(Cassie POV) On Tuesday morning, I woke up at my parents’ house, in my childhood bed in my childhood room. I sighed at the realization that I was back. This was a place I once promised myself I would never return, and yet here I was. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up in bed and looked around the room, intending to formulate a plan on what to unpack first. I noticed that were a few boxes, but not nearly as many as I had expected to see. Curious, I got up and started to look through what was there. I realized that most of my clothes were not. How had I missed that last night? Oh, yeah. I had been a little distracted. After a very interesting day with Danny, he dropped me off at my parents’ house. He made sure to walk me inside the house, where he gave me a huge hug and kiss on the cheek in front of my parents. He also chatted with them for a few minutes, until he darted off after explaining that he had some important business to take care of over dinner. As soon as Danny left, my

(Cassie POV)I spent eight hours at the mall with my mother. EIGHT. HOURS. I felt like a walking dress-up doll, whose opinions and style did not matter even a little bit. My mother happily went from store to store, talking to the clerks, pulling clothes, pushing me into dressing rooms to try one hideous thing on after another.On the bright side, my mother did not make as many snide comments as she usually does. I think that’s because I held back my own tongue and just let her have her way all day. She also seemed sincere in the outfits she picked out; nothing she selected seemed to be selected as joke (like the wedding dress I ultimately bought).By the end of the day, we had our arms filled with bags of dresses, skirts, heels, and everything else a “proper” lady should have. No leather, no denim, nothing too short, nothing too loud. At one point, my mother had to use the ladies’ room, and I used the opportunity to sneak into a store that appeared to have eclectic leather and

(Cassie POV)It is now Wednesday evening. I do not now how I survived the past 24 hours, nor do I know how or if I will survive the next several days.I figured out very quickly last night that I am not a spy, nor do I have any hope of ever becoming one. I only made it out in one piece because: 1) Danny is an egotistical buffoon who could never begin to imagine that a woman would fake her affection for him; 2) Danny appears to be sincerely obsessed with me; and 3) in addition to being an egotistical buffoon, Danny is a SEXIST egotistical buffoon who underestimates the intellect of women generally.I’ll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, I think I got most of what I needed to get. There were a few moments where I wondered why the movies made this sort of thing sound so easy, like when I realized that I needed a way to save the important computer files but I didn’t have anything to save it on (surprise, surprise; I don’t routinely carry zip drives in my purse). Another

(Aaron POV)Once we were safely inside the war room with the door closed, the human pointed to my father. “Who is he?” she asked, nervously.“My father.”“Ok.”“Before we get started, would you be upset if I react like a human for a moment? I don’t understand werewolf culture or hierarchy, and I suspect you will be upset by my reaction, but I don’t think I will be able to concentrate if I don’t do something first.”I looked at her puzzled. “Sure, go ahead.”The human slapped me hard across the face. “I am not a d—n hooker, and how dare you talk to me as if I was one.”My dad chuckled. “She did ask first, Son.”I sighed. “I know you aren’t a hooker, and I’m sorry. I had to come up with something quickly, and it fit the conversation we had in the car.”I gestured for her to take a seat, which she did.“Now tell me why you are here. You’ve been awfully cryptic so far. All I know so far is that you somehow know Cassie.”“My name is Maggie. I don’t know much, but I know Cassie a

(Cassie POV)On Wednesday night, just when I thought all hope was lost, my parents lit into me for an hour in front of my sister, Alpha Fred, and Danny. I had never been so grateful.Specifically, my parents were upset that I had slept in Danny’s room on Tuesday night. They told me that they did not care who he was; until he was my husband, I wasn’t going to be his “whore of the night.” They told me that, if I wanted to play that role, I could move back to the human town. Until then, while I lived under their roof, I was going to be respectful and follow their rules.To my surprise, Danny didn’t try to fight them about it. He simply kissed me on the forehead, promised me that we would be married soon enough, and told me and Alpha Fred had a lot of things to do anyway.After that crisis was diverted, Megan dragged me upstairs to her bedroom and locked the door. “What is going on between you and Danny?” she demanded.I desperately wanted to tell her the truth, but given Mike’s rol