“I thought I was going to die.”

“During my Transition I wanted to fight and challenge anyone—everyone. My sister had to hit me with a frying pan, those big cast-iron ones we had a hundred years ago. Several times.”

Iona suddenly wanted to meet this sister. “You obviously got through it.”

“Because I had help, had a family and a clan.”

“And a sister not afraid to smack you down.”

“That too. But you have no protection—no clan, no pride. That why I’m extending mine.”

“But who protects her from you?” Penny asked him.

Another stare down between Eric and Iona’s mother. Iona broke it by walking around the desk and planting herself between them.

“Both of you, stop it. Mom, I’m not you, and I’m not nineteen. Eric, I’ll send you the blueprints when they’re ready. But if you want to protect me so much—stay away from me.”

Eric looked Iona up and down and spoke around her to Penny. “She’s feisty. I like that.”

“You heard her,” Penny said. “Get out, Shifter.”

“I’m going.” But only because he chose to. Iona saw that. He could have done whatever the hell he wanted, including carrying Iona off over his shoulder back to Shiftertown. The reason Eric had told her about the Shifters’ instinct to capture her was so she’d understand that Eric wanted to do that himself.

Eric went to Iona and pulled her into a warm, tight embrace. His breath tickled inside her ear. “The Goddess go with you, Iona.”

He nipped her earlobe, then he released her, gave Penny a nod, grabbed his jacket, and walked out of the office.

They heard the rumble of his motorcycle starting up, the powerful throb as the engine revved. Iona went to the window as Eric lifted his feet and glided the bike out of the parking lot, sunlight gleaming on his dark hair and the jacket he’d resumed. He slid into the street and away, and the engine sound faded into the traffic.

Iona blew out her breath, moved back to her office chair, and sat heavily on it. The roast beef sandwich started to stink, and she shoved it away from her.

Her mother remained standing in the middle of the office, as though she couldn’t decide what to do now. “Iona.”

“Mom, I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Penny wasn’t put off. “Why didn’t you tell me that the leader of Shiftertown knows you’re Shifter? How long has this been going on?”

Iona heaved another sigh. “He saw me at a club last spring.” Iona remembered her shock when Eric dropped into the chair next to hers, asked who she was, and announced that he knew good and well that she was Shifter. “He just knew.”

“Of course he did. They can smell you. But why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why did you just tell Eric more about my real father than you ever told me?”

Penny sighed, looking suddenly older. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. I guess maybe I didn’t tell you much about your father because I was ashamed I fell in love with him. But I wanted Eric to understand that I knew what Shifters did.”

If Iona’s father had been anything like Eric—strong, compelling, pinning others with that Shifter gaze—Iona understood her mother’s feelings toward him. But Iona probably wouldn’t have understood, she realized, before she’d met Eric.

“Why should you be ashamed?” Iona said, a little more sharply than she meant to. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it was. I went to him, I knew what he was, and I didn’t care.”

“He was Shifter. I bet he made you do things you had no intention of doing until it was too late.”

Penny came alert. “Is that what Eric is doing with you?”

Iona shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m Shifter too, so maybe he can’t compel me the same as if I were human.”

“Don’t count on that, Iona. You’d be amazed at what they can do. Why do you think I’ve protected you from them all this time?”

“I can’t hide what I am, Mom. Eric proved that when he saw me in the club.” And I’m proving that by wanting to run wild all the time—with him.

Penny glanced out the window. “The guys are coming back to work. We’ll talk about this later.” She snatched up the tote she’d dropped and banged back outside without another word.

Iona dropped into the desk chair and put her face in her hands. Emotions poured through her—anger at her mother, anger at Eric, fear of her own reaction to him.

Even more powerful was her need to see Eric again, to go after him, to bask in his circle of warmth, even if they argued.

The scent of ruined roast beef sandwich was strong in the room, but stronger to her was Eric’s scent overlaid with the scent of her mother’s stark fear.

Eric rode his motorcycle far out into the desert, shifted, and went for a run. He ran to work off his frustration at being so near Iona and not being able to have her and also to cover Iona’s scent with his own. If he ran long enough under the warming sun, he’d get pretty smelly.

He rode back into Shiftertown later that afternoon and drew his Harley up in front of his house in time to see a Shifter fight in his next-door neighbor’s yard.

He was off the bike and into the yard before the motor died. He grabbed Shane, his bear Shifter next-door neighbor, and hauled him off the half-shifted wolf he was pummeling.

Shane was a giant, but his Collar was sparking like crazy, reacting to Shane’s attack to drive pain and shocks through him. Eric peeled Shane out of the fight and shoved him away. Shane landed, panting, against the pickup with its hood up in his driveway, his eyes wild, but he stayed put.

The wolf, one of Graham’s, was in his half-shifted state, upright, covered with fur, eyes red with rage, mouth full of sharp teeth. He should have recognized Eric as alpha and dropped immediately, apologetically, to wait for Eric to decide what to do. But the wolf, crazed with fury and pain from his own sparking Collar, charged Eric.

Eric spread his arms and growled, feeling himself half shift, his clothes and jacket ripping as his half-Shifter body broke through. The wolf slammed into Eric full force, and Eric caught him in his arms.

The wolf clawed and fought as the two went down. The wolf’s Collar arced blue, the snakes of electricity slapping Eric’s skin. Eric’s Collar remained silent; Eric had learned how to control his Collar’s reaction somewhat. For now. Payback would come later.