Brow furrowing, Donnie replied, “The one I saw round these parts last night. Didn’t Yvonne mention it? I called the house. I told her to tell you.”

Gwen puffed out a breath. “Ah. The thing is, Donnie, you probably shouldn’t have relied on a shitfaced woman to pass on an important message.” Anxious about the hearing, Yvonne had poured herself a glass of wine to “settle her nerves.” That would have been fine if she hadn’t kept refilling the glass until it was a true wonder she hadn’t passed out right there at the table.

“I thought it was one of you at first,” Donnie told the Mercury wolves. “But it didn’t move like it was patrolling or investigating. It was hunting. When it sensed me there, it growled, the little bastard. I shot it in the flank, but it rushed off. I was just changing out of my wet clothes, and I wasn’t about to chase it through the marsh while I was only wearing my boxers and shower cap.”

Zander blinked. “Shower cap?”

“I don’t like getting rain in my hair.”

Lost for words, Zander just looked at him.

Ally forced a smile and said, “Who does, right?”

“Right,” said Donnie. Turning to Gwen, he studied her expression. “You all prepared for tomorrow?”

“As prepared as I can be,” she replied, cleaning one of the guns.

Donnie’s gaze cut to Zander. “Tell me about the shifter council.”

“There are four members,” said Zander. “The council was, for the most part, created to appease humans. It aims to resolve issues between shifters before violence can occur. It’s a good thing. It helps people like Andie. It helped the shelter when an Alpha wolf tried to take it. In cases where humans have harmed shifters and not paid for it according to human laws—like with Brandt—the council has the right to step in and administer punishment.”

Donnie pinched his lip. “Could it rule for Brandt to be killed?”

“I doubt it,” said Zander. “He hurt Andie badly, but he didn’t kill her—the council is unlikely to choose a punishment that outweighs the crime. But the council won’t go easy on him. They can’t be seen to go easy on anyone.”

“Can we be sure they’ll take Gwen’s word as gold?”

“No.” Zander had warned Gwen of that, but she’d insisted on speaking up for Andie anyway. “They may have already looked into the matter discreetly, though. They may already know most of the answers to the questions they ask her. In fact, they may have already made up their mind what they’re going to do, but they’ll have the hearing just the same.”

“What’s likely to happen?”

Tapping his fingers on the bench, Zander said, “If all goes well, they’ll charge Brandt and detain him. He’ll be punished and later released.”

“And if all doesn’t go well?”

“They’ll find him innocent—something which is extremely unlikely, especially given the case that Gwen is able to put forward to support her testimony.”

“But either way, the Moores will retaliate somehow.” Donnie twisted his mouth. “They may wait for you to leave here and return to your pack before they make a move.”

Zander wouldn’t be leaving Gwen. He looked at her. “I still think you should take your family and go stay on my territory after the hearing. Me and my pack mates can deal with the—”

“I’m staying,” she insisted.

As she walked off to pick up the casings from the ground, Donnie spoke to Zander. “You won’t get her to leave. Gwen doesn’t run. She fights.”

Yeah, Zander had already learned that. He loved it about her. He just didn’t want her to have to fight. He wanted her to be happy and safe. His wolf didn’t like it that there were threats to her safety out there, and he wanted to tuck her into his lodge back on their territory, where she’d be out of reach from said threats.

When his pack mates and Donnie left, Zander remained with Gwen as she packed away the weapons. “I didn’t mean to snap at you for leaving the house,” he told her. “I just like to know you’re safe when I’m gone. I don’t ask you to stay inside permanently, just when I’m not around.”

It was a half-assed apology, thought Gwen, but she’d take it. “If the range was near the border, I would have waited for you. But it’s pretty much smack bam in the middle of the land. Intruders would have a hard time getting that far undetected—which you know full well. Besides, it’s not like I gave Ally the slip or anything. I took her with me.” Locking the gun storage box, Gwen said, “As much as I appreciate that you’re protective, I’m looking forward to having a break from the weight of it. It’ll ease off when all this shit’s over.”

Zander frowned. “I will never be any less protective of you, no matter what is going on.”

“But you won’t be here every day, growling orders at me.” Gwen refused to admit how much it would hurt when he went back to California, even though it wouldn’t be the end of their relationship. “I don’t know how often you plan to come down here—”

“It doesn’t have to be a long-distance relationship, Gwen. You could come live with me; you could join the pack.” Zander held his breath, waiting for her response, hoping she didn’t freak out. His wolf waited, anxious. For a long moment, she just looked at him steadily.

“Is that what you want?”

“Fuck, yes. I want you with me. I want you in my pack. I want you to be there when I wake up. I don’t want to see you on weekends or whenever either of us have free time. That won’t be enough for me. I’d like to think it won’t be enough for you.”

She rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know, Zander. It would be a major decision. And it would surely involve you taking me as your mate, because I’m doubting your Alphas would take in a human for no good reason.”

He placed his hands on the bench and leaned toward her. “I’ve made it clear countless times that this is more than a fling. I told you I was keeping you, I told you that you’re mine. This is not a temporary thing for me. I want you with me. Not just for now. For good.”

“You also told me that imprinting can happen without the conscious decision of the couple, and you said it can happen fast.” Gwen had waited, reasoning that if she and Zander really had something deep and true, imprinting would have begun, but . . . “It hasn’t happened for us.”

“I also said that it can take months.”

Gwen folded her arms. “Where’s your wolf at?”

“He adores you. He wants you happy and safe and at our side. He wants you as our mate.” Zander rounded the bench and closed the distance between them. “I know you’ve gotten used to people turning away from you or giving you up, but I’m not going to be one of those people. I’m here for good.”

“I know.”

The total confidence with which she’d spoken both relieved and satisfied him. “Good. You’re it for me.” He flicked her bangs out of her face. “But I need to be it for you. I’m not saying I’ll leave if I’m not. That’s not going to happen. I just want you to know that I need that. I need to be as important to you as you are to me.”

She tossed him an impatient look. “You know you’re important.”