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“Good morning!”The woman smiled as she turned in my direction.

Relief filled me as I recognized her.It was Penelope.The owner of the Devil’s Food Bakery was currently engaged to Maximillian Leeds, so I knew she was not there for any sexy shenanigans with my,er, Emmet.

Shit.What was I supposed to call him?

Anyway, she confirmed that when she handed me a to go cup of coffee and set the pastry box on the counter.

“Um, hi,” I said and gestured to the cup.“Thanks.”

“Oh, no problem.When Max texted me to say Emmet had a guest last night, I was shocked and thrilled.Then I was concerned since that old Wolf never seems to have any food in his house!I mean he always orders a ton of meat when I go shopping.Because, you know,Wolf,” Penny said and winked.

Now, I remembered Penny from high school, but she always seemed the quiet type.But she was saying more than just good morning with all this.She seemed to know about Emmet being a Wolf Shifter.

“But he never buys anything girls like us want to nibble on in the morning, except for,well, I think it is safe to say you know all about that.Am I right?I am right, right?”

But before I could say anything, she was back to talking.I never knew her to speak in such a rapid flow, and I had a hard time following.

Nibble?Oh my God.Did she mean his dick?

“Sorry, am I talking too fast?It’s just I’ve been dying to have another woman to talk to who might understand all this craziness with me.I mean, I have Avery, but she’s so busy with Rosie, I hate to burden her.Plus, she is kinda pissed since I am getting more D than her lately.But now that you’re here, we can talk, right?”she asked, blinking at me.

D equals dick.Okay, I can follow along.

“Um, yeah, sure.I mean, we can talk, but um, Penny, I haven’t really talked to Emmet yet and I don’t know?—”

“What don’t you know?I mean he claimed you right?Max said he claimed you.Oh, please don’t tell me I fucked up our friendship this early by telling you Emmet is a Werewolf before he could,” Penny blurted, covering her hands with her face.

“Um, no, no, you didn’t tell me anything I didn’t know.I mean he already told me about Demon,” I said.

“Demon?”

“His Wolf.”

“He named his Wolf?That is so hot!I wonder if Max will let me name his Devil?But it might be different for me and Max because technically Jersey Devils are not strictly Shifters and our beastie sides are not animals,” she muttered out loud, and I did a double take.

“I’m sorry what now?Did you say Jersey Devils?”I asked, and I knew my eyebrows were so high now, they were likely stuck inside my hairline permanently.

Oh, this morning could not be any weirder.I sat down at the small table heavily, the cup of coffee forgotten in my hand, and stared at Penelope.

“Yeah, you know about me and Max, right?”

I shook my head.Nope.I sure as fuck did not know about her and Max.

“Shit.Um, okay, so what did you and Emmet do last night?”she asked, sitting down across from me warily.

I took a sip slowly and shrugged my shoulder.

“Um, he told me he was a Wolf Shifter.And we,well, you know,” I mumbled, my cheeks heating under her stare.

“And he bit you?”

“Yeah,” I replied and nodded.

“And he told you what that means?And about his Crew?The rest of us, I mean?”

I shrugged, because he did,sorta.Then I just shook my head.

“Okay, so let’s start there.Max is the Alpha here at the Motley Crewd Ranch.They’re a special group.You know, usually, like stays with like.But we’re a mixed Crew.A bunch of last chance Shifters without anyplace else to go, which suits Max and his Devil’s needs perfectly.You see, he has all this heart,” she explained, her eyes going soft as she spoke about her man.“And he needs this place, these people, to settle himself.Shifters aren’t like people.When they find their mates, they keep them,” she said.