Enforcer Ewan “Cal” Calder hasn’t shifted into his Scottish wildcat form in two years. He should’ve gone crazy by now, because that’s how these things are supposed to work. The governing body of all shifters, the Council, has sent him and his adopted teenage son Kit to a sanctuary in Finland. It’s a last-ditch effort to wean Cal off the morphine he’s been using to keep his cat at bay. If he doesn’t shift soon, there’s no way he’s going to retain his sanity.<br><br>Two years ago, Council security officer Derek Lamont was tentatively dating and getting to know Cal, but then he lost an eye in a tragic accident. While he was recuperating in the hospital, Cal and Kit vanished from the house they’d all shared. Derek has been searching for them ever since, traveling the world and grasping at straws because of the undeniable truth: Derek knows Cal is his mate, even though humans aren’t supposed to be able to feel the mate bond.<br><br>When Derek finds Cal and Kit at a small farm in the middle of nowhere, Finland, he feels relief. But their problems are far from over. From Cal’s guilt over the accident, to stray hunting dogs, to figuring out how to deal with the Council, things keep piling up.

Off and On Again

Somehow,when the email with Cal’s tickets finally came,it managed to surprise them all.They were for the next Wednesday,giving them only a few days’warning.


Derek went numb.He couldn’t show his emotions to Cal,not show how much he feared what would happen if Cal left for Italy.


There would be no going away party,as this wasn’t a joyous situation.No,it threatened everything they had managed to build,and Derek felt scared as hell.


The email arrived sometime in the afternoon.They read it before dinner and ended up not hungry after all.


Kit was trying to hide his feelings,but wasn’t as good at it as his parents were.


Derek made a fire,and they just sat on the couch,staring into the fire as a family.Whenever one of them needed to use the bathroom or get a drink,the others would move into a new configuration,and they’d cuddle in a different formation once they were all on the couch again.


Chapter 27