The devastated look on the parents’ faces when I told them I was leaving was enough to make me feel bad enough to consider staying—only almost, though. I packed as quickly as I could, so they couldn’t guilt me into staying.

  As I got in the car Embry had ordered for me, I checked my email. There was a first-class ticket for a direct flight from Sydney to Dallas, along with instructions to meet another driver who would be picking me up and taking me the nearly two hours to Embry’s house.

  First-class seats? Drivers? I was starting to believe Embry didn’t do online marketing for a small company like she’d told me these last few years.

  Her texts were few and far between as I gathered my belongings. Even when she did respond, it wasn’t to answer any of the fifty questions I’d asked. I was beginning to wonder if I was making a mistake just taking off on a whim at her demands.

  The driver chatted my ear off about the weather and tried asking me about the places I’d visited while in the country. Even with my minimal answers, he managed to keep the conversation going until he stopped at the terminal.

  I waved goodbye once I had my bags in hand and took a deep breath. I could do this. Embry was my best friend. All I had to do was trust her.

  Except, that faith wavered every time I caught sight of the mark on my inner wrist.

  The color hadn’t changed since I got back to the house, but I still marveled at how perfectly shaped it was. I hadn’t had time to search for any answers online, considering I went from quitting my job to packing within the span of only thirty minutes.

  Check-in was almost closed. I was cutting it close with the flight Embry chose, but since I was first-class, I cruised right through the bag drop and was even upgraded through security and customs. Luck seemed to be on my side.

  My name was called over the speaker when I was still a dozen gates away from mine, and I was nearly panting by the time I shoved my phone into the flight attendant’s face.

  “I’m here,” I heaved.

  “Ahh, yes, Ms. Jones. We’ve been paging you. You’re just in time,” the lady scanned my electronic boarding pass and pointed to the hallway. “Just follow that down and someone will get you seated if you need help.”

  I nodded and waved my thanks while she closed and locked the door behind me. A young man was tapping his foot, likely waiting on my arrival.

  Mumbling my apologies, I rushed to my seat, which was only four rows in and ginormous. As soon as I tucked my purse below, a flight attendant creeped in from behind.

  “Good Evening, Ms. Jones. Can I get you anything to eat or drink before we take off?” she asked, smiling politely and not at all making me feel horrible for nearly causing a delay in take-off.

  “Water and…” Crap. What did people eat in first-class? I was only used to the hard cookies or peanuts that were normally tossed out to economy seats.

  She patted my shoulder. “No worries, dear. I’ll get you a bottled water, and there’s a menu next to you when you’re hungry. A pillow and blanket are under your seat as well. Just press this button here if you need anything at all once we’re in the air.” She pointed to the panel above my head, and I glanced at her name tag.

  “Thank you, Judith. You’ve been very helpful.”

  She nodded and ventured off while I figured out the seat controls. The seventeen-hour flight was going to be the best ever, I thought as I lay the seat back and rested my eyes.

  The day’s events had caught up to me, and I was asleep before she even came back with my water.

  As soon as we landed, a heat settled into my body, and I found it difficult to breathe. Cool air was hard to find inside the plane, and it was even stuffier inside the airport with all the people milling about.

  It was just after eight in the morning when I turned my phone back on. There were two texts from Embry: one telling me the previous driver had canceled and she was picking me up. The other said she’d had something come up and someone else was being sent. I typed a message back, wondering how the hell I was supposed to know who I was looking for, but she didn’t respond before I had to go through customs.

  After that chaos, I’d forgotten about Embry and was tempted to just take a taxi, except I didn’t know where I was going. My head was pounding, my vision was blurred, and I was hangry. I thought I’d gotten enough sleep and food on the plane, but jetlag wasn’t playing nice as I lugged my two suitcases behind me.

  As I exited the doors of the Dallas airport, an August summer heat seeped into my bones. It felt like it was nearing one-hundred degrees and humid as hell. Why would anyone willingly live here?

  I glanced around for the taxi line, but before I could find it, I saw a bearded giant holding a white sign with my name on it. He winked and waved me over to the sleek black sedan I didn’t recognize the make of, but the chrome trim and sleek lines told me it was expensive.

  His reddish-brown hair was shaved at the sides, but long on the top and slicked back. His beard was the same color and several inches long. His light blue eyes sparkled with mischief as he continued to wave at me.

  “Cait Jones?” he asked, and I nodded. “Fantastic. Give me your bag.” His words were demanding, as if he was used to people doing whatever he said, but there was a kindness in his deep tone I hadn’t missed, either.

  “And you’d be?” I asked in return.

  “Oh, right. We didn’t talk about that.”

  I smirked. “No, we didn’t. I don’t make a habit of getting into cars with strangers.”

  He grinned back. “But you fly across the world to a place you’ve never been to stay with a girl you’ve never met. Good to know where your boundaries are.”

  His leather jacket flexed as he grabbed my bags and tossed them not-so-carefully into the trunk, then opened the back door for me. Good thing all of my important belongings were in storage back in Oregon.

  “I’m Vaughn.” His eyes leveled on mine, and I immediately wanted to look down.

  The hell?

  It took every effort I had to hold his stare. “Nice to meet you, Vaughn,” I said through gritted teeth.

  His gaze softened. “Interesting.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “It’s interesting to meet you.” Vaughn’s hands landed on my shoulders as he nudged me toward the seat. As I turned back to comment about him keeping his hands to himself, I caught a glimpse of another man in my peripherals.

  How I’d picked him out in the crowds around us, I didn’t know, but Vaughn stepped in front of me as I tried to get another look. “Something wrong, Cait?”

  The way Vaughn said my name told me he knew things I didn’t, and I wasn’t a fan. I shoved at his chest, but by the time he was out of my way, the stranger from Australia was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it hadn’t been him at all. More likely, I was just seeing things and having more jetlag side effects.

  Glancing down, the mark still hadn’t changed physically, but the throbbing within seemed to ebb and flow as time passed.

  “Let’s go,” I huffed and slid into the back seat of my own accord.

  He lowered himself to my level, eyes bright with excitement. “This is going to be so much fun.” Then, he shut the door.

  I pulled out my phone. There was still no response from Embry about how I was supposed to know who was picking me up, and I hoped like hell I wasn’t about to become a statistic. The last few years had made me equally more trusting of people as well as more suspicious of them. I’d learned a lot on my own and grown up a lot faster than most twenty-one-year-olds. Loss had a way of doing that to people.

  Vaughn turned on music, humming as he maneuvered the car like a professional driver through the cluster of vehicles in front of the terminals.

  “Aren’t you hot?” I asked as I took in the black leather jacket that hugged his broad shoulders to perfection and tight-yet-worn jeans that covered his long legs.

  He coughed. “I mean, I know I’m good looking, but most women don’t point it out so bluntly. Thank you.”

  I sighed. Heavily. “I meant your body temperature, biker dude.”

  “I acclimate well. Did Em tell you about Susy?” he asked.

  “Who’s Susy?”

  Vaughn shook his head. “The beauty I should be driving. My one true love.” He then proceeded to go on a tangent about his Harley motorcycle that I had zero desire to know about. The only positive was he’d mentioned Embry, or at least I assumed that was who he meant by Em since I often called her that, too.

  I continued to text her as he rambled, but she never responded. I was going to kill her for doing this to me. The only positive was that Vaughn had put my mind at ease, and the pressure that had been building within my head was gone.

  “So, what about you?” Vaughn asked.

  “Uhhh, sure?” I replied, feeling guilty for not really listening to him. I was pretty sure he’d been asking about the ocean.

  “Well, that might be a problem.” His eyes met mine in the mirror.

  Shit. What had I just replied to? “Sorry, I wasn’t actually listening. To be honest, I’m a little worried about the fact that Embry isn’t responding and I’m in the car with a complete stranger having no clue where I’m headed.”

  He nodded and smiled. “If you’d been paying attention, I wouldn’t be such a stranger. As for where you’re headed, it’s one of the safest places in the world. You have nothing to fear from our pack.”

  “Our pack? Do you live with Embry? I thought she lived alone on her family’s property.” Things were getting weirder by the second.

  “I think I’ll let her explain. As for me, I think I like you, so I’m going to give you a second chance. Are you ready to listen?”

  Now I felt like an asshole. “Yes. Please tell me all the things about you, Vaughn.”

  “My name is Vaughn Pierce, I’m thirty-five. I’m in a seriously committed relationship with Susy.”

  I butted in. “Isn’t that your motorcycle?”

  “She’s so much more than that. You’ll see once I get you on the back of her. Well, maybe. Anyway, I live for the land. A place where it’s quiet and I can run with my… uhhh… myself. I also enjoy driving, which is why Embry sent me instead of anyone else. I’m very good at what I do.”

  Vaughn didn’t look as old as he said he was, but he had an air of superiority about him that made me believe he was telling the truth.

  “Thank you for the brief look into your life,” I said as I stared out the window, trying to figure out what direction we were headed.

  “Your turn,” he said.

  “I think I’ll pass.”

  He made a grumbling sound. “Well, that’s rude.”

  I’d offended him, and another wave of heat overcame me. Damn it, what was going on with me?

  Vaughn continued to glower at me—even more so than the road he should have been watching—until I finally caved. “Okay, fine. I’m Cait Jones. Just Cait, not Caitlyn. I’m twenty-one, and I’ve never been in a serious relationship, not even with inanimate objects.” Vaughn grunted at that but let me continue. “I enjoy the beach and traveling, and I’m not a fan of physical exercise, so don’t expect to find me ruining your quiet place while you run.”

  “Where did you come from? How did you meet Embry? She just mentioned she’d never seen you in person,” he said, finally focusing more on driving.

  “A small town named Hope, Oregon, and a book group online.”

  He laughed, deep and loud. “Just another reminder about how not normal it was that you were hesitant to get in a car with a stranger, but you let someone you met online fly you to a place you’ve never been. Twisted, girl. Very twisted.”

  He had only the tiniest of points. Except Embry wasn’t a stranger. We’d video chatted almost daily since our first year of friendship, and I was pretty sure I knew everything about her. Though, that confidence was fading by the hour as my anxiety ramped up.

  After I’d zoned out for who knew how long—thank you, jetlag—the car began to slow. I glanced at my phone, surprised it was just after eleven. Somehow two hours with Vaughn had already passed, yet still no response from Embry.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “Southeast of Dallas. Away from people.”

  The land was a rich green and clearly well cared for. Mature trees lined the paved driveway that had smaller dirt roads off of it. Another two minutes passed before a large structure came into view. It wasn’t a mansion, but it was bigger than any house I’d ever been to.

  The two-story home was light grey in color with white trim and a full wraparound porch that held a bench swing and a half-dozen chairs. While it looked well taken care of, something told me the house was like decades old, maybe even closer to a century.

  On each side of the house were twin towers. Or, were they turrets? It wasn’t a castle, so I was going with towers. Double red doors with massive frosted-glass windows opened as we came to a full stop.

  “Welcome to our home,” Vaughn said as he appeared at my door and I stepped out.

  Before I could question him, Embry tackled me against the car. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

  As mad as I was at her for her crap communication, I hugged her back just as fiercely. Tears fought to fall from my eyes as she rocked us back and forth. I hadn’t known how emotional this moment would be. Seeing her on video was one thing, but feeling her tight embrace affected me like nothing before.

  Over her shoulder, an older couple came out of the house. The woman had short blonde hair and wore a large, welcoming smile, but the man paid no attention to me as he looked beyond the car.

  Curiosity got the better of me, and I turned as well. Another vehicle was coming up the drive, much faster than we’d been. The brakes protested as they were slammed, and the driver’s door swung open.

  Angry cobalt eyes stared me down. “What. Is. She. Doing. Here?”

  Embry winced and stood in front of me as the older gentleman went to the guy that I’d seen less than twenty-four hours ago on an Australian beach. They looked a lot alike and I briefly wondered if they were related.

  “Roman, come inside,” the man said sternly.

  “But she’s a—”

  “I said, come inside.” The older man was nearly as upset as the guy from the beach, and I was back to freaking the hell out.

  “Embry, what have you dragged me into?” I hissed, and Roman’s gaze snapped back at me.

  Heat consumed my body, and I stumbled against the car. Embry grabbed my hand, but I jerked it away as my wrist was consumed in agony.

  Embry’s worried blue eyes landed on my mark. “Come on. I’ll tell you more as soon as we get to my place.”

  She had better tell me everything, not just more.

  3

  Roman

  Normally, I prided myself on being a calm alpha, but every man had his breaking point and I’d found mine. All I’d wanted to do was take some time for myself. I’d arranged plans, involved people I didn’t like, all for the sake of privacy. Yet, every time I turned around, the complete opposite was what I got.

  I thought the best option was a secluded fae island where I could be in wolf form without worrying about being disturbed. Except those plans had been waylaid by the local fae. I’d recognized Lucinda as soon as I saw her and left the area right after she and her friends disappeared. If she was there, I knew not to be. From what the packs in Southern California said, Lucinda was nothing other than trouble.

  Then, I tried for the next best thing. A human island. Something about the ocean and its waves always calmed my human half, but this time, I’d been stopped in my tracks.

  My wolf had awoken and howled inside my head after sensing our mate was nearby. Finding another shifter in a populated place like Sydney had seemed impossible. Even more so when I found the woman my inner being claimed. She was either a witch, a human infected with witch magic, or something close to it.

  At first, I thought she was a shifter, but then I caught her scent. There was nothing animalistic about it. She smelled of intoxicating flowers that should have been overwhelming to my wolf but, instead, had him humming with need right alongside me. Layered beneath the floral aromas were traces of citrus and mint.

  I knew I needed the time away—I always did this time of year—but after the interaction, I had to get home. Someone was trying to mess with me, and I needed to make sure it wasn’t an attempt to overtake my pack.

  The day continued to get worse when I’d been stuck in economy seating and could still smell the female even though she was nowhere near me. I hadn’t slept in nearly two days, and all I’d wanted to do when I got home was make sure my pack was okay and then disappear to my cabin.

  Except that wasn’t what happened. No, I arrived to find her there. On my pack lands. Fury like I’d never known exploded within me. At least that was the emotion I grasped on to when my eyes landed on her.

  My father had sensed the rage first and urged me inside, but I couldn’t move. When I’d tried to argue that the woman standing in our driveaway had to be some sort of witch, my father had spoken through our mental connection, reminding me I was the alpha. That I needed to remain calm and walk away before I did something that wouldn’t fare well for the pack. He was right, and it would be smart of me to trust his judgement. I’d been letting my emotions guide my actions since seeing the woman. That needed to end.

  I followed him inside as the woman disappeared with Embry, a pack member I was going to be having words with as soon as I spoke with my parents.

  The unknown woman had been truly frightened by my outburst, and I couldn’t deny that piqued my curiosity about her. The heat radiating from her scorched my skin as I’d glared at her, and nervousness poured from her in waves. Whoever had picked this woman to mess with me had chosen wrong.

  Going through the double doors of the house, I followed my parents down the hallway and to the stairs leading to my office. Every step up the wooden stairs was precisely taken as I took control of my thoughts, preparing to figure out what the hell had been happening. Once the three of us were within the confines of my office, I closed the door with more force than I’d intended.