I hid my smile. Bath was a sly one. Sending them out to Beau meant that they’d be under the leader’s watchful eye, which meant the other Russell clan members—Ellis, Everett, Austin, and my own Josh—wouldn’t be free to show just how much they disliked Connor. Savannah gave Bath a grateful look. I watched as they entered the living room, heading to the back of the house, Connor hovering over Savannah as if she might break. Adorable.
There was another knock at the door, and I looked over at Josh in surprise, mentally counting heads. Wasn’t everyone here by now?
“I’ll get that,” Bath said, a hint of a smile.
“Were we expecting someone else?” I asked, curious.
Josh reached out and stole a cube of potato from my pile of diced vegetables. “Wait and see, baby.”
A familiar, warm, human scent filled the air, and I gasped in surprise at seeing my father. Happy tears filled my eyes, and I launched myself at him. “Daddy! You’re here?”
He wrapped me in his arms. “
I hugged him close, so full of joy that I could burst.
“It’s a family gathering for you,” Bath said, “so it wouldn’t be right if your father wasn’t here. And thanks to the nondisclosure agreement, I didn’t see a problem with it when Josh mentioned it.”
I looked back at Josh. “You are the best thing since sliced bread.”
“I know,” he said smugly.
“Why don’t you take your father outside and introduce him to everyone?” Bath suggested.
I smiled up at him and looped my arm through his. This day just got better and better.
• • •
When the food was ready, everyone piled out to the tables. I sat to Beau’s right, Josh’s arm looped around my waist, and I felt a little embarrassed when a dozen beers were raised—and a glass of water from Savannah —and all eyes went to me.
“To our new sister,” Beau said. “Our clan grows daily, and I, for one, am thrilled.”
“Hear, hear,” Josh said, then leaned in to kiss me.
I returned his kiss and looked down the table at the faces there. My father, directly across from me. Josh. The twins. Jeremiah and his dates. Ryder and Lily. Bath and Beau. Sara and Ramsey. Connor and Savannah. So many people in my life now.
Ice Queen Marie had disappeared—better yet, she’d been absorbed into a large, eclectic family. I wasn’t allowed to hold myself apart any longer.
I’d gone from having nothing to having everything.
“Can we eat now?” Josh asked. “I love Marie and all, but those ribs look incredible, and I’m starving.”
I laughed, and the entire table erupted with groans.
Everyone dug into the food, and within a half hour, the plates were cleaned. Some people sat around the table, sharing conversation.
One of the twins showed up with a football in his hands. “We’ve got enough people here for a good game. Who’s up for it?”
“Flags?” Connor asked.
“Flags are for pussies,” Everett retorted. “Tackle football. How about you, Marie, since you’re the guest of honor?”
A month ago, I’d have been too weak to do more than walk across the room. But now? I was brimming with health and happiness. I put down my napkin. “Why not?”
“Excellent. You can be team captain. Josh can be the other.”
We moved to the front of the group, and Josh gave me a wicked grin. “How about my team is shirts and yours is skins?”
I rolled my eyes. “How did I know that was going to come out of your mouth?”
“Because you know me, baby.”
“Indeed. Well then, let me pick first.” I glanced over at the people who were still sitting. “Who all’s playing?”
“I am,” said Bath.
“No,” Beau said stubbornly. “You’re too fragile.”
Her lip curled, just a little. “You’re kidding, right? You’re going to play the ‘human’ card on me? Humans play football all the time.”
“Not my human.”
“Beauregard Russell!”
“Fine,” he said in a menacing tone, then cast a look down the table. “If anyone tackles my wife, I’m coming after them.”
“Beau,” Bath said warningly.
“I’ll take her,” I chimed in. “She can be our quarterback.”
“So unfair,” Josh protested. “Now you really do have to be skins.”
I smacked him on the arm.
Football was a blast, but a total blowout. Josh had managed to let me pick Ramsey for my team—a deliberate move, I suspected, since it was supposed to be my day and all—and with the massive were-bear on our side, it was more or less a massacre. We learned early on to give Bath the ball and then let Ramsey barrel everyone else out of the way as they charged down the zone. Pretty soon, we were winning by four touchdowns. It wasn’t a very fair game, though. Every time I’d break free, Josh would be there to tackle me.
Something told me he just wanted to drag me into the grass, and I didn’t mind.
Sara was on Josh’s team, and on the next pass, she caught the ball. I moved to tackle her, but sure enough, Josh was there again, leaping on top of me and dragging me to the ground before I could touch her. His hands were everywhere as we rolled in the grass, and I laughed.
“You know, if you wanted to cop a feel, you could just ask,” I told him between breaths.
He grinned down at me. “It’s more fun this way.”
A high-pitched squeal caught my attention, and I turned to see Sara launch herself bodily at Ramsey, as if her slight form could knock him down. I’d say one thing for Sara—she was small but fearless.
She was so much smaller than Ramsey that he just caught her out of the air, turned around, and began to run toward our end zone with his mate trapped in his arms, laughing and still clutching the ball. A moment later, Ramsey scored for our team.
The sidelines—Savannah, Lily, Ryder, and my dad—erupted in laughter.
“We concede,” Josh announced. “Having Ramsey on a team is like having five extra players.”
“I win,” I crowed, rolling onto him on the grass.
“Yes, you do.” He grinned up at me.
Desire rolled through me, and to my surprise, my claws popped. I yelped as I felt hair follicles tingle and come to life, a sure sign that I was about to change. Even though I’d been a were-cougar for a little over a month now, I still didn’t quite have the hang of everything. It would come with time and I didn’t need to worry about it, but it was still embarrassing.
“Looks like it’s time for a run,” Josh announced.
“Mr. Bellavance, why don’t you and I and Lily and Ryder go inside for some coffee?” Bath said brightly. “I think the others want to spend some nature time out here.” With a knowing glance at her mate, Bath shepherded the humans out of the clearing, and suddenly it was just shifters.
A familiar scent neared, then Beau was kneeling beside me from where I sat atop Josh, struggling to hold my claws in until the humans were gone. “Don’t fight it, Marie. It’s a natural part of your life now. It’s time to run with your clan if you’re ready.”
I nodded, my throat suddenly dry. This would be my first run with the entire clan, plus a few others. Performance anxiety struck me. What if I couldn’t shift fast enough for them? What if they had to stand around and wait for me while I struggled to turn? That would be humiliating—and painful.
All around me, shifters began to strip off their clothing, tossing it to the ground. Clothing always had to go first—it got too easily destroyed by animal claws and shifting bones. The last thing you wanted was to turn into a cat and end up partially strangled by your bra because you didn’t take it off first. But still, stripping down in front of
