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The little human gazes up at me, biting her lip. The wind kicks up, carrying her candy scent to me. I can’t get enough of it. She is literally the cutest human I’ve ever met. Everything about her makes me want to smile. And I haven’t smiled in ages. Now that I’m alone with Sadie, the constant noise I usually tolerate from my wolf has died down. That urge toward violence—the underlying restlessness—seems to have dropped away. It’s been replaced by the urge to mark her, but that feeling I can control. I won’t go there with sweet Sadie Diaz. I know claiming a human is an impossibility for me. I’m way too far gone. Too dangerous. “Um, thanks for helping me with that,” Sadie says. “No problem. Happy to help.” I would’ve done it anyway. I wish I could’ve done more, and if I’d met Scott alone, maybe I would have. As it turned out, I acted pretty civilized. My pack would be shocked. “I never thought Scott would be like this.” Sadie shakes her head. I hate hearing his name on her lips, but I’m glad she’s confiding in me. I’m happy to let her talk. “What I don’t get is how he knew where I was. He’s stalking me somehow.” Now this I can do something about. “Phone,” I order and hold out my hand, palm up. She tilts her head at me, her brow wrinkling. “Let me see your phone,” I clarify. I’ve gotta remember to speak in full sentences. Most of the time I don’t bother. I hate people and speaking in monosyllables is a good way to communicate my contempt. It drives my pack crazy, which is a bonus. She pulls her phone out of her jeans pocket and hands it to me. “Password?” “No password,” she says. “Seriously? You need a password.” I swipe to the security set up and have her put in a password. “Nothing too easy to guess,” I lecture. “No common dates or birthdays.” “Fine.” She pretends to complain but types something in. “You got one?” I ask, and she nods. “Good. What is it?” She frowns at me before she realizes I’m joking. “Like I’d tell you,” she retorts playfully. “Good girl.” I give her a half grin then get her to unlock the phone for me. I search only a second before I spot the tracking app. I show the screen to her. “Did Scott ask you to install this app?” Her eyes get wide. “What is that?” “It’s an app that broadcasts your phone’s location to anyone you invite.” “I didn’t install that. Scott never asked me to install anything,” Sadie says. Jerk. Maybe I will take care of him. I can’t have my wolf do it now that I shared that plan with Sadie. I’ll have to think up something else. “He probably did it without asking then. It would be easy because you didn’t have a password.” I type with my thumb as I talk, uninstalling the app. “I’m getting rid of it. When you get home, back up your data and do a hard reset. Keep the password and restart your phone every morning. The best offense is a good defense.” I also enter my phone number. “I’m putting my number in here in case you need a rescue again. Is that okay?” “Yes. Thank you.” Sadie accepts the phone back and squints up at me. “How do you know all this?” “I’m in security.” “Like cyber security?” The wind ruffles her hair, and I step closer to shield her from it. “All types of security. But mostly government security missions.” This is the longest conversation I’ve had with a human in years. I’d never willingly offer this information up to anyone, but Sadie is different. Sadie is special. “My partners and I own Black Wolf Security.” “Oh!” Her eyes sparkle. “Is that why you all have wolf tattoos?” I rock back on my heels. “You noticed that?” “My friend did. I only noticed yours.” My wolf likes that she picked me out of the pack. “We all got them before we left the army.” I push up my sleeve and show her my biceps. “We were Special Ops.” She traces the moon with light fingertips. Electricity shoots through me, and I lean closer to catch the vanilla scent in her hair. She’s pale skinned and luminous in the moonlight, her silky hair wafting around her face. Normally, I hate being touched, but my wolf would happily stretch out for a belly rub. “It’s nice.” She rubs my tattoo. Is her voice deeper, husky? Is it the night air? She pulls her hand away, and I have to swallow several times. “What about you?” I ask, my own voice deeper than normal to my ears. “What do you do?” “I teach kindergarten. Which reminds me, I should get home. It’s a school night.” “Did you leave your car in the plaza? Or do you want me to take you home?” She nibbles her lip. I think the stop made her nervous. Which is good. She shouldn’t just hop on the back of a random guy’s motorcycle and ride around town with him. Still, I hate the thought of her being afraid of me. “Home, please.” “Sure. Give me the address.” The least I can do is see her safely home. I savor each second of the ride to her condo north of Taos. She squeezes me closer every time I lean into a turn. I take the final miles slower, easing into each turn, enjoying the night-painted landscape instead of speeding by. The shadows and midnight blue. I pull up to her door and plant my feet to steady my bike but stay facing forward, shoulders rigid. This wasn’t a date—it was a rescue op. My job was to get the package to her place. Not to walk her to the door. Definitely not to lean down to savor that delicious scent before she goes inside. For a moment, Sadie doesn’t move. She’s still holding me as if reluctant to disentangle herself. I grit my teeth. Finally, she slips off the bike. I lose the battle with myself and turn my head slightly to fill my senses with her vanilla scent. “Thanks for the ride,” she says. “And, um, everything.” She removes my helmet and hands it to me. I swap her purse for it. She slings her bag over her shoulder but still makes no move to go. “Are you going to be in town tomorrow for Plaza Live?” she asks after a moment of fidgeting. “The Flying Oysters are playing at six. They mostly do covers, but they’re pretty good.” “Sure,” I say, even though I had no intention of attending any Plaza Live ever. But it seems I’m incapable of denying Sadie anything she asks of me. My pack will laugh their heads off if they find out. But there’s no way I’m missing a chance to see Sadie again. Not because I”m going to try anything with her. Just to make sure she’s safe from Bonehead. “I’ll be there.” “Okay. Night, Deke.” She’s gazing at me, her face upturned. Don’t touch her. Don’t touch her. Definitely don’t kiss her. I can’t stop myself from reaching out, catching the back of her neck and drawing her close. Her vanilla scent washes over me, and I breathe it in like I just got out of prison, and this is my first breath of fresh air in a decade. I muster some control and only press my lips to her forehead, where her hair’s mussed and a bit damp from the helmet. I don’t let myself taste her lips. And I don't get off the bike. If I dismount, there’s no turning back. After a moment, I let her go. She backs up uncertainly, her pretty lips parted. “Night, Sadie.” I don’t ride off immediately. I wait until she’s inside. She disappears, and the door lock clicks—my supernatural hearing won’t let me miss a sound. What I don’t hear is her moving away from the door, getting on with her night. The filmy white curtain in the window trembles a little, like she just twitched it aside. She’s watching me. I turn my bike back on and roll away. I still feel her silky skin under my lips. My wolf doesn’t like me riding away. The instinct to turn the bike around and drive back nearly chokes me. My wolf wants Sadie. He wants me to get her under me, tonight. He wants me to mark her as my own. Keep her. But that’s not possible. Because he’s not safe. Marking a human is dangerous under the best of conditions, and my wolf? He doesn’t know restraint. So I’ll be staying away from Sadie Diaz. Because there’s never been a human I needed to protect more.