for escorting her here. Welcome to my home.”

No welcome for me? Thanks. This quiet, stone-cold man had replaced the affectionate Lupine who kissed away her bruises and joined her in long scampers over the hills for berry picking and adventures.

The Lupine who’d tumbled her into the hay in the barn and took her virginity, and swore he’d never love another female, only her.

The Lupine who looked as if she crushed him beneath her heel when she told him she didn’t love him back…

The Southern twang remained the same, the lilting accent she had loved. His manner of dress looked familiar as well – cherry red cotton shirt rolled up at the elbows to reveal strong, tanned forearms, and well-worn jeans and leather work boots.

But she recognized nothing else about the Lupine who had been her best friend.

Maybe he’d changed after assuming leadership of the pack? The thought struck her as Tristan talked with Nolan about the harvest, asked polite questions about the pack’s welfare.

Jordan waited for Tristan to stop speaking.

“I’m sorry about your father’s death.” She paused, realized that was a lie, and shrugged. “Well, I’m sorry for you. Not for anyone else in the pack. He wasn’t such a terrific alpha.”

Nolan’s gaze turned to ice. He ignored her and focused on Tristan. “How’s my cousin Aiden?”

Annoyed, she bit her lip. Fine, ignore me. This isn’t going to work out. Then she reminded herself that Nolan was saving her butt through this mating.

Jordan wanted to snap her fingers in Nolan’s face. Instead, she settled for words. “Nia’s terrific. The baby is adorable and sweet. Your cousin Aiden, on the other hand, is a right dick.”

Amusement danced in Tristan’s dark gaze, while Nolan scowled. But he finally turned to acknowledge her.

“Around here, we don’t swear and we don’t disrespect the alpha, any alpha. We work hard as a team. Suppose you don’t remember those other four-letter words – work and team.”

She turned to Tristan. “Maybe prison would be better after all.”

The wizard’s expression remained mirthful. “I think you’ll enjoy it here. Nolan is exactly what you need, Jordan. You as well, Nolan.”

Nolan’s mouth tightened. “Where’s your luggage? I’ll have one of my men haul it to our bedroom.”

Chagrin filled her. Her few personal items had been left behind in the woods when Tristan spirited her away. All she had was a change of clothing Nia had loaned her.

“Jordan’s luggage will be arriving later. I’ve personally arranged it,” Tristan said smoothly.

She shot him a grateful look. Bad enough she had to come crawling back here to save herself. Admitting she was as poor as that long-ago orphan girl who came here to live? At least Tristan saved a bit of her pride.

Nolan nodded. “Then come into the dining room. Reckon you’re hungry with the time change and all.”

At last, the hospitality she remembered well, yet he still didn’t look at her, only at Tristan. The wizard shook his head.

“I must leave, but I’ll return tonight at sunset to marry you both. There will be no doubts about the legitimacy of this union.”

Tristan glanced at her. “Your wedding gown will arrive with your luggage in about two hours. Nia selected it personally. She said you’d love it.”

Such kindness made her throat tighten. At least Aiden’s mate understood what she faced. Having a nice dress armored her for a situation where she had no control.

“Please thank her for me.”

His smile turned warm. “None needed. The homemade cap you knitted for the baby is thanks enough.”

With a meaningful glance at Nolan, the wizard flicked a hand and vanished.

She and Nolan were left alone in the living room. He shoved his hands into his pockets, shuffled his feet.

Finally, he looked at her. “Jordan. You’ve changed. Grown into a woman.”

Give it a chance. “You’ve changed as well. But the place still looks the same.” She smiled at him. “It looks good. Real good, Nolan.”

“Suppose it’s not as fancy and fast as the big cities you left us for.”

So much for compliments. “You have no idea of where I’ve been.”

“I know what you did,” he said evenly. “No bones about it, Jordan. I don’t tolerate rule breaking around here. There’s no nightlife or frolicking or lazing about.”

“I don’t frolick,” she snapped.

“No, you only set fires to Skin houses.”

Folding her arms across her chest, she glared at him. “You’re quick to condemn me, Nolan. You don’t know what I’ve done since I’ve been gone.”

“Know enough, and why you’re here. It’s enough for me.” He gave her a pointed, hard look.

Jordan bristled. “When did you become so judgmental?”

He scratched his chin, and she noticed the bristles on it. As if his wolf emerged, and his testosterone surged. “No judging, just fact. More facts for you. Around here, the vineyard comes first, along with pack. We work hard.”

“Anything else?” she asked.

“I’m your alpha. When I tell you to do something, you’ll do it. In bed or out of it.”

His long, lingering sweep across her body indicated desire still flared between them. A shiver of anticipation snaked down her spine. Jordan wet her lips. His gaze tracked every move, heat flaring in his whiskey-colored eyes as if he wanted to kiss her.

And more.

Kissing had led to other things with Nolan. Things that brought fire between her legs, made her beg and plead as she’d writhed beneath him in pleasure.

And then dread replaced anticipation as she recalled the real reason she’d left. He might be alpha, but he had no idea of why she’d fled in the night …

Jordan shrugged to hide her trembling. “Guess we’ll see about that.”

Nolan’s expression turned hard. He pulled a cell phone from his pocket, shot off a text.

“I have chores,” he said in that deep voice. “Erica and Shirl will be up from the cabins in a few minutes to feed you. I’m sure you want to see them. Try not to break anything.”

Not an insult, almost an endearment. He used to say that all the time when he left her alone in the lodge, a grin on his handsome face. No grin now, only that cold, hard expression.

And then he turned and walked out the door.

Just as she had six years earlier.