Cassie hadn't been able to sleep that night. Mina had tossed and turned, mumbled in her sleep. Gabe had been kicking and snoring. And she… she had been lying awake, staring at the ceiling above her, barely feeling the kicks and shifting around in the bed around her.

She kept going over and over it in her mind, the way his fingers had felt, the burning need they had created in the pit of her stomach that still buzzed and hummed and the tingles tickling their way over her skin. She had been burning up. But she also felt the pressing weight of her confession, the deep shame that colored the experience. She couldn't evade it, couldn't ignore it. It wasn't your fault, he had said. But he was wrong. He would never understand. There were things she could have done differently, there were so many instances that… if she had only acted differently, if she had only been better…

She hoped Josh wouldn't tell. She couldn't bear to have others look at her with pity. Or worse, disgust. For her and her children. She just wanted to get away. Shame curled in her stomach at everything, everything she was.

She was so lost in her thoughts she hadn't even noticed the sun crawling over the horizon, and a day began anew. She rose from a bed she hadn't slept in, hoping coffee would at least lessen her sluggishness. The kids were stirring, and they would need breakfast.

"We have contacted the Clearwater Pack," Omega Mallard stated, sitting across from Cassie at the twins' old rickety kitchen table, with her tablet in front of her.

Cassie leaned in as she watched her expectantly, her fingers curled tight around her cup of steaming coffee. Mina and Gabe were in the living room, not invited to take part in the conversation. Josh, guzzling down the coffee in his mug as though his life depended on it, stood rigid and still in the doorway to the kitchen, listening. He hadn't been up when Omega Mallard came but he dragged himself from the room when he heard her voice. Cassie hadn't spoken to him, too embarrassed about last night to even look at him. She could feel his eyes on the back of her neck.

"Sienna Peters has vouched for you. She informs us that she does know you, although not very well, but does believe you are not a violent wolf nor a wolf escaping pack justice as it were. That your person would not be a danger to the pack," the Omega went on, pushing up her glasses with a small smile.

Cassie exhaled in relief and tension left her shoulders she didn't realize she had been harboring. "That's good news," she breathed.

Josh swallowed, he wanted to grumble but knew it would hardly be a welcome sound. Cassie still wouldn't look at him. He hadn't tried to speak to her either. He had been lying awake most of the night thinking about her, about what he had done to her. He had no doubt he had crossed a line. Perhaps a line he hadn't realized had been there before he had well and truly stumbled over it. He regretted that, and he wanted to apologize. She didn't feel like she would accept it though. Besides, how much could one person apologize before it became nothing, before it became just words? He had told her he was sorry so much now it was beginning to feel pointless.

Omega Mallard's mouth pressed into a small pout as she wiggled her nose. "Well, yes," she said, a slight hesitation to her words. "However, Alpha Donovan is a little skeptical about you joining them without knowing your specific circumstances, without knowing your reasons."

Cassie straightened in the chair. She wanted to look at Josh, wanted to beg him not to say anything, but he stayed blessedly silent. He mimicked her though, his back straightened, and she could hear the slight sound of the fabric of his t-shirt scrape against the doorway as he took a large gulp of his coffee instead.

"Sienna Peters is adamant your circumstances and reasons are your own to tell, she has no interest in divulging them," the Omega went on, her fingers tapping the table, her mouth twisting into an uncertain pout. "However, she herself is a little unsure of your acceptance, specifically because of your connection to the Alpha Green and the Alpha family."

At that, Cassie felt Josh's shoulder pushed off the doorframe, the floor creaked as he spread his bare feet, standing straighter, but he still said nothing. And neither did she. Keeping her gaze locked on her mug, she gave a short nod.

"She wouldn't elaborate," Omega Mallard continued, and Cassie felt her speaking more to Josh than to her. "Again, she stressed that was Cassie's matter to tell."

She knew both the Omega and Josh at her back were waiting for her to explain, but she couldn't do it. She just couldn't.

Silence stretched between the three of them, only broken by the cartoons playing in the living room. Cassie sunk lower and lower in her chair and the grip on her coffee tightened painfully. She knew Omega Mallard and Josh were exchanging a look above her head.

Finally, the Omega straightened in her chair, clearing her throat. "Well, I'll lodge an official petition, if that's what you want?"

Cassie nodded sharply. That was exactly what she wanted, wasn't it? She heard Josh behind her huff. His heavy footsteps moved away, back in the living room. Cassie wanted to turn her head and watch him leave, perhaps try to implore him to understand. But she didn't. "Thank you, Omega Mallard, for all your help."

Omega Mallard stood with a small smile. "You're welcome." Cassie followed her lead and stood from the table, she exposed her throat to the higher-ranking wolf and returned her smile, albeit a little stiff and unsure. "Don't worry," the Omega said, "He'll come around. I consider him a friend, he's a good guy."

Cassie glanced back at where Josh had been standing moments ago. "Josh?" She wasn't sure if Josh would come around.

"Alpha Donovan," Omega Mallard clarified with a confused wiggle of her nose. "He's a good man. He'll most likely accept your petition."

"Oh," Cassie breathed. "Yes, that would be wonderful." It would be wonderful, it would mean being a part of the Clearwater pack, a home maybe, a place where her kids could grow up and lead a normal life and…

"You seem better," Omega Mallard said, her words slightly hesitant and soft, as if she wasn't sure what she was suggesting. "I mean, you look well." She thought back to the shivering wolf, cowering at the Alpha's dinner table the first time she had met her. Sunken eyes and hollowed cheeks. The fear in her. This was a different Silverstream standing before her. She looked better, she looked clean and healthy and no longer had the harrowed look of a fugitive. She could almost have passed for a Northcreek wolf if it wasn't for her shifting uncomfortably on her feet and her refusal to meet your eyes.

Cassie breathed out a genuine smile. "Yes, it's amazing what a shower can do," she said.

Bella nodded. She suspected it was much more than a shower that put the color back in Cassie's cheeks, but she wouldn't speak up about it. Especially not when Josh was lumbering around like a caveman because Cassie was going to lodge a petition to join a different pack. She's let them sort that out themselves. So, she said her goodbyes and left.

Cassie watched her leave by the kitchen door. Her grip on the back of the chair was so tight that her fingers were beginning to hurt. Was she different now? She didn't think so? Did she feel different? Maybe it was distance or a new-found small slice of freedom. She had only been gone for such a short time, but maybe she was a bit different now. And perhaps the source of her change had not been merely distance.

"What was that about? Connection to the alpha family?" Josh's voice shook her out of contemplation.

"What?" she said, whipping around to face him.

He was back in the doorway. She could still hear the cartoons blasting from the living room and her children's silence as they sat, both enthralled by the show. He looked like he had gotten just as little sleep as her, his disheveled appearance was not unusual in the mornings, but the frown and extra dark circles under his eyes were. "The connection?" he pressed. "What do you have to do with the Alpha of the Silverstreams?"

"Josh," she breathed, her shoulders slumping as she wrapped her arms around herself.

When no other words came out, he took a step closer. "The Alpha? Is that your mate? Are you mated to the Alpha?"

Her eyes widened. "No," she said instantly, shaking her head. "No, Alpha Green isn't mated."

"Sister, then? Fucking second cousin twice removed?" he snapped, then snapped his mouth shut and groaned, rubbing his face. "Fuck's sake, Cassie. Can you tell me, please? Give me something." She opened her mouth but shut it again, avoiding his penetrative gaze. And Josh gave her a nod. "You're really not going to tell me. I thought, I mean, after last night…"

"Last night shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry," she said softly, still avoiding his eyes that now searched her face.

He tried to move into her line of sight, but she stepped back and he stopped, retreating until he backed up against the kitchen counter. He sighed deeply and folded his hands on the edge on either side of him. "Sorry?" he questioned. "Look, I get it, I shouldn't have touched you but, I mean…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his head, trying to massage his brain into working and coming up with something, anything. "Sorry for what happened between us?"

"Nothing happened between us, Josh," she stressed with an impatient sigh.

He snorted. "There was a moment, you can't deny there was-"

"Maybe," she interrupted him, straightening her spine. "But the moment is over. My situation is complicated, and I have an opportunity to find my place in a pack that could potentially accept the kids and me. I simply can't risk my children's future because of some stupid, unfortunate rush of- of- of whatever this is."

"So, you admit there's something?"

"No," she breathed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Josh."

"Sorry," Josh repeated once more, the word seemed to echo around him.

"I can't. I just can't," she hissed with as much determination as she could muster. She couldn't do this, she couldn't stand there, with him so near, looking at her. She couldn't be around him when he looked like that. She took a deep breath, and pushed past him, out of the kitchen. Refusing to look back.

Kat slammed her rod down on the bench. The heat from the furnace pulsated on her already sweaty skin, glowing orange in the dimmed room. and she wiped her forehead with her gloved hand.

Barely noon and the day was already destroyed. She had only just gotten off the phone with Jared the mechanic. The repairs to her little car would hurt her wallet more than she liked. And she was supposed to have restocked her supplies and begun work on a new idea, a vase done with a new technique she had been dying to test out. It would look good at the stall. And the hated Summer fucking Fair was drawing too near. But no, she didn't have enough damn glass in her shop because she had left her new supplies behind in his truck like an absolute idiot.

After she had behaved like a depraved damn idiot.

Dropping her head into her gloved hands she groaned loudly. No, this morning wasn't going like it was supposed to. This whole summer wasn't going like it was supposed to. She then screamed into her gloves, the feral sounds muffled by the hard, worn leathery fabric.

"Hurt yourself or something?"

Kat squealed and spun around to face him. Because of course, it was him. Who else could stomp his way into her shop and grunt with such venom in his voice?

She scowled at him as she huffed out her embarrassment at being caught. "What do you want, Morgan?" she asked, even though she knew exactly why he was there.

"You left these. Like a dumbass. In my truck," Jamie said, motioning to the bag over his shoulder with her supplies.

"I am aware." She shuffled her feet, arms came to a defensive cross in front of her chest while refusing to meet his eyes.

"Where do I…?" He glanced around the workshop. There didn't appear to be a surface to put the bag on anywhere, and it was starting to get heavy, but glass sculptures and vases crowded the space. How had Kat imagined dragging this heavy thing home in the middle of a storm? A complete and utter lunatic was what she was.

"Anywhere. I'll deal with them," she said, her voice stiff. "Just put it anywhere."

Jamie grumbled and slid the bag from his shoulder and placed it on the floor by his feet. The fire from the furnace glowed behind her, the heat seemed to lick her skin, making it glow as well. Her hair was tied up on her head, one of her large scarves wrapped around it, yet strands had escaped and were now plastered to her neck with sweat.

He should leave. He shouldn't be standing there just staring at her. Her in her tank top and her overly large work gloves made her look like a cartoon character. He despised himself for feeling fascinated with the droplets of sweat that trickled over her brow. And her bare shoulders. Absolutely hated that he was starting to feel heat shoot through him at the sight of her.

Kat grumbled inwardly. She needed him to leave. She couldn't face him now, not after how she acted the last time she saw him. In the back of his truck. She was so ashamed of herself. His steady gaze on her now only made it worse. She remembered how his eyes looked at her last time. How he watched her unravel with his hunger so palpable in the night. She could practically feel his hands on her, sliding over her wet and cold skin, scorching their way. She swallowed hard when she remembered his breath on her, his lips on hers.

No. No, he had to leave.

He slid the bag from his shoulders and placed it on the floor. Giving her a pointed look he said, "You're welcome, by the way."

Burying his hands in his pockets he rolled his shoulders. Kat watched his chest move with every breath. The black t-shirt had no business being that tight, she felt like she could see right through it the way it clung to him. "Yeah, thanks," she mumbled out with an evasive shrug. But then she lifted her eyes to his. That was a mistake. She bit her lip. Another mistake.

The sight of that gesture made his throat constrict. Images of her writhing beneath him assaulted his mind. Of those eyes looking up at him, and her hair spread over his backseat as she cried out his name. He hurriedly cleared his throat, trying to move out of the spot. He really should leave.

"Was that- was that all?" she asked, inwardly cursing the way her voice squeaked out.

"Yes," he ground out, but added a quick, "No."

"No?"

"Yes. No," he said, snorting at his own words. His annoyance flared and he frowned deeply.

"Yes, no?" she repeated, biting her lip.

An involuntary groan burst from his throat. Then a grudging, "Ah, for fuck's sake," at the ceiling before he stepped forward, closing the gap between them.

"What are you-?" she demanded but was cut off. He was already on her, his kiss brutal, knocking them both back several steps. His arm was around her waist and his hand wrapped around her neck.

Kat pushed him away and instinctively slapped him. The echo of the strike rang in her ears and bounced off the walls. He stood back, blinking at her in a mixture of surprise and confusion. "Seriously, Jamie?" she bit out. Her heart was racing and her breath was hard, his just as much.

"Shit, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

But it was his turn to be silenced as she lunged. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she kissed him back, harder than before. He reciprocated instantly, wrapping himself around her with a groan. Their footing became unsteady as their lips merged and fevered hands groped and tore at each other with a frenzy, gasping their breath between harsh kisses and small moans of need that fanned through them. Her back hit the wall and she whimpered into his mouth. He lifted her off the ground, she wrapped her legs around his waist as her fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt.

"Maybe," Jamie breathed between bruising kisses. "Maybe we don't… need to like each other to-"

Kat stole his breath with another deep kiss before she nibbled down his throat. "Aha, yes, yes," she mumbled through moans as Jamie's hands molded her backside, grinding against her. "We can still-" she hissed when his one hand slipped up her top. "I mean, we can still…"

"Yeah," Jamie reasoned with a nod before cupping her breast, earning a little groan from her. "Even if we-"

"Hate each other," she finished for him before she gripped his jaw and turned his face back to hers. Their kisses deepened, all tongues and teeth, and mingled breaths. "Even if we hate each other," she repeated, her voice barely a whisper as she pulled his shirt over his head, reveling in the feel of her hands down the heated freckled skin of his back as he bit her jaw then licked down the slope of her throat.

She growled when she realized her gloves were still on and moved to pull them off with her teeth. He stopped her. "No, don't. Keep them on."

Kat snorted out a laugh. "Freak."

"Absolutely," he groaned and then he was on her again. His hands roamed her body as he tasted her lips until the need for air made them part. He began kissing down her shoulder with a groan. "This doesn't have to change anything, it's just… You know, it's just-"

"Sex," she finished for him. "Just sex. Like last night. Nothing more."

"Exactly." He let her slide down the wall, his hands were tugging on her top, on the zipper of her jeans. And to her horror, she realized her own hands were busy trying to undress him as well. She nipped at his bottom lip until he groaned, tore his zipper down with shaky hands, and reached inside. He bucked against her when she gripped his length. Hard. He was already hard.

He moaned and kissed her again, lips crashing together, bodies wrapping around each other as they moved, and furiously tried grabbing clothes to pull off. Her ears were ringing.

No. No, her ears were not ringing. Something else was.

She stopped moving, and then he stopped moving.

The bell. It was the shop bell. Someone was in her shop.

She swallowed, it felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her, and pushed Jamie off of her. He stumbled back, his lips red and a few bitemarks adorned his chin and shoulder. The accompanying scratch marks on his chest, made by the one hand whose glove had slipped off accidentally, made her face grow hot.

"Awful timing," Jamie rumbled with a laugh, motioning to the door separating the workshop from the shop. "Whoever that is, they'll leave," he continued, closing the distance between them again and wrapping his thick arms around her waist, hoisting her up against his chest again. He made a move for her lips but she evaded.

"Seriously, Jamie?" she scoffed. Her body hated her for pushing him away a second time but this was her shop. This was her work. "Stay there," she told him sternly, stepping out of his arms, with a finger pointing at the floor. He scoffed at the command but didn't peel the grin from his face either.

"Alright, alright."

The grin remained on his face, his disheveled hair was a halo around his head, and a wickedly raised eyebrow darkened his expression. A promise was etched onto those features and she felt her body reacting instantly, wanting her to ignore the visitor in the shop. She growled, annoyed at how easily her body betrayed her but powerless to stop it. She shot him a warning glare as she opened the door and stepped out into her shop.

And then almost groaned. "Marcus. Hi."

He stood in the center of the space, casually looking at a display of her sculptures with a soft smile on his face. "Hi," he greeted. "Did I scare you? You look like you've seen a ghost," he said with a laugh.

She tried to school her features into pleasant neutrality by smiling. She could only muster up a grimace. Marcus was the last person who was supposed to walk in when she had a half-naked Jamie in the back room. Why did she have a half-naked Jamie in the back room? "No, not at all," she said, her voice as level as she could make it. "What- what are you doing here?"

"Working hard?" he asked as he walked over to her, then to her complete and utter horror he kissed her cheek. Oh no, oh no this was wrong on so many levels. She was a horrible, horrible person.

"Yes, I was just… you know how it is," she attempted to explain, "Just lost to the world back there."

"I won't keep you long." He put his hands back in his pockets with a shrug. "I just wanted to ask you about this Friday. My place? At seven?"

Kat wanted to scream. She had forgotten about Friday. "Yeah, sure. Sounds great." She had to get him out of there, she couldn't do this now. And that thought made her feel extra guilty, she hadn't seen much of Marcus these days, not since she had accidentally inhaled Jamie in the Silver Moon kitchen. Had she subconsciously been avoiding Marcus? Probably. It didn't feel right seeing him now that she was such a mess.

"I feel like we haven't seen each other in ages," Marcus let out with another small laugh. "I suppose you're busy getting ready for the Summer Fair." When Kat opened her mouth to reply he held up his hands in apology and continued, "I get it, it's a lot of work, I do understand. But I miss our discussions." He shook his head. "Anyway, this Friday, I was thinking of watching an old classic this time around, I'm thinking Shindler's List?"

"Ah, good old Liam Neeson," Kat breathed, "That movie is uhm, quite old, definitely old." And probably a bit of a downer for a date night, she added to herself, I hope he's not expecting to get laid after watching that movie. Oh no, was he expecting sex? She couldn't possibly, not after… oh, she was in trouble.

"Yes, it's a classic," he corrected her, pushing up his glasses. "I'd love to hear your opinion about…"

Kat stopped listening. She couldn't possibly, even though Marcus was droning on about something or the other, that she knew she'd have to pay attention to once he put the movie on. Just then a crash was heard from the back room, startling her.

"What was that?" Marcus asked, peeking behind her to the door she had left half open.

Fucking Jamie. That better not have been anything important. "Rats," she said automatically.

"Rats?" he questioned, taking half a step backward. "You have rats?"

"Big, big rats," she almost shrieked at him, an excuse forming in her head. "The biggest, ugliest fucking rat you've ever seen," she yelled, half to Marcus but half at the door to the back room where she could almost hear Jamie's seething at her words.

"Oh dear," he mumbled, now fully taking a step towards the front door. "Maybe- maybe we should get out of here then?"

"I have someone coming over with a trap," she lied, hoping it wouldn't show on her face. "You're welcome to stay and keep a lookout while we set it up."

"No, I think I'll- I'll just see you Friday," he whispered, undoubtedly so the rat wouldn't hear him. And with that, he gave a quick wave before he practically ran out into the street.

She stood looking at the door afterward, the ringing of the bell echoing around the shop. A relieved sigh escaped her, and she instantly felt guilty. Marcus hadn't deserved that.

"Now, that was interesting," Jamie rumbled in her ear.

She jumped, not having heard him come out of the back room. She twirled to face him. "What are you doing?" she hissed, gesturing wildly to the large windows facing the main street. Anyone could look in at any moment and see him standing there, half naked and- and… annoyingly handsome with his disheveled hair falling around his shoulders and a disturbingly enticing smirk on his face. And his zipper was still undone. She rolled her eyes at him. "Get back in there," she commanded, pushing his shoulders.

He only laughed but trudged back into the workshop.

Kat watched his relaxed gait as he moved away. His back was broad, sprinkled with freckles and corded with muscle, tapering down to a narrow waist. The waistband of his boxers was low on his hips, and his jeans even lower, threatened to fall. She wanted them to fall. He stopped at the door and raised his thick, beautiful arm to rest against the frame when he shot her a look over his shoulder. "Well?" he asked.

She groaned at the ceiling, knowing full well that what she was about to do was the last thing she should be doing. But she turned the door's lock, and then the sign in the window to 'closed for lunch'.

And followed him to the back.

"Last time, Morgan," Kat stressed, the very second she had closed the door after them. "This is the last time. This can't happen again."

He gave a nod. "Trust me, I couldn't agree more. Now, where were we?" he growled as he pulled her close. "Before we were so rudely interrupted by that idiot." His hands fisted the material of her top at her waist and he kissed her neck, leaving bitemarks on her shoulders.

Kat's treacherous body pressed against his, her hips moving against him on their own accord. "Marcus is a good guy," she grunted and raked her nails down his bare back. "He's kind and intelligent, a decent lupine being," she gasped out as he tore her tank top over her head, exposing her bra to him.

Jamie scoffed at her, snorting hot air on her chest. "He's such a good guy you're letting someone you don't even like touch you like this?" In a swift move he had pulled her breasts free from her bra, cupping them, kneading them as he licked and kissed down her chest until he had a nipple in his mouth.

Kat bucked against him. "I- I-" she tried speaking but couldn't, waves of pleasure shot through her and she fisted her hands in his loose hair, keeping him to her chest. She didn't want to think about what she was letting him do to her. She didn't want to think about why she let him do either. As long as he didn't stop. Her body had a mind of its own and it was screaming for him to touch and caress her. "Fuck off," she managed to press out through a clenched jaw.

"He's boring," Jamie mumbled, lathering one nipple with his expert tongue until she panted furiously, all the while pinching the other into a hard point. "A fucking nerd."

"You don't get to talk about him like that," Kat growled. She may have conflicting feelings for Marcus at the moment, but that did not give Jamie the right to call him names. If only her mind wasn't turning to mush and she could concentrate on who she was supposed to defend at that moment.

He released her breasts so fast she cried out at the loss of contact, but he shot to his feet. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I insult your little boyfriend?" he sneered, his nose scrunched up when he glared down at her. But he still didn't move away. He snapped open the catch of her bra and pulled it from her frame.

"He's not my boyfriend he's just a… friend." They weren't a couple. They weren't official. Just seeing each other casually and both of them were more than free to pursue others. She knew this, they had discussed it at length. He was not her boyfriend, but it still felt wrong to let Jamie touch her this way. Or maybe what felt truly wrong was the annoying fact that when this awful, horrible lupine touched her he managed to light a fire in her veins that Marcus had never been able to. She didn't want to dwell on that.

"What he is, is a complete and utter dweeb," he stated, unzipping Kat's jeans and pulling them down her hips, then he wiggled his eyebrow at her and added, "But I suppose that's why you two fit so well together."

Kat growled at him and rolled her eyes. "I don't care what you think, I just- I just-" Kicking off her boots, she stepped out of her jeans as she pushed his down, exposing the tent in his boxers. "Just stop talking, I fucking hate the way you talk," she hissed, angrily pulling down the offending boxers hiding his erection. The groan from deep in his throat rumbled through her and spikes of excitement rushed to her head.

"Well, I hate the way you smell," he countered. That was a lie, but he did hate how he didn't hate the way she smelled. He growled and bucked when she wrapped her hand around his length, and even more so when she gave a few tugs that made him whimper. He couldn't stand it, no more teasing. He pulled her hand away.

"I hate your stupid long hair," she hissed, tangling her hand in his thick, red locks instead, pulling his head closer to hers and biting down hard on his lower lip.

He groaned. Their panting mingling. "I hate all your dumb tattoos," he breathed accusingly, gripping her thighs with his hands. Lifting her again, he pushed her back against the wall, pinning her with his body. He spread her legs and moved against her core.

She moaned and locked her legs around his waist, and her arms around his neck. "I hate the way you feel," she gasped out on a shattered breath.

His large hand curled around her throat, pushing her head back against the wall. "I hate how badly I want to be inside of you," he growled. With the other hand, he stroked her through her panties, growing wetter by the second.

"I hate how badly I want to feel you inside of me." She wiggled against him when he fumbled between them, pushing her underwear aside. She rolled her hips against him impatiently.

"I hate you," he breathed.

"I hate-" she began but the words died on her tongue when he pushed inside of her. Instead, she sobbed out a thankful, "Fuck yes."