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Faith tried not to stare as Tala devoured a huge slice of apple pie, piled high with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.

Her own dessert—a triple chocolate mud pie—sat mostly uneaten in front of her because she felt stuffed to the gills.

Tala, however, showed no signs of slowing down, even after consuming Maryland crab cakes as an appetizer and pasta with honey sesame chicken as an entree.

Once she had cleared her plate, she put her dessert fork down. Her gaze darted over to Faith’s side of the table, and she licked her lips.

Faith slid the plate over to her. “Go ahead.”

Tala reared back as if a rattlesnake was slithering toward her. “No, thanks.”

“Really, you can have it. I can’t eat another bite.” Faith lowered her voice. “And we’re supposed to be a couple, so you finishing my food would only make it look more real.”

“No, thanks,” Tala repeated more firmly.

Why was she reacting like that? Tala had said that it was custom among her people to bring food to a date, so why was she refusing to finish Faith’s dessert now? She eyed the slice of pie, then Tala. “Is there a custom that says shifters can’t eat chocolate pie?”

Tala hesitated as if she had asked her to reveal the nuclear codes.

“Jean-Paul was right, you know?” Faith said quietly. “If you don’t tell me anything about shifters, we will fail. It’ll be obvious to everyone who sees us interact that I don’t know the first thing about you or your kind, and it’s not like I can google ‘how to fake-date a shifter.’”

Tala turned her fork on her plate until it was in a perfect nine o’clock position. “There’s no custom that forbids Wrasa from eating chocolate,” she finally said. “It’s just that it’s poisonous to us.”

Faith pulled her plate back to her side of the table. Oh. So that was why shifters didn’t drink hot chocolate either. “Sorry. I had no idea.”

“It wouldn’t kill me,” Tala said. “Just make me queasy.”

She had added that detail so quickly as if she was afraid Faith would use the newly won information as a weapon against her…or tell her father about it.

Will you? a little voice in the back of her mind asked.

Faith ignored it. She would confront that question later. “Okay, so feeding you chocolate while gazing lovingly into your eyes to convince others we’re in love is not an option. What do shifters do to show affection on a date?”

“Wrasa,” Tala said.

“Pardon me?”

“You keep calling us shifters ,” Tala said. “If you want to be convincing as my lover, the first thing you need to do is to stop calling us that. It’s the name humans gave us. Anyone who respects us calls us by our preferred name—Wrasa. It simply means living being .”

Faith’s cheeks warmed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any offense. It’s just the term I hear most often.”

“Which tells me a lot about the company you keep,” Tala muttered.

“There are a lot of decent people in HASS.” Faith tried not to become defensive, but even she could hear in her tone that she hadn’t quite succeeded. “I know Wrasa think they’re a hate group, but that’s not true. Some of its members have been friends of my family for decades, long before we found out about the Wrasa. They were there for me and my dad when my mother…” She bit her lip. “Anyway, they’re good people. They’re just…”

“Just what?” Tala prompted, her golden eyes nearly glowing with intensity.

“Scared,” Faith whispered. “They think it’s important for humans to protect ourselves.”

Tala huffed. “Now imagine how we feel. You outnumber us a hundred to one.”

So it was true that the Wrasa made up about one percent of the population? Faith’s father was convinced the council had provided the government with incorrect information, deliberately downplaying their numbers.

“If we want to be convincing as lovers, maybe we both need to stop calling each other that,” Faith said quietly.

“Calling each other what?”

“That us versus you thing.”

Tala swirled the remaining water in her glass in a slow circle and watched it for a moment before looking back up and nodding. “You’re—”

The live band that had been setting up at the end of the dance floor started to play, drowning out Tala’s voice.

“I’m what?” Faith shouted and cupped her hand around her ear to indicate she hadn’t understood.

Multicolored lights flashed on the dance floor, and the DJ loudly encouraged people to join them in some kind of line dance.

Tala mumbled something Faith didn’t catch. From the expression on her face, it had been a curse.

“Let me guess,” Faith said, voice raised. “Dancing isn’t on the list of shifter…Wrasa courtship rituals.”

Tala wrinkled her nose. “It’s not. At least not to the blaring noise you call music.” She rose abruptly and held out her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

Um… Out of here? They were on a ship in the middle of the Potomac.

A grin darted across Tala’s face. “Don’t worry. I’m not planning on turning into a fish and swimming to shore. I meant the observation deck.”

Faith got up and put her hand into Tala’s, which felt steady and warm. “Could you? Turn into a fish, I mean.”

Tala led her past the rows of tables, pulled the door open, and held it for her. “You really don’t know much about us, do you?”

“I heard a lot,” Faith answered as she let go of her hand and stepped outside. “But never from one of…from a Wrasa, so it’s hard to say what is or isn’t true.”

They strolled along the side of the ship.

When the door creaked open, and someone followed them out, Faith slipped her hand back into Tala’s because she knew it was probably the paparazzo.

Tala’s fingers in hers were warm, which wasn’t unpleasant at all, now that the air was turning cool. Their hands were a surprisingly good fit.

The observation deck at the stern of the ship was nearly empty since most people were still inside, finishing their dinner. They paused at the railing, the silence between them interrupted only by the churn of the water, the hum of the ship’s engines, and the US flag fluttering in the wind above them.

“No,” Tala finally said. “I can’t turn into a fish. And our dating habits probably aren’t all that different from yours. We’re exactly like you—just trying to live our lives.”

That was what all the Wrasa leaders kept saying in TV interviews. We’re just like you. Chances are you know several of us without realizing. We’re your friends, your colleagues, your neighbors.

They probably thought that sounded reassuring to humans, but to Faith, it was anything but. The thought of shape-shifters living hidden among them, pretending to be human, sent a shiver down her spine.

“Is it too cold out here?” Tala asked. “I keep forgetting how sensitive humans are to cooler temperatures.”

“It’s fine. Just a bit windy.” It was true, even though it wasn’t the reason she had shivered. The sun was setting, so it had gotten cooler, and she had forgotten to bring a jacket.

Tala tugged on her hand and led her over to a wicker love seat at the other end of the observation deck, where she sat, spread her arm along its back, and glanced up at Faith expectantly.

“Oh.” Tala was offering to keep her warm by cuddling up to her! Gingerly, Faith sank onto the love seat next to her but kept her posture very erect.

Tala’s body heat instantly engulfed her.

“Wow. You Wrasa”—she was getting better at calling them that—“are like walking, talking space heaters!”

“And you humans are breathing refrigerators,” Tala shot back. “I bet you stick your ice-cold feet onto your partner’s side of the bed at night.”

Faith was thankful for the glow of the setting sun, which hopefully hid her blush. She did have a habit of doing that, but Tala didn’t need to know that. It wasn’t as if they would ever share a bed. “So…” She cleared her throat. “Wrasa do cuddle?”

“Of course we do. And from the looks of this”—Tala jostled her gently and pulled her closer against her side—“we’re better at it than you are.”

Faith’s body temperature rose, either from another blush or because their closeness warmed her up. She made a conscious effort to relax her tense muscles and sink against Tala.

For a few moments, they sat in silence, watching the golden glow over the water as the Odyssey glided upstream. The Lincoln Memorial appeared to their right, its marble columns illuminated by the rays of the setting sun.

“Do Wrasa find this”—Faith tilted her head toward the sunset, the memorial, and the Washington Monument towering behind it—“romantic?”

Tala shrugged. Since her arm was still draped along the back of the love seat, practically wrapped around Faith, the movement made the outer curve of her breast brush along Faith’s upper arm.

More heat spread through Faith, but she ignored it, knowing it was just an automatic physical reaction. After all, it wasn’t as if she was attracted to a Wrasa.

“I guess,” Tala said. “Not as romantic as a moonlit stroll through the forest, of course.”

An image of a dark forest and sharp, bloodstained canines flashing in the moonlight rose in Faith’s mind’s eye. Another shiver went through her.

Tala pressed even closer and curled her arm more tightly around Faith’s shoulders as if trying to keep her from freezing to death.

Suddenly, Faith couldn’t breathe. She fought the impulse to struggle against Tala’s grip and run.

“You okay?” Tala turned on the love seat to study her, which loosened her hold.

Faith sucked in a lungful of air and nodded frantically. Telling Tala about the horrific images flashing through her mind wasn’t an option. No way would she make herself that vulnerable.

An airplane flew over the ship, heading toward Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

As Tala glanced up, Faith took the opportunity to gather herself. “Okay, so cuddling and strolls through the forest. What else? Writing love poems? Serenading each other? What?”

Tala eyed her. “Why are you so eager to know all the details about Wrasa courtship? We can just do what looks convincing to humans and let my people believe I’m adjusting to your customs.”

At their meeting with Jeff Madsen, when they had talked about PDAs, the council’s speaker had warned them that they’d have to convince Wrasa of their relationship too, not only humans, making Faith think there was something different about how shape-shifters behaved on a date. But neither he nor Tala had seemed eager to share any details with her—which made her even more curious to find out. “Because that’s not how relationships work. Both partners have to adjust and meet in the middle.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Tala muttered.

Now Faith was the one who studied her. “Does that mean…you’ve never been in a relationship?”

Tala hesitated as if not sure she should trust her with any personal information. “Once,” she finally said. “But I was barely more than a pup back then. After I left my pack, my job made it difficult. I was never in one place for too long.”

So a group of fox-shifters was called a pack too, like wolves? Faith opened her mouth to ask and to inquire about Tala’s job.

“We went on runs together, if you absolutely have to know what Wrasa couples do,” Tala said before Faith could speak. “And I gave her my favorite sweatshirt so she could breathe in my scent when I wasn’t around.”

Scent seemed to be very powerful for Wrasa. Could it somehow be used against them when push came to shove?

Instantly, the thought made guilt wash through her.

Why would you feel guilty? she firmly told herself. You’re only protecting yourself and your fellow humans.

“And, of course, there was a lot of nuzzling and grooming,” Tala added.

“Grooming?”

Tala reached over with the arm not wrapped around Faith, combed her fingers through her hair, then tucked a strand of it behind Faith’s ear.

“Oh. That’s…not too bad.” It didn’t seem too different from what humans did, but she couldn’t help thinking Tala was holding something back. “Anything else I should know about dating…fake-dating a Wrasa?”

“Well,” Tala drawled. “If anyone asks, you didn’t hear it from me, but there’s one more thing you should be aware of.”

Faith’s breath caught. “Yes?”

Tala leaned toward her and lowered her voice as if revealing a secret. “Once a month, usually around the full moon, we go into heat.”

A flush swept up Faith’s neck, and she frantically tried to remember what phase the moon was in. Oh my God! It wasn’t a full moon tonight, was it? “W-what happens?”

“We become…shall we say…more intense in our affections.” Tala’s gaze seemed to sear into her, and her voice dropped a register, vibrating through Faith. “Things can get a little…wild. Especially if you’re with an alpha like me.”

Faith somehow managed not to gulp. Probably because her mouth had gone bone-dry and she couldn’t have swallowed even if her life depended on it.

Tala wrapped her free arm around her own middle, bent forward, and burst out laughing. “Oh Great Hunter, you should see your face!”

“You were joking?” Faith flopped against the back of the love seat. “Please tell me you were joking?”

“Of course I was,” Tala got out between fits of laughter. “It seems I’m not the only one who got my information from romance novels. That going-into-heat thing only happens in paranormal romances.”

For a second, Faith wanted to reach over and pinch her. But that wasn’t a good idea. Very likely, not everything that happened in paranormal romances was a myth, so she didn’t want to find out how Tala would react to a playful attack.

Finally, Tala’s laughter trailed off, but a grin still curled up the edges of her usually stern mouth.

The teasing had caught Faith unaware—and it wasn’t the first time it had happened tonight. Tala appeared so fierce and intimidating that Faith hadn’t expected her to have a sense of humor.

A middle-aged guy pulled his companion up from the love seat next to theirs. “Come on, Darcy.” He pierced Tala with a glare. “Let’s go back inside. We don’t have to watch this despicable behavior.”

Tala stiffened next to Faith. Her body vibrated, either with a subvocal growl or because she had to restrain herself. But she didn’t say anything.

As the woman strode past them, her nose crinkled with disgust. She raised her hand and pointed straight at Faith. “If you keep straying from God’s path like this, you’ll go to hell.”

For a moment, the familiar surge of shame flooded Faith’s belly, and she fought the urge to huddle against the side of the love seat, distancing herself from Tala.

But then anger rose just as swiftly. After coming out as bisexual, she had encountered that attitude more than once in the church her father went to, and it cut deeply. “Why do you think hurling hateful comments at us is the Christian thing to do? Last I checked, the Bible says not to judge your fellow human beings.”

The expression of disgust on the woman’s face only deepened. “This”—she stabbed her finger in Tala’s direction—“is not a human. And if you really knew the Bible, you’d know it says, ‘Cursed be anyone who has sexual relations with any kind of animal.’”

Her companion nodded. “Deuteronomy 27:21. Look it up and repent.” Then they disappeared around the corner.

Faith stared after them. She had assumed their reaction had been about Tala and her both being women. But, apparently, it hadn’t been. “What was that?”

“A couple of Bible-quoting Wrasa-phobes,” Tala said as calmly as if it were an everyday occurrence.

Faith wrenched her gaze from where the couple had disappeared and turned toward Tala. “How did they even know you’re…?”

“An animal?” Tala’s tone dripped with bitterness.

“A Wrasa,” Faith said. “It’s not like you’re wearing a sign.”

“I’m wearing this.” Tala touched her chest.

Faith glanced down.

Despite the cool temperatures, Tala hadn’t put on a jacket, and the two buttons on her shirt’s polo-style collar stood open. When she had bent forward, clutching her stomach with laughter, her silver necklace had slid out from beneath her shirt, and a stainless-steel ID tag now lay against her upper chest.

A serial number and a barcode were etched into the metal, and a capital letter F identified Tala as a fox-shifter.

The ID tag had been hidden beneath Tala’s shirt earlier, despite the thousand-dollar fine for failing to keep it visible.

One of the bellhops at work—the only shape-shifter on Faith’s team—often slid his beneath his uniform too.

Truth be told, Faith had always thought hiding the tag was deceptive. Why else would the Wrasa keep their identity secret if not to manipulate humans?

But maybe this was why.

Maybe it wasn’t all that different from her choosing not the wear her bracelet with the colors of the bisexual flag at work.

The expression of disgust and the Bible quote certainly weren’t that different.

“Is it always like this for you?” Faith nodded in the direction the couple had disappeared in.

“Sometimes, it’s more subtle, but basically…yeah. It happens every single day.”

Faith stared at her. Every single day? Was she exaggerating? “Really? This is the first time I’ve witnessed anything like this.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Tala muttered.

“No, I swear. Nothing like that ever happened around me.”

“It did,” Tala said, no room for doubt in her tone. “You just didn’t pay it any attention because it didn’t concern you.”

Faith opened her mouth to protest.

Before she could think of something to say, Tala stood. “Come on. Let’s head back inside. I need another piece of cake to get rid of the bitter taste in my mouth.”