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  He searched her face. “You find it hard to believe? Well, tell me what the shifter in you loves about me.”

  “Easy question, but with more than one answer. You’re a man’s man and almost six-foot seven-inches tall. On the beach, when I nipped at your heels, you took off after me and I got the distinct impression you loved the game. But I think mostly I love just how much you look after your realm the way you do.”

  He held her gaze for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “Let me return the compliment: I love your hair, your beautiful green eyes, and that you’re so physical.”

  She shook her head. “But don’t get used to this. I wasn’t kidding when I said I wasn’t a relationship kind of woman.”

  He chuckled. “No problem. I’ve promised myself that until the Invictus are gone, I’m riding solo.”

  “Then we understand each other.” She looked at him over the rim of her mug.

  “We do.”

  She took a sip. “Ah. The coffee’s great by the way. And I do have one question. I thought vampires had to wait until full dark to be out and about, even with this level of light.” It was dusk, the sky turning deep blue. “But here you are.”

  He shrugged and sawed off a thick chunk of meat. “My grandmother was human.”

  She balanced her plate on her lap, and took another sip of her coffee. “Wait a minute. I know you’re old and the Nine Realms didn’t connect with the U.S. until thirty years ago, so how did that happen?”

  He shook his head. “What can I say? My vampire grandfather went out hunting and brought a human female back. I didn’t get much from the strain, however, just a very slight tolerance to dusk.”

  She liked that she had at least this in common with him, and that he wasn’t pure vampire.

  Because she’d fed him two or was it three times, she was famished. She settled in to eat, savoring every bite of the protein-rich meal.

  Holding a speared chunk of meat upright, he said, “You know the main reason I brought you here was for the privacy. I needed to be alone with you, and my retreat here seemed like the right place for it.”

  “I’m glad you did. I think it suits you being in the trees, being up here in the mountains.”

  He nodded. “It does. But I’m rarely here.”

  “Why’s that?”

  He picked up his coffee and took a drink. “Time, mostly. Usually by the end of the night, after long hours of battling, and flying over Swanicott, all I want is to be in my lighthouse home. I have a staff there that takes care of everything, my meals, my laundry, even making sure the leathers of my uniforms are well-cared for and replaced when needed. When I go home, I shower and fall into bed and I forget about what happened the night before. When I wake up, a meal is waiting for me. After that, I launch into a boatload of Realm business.”

  “You have meetings with city officials and the like.”

  “You have read some newspaper articles. Or is it blogs.”

  “Both.” She smiled as she once more drank from her mug. Setting it back on the table, she cut a piece of steak and added some egg. Perfect first meal.

  “I also meet with the leadership of various guilds, with my Troll Brigade Commander, sometimes the various Swanicott presses representing towns and villages.” He paused and cut off another chunk of steak, then stacked a generous portion of egg on top, just as she had. “But since you seem to know all this, I think it’s time you told me more about yourself.”

  At that, she released a sigh. She wasn’t used to talking about herself, but it only seemed fair. She shared about her life growing up in the small town of Freeport with her mother, the humiliation of sprouting fur as a child and being unable to control it, being so different from other kids, and her generally isolated upbringing.

  He frowned. “Sounds lonely.”

  “Yes and no. I wanted to have friends, but back in those days there was a lot of prejudice against Realm-folk. And sometimes I’d get my shifter blood up and hurt the kids while playing sports, which didn’t help my cause. Of course, I never meant to do harm.”

  “All that makes sense. Given your general level of power, you have strong shifter blood, eclipsing your human DNA. You probably should have been raised here.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve wondered the same thing, but my mom didn’t want to make the move. I’m okay with it all now. I had some counseling and I don’t think my mother would have been happy here in Swanicott.”

  She cleared her throat and felt a warmth climb her cheeks. “There is one thing I did want to tell you. The human men I made love with pretty much couldn’t handle what you seem to enjoy a lot.” Just in case he missed her point, she stroked the fur on the backs of her hands.

  His eyelids dropped to half-mast and his grassy seaside scent suddenly filled the space. “And I do enjoy it.” He took her hand and drew her fingers to his nose. He nuzzled the fur across the back of her knuckles, sniffing loudly. His lips parted and his eyes closed all the way.

  She knew these small acts had thrown him into a state of full arousal.

  She leaned toward him and whispered, “Your scent, what you’re releasing right now, makes me so hungry, and not for steak and eggs.”

  He opened his eyes and held her gaze. “We have some good stuff going on here, Olivia, but I never planned on being involved with anyone after my wife died.”

  “I know. I’m with you on that. But can I ask you something? From the accounts I read online, you never found your wife’s body. Are you sure she’s dead?”

  He scrubbed a hand down his face. “There was blood all over the kitchen. A lot of it. I’m not mistaken, but I wish to hell I was.”

  She sat back in her chair and pulled her hand from his grasp. He didn’t try to stop her.

  She picked up her knife and fork and sawed off another bite. She set her gaze across the deep row of mountain ridges, uncertain whether to tell him the truth or not about Emily. His wife had moved to Freeport exactly five years ago.

  When Olivia had done her Realm web research, she’d seen pictures of Emily with Zane and had compared them to the ones on her cellphone. Olivia had no doubt about Emily’s true identity. But what had driven the woman to leave as she had, clearly faking her own death, was a mystery Olivia had yet to solve. The only thing that made sense, knowing Zane as she did, was that Emily wasn’t really cut out to be the wife of a powerful mastyr vampire. She had a gentle fae, artistic soul and now lived a very quiet life in a small New England hamlet.

  Of course, it wasn’t exactly her business, so she let it go. At some point, she knew she’d have to tell Zane, but now didn’t seem like the right time.

  “Do you rent the house in Barker’s Bend?” Zane asked.

  “Actually, I own it. My mother passed away three years ago and her estate, though modest, allowed me to buy the house as well some land that I farm.”

  “Wasn’t there a house on the farm?”

  “Yes, but it wasn’t in the best shape. I had it fixed up adequately for the laborers to use as needed during the workday, but I wanted something a little more civilized for myself. And I was drawn to Barker’s Bend. For one thing, when I checked out the listing, there were a lot of shifters at the Elf Lords Hideaway. As reserved as I am, I think it was my way of coming to know the culture a little. Hard to explain.

  “Then of course, I saw you about the third night I was here and the rest follows. I guess on some level I feel I was fated to live in Barker’s Bend.”

  “You don’t mind all the noise? The bar fights?”

  She chuckled. “Actually, I love it, my shifter nature being what it is. And truthfully, it’s a nice change from the farm. Don’t get me wrong, farming suits me. I love the work and I earn a good living from my organic produce.”

  “You mentioned that before. You sell to restaurants in Helms Watch.” He cocked his head. “I can see how farming would suit you since it’s very physical work.”

  She chuckled. “Yeah, my wolf loves the exertion of working the lan
d. Although, I honestly think it’s the human part of me that enjoys watching things grow.”

  She set her now empty plate on the table between them, and held her mug in her hands. She drew up her knees to plant her feet on the seat. She was barefoot. The cold didn’t bother her at all and if it started to, she’d just add more fur.

  She stared out at the growing number of stars and the almost full moon showing at the far distant ridge. “Zane, I need you to know that I’ve lived apart all my life and I’m used to it. I’m really independent and I’m not all that girly, if you know what I mean. So this blood rose thing has me really concerned. I mean, I don’t think I have anything to give you or any mastyr, for that matter.”

  “Hey,” he said, reaching over and grabbing her shoulder. He gave her a gentle shake. “Don’t think about it right now. We’ll take this one hour at a time.”

  She shifted the mug to her right hand and with her left patted her chest. “I’m kind of dead in here. At least that’s the way it feels.”

  “Are you sure it isn’t that you’re simply resigned? Because you have a lot of passion, a pleasure in life that makes me think you’re not dead at all.”

  “Is that what you see?”

  “Yes.” He’d set his plate aside as well and also held his mug.

  “Well, maybe. I don’t know. I just want you to be aware that I was perfectly content with my cottage across from the bar, or at least I was for the first couple of days when I moved in.”

  He cocked his head. “Why do you say that? After everything you’ve told me, that makes no sense.”

  “Because about two days after I had the keys to my house, you showed up at the Elf Lords Hideaway. And the next thing I knew, I was caught up ghosting you for the first time. I remember being drawn out onto the porch and the moment I saw you it was though I got hooked into something I still don’t understand. Though the blood rose thing explains a lot.”

  ~

  Zane sipped his coffee. It was full dark, and he needed to get the night started.

  Earlier, while preparing their first meal, he’d made a few decisions about how he wanted the next several hours to go. But he’d definitely been looking forward to this time with Olivia to get to know her better. It was one thing to enjoy her body, to pleasure her and to have her respond. But that wasn’t enough for either of them to figure out how to move forward in this difficult situation.

  His biggest problem was with what had happened at the bar. He didn’t blame Ely. The other mastyr was only responding in a very normal, predictable way to an unbonded blood rose. He’d felt the same thing when he’d first laid eyes on Willow. He’d even fallen to his knees and begged Malik to do something or he’d attack her.

  “One thing we need to do is to find a way to keep other mastyrs from trying to close the deal with you.” He shared what had happened in Ashleaf Realm when he’d first seen Willow.

  To his surprise, Olivia bared her teeth and a soft growl left her throat.

  He took her hand and turned over her wrist. He licked the veins, then struck so that blood pooled. He took a moment to savor her cinnamon taste, then began streaking his arms with her blood. “Maybe your blood on me will keep you safe from other mastyrs. Malik did this and it made a huge difference, seemed to keep my drive toward Willow in check.”

  She growled again. “And what about you getting near other women here in Swanicott? So long as we’re in this, I won’t take kindly to any woman hanging on you. I need you to know that, Zane. The shifter in me is possessive, as in tear-down-the-house. And I’m not talking about a relationship, I’m talking about your body. You’re mine, for however long this lasts.” She reached over and slid a hand very slowly across his zipper and fondled his half-erect cock. She probably wanted to make sure he didn’t misunderstand what she was saying.

  He stared into glittering green eyes, loving that her lips kept stretching just enough to show elongating canines. He’d never known a woman like Olivia before, and he should have been put off by her demands. Instead, his heart started pounding with sudden need, like he wanted to take her back to his bed, flip her over on her stomach, and once more take her in a position female shifters really liked. He’d use his teeth again on the back of her neck, holding her in place.

  He tore his gaze away from her and took a few deep breaths.

  “Your scent,” she said, “Tells me that for some reason my wolf-fangs are working you up.”

  “You have no idea. But, listen, I’ve set up a couple of meetings for us and we don’t exactly have time right now for me to service you the way I’d like to. So, let me give you the run down.”

  She settled back in her chair, her mug once more to her lips. “Go for it.”

  “I’ve started orchestrating an attack on Margetta’s camp. I intend to burn the place down tonight, every last piece of wood and canvas until nothing’s left. My Vampire Guard, Shifter and Troll Brigades are all on alert.

  “First, however, I need you to pay homage to the shifter community.”

  She sat forward suddenly. “What?” she sounded panicked. “I can’t meet them, not the packs. Not yet.”

  “You said you’ve been on the Internet, so you must already know that you’re in violation of Realm-shifter protocol.” A shifter had to present him or herself to a pack alpha within twenty-four hours of arrival in Swanicott. Olivia had been here for months.

  “But …” She scowled and chewed on her lower lip.

  He thought he understood. “You’re afraid one of these men will be your father.”

  “How did you know?”

  He shrugged. “It’s not hard to guess, and it must be weird for you. If I were in your shoes, I really wouldn’t want to meet the man who abandoned my mother. But after you meet Luther and he acknowledges and accepts you, we’ll be heading to the Fae Guild, but not for a few hours. So we may have some down-time between the lodge and the Guild.”

  Her brow crinkled. “Why are we going to the Guild?”

  “I know someone there who might have sufficient power to disrupt Margetta’s spell and expose the camp.”

  “You mean the Ruby Fae, the woman called Regan?”

  “You know about her as well?”

  “What can I say? I have a lot of free time on my hands and surfing the web can be a pleasant way to spend the evening.”

  ~

  In order to make herself presentable to an alpha, Olivia needed to change out of her plain, cotton shirt for something a little more formal. Zane still needed to shower, so she took her clothes and other essentials to one of the lower guest-houses. There simply wasn’t enough room in the compact bathroom to house both of them. Besides, a little time apart wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  She kept her jeans, but donned a violet silk blouse and black leather vest. She rarely wore jewelry, no rings or bracelets, not even earrings. For one thing, they were the kinds of things that could get caught on farm equipment or lost in the dirt when planting or hoeing. For another, she just wasn’t into adornment.

  She brushed out her hair, parting it in the middle. Whoever had provided her clothes had also packed up her make-up, such as it was.

  Olivia put on a little mascara, shaped her brows with a light-colored pencil and added lip gloss. She could count on one hand the number of times in the past few years she’d made up her face. Her only social life involved the bar across the street, except when Zane was there. Even then, she’d usually wait until most of the bikers had left, then she’d steal in for a nightcap and have a gossip with the bar owner, Heather.

  She’d learned a lot about Swanicott’s history, as well as Zane’s, from her numerous late-night trips to the bar. Heather had expressed the strong opinion more than once that Zane had been an idiot to marry a vegan-artist like Emily in the first place. “The woman didn’t even like killing flies.” Heather had rolled her eyes after revealing that bit of information.

  Olivia had seen Zane eat his steak; Emily would have recoiled every time.

 
Basically, Zane’s wife had seemed like a delicate type, with a very tender soul. She couldn’t have been happy as a mastyr’s wife, at least not this mastyr.

  When Olivia finally emerged, Zane was on the deck of his bedroom texting on his cell. He glanced at her and she waved, but that’s when things went a little nutty, because he slid his cell back into his pocket then suddenly leaped into the air and levitated down to her. “You look great.”

  “You seem surprised.”

  “You’re wearing a little make-up. I don’t know. Your blouse is dressy. Love the vest.”

  She smiled. “I guess I clean up okay, then.”

  He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You look wonderful. You have from the first moment I met you.”

  “I’ll return the compliment, but then you always put on a good show because that uniform is damn hot.” She took a step back and checked out his boots. “I miss the skulls, though”

  He laughed. “I do, too, but those boots will need some serious repair.”

  She reached down and slid her finger along the inside rim of the hips boots, which meant she was essentially stroking his upper thigh through his leather pants.

  He took her shoulders in hand. “You need to stop because that feels way too good.”

  She sighed. “So, where exactly are we headed? Luther’s home?”

  “Nope.” He held out his arm and she stepped up on his right boot, sliding her arm around his neck. “About thirty miles north in the mountains. The shifter community has an HQ out by Donegal Springs.”

  “Right. I’ve read about it, of course.” Over the months she’d been in Swanicott, she’d explored most of the coastal regions of the realm, but she’d avoided Shifter Headquarters.

  He flew her north, continuing through the mountains, and made a quick trip to what proved to be a large lodge set among pine trees.

  Olivia switched to telepathy. We’re expected, right?

  We are. Representatives from the Swanicott packs have gathered to meet you. Nervous?

  As hell.

  Hey, stop worrying. You’ll be fine. I explained everything to Luther. He said he might have to throw you in prison for a couple of years, but after that, he’ll let you in. Zane chuckled.