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My cheeks grew hot, and I had to look away, averting my gaze from his naked body.

Tossing his towel aside, he crossed the room and sat on the bed.

With a single finger, he reached forward and lifted my chin to meet his eyes.

Even after being apart for so long, in that moment, it felt as though we’d never been separated, like we’d come through some time machine while still holding hands.

Our bodies and faces were older, but we were still the same people, still connected.

He kissed me. It was sweet and gentle, unlike the grasping, unyielding make-out session of the night before.

This was an intimate and quiet moment, and when he pulled back, I saw the same emotions reflected in his eyes.

I wasn’t gullible enough to think every problem had been erased, all the pain forgotten, but I knew what I felt.

It was like I’d finally come back home. My heart was happy and full for the first time in a long time, and for that, I was grateful.

Whatever came after, I’d make sure to enjoy this.

“You hungry?” he asked.

“Starving.”

“I’ll make pancakes.”

I moaned. “That sounds amazing. I’m glad you’re more than just a pretty face.”

“Very funny.”

We dressed and headed to the kitchen. Ashton’s door was still closed, and it was a shock for me to see that it was almost ten in the morning.

We’d slept really late. Of course, Cole and I had exhausted ourselves, and Ashton had been tired as well, but I’d never seen him sleep as much as he had the last few days.

After putting a pan of bacon in the oven, Cole mixed the pancake batter. Even with the noise we were making, Ashton didn’t stir.

“Should I go check on him?” I asked. “Usually, the smell of food wakes him right up.”

Cole glanced at a calendar I had hanging beside the oven. “His birthday is coming up, plus the full moon is in a week. His body is going through a ton of changes. If I had to guess, his first shift will come in time for the full moon. We’re almost there.”

He sighed and dropped the spatula into the bowl.

“I suppose I need to get the pack together for a group run soon. Maybe time it with Ash’s shift.

It’ll give him a sense of community. I’ve been so worried about the finances and getting everything back in running order, I’ve neglected some of the alpha stuff I need to do.

Even though I’m not technically the pack alpha yet, someone’s got to do it. ”

The look on his face was a combination of irritation and worry. Like the last thing we wanted was to take on that responsibility and stress.

“What are you going to do?” I asked. “With the pack, I mean. Will you be their alpha?”

He shrugged and put a pan on the stove to heat. “Depends, I guess.”

“On what?”

“On what you and Ashton decide to do after the summer is over.”

“Excuse me?” I gaped at him. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. You know I never wanted to be alpha. I didn’t think I had what it took. Now? After all these years? That dumb kid is gone. I know I can lead, and that I’d do a good job, but there are more important things now.

“By rights, Ashton will be next in line for alpha after me. If you guys decide to stay here permanently, then I’ll take over the pack, shore things up, get everything sorted out, and make sure Ashton doesn’t take over a shitshow.”

“And if we decide to move on?” I asked, my voice low but hopeful.

He shrugged again, like the answer was obvious.

“If you go, then I go. I’ve missed too much of Ashton’s life, and I refuse to miss even another second more.

He’s almost fifteen. In a few years, he’s going to head off to college.

Whatever time I have left with him as a kid, I want to savor and enjoy.

And I’m never letting you go again, either,” he said, his gaze never wavering from mine.

Not even a moment of hesitation to say he might not be telling the whole truth.

My heart fluttered. There was nothing but truth in his eyes.

He really would give up everything to go with us.

He’d leave his pack behind to be with us.

It was something I knew almost no alpha would ever do.

To shifters, pack was life, even above family.

But for Cole, it was different. For him, family appeared to be more important than anything else.

For most shifters, it would be a massive decision, but the way he was approaching it, there really was no decision at all.

His phone rang a few seconds later. Almost as though fate itself had heard, it was a pack elder needing Cole to go deal with something that needed his say-so.

“Damn,” he said as he got off the phone. “I’ve got to go. I guess you two will be eating without me.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I can finish up. Maybe by the time I’m done, Ash’ll be awake.”

Cole kissed me again, and like every time before, it took my breath away. When would it stop feeling surreal and start feeling normal? Actually, I wasn’t sure I wanted to feel normal. There was something nice about how special it felt to be with him now.

“I’ll text Trent,” he said as he pulled away. “He only lives about three miles from here. Let him know that if you guys need anything, you can call him while I’m gone.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine. Go on. Go be the alpha.”

He grinned and kissed me one last time before hurrying out the door.

As I watched him go, I armed the security system.

Thoughts of Cole and what he’d done to me—what we’d done to each other—the night before filled my mind as I finished cooking breakfast. It made me blush like a schoolgirl, but it didn’t stop me from reliving each moment in high definition inside my mind.

I ate my breakfast and put the leftovers away, and still my son wasn’t awake. Nearly two hours later, close to lunchtime, Ashton finally came shuffling down the hall. The poor kid looked exhausted. He’d been dead asleep, but he looked like he’d gotten no actual recovery from his sleep.

“Want some food?”

“Yes, please,” he mumbled.

The poor guy was being put through the wringer, and I hated it.

What I hated worse was that there was nothing I could do to make it better.

That alone was a hard pill to swallow as a mother.

In my mind, my entire job was to make my baby feel better when he wasn’t a hundred percent.

Now, I had to sit back and watch while this change wrung him out like an old dish rag.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked as I reheated his food.

“Yeah, Mom,” he said. “I can handle it. Cole said it should only be a few more days.” He winced and massaged his upper jaw where the canines sat. “I really hope he’s right. This freaking sucks.”

Ash ate every pancake I made, and all ten leftover pieces of bacon. When he said he was still hungry, I quickly scrambled the last six eggs and threw some cheese on them for a quick omelet. He devoured it like a starving man eating his last meal.

“I can make you something else,” I said, opening the fridge. “Maybe a….” I stood back and frowned at the fridge. “Where’s all the food?”

I’d gone to the store the other day. We should have been set on groceries for days. I hurried over and opened the pantry to find it, too, was wiped out. Granola bars, Pop-Tarts, chips, nuts—everything was gone. I turned and looked at Ash, raising my eyebrow in question.

He didn’t hold my gaze, instead glancing down, visibly abashed.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Sorry for what? Did you throw the food out?”

He shook his head and glanced at me. “I’ve been snacking a lot the last few days. Midnight snacks, afternoon snacks, morning snacks—all the snacks.”

“Good God, Ashton! You ate all this food?”

If I’d done that, I would have put on twenty pounds. If anything, he looked skinnier than he had a week ago. Of course, that was probably from his weird growth spurt, but still.

“Sorry, Mom. I’ve been so hungry lately,” he said, looking miserable.

“You’re going to eat me out of house and home if this shift doesn’t happen soon,” I said, and walked over to ruffle his hair. “It’s fine. We’ll figure it out. Go get dressed.”

He put his dishes in the sink and headed down the hall to his room.

My phone rang, and I glanced at the screen.

Another unknown number. I didn’t recognize the area code, but it had to be Perry again.

After speaking with Gaige, I’d hoped Perry had vanished for good.

Gritting my teeth in irritation, I answered, if nothing more than to tell him to stop calling.

“Perry, I’m really tired of this. Stop calling, or I’m going to file a no-contact order.”

“Not sure who Perry is, but I like the sound of this guy. Did he show you a good time?”

The skin on the back of my neck crawled, and goosebumps exploded up and down my arms and legs. Kyle.

“How did you get my number?” I asked, lips numb with shock.

“I told you, I’m good at learning things.

It’s always in my best interest to know exactly what I need to know in any given situation.

Like you, Avery Carlise, graduate of Emory University.

Full-ride academic scholarship, graduated with a degree in English and a minor in creative writing.

Left Harbor Mills at the age of twenty-one, first settling in California, then moving to Iowa some three years ago.

Works for three different magazines as a contributing columnist. Also, your most recent pap smear came back negative for abnormalities from Dr. Vessel at Women’s Care and Associates in Des Moines. ”

I tried not to gag as he spouted off such intimate information—information he never should have been able to know. I felt violated.

“What the fuck do you want?” I hissed.

Ashton, fully dressed now, walked into the kitchen and froze when he saw my face. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

Kyle chuckled. “Oh, is that the little bastard I hear?”

Ashton’s newly enhanced hearing allowed him to make out the voice even from across the room. His lips pulled back as he growled. The sound wasn’t as deep as his father’s yet, but it was damn close.

“Don’t you talk about him,” I said, my own voice coming out hoarse and angry.

“Your little wolf there sounds protective. Big, bad wolf growling at the bigger, badder man. That’s cute.

You know, he’s about the same age Dallas was when I pulled him in off the street.

Young minds are so impressionable at that age.

Sad, really. Doesn’t help that the alphas of Harbor Mills make shitty fathers.

Dallas’s father Lance, for one. Cole Garrett, for another.

You need a stronger hand to train that little pup of yours.

What do you say? I house-train your little mongrel, Avery, and in return, you show me what that pretty little mouth can do. Hmm?”

Ashton took two steps forward, eyes blazing with rage, but I held up a hand to stop him. It wasn’t like he could reach through the phone and strangle the pissy man who thought he could intimidate me with perverse words.

“What do you want, Kyle? Cole’s going to be pissed you called me. You’ve told us you want your money, and you’re going to get it. The debt will be paid, and everyone can go on with their lives. Why are you making our lives hell? What the fuck is your end game?”

Kyle gave a slow, humorless chuckle. “On second thought, I don’t want a nosy bitch like you sucking my dick.”

I snorted. “You’re one to fucking talk. You dug around to find out everything you could about me.”

He ignored that. “I have my reasons for putting some heat on you and all your little friends. Good reasons. Call it a favor for Dallas if you want. Making up for the past, maybe.”

“Well, you can stop any time you want. You’ve made your point. If you keep pushing, then Cole is going to push back. Got it?”

Kyle’s voice dropped to a threatening growl.

“Avery, you should be careful who you place your bets on. I don’t think you understand who I am and what I’m capable of.

If I really wanted to take over Harbor Mills, no one could stop me.

When push comes to shove, I know who’d come out on top.

I’d make damn sure no one got out of that fight whole. You can tell Cole I said so, too.”

The line went dead, and I stared at my phone, breathing heavily.

Ashton was looking at me, his jaw muscles twitching. “Was he saying he might try to hurt Cole?”

“I’m not sure. He was trying to talk big, but regardless, we have to tell Cole. He’ll want to know.”

I dialed Cole, not sure what his reaction would be, but positive that it would be anything but good.