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“No. I can’t just go and leave them to the tender mercies of the biggest asshole in the world and his minions. I appreciate that you want to help, but there are a lot more of them than you, and they fight dirty.”

“Lark?” Rain waved at the door. “Take her now. We don’t know how much time we have.”

“Come on, Evrin. We never want to make you do something you don’t want to, but if you insist on staying, you really are putting us in danger.”

No better way to make me get moving. I couldn’t be responsible for them getting hurt, even though I probably already was.

I followed Lark out to the car and he opened the door. I was going to miss how gentlemanly they were when they realized what they’d signed up for with me. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Don’t be down. How were you supposed to know what they were doing?”

“I never even saw that light. My phone is usually in my pocket, but wouldn’t I have seen it while we were texting during my travels?”

“If it was activated, yes. But since you didn’t notice, I’m betting they held out and just activated it yesterday or today.”

“Maybe they won’t come.”

“Maybe not, but we have to act as if they will.” He pulled into an open parking spot behind the bakery. “I’ll teach you how to make harvest muffins.”

“That would be fun. They were really delicious.”

We stepped into the kitchen and I turned to him without realizing how close he was. I bumped him and bounced back, only saved from falling by his strong arms.

“Careful there,” he murmured against my lips. “That could lead to kissing.”

“Really? How would that go?”

“I’ll show you.” He rubbed his lips over mine, and they parted. His arms came around me, and he backed me up to the wall, kisses deepening, my head spinning until he suddenly stepped back. “Hi, Jess.”

Oh no. Trust me to have my first real kiss interrupted by someone. “Hi, Jess,” I said, smoothing my hair and wondering how rumpled my clothes were. “How’s the morning going?”

Chapter Eighteen

Warren

Evren was safe with Lark, but it didn’t sit right with my wolf that she was in town, a good distance from our home.

Not to mention, there was someone after her. Not because they actually wanted her, but for her biology and breeding purposes.

“What kind of alpha does that to his pack?” I asked Rain as we sat, side by side at the island. She and Lark had gone to the bakery hours ago, and we were making a plan to handle things if one of them came to the house.

And how to keep her safe. That was the main priority. Even if she didn’t decide to be ours, she would always be safe around us.

“It’s like something from the old stories. The men you warn your children and females about. You think it’s all archaic, but then clearly some of that is alive and well.”

“How stu—” I didn’t finish my sentence because my wolf interrupted. He sensed someone here. Someone who didn’t belong.

“Do you hear that?” Rain slowly closed his laptop and slid from the stool. It was scary how lithe and silent he could be when he wanted.

“I hear it.”

We went to each of the window and peered out, holding our breath, waiting. A car, beat-up and in dire need of a paint job, rolled up the driveway. No one I recognized. No one who should be here. Not a person I had seen in town.

“He’s not here to talk,” Rain murmured. My hackles went up. Not even a day after seeing that tracking app on Evren’s phone there was a stranger at our door. The tracking had to have been on earlier, maybe for minutes here and there, so she wouldn’t notice, to establish her direction of travel. Otherwise, they’d never be here so soon

My wolf snapped and snarled. The man got out, and I took in several things. One, he wasn’t armed. Not a surprise. Shifters often relied, sometimes too heavily, on their wolves for all the protection they needed. Two, the man was scrawny. Not a lick of fat or discernable muscle on him. Eyes hollow. There was a lot to learn about a pack and an alpha by the health and vigor of their members.

He looked around, hands on hips, and then started toward our door. Rain opened it first. A show of power. “Who are you?”