***

I awoke on the couch and found the house empty. After checking to make sure that Rafe was still sleeping soundly in his wolf form, I crossed the grassy yard between Roger and Jaze's houses. I paused at the corner and heard quiet voices coming from the porch.

“I’m just not sure if now’s the time,” Jaze said, his voice contemplative but concerned. The porch swing creaked.

“You need to live your life, too,” Nikki replied.

Jaze sighed. “I can’t leave everything here. There’s too much going on.”

“I know,” Nikki said warmly. “You carry so much by yourself.”

I could hear the smile in Jaze’s voice when he replied, “Not by myself.”

Nikki laughed quietly. “No, not by yourself.” They both fell silent for a few minutes and I debated whether to let them know I was there, then she said, “But you’ve always wanted to go to college. You’d make a great professor.”

Jaze chuckled. “I definitely know how to handle unruly werewolves.”

“Exactly,” Nikki replied. A shorter, comfortable silence ensued. I took a step around the corner, but they didn’t notice me. Nikki leaned against the arm of the porch swing with her back to me and her bare feet in Jaze’s lap. He rubbed her feet as they talked, his fingers softly caressing her skin.

“Whatever you chose, I’m here with you,” she said, her voice determined. “If you want to go to college, I’ll apply too. If you want to stay and rescue werewolves and continue to harbor peace between the werewolves and Hunters, I’ll do that, too.”

A soft kiss sounded, then Jaze said, “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“And you to me,” Nikki replied. “Even if you are a werewolf.”

He tickled her toes and she laughed, then he pulled her close so that she sat on his lap. “Nikki, you are my life. No matter what I do or where I end up, if you’re by my side it’ll be the right place.”

She stared down at him and I couldn’t see her expression from where I stood, but her hand ran softly through his dark blond hair and he closed his eyes for the briefest moment. Moonlight played off his face and his smile, a smile that he saved only for her. He opened his eyes and my heart caught at the look in them.

Nikki stared down at him and her fingers toyed with the hair behind his ear. “I love you so much, Jaze Carso.”

“You are my forever,” Jaze replied in a voice soft and possessive at the same time. He pulled her close and kissed her gently on the lips. She leaned down, her neck graceful and her black hair brushing his hand that rested on the small of her back. She then rested her head on his shoulder and gave a soft sigh of contentment. My heart yearned for that sigh, for a love so deep nothing could be wrong in a world where it belonged.

“Your mom’s going to wonder where we disappeared to,” Nikki said after a few more minutes of comfortable silence.

“She won’t mind wondering a little bit longer,” Jaze replied.

Nikki laughed and stood up, then pulled him to his feet.

“Just note that I’m going inside under protest,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Noted,” she replied. They both laughed and boards creaked under their feet as they crossed to the door.

I waited in the moonlight for a few minutes with a heavy heart. Rafe was so wild, so ingrained in the ways of the wolf. I wondered if he could ever feel for me as deeply as Nikki and Jaze felt for each other. I ached to be with him. Every thought I had centered on him. I got lost in his eyes and his calm self-assurance in the woods. My future was uncertain. It would be wonderful to have someone committed to sharing so much together, but I couldn’t ask that of him.

If he did pull through this, he deserved to go back to the wild where he was comfortable. As much as I loved both worlds, I didn’t know where I really fit. A wave of loneliness washed over me so sharply I swallowed a sob and made myself walk up the porch steps. The lights were on and the muffle of cheery voices drifted from inside.

Jaze opened the door. “Colleen! Come on in.” He stepped back to let me enter. “It's nice to have you over.”

I smiled at the looks of surprise on the faces of Kaynan's friends. My brother rose from the couch and offered me his seat. “You've got to be exhausted,” he said.

I shook my head. “I got some sleep, but I've missed just talking.” I fought back a blush. “It gets a little quieter than I'm used to in the forest.”

“I can believe it,” Brock said from his place on the floor eating a slice of pizza. “No bathrooms, no telephones, no television,” he gestured with his food, “no pizza delivery boy. From what I've learned about werewolves, it's a wonder you didn't starve out there.”

I glanced at Kaynan and he laughed. “Don't mind Brock. If he's not filling his stomach, he's worrying about what he'll find to eat next.”

As if to prove Kaynan's point, Brock finished his last bite, wiped his hands on his pants, and hurried back to the kitchen. Jet stared after him for a moment from his place leaning against the door frame to the kitchen, then pushed off and followed him. The sounds of a tussle followed, and Jet returned with a sandwich and a triumphant gleam in his eyes. Brock came back sulking a minute later with another slice of cold pizza.

“I'm making spaghetti,” Mrs. Carso called from the kitchen. “More food will be available soon.” Everyone laughed at the competitive look Brock and Jet exchanged.

“Mrs. Carso is the best cook,” Grace said from the seat next to me. She gave me a sweet smile, her blue eyes soft in their blindness. Kaynan set a hand on her shoulder from his new spot behind the couch and she covered it with her own, her fingers caressing the back of his hand.

The expression on Kaynan's face was the happiest I had ever seen. His dark red eyes had a warmth in them I hadn't seen before the accident, and the protectiveness of his stance behind Grace showed that he cared for her more than he had ever cared for anything. She was good for him, and I liked her all the more for that.

The scent of tomato sauce, spaghetti noodles, meat balls, and garlic bread made my mouth water. I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten spaghetti. My stomach twisted when I realized it was the night before the accident. Mom had just agreed to let me go to the school dance with Debra as long as Kaynan brought us home by ten o'clock. It was early, but my parents were sticklers about being home on school nights. If only they could have known that would be the last night we would ever be home.

Mrs. Carso's call to dinner startled me out of my dark thoughts. I followed Grace and Kaynan to the kitchen, and smiled when he held her hand and then pulled the chair out for her. Grace had brought something sweet and gentle out in him that hadn't been there before. I wondered if Mom and Dad noticed when he visited them, and felt a sharp pain at the knowledge that they still thought I was dead. I took a seat on Grace's other side and blinked back tears at the sight of the spaghetti.

The table was full, Roger, Meg, and Mrs. Carso occupied the counter, and an extra seat had been pulled up to a t.v. tray table. “Do you know everyone here, Colleen?” Jaze asked. When I shook my head, he nodded at his friends. “You know Jet, Taye, and Nikki. Mouse drove when we came to pick you guys up,” the scrawny werewolf kept his eyes on the floor from his seat at the t.v. tray. “And Brock gives my mom a reason to keep cooking, though Jet's a quick runner-up. Brock and Mouse used to scour the city looking for signs of werewolves, and he never knew that his best friend was one.” Brock rolled his eyes at Mouse and a smile touched the werewolf's mouth.

“We're going to need a bigger house if you keep bringing home strays,” Mrs. Carso joked.

Jaze grinned, his brown eyes bright. “Then we're gonna need a bigger house.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but Jet stood up and stared intently toward the front door, his muscles tense and body completely still. The other werewolves slowly rose. I strained my ears and heard the slight creak of a foot on wood before the doorbell rang. Jaze tipped his head toward the back door; Jet and Kaynan slipped out the sliding door into the backyard. Jaze met his mother's eyes for a brief second, then went to answer the door.

The man on the porch made no effort to be quiet. “Mr. Jaze Carso, we need all the occupants of your house to come to the porch immediately.”

“What is this about?”

“Government business.” The sound of leather followed as someone flipped open a wallet.

“I need to know details before I'll let my family come out.” Jaze's voice was firm.

The porch board squeaked as the man shifted his weight. “It's a matter of national security.” When it was obvious Jaze wasn't fazed by his stern demeanor or his badge, he sighed. “You are harboring a female by the name of Colleen Anderson and a male by the name of Kaynan Anderson. I'm here to arrest them.”

My blood ran cold and I rose slowly from the table. Nikki put a hand on my arm and gave me a reassuring look. “Jaze won't let them touch either of you, trust me,” she said softly.

“What makes you think they're here?” Jaze pressed.

“We've had your house under surveillance for the last several weeks. We know that both individuals are eating dinner in your home as we speak. At least,” he turned around, “One of them is in the home.” His voice rose. “I have a dozen armed men in strategic positions around the premises. Your occupation here isn't exactly legal, and I know you know what I mean. If the individuals inside and those sneaking around the back refuse to come to the porch for a polite discussion, we will be forced to open fire.”

Mrs. Carso's hand flew to her mouth. Meg touched her shoulder and they exchanged wide-eyed stares. Roger motioned to the rest of us to go to the porch. Taye took Grace's right hand and I moved to take her left, but Roger shook his head to indicate that I should stay at the back with him. I followed the others to the porch and hung near the door.

Kaynan and Jet were already on either side of the porch. Jet glared at the armed man next to him, and I could see him sizing the man up. Five men stood on the lawn, guns trained in our direction, two waited on the porch, and the man who had spoken to Jaze held a pistol casually in his hand.

“Now, which one of you is Colleen?”

My heart skipped a beat, but no one moved. The man cleared his throat. “You can make this easy or hard, I don't care. I'd prefer for things not to get messy, so we'll do this the easy way.”

Before anyone could move, the man grabbed Mrs. Carso and pressed the gun to her head. “Now, which one of you is Colleen?”

Movement caught my eye and I glanced over to see Jaze push a button on his phone hiding in his palm. His eyes were on the man holding his mother hostage, and his jaw was clenched so tight I could hear his teeth grind. I had to buy him some time.

I pushed through the others. “I'm here. Let her go.” My voice shook, but I gave him the meanest glare I could muster.

His voice softened. “Colleen, darling. Why don't you be a good girl and come down here.” He stepped slowly backward down the porch steps and pulled Mrs. Carso with him.

I took a deep breath and followed.

“Good. Now, where's your brother?”

“He left,” I said before Kaynan could move.

The man shook his head with another sigh. “No one left. You forget, I've got this place under surveillance. You've been staying over with that wild animal, while Kaynan stays here.” His voice turned ironic. “It's so nice that Hunters and werewolves can live right next door and take care of each other.”

He backed up to the corner of the house where the porch light ended and gestured with his gun. “Kaynan, Colleen, in the cars and no one gets hurt.”

Kaynan moved away from the others and walked slowly down the porch.

“That's right. Just do as I say and-”

“Drop the gun.”

Rafe's low growl sounded loud in the dark night and my heart leaped. The man holding Mrs. Carso froze, then lifted his hand and tossed the gun to the lawn. He let Mrs. Carso go and she hurried back up the steps to Jaze's side. Jaze put an arm around his mother and held her close, outrage coloring his face. Meg put a hand on her arm, her face tight.

“Tell your men to put down their guns and retreat to the vehicles,” Rafe continued.

The man rolled his eyes, then hissed as something was shoved into his back. “You heard him, move!” he yelled to his men.

The guards around us threw down their weapons and backed to the three cars across the street from the house.

“All of them,” Rafe growled, a tight note of warning in his voice.

The man grimaced. “Haskel, Dawn, you too.”

One man climbed down from the porch roof and another I hadn't seen extricated himself from a tree in the front yard. They both threw angry glances Rafe's way before heading to the vehicles.

“Now tell us what the government wants with Colleen and Kaynan.”

The man's jaw tightened. “I told you. It's a matter of national security.”

I glanced to the right in time to see a dark shadow melt into the trees at the corner of Jaze’s lawn. The scent of strange werewolves touched my nose the same time that a shoe scuffed quietly across the gravel near Meg and Roger’s house; Jaze’s reinforcements had arrived.

“Enlighten us,” Rafe said blandly.

The man grumbled something, then winced. “Colleen and Kaynan are the only two successful werewolf DNA fusion specimens. We cannot allow additional copies to be made, so we need to destroy them.”

His words brought my attention back. “By copies you mean clones,” I said, feeling sick.

The man nodded. “Cloning was attempted at Dr. Edward Tannin's facility, but no sustainable duplicate was achieved.” I glanced at Kaynan to see if he had known about the clones. The apologetic, nauseous look he gave me confirmed my suspicions. I swallowed the hard knot in my throat as the man continued, “My job is to make sure it never happens.”

“By killing them?” Rafe pressed.

“Do you know of a better way?” the man replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Rafe said something quietly and the man winced again. “I didn't want it to come to this,” he said in a tight voice. “It was supposed to be smooth; easy in, easy out. Nobody gets hurt but the anomalies.”

“My way, nobody gets hurt including Colleen and Kaynan. I want you to return to your government, tell them we feel national security should include protecting its inhabitants instead of sending teams to kill them, and let them know that we won't allow any cloning or experimenting to be done with either Colleen or Kaynan.” Rafe sounded winded and I wondered how long he could keep it up, but it was obvious by the suited man's stance that he still had strength.

“It doesn’t work like that,” the man said. “We’re on a clock. If we don’t report back that our mission is successful, attack teams will be on your house like ants at a picnic.”

Jaze stepped forward. “Give your report and call your teams back. You obviously know who I am, or you wouldn’t have reinforcements on call.” He glanced back at Jet. “Although we haven’t had a fight in a while. It might be nice.”

Jet opened and closed his hands with a dangerous smile on his face that said he would welcome a battle.

The man shook his head. “I know who you are, and I don’t want trouble. This can be a peaceful transaction between two respected members of society.”

Jaze’s gaze darkened. “As far as I’m concerned, peaceful doesn’t mean holding my mother hostage or storming my house with demands that I let you take my visitors prisoner. You will leave now, or I’ll call in the werewolves and Hunters who are surrounding my house and your men as we speak.”

“You’re bluffing,” the man said, but there was uncertainty in his voice that let me know just how dangerous Jaze’s men could be.

“I never bluff,” Jaze replied with an edge of steel.

The man’s face paled and he tried to look around, but Rafe tightened his hold. Jaze looked to the right and roughly a dozen werewolves and Hunters stepped from the various shadows into the light of the porch. Another dozen or so surrounded the two cars the men had begrudgingly disappeared into. Footsteps and breathing marked many more spread throughout the backyard and Meg and Roger’s. I was amazed at how quickly they had gotten there.

The threat that laced through Jaze’s next voice sent a shiver up my spine. “I can have you out of a job in a few phone calls to certain senators sympathetic to werewolves for their own personal reasons. This is my house and these are my friends. If I ever see you near them again, you’ll be stationed in the North Pole searching for Santa Claus.”

The man looked like he wanted to argue for a moment, then he let out a slow breath. “We'll leave you alone for now, but you're forgetting one thing.” The man met my eyes. “You aren't the only ones who bear your DNA.”

He shrugged out of Rafe's grasp and walked slowly back to his car, Jaze’s silent guards pacing him on either side. He got into the first vehicle without a word and they drove away.

I ran down to Rafe. He leaned against the side of the house in the black shorts I had bought at the gas station, his bare stomach still loosely wound in bandages from when he was in his wolf form. Blood trickled from several stitches that had torn when he phased.

“Do you have a gun?” Jet asked cautiously from behind me.

Rafe gave a weak grin and tossed something green to the ground. “Sorry about your garden hose,” he said. “I couldn't find anything else.” He stumbled forward and Jet and I caught him before he could hit the ground.

“Bring him inside,” Mrs. Carso said; a slight tremble in her voice was the only sign of how badly the situation had shaken her.

Jaze and Kaynan helped Rafe up the stairs and to a couch in the living room. I took his hand and he kept his eyes on me, his face pale and grip weak. Meg took off the bandages and began to examine his wounds.

“Surprised?” Rafe asked softly. I followed his gaze to Roger's lifted eyebrows and half smile.

Roger nodded. “Extremely.” He peered at the werewolf as though he was a prize specimen. “Why didn't you talk at the rehabilitation center? It would have saved you a great deal of unnecessary discomfort.”

Rafe winced at Meg's prodding. “I didn't like you,” he said in a tight voice.

Jaze chuckled and Roger gave a slight frown. “How about now?”

Rafe tried to push himself up to a more comfortable position, but at Meg's look, he gave up and held still. “Not sure yet,” he forced out from between clenched teeth.

Roger nodded. “Fair enough. Serves me right for making rash judgments; won't be making that mistake again.”

Rafe gave him a small smile. “Then we might be okay.”

Roger's face lit up with relief.

“You need a couple of stitches,” Meg said in a chiding tone. “Lucky you didn't do worse given the shape you were in.”

“I heard talking and thought I'd better take my chances,” Rafe said dryly.

“We're glad you did,” Jaze replied. He exchanged a look with his mother. “We're in your debt.”

Rafe gave a true smile. “You got me out of Tannin's werewolf torment center. Let's call it even.”

Jaze nodded, but his brow was furrowed. “Mouse, sweep for bugs. This house isn’t safe until we can talk freely.”

Mouse nodded and left the room.

“They know we're here,” Jet said quietly.

“They seem to know everything about everyone,” Kaynan agreed, his red eyes deep with worry. “What did he mean by we aren't the only ones who have our DNA?”

The realization hit me. “Mom and Dad.”

Jaze tossed a phone to my brother. Kaynan dialed the number we had both memorized by the time we were old enough to speak. Mom and Dad only had a house phone. They said they were too set in their ways to learn a cell phone.

Each ring sounded loud in the still kitchen. Everyone held their breath, but after the eighth ring, Kaynan finally gave up. He tossed the phone back to Jaze, his face pale. “We've got to go.”

Jaze rose and disappeared into the kitchen. He came back a minute later with a small computer in his hands and Mouse at his side. “There's a plane in a half hour.”

“I'll be on it,” Kaynan said firmly. Grace squeezed his hand and he pulled her close. “I'll get them somewhere safe and come right back, I promise.”

“We'll get them somewhere safe.” The thought of being on a plane for hours and traveling through airport security made my skin crawl, but I wasn't going to let my parents suffer for what we had become.

Kaynan's eyebrows rose. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” I squeezed Rafe's hand and I could see the fear in his eyes that he wouldn't voice, the fear at being left injured surrounded by strangers. “I'll hurry back,” I reassured him softly.

His jaw tightened. “They're your pack and they need you.” I nodded and he forced a casual tone. “I'll be fine.” Meg poked a particularly tender area and he clenched his teeth as though biting back a growl. “At least, I'll be fine if I'm left alone.”

Meg's eyes sparked. “You're under my care and you'll put up with whatever I need to do to keep you alive, understand?”

Rafe met her glare for a minute, then dropped his eyes and nodded. “Yes, ma'am.”

Jaze chuckled from the other side of the couch. “Good choice. You don't want to be on Meg's bad side.”

Something flashed and Jet disarmed Mouse before anyone could move. He then blinked down at the camera in his hands.

“I needed Colleen's picture for the documents,” Mouse explained, his cheeks red and eyes on the ground.

Jet handed the camera back to Mouse looking flustered. “Don't point things at people without warning them first. Bad things happen.”

Mouse stammered an apology and hurried from the room. Jaze lifted an eyebrow at Jet. “A camera, really?”

Jet shrugged, a touch of chagrin in his expression. “You never know.”

“You're just a bit jumpy,” Taye said, setting a hand on his arm.

“Everyone is,” Mrs. Carso replied. “And it's understandable. Come to the kitchen. I'll make hot cider and cinnamon rolls.”

I stayed with Rafe and Meg while the others filed after her. Before long, the scent of cinnamon, flour, and apples drifted our way.

“You going to be alright on your trip?” Meg asked as she worked a needle through Rafe's skin and pulled it out the other side to close a dripping gap.

“I'm not sure,” I said honestly.

She looked at me for a minute, then smiled. “You're stronger than you think. You'll be fine.”