“So, what do you do? Are you local?” he asked her, getting captivated by her eyes again.

  They had found themselves moving slightly away from the island to a corridor off the kitchen that was dark and led to the back of the house where his grand reception room overlooked impressive gardens and the snowcapped mountains. People were walking past them, going to the reception room where Victor had turned on the stereo and had managed to hook up some old disco lights from the club that had been hiding in the basement.

  “Born and bred,” she said. “Have you always lived in Lone Reach?”

  Carter nodded.

  “My whole life,” he said. “It’s crazy to think we’ve been this close all along and never met each other.”

  “Did you go to school?” she asked. “We can’t be that different in age.”

  He shook his head and smiled.

  “Homeschooled,” he admitted, thinking back to the long days spent locked up in this very house with tutor after tutor. His parents were so determined to keep him and his cousins away from the townsfolk, and as he had grown up, Carter had understood their reasons for doing so. He could sense that, if anyone in Lone Reach who wasn’t familiar with magic and the world of shifters found out about what was right under their noses, it would be some kind of crazy witch hunt.

  “Well, that maybe explains it,” she said with a shrug. “But I guess by living up here, you were out of the main part of town anyway.”

  He nodded.

  “I’ve lived up on this mountain forever too,” he smiled.

  He looked at her again and found his attention drawn to her mouth, to the way her lips parted slightly, and how he could see the glistening white of her teeth. She looked coy, but he could sense her badass edge, as if she had looked after herself for a long time.

  “I work in a law firm just off Main Street,” she said. “Sort of like an executive assistant but with more responsibility.”

  “Wow,” he said with a nod. “I didn’t think jobs like that existed around here. I thought it was all bar work or the brewery.”

  “At one time, it probably was,” she said. “But I worked hard in school and was lucky to get this gig. I’ve worked my way up and been there for years. I love it.”

  “Will you ever train properly?” he asked her.

  “Maybe,” she smiled. “It’s definitely out there as an interest. I’m just not sure I’m wanting to go fully down the law road, you know… I always thought I’d do something a little bit more creative.”

  “Oh yeah?” He leaned in. Now, this was getting super interesting.

  “Yeah, I like to paint,” she said. “If I’m not working in the office, you can usually find me in the spare room of my apartment, sitting at my easel, with a ton of messes around me. Paint flicked up the walls, my hands the color of the rainbow and music blasting from the stereo.”

  He liked the thought of that. He could see her creating something mysterious and fantastic with her hands. She clearly had ambition, which was more than he could say for anyone else he had ever met in these circumstances. Usually, the girls who came into the club were so vapid, he could barely stand to even pretend to be interested. But Aubrey was so very different.

  He knew, right there and then, he was in trouble.

  “I’m glad you came here tonight,” he said genuinely, and she looked up at him and smiled.

  The candlelight caught hers again, and he could see fire reflecting in her wide, engulfed pupils.

  It was as if his inner dragon was being reflected back at him. As if from somewhere inside of her, even though she wouldn’t know it, she was welcoming him to her… wanting to know more about him and his secret.

  “Okay, guys!” Victor’s voice suddenly cut over the music and chatter. The song that was playing screeched to a stop, and there was the sound of moaning echoing through the hallways. “You’ve all had your fun, now it’s time to call it a night. I promised my cousin I’d let him get at least an hour’s sleep. Party’s over!”

  Carter smiled down at Aubrey, and she drank the remaining vodka from her glass before she passed it to him and let her eyes linger on his.

  “Good night, birthday boy,” she said as she turned to walk away.

  He felt dumbfounded, as if the rug had been pulled out from under him. He had done his very best to stay away from her since the moment he had seen her in the club, and now that he had gotten to her, he was feeling hooked…but she was walking away.

  He went to call to her, but by the time he managed to snap himself out of his stupor, the front door was open, and the crowd was surging. He pushed his way through looking for her, his eyes frantically searching each face as they walked on past, but she was nowhere to be seen.

  He saw Victor walking to the entrance hall, and he shot him an angry stare.

  “What the fuck?” he said as Victor frowned.

  “I thought you were ready for everyone to go. This is a bad idea…” he said, mimicking their conversation from earlier.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Carter said as he shook his head and walked away. “Never mind.”

  He reached the front door and looked out into the cold night, but the last people to leave were beginning to disappear down the road that led off the mountain; car lights were streaming away, and all he could hear was the sound of beeping horns and music spiraling away in the night.

  “Well, I guess there’s no time like the present to get down to a bit of business…,” Victor said as he moved to stand beside Carter, both looking to the other.

  “I thought this was supposed to be a night of fun?” Carter mused.

  “It’s clearly over. Now, we need to chat with the rest of the pack about you know what…” Victor raised his eyebrows and moved back inside to find the others.

  Carter nodded his head slowly, a twist of dread clutching at his insides. Carter looked up at the stars and sighed.

  It had been fun while it lasted.

  6.

  The corridors of the mansion were dark and winding. She should have left when Victor had told them to, but she had slipped down the wrong hallway when she had been looking for Mia and was lost.

  “You were right by the doorway dammit,” she whispered to herself, rubbing her head with a wince.

  The alcohol was wearing off and she could already feel a hangover starting. She just wanted to be at home in bed but she was trapped in a mansion on the top of the mountain and had no clue if Mia was even still there. Why the hell didn’t I just go outside and wait for her there? Why did I feel the need to go looking for her inside and end up getting lost?

  The more turns she took, the more she seemed to lose her way. She wasn’t sure, but it felt as if she had gone down a floor… She hadn’t used any stairs, but the floor had sloped in one of the hallways, and she felt as if she had somehow gone underground.

  This place was a total mindfuck. Monstrously huge, and full of dark hallways and rooms. She couldn’t hear anyone; to think there had been a raging party in the same building only minutes ago was bizarre. Now, she was somewhere that was deserted and silent, and even when she tried to turn back, nothing looked the same. It was as if she had become trapped in a maze.

  She stopped, leaning against the stone wall behind her, and sighed. It wasn’t until the wall moved slightly that she realized it wasn’t a wall at all, but more of a door that had been created with the same stone to match the rest of the walls around it. She reached down and took hold of the handle − it was obvious now that she looked properly − turned it, opening the door, and stepped inside the darkened room beyond.

  Her jaw sagged as she took in all that was around her. It was an opulent office, only lit by candlelight − no windows − which would maybe confirm that she was indeed below ground. There were ancient portraits on the walls, a huge mahogany desk flanked by Chesterfield couches in green leather, and the whole room screamed money and secrets. She smiled and laughed.

  What a house!

  She found herself stepping further inside, drawn to the desk. She ran her finger over it, and she could swear the wood felt hot. Everything about this place seemed full of fire and heat.

  She paused a moment as she heard a noise and her heart sank to her stomach. There were footsteps coming along the hall.

  Someone was coming.

  She was lost but she didn’t know who was approaching and she didn’t want to look as if she were snooping. She danced on the spot for a moment, unsure of where to go, when, suddenly, she noticed what appeared to be a large built-in cupboard or closet on one side of the room. She darted for it, opening it wide and slipped inside before the door to the room opened. She was unable to shut the door before a number of people file inside.

  Her heart was raging in her chest as she curled into a ball in the back of the cramped space. All she could do was do her best to hide beneath a shelf. She found herself almost willing herself invisible like a child might when confronted with a such a situation. She was virtually holding her breath.

  Then, the voices began…

  “This whole town is fucked,” a man’s low, gruff voice said, and it was so loud it seemed to echo around the room.

  “Well, we’ve known that for a long time,” someone else spoke, and she was sure it was Victor.

  She eased forward a bit, and could see the backs of a group of men, all suited up, and still drinking. It was clear, they were agitated, and they were the men from the nightclub.

  “Martin Hall going missing is just the beginning,” Victor said. “We need to speak to the bears before we end up getting blamed.”

  “I agree,” Carter said, and when Aubrey heard his voice, it sent a pulse of desire right through her.

  Did he just say bears? she thought.

  He was so fucking hot, and the fact that she was now hiding from him and feeling a bit intimidated by the whole thing was turning her on even more.

  “Our kind have to be careful now,” Carter continued. “We know what the other gangs around here think of us. We know they want our blood. This is not the time for drawing attention to the fact that bad things are happening.” He paused and the other men let out a low rumble of agreement.

  For a moment he stopped and looked around the room, his eyes pausing for a moment she was sure, right on her hiding spot. Her heart almost stopped in her chest. But then he made a dismissive gesture and took another drink of his beer. He was clearly agitated, and they all seemed hyper focused on the topic at hand.

  “We need to find this guy before the wolves start getting restless again, before they come looking for us − pointing fingers, like we know they love to do, and whipping this place up into a total frenzy. This is exactly what our town doesn’t need right now.”

  “Amen,” Victor agreed.

  Aubrey slumped a little as she frowned and digested what she was hearing. Bears and wolves. This all sounded so strange, but it tugged at something deep in her memory. Something she had heard long, long ago… A fable, an urban legend. Exciting stories and fairy tales she was told as a child.

  “Okay,” Carter sighed, “it’s been one hell of a night, and I’m ready to focus on my beer and unwind a bit. Thanks, guys.”

  She watched as Carter shook hands with Victor and the rest of the men, and they all began to file out. When they were gone, Carter locked the door behind them and leaned against the wall with a sigh.

  Oh man. She was locked in there with him.

  She bit her bottom lip and tried not to cringe.

  How the fuck was she going to get out of this one?

  You are a fucking idiot, Aubrey, she thought.

  She should have just taken the embarrassment of being lost when she had the chance. Now she was stuck in an office, she had overheard something she clearly wasn’t supposed to hear, and the man she wanted to do wicked things with was right there with her… But he didn’t even know she was hiding.

  She slowly got to her feet moved to the front of the closet. Taking a deep breath, she quietly knocked on the door she was hiding behind.

  Through the crack, she watched as Carter’s eyes flashed with something dangerous before he looked in her direction. She almost thought he knew it was her as he took a step forward.

  He reached for the handle and ripped open the door, looking down at her from his immense height.

  “Hi…,” she said as she waved lamely and cringed. “I got lost.”

  Carter’s pupils enlarged and a small smile crept up over his lips, but it quickly disappeared. She couldn’t read the expression on his face and it made her even more nervous. Was it shock and worry…or amusement?

  “Sorry…,” she whispered. “I’m an idiot. I came into the house to look for Mia when Victor asked us to leave, and I got lost. This place is like a maze.”

  He still looked down at her, not saying a word, and the tension between them was palpable. Her heart began to race, and her skin prickled with heat.

  He held out his hand, and she reached out and took it. When she slipped her palm into his, she felt the electricity between them, and her heart thumped with excitement.

  “Come on,” he said as he pulled her forward, out of the cabinet and closer to him.

  She looked up at him and they were pressed together so close it was hard to pull herself away. She had never wanted to get involved with someone, but here, in the candlelit office, she was finding it impossible to resist him.

  Carter reached up with his other hand and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear before lingering a moment too long, and she felt herself getting lost in his eyes.

  There was no way she could deny herself this. They leaned closer together and their lips met. The tension and electricity between them were becoming overpowering. Aubrey eased into him, letting her hands reach up and wrap them around the back of his neck, pulling his face closer to hers as they kissed each other deep and hungrily. His hands were strong, and he gripped her waist, pulling her body against his so hard that she was sure she could feel his heaving muscles beneath his shirt.

  When their lips parted, she felt as if he had taken her breath away, and he looked as startled as her, as if the kiss had taken them both by surprise, even though it was obvious that they both needed and wanted it.

  “You shouldn’t be down here…” he panted. “This is dangerous.”

  She nodded slowly. But she didn’t know if he meant the two of them together, or the fact that she had stumbled across him leading some kind of gang and speaking about how they were in a whole heap of trouble. And they had mentioned finding the missing man.

  She had kissed him, she wanted him bad… he was awakening things in her that she had never known before… and now she felt compelled to find out all of what they had been speaking about, but she had the feeling he was going to be cagey.

  “Wolves and bears?” she asked, nervously, to break the tension, they were still holding on to each other, and his hands were so hot it felt as if he were sending pure heat into her bones. “What was all that about?”

  Carter looked momentarily troubled, and he reached up and rubbed his head.

  “So, you heard it all then?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  He paused and took a breath.

  “It’s nothing,” he said. “Just some dumb name we use for the gangs around town. You know, just groups of guys that hang out together…”

  He sounded convincing, but Aubrey wasn’t stupid, and she could tell that he was hiding something.

  “Okay,” she said with a smirk.

  Carter smiled and leaned down and kissed her again.

  She wanted nothing more than to stay the night there with him, but she knew she had to get herself home. Her head was a mess, her mind was scrambled, and now it looked as if there was so much more to him than was meeting the eye.

  “I better go,” she whispered.

  Carter nodded, even though it looked as if it pained him to do it.

  “I’ll take you…,” he said.

  He slipped his arm around her shoulder and led her out of the office.

  What she wouldn’t give to stay there and have her wicked way with him on the desk of that incredible office but she had to be smart. She didn’t want to get her heart broken.

  As they made their way back to the main doors of the house, she felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, and she leaned into his muscular frame.

  What a fucking night.

  Aubrey woke the following morning to a pounding headache that seemed to be punishing her as best it could.

  She groaned and rolled onto her side, blinking her bleary eyes to wake herself up as she stared at the digital clock on the nightstand. It told her it was almost 11am. How the hell had she slept so late? Normally, she was up at the crack of dawn, shuffling around her apartment, drinking fresh smoothies, reading the news, cleaning and tidying before either hitting the gym or working on her art. This was like waking up late afternoon for her, and she felt as if she had missed most of the day.

  “Oh my God,” she said as she touched her tender head and tried to sit up. “What the hell was last night?”

  And suddenly, like a crashing wave, she began to remember what had happened…

  The club. The guys they had met. The VIP room. The mansion on top of the mountain. The hidden office deep underground. The secret meeting.

  Carter.

  Her heart skipped a beat and she pulled her knees up to her chest and bit her bottom lip. How could she have forgotten him for the slightest second? It was almost as if her body and mind were trying to defend her from believing he was actually real. She sat back, resting against the headboard and looking at her hands. She could still feel the sensation of him holding her hand.

  “Carter,” she said out loud, enjoying the way his name sounded on her lips.

  She cast her mind back to how they had kissed in the hidden office, how he had tasted of whiskey and smoke. His hands had been so strong, and the way he had held her waist had made her pussy tingle with excitement, her whole body responding to him and needing his touch.