Chapter 1

" M a'am? The room's full." Doug, one of the delivery guys, wiped his sweaty face.

His crew milled around the house, waiting for direction from their boss.

I stood like a penned horse by the laundry room in my galley kitchen.

What am I thinking, letting strangers in the house when Noah isn't here? Get this over with.

"Yes?" I finally replied. "Is there a problem?"

He rolled his shoulders and looked around. "We packed the room to the ceiling, just like you wanted. But we have three boxes that won't fit. You have any preference where we put them?"

I swiveled my wrist, causing the charms on my bracelet to clink against each other.

Noah will kill me if he sees those boxes.

"Ma'am?" he pressed.

I drew in a sharp breath. "Are you sure you can't squeeze them in there? Perhaps if you rearrange a few things?—"

"You couldn't squeeze a mousetrap in that room." He glanced at his watch. "We're on a tight schedule."

"Oh. Um…"

"We'll leave them by the door. Here. I need you to sign this, and we'll be on our way."

I stepped forward to take the clipboard and, without reading anything, signed on the dotted line. Then I extracted money from my dress pocket and tucked it beneath the metal clip. "Keep the change. Thank you for your hard work."

He scoffed. "What the hell do you have in those boxes? Bricks?"

"It's above my pay grade."

The man belted out a laugh and then pointed at a jar of suckers. "Do you mind?"

"Help yourself."

After pulling out three, he turned to the door and said, "Have a nice day."

His two coworkers had already gone outside and were closing up the delivery truck.

Once I shut the front door, relief washed over me. Living out in the country made it increasingly challenging to socialize. I had always been a shy girl with introverted tendencies, particularly around strangers, but living in isolation had exacerbated it. Because the surrounding territories were mostly owned by wolves and other predators, I never strayed or shifted alone.

I thought about the delivery guy shaking his head and laughing.

Did he get my joke? Was he laughing at me, or did he think it was a ridiculous response to his question?

One annoying aspect of my shyness was spending an inordinate amount of time parsing over every word after the fact. Sometimes I had trouble reading people.

Next time, Cecilia, just pay the man and show him to the door. A conversationalist you are not.

I shoved my thoughts away as I entered the living room. Noah and I lived in an apartment-sized home. Two bedrooms flanked the recessed dining room at the back of the house. Quaint didn't begin to describe it. We didn't have a television, just an old brown sofa and recliner. The sofa faced the front window and was an enjoyable place to snooze with a romance book on a lazy afternoon. Just behind it was the door to the spare bedroom, and a bookshelf that served as my primary source of entertainment.

Noah didn't understand my adoration for literature. In books, I experienced adventure, love, and mystery. I could transport myself from an empty house to the big city or a different century. My father once told me that books have the power to heal.

I cracked the door and peered inside the spare bedroom. My stomach flip-flopped all the way to South America when I saw numerous boxes stacked to the ceiling. The room smelled like cardboard, old paper, and the musk of three sweaty deliverymen. In order to access the room, I'd have to pull everything out.

Maybe he won't notice.

Noah was a workaholic, and when he came home, he wanted to relax. While we weren't mated, we'd been together for two years. This past year, we quickly exited the honeymoon phase of the relationship after moving to a small Breed town called Storybook. Noah's long commutes and work hours had taken their toll on both of us.

He was under an incredible amount of stress. Most nights, he would come home, jump in the shower, and go straight to bed. Otherwise, he would get on his laptop to check in with contacts in search of a better-paying job.

Having moved here only six months ago, we hadn't accumulated a lot of possessions. Money was tight. We used the spare bedroom for storage, so I'd had to clear it out for today's delivery. I hadn't expected so many boxes. Not that I was complaining. Surrounded by my father's books was the next best thing to him being alive.

I waltzed into our bedroom and retrieved a red tablecloth from the closet. The delivery guys had left the three extra boxes by the spare bedroom, and I didn't want them to draw Noah's attention before I broke the news. After draping the tablecloth over the boxes, I used a vase, two books, and my jar of suckers to decorate the top so it resembled a makeshift table.

Without legs.

Think positive thoughts. He'll be happy when he learns how much money we can make from these.

A car squealed in the driveway.

What's he doing home so early?

I panicked when I spied dirt on the floor that the deliverymen had tracked in. I raced into the kitchen, found a dish towel, and ran it beneath the faucet. Then I diligently cleaned up every speck.

Noah stomped up the porch steps. As soon as the door opened, I flung the rag into the sink and pivoted. One row of cabinets ran along the front wall of the house, placing the fridge near the door.

Stepping inside, Noah still had on his black sunglasses. He scanned the room until he caught me. "Hey, baby. I missed you all day." He kicked the door shut behind him and tossed his keys into a glass bowl on the table by his chair.

Noah sometimes tied back his long brown hair, but not today. The tousled locks suggested he'd been driving with the window down again. He shucked off his sport coat and draped it over the recliner before stripping off his heather-grey T-shirt. Noah did push-ups, but he wasn't a buff guy. He still looked impressive at six-two, and what he lacked in muscle, he made up for in confidence.

Before he turned around, I felt another set of eyes on me. The massive tiger tattooed on his back crinkled his face in a snarl, paws ready to pounce, sharp canines eager to tear away flesh. I hated when Noah walked around shirtless. Not because it was an unattractive tattoo. In fact, it was strikingly realistic, and that's what unnerved me… and my animal.

Noah swaggered toward me. His dark whiskers were flirting in beard territory. After setting his sunglasses on the counter, he tilted my chin up. "Where's my kiss?"

I lifted on my tiptoes to kiss him, my heart still racing. Noah moved in as stealthily as the tiger on his back and delivered a crushing kiss.

When he drew back, I rubbed my sore chin. "When are you going to shave? It scratches my face."

His dark eyebrows sank in the middle. It carved a line between his deep-set eyes, which were the color of dark chocolate. "Is that the thanks I get for taking off early? I'll keep that in mind, Cecilia."

"I didn't mean it that way."

He averted his gaze. "What's that?"

"What?"

He lifted the dirty rag out of the sink and held it in front of my face. "This."

"Oh, I was cleaning."

Noah flicked it back into the sink. "You shouldn't put dirt where we wash and prepare meals. That's a filthy habit."

I collected the dish towel and walked over to the washer in the laundry room, tossing it in. "I wasn't expecting you home so early. You scared me."

Noah hugged me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, baby. Sometimes I forget you're not used to people showing up unexpectedly." He kissed my ear. "I have a surprise, and I think you're going to like it." After a beat, as if building up the suspense, he asked, "How would you like to go out to lunch with me? "

I spun around. "Really? Today?"

He chuckled softly. "Of course today . That's why I'm here. I decided that instead of going to the market, I'd take my favorite girl out for a change. We can do the grocery run tomorrow. Go put something decent on."

I glanced at my dress. "Is it someplace fancy?"

Noah shooed me out of the pantry. "No, but you have too much of that sexy leg showing. That's only for me." He popped me on the behind hard enough to sting. "If I see any more of that leg, I might change my mind and take you to bed."

Before he changed his mind, I hurried into the bedroom and slipped on a sage-green skirt that reached my ankles.

We weren't within walking distance of anything. Noah drove the car to work, so isolation had become the norm. Even though engaging with people was difficult, I still craved company. I had never spent so much time alone before, and going ten or twelve hours a day without speaking to anyone was incredibly lonely.

I danced around the room. We haven't been out on a date in forever!

While the shower ran in the adjacent bathroom, I combed my brown hair and styled it. The lengthy tresses fell past my shoulders, and because they sometimes got in my face, I clipped the hair back on both sides. After changing into a black shirt, I loosened the top button and wondered if today was a special occasion. Had he found a job closer to home?

Makeup? Check. But not too much. Jewelry? Definite check. A few silver chains with pendants, a citrine ring, and my beloved charm bracelet.

Once the shower stopped, Noah strolled in naked while towel drying his long hair. "Did you finish any puzzles in that book I left you?"

I hate puzzles.

"A few," I replied from the vanity stool by the window .

"I know how you like to read." After zipping up his pants, Noah doused himself in heavy cologne. Then he stood behind me and bent over until our eyes met in the mirror. "Aren't you glad I took off early and made time for you?" He buttoned my top button.

I leaned away. "You're dripping on me."

He nipped my ear, making me giggle. "Put it up."

"You don't like my hair this way?"

"The ponytail suits you better. I can see your pretty face and slender neck." He gave my hair a light tug in the back. "If you wear it up, I'll give you a reward."

I turned to look at him. "And what would that be?"

"Dessert." His thin lips eased into a grin. "Chop-chop. They don't serve lunch all day." Noah searched the closet for a shirt while I removed the clips and combed my hair into a ponytail.

"What kind of dessert do they have where you're taking me?"

"Whatever you want, baby."

Before spraying perfume on my wrists, I moved my charm bracelet up my left arm so it wasn't in the line of fire.

"Noah? Should I bring a shawl?" When he didn't answer, I realized he'd left the room.

The only shoes I owned were a pair of black lace-up boots. They were comfortable, practical, and didn't take up room in the closet. After slipping my feet into them, I tied the laces.

"Cecilia!"

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled from his strident call.

"Get in here." His terse command was more frightening than the yelling.

When I entered the living area, I spotted him by the spare bedroom.

He pointed at the open door. "What the hell is this?"

Striding up to him, I replied, "Books. "

His jaw clenched. "From where?"

"They were delivered."

Noah slammed the door. "Stop being evasive. You know I hate it when you lie."

Mustering the courage to confess, I replied, "I told you about my father being a collector."

"You mean a hoarder."

"An antiquarian. Before he died, he put his collection in a storage unit that was moisture and temperature controlled. According to the man who runs the place, my father even shelved them. Before delivering them here, they had to pack them in boxes, which isn't how they're meant to be stored."

"Get to the point."

"Those books meant the world to him." I cupped my elbows. "I mentioned them to you once before, but you didn't want to talk about it. So I left everything in storage."

He sighed. "Go on."

"Well, it was nearing the date my father had paid up to, and I wanted to call to see if they still had them."

Noah arched an eyebrow. We didn't have a home phone. He used a cell phone for work, and I wasn't allowed to use it.

"A few weeks ago, I used your phone while you were sleeping. The owner wasn't happy about my calling after hours, but I didn't want to risk losing everything."

His countenance expressed both confusion and disapproval. "Why didn't you junk them?"

"Junk them?" I exclaimed. "They were his prized collection. He spent a good part of his life curating his personal library and scouring the ends of the earth for these."

Noah frowned. "He was a recluse who never left the house."

"He used to… until he figured out how to use the internet. He would call pawnshops for their inventory, and anything he wanted, they'd ship. Maybe he didn't leave the house very often, bu t he forged strong relationships with those he did business with on the phone and through email. Noah, these are Breed books. All of them. Some are one of a kind. They're valuable." I clutched his arm. "We could use the money."

"Is this not enough for you? I work my ass off?—"

"I know you do, and that's why I wanted to do this." I fell against his chest and tilted my head up. "I'm sorry I lied and stole money from your stash in the closet to pay for the delivery. But these books are worth something."

"You should have told me. I would have sent a book dealer out to the unit to take them."

"I wanted to go through them first."

He barked out a laugh. "Are you kidding me? There're a million books in there, and you want to go through them?"

"It'll keep me busy—give me something to do around here."

When Noah's shoulders sagged, I knew I was winning him over.

I drew back and brushed lint off his dark jacket. "It gets lonely around here when you're gone. Perhaps with that money, we could buy a television or even another car."

A smile tugged on the corner of his mouth. "A car? And where do you think you're going? We live in the middle of nowhere." He kissed my head and wrapped his arms around me. "You have everything you need right here. A house, books, a nice garden in the back, and your man."

"Let's talk about this later. Okay? I'm starving, and you promised me a date."

Noah squeezed me tight and gave me an admonishing look I'd seen too many times. "Don't you ever steal from me again. That money puts food on the table and pays the bills. Do you think that's what couples do? Lie and steal from each other? Is that what I deserve?"

I shook my head .

Noah released his hold. "I'm really disappointed in you. I thought we trusted each other." He caressed my cheek with a firm touch. "Someday you'll be in a bigger house than this. I'm trying my best to take care of you."

"I'm sorry."

Honestly, I felt terrible for sneaking around. Noah worked as a bouncer at a prestigious Breed club in Austin. While we owned this house free and clear, it wasn't good enough for his standards. Since he wanted to save up, that meant working additional hours. The clubs and bars in Storybook weren't hiring, so his options were limited. It was considerably cheaper to live in rural areas, but it also meant a two-hour commute both ways.

"You haven't been shifting by yourself, have you?" His thick eyebrows sank into a slash.

"No. Of course not."

"Good. Never without me. We're in wolf territory, and if your animal gets out, they'll hunt and kill you. A girl like you needs protection," he reminded me for the millionth time. "The men out here would snatch you up in a heartbeat and share you like a piece of meat. That's how some of those savages are, you know. They make up their own rules in the country, and Councils turn a blind eye. Rogue women go missing every day. How are you going to protect yourself when you aren't even a predator?" Noah locked his arms around me. "I may not be a rich man, but I'll make sure you're safe." Following a tender kiss, Noah searched my eyes. "Any other secrets I should know about?"

I shook my head again, but this time, I was lying.