I fidgeted and fumbled with the cl**vage, debating whether I had the ovaries to wear something so daring. Taran raised her brows upon taking in my hesitation. “Does it really matter if you go braless?” she asked.

I glanced at the floor for a moment, thinking about who was taking me out. “No. I guess not.”

Emme finished straightening my hair and Taran applied my makeup. What little I allowed her to add brought out my green eyes and full lips. Shayna didn’t participate, but she did smile and pinch my backside when she saw me. “You look hot.”

I glanced in the mirror while putting on the diamond earrings Misha had given me. Okay, maybe not hot, but definitely vampy.

I walked downstairs just before seven. The wolves did a double take. Liam outright gawked. “Going out tonight, Celia?”

I played with the fastener on my earring. “Mm-hmm.”

Koda frowned. “And exactly who are you going out with?”

“With anyone she damn well pleases,” Taran countered.

Gemini hurried over to me. Seeing as how males didn’t exactly beat down my door to date me, he knew precisely whom I intended to meet. “Celia, please don’t do this.” His uneasy expression implored me to reconsider. “It would devastate Aric to know you were with Misha.”

My lips parted. I couldn’t believe Gemini had brought up Aric. And I especially couldn’t believe he tried to guilt me into sparing his feelings. “Aric doesn’t have to know about this. I’m not meeting Misha to hurt him.” It was the truth. I wasn’t a petty or vengeful person. I was just a person with a broken heart, and one who needed to forget the memories that ailed me.

“He’ll know,” Gemini answered.

I frowned. “I don’t want him to.”

“He has a right to know!” Koda snapped. “Shit, Celia. Aric hates him!”

I threw a palm out. “Why? Because Misha is a vampire? Or is it because he’s a male who desires my company?” The wolves collectively tightened their jaws, giving me hard stares, but refusing to answer. Something was up. And damn it, I needed to know what. I met their judgmental glares with equal frustration, my tigress giving my tone an extra boost. “Just tell me.”

Koda leaned back on his heels and crossed his arms. It was clear he didn’t want to say anything, but he finally did. “Misha hurt someone Aric cared about deeply. He’s never forgiven him for what he did to her.”

My back stiffened. So Aric had cared for someone else. No wonder he’d abandoned me so easily. The jealousy that seared to my bones made me defensive. “That has nothing to do with me. I’m not that girl.”

Koda’s furrowed eyebrows relaxed. “No, you’re not,” he admitted. “She’s dead.”

My sisters gasped behind. I remained still as stone.

“M-Misha killed her?” Emme sputtered.

Koda watched me carefully before answering, “Aric blames him for her death.”

“That’s not the same thing as murdering someone, Koda.” I spoke with conviction, and Koda didn’t deny it. In truth, I didn’t know. Misha was a vampire, one with enough clout to easily kill or order someone’s death. Except more than once I’d seen the man behind the fangs, the arrogance, and the sin. No, Misha hadn’t killed Aric’s love. This, I was absolutely sure of.

Liam dropped his head, low enough for me to count all the spikes in his rock star hairstyle. “Celia, please don’t do this to Aric.”

My bruised heart throbbed cruelly. How had I come out the bad guy?

Taran stomped to my side, jabbing her finger in the air at the wolves. “Forget Aric and his goddamn feelings. He left her!” She released her rage. The flowers in the vases ignited in blue and white flames, boiling the water so hot the vases shattered.

Shayna’s head whipped to Taran. “Dude, calm down!”

Taran’s blue irises paled to white, her face barren of any reason. “Don’t tell me to calm down!”

I raced into the kitchen, grabbed the fire extinguisher, and sprinted back into the family room. Koda growled in wolf. I’m not sure what he said, but the charred smell of his anger coated my tongue like ash. The others were finishing batting out the flames on the couch and failed to recognize his rising fury.

Thunder exploded outside, shaking the entire house. Taran’s ire had reached a climactic crescendo, with no descent in sight. Koda stormed toward Taran and clasped her shoulders. “Stop. You need to stop now.”

Taran’s white irises locked on his turbulent browns. “You’re telling me Aric can screw who he wants, marry who he wants, and love who he wants, but Celia is denied that right!”

Koda’s eyes flared just as blue and white flames shot like a rocket up our fireplace and heated the entire room. “I won’t pretend to know what Celia is going through, but don’t you assume Aric is not suffering in his own personal hell.”

Taran quirked a dark eyebrow, making her stare appear more crazed. “How hot is it getting in hell with that blonde?”

“Let her go. Now.” Gemini dropped the blanket he’d been using to beat the flames and instinctively darted to Taran’s side, bringing with him the strong aroma of werewolf magic.

Koda dropped his hands and stepped into Shayna’s startled arms, proving why Gemini had been chosen over him as Beta. “Forgive me, Tomo. I meant no disrespect against yours.” He’d used Gemini’s given name. That in itself was a bad sign. Some furious, scary, werewolf, mojo thing had just happened. I didn’t understand it and I wanted it gone. I placed the fire extinguisher on the floor and slumped on the couch that had been spared from Taran’s fury. I glanced at the clock, hoping Misha would arrive soon and take me away from the madness I blamed myself for causing.

Gemini’s wrath lessened as he continued to watch Koda and Shayna holding each other. Gemini nodded once before slipping his arms protectively around Taran. Her eyes slowly regained their normal shade of blue. Yet her voice remained sharp. “Keep Aric and his bitch fiancée away from Celia. If they so much as hold hands around her, he’ll never use his penis again.”

Emme used her force to sweep up the mess. The soft brush of the broom broke up the unpleasant quiet of the room. But that’s about all it did. If it wasn’t for the doorbell ringing, I would have bolted away from the lot of them.

Emme glanced nervously at the wolves before opening the front door. “Hello, Misha.”

“Good evening, sweet Emme.”

Emme shuffled her feet. “Um. Thank you for taking Celia out, but I’d like your word that you’ll be a perfect gentleman.”

I think Emme would have liked living at the North Pole with Rudolph.

Misha regarded me as I uncrossed my legs and stood. “I am truly sorry, my dear, but I am not accustomed to making promises I cannot keep.”

The wolves responded by clenching their fists, puffing out their chests, and growling. Gemini appeared especially menacing, the extent of his boiling point continuing to linger. In an effort to avoid more drama, I thought it best to leave.

Misha greeted me with a sensual smile. “You look stunning. Are you ready for me?”

His voice dripped so much sexual connotation that I had to take a deep breath before answering, “Yes, Misha. I’m ready.”

I was ready—to forget about Aric. And Misha was the only one capable of distracting me.

• • •

We shared a nice dinner, and I enjoyed our time together. Misha even succeeded in getting me to laugh. It was a hell of an accomplishment, considering the day I’d had. Still, I couldn’t help feeling sad. A heavy sense of bereavement wouldn’t leave me. It wasn’t until dessert arrived that I realized I mourned the loss of hope that Aric would come back to me.

“I do not understand how someone so lovely can appear so miserable,” Misha said while we waited for his car.

“I’m sorry, Misha. The last few weeks have been horrible. I don’t mean to be such a lousy date.”

Misha pressed me against a wall in the shadows of the building. His large hands held my waist, and his breath was warm against my jaw. “Perhaps what you need is something to occupy your mind,” he murmured.

I trembled when his lips skimmed across my neck. My God, it felt so good to be touched. I hadn’t fathomed the extent of my loneliness until Misha’s caress awakened the sensuality buried deep within my body’s memory.

I shoved away the grief generated from the strokes of unfamiliar hands, and forced myself to feel the tantalizing effect of Misha’s contact. This will end the hurt and numb the pain, I reminded myself. If only for a little while . . .

Misha kissed me. My lips parted as I welcomed him deep into my mouth. He tasted delicious and decadent like the most tempting and sinful of desserts. My body sank into his, my arms linked around his neck, and my fingers tugged his long, gorgeous hair.

Our kisses increased in fervor. His hands wandered up my dress, exploring my body in a rough, seductive massage. But as a long, deep moan escaped my lips, he vanished, except for the strands of his hair entangled between my fingers.

A horrible crash made me lurch to the side. Misha lay sprawled with his body embedded in the building across the street. Crumbling chunks of brick peppered the sidewalk as he stirred. I took a step in his direction, confused as to what happened. “Misha—”

That’s when I smelled him. The scent of water crashing over stones mixed with the smell of fury. Aric stood in the street, facing Misha. The guttural rumble in which he spoke burned me to the core. “Get up, you goddamn leech. I’m going to rip you to pieces. You don’t touch her!”

Misha extracted himself from the building in one hard pull. He dusted off like he’d just rolled in the hay, but calmness had clearly left him. He reminded me of a venomous snake, a pissed-off and hungry venomous snake coiling to strike. “I’ve waited a long time for this, boy.”

Misha launched himself at Aric, but they never made contact. Wolves and vampires surged out of nowhere and grabbed them. Koda, Gemini, Liam, and even Bren were among the wolves trying to stop Aric, yet despite their united effort, they couldn’t hold him back. “Aric, don’t do this,” Koda urged. “We have an agreement.”

Misha’s bodyguards and some of his family also tried unsuccessfully to restrain Misha. “Master, please,” Agnes begged. “Think of the treaty!”

Emme ran to me, her face pale with fright. “Oh my God, Celia. They’re going to kill each other.”

That was all I needed to hear to pull me out of my stupor. I sprinted forward, grabbing Aric and Misha seconds before they connected and shifted them into the road. I surfaced, leaving them embedded from their shoulder blades down. “Enough,” I hissed as they struggled. “That’s enough!”

Ragged breaths filled the quiet street. I ignored the stares the vampires, the wolves, and my sisters trained on me. All I cared about was putting miles between Aric and Misha. Cracks split the street from their struggles and the pounding of their efforts shook my feet. They’d be free soon. And no one would be able to stop them.

I bent forward to face Misha. “I’ll let you up if you promise to walk away.”

The edges of his lips curved with wicked hunger. He looked right at Aric when he answered me. “Only if you walk away with me, kitten.”

I nodded, knowing what he meant. “Yes, I’ll go with you, Misha.”

Aric’s struggles grew more violent. A block of asphalt broke near his right shoulder as he swore at and threatened Misha. We were running out of time. I grabbed Misha’s exposed hand and shifted him up to the street. He immediately snaked his arm around my waist. I placed my arm against his lower back, trying to hurry him toward his awaiting vehicle.

Taran bespelled a bunch of onlookers, convincing them that an earthquake had caused the damage, and imploring them to return to their homes. I didn’t look back after that. I climbed into Misha’s Hummer limo, and we drove away.

Despair squeezed my throat like a vise. My personal life was in an emotional tailspin. I’d emerged from my depressive state only to dive back in again.

Misha put his arm around me and smoothed my hair. He held me with kindness unbefitting a vampire of his caliber and any vampire in general. No. This wasn’t a master capable of murdering a young female. No matter what the wolves believed. “Aric blames you for killing someone he loved,” I said quietly.

A flicker of recognition played briefly in his expression. “He does.”

“But you didn’t kill her.”

Misha leaned back, waiting for me to say more. My comment wasn’t a question. He heard my acceptance of his innocence in my voice.

“What did happen, Misha?”

He patted his knee as if bored, taking his time to answer. “My master, Uri, and I visited the lupines years ago at their sacred Den in Colorado. A young pureblood there demonstrated an interest in me. When I refused to entertain her company following our night together, she took her life.” The hand at his knee clenched into a tight fist. “Had I recognized her fragile state, I wouldn’t have allowed her in my quarters. In his grief, your wolf sought to cast blame. As vampire, I of course became his obvious target.”

I bit back my sorrow, threatening to unravel like a tightly bound cord. “That’s why Aric’s so angry at finding us together. I remind him of his girlfriend who he loved and lost.”

Misha watched me closely. “The she-wolf was a relation of his, Celia. One he regarded like a sister.” His face hardened. “That mongrel has never loved.”

Yeah. Maybe you’re right. Tears streaked down my face, ruining Taran’s cosmetic efforts. Misha didn’t seem to mind. He lifted my chin and wiped my eyes with a silk handkerchief. “You will not join me in bed tonight, will you?”