Eira woke to the smell of coffee. There was nothing quite like the aroma in the morning to put a smile on her face. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Range could put a smile on her face quicker, better, longer. Her neck was tender. Just before she’d gone back to sleep after they’d had amazing sex, he’d told her that the bite he’d left on her neck would mark her as his, and him as hers.

As if we needed that.

But it was a shifter thing—she got that.

The room was quiet. Range’s room, in Range’s house. She wasn’t surprised it was quiet. His brothers had already left for their mission—project—operation.

She rose and made her way to the kitchen, passing the sunken game room and all the closed doors that Range had told her led to his brothers’ quarters.

She didn’t quite make it to the kitchen when he appeared—as if from nowhere—with a steaming cup. “Cream, no sugar, right?”

She smiled at him and lifted on her toes to give him a kiss. “Right.” She took the cup from him, noting the cream was foamy.

“You frothed it?”

That crooked smile made an appearance on his freshly shaven face. “I did.”

Going to have to keep this man around.

“So, want a tour?”

“Really? I get to see the secret entrance too?”

“Don’t knock it.” He gave her a mock growl.

Eira followed him down a corridor to a game room, also sunken, not unlike their living area. Wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor bookcases lined two of the walls. In the middle of one of the shelves, she spied a handle.

“I thought you weren’t going to be cliché and all that.”

He mock-frowned at her.

Eira pulled on the handle and the shelf swiveled, turning on an axis. A crevice appeared, almost three-foot-wide, more than six foot tall. “Looks like the entrance.”

“I don’t advise you to go in.”

“Why not? I thought you were going to show me the—”

“That’s a false entrance. A trap, pretty much. You go in, it will lock you inside. Then I’ll have to go through the hassle of releasing you, then re-arming it.”

She turned toward him, backing away from the opening. “Seriously?”

He nodded, flipped a lever under the handle, then led her to another bookshelf and picked up a picture of four teenage boys. It was clear that it was Range and his brothers. Eira frowned in confusion. He turned it over and put pressure on two opposite corners.

The bookshelf in front of them opened up.

“How the hell…”

“Magnetic forces, some kind of mumbo-jumbo scientific magic, I guess. Don’t ask me; I didn’t design it. I don’t know the first thing about some of this stuff.”

She leaned into the darkness the shelf had disclosed.

“Ready for a tour?”

“Yeah!”

Range reached into the abyss before them and pressed on the wall just inside.

A clicking sound was followed by light, revealing a steep stairwell. His foot alit on the first step, then he put his hand out and beckoned for Eira to take it.

Eira stretched out on the bunk bed in one of the rooms of the underground bunker, her hand on Range’s chest. “I can’t believe this even exists. And the plans you have for it, that’s even harder to believe.”

The room was softly lit with bulbs that he’d told her were designed to be easy on the eyes.

“When do you plan to start raising the fish in the underwater tanks? Growing the vegetables under those lamps?” She’d already forgotten what he’d called the lamps.

“In the next couple months. Jason’s in charge of that part.”

“And who’s in charge of that armory with guns and ammo?” She couldn’t contain the excitement in her voice. Her sisterhood would love the weaponry these guys had and were planning to acquire.

“Asa’s job.” He shrugged. “What’s with all the questions? It almost sounds like you’re excited about being here.”

She raised her head and looked him in the eyes. “Are you kidding? I love this already. It’s…” She bit back what she was going to say. Would he even want to hear her thoughts on it?

“Go on. Don’t hold back now.” He chucked her under the chin.

“I was thinking how cool this would be for my sisterhood. They’d never be found.”

Range nodded. “Yeah, it’s pretty secure. Not perfect, but damned near. And soon it will be self-sustaining.”

“But you guys aren’t like, preparing for a zombie apocalypse or anything like that, right?”

“Nah. But shifters have seen some serious persecutions. Witch hunts, just about. It’s good to have a place to hole up, when needed.”

“What kind of persecutions?”

“Other shifters. Vampires. Witches. Depends. So you gonna tell your sisterhood?”

“No. First off, not fair to you and your brothers. I’m obligated to keep it a secret. Second, they’re not exactly wild about the idea of others knowing about us.”

Especially shifters. But she didn’t add that part.

Truth was she thought this place was perfect for the sisterhood.

There were Hummers set up SWAT-style in an area being converted to a garage. Range had told her there were two other exits being set up with Hummers and garages. The bunkers themselves were plate steel, fortified structures with power systems, water purification systems, air filtration that would be able to deal with bio or chemical warfare. And there were so many plans Range had told her—his eyes gleaming with excitement.

She noticed he’d gone completely silent and ran her fingertip along his jawline, noting a telltale tic. “What’s on your mind?”

“The one that’s hunting you. The guy with the accent. The one that called here. I think we should take the fight to him. Seek him out. Cut it off at the pass. And get some answers. What do you know about them? I mean what else? Where are they headquartered?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“What do you mean no?” The tic became more rapid.

“I can’t put the sisterhood at risk by starting a war with them.”

“Seems to me they already started one with you.”

Eira sighed. “I’m not good with that idea.”

“You can’t keep running and hiding.”

“The way you and your brothers are hiding?” She immediately regretted saying that. It seemed more like an attack.

He scowled. “That’s different.”

“Can we agree to disagree?” She didn’t want to fight this fight. Not today.

“All right.”

“I have an idea. If you’re open to it.” She tried for a smile, anything to keep him from seeing that the idea of hunting the berserkers on their own and not warning the sisterhood didn’t sit well with her.

Range’s brows flew upward in mock surprise. “Do tell.”

“What would you be doing if I wasn’t here? Where would you be?”

His eyes narrowed. “I’d be with my brothers. What’s that got to do with your idea?”

“I was thinking we could go.” After seeing the look in his eyes, she continued, if nothing, to at least get him to quit looking at her with disbelief. “You know. To help them.”

He chuckled.

She took affront. “What?”

His laugh turned into a smile. “Nothing.”

“I can tell you’ve had them on your mind lately.”

“True. But—”

“But nothing.” She put her finger over his lips when he opened his mouth to counter her position. “You’ve had them on your mind. I want you to go there. To be a part of the team that you’re a part of.”

His jaw clenched. “I won’t leave you.”

“I’d be fine if you did.”

“No.”

“I’m not saying you should. I’m going with you.”

“Hmmm.”

Eira swiveled and rose, straddling him. “I can be your muscle.”

Range grabbed her hands, held them above her head. “You think?”