“Hi, Daddy!” one yelled.

  “Hi, sweetie.” Cody waved.

  It was like the best parts of Luke’s memories — the ones that stretched from before Greer’s arrival at North Ridge — all jumped out of nowhere and replayed themselves in front of his eyes. Which was weird, because he never really thought of them as memories. More like fantasies of how life could have been.

  “Has Twin Moon Ranch always been like this?” he couldn’t help asking. Almost whispering.

  “Like what?” Cody asked, not even turning around.

  “This…nice. This quiet. This…safe.”

  Cody laughed. “Not when I was a kid. But the last couple of years have been good ones.” He waved a hand in the direction the kids had gone. “And we’ll make sure it stays that way.”

  Cody left out the firm damn it that punctuated his sentence, but it wasn’t necessary. The determination was palpable in the man’s voice, as was the We worked our asses off to make it this way.

  Luke looked around, wondering if it would be possible to bring serenity to a place as brutalized as North Ridge. He was ready to work his ass off, for sure. But would the wolves of North Ridge pack welcome him? Would anyone even recognize him?

  He straightened his shoulders. Those were questions for later. Right now, Cody was leading him up to a house that stood behind a little rise, away from the rest. A place with new windows and a new porch and a lawn so green it had to be young — like the family that inhabited the place, judging by the toys littering the grass.

  Cody didn’t knock on the door. He hollered. “Hey, Kyle. Hey, Stef. I got someone who wants to meet you.”

  A young woman came to the door holding a toddler on her hip. A cute little guy with spiky brown hair. “Hi,” she said, looking from Cody to Luke.

  Luke wished he had a hat to tip to her the way Cody did.

  “Hi,” he settled for saying as politely as he possibly could.

  The woman called over her shoulder. “You coming, Kyle?”

  A shadow moved in the hallway behind her, and Luke stuck out his hand, ready to greet the man who’d rid the world of a true beast.

  “Kyle, this is Luke Brandst—” Cody started before the peaceful scene exploded into chaos.

  An ear-splitting roar cut through the air. A scream followed. Everything blurred, and Luke was slammed into the ground by a heavy weight. The world turned into a flurry of shouts and flailing limbs.

  “No. Kyle, no!” the woman screamed.

  Luke stuck out his hands. He was flat on his back in the gravel pathway with a furious wolf poised, ready to tear his throat out. He was fast, but damn, this Kyle guy was a tornado.

  “Daddy! Daddy!” the kid bawled.

  “Hold it, Kyle!” Cody shouted.

  You will die, the wolf poised above him said with a clack of its teeth.

  Luke held perfectly still as the wolf’s saliva dripped onto his cheek, slowly processing what had happened. The guy who’d come to the door with a relaxed, curious look had shifted into wolf form and attacked him out of the blue.

  Luke stuck his hands up. “Whoa. Take it easy. What did I do?”

  The wolf was so close, Luke couldn’t help but inhale its scent. Something about it seemed familiar, somehow. But how?

  “He’s who?” the woman yelped, looking at the wolf. She scooped her son closer and scuttled back a few steps, glaring at Luke.

  What the hell was going on?

  “What? Who is he?” Cody asked the wolf.

  The wolf — Kyle — was too busy snarling to answer. But slowly, a vague picture formed in Luke’s mind — a picture of a bar in some godforsaken corner of the earth that he’d stopped at years ago. That was back in his time with a biker gang he’d briefly joined at the peak of their wildest days. A couple of rednecks had picked a fight with one of the gang members, and a brawl had broken out. The cops had showed up and—

  Oh, shit.

  At the very moment that Luke remembered what had happened, Cody cried out to Kyle.

  “What? This is the guy who attacked you?”

  “Wait,” Luke tried, but the wolf above him kept snarling.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. How was he supposed to know Kyle was the very guy he’d accidentally clawed in that brawl so long ago? The wound had been deep enough to turn the human into a wolf shifter in a slow, excruciating process that few men survived.

  Well, this guy had survived, all right. And boy, was he pissed.

  Luke kept his hands up. The alpha side of his soul demanded that he fight back, but he resisted. He’d resolved to own up to his past and damn it, this ugly surprise was part of the process. The first and possibly last part, given how close the points of those fangs were to his throat.

  Kyle growled ominously, eyeing Luke’s neck.

  “Daddy! Daddy!” came a terrified squeal, making the wolf pause. A second later, the growl resumed, but on a different note. Not so much a prepare to die growl as a wait till I get you out of sight of my family sound that promised a slow, painful death.

  The woman — Stef — stepped forward. Even though the massive wolf spat and growled and showed a hell of a lot of white, she showed no fear. She stroked Kyle’s coat, murmured in a low voice, and clutched at his ruff.

  Finally, with a vicious bark inserted into his growl, Kyle lifted his muzzle clear of Luke’s throat and stepped back. He shook with fury and kept one step ahead of his mate, shielding her body with his.

  Luke wanted to protest. He wasn’t here to threaten a woman or to terrorize a kid.

  You sure as hell did bring it upon yourself, though, a dark voice in the back of his mind said.

  “Okay, Kyle, we got this,” Cody tried, and though his voice was silk over the turbulence of the scene, Kyle aimed another defiant snap in Luke’s direction.

  Footsteps thumped along the path as two men ran into the yard.

  “What the hell is going on?” one of them thundered. The pack alpha. It had to be.

  Kyle, still in wolf form, twitched his tail in fury, and Luke rolled away. Yeah, it was pretty damn clear who was crawling away from whom here, and he didn’t like that one bit.

  Turning over a new leaf, he told himself over and over. Turning over a new leaf.

  But, man. Who knew it could be so hard to do such a simple thing?

  The newcomers yanked Luke unceremoniously to his feet.

  “Who the hell are you?” the tall, dark, and dangerous one thundered, shaking him.

  The spiky-haired wolf paced, swinging its head in an angry arc, guarding his family.

  The sight of the terrified kid hiding behind the mom made Luke sick. The child looked at him as if he were a monster. Exactly the way Luke had looked at Greer, once upon a time.

  “Fucking Greer,” he cursed under his breath so the kid didn’t hear. He already had plenty of reasons to make good on the mess that was his past, but now he had another one. He would make something of himself, damn it, so that kids would look up at him with respect and not fear. He’d amass enough good deeds to overwrite all the crap he’d been known for up to then.

  He’d do all that — if these wolves let him off Twin Moon Ranch alive and unskinned.

  “Take him to the council house,” Cody said, exchanging looks with the alpha.

  The two men hauled him off, all the way back across the ranch and up a couple of stairs. Then they threw him through a doorway into a building. He skidded across the wooden floor, scraping every inch of exposed skin raw until he came to rest against someone’s foot.

  “Hey,” a woman yelped, stepping back.

  It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the dim light — a minute in which several pairs of heavy boots clomped across the floor, making him wonder if they’d hauled him inside to talk or to beat the crap out of him.

  He looked up — and up and up. A long way up a familiar pair of lean legs clad in leather boots. Scuffed leather boots with laces that ended in little tassels tied high and at the back.

  Oh, shit.

  He knew those legs. He knew the line of that waist. But, whoa — what was she doing here?

  Carly’s blue eyes bit into his as she slammed her hands onto her hips. “You.”

  He’d have said it at exactly the same time if it hadn’t been for the big guy who lifted him clear off the floor and gripped him by the throat. He couldn’t get a damned sound out. Not even a squeak.

  Carly looked him up and down and narrowed her eyes, taking in his split lip and his dusty jeans.

  “This is how you turn over a new leaf?”

  Chapter Six

  Carly stood as still as a statue, because it was either that or wobble on her feet. The man she’d barely pried herself away from that morning — the one she’d all but run away from because he was so terrifyingly hard to resist — had come to Twin Moon Ranch?

  He’s here! He’s here! Her wolf jumped up and down, wagging its tail.

  Stupid beast. Hadn’t it been listening to her lecture about not getting involved with a man?

  Mine! her wolf cried. Mate!

  Crap. Why hadn’t Luke — smoking hot, one-night stand Luke — hit the road like he was supposed to? And why was her body on fire all over again?

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded, hating the way her heart went pitter-patter.

  She’d been pushing away memories of last night ever since she’d arrived on the ranch, but now all the heated, sensual images flooded back. She remembered Luke’s reverent touch. His raw, pulsing power. The need that had swept over her when they’d touched.

  She closed her eyes, but that just made the memories stronger. Luke knew just how to lick her to the edge of shattering pleasure — then ease her back so he could tease and torture her a little more. She’d never made love with such passion. Never needed a man that badly. And she’d never, ever been so close to shedding joyous tears.

  I didn’t want last night to end, her wolf cried.

  Which was why she’d forced herself away. One minute longer wrapped in his arms and she might have forgotten her vow never to grow close to a man.

  Is that why you took his jacket? her wolf asked.

  The jacket was a trophy, not a souvenir, she insisted.

  Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

  A good thing she’d left the leather jacket draped over the handlebar of her bike. Her siblings would be all over her if they picked up Luke’s scent. Even at twenty-seven years old, they treated her like the baby of the family. Ty, her oldest brother, was the bossiest of the bunch. Tina was more like a mother than a sister at times, and even Carly’s fun-loving brother, Cody, gave her hell for fooling around with anyone at all. He and Ty would flip out and play their older-brother, alpha-wolf cards if they knew she’d spent the night with Luke.

  Did we have to leave Luke without saying good-bye? her wolf complained.

  She nodded firmly. Leaving quickly made everything easier. After all, they’d only shared one little night of fun. No more, no less.

  But looking at him now, feeling her heart do flips all over again, she wasn’t so sure.

  His lip was bleeding and his shirt was covered in dust, but he still looked like a million bucks. Even with Ty looming nearby — Ty, exuding raw alpha power like Zeus about to throw a thunderbolt — Luke didn’t blink an eye. He just stood there with eyes that sparkled and spat, saying nothing, accepting a guilty sentence before being charged.

  Maybe he really meant it about turning over a new leaf, her wolf murmured, impressed.

  “Wait a minute. You know this guy?” Cody asked, turning to her.

  Her sister, Tina, had hurried into the room along with the others, and she stared, too.

  Ty’s laser gaze bored into Carly, and the whole room went quiet. Deadly quiet.

  Carly folded her arms over her chest and tipped her chin up. “None of your business.” A second ticked by, and she glared at Luke. If he’d been any closer, she would have grabbed him by the shirt and given him a good shake. “What the hell are you doing here? You said you were just passing through.”

  “You told me you were just visiting.”

  Well, yes. She had the right to visit her family. But who the hell had invited him?

  “Whoa. Wait,” Tina said. “You really know each other? How?”

  Carly shut her mouth and glared at Luke. How would she answer that question? Barely? Biblically?

  She expected Luke to show a flicker of apology. A little humility. But what did the bastard do?

  He grinned. Grinned, damn it! Just a tiny, hidden flash of a grin, but she caught it, all right. And boy, did it make her blood boil. She had enough problems getting her family to accept that she was all grown up. The last thing she needed was a passing fling to show up at the ranch.

  A passing fling, you got that? She glared some more.

  He tipped his head one way then the other, as if to say, Maybe. Maybe not.

  Footsteps scuffed at the entrance as Stef and a very angry Kyle appeared. The scent of wolf clung to his shoulders, and his hair was disheveled as if he’d only just shifted forms. What was going on?

  Kyle jabbed a finger toward Luke. “How many men have you killed? How many have you turned?”

  Luke pursed his lips. His eyes flashed, and Carly wondered if he was counting bodies in his head.

  How many of them had it coming? her wolf growled, supporting Luke.

  She shook her head. She barely knew Luke, but she knew he was no more a cold-blooded murderer than either of her brothers. They’d both killed in their time, but only in defense of their families.

  Luke looked a decade older as he considered the question. “I honestly came here to thank Kyle.”

  Thank Kyle for what? she nearly asked, but Luke was already going on.

  “I didn’t come to stir up trouble.” Luke looked from Kyle to Ty and Cody. Then his eyes swung to hers and sparked. And I sure as hell didn’t expect you here.

  He was glad, though. She could see that in his eyes, too. Glad and confused, just as she was.

  “What’s this about you and North Ridge pack?” Ty barked.

  Carly sucked in a deep breath, as did most everyone in the room. Stefanie went white, and Kyle growled audibly.

  Carly had heard the stories about North Ridge. How Greer, a brute of an alpha, had come to Arizona, demanding that Stefanie be given up to his pack. A pack Greer had ruled with an iron fist, keeping all privileges for himself — including the privilege of taking any woman he desired, anytime. Kyle and Stef had nearly died fighting off that monster, but in the end, they’d done it. They’d killed Greer. It was Kyle’s right to take over the leadership of North Ridge pack, but he’d chosen to stay at Twin Moon.

  Carly stood a little stiffer. Her father was up at North Ridge now, acting as temporary alpha until a suitable leader could be found to continue cleaning up Greer’s messy legacy.

  She looked at Luke. Was he really part of that awful pack?

  Luke’s face fell. “I was born at North Ridge. My whole family is there. What’s left of it, anyway.”

  When he trailed off, she couldn’t help but fill in the blanks. Who had he lost? When? How?

  “Why did you leave?” Ty demanded.

  Luke pursed his lips, making Carly’s wolf wag its tail. I love it when he does that.

  “I was forced to leave when I was a kid. When Greer just started abusing his power.” His voice grew bitter and cold. Distant.

  More blanks to fill in. Carly wondered what abuses had touched upon Luke’s family.

  No reason to trust Luke, she reminded herself. No reason to feel sorry for him.

  But she couldn’t help it. Yes, he’d come from a corrupt pack, but he’d left as a kid. And she knew how hard the life of an outcast could be. Female shifters usually stayed with their home packs or transferred from one to another without trouble. But many alphas followed the tradition of ejecting powerful young males before they could challenge the leader’s supremacy — a practice that created packs of wandering outcasts. Some were rogues who caused trouble wherever they went. Others formed drifter packs that weren’t nearly as violent or untrustworthy as rogues.

  Was Luke a rogue or a drifter? She remembered the scars amidst his tattoos and wondered if it mattered. What would she have done if she’d had to hit the road at fourteen?

  Let’s not even think about that, her wolf decided. And for once, she agreed.

  “So you joined a rogue pack?” Kyle hurled the words at Luke. “How many humans did you attack? How many did you turn?”

  Luke pursed his lips before speaking. “I was trying to break up that brawl. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.”

  “How many humans did you turn shifter?” Kyle demanded.

  Luke let out a long, slow breath before answering. “None. None survived.”

  “I survived,” Kyle spat back.

  Stefanie put a hand on Kyle’s arm. Carly knew that neither Stef nor Kyle had a choice about being turned shifter, and it had been an agonizing process for both. They’d found their peace on Twin Moon Ranch, but that wouldn’t make them less wary of a man like Luke.

  A man trying hard to make a new start. She saw the truth in his eyes. The regret. The determination. But he’d been living on the edge for so long. Could he really reform? Did she really want him to? He had that edgy power to him, that restless gaze.

  That gentle touch, her wolf added in a dreamy voice.

  Gentle wasn’t what she’d call a typical rogue, that was for sure.

  That’s what I love about him. Her wolf nodded. The contrasts. The inconsistencies.

  I don’t love him, she reminded herself. I can’t.

  Yes, you can.

  Luke looked at Kyle. “Like I said, I just wanted to thank the man who killed Greer Steton. I came to tell him I wish I’d done it myself. That’s all.” Luke put his hands up. “I didn’t come to make trouble or to scare anyone, especially not a kid.”

  The words came out all ragged, and for a split second, Carly saw past the hardened man and down to the boy he must have once been. A boy on the run.