Caleb takes the stairs of the pack house two at a time, loping up on long legs toward the main bedroom.“Now that you’re not banished anymore, you can live here, with me!” He turns to me with a big smile, opening the door to his room.It’s gorgeously decorated, with a wooden four poster bed in the center, its posts carved intricately with scenes of wolves hunting together. The curtains are slate gray and the carpet is a deep blue, which is soft and plush under my feet. “Arnold wants his books,” Caleb grumbles, looking around on various shelves to see if he can find them. “I think they’re back at the cabin, though. So is your stuff. I should head back and get them.”“I’ll go with you,” I offer. I want to spend more time with Caleb, and I definitely don’t want to be alone in the house with a bunch of werewolves who just voted to kill me.He shifts, and again I ride on his back, but the journey through the woods isn’t the same as it was earlier, when we chased Miranda. We

The restaurant, called Big Belly, serves massive sandwiches, piled high with meat. It’s werewolf heaven. The waitress seems impressed at my order, and even more impressed when I finish it all. “You were right,” I tell Caleb. “This place is amazing.”“To humans, these are huge portions,” Caleb laughs. “The first time I came here, I didn’t quite realize that they put so much meat on them, so I ordered three sandwiches like I usually do.”I nod. We wolves eat differently than humans, and we need large amounts of meat and other proteins.“I finished all three of them, and they took a picture of me to put on their wall!” Caleb points, and sure enough, there’s a picture of him looking somewhat confused and sitting next to three empty plates. Above it, someone has written BIG BELLY’S WORLD RECORD HOLDER.I laugh. “Caleb, we’re supposed to keep a low profile among humans, not go around setting world records!”He shrugs. “Between you and me, I think the chef might be a shifte

I have known all my life that when a werewolf finds their mate, they join their bodies and become fully one another’s. But I never knew just how incredible the actual experience was.Caleb carries me into our bedroom, and soon our snow gear and ski clothes are in a pile on the floor, and he’s kissing me, holding me, and his Alpha musk is stronger than I’ve ever smelled it. It wraps around me, my body, my head, my heart, and makes me want to dissolve completely in it.He takes deep breaths, scenting me, drawing in whatever pheromones I’m putting out, and I feel wanted, desired, cherished. Our bodies entangle, and when we finally mate, his teeth sink into the flesh of my shoulder and I feel his mark enter me, a brilliant flash of love and claiming and connection.When it’s over, we lay next to each other, panting, basking in the hazy glow that seems to be surrounding us. Through the windows, the clear white light of the moon shines onto our bare skin. When it touches my clai

I hear a hawk cry somewhere above me and turn my face up. When the moonlight catches my eyes, something happens. Everything starts to look different - sharper, more in focus.The shadows all around me are no longer dark, blurry shapes. I can make out each individual one, can tell which branches are swaying in the woods and which are moving because an animal just leapt through them.It’s happening. I could cry with joy, but my eyes no longer feel human. The delicate lashes and tear ducts have given way to rounded eyes that let me see clearly even in the dark.My muscles ripple beneath my skin, and I feel my body changing form. Soon I have four feet on the ground, bare, touching the stones and snowy patches directly. No more heavy soled boots separating me from the world around me. I feel everything.A thrill runs through me, and I lift my head and howl. My wolf’s voice is clear as crystal, piercing the night sky, and I hear animals all through the forest respond, crying out

“Hello, Omega.” Malcolm sneers down at me, licking his lips.“I have a name,” I hiss. “Yeah, yeah, and you want us all to call you Luna, too. I remember. But that’s all over now. Your Alpha is about to lose his place, and then you’ll be nothing but a foolish Omega who thought she was better than she was.”“What’s going on?” I look between Malcolm and the Rogers Lake Alpha, my head spinning. “Where’s Caleb? Is he okay?”Malcolm shrugs. “He’s still alive, if that’s what you’re asking.”“For now, at least,” laughs the Alpha. He seems to really be enjoying this, and I can see a cruel streak in him. It makes sense, now, why Caleb was so wary of him. He told me once that the Rogers Lake pack wasn’t welcome in Flagstaff, and that he didn’t trust them at all. “That little necklace he gave you didn’t just mean that we all had to put up with your Omega stink everywhere,” Malcolm says. “It also meant that your precious Alpha was no longer immune from betrayal.”“But the amu