~ CARA ~I couldn’t sleep. At all. My body hummed—but not with pure desire. Not just that. I still wanted Rig, was pretty sure I would never stop wanting him. But I was satisfied. Warmth and pleasure coiled in my belly like a happy cat. No… it wasn’t Rig.At first I thought I was just nervous about his dad, about Mack and Natalie, and about what we would all do. But when I thought about that, a different sense of anxiety appeared to flutter in my chest. And when I looked at Rig, already asleep, his arm thrown over my waist, I felt so sure he was going to figure out how to do that… no. It wasn’t that either.This was different. A restless energy that hummed in my muscles and pushed me to move. As if my body would spasm if I didn’t.

~ CARA ~I was confused. My head split into two different frames.One remembered everything.The other couldn’t quite take it in.Strange things happened in my mind when I hunted, as if a part of my mind that worked purely on instinct—already knew everything that was needed—took over. And even though the rest of me was still there, still conscious, even though I could remember leaving the house and circling the property, even deciding to watch over Rig… it all felt different. When Rig appeared on the lawn below and spoke to me it snapped me out of… whatever that was.“Cara?” His voice was oddly

~ CARA ~My mind felt as if it was being torn down the middle. Or was it my soul?There were two Caras, two hearts, two sets of feelings, two intentions. Body versus mind.When Rig flipped me onto my back, the animal came forward—aggressive, feral, afraid, fighting for life. But my soul knew him.Rig wouldn’t hurt me.My heart wanted him—wanted to pull him close and keep him closer.One moment my eyes saw my husband, the male I wanted to embrace, to taste, to hold me. The next he was a dog. Danger. I wanted to fight.I felt like I was going insane.I couldn&

~ RIG ~It was the small hours of the morning, the darkest moments before dawn began to creep up around the mountains.We’d eaten, talked, I’d held her when she got scared, and laughed with her about the funny side of her naked, midnight jaunt. But she was exhausted.So now, as the fire died in the hearth, I lay there in bed on my back with Cara curled into my side, deeply asleep, but still clinging to my chest like a lifeline. Her breathing was deep and slow, her hair loose and flowing over my arm as I held her close, thoughtlessly trailing fingers up and down the curve of her spine.She was herself again—and relieved. She’d described exactly what I’d sensed, an animal within trying to come forward, fighting to take control. Instincts acting

~ NATALIE ~I am such a bitch.The minute I slammed that door in his face I knew what I’d done. This close, I could feel the way it shocked and hurt him.I stopped just inside the room, barely breathing, and turned back to face the closed door. My heart was pounding.I hated myself. Every time he was gone I ached to have him close again. Every time he was close I wanted to run screaming. It was too hard. Too much. When I’d realized we were coming here and going to be alone together, a part of me had welled up, singing with joy. But the rest of me sank into cold, abject fear.Was he scared too? Or just mad?