Sunday morning, Zoey arrived at Lonestar at five in the morning, a travel mug of coffee doing its job of waking her up.

The restaurant was unlocked but dark. She let herself in and headed to the kitchen.

“Karly? I’m here,” Zoey said.

“Hey, I’m in the office. Come here for a minute,” Karly called.

Zoey stashed her bag in a locker in the break room and walked into Karly’s office.

“I don’t want you to freak out,” Karly said, “but Micah is here and wants to help you with the baking today.”

Her eyes went wide. “He does? Why?”

She didn’t smile even though she was tempted. She hadn’t been able to sleep all night, tossing and turning, her thoughts on the far too sexy guy. She hadn’t expected to see him today, especially not so early in the morning, and her heart did a funny little jump in her chest at the thought of seeing him and working side by side with him.

“I’d like to leave that up to him to talk to you about. But I want you to know that I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. If you don’t want to see him, then I’ll kick him out immediately. Your safety and well-being are my main concern. I told Micah that I would talk to you first and that I wouldn’t let him ambush you.”

There was a pause and Karly stared intently at Zoey.

“I don’t know what to say,” Zoey said.

“I won’t be upset if you want me to send him away. It’s your right. Your feelings are important and valid, so if you’re uncomfortable, then he’s gone, and you and I will have a great morning at the bakery counter.”

Zoey slumped into the chair across from the desk and sighed. “The problem is that I don’t really know what I’m feeling. Everything’s jumbled.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Maybe?” She let out a nervous laugh.

“What did Micah tell you yesterday?”

“That I’m his mate. His...truemate. My friend told me what she knows, but she’s human like me and I wonder if she knows everything about shifters.”

Truemate was such a strange word combination. Mate sounded so feral, but truemate sounded like something from a fantasy novel.

“Okay, so wolves have two kinds of mates: one they pick on their own or even have their alpha choose for them, it could be a human or another pack member. We call that a mate. But a truemate is chosen by the wolf. Both the wolf and the male or female are in total agreement that the person they see is meant to be theirs. It’s like love at first sight mixed up with a soulmate.”

Zoey swallowed hard. Micah thought she was his soulmate? That word seemed more serious than truemate, but both words spoke of forever in her mind.

“I dated a wolf a...well it was a while ago. He said he loved me and that he wanted to marry me, but he wouldn’t let me see him in his shift or spend time with his pack. His family, particularly his dad, didn’t like that I was human. Then I found out he was cheating on me with girls from his pack, and he said it was my fault. That I wasn’t woman enough to satisfy him because I’m human.” She didn’t like that tears pricked her eyes at the memory of Tony’s hurtful words and the betrayal that had haunted her and made her doubt everything she believed about herself.

“Wow, what an asshole!” Karly handed a few tissues across the desk to Zoey and she dabbed at her eyes. “There are certainly wolves out there who don’t date humans for one reason or another and don’t welcome them in their ranks, but our pack isn’t like that. It’s absurd to blame you for his infidelity. I’ve known Micah his whole life. He’s a good guy and he’s loyal to a fault. I’ve never known a wolf to cheat on his truemate, that’s just not something their wolf would allow. I’m sorry you were treated so badly. No wonder you don’t really like wolves. He must have ruined your opinion of them.”

Zoey squeezed the tissues in her fist. “I know it’s not fair to judge everyone by him, but I felt like such a fool when I found out that everyone had known what he was doing and no one—not his family or his friends—had thought I was worth telling the truth to. It’s made me feel distrustful of shifters, and I just feel so damn vulnerable, like I can’t trust my instincts when it comes to heart stuff.”

Karly stared at her for a long moment and then said, “You know what? You need time to breathe, so I’ll send Micah home. It’s honestly too early in the morning for so much emotion.”

The thought of Micah leaving made everything in the center of Zoey’s body go cold.

Was that what she wanted? For him to leave her alone when she hadn’t been able to think about anyone but him since he’d caged her against the wall Friday night?

Maybe a little too quickly, Zoey protested. “No, it’s okay.”

Karly arched a brow. “Are you sure?”

Zoey blew out a breath. “I am.”

“Then I’ll let you go talk to him. He’s in the breakroom. Watch the time, too, it’s already 5:20.”

“I will, thanks.”

Zoey stood to leave.

“You can ask me anything you’d like anytime. I’m always up for a chat about wolves.”

“I appreciate it,” Zoey said.

She left Karly’s small office with her heart in her throat and her palms sweaty.

What would she say when she saw Micah?

What would he say?

* * *

Micah hadn’t been this nervous since he backed his dad’s truck out of a parking space and right into another car, causing a few grand in damage between the two vehicles. Waiting to know whether Zoey was going to be up to talk to him this morning or tell him to take a hike was the most nerve-wracking thing he’d ever done.

He didn’t want to think about her rejecting him. Again.

It was hell on his wolf.

He’d tried not to eavesdrop on her conversation with Karly, but his enhanced hearing had made it impossible not to know exactly what the deal was. She’d been emotionally wounded by her ex and was gun-shy with wolves, particularly when it came to matters of the heart.

Well, he was just going to have to show her that he was different from her ex.

He heard footsteps and inhaled, picking up Zoey’s sweet scent.

She appeared in the doorway, and he involuntarily crushed the empty water bottle.

“Morning,” he said, chucking the twisted plastic into the trash. “How’s your elbow?”

She glanced down at her arm reflexively. “Not bad, just bruised.”

“I’m glad it wasn’t a worse injury. Did you sleep well?”

She stared at him quietly for a long moment and then she shook her head. “No. You?”

“I haven’t slept well since I met you, actually.”

She gave him a half smile. She was really so beautiful. He hadn’t gotten a chance to really drink his fill of her, but he knew his gaze was as hungry as his wolf was to have her in his arms. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to close the distance between them.

“I need to get the bakery stuff in the ovens. Karly said you wanted to help, and I’d like that. We can talk while we work. If that’s okay.”

He stood so fast the chair scraped noisily behind him.

“Yes, I’d love to.”

She let out a chuckle. “You must really want to talk to me if you’re here at the butt crack of dawn and happy to work.”

“I do.”

She pressed her lips together, but he could see the smile there. Her lovely chocolate eyes were dancing.

He followed her into the kitchen. She took the baking staff tablet off the stand on the counter and turned it on, then checked the list of items to bake for the morning. Generally the bakery counter started the morning with donuts, scones, and muffins. Large carafes of coffee were provided for the patrons to fill themselves. Today’s blends included the Lonestar House Blend, a dark roast, and a fall spice blend which Micah thought smelled like potpourri and not coffee.

“Put me to work, boss,” he said, rocking back on his heels as he tied a half apron around his waist. “I’m all yours.”

She cleared her throat and said, “You can slice the scones. They’re on the top two racks. They need to be popped into the oven. I’m going to get the donut and muffin batters going.”

“On it.”

He hurried to the tall rack where two pans held scones that had been baked once and were ready to be sliced and toasted. In no time, he had sheet pans filled with sliced scones and a timer set. Then he hurried to Zoey’s side to help with the muffins while she got the donuts ready to go.

“So what did you hear when I was talking to Karly?” she asked.

“I heard everything. My hearing is great since I’m a wolf.”

“That would be handy.”

“It can be. Can I ask you about what you said?”

“Sure.”

“How long were you with that asshole?”

She let out a laugh and smiled at him. “We dated for almost a year. I met him at a bar. I thought he was cute, he made being a wolf sound so exciting. We broke up six months ago. He sent me a really nasty email and blamed me. His dad was the alpha, and he didn’t like that I was human.” She sighed and wiped her brow with the back of her wrist. “I guess I thought they’d change their minds about me eventually, that I’d win them over. I think I was just delusional about it. I got comfortable in the relationship, and I didn’t want to end it, even when the red flags were everywhere.”

“I’m sorry that he hurt you. I’d like to hunt him down and beat him within an inch of his life.”

“That’s sweet. I just...shit, Micah.” She put the rolling pin to the side of the large square of dough she was tending to and faced him. She had a smudge of flour on her cheek and looked adorable.

“What, Zoey?”

“I feel two ways about you. I want to spend time with you, and I also want you to leave me alone. I’ve got trust issues with wolves a mile long. I know you’re not Tony, but it doesn’t keep this little voice inside me from saying it’s a bad idea for me to even be around you. I’m afraid I wouldn’t recover if you broke my heart.”

He set the muffin scoop in the big bowl and moved to her side. “I can’t promise that I won’t piss you off, or that we won’t have arguments from time to time. You don’t trust me because you don’t know me, but all I’m asking for is a chance. Give me a chance to prove to you that I’ll be careful with your heart and that you can trust me. I’ve got nothing but the best of intentions when it comes to you. I’m not looking for a one-nighter, I’m looking to have all of your nights for the rest of our lives.”

“Okay.”

He blinked. “Okay...what?”

She grinned. “Okay I’ll give you a chance.”

“That’s all I want.”

“Is it?” she asked, her voice going a little low and sultry.

He let out a soft growl, his wolf very interested in the sweet scent of her arousal. “I want a lot of things, Zoey. I want you in my arms and in my bed. I want to bury my face between your thighs for about a year. And I want to make you the happiest female on the planet.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“To start.” He pulled off one glove and cupped her face. “Right now, I just want to be with you.”

“I want that too.”

He could see in her eyes that she was still nervous, still worried about her heart. He hadn’t even begun to break down the walls she’d put up to protect herself, but this moment right now? It was a crack in the walls, and that was something to howl about.

“I’ll be careful with your heart, Zoey. You’re precious to me.”

It was so tempting to kiss her, such a fucking temptation to draw her close and find out what she tasted like, but instead he took a step back and popped his glove back on. The first time they kissed, he wanted her to be the one initiating it.

He could feel her staring at him and then out of the corner of his eye he saw her smile and turn back to the dough. “Tell me what it was like growing up as a wolf,” she said.

“Crazy and wonderful at the same time,” he said. He told her about the first time he’d seen his dad shift when he was a kid, the first time he’d been successful at making his claws and fangs appear, and the first time he shifted when he was a few months into his sixteenth year. “My wolf was so ready to come out, I hardly remember shifting. I was just standing naked in the woods with my dad and male family members nearby for support, and then I was a wolf. It was insane.”

“Do you always kill the animals you hunt?”

“Not always. The chase is the fun part. The pack has a get-together the night of the full moon at the alphas’ house. I man the grills—we have three or four going with all different kinds of meats—and everyone hangs out. The people who can’t shift—like the young kids and the non-shifting mates—stay in the alphas’ house while the pack goes for a hunt. Sometimes, a shifter and non-shifter couple will go out together on the hunt, it’s usually just the two of them walking around and not actually hunting.”

He realized while he’d been talking that she went completely still and was staring at him in shock.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I didn’t know that wolves did that kind of thing. I thought that non-shifters weren’t around on the full moon.”

“Our pack has always been this way. Hell, our alpha female can’t shift. She’s a hybrid, half human and half wolf, but doesn’t actually turn into a wolf. If someone tried to say that humans weren’t welcome, Cades would shit a brick.”

“I guess you weren’t kidding when you said you were different.”

“Not even a little bit. I’m different and my pack is different. In fact, my mom’s human. She’s been at every pack gathering and full moon get-together since she and my dad got together. I don’t want to talk about them romantically because it grosses me out, but my dad is a fierce supporter of people making their own romantic choices, wolves or not.”

She smiled at him, and he returned it. They both went back to their tasks and before long the ovens were filled with pastries, the deep fryers were crackling, and the sweet scents of the baked goods filled the kitchen.

He certainly hadn’t thought his morning would be spent making double-chocolate scones and mile-high blueberry muffins, but here he was, enjoying the hell out of getting to know Zoey more. She was an intriguing female, sweet and kind of shy, with a fun sense of humor. She was close to her parents, loved baking, and enjoyed sci-fi movies.

They were pretty much a match made in heaven as far as he was concerned.

She was perfect for him in every way, he just hoped she realized how perfect he was for her too.