Aaron was shocked. Not many wolves lived without a pack. How had she lived amongst humans for so long? How had she managed to keep her shifting abilities a secret?“Nobody discovered your secret?” he asked, taking a large bite of the cheeseburger. The meat was overcooked, and the bun was stale. Still, it was better than what he cooked for himself. He had mostly subsisted on cereal, canned meat, jerky, and spam, barring the occasional visit to Charlie’s.“We moved around a lot,” she said with a nonchalant shrug.As he looked at her, he saw the brief shadow of sadness cross her face again. He didn’t have to be a mind reader to know she longed to belong. Just like him. Maybe they were more similar than he had initially thought. He couldn’t even imagine never living with a pack. It made him realize just how acutely he missed his pack.It was her fault: these uncomfortable feelings. He had avoided them for all of last year, even made himself believe he was content, if not happy. She was ya

Aaron swung his legs around the seat and stood leaning against his motorcycle, his eyes on Keyah. He crooked a finger in her direction, beckoning her to come to him.Keyah’s blood went very hot and really cold. Her legs felt like jelly as she took one step toward him, then another. Her heart was beating against her ribs like a drum. Thump, thump, thump.She was looking forward to kissing him as much as she was dreading it. Despite dragging her feet, she closed the short distance between them in a few short seconds.Aaron pushed himself upright and put one hand on her waist. With his other hand, he cupped her chin.When they were standing toe-to-toe like they were now, he dwarfed her. From her purely bookish knowledge about werewolves, Keyah knew she was well below average height, even for halflings. Although, in her wolf form, she was larger than she should have been. Was it because she was a Silver Wolf? She didn’t know, and hated that she didn’t know. She would know these things if

Keyah studied Aaron from the corner of her eye. It was obvious he’d gotten into a fight last night. Because wolves healed fast, the only evidence of the rough night he’d had was the puffiness under his eyes. Not just the puffiness; there were shadows in his eyes today. The sparkle was missing.“Well?” she prompted.He sighed, thumping his head against the headrest before turning his head toward the road. This early in the morning, the weather was quite pleasant, with a gentle, cool breeze blowing. It stirred up the sandy dust too, but they had chosen to ride with the top down. There was something freeing about being on the road with the wind whipping your hair.When Aaron had appeared the second time at his front door, wearing a black T-shirt and dark blue denims, a sports jacket folded over one arm and a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, looking all scruffy and wild, Keyah’s mouth had gone dry. What was it about him that made her lust spike?But then, when she’d seen him from up cl

“I’ll resume the story once we’re on the move,” Keyah said, heading for her car.“Let me drive,” Aaron said, blocking her way, reaching for her keys. Keyah held them out of his reach and elbowed him out of the way as she sat in the driver’s seat.“In your dreams.”Keyah saw Aaron suppress a smile. “I’m not used to riding shotgun.”Keyah rolled her eyes, although she was sure there was a subtext here. She was sure he meant he wasn’t used to bending to others’ will since he was an alpha. “You better get used to it. There’s no way I’m going to let you touch my baby.”Aaron grinned, and although he didn’t say the infernal words, she heard them loud and clear.‘Wanna bet?’.Keyah’s lips twitched.“We’ll see,” Aaron said instead. “So, what happened next? With your mom and dad?”They were on the road again.Keyah looked at Aaron. His eyes were eager, and the longing in them was unmistakable. He was a romantic, no matter how much he pretended not to be. The longing made Keyah curious. Hadn’t

Spending a night under the stars was easier said than done. They had scoured the entire town, trying to find a relatively safe place to park the car and spend the night. Finally, they had decided to park on the outskirts, on the far side of the checkpoint.Next, they set about buying some essentials. Or at least, they tried to. The people in Palmio Waters were certainly living in a different century. They hadn’t heard of a butane stove or packaged food. Since the night would get chilly, they bought some firewood and matches from a store that only sold firewood.When Keyah and Aaron had asked where they could buy some food, they had been directed to the local butcher’s. Then they remembered the drive-through fast food joint that served as the checkpoint, but quickly found out that the fast-food joint served no food. It was just a front. Humans who ventured to the checkpoint instantly forgot why they had ended up there in the first place, and the shifters simply drove through; so there