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  She squeaked in shock, arms flailing, before Jesse stood calmly next to his brother, pulled him back by the collar, and planted a punch on his face that sent Maverick spinning.

  Harmony gasped and stood to see what was happening as Jesse grabbed Mav by the shirtfront and pulled him up, still grinning from the kiss, to yell at him, exasperated,

  “What did I say? I told you I don’t want you threatening my mate’s friends. Dammit, Mav, this isn’t the way to win over a lady.”

  Mav shoved his brother off and stood, brushing off his butt, which Harmony couldn’t help but notice was perfectly shaped.

  “It’s not?” he snapped, looking in her direction and sticking out a finger before folding his arms and standing with one hip cocked. “Ask her if she liked it,” he said smugly.

  Harmony felt irritation well up in her. Not because he’d done something she didn’t like, but because she had liked it.

  What was wrong with her? Liking this asshole who couldn’t be bothered to get a haircut and only knew how to pop up and surprise kiss her and then say awful things about it.

  She stood abruptly, pinning him with a fiery glare. “No, I didn’t like it. Not the way you think.”

  His expression fell slightly, but obstinacy took the place where any guilt might have been. “No. You liked it. I can smell it.”

  Her eyes went wide with horror and embarrassment. Jesse looked like he was about to clock his brother again, but Harmony decided to take care of this one herself. She strode around the table, looked up at Mav, who looked anything but intimidated, cocked back her fist, and punched him straight in the face.

  He staggered back in shock, putting a hand up to his cheek as his dark eyes widened. When they were open like that, with the sun streaming in, they were a beautiful chocolate brown.

  But someone had to tell his huge lug what was and wasn’t appropriate, and apparently she had to do it for him to understand.

  His eyes blazed, and for a moment, she thought he was going to get angry with her. But then his lips spread into a smile.

  “Just what I’d expect from an alpha female,” he said, wiping his lips as he righted himself and stood straight. “A challenge. Of course. I like it. Sure, I’ll fight for you,” he said in a husky voice that sent little thrills down her spine.

  Dammit, what was wrong with her?

  “I’m not asking you to fight for me,” she said, exasperated.

  He gave her a long, slow wink that she could barely make out underneath his long hair falling over his forehead and around his face. “Uh-huh.”

  She was left speechless by that, so he simply strode off to the kitchen to get his own meal from Fanny.

  She sat back on her bench and began to wolf down her soup, ignoring her friends’ concerned and curious expressions. She just needed to finish and get out of here, go out with the girls, and have some fun before she totally lost her head over this person.

  When Mav came back, Shane grabbed him and made him sit on his side on the other side of the table from Harmony, which he did while sulking.

  She couldn’t help feeling a bit relieved. Maybe, with the help of the others, she could resist Mav without much effort after all.

  But then she looked up and caught him staring at her, a knowing, cocky look in his dark eyes as his lips spread into a sultry grin that made her press her legs together reflexively.

  Oh, damn. She was doomed.

  * * *

  The female was avoiding him. Maverick was sure of it.

  He’d spent the evening keeping an eye on her. First, she and the girls had headed over to the lodge pool and hot tub and sat in the Jacuzzi, chatting about girly things.

  Then they’d taken champagne and a picnic basket with fresh fruit and walked along a nearby trail to get to a pasture that was beautiful in the moonlight and a great place to catch up.

  He never did understand how humans liked to get in big groups and just talk for ages. Maybe talking with one person, for short periods of time to get used to it, wouldn’t be so bad. Inviting even, maybe.

  But this? They’d been talking for hours. Hours and hours. Weren’t they getting tired?

  He was getting a little tired of stalking her in his bear form, but he was great at staying out of sight.

  It wasn’t that he minded being a bear. He loved that. It was that his bones were itching, every part of him literally aching, to make an attempt to claim his mate.

  Every second he saw her made it clearer. She was the one. The one the moon had chosen, as his mother would have said. His father and mother hadn’t been fated mates. That had made it easier for his mother to leave without taking another look.

  Maverick had always known he could take or leave mating, unless it was with a moon mate.

  And Harmony was his.

  But he was still a bit confused by her reaction earlier that day. She’d liked the kiss. He could feel it. Her scent had heightened, her pulse quickened, her lips were about to open fully for him before his brother so rudely pulled him off and punched him.

  Not that his brother’s punches ever really fazed him.

  Harmony’s punch, however, had taken him aback a second. Because he really didn’t want to make her mad—just the opposite. And then he’d thought maybe she was just an alpha female, used to being wanted, and liked putting up a fight so it was tougher to win her. He was okay with that.

  He liked fighting.

  He’d fought for her once before, though he hadn’t liked that much at all. That man had been attempting to rape his mate, and it had taken all of Maverick’s strength not to tear him apart in bear form. To somehow manage to shift to a human so he could take apart her attacker in a way that didn’t scare her.

  He still didn’t know how he’d done it.

  Just thinking about the incident, her helpless screams, made him want to go back and beat the man all over again. But he was in jail. Well, worse than jail. He’d been handed over to the ruling council for cat shifters.

  Mav shook his head. Served him right for trying to hurt Harmony.

  Mav might not be the best at human things, but he knew one thing for sure. As long as he was around, no one would ever harm his mate.

  He stifled the growl rising from his chest at the thought of it, because he didn’t want the women to hear him.

  “He’s such a caveman!” his mate said, her voice rising melodically in a way that seemed slightly drunk. “I don’t get why he’s that way.”

  “I’ve never asked Shane,” Ruby, the blond, said. “I can ask him.”

  “Or I could ask Jesse. I’m not sure he would tell me, though. He doesn’t like talking about Maverick. Says he’s hard to understand.”

  Maverick wrinkled his brow. He wasn’t hard to understand. He was the simplest person around, as far as bear thinking went. They were the complicated ones. The ones who played human games and told human lies.

  He’d never understand that.

  Hmph.

  “I don’t know,” Harmony said, her voice soft and dreamy. She had a nice voice. “I think he’s pretty simple. Maybe too simple.”

  “I don’t,” Ruby said. “I think there are all kinds of things going on in that crazy brain and you’re never going to figure it out. And I don’t see why you want to.”

  Maverick frowned. Okay, he could see why Ruby was still carrying a grudge. He’d sort of tricked her into coming out here and then gotten in a bar fight, leaving Shane to come to the rescue. But still…

  “Yeah, Harmony. You can do better.”

  His scowl deepened. But then, Bonnie had a reason to bear a grudge too. He’d tricked her into riding out in the rain alone and needing Jesse to come out and rescue her.

  Still, thanks to him, they’d both found their moon mates. So what did it matter?

  They should learn to forgive. Yup. He nodded to himself in calm assurance.

  “Still, if he just cut his hair, he might be really hot,” Harmony said, leaning back on her curvy arms. His mouth watered
as his eyes lingered on her shape. Generous and rounded. Perfect for carrying young.

  And making love.

  His muzzle screwed up in concern. Making love? He’d never put it like that before. It was sex. Mating. Because the moon said so. Nothing else mattered.

  He rested on his paws and continued to eavesdrop. What had she been saying about his hair?

  “You can’t get him to cut it,” Ruby said. “I’ve already tried.”

  “Damn, if he can’t even be bothered to get a haircut, maybe he doesn’t want me after all,” Harmony muttered before letting out a cute hiccup that made him just want to run over, scoop her up, and run back to his cabin.

  “I don’t know why you care,” Bonnie said. “I know he’s a McAllister, but he’s seriously not right in the head.”

  Before Maverick could even take offense, Harmony’s voice rang out, sharp and clear in the night.

  “He’s fine in the head,” she said. “He’s just different, and I thought the two of you would be a little more accepting of it.” She sounded disappointed.

  There was a short silence, then a hiccup from Bonnie as she moved forward and put an arm around her friend. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m still mad that he ditched me in a field. And more than anything, I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

  Maverick’s ears perked at that. Hurt again? Who the fuck had dared to hurt her the first time? Someone had better tell him the name and address, right fucking now.

  “It’s okay,” Harmony said, sounding teary as she hugged her friend melodramatically. “I don’t blame you.”

  Ruby joined in, giggling as they all hugged in the center of the blanket.

  Maverick raised an eyebrow at the scene as the girls lapsed into cackling.

  They were all flat-out drunk. Perhaps he should go back to the ranch and inform his brothers that their mates were rolling around in the field, being ridiculous.

  But then his expression softened as it settled on Harmony. She’d defended him. Stood up for him. Maybe even cared about him.

  Which would be great, because he cared about her.

  He’d been planning to go see her tonight. Drop by her bedroom and see if he could seduce her into a moonlight interlude.

  But not now. She was drunk, and that wouldn’t be right. Even a bear knew that.

  And besides, first he needed to see Ruby about a haircut.

  He settled in to watch the girls for as long as they needed, dreading losing all his precious face fur the next day.

  3

  Harmony slept in late the next day. Her friends had walked her back to her room after an amazing night under the stars. It was so fun to just be together and talk about everything after their time apart.

  She missed them a lot.

  Then they’d gone back to their sexy mates and she’d had to sleep alone, still a bit turned on at the thought of her sexy mountain man.

  Well, he wasn’t hers.

  In fact, he’d stayed away the rest of the day and hadn’t even tried to sneak in at night, as she’d half expected him to do.

  No matter.

  She sat up slowly in bed and stretched, still feeling hung-over and jetlagged.

  Then her stomach growled. Time to get something to eat. And she knew the kitchen was open to her for anything she needed. But as expected, the thought of going downstairs and potentially running into Maverick sent shivers running through her.

  She didn’t understand it. She’d never been afraid of anyone or anything. Even when she’d been attacked in the forest, she’d screamed like a banshee and fought with her claws. And any guy who tried to get fresh in a bar ended up on the sparkly end of a Taser.

  So why was she so nervous just at the thought of seeing the incomparably hairy man?

  She didn’t know.

  She showered, blow-dried her hair into curly, tight ringlets, and pulled her hair back off her face with a hair band. Then she threw on a loose, curve-grazing tee with a fun graphic and a pair of skinny jeans she knew did amazing things for her size-eighteen curves.

  Then she slipped into some cute ankle boots and slid on a few bangles and was ready to go.

  She took a deep breath and put her hand on the doorknob just as a loud ruckus broke out somewhere in the lodge beneath her. It sounded like it was coming from the main dining room, which made sense, as it was the biggest, most open space in the lodge. She took the stairs two at a time in her haste to see what was happening.

  When she got there, the scene unfolding in front of her had her standing still in shock, looking at her friends from multiple doorways away, without any of them aware she was there.

  She bit back a grin as she realized the loudest, angriest voice was Maverick.

  “Calm down and let me finish!” That was Ruby.

  “She’s doing you a favor. Trust me.” That was Bonnie.

  “Can we look yet?” That was Shane.

  “Yeah, I want to see if it’s actually an improvement.” That sounded like Jesse.

  All of them sounded vaguely amused, except Maverick.

  “You’re taking too much! You’re going to make me into a woman!” he growled, trying to get up out of the chair as Shane came around and shoved him back down, still keeping his eyes averted.

  “You stop struggling. This has been a long time coming, and my mate is doing you a damn favor.”

  Maverick grumbled something unintelligible that Harmony couldn’t make out.

  But one thing she could make out—Maverick was getting a shave and a haircut. They’d set up a chair in the corner of the dining room farthest from the kitchen, to be safe, and dark hair littered the ground around the chair on which the tall man was perched, looking uncomfortable.

  She wished she could see his face at this moment. Maverick was never the one feeling awkward. He was the one who made others feel awkward.

  She had a feeling the others in the room with him were enjoying this turn of events.

  “There!” Ruby said, swiping the black cape off him and brushing hair off her hands. “Ta-da!”

  All Harmony could see was Maverick’s tall, wide shape standing to face everyone as Shane and Jesse and Bonnie all turned to survey Ruby’s work.

  Shane and Jesse stopped laughing. Bonnie’s smirk was replaced by open-mouthed shock. Maverick looked from face to face, then shot a hand out toward Ruby.

  “Mirror,” he commanded.

  Ruby shrugged and handed one over, and when Maverick held it up to his face, Harmony got a glimpse of the man in the mirror.

  And nearly fell to her knees.

  Good gracious. He was gorgeous.

  He growled as he stared at the man in the mirror, who was blindingly handsome. Harmony prepared herself for the cocky onslaught of overconfidence that was sure to result from him realizing how good-looking he was under all that fur.

  Everyone else in the room was certainly speechless from it.

  Then the mirror hit the ground and shattered.

  “Mav!” Jesse yelled. “That was my mirror.”

  “You turned me into a woman!” Mav snarled, hands clenching tight at his sides. “You weren’t supposed to take all of it!” his hands came up to his cheeks, feeling his skin as if it were a foreign substance. “You’ve stolen my manhood!”

  Bonnie folded over laughing, holding her arm around her middle.

  “Um, no,” Jesse said. “That would be your dick.”

  Mav put a hand over himself. “Hell no.”

  “No,” Jesse corrected. “Manhood means your dick.”

  “It also means being able to grow a beard!” Mav said. “I can’t go around with this sissy-pants face. I’m not one of you.” Then with a glare at both of his brothers, who still seemed stunned, he whirled on his feet and came face to face with Harmony.

  When their gazes locked across the room, it gave Harmony a chance to see more detail.

  Stunning. That’s what he was. Stunning.

  A movie star jaw, wide and squared off as if
with a ruler to come to a stubborn, pointed chin, strong and beautiful at the same time. Full lips, with a carved, defined profile and a prominent cupid’s bow. High brow and cheekbones. Rugged and beautiful at the same time. With his hair out of the way, his dark eyes sparkled, framed by beautiful, arched dark brows.

  His hair was cut short but was thick and shiny, perfect for putting her hands in.

  She would have guessed he looked more like Shane, but his features were just the slightest bit sharper. Striking. Like a runway model. One who modeled for lumberjack magazines or something.

  She didn’t even know what to say.

  His eyes narrowed as he met hers, and then after a moment of awkward staring, he turned on his heel and was gone, out the front door and storming away toward the woods.

  She looked over at her friends, still standing in the dining room in various levels of shock.

  Bonnie looked her way and just shrugged.

  No one seemed to know what to do except Harmony. She had only one thing she could do.

  She had to follow that handsome lumberjack back to his cabin and have him for her own.

  Her semi-fragile hold on her libido had snapped, and it was Maverick’s handsome face that had done it.

  She ran for the door before anyone could stop her, yanked it open, and ran out down the front path, chasing after the wide back of the man that was trying to disappear into the left side of the forest.

  * * *

  Maverick didn’t know what to do.

  He was disgraced.

  And he didn’t have time to let it grow back. He needed to win his mate over soon or lose the ranch. It wouldn’t be easy to win Harmony over, and he couldn’t lose the time it would take to grow the beard and his hair again.

  He couldn’t believe the face he’d seen in the mirror.

  So hairless and pale. So human. And maybe a little part of him did think perhaps he was at least a good-looking human and hoped his mate would like it against all odds.

  But then he’d turned and seen her, standing twenty feet away, staring at him like he’d grown two heads.