I TUCK a bottle of wine and an opener in my picnic basket, along with our lunch and climb in the bus to meet Tom at his place. It’s our last afternoon in Taos before we head to Phoenix with the refugees, and I intend to make the most of it. I’ve been ignoring the little niggles of anxiety that have been running through me as our end draws ever closer.I don’t want to think about it. Don’t want to give him up. Being with Tom feels too good.Too right.And every time I’m with him, his auric field turns pink.He loves me.He hasn’t said it, but it’s clear.And I feel the same way.I find him sitting outside his place, waiting for me. He surges to his feet as soon as I pull up.“Hey, big man,” I call as I jump out and hoist the picnic basket.“What’s this?” He takes it from me. I didn’t tell him our plans, just that I wanted to

THE DRIVE from Taos to Phoenix is hot. Mountains melt into desert and the air outside grows increasingly more stifling. We pass through Navajo land. I keep catching myself gnawing my lip. It’ll be fine. I release my chokehold on the steering wheel. I’m just meeting Tom’ entire pack.No biggie.But by the time we pull into the parking lot of Wolf Ridge Rec Center, the concrete in my stomach has settled in to stay. Calm down. I jump out of my bus to assist my new shifter friends. Fiona is already off the bus, a pitifully small bag slung over her shoulder. These shifters had nothing. Not even clothes to wear, if Fiona’s makeshift outfit is anything to go by. She looks like she cut up a big man’s t-shirt and a pair of running shorts to fit her. That’s right, focus on helping. When Rey steps off the bus, she stumbles. A lanky male c

“Tylea, you look stunning,” Cbuttandra said as I twirled around for her final approval of the blue dress I had worn for the audition. It had been specifically requested by Ramirez that I return wearing it for the reception. I was in. My plan was formulated, and I was ready to complete this mission once and for all. I’d be in and out before they knew what was happening, and nothing was going to get in my way.The reception was every bit as opulent as I had come to expect from Carlos, and there were beautiful women everywhere, but I was the lucky one that he had chosen to wear on his arm for the night. That put a slight damper on my evening plans, but I would work with what I’d been handed.Carlos looked at me quizzically once or twice at the start of the evening. “Are you certain we’ve never met before?” he asked. “I never forget a face, or the eyes.”I just shrugged and giggled appropriately. As Tyler, he had c

I was furious that they took my bag. My life was in that bag and something told me that my hidden compartments weren’t going to fool these people one bit. Who were they?I was trying not to freak out. I didn’t know who Juan Mendoza was, but the others called him Tom, so I had already pieced together the fact that I wasn’t the only one undercover in disguise. At first, I nearly smiled as the one guy asked if there was such a thing as gay mates. I didn’t know one way or another, but the way Juan, Tom, whatever his name was had been acting, you’d think these idiots would have realized I was female. But who knew, maybe it could happen and I’d just not heard of such a thing before.Things weren’t so funny though when they mentioned O’Connell. I didn’t know who I was dealing with here, but it was obvious they were shifters. From their smells, they didn’t all smell like wolfs though. It was screwing with my head and I di

I couldn’t believe I’d landed myself in this mess. I wasn’t even sure what exactly I’d gotten myself into. I was thankful I had cleared out the van thoroughly before this final push. I had planned on leaving the country anyway, just not quite like this.Tom seemed to be calming down now. He was thinking rationally again. I think it was easier when he was acting all feral and unable to communicate beyond “leave her alone”.john seemed very laid back, but young for an Leader. From what I remembered, Pack was one of the biggest, too.“You sound like you’re speaking from experience, but you’re too young for that,” I buttessed.Tom smiled at me. “There were extenuating circumstances, but he fully bonded with his mate quickly. Kelsey’s pretty badbutt and the best Pack Mother in history,” Tom told me proudly.“What sort of extenuating circumstances?” I asked.“It&