The Midnight Coyote Saloon reeked of smoke and whiskey. The sounds of guitar-laden country music thumped through the surround system, crooning a tune about a long-lost pair of lovers as Rebel and Lily stepped inside. Dim drop-hat lights cloaked the bar in shadow, leaving plenty to the imagination, and peanut shells littered the floor, crunching beneath the heels of their boots. The open space showcased an array of booths and tables all centered around an old wooden bar top. From appearance, this was little more than a hole-in-the-wall western bar, but Rebel knew better.The Midnight Coyote Saloon played host to some of the supernatural world’s most dangerous clientele. The previous incarnation of the bar, which had resided in downtown Billings, had been raided nearly a year ago by the Execution Underground, leaving the bar and its owner out of business. Rebel had personally offered the proprietor, a notorious warlock known as Boss, an interest-free loan to reopen in a l

Two days. For two days Rebel had avoided being alone with her. Yet as he descended the mansion staircase, heading out to load the square bales into the hayloft, she cornered him.“Hold on a second,” Lily called after him.Rebel froze. Between his days on the ranch and his evenings searching for a new lead, it’d been easy to avoid her. He’d used Murtagh to update her on their progress, but he’d given the ranch hands an evening off. It was only the two of them inside the house, so he couldn’t pretend he didn’t hear her.She stood at the top of the staircase in that godforsaken nightgown, the one that reminded him of her moans as she’d pleasured herself.She was gorgeous—breathtaking, really—and Rebel wasn’t the kind of sentimental yeehaw who used words like breathtaking. But even from the bottom of the stairs, the electricity between them struck him harder than a bolt of lightning. She was ever

Rebel tore from the hayloft like a bat out of hell, only pausing long enough to leave the truck keys sitting on the hood. Forget the bales of hay. He didn’t care if the rains soaked them to the point of ruin. If needed, he’d purchase hay come winter. At the moment, he needed to get the hell away from the loft, away from the scent of berries on her skin, the taste of her sweet sex against his tongue, andthe memories that threatened to destroy him.He’d known bringing her here would conjure up memories he’d rather keep buried, but he’d been willing to make that sacrifice. Yet he’d never expected it to be like this. He’d never anticipated being near her would hurt so much he could barely stand it. Every waking moment, he ached for her, wishing for what had once been. Even in his dreams, he couldn’t escape her. She came to him each night, the ghost of their past, and in his dreams, he didn’t need to lie, to pretend he

Rebel’s limbs ached and his temple throbbed as he rode through the darkened mountain paths. The moon shone overhead as his horse climbed the beaten trail, heading to where he knew Murtagh would have set up camp and guarded the children.He and his men had managed to hold off the bloodsuckers long enough to give Lily, Murtagh, and the ranch’s smallest shifters a head start. They’d been so outnumbered they hadn’t managed to kill all the vamps, but they’d taken out their fair share before they made their escapes. Each wolf had taken a different escape route—a tactic meant to confuse their enemies. The bloodsuckers likely wouldn’t catch up with them before daylight.Still, now that they’d been sold out and the vampires knew Rebel had her, that would limit the rebels’ movements. To complicate matters further, the knowledge would spread and her packmates wouldn’t be far behind. With the additional challenge of their

Dry desert dust coated Rebel’s boots as he and Lily approached the Gold Tooth’s entrance. Flashing neon signage illuminated the hard Texas ground, and the loud sounds of country music mixed with dinging slot machines filtered through the front doors. He couldn’t believe he’d allowed Murtagh to talk him into this. When the Scottish wolf had tracked him down in the middle of the Salmon Challis National Forest, he’d gone on a rant so long, Rebel had nearly fallen asleep halfway through—something about feminism and bodily autonomy and how he needed to allow Lily to make her own choices, even if those choices involved putting herself in a dangerous situation beside Walker Solomon. It had all sounded very reasonable at the time.Rebel gripped Lily’s shoulder, stopping her short. “Are you sure you want do this?”“You have a reputation to uphold. Ask me that once more, and I might think you care about me.” She smi