Prologue

No one will ever look at me the same again. Caine Grennard’s hand shook as he lifted it toward the mansion’s main door.  Clenching his fist, he focused to calm his rage before he turned the knob.  As he entered, the Lupreda sitting in the living room and standing in the hall turned and stared.  Every single member in the wolf pack was there now. Only a few had witnessed his fight with Brian.

It had been a great battle—painful and bloody, but satisfying to kick the jerkoff’s ass and finally put him in his place. Brian, the surly, ready-to-mutiny Lupreda wouldn’t dare disparage Landon as Alpha Wolf again; at least not in Caine’s presence. Yet all the satisfaction Caine had when the fight was over disappeared the moment he realized he couldn’t shift back from his dominant werewolf form, known as Musk form among the Lupreda, to human.

Was the pack waiting to see if Caine had gone full zerker—to see if he was permanently stuck between man and wolf, like the other three Lupreda in the past?

He saw it in their eyes; the worry, the condemnation. Brian had the nerve to smirk.  Caine wanted to kick his ass all over again.  When Caine’s gaze locked with Landon Rourke’s, the Alpha’s stoic expression told him nothing.  Resentment burned in Caine’s stomach.

Landon uncrossed his arms and pushed his tall, broad form away from the thick column separating the living room and the foyer. “Everybody out!”

The Lupreda scattered, moving so fast Caine only saw blurs zooming past.  A pair of folded jeans landed with a thump on the floor in front of him.

He looked up and caught a glimpse of Kaitlyn’s red hair through the rails in the catwalk overhead before she disappeared.  Landon’s half human-half Lupreda mate was one-of-a-kind. Only she would anticipate the turmoil and self-doubt that had festered within him while he’d paced in the woods for two agonizing hours, waiting for his body to finally shift back to human form. Kaitlyn intuitively sensed something as simple as a pair of jeans would help him feel more human as he faced the pack’s leader. 

Caine quickly pulled on the jeans and buttoned the fly.  As soon as he met Landon’s steady gaze, the Alpha tossed something in the air toward him.  Catching the metal, Caine curled his fingers into a fist around it. The chain felt both hot and cool against his palm.

“Put it on,” Landon said in a hard tone.

Caine tensed and glanced at the silver chain in his hand. He’d been there, done that. All the Lupreda had experienced having a thick silver collar locked around their necks to keep them from shifting to wolf form until the Sanguinas vampires were ready to hunt them.  Ever since the vampires got sick from humans’ poisoned blood over twenty-five years ago, and they’d retreated from their land into exile, Caine had relished his freedom. He swore he’d never let anyone put silver around his neck again.  He sure as hell wasn’t doing it willingly, even if he was at risk of going zerker.

Clenching his hand around the chain once more, Caine met Landon’s steady stare.  “No.”

Landon’s green gaze narrowed.  “I won’t have you going zerker. You’ll wear it if you want to stay here.”

If Caine couldn’t shift to Musk form on the fly, he couldn’t protect his pack.  He’d be nothing to his brethren.  Useless to his Alpha; the man who’d mentored him all his life.  Why didn’t Landon see that? 

Caine shook his head and flexed his jaw.  For as long as he could remember his faith in Landon as the pack’s true Alpha had never wavered—even while Landon had lived away from the pack for eighteen years—yet now that Landon had recently become Alpha, he was the one who would force Caine to leave. 

 “I guess the decision’s made for me.”  Turning, Caine slipped the chain around the neck of the carved wolf statue sitting on its haunches by the door and walked out of the Lupreda’s mansion—the only home and family he’d ever known.

Chapter One

Why would an alluring smell make me feel so free? Emma Gray wondered as she waved goodnight to her boss before pushing the café’s door open.  Her pulse raced and every nerve in her system worked overtime. She hurried across the street, heading toward the nightclub Squeeze.  Despite her social hang-ups, she was finally going into that nightclub.  Come hell or high water.

She stepped up on the curb and inhaled, trying to recapture the glorious smell’s deep earthy notes, the essence that brought her out here in the first place. She knew if she could conjure it, the scent would help solidify her resolve and calm her stomach that felt like a snake had taken up residence inside, coiling tighter and tighter..

Nothing but car exhaust, lingering hints of rain and alley trash filled her nostrils. Damn.

She’d always had a keen sense of smell, something Jared, her boss at Jared’s Java and Pastries café, often relied on.  “You think these eggs are still good?” he’d ask as he held the carton under her nose, to which she could accurately predict. “You’ve got two days before you have to chunk ‘em.”  Jared thought her talent was “wicked uncanny”.  Emma thought her “gift” was just plain weird. 

Until yesterday.

She was cleaning up coffee cups left by some of the patrons, whose lingering musky smell on them made her body tingle all over.  She smiled and she didn’t know why.  But she just felt…exhilarated, like she was flying down from the highest hill on a roller coaster—buckled in and safe, but completely free.

Then, tonight at work, she’d caught the scent again and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest, she’d been so excited.  This time the smell had been very fresh—as if the person or persons had just been there.  She’d lifted her gaze from gathering the cups in the dirty-dish container in time to see a tall, dark-headed guy leave the café and accompany an auburn-haired man to the popular Manhattan nightclub across the street.

Now, here she was, an hour later, her throat closing as she stood at the end of the long line of people waiting to get inside the nightclub. In the two years she’d worked at the café, there’d been many nights that she’d stared out the big display window at Squeeze’s black double doors, wondering what it was like with music blaring and patrons packed inside like sardines. But curiosity wasn’t enough to overcome her social ineptitude. She wasn’t a sexy siren. Just a normal, average-looking woman, who’d rather talk about the latest marketing strategies being used in businesses today than how well she could hold her liquor or how fast she could tie a cherry stem with her tongue. Yep, she’d crash and burn the moment she opened her mouth.

If it weren’t for that earthy, musky aroma that had imprinted itself on her psyche since yesterday, she wouldn’t be standing here.  But she had to at least put a face with the appealing, soul-wrenching scent.  Maybe then she could let it go.

Techno music thumped and the crowd of people inched their way through the frigid, damp air, waiting to be let in.  As she waited, Emma noted the distinct difference in her own attire: jeans, bulky sweater and black wool pea coat, compared to the other young women her age.  Sporting big earrings, spiked heels and heavy makeup, the girls wore clubbing clothes of tight pants, miniskirts and cropped tops underneath their winter coats. 

While they giggled and flirted with the guy manning the door, Emma’s insides churned.  These girls have mastered the art.  I could never compete. With each step closer to the entrance, Emma’s body tensed to the point she thought she might pass out.  Breathe. They’re people, just like you. Well, except for the I-suck-at-flirting-and idle-chit-chat part.

“You don’t look twenty-one.” The burly guy at the door said after he’d checked Emma’s driver’s license to make sure she was legal.

“I am twenty-one, but it doesn’t really matter.  I’ll only be in there for a few minutes.”  She’d always been told she looked young, but was it because she didn’t have on any makeup or because she wasn’t wearing three-inch heels?  She was sure her five-foot-six height made her appear much shorter and younger than the girls he normally let in. Even if half those girls were probably three years younger and sporting fake IDs. 

“You still have to be twenty-one to be allowed in.”  Frosty plumes expelled from his nose, reminding her of a dragon.

Emma followed his frown to her feet.  Her boots had mud spatters all over them from her jaunt through the woods this morning, looking for Casper.  She instantly regretted not changing her shoes before she went to work. Meeting his gaze, her smile turned sheepish. “I’m going for the grunge look.”

The streetlight shone on the man’s bald head as he scanned her clothes. Crossing his arms, disdain laced his tone. “We have a dress code for a reason.”

Emma stiffened and outraged, embarrassed heat shot up her cheeks.  She didn’t need to be reminded her pea coat had threadbare elbows and a frayed collar or that her jeans were so old and worn they were naturally faded. “Are you saying I’m not good enough to enter this club?”

She had to get into the club so she could at least see the guy with the innerving scent, even if she didn’t speak to him.  Maybe his face would ring a bell or something.  There were no guarantees he’d come to the café again just because he’d been there two days in a row. Plus, working up the nerve to enter the club was a big deal for her.  Seeking this guy out was a perfect excuse for her to finally get a peek inside Squeeze without feeling like she was there on a social basis.

A snotty look crossed the bouncer’s thick jowls.  “That’s exactly what I’m—” At that moment, a thin guy burst through the club’s double doors, took a couple of steps and hurled on the sidewalk.  Baldy turned to him and growled, “Hey, go puke somewhere else, moron.”

When he walked over to send the guy on his way, Emma’s heart rate ramped.  She didn’t have the flirtatious skills the girls in front of her had used to make him wave them in with a lopsided, dopey smile. Instead, she’d challenged the guy.  Way to go, Emma.  Better take the opportunity to quickly slip inside the club while he was occupied.

Inside, the nightclub was so dark, the neon manga murals painted on the walls on either side of the entryway glowed vividly.  When the closed door opened with a swift jerk behind her, Emma’s pulse jumped.  She pulled her pageboy hat low on her head and ducked past a tall guy, moving further into the room. 

It didn’t take much effort to be sucked into the crowd, the nightclub was that packed. It was like she’d entered another world, full of drinking, dancing and erotic decadence.  Emma was enraptured and invigorated by the laughter, talking, partying and life going on around her.  And the smells.  There were so many: thick, sickly smelling perfume, heavy musk-based cologne, strong deodorant soap aromas laced with sweat…all were mixed in with alcohol’s distinct sharp scent.

Hanging above the DJ on the other side of the club, glittery gold cages held half-naked girls sliding up and down poles. The sunken dance floor three feet below the main floor was so crowded she couldn’t tell where one person began and the other ended.  The partiers were one big mass of arms, legs, bobbing heads and gyrating bodies, moving to the beat of the music.

Fog floated through the room in a heavy haze, carrying with it images of excitement, aggression and…lust.  She saw it in the way the people moved, the way they touched.  Especially one group of three, who were dancing on the fringes of the dance floor.

A tall, broad-shouldered man with pitch-black hair danced in front of a woman with short dark hair, while her blonde girlfriend plastered herself to his backside.  When the blonde raked her nails down his cotton T-shirt and then along his jean-covered thighs as she leaned close and bit his shoulder blade, Emma’s stomach tightened.  The man laughed and turned to say something in the blonde woman’s ear.  Emma could tell by the way the woman’s eyes narrowed into pleased slits, his comment was very suggestive.

She felt like a voyeur watching the three of them, their bodies moving in tandem to the suggestive beat of the music, but Emma couldn’t look away. She was totally mesmerized by the sight. The man held the brunette’s waist with a gentle touch that surprised her.  When he ran his lips along the woman’s throat, Emma found herself tilting her head as if he were kissing her.

Her pulse thrummed and her palms turned sweaty. Sudden heat spread through her body, making her dizzy. Seeking a distraction, she unbuttoned her thick jacket and gazed around the room, looking for the auburn-haired man.  He’d be easier to spot in a crowd than the dark-headed guy.  When she returned her gaze to the threesome on the floor once more, the man lifted his head and stared right at her.

Embarrassed he caught her staring, Emma quickly turned and made her way through the crowd toward the bar.  Maybe the two men were having a drink.  Frat boy and sorority girl were making out on the stool to her left.  She ignored them and leaned across the bar to scan the patrons sitting on either end. 

The bartender’s military-style buzz cut shifted forward with his raised eyebrows. “What’ll you have?” 

Emma nodded.  “I’ll have a dark beer.”  More than once she’d shared a beer or two with her aunt. Mary might be in her mid-sixties, but she could hold her own against any sailor out there.

“Come on, baby. You don’t need a drink,” a woman said beside Emma, drawing her out of her musings.

Glancing to her right, Emma froze.  The man from the dance floor had walked up to the bar.  But it wasn’t his face that shocked her.  It was his smell…that intriguing musky scent she’d come looking for.  The blonde stroked his waist and hips, dancing in place behind him, while the brunette hung on his right arm.

Emma stared at his profile as he raised his hand to get the bartender’s attention.  Nothing about him looked familiar.  She knew she’d never met him in her life, yet his scent evoked something strong within her.  Appearing to be in his early thirties, he wasn’t pretty-boy handsome.  From his nose, to his square jaw, to black eyebrows over dark eyes, his looks were a bit harsh, but intriguing.

He turned and whispered something to the brunette beside him.  The blonde slid her hand along his backside then wrapped her arm around his waist and tugged him against her.  “You have to dance with me next,” she said, rubbing her body on his.

Emma smirked. You mean he wasn’t already?

“Here’s your beer.” The bartender interrupted her observation, setting Emma’s drink on the wood bar top, then he turned to the man on her right. “What’ll it be?”

The dark-haired man glanced at Emma’s imported beer.  “I’ll have what she’s having.”

The bartender walked away before she could hand him her money.  Emma thrummed her fingers on the bar top and waited for him to return. She refused to look at the guy beside her.  Had she imagined him walking inside the club with a red-headed guy?  Or maybe the other guy had girls climbing all over him somewhere else in the club.

Apparently, the brunette didn’t like that the man she hung on had glanced Emma’s way.  Emma felt the female’s avid stare as the woman moved to stand in front of him, while the blonde literally crawled all over his back.   The bartender returned with another beer and the man handed him a large bill.  “That’s for hers, too,” he said, nodding to Emma.

He had an engaging smile and smelled like sin incarnate, but Emma wasn’t flattered.  Handing the bartender her money, she swept her gaze over the two ladies hanging on the man and said, “No thanks. I think they’ve got all your sides covered,” before she walked away.

Caine stared after the petite woman who’d just slammed him.   He was taken aback but amused by her comment.  The brunette kissed his jaw and said in a husky voice, “We’ll be right back.” 

The blonde backed away with her friend and waved. “Bathroom break.”

As he watched the women walk off, he realized he hadn’t learned their names yet, but his mind was on the woman who’d turned down his offer to pay for her beer.  She had the most arresting eyes. They were so light brown, the color appeared almost yellow.  What was her name?  He scanned the crowd, looking for her pageboy hat among the crush of people. She’d disappeared.

Laird walked up and ran a hand through his short auburn hair.  “Better learn to tie a knot. That bathroom line is long.” Frowning, he glanced around the bar area. “How the hell did you manage to lose two women while I was gone?”

“Talent.” Caine grunted then took a drink of his beer. 

“Now I know why you weren’t answering your cell.”

Caine immediately tensed at Landon’s terse tone behind him.  He swiveled and met the Alpha’s steady stare.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kaitlyn, Landon’s mate, ordering drinks at the other end of the bar.  “Why are you looking for me? Wasn’t kicking me out of the pack enough for you?”

Landon’s face turned to stone and he crossed his arms over his wide chest.  “Leaving was your choice.”

Resentment churned in Caine’s stomach.  Ninety days of loneliness and feeling completely alienated from his own kind fueled his bitter tone. “You didn’t give me an option.”

Kaitlyn walked up carrying two mugs of Guinness. At the same time, the song ended and the multicolored spotlights around the dance floor were doused, sending the bar into momentary darkness. She gasped and stared at Caine. “Do you see it?” she addressed Landon.

A new song started up and the colorful lights sprang to live, bouncing off Landon’s tense jaw.  “I do.” Grabbing the drinks from her hands, he set them on the bar.  “Let’s go.”

Laird’s attention pinged between Landon, Caine and Kaitlyn.  “Am I missing something?”

Caine shrugged and took another swig of his beer.  “I’m as clueless as you.”

“More than you realize.” Landon’s cold tone spoke volumes.  “Leave immediately and meet me at my office.”

Caine stiffened, ready to refuse.  

The Alpha got right in his face. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re still a member of my pack and my responsibility. Get your ass moving, wolf.”

After Landon and Kaitlyn walked off toward the entrance, Laird said, “Where’d the ladies go? Did you find out their names?”

Caine shook his head. “They went to the bathroom. If the lines are like you say, they’ll be a while.” He set his beer down, wishing he’d gotten the hat girl’s name.  “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

When they left the club and the heavy doors shut behind them, Caine caught a glimpse of the girl in the hat walking up the road and his pulse raced.  “Get the car and meet me around the block,” he called to Laird, then took off in her direction.

As he headed her way, she pulled her gloves out of her pockets and shrugged into them.  Caine briefly stopped to grab the paper she’d dropped.  In a matter of seconds, he was just a few feet behind her.  “Hey, Hat Girl! Wait up.”

She gasped and jumped, coming to a halt.  “You scared the crap out of me.  Don’t sneak up on people like that.”

“You dropped this,” Caine walked up and handed her the napkin before sliding his hands into his jeans pockets.  “You shouldn’t be walking the streets by yourself at night.  Let me walk you to wherever you’re going.”

“Thanks”. She shoved the napkin in her pocket. “Don’t you have other women to attend to?” she said before she continued walking, apparently heading toward a parking deck up ahead.

Caine chuckled and fell into step beside her.  “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

She raised an eyebrow.  “So I imagined those two women trying to become your second skin?”

Touché. “And yet I’m here, talking to you,” he said in a husky tone.

She shrugged, unimpressed.  “Everyone likes a challenge.”

She was a good six inches shorter than him, but with her thick jacket and her hair tucked up under a black pageboy hat, he couldn’t tell much else about her physically.  No earrings swung from her ears or lipstick coated her lips. High cheekbones made her oval face more interesting than beautiful, but she had something about her…something elusive, and damn he liked her snap.  “Is that what you would be? A good challenge?”

Her yellow gaze slanted briefly. “I would be the ultimate challenge.”

No smug smile, no pretense at all.  Just the determined set of her jaw and the way she walked—graceful and self-assured. She exuded the kind of self-confidence some people work all their lives to acquire but never really accomplish, yet she was so young. He’d guess a little over twenty.

They’d reached the entrance to the parking deck and she stopped.  “I can take it from here.  Thanks.”

Caine was stunned to be summarily dismissed.  Women, especially those younger than him, were usually drawn in by his smile alone.  He searched her face, looking for some kind of clue to her underlying strategy.  No artifice reflected in her intriguing eyes.  “Will you at least tell me your name?”

She smiled and his groin hardened and his chest cinched tight in a deep primal response to her natural beauty. 

“Hat Girl will do.  Good night.”

She turned to walk away, but Caine caught her gloved hand.  Drawing her fingers to his lips, he said, “I’m glad I met you, Hat Girl.”

A car horn blew and Caine jerked his gaze to the road behind him. Laird leaned out the car window. “Come on, Caine. Landon’s waiting.”

Small fingers folded around his, drawing his attention. Her lips were tilted in amusement, a delicate dark eyebrow elevated.  “Things aren’t always what they seem?”

Caine grinned.  “Exactly.”

Pulling her hand from his, she backed away.  “It was nice to meet you, Caine.  Your friend is waiting.”

“I’d like to see you again.”

Her low laugh made his heart beat faster. 

“I’ll be around.”

Caine didn’t like her evasive answer.  He realized he’d been so caught up in trying to learn more about her that he hadn’t taken the time to catch her scent.  He’d be able to track her that way. Something close to panic gripped him at the thought she’d disappear and he’d never see her again.  “At least tell me your name or give me your number.”

“I’ve got to go. I have a long drive ahead of me.”

“You don’t live in the city then?”

She shook her head.

The horn blew again and Caine barked toward the car.  “I’m coming, Laird.”

 When he turned back, she was gone.

“I have to deal with Landon for taking our time getting there. You don’t,” Laird grumbled as Caine climbed into the passenger side. 

Caine shut the door harder than necessary. “He’ll get over it.”

Laird drove down the road. “Stubborn lone wolf.”

Caine shrugged off the conflicting emotions that squeezed his chest at Laird’s flippant comment.  He never really understood what Landon went through while he’d lived away from the pack on the fringes of Lupreda land for as long as he did…until now. “It doesn’t matter. I’m out of the pack anyway.”

“It took you two hours to shift back, Caine!” Laird growled and steered the car onto a side street.

The past few months of solitude in the city, while working double shifts to pay for rent and food, had given Caine plenty of time to think about those two long hours in the woods. Going zerker was not going to happen to him.

“It’s not the same without you. Landon’s Second should be with the pack. You can’t enjoy delivering packages.”

Laird’s comment jerked Caine out of his musings. “Second?”

“Damn straight.” Laird pulled his car into a space on the street in front of Landon’s New York City office.  Cutting the engine, he drilled Caine with a steadfast stare.  “Everyone knows it.  It was only a matter of time before Landon made an official announcement.”

It was true he’d assumed the role of Second the moment Landon took over as Alpha, but Caine thought Laird would take over once he left.  Roman was too laidback to assume Second responsibilities. All Caine had ever wanted, all he’d ever trained for was to be Alpha one day.  With the threat of turning zerker a very real possibility for him now, he wouldn’t be allowed to enter the annual Alpha run. 

Laird grabbed his arm when he started to get out of the car.  “Just put the damned necklace on.”

Caine’s ingrained loyalty burned within him. Even though Landon had forced him to leave, he still respected Landon more than any wolf, even more than Garius, the head Omega and oldest retired Alpha.  “It might’ve been over twenty-five years ago, but I can still feel the weight of the vampires’ damned silver collar around my neck. I refuse to be shackled again.”

“You can take the chain off with each full moon and run with us as a wolf. Your family wants you to return.”

Family.  The concept both fascinated and frustrated Caine.  Unlike Caine and Landon and the wolves before them who were created in a lab by the vampires, Laird’s generation were the first werewolves born into the pack.  Caine’s friend knew what it felt like to have siblings and parents.  Laird had both pack and family ties.  Now that the pack thought he was close to going zerker, Caine felt they’d turned their back on him. What was that human saying, “Blood is thicker than water?”  Laird’s parents would never walk away from him, zerker or not.

Caine shook off the sense of isolation that had consumed his thoughts while he’d been living away from the pack and climbed out of the car.  As he walked up the sidewalk beside Laird, he knew the Lupreda were worried about him.  Living among humans was his only option. Humans didn’t rile his need for Musk form dominance like his fellow pack mates did, like Brian had.  They were a safe, if not somewhat boring, race…all except for one, apparently.  Hat Girl. 

With the zerker issue breathing down his neck, he felt as if he was losing touch with what little humanity ran through his veins.  Maybe that’s why the human appealed to him.  She represented something that was slipping away from him as fast as sand through his fingers.

“Caine. You with me, bud?”

Caine blinked when he realized he was staring unseeingly in front of him. Landon Rourke Private Investigations came into focus in bold black letters on the door a couple feet away. He smirked. Landon was going to have to change that now that Kaitlyn had left her job as NYPD police detective to join his agency.  Tapping on the door, he walked in when Landon called for them to enter.

“’Bout damn time.” Landon scowled and leaned against his desk which was currently turned on its side.

“Shit!” Laird stared at the shambles before them.

Caine’s gaze jerked to Landon. “What happened?”

“I think it’s obvious,” Landon said in a dry tone. 

Caine immediately walked around the ransacked room. Sniffing the air, he stepped over filing cabinets with drawers wide open. Paperwork was everywhere.  Nothing.  Not a glimmer of a scent.  Knowing Landon’s sense of smell wasn’t as strong as the rest of the wolves in the pack, Caine frowned.  “I’m assuming you asked us here to help you scent, but I don’t detect any lingering smells.”

Laird lifted a turned over chair.  Inhaling near the wood, he shook his head before he set it upright on the floor.  “Me neither.”

Landon stood.  “That’s not why I asked you here.”

Kaitlyn walked into the office from the back entrance, carrying a small hard case. Opening it, she removed a strange-looking flashlight with a green shield in front of it.  Handing Caine and Laird each a pair of orange colored safety-style glasses, she said, “I borrowed this equipment from a friend’s office at the lab.”

“You borrowed?” Caine grinned and slipped the glasses on. 

“It’ll be back where he left it before work resumes tomorrow morning.” She tucked strands of her shoulder length red hair behind her ear and walked over to the light switch. 

“You know we can see in the dark, Kaitlyn.” Laird chuckled, then put his glasses on. 

She flipped off the light switch.  “Just humor me. I’m hoping this will work.”

Laird lifted his hands in the air.  “See. No difference. Everything looks the same.”

Kaitlyn turned on her flashlight and swept it past them to the room in general.  “What about now?”

Caine froze as the special flashlight scanned the room. He saw defined sparkling handprints all over the place; on the desk, the filing cabinets, on the paperwork and file folders, even on the chair Laird had just checked. 

Kaitlyn was showing Laird and him what she and Landon had the ability to see without this special equipment.  “Damnit to hell!” Caine ground out, then glanced at Laird when Kaitlyn turned the flashlight on him.

Sparkling handprints covered his friend’s face, his chest, his arms, his hips, even his crotch.  “Son of a bitch!” Laird hissed.  “Those two girls crawling all over us like a couple of cats were—”

“Panthers,” Caine finished with a snarl, his gaze snapping to Landon’s.  Now he knew why the Landon was so furious when the lights went down in the club.

“I don’t think the panthers have a clue that Kaitlyn and I can see the trail they’re leaving behind,” Landon said.

“Either that or the Velius don’t give a damn.” Caine walked over and flipped the light switch back on.

“Velius or panthers. No matter what we call them, it’s like they’re taunting us.” Laird snorted.

“Well, one thing’s for sure…” Katilyn retrieved the glasses from Caine and Laird.  “You two need to stay away from the club until we can figure out a way for you to detect them.”

Frustration and anger boiled deep in Caine’s chest. The club was his only connection to the woman he’d met.  He didn’t know her name. He didn’t know her scent. “The women don’t know that we know they’re panthers.  If Laird and I go back tomorrow night, we could follow the two of them and find out where their pride is located.”

Landon shook his head.  “They know I killed one of their own while trying to protect Kaitlyn’s mom.  But they must think we have something more on them or they wouldn’t have tossed my office looking for it.  If Kaitlyn and I go back to the club, we’ll tip our hand.  If you and Laird go back…” Landon paused and ran a hand through his short, light brown hair.  “You can’t see or smell them, Caine.  What if the two women weren’t the only panthers there?  You could try to follow them and get ambushed.”

Laird snorted. “We can take out a bunch of cats.”

Kaitlyn put the flashlight and the glasses back in their case, then faced Laird and Caine. “I’ll go with you two to the club tomorrow night.”

“Hell no, you won’t!” Landon growled.

Kaitlyn sighed. “My hybrid status makes it impossible for them to smell me. I’ll wear a wig and glasses or something to make me look different. My heavy coat should mute your mark’s scent, but you’ll have to stay away from me once I take a shower.”

Landon moved to stand in front of her.  “I said ‘no’, Kaitie. I can’t be there to protect you.  End of discussion.”

Kaitlyn glanced at Laird and Caine.  “I’d like to talk to my mate alone. Caine, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

As he and Laird headed out the door, one thing Caine knew for certain…no matter the outcome of Kaitlyn and Landon’s discussion, he was going back to Squeeze tomorrow night. The club was his only connection to the young human with the intriguing light brown eyes. He didn’t plan to give her up.